Greenwood/Elk columns

January 5 ~ April 27, 1989

January 5th,

As I write this, the end of 1988 is eleven and a half hours away. The sun is shining and a strong wind is blowing out of the North. Various folks around town are making last minute plans on where they are going to bring in the new year. Some treat it like just another day and some like to make some kind of definite mark, observe the end and beginning.

My earliest recollection of observing new years eve was as a young boy, trying to stay awake for the magic stroke of midnight, listening to the radio and accurately setting the clock was my way of following the count down. Usually I didn't make it, falling asleep somewhere along the way.

As a young man I ended up in the routine a lot of other folks follow, some big party and too much to drink.

In time I decided to change all that and observe the ending of the old and the beginning of the new in ways more memorable.

One year I was with a group of religious folks and we observed the transition, drink free in silent prayer.

Another time my wife and I tried to climax lovemaking at the stroke of midnight, not too successfully, I might add; we were too clock conscious.

One time, during my jogging phase I ran 6.4 miles in the rain, leaving my house one year and arriving the next.

Another time found me running mindlessly around and around and around the fountain at the Seattle Center, my fourteen year marriage had just ended.

One New Year I took a young woman kayaking during a snowfall in the middle of Elliott Bay. We were almost run over by the Seattle to Bremerton ferry!

Another year I went back packing by myself in the out back desert of the Joshua Tree Monument and drank so much brandy, trying to stay warm, I missed the midnight event.

Another New Year found me on a remote beach by the Sea of Cortez with a tent full of red ants.

Last year Lolli and I were eating tacos and drinking El Presidente Brandy in a little bar in San Quintin, Baja.

This year? Well, Lolli and I are attending two parties, one in Mendocino and one in Fort Bragg. I've come full circle, back to the gathering of friends, food and drink. After all the various New Years I have enjoyed, through the years, I can't think of any other way I would rather spend it.

A bit of unfinished business and then, I'm out of here.

A note from Leah Almanrode:

"My daughters visited over the Christmas Holiday, spending the afternoon of Christmas day going for a walk up Greenwood/Philo Road. It became so warm they took off their jackets and sweaters, leaving them on the .56 mile marker and walking on for a little ways. They returned to find them gone along with a ring of keys that was in one of the jacket pockets. I hate to think someone would take these on Christmas Day, spoiling an other wise beautiful Christmas. If found, please return them to the Elk Post Office, Elk Store or Leah Almenrode.

January 12th.

It's raining out and I am having a hard time getting this column going. I feel bad about not mentioning the Annual Community meeting at the Community Center. It hasn't happened yet, as I write this, but it will be over by the time this paper comes out. Belvie Rooks did send out an announcement and I printed the labels from my computer mailing list. I hope all the local folks got one. If you didn't and want to be on the Elk mailing list, send your name and address to me at Box 2 or call me at 877-3216.

I will be at the meeting and report back next week.

I see the Mendocino Beacon now has a rainfall score board elsewhere in the paper so I will stop reporting the totals in this column.

The whale migration seems to be in full swing. I notice them almost any time I take five minutes to look. Early morning or late afternoon is the easiest time to spot them as the sun highlights their spouts. The most notable thing I have observed, besides numbers, is they have been 'way out there'.

Last Sunday found the beginning of activity three miles North of town on the Kristofferson Ranch. Police, various cars and a huge crane were parked along side Highway One at a spot known locally as the Devil's Basin. A couple of sequences for the up coming Karate Kid Three movie will be filmed at the Devil's Basin, also out on the headland and down on Greenwood Beach. A temporary road is being installed alongside Devil's Basin in order for the crane to be positioned to lower the equipment and actors down into the basin. There will be several weeks of preparation, dependent upon the weather, and then an influx of a hundred or so people and a couple of helicopters for the actual shoot.

Evidently the story is about a rare old Bonsai Tree that is stolen from a Pagoda. The Old Man and the Kid eventually track it down and recover it from Devil's Basin. I understand the Bonsai Tree has very unusual powers. It sounds like it will definitely have an affect on this area but when it is all over, everything will be put back into place and restored to the way it was.

I have kayaked into Devil's Basin several times through a tunnel that enters directly from the West. There is another tunnel that faces Northwest but it is too narrow to kayak in. The area is an interesting natural phenomena and could be quite spectacular in the movie. It will be fun to see how they use it.

I got a note from Prue Wilcox who, by the way, needs a new ribbon for her typewriter:

"This is the time of year again -- off with the old, on with the new. Before you throw the old away, save the clothes that are in good condition, the appliances that work, kitchen items, books, games, tools, bric-a-brac and collectibles for the Civic Club's Rummage Sale to be held April 8th and 9th to benefit the Elk Volunteer Ambulance Service. More details later.

January 19th.

It was cold out. Not only that but windy and dark. My dog was comfortably curled up by the heater and yet, as promised, I left my warm, humble abode and slogged off to the annual town meeting. Other cars were arriving as I pulled in. Kay Curtis was putting on the coffee and tea water, Linda Barnett and Del Wilcox were shuffling paper at a table set up under the basketball hoop. Around thirty chairs were set up facing them.

