Guest Column: Notable Neighbors

Early days of Reggae on the River [Image provided by Paul Modic]

Wow, when I see all the love and admiration from everyone for Richard Gienger (still alive by the way) in response to my story about his 80th birthday, I wonder if he realized he’d be creating all these personal connections over fifty years by getting out of the woods and making an interesting life as an environmental activist? (All these people I’ve never heard of know him and care about him, I’m touched and a little envious.)

Whale Gulch has produced a few other illustrious people, notably Ray Raphael who recently came out with his autobiography, to go along with the twenty other books he’s written, and it makes me wonder who else reached beyond the Gulch and made a wider impact? We had our local community leaders, the movers and shakers like Nancy, Keith, Bruce, Sandy, Frank and others. (Rondal Snodgrass started Sanctuary Forest and personally saved a lot of old growth trees and Sheldon Wolin was a famous political theoretician when he made a home in the Gulch in the early seventies.)

Charley Wilson worked his way through a few iterations of AEE (Alternative Energy Engineering), then branched out and started a successful solar cable manufacturing business which now supports five families in Ferndale. (He and his business partner turned down a big offer to sell PVCable because the prospective new owners would have probably moved it out of town.) Doug Green was known for his work with the Mateel Community Center (MCC) for years as well as MC at “Reggae on the River,” and my sister Jessie leads weekly musical protests every Friday from noon to one in downtown Garberville.

Around Southern Humboldt, Bob McKee was “the godfather” of the back-to-the-land movement around here, selling educated hippies and everyone else who showed up cheap land from the sixties on. David Katz had a tremendous impact in the community selling solar panels in the eighties and during those weed boom years was the biggest supplier of panels nationwide. (He recently started and is running another alternative energy business in Arcata.)

Patti Rose worked for years bringing to life the senior housing complex in Garberville, Patti Rae has been working on making homeless housing available next to the cemetery and Kym Kemp created her popular news site “Red Headed Black Belt.”

ED Denson was a notable activist for all lefty causes, became a lawyer at sixty and represented local DUI clients, growers and others. (He also successfully sued the county for an illegal weed tax.)

Steve Dazey had a huge impact selling fertilizer for a few decades (as well as windows, stoves and generators), made bank and then created the Community Park with Bob McKee, the jewel of our area. (The park has been criticized by some for being technically a private organization with an unelected board though that was probably one of the best decisions Dazey made, appointing the original board with longtime community advocates, having seen how chaotic public boards have been around here.)

Carol Bruno was an annual force of nature running the MCC and then “Reggae on the River” until the “Reggae Wars” of 2007. (The conflict between her company “People Productions” and the MCC created a widespread division in the community and her career ended in rancor.)

Al Ceralo and Paul Bassis were notable voices in the community with their weekly KMUD talk show “Thank Jah It’s Friday” as well as prominently acting and directing in theatre productions with “The Pure Schmint Players.” (The “Reggae Wars” destroyed their close friendship.)

The Alderpoint artist Frank Cieciorka was known nationally for his rebellious fist drawings and got a New York Times obituary along with Sheldon Wolin. (Have any other locals had that distinction, or might in the future?)

Simon Frech, longtime volunteer, employee and permanent technical fixture at KMUD also deserves recognition, along with Christina Huff, Doug Fir, Rick Klein, Paul Encimer, Robie Tenorio, the midwife Lorraine Carolan and other notable community members who I’m probably leaving out. (Feel free to mention more.)