Ten minutes after the announced start time the chairs were mostly full and the meeting commenced. A few more folks dribbled in as Linda led us into the meeting. Most of us knew what was coming, the question was when?

First the usual reports. The Community Center Board reported financial health and. received kudos for a job well done.

The Elk County Water Board reported financial health and that the new/old water tank project is still being worked on. There was some discussion of either limiting town growth or increasing the size of the water main; we won't be able to have one without the other.

The Elk Volunteer Fire Department reported that there was one fire call last year and twenty five ambulance calls. Our ambulance is currently covering the south end as far down as Point Arena, beyond our usual boundary, Irish Beach. A deal has been worked out for special compensation until Point Arena can get its act together.

And now, back to the main issue, the Community Center.

First, a little warm up.

The kitchen supplies are depleted, there isn't enough equipment to cook a meal.

"No sense buying more if it's just going to be ripped off again."

"We need more locking cabinets."

"We need new locks for the doors."

"We need to replace all the locks, there are too many keys out."

"We need screens on the windows so the basketball players will stop breaking the windows."

"Yeah, it will also keep people from breaking in and stealing all the kitchen equipment."

"We need a new refrigerator."

"How we gonna keep someone from stealing that? Bolt it to the floor?"

The usual pros and cons.

Finally we got down to it.

Noise at the Community Center. Parking problems. Trash. People peeing in the bushes.

Finally we really got down to it.

Those loud obnoxious bands and the type of crowds they attract.

"Sound proof the walls."

"Buy a decibel monitor and limit the noise level."

"Only book 'quiet' bands."

"Install more toilets and trash bins."

"What is the building capacity?"

"Put up NO PARKING signs."

"Look into property boundaries, right of ways and easements."

The two sides of the issue, as I see it, comes down to;

1. The desire to promote and expand the use of the Community Center, especially for the younger set.

2. The desire to limit the Community Center activities in such a way that it doesn't bother its neighbors.

This town with two names seems to be perceived three different ways.

1. A retirement community.

2. A bed and breakfast location for tourists.

3. A small town with folks of all ages.

The question is, how do we blend this all together?

Finally we emerged at the end of the meeting and elected the folks to confront these problems. Roff Barnett, Al Weaver, Bill Baker, Vince Carleton, John Frankel, Donny Daniels, Jamie Roberts, Elaine Beldon and Carole Ray. A cast of characters definitely covering the full spectrum of the issues at hand. They have their work cut out for them.

I helped put away the chairs. It was the least I could do!

January 26th.

The fog is in, the rain is coming down, the Super Bowl is about to start and I have a column to write. Maybe I can call in sick. By the time you read this all the hoopla will be over and the 49ers will have won, but at this point in time it is very hard to turn off the tee-vee and concentrate on this column since I am a guy that can only do one thing at a time.

The local filming of Karate Kid Three is about wrapped up. The principle actors have gone back to Hollywood with reminders of Devil's Basin; poison oak. Yep, they got it.

I was amazed at their luck in timing their filming to concede with some of the nicest weather we have had recently. I come to find out it isn't all luck!

There is a weather service located in Colorado that has its own weather satellite. They send out weather forecasts three times a day to various movie studios that subscribe to their service. The studio specifies an exact location; Elk for instance, and the weather service tells them what is going to happen.

They were quite accurate, only missing rarely. The weather service reported when Devils Basin would have sunshine and the cast was flown up for the shoot. The weather service is expensive but not near as much as having a bunch of folks standing around waiting for the sky to clear.

A note from Jane Cory:

"Beginning and intermediate Folk Dance classes begin Monday, January 30th, 7:00 PM at The Upstairs Cafe in Point Arena. You may register, $5.00 for the SRJC semester, during the first class. No experience or partner is necessary. For more information call Jane at 877-3330.

Inauguration day is over finally and Bush is in the White House. Different times George has talked about his thousand points of light. I got a laugh when I heard about a bar in Washington that was observing the inauguration by serving a thousand pints of Lite! That may be what is required.

Well shucks, I can't stand it any longer. I'm going to wrap this up, stuff it under the door of the Mendocino Beacon and get back to the game.

February 2nd.

Gone.

February 9th.

I leave town for a week and all kinds of items pile up. Where to begin?\

I made a quick trip to Seattle to visit my parents and see how pop was doing. He had surgery just before Christmas and is now on chemotherapy. He is up and about and doing better than I had expected. It is really amazing after all he has been through these past four years.

I drove back to Elk with the Great Alaskan Cold Front only a couple of days behind me.

There is a new addition in town.

Serena Grace Acker. Eight pounds, three ounces, fingers, toes, hair and all. Not that it was all that easy. Much preparation and thirty nine hours of labor produced this bundle of joy. Rosie and Serena are doing fine. Charlie looks a bit haggard.

And then the snow fell.

Pretty exciting. Lots of folks gathered at the Roadhouse Cafe, standing around, watching it come down. This event turned us into old timers. Now we can all reminisce about the 'snow of 89'. Various snow 'persons' showed up, snowballs were on sale at the Elk Store for five cents each, folks were skiing in the meadows up on the ridge. People were trying to figure out how to thaw out the water in their plastic plumbing. Ed Bird, eight miles up Greenwood/Philo road, reported in with over six inches of snow and eighteen degrees. Here on the coast it looked like one inch and my dog water froze.

Tabi Bolton gave me an extensive report:

"Five inch long icicles, three inches of snow which equaled a half inch of rain, bringing the ridge total for the season to 28.6 inches. Tabi said they had six inches of snow in 1971."

Down here in town, folks said the last measurable snow fall was in 1961.

The Mendocino Festival Book Publication Competition has a winner. Elk's very own Mary Pjerrou won top honors with her manuscript, "Coz". Her book will be out for national distribution mid/late summer. Mary said it has been described as a 'feminist science fiction thriller', and has something to do with 'reverse birth'.

Being an old Edward Abbey fan, my ears perked right up!. Mary told me there is a graphics competition for the cover of the book. Information about this will be found in various local publications.

The Social Science Curriculum Committee of the Mendocino School District is putting together slide shows for the children that will deal with various themes. We need some Greenwood photos. Slides will be copied and returned to you. Please write your name or initials on each slide and give/send them to Jane or Claire at the school.

In particular we are looking for Cuffey's Cove, sheep shearing, pre-school, Great Day and other memorable events. Greenwood School, before and after pictures, i.e. the old trailer school, Ellen Branstrom's/Greenwood Country Store, Health Clinic, recreation at Greenwood Beach, local businesses, craft people, artists, transportation.

Questions? Call Jane at 877-3330.

Valentines Dance at the Oasis, Saturday, February 18th, 9 PM and on. Work of Mouth is the band. Free is the cost. BYOB. This is sponsored by our local businesses.

Don't forget the Rummage Sale, April 8th and 9th.

February 16th.

Ah! The wind is back. The snow and ice has disappeared and now we have wind and white caps on the ocean. Last week, between the snow and the wind I was able to get out on the ocean for the first time this year. I put my Odyssea Ski kayak in at Greenwood Beach and went south a ways. Usually I go north. South is rather dangerous because wash rocks and sheer cliffs into the sea provide no place to get out it I have trouble.

The water was exceptionally clear and as I paddled past the old trailer court I kept looking down in the water for Clifford Cox's Subaru pick-up. I still feel he met his end in the waters around here.

A group of seals scrambled off their rocks and gathered around to see what I was up to. Soon they returned to their rocks as I headed on down the coast.

I went ashore on the Elk Creek beach, just south of Greenwood. There was snow in the shade and a frozen waterfall at the south end of the cove. The beach was swept clean, no drift wood, interesting shells, or elusive glass fish floats, though I keep hoping to find one someday.

Once again, back on the boat, I went out to White Rock and snooped around its perimeter. A few star fish stick on at the waterline and a lot of mussels, some of the largest I have ever seen.

I started thinking about my dog, which I had left on the beach, back in Elk, with instructions to "Stay". Three hours is a lot to ask of a part time Irish Setter.

When I got back, she was gone.

Damn. She is just too friendly. Anyone who will pet her is a friend for life or at least until someone else comes along.

I loaded my kayak on my cart and pushed it back up the hill to the parking lot. There, sitting in my car, was my dog.

Serena Acker made her debut at the Roadhouse Cafe last Sunday morning. The whole place came to a halt as cook, waiter, and locals gathered around for a peek, leaving the odd tourist to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Elk's own Mary Pjerrou was announced the top winner of the Mendocino Festival of Books writing competition with her entry "Coz". Mary said her book is about "A patriarchal polygamist, Mick Grady, an astronomer with bizarre ideas about populating the universe. His opponent is Coz, a witch who lives at the top of a mountain and is said to be able to make time move backwards, resurrect the dead, and suck the living back into the womb. Abbey, a midwife from the more civilized part of the mountain is summoned to assist in the birth of Sabika Grady's thirteenth child. A terrible storm floods the mountain, cuts them all off from the town, and forces the Grady clan to seek shelter in Coz's realm where mysterious forces play havoc with time and the natural order of things."

Little did I know what was going on in Mary's studio, behind the Huckaby House, where the glow of her computer lights up the windows every night.

Another strange glow has been the lights, at night, of a ship down around this side of Point Arena. I'm told it is the ship that will be laying the fiber optic cable from our coast to Hawaii. I understand it has enough cable in the hold to lay it all out in one trip. Last summer the cable was being routed along Highway 128 between Mountain House road and Fish Rock road as many travelers to the city remember.

February 23rd.

Through some misunderstanding, the time period for the signing of the Fire/Ambulance District petition has expired. A special effort is being made to gather signatures on a New petition. If you already signed it, or were meaning to, back when..., would you please stop by the Elk Garage and sign the new one. The need for a Fire/Ambulance District is becoming critical because the level of County support has been fixed at a set rate while insurance cost, not to mention general maintenance costs continue to rise, putting our Fire Department and Ambulance Service further and further into a bind.

Not only are signatures required but there is also a shortage of Volunteer Firemen. On several of the recent calls only two men could be mustered. If your are interested in becoming a Volunteer Fireman, contact Bob Matson at the Elk Garage.

Ed Bird told me there will be baseball sign up at the Elk Community Center March 2nd between 4 and 5:30. Birth certificates and a parent are required. The Little League age group is 8 to 12. There will be T-ball for 7 year olds. Baseball sign up in Manchester will be March 3rd at the Elementary School between 4 and 5:30. Same age groups and requirements.

The Roadhouse reopened last Saturday after being closed for Ski Week. It didn't make much sense to me until I found out that the Bob Matson family had left for a week of skiing. There was only one large box of Cheerios in the Elk Store which I immediately grabbed to see me through the dry spell.

Speaking of dry spell. We have the south wind and the clouds but only a few drops of rain. Ted Galletti pointed out that we haven't yet had a good storm from that direction.

There has been some tentative inquiry into the possibility of having a Mother's Day Breakfast. The general consensus seems to be, "To hell with it"!

March 2nd.

The fire, approximately a half mile up Greenwood/Philo Road was probably started by someone dumping ashes over the edge of the road. This spot has been a favorite for those trying to save a couple of bucks and the time involved in driving to the legal landfills.

This is a no-no.

I'm told there is a pretty good idea of who is doing it. Roadside dumping is not only illegal but this spot is just up stream from the town water source. Be advised that tolerance of this practice is wearing thin.

The fire was responded to by the Elk Fire Department and later by CDF. Ed Bird was lowered on a rope to address some of the hot spots further down the slope. I see it is still smoldering four days later.

This unusually dry February has got the Steelhead and Salmon trapped in the lower portions of our various streams. There is not enough run off for them to make it to their spawning grounds. It looks like they are going to be the first to suffer from what apparently will be our third dry year. A San Francisco radio station said that if this is another dry year it will be the driest period Northern California has had in four hundred years.

Our Postmaster/Mistress, Erna Smith, has a new batch of local photo cards out and they are especially swell. You can find them in the Country Store and now also at the Roadhouse. Erna had been doing this for a year or so and keeps getting better and better.

The 96th Annual Saint Patrick's Corned Beef and Cabbage Feed is arriving March 18th. This is the oldest continuous event in Mendocino County. It started in Cuffey's Cove, moved to Greenwood, has been held in Manchester and Point Arena, was a big two day standing room only blow out at the Oasis bar in Elk during Evelyn's day, and has finally settled down to a fine dinner and dance affair, currently being held at the Greenwood/Elk Community Center.

Mary Berry is this years chairman again. She had been involved with the event for forty years.

Dinner will be served from 4 until 8 with music provided by Powder and LeAnn. After dinner our great local band, Word of Mouth, will play for the dance.

As you may have noticed, there have been a lot more changes at the Elk Store than just the paint job. They have a new manager, Ray Reed, who tells me he is not the manager, he is the "Factotum", which in Latin means, "One who serves a goal or idea". His goal is to 'turn this store around".

There are several new employees, Crystal and Buffy, a new cash register, coffee maker. They are going to up grade the meat department, put in a deli and there will be a new, bigger better supply of videos. Although some of the changes seem confusing right now to us locals and the employees, Ray assures me it will all be for the better.

The Robins are back. The daffodils are up. Baseball bats, balls and gloves are out. The whales are heading North. The sun is rising earlier and setting later and various local relationships have shifted polarity. It seems spring is definitely in the air.

March 9th.

I'm at a loss of words and no wonder. This is my second anniversary of writing the Greenwood/Elk column. I mean, how much is there to say about a town without streetlights, shopping malls, banks, fast food joints, parking meters or gridlock and yet...

My Brother Ken and his wife Alice arrived yesterday from Seattle. They are knocked out by the green-ness, the ocean, "Look, there's another whale", the flowers, the birds, the quaint old homes and buildings, the quiet street, and how bright the stars are at night.

We drove down to Point Arena, "Oh look, two deer!", and dined out on fish and chips, "Better than Skippers".

This morning we are having breakfast at the Roadhouse, then cruised the Country Store, visiting Carleton's weaving studio. Vince is working on the fourth and last panel of his latest rug. This is his first rug using his new/old Jacquard controller head. Then this afternoon we plan to chase some mussels off of the rocks and into a bucket, take them to Master Potter Peter von Wilken Zook's, where we will join up with my fiancee Lolli and various other friends.

There we will have a huge Mendocino type feed; salad, bread, mussels, coffee and wine, all the best this area has to offer. The survivors are planing to attend the Mendocino Movies in the evening.

As I was saying, there really isn't much to write about. It seems it takes the fresh eyes of visitors to help point out what I have come to take for granite, to reawaken in me what I have become to accept as commonplace. We really do live in a very unique location, a place beyond words.

Tucked in among the previous words was the word, fiancee. Yes, the rumors are true. Lolli and I are engaged. We have been since Christmas but I admit I have been afraid to announce the fact. I guess the older I get the harder it is to change my ways.

We plan to ease into it. Both of our living situations are ideal, for single living. My little trailer in Elk is full of my stuff. Her little log cabin in Mendocino is full of her stuff. I guess, since I live on wheels, it will be easier to move up her way than for her to reassemble the logs down here in Elk. Like I said, we're easing into it. We figure it will take a couple of years to make the transition. If that is true I must be only at the halfway mark of writing the Greenwood/Elk column.

The Elk Garage got in a huge order of new stuff. It took Mel and Joan Robison several days to price all of it. In the midst of all this, there was some confusion over a pricing gun borrowed from the Elk Store, leading to the "Great Pricing Gun War". The dust hasn't settled from this one yet. The new manager of the Elk Store isn't accustomed to some of the ways things are done around here. I mean, there are changes that need to be done but it is sort of like picking your way through a mine field.

Well, for having nothing to say, I've said enough.

Remember the up coming Rummage Sale at the Community Center and the 95th Saint Patrick's Day Dinner and Dance.

March 16th.

Well, my brother and sister in law brought the rain down from Seattle and then left it here. I got a call from Tabi Bolton, last Saturday, and he said,

"The storm blew in 4.8 inches of rain this week making a total of 36.2 for the season".

Later I talked to Jane Matson and she said that down here, in Elk, we have a season total of 22.55. I guess our February weather came in March. The only local that called it right was Ted Galletti.

In my last column one word was changed. I was talking about our little town and I mentioned the "Quiet Street of Elk". The word street was changed to streets.

Well, we do have Highway One but that is a highway. There is the Greenwood/Philo Road which meets Highway One where we have our only stop sign, but it is a road.

No. There is only one street, Lousia Street, and it is surprising how many folks don't know it even exists, though we all use it from time to time. Lousia Street is the short, pot holed, gravel strip that goes from Highway One around back to the Community Center and Elk Firehouse, past the Office and Headquarters of Force 10. That is the quiet STREET of Elk.

So how did it come to be called Louisa Street?

I stopped by Charlie and Rosie's seeking an answer.

Charlie didn't know, he said he wasn't an old-timer. "You had to be born here to be an old timer".

So I asked their new daughter Serena who was born here and has lived here all her life. She wasn't talking.

Next I dropped in on Mel and Jane Matson. Mel was also born here but he didn't know either. He did remember when there was a railroad spur that went up Lousia Street to a redwood lumber drying yard just to the North of the current Community Center. He said that the property back there used to belong to the Hugh Buchanan family and maybe they gave it the name.

When I got back home I called Sharon Mitchell, who is related to the Buchanan family but she didn't know of any Lousia in the early family.

I tried calling Anne Daniels, our local historian but she wasn't home.

So there it hangs. One misprint and most of my day and column used up because of Lousia Street. If anyone knows something about the origin of our street, call me at 877-3216 or drop me a line at PO Box 2.

History is funny stuff.

This is the last opportunity to remind you of our 98th Annual Saint Patrick's Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner and Dance. Yup! This Saturday, March 18th. Dinner from 4 until 8. Don't come dragging late. Last year they sold out.

Word of Mouth will play for the dance. Powder and LeAnn will play during the dinner.

Just turn off Highway One, in the heart of Greenwood/Elk and follow quiet "Lousia Street" back to the Community Center!

Rummage Sale. Think Rummage Sale.

March 23rd.

Easter Egg hunt, this Sunday, March 26th at the Community Center at 11:00. Bring your basket. Donations have been made by Al and Sandy Weaver, the Greenwood Country Store, the Elk Store and Bookwrinkles of Mendocino, to help ensure this to be a special time for the short people. That's 11:00 AM, Sunday morning at the Community Center, just up Lousia Street...

Yah! I'm still on my Lousia Street kick. I talked to several folks at the Great 96th Corned Beef and Cabbage Feed; Evelyn, who is now eighty four years old and used to operated the Oasis Bar over a span of forty years. I talked to Anne Daniels, our local historian. Nothing.

It is now my belief that Lousia Street got it's name because Louisiana is off in that direction.

Berna Claire called to tell me that Kenny Ornbaum, who wrote this column back in the early eighties, did several articles about Louisa Street. One of these days I hope to have the time to go dig through those back issues and see what I can find out. I have heard that Kenny was an enjoyable columnist and I have been wanting to see how he did it.

My Greenwood Ridge weatherman, Tabi Bolton, called to tell me that he now has a rainfall total, as of last Saturday, of 39.5 inches. Is the drought over?

Thinking about the drought and weather changes and then, of Ozone and the Greenhouse effect, I remembered Jacque Helfer's column of last week, the part about weather cycles of a 550 to 600 year period.

We do have a tendency to see things in such a short sighted way, not that I don't think conservation isn't important, but there may be more than one explanation for what is going on. Food for thought, anyway.

Speaking of food for thought:

There has been a lot in the press and on the news about the Salman Rushdie episode. Freedom of speech and what a person can and cannot do. Most folks seem to be in favor of free speech but what about locally? I mean, it's one thing if we are talking about a man's freedom of speech in England, but what about right here on the coast?

Well, that's something else. Who knows what might happen. What if it was someone, "different"? What if his hair was "still" long? What if he didn't have the correct political view, didn't play the game the right way. What if his house was full of strange electrical gizmos and components? How about if he was too friendly, had way too much energy and "creative" ideas.

Well, I say that's plenty of reason to take away his freedom of speech. lock him up. Right? You can't trust someone like that.

And that is exactly what is going on, right here on the coast. A creative person is being gagged and stifled and we are the poorer for it.

If you want to know what I am talking about pick up one of the latest Mendocino Commentaries, flip to page 18 and read Marco McClean's column concerning his Video taping of the English Stand-up Comic, Mark Thomas at Crown Hall and what happened when Marco ran it on his *Radio Free Earth TV show on MCCET's Channel Three.

Something stinks and it isn't Marco.

Ah. Yes. "Freedom of Speech" sure is an interesting idea as long as it's somewhere else.

March 30th.

Every Wednesday, from 2:00 to 4:00, there has been and is, soccer practice, here in Elk for the Greenwood School elementary kids. Connie Sinclair hold me that usually around eighteen show up. She said that Dean Pederson is the coach and she and Jane Lewis assists. The Community Center provides money for snacks.

They meet at the Community Center at 2 and walk over to the baseball field to play. Connie said that this is the first of a series of sports they will play. Soon they will be into T-ball.

Lousia Street. My O my.

I got a letter from Minnie Colli Baier who now lives in Banta, Ca. She wrote:

"I left Cuffey's Cove in 1928 with my family and just prior to moving, my father, John Colli had a milk route in Greenwood so we were quite familiar with the different residences. Perhaps Louisa Street was named after Lousia Falleri. She was the widow of Ottavia Falleri, mother of Frank Falleri, Ray Falleri and Rena Falleri Galletti. Her brother in law, Alfredo Falleri had a hotel in Greenwood. I believe the hotel still stands. Genia Falleri Urbani, Alfredo Falleri's daughter lives in Fort Bragg. I am sure that Gena can give you some history on the subject."

I called Genia Falleri Urbani. Goodness, talk about a lively conversation. I'm about half her age and I could not keep up. Anyway, according to my hastily scribbled notes:

Genia remembers the road and the railroad track but she does not remember it ever being called Louisa Street!!

She does remember that Conway's Grocery Store was where Thompsen's house now stands, just south of...dare I say it?...Lousia Street.

"Next there was a jewelry store, then the (Finn) Stolpe Hotel, then the Tascano Hotel (the red building we currently call the Abalone House that Minnie Baier said was owned by Afredo Falleri), then the Buchanan two story house which had a restaurant and bar down stairs, then Ruben's Grocery Store and Bar, next to that was Sanini's place (they're buried up in the Druid Cemetery), then a big barn with cows and horses on the ground floor and then the Bocci court."

What?

"You know, that game with the sticks. They tore that out when they widened Boonville Avenue (now called the Greenwood/Philo Road). Then across the street was the Rossetti Hotel, Italia Hotel (big barn back behind), where Anne Daniel's place is. Oh yes, this is back around the first war. A thousand people lived in town then."

Did you make it to the Saint Patrick's Corned Beef and Cabbage Feed?

"No. I wasn't feeling well. Hardly any of us left. We used to come from all over. I was born in 1908, you know. Why don't you call Emma Phillips. She knows a lot about Greenwood. I always call it Greenwood."

Goodness. How about next year, for the Saint Patrick's Corned Beef and Cabbage Feed we make a point of escorting these various folks to Greenwood, gather them all together and plunk a tape recorder down on the table, maybe a video camera. See what happens.

April 6th.

We went for a drive last week. Lolli had spring break and we invited along our friends, Ed and Suzanne McKinley, to show them some of our favorite spots, you know, Mojave, Pioneer Town, Indian Cove, Baghdad, Keeler, Bad Water, Tecopa, Panamint Valley, Cerro Gordo and Mono Lake. I'm not going to draw you a map showing exactly where we go but I usually camp wherever the VW bus gets stuck.

One moon-less night in the Panamint Valley, a mile or so from the highway; nothing but sage brush, salt flats and broad alluvial fans rising off into the dark before us, a jet fighter swept over us, 'On the deck', as they say.

I have thought about that incident several times since.

Here we were, sitting still, totally surrounded by a natural landscape millions of years old, while the guy in the jet was moving hundreds of miles per hour, surrounded by the latest electronic guidance system for night flying. How different our ways of experiencing that desert valley. We, with our camp fire. He, with his electronic sensors. What does it all mean?

I threw another log on the fire.

Overall we had quite a range of weather. First rain, then wind, then temperatures up to one hundred and five. Then snow, fog and finally, back to more rain.

We climbed down into abandoned mines and hiked to the top of volcanic cinder cones. We even soaked in hot springs. Yes indeed. Quite the vacation.

On the way home we discovered something interesting. We came across a town with no sidewalks, no streetlights and one stop sign. The historical marker said the town used to have a theater, four hotels, fourteen stores, a brewery and four saloons. Just about what Elk used to have.

One of the locals said that the town's bar closed last October. Our bar closed two years ago Halloween. If all this seems like deja vu, you're right. We were in "Greenwood, California". The 'other' one, and sure enough, there, on the sign hanging on their Post Office wall was the reason 'Our' Greenwood is now called Elk.

Greenwood Post Office. Established 1849.

We didn't get a Post Office until 1887.

The historical marker at the entrance to town proclaimed:

"John Greenwood, a trapper and guide who came to California in 1844,

established here a trading Post in 1849."

The gold rush followed and the rest is history.

I talked to a woman whose daughter is the assistant postmistress. She told me that they have an active civic club called "The Greenwood Civic Organization", and that they have forty to fifty active members. I gave her my name and address and we agreed to try and get their civic club and our civic club in touch with each other. Their civic club uses the historic old school house for their meetings.

It sure was strange to walk around the town and see the name Greenwood on different things. I took some photos and will put them up on our bulletin board when I get them back from the developers.

Rummage sale. Rummage sale. This weekend, April 8th and 9th, 10 until 4. Bring your items Friday for pricing between the same hours. All this happens at the Community Center just up...Lousia Street.

April 13th.

I'm going to skip doing the column this time. It is just too nice of a day to go inside and sit in front of a word processor. I mean, everybody is out and laying around on the beach or in the shade reading a book. It is just that kind of day. I have some friends coming down and we are going to go to the beach and roast some weenies, throw the stick for the dog, lay around, "observe" my birthday, what ever that means.

Yep. I'm a little older. How old you ask?

Well my dad turns seventy five this month and my mother is six years younger than him and I was half her age when she turned forty two. There. That should give you a rough idea.

I can't say I'm too excited about it all. Just another day as far as I can see. But what a nice day.

I stopped by the rummage sale and bought some potato salad. Everyone was sitting in the shade waiting for it to be over. I'm told it was quite successful over all. Over a thousand or twelve hundred, depending on who you talk to. Things were pretty well picked over by the time I got there.

The members of the Greenwood Civic Club sure did a nice job of sorting every thing out and presenting it all. A great job all 'round to those who worked on it and all those who came to buy. Proceeds go to the Elk Volunteer Fire Department.\par The water tank project is moving right along. The second go round of panels is half complete. Charlie Acker said their home made 'gin-pole' is a real asset in raising and holding the panels in place while they are being bolted together. If the weather holds and the crew's energy stay high, I expect the tank should be about wrapped up by the end of this month.

Kay Curtis and Bill Kuny have a new baby girl. She was born April 1st. Ten pounds, lots of dark hair, the usual assortment of fingers and toes. They named her Katelin.

Our own Gerry Huckaby is going to be the quest editor for the Mendocino Art Center's A&E Thirtieth Anniversary issue. Since he once almost hit a UFO while flying a B 58 over Mexico, this should be a piece of cake, besides, after living next to what has been going on at the Elk Store for several years, the whole Art Center scene ought to be quite boring.

Speaking of Huckaby's. A winning cover has been selected for Mary's book 'Coz". Ken Michaelson's painting was selected but Mary Anthony, Kay Curtis and Isabel Petty's offerings were in the top running. My photo of the author will be somewhere in the book.

I'm relieved to find out that the oil spill in Alaska was only caused by a drinking problem. I'd hate to think our state of the art technology wasn't up to snuff. I mean, if you can't trust our environmentally conscientious oil industry, who can you trust?

"Don't worry. Be happy."

Well what else am I not going to write about on this fine summer day?

Oh! Slick and Bubba have returned to Seattle. They were down visiting me for a week. Bubba is what Slick calls Jeff and Slick is what Bubba calls Jim. Jeff is my number two son. Jim is his friend. Got all that?

I borrowed an extra wet suit from Steve Sinclair and the boys kept themselves entertained crashing around in the surf. I even got them to give me a hand preparing Ted Galletti's tractor for painting. That will help pay for the sack of potatoes they went through while here.

I'm sorry. Maybe next week I'll write a column.

April 20th.

The Greenwood Civic Club took in $1611.35 at their annual rummage sale for the benefit of the Elk Volunteer Ambulance. The raffle, a cord of wood, donated by Allen Green, was won by Grace Craig of Manchester and the doll, donated by Joan Rudman, was won by Liza Matson of Elk. The members of the club want to thank everyone in the community for their wonderful support.

Take a walk and see what our 'kinder and gentler' parks service did to the path down to our Greenwood Beach. The path is now as wide as Highway One, with all the California Poppies, Nasturtiums and wild radish scrapped off and rolled over the edge. It is hard to believe that the park service would do something like this; L.P or Georgia Pacific, no problem but, the Park Service? I thought it was their job to preserve and protect our natural scenic areas.

The other fine touches are the fire rings, installed up in the grass and brush areas where they shouldn't be, and the sign forbidding fires out on the beach where there is nothing to catch fire and is the most logical and desirable place for a fire.

Finally, there is the culvert they put in, down by the path from Elk Cove Inn, that collects all but one spring. The spring they missed spreads out over the road surface making the final ten feet of this 'haul road' a quagmire.

The final insult, I hear, will be rocking the surface of this road. That should help keep those nasty flowers from rearing their ugly heads too soon and provide a real work-out for Force Ten when they push their kayaks back up the hill after taking tourists out on an ocean visit.

What an insult to our town. Mike Curry is the Chief Ranger, Dave Bartlett is our District Superintendent of Parks and Wrecks. Drop them a line at PO Box 440, Mendocino, Ca. 95460 and let them know what you think.

Mel Matson seemed to be on the ragged edge last week. He didn't even show up for work so you know he was under the weather.

Off to Fort Bragg and the hospital for a battery of tests, where it was found that coffee and aspirin was removing his stomach lining. Easy enough to fix.

You can now find him back at his gas station, snarling at the bicyclists that steal his toilet paper and cranking the prices on his pumps up another notch. Welcome back Mel.

Evelyn Vickers, long time owner of the Oasis suffered a stoke recently and is in rough shape. She could use some encouragement. Send your cards or letters to the Ukiah Convalescent Center, 1349 South Dora, Ukiah.

Ed Bird called to say there are sixteen kids from Elk involved in two Manchester teams, the major league (Manchester Giants), coached by Ed Bird and the minor league (Manchester A's) coached by Gary Poehlmann from Greenwood Ridge.

Because the majority of both teams are made up of kids from the Elk area, Ed is hoping that our local businesses will be responsive in supporting them. One method of generating revenue is from sign boards for the outfield that are professionally painted and installed; carrying your business logo or message. A 4X8 foot sign board costs $150.00 for the year, $125.00 for consecutive years. A 4X4 foot board costs $115.00, $62.50 consecutively.

The playing field is located just south of Manchester, on the ocean side, at the Greco Farm Center. There are red, white and blue gate posts at the entrance.

Greenwood Gold Apple juice is being donated by Al Weaver. A schedule for the games will be posted at the Elk Store. contact Ed Bird 877-3246 or Michael Terry at 882-2239 for more information or your contributions.

The 'Great' Great Day in Elk T-shirts are back in stock with new colors. You can buy them at the Elk Store or the Roadhouse.

April 27th.

Surprise. Surprise. Not only did I find some items in my drop box at the Elk Store. I even remembered to check!

Item #1. Community Center news.

"A belated thank you to the Elk Store, Bookwrinkles, Harbor House, Sandy Weaver, Barbara Connelly and Suzi Kitahara for helping make our Easter Egg Hunt such a great success.

The youth soccer games on Wednesday were a lot of fun. Thanks to Dean Pederson for being our coach. Rhoda Poehlmann and Barbara Connelly are now offering sports and crafts for the little ones, kindergarten and under, Wednesdays from 12 until 1:40 followed by T-ball/Basketball for older children from 2 until 4. This activity will run through May 24th at the Community Center.

Don't forget to check our new bulletin board at the entrance to the Post Office for recreation activities and community center news. Thank you Jamie Roberts for installing that for us.

For more information, call Jane Lewis at 877-3214.

Item #2. "Dear community.

Please save May 20th, 4 until 6 for the Greenwood School's Arts Festival. Children's art work will be on display. There will be a play and singing/dance performances. The school community looks forward to sharing its work with all of you. The Arts Festival will be held at the Community Center".

Last Saturday was the day our great singing /whistling/cook/waiter walked out of the kitchen at the Roadhouse. Yep. Gerry Huckaby hung up his apron, put on his 'power' tie and roared off to Mendocino to take on the editorship of the A&E Magazine. Definitely our loss and their gain.

I was walking my dog on our beach the other day and met a guy I had been wanting to talk to for some time now. I had heard he worked for AT&T, down around Point Arena, and had something to do with the fiber optic cable that was recently installed between here and Japan.

A few days earlier I had read that it was now working and carrying 40,000 telephone calls at a time. What I wanted to know was just how big the fiber optic part of the cable was.

He told me that the cable starts out rather large. About as big around as your wrist until it is out to sea a few miles. The rest of the way the cable is about as big around as your thumb, but most of that size is protective wrap, metal shield, and insulation. The actual fibers that carry the light, and I think he said there are six, are only 6 MICRONS in diameter. A micron is one millionth of a meter.

The only connection I could make was that I remember a human hair averages around four thousandths of an inch, so these glass fibers must be finer than frog hair!

I asked if the laser light shown into the end of the fiber could make it all the way to Japan. He said that actually there are amplifier relays built into the cable that gives the light a boost along the way. There are sixty boosters just between here and Hawaii. The boosters are built right into the cable.

We never did get around to introducing ourselves but I remember his dog was named Harry.

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