Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust

Dad passed away on August 16Th 2008. He had been in failing health for the past few years and this last year was especially hard for him as he was struggling with the strength to even get out of bed for those most basic of human functions. He was ready to die and I am sure he even prayed for the Lord to take him home.

So when the final hour approached it was filled with all the normal emotions that accompany the minds of those left behind. Grief over personal loss, insecurities over doing the right thing, saying the right thing, relief that it was over and sorrow it was over.

My daughter and I were the first ones to arrive at the viewing. He was laid out nicely in his coffin and the room was quiet. I stood and looked down at the mortal remains of this man I loved so much and felt...nothing. He, my father, was not there. The corpse in the casket was just a thing. Not something to "say good bye too" What would be the point? That flesh and bone corpse was no longer my Dad.

Because of a snafu, I was not at the grave site to see him off. I waited until the following week to view his grave. When I stood there I wanted to feel like they show people acting in movies. I wanted to feel that there at his grave I could talk to him and that he could hear me. But again, he was not there and I could not "feel" him. I left the cemetery feeling somehow that I must be a very cold person because I felt no "connection".

As days pass into weeks, I miss him. It isn't the man in the bed I am missing. It is the man I remember from over the years. The one that stood in a pulpit on Sundays and worked as a construction worker and carpenter during the week. I missed the handsome guy that would sing out loud and strong, whistle a tune or play his harmonica. I missed the man that tended his roses, that loved my mother, that told funny stories, that commanded respect and stood tall. I miss the poet and the woodworker with the quirky sense of humor who created a lot of great things over the years, Dolly and Gar (wood sculptures) clocks and tables, boxes and wood turnings and carvings. Some serious and some, not so much.

I miss the man who practised what he preached and believed what he taught. He is gone. His memories however are still a part of me and those memories are not gone. Those memories are more the "real" man than those mortal remains now laying in the grave. And as long as those memories are real to me he will never be really dead. I am not a cold or heartless person after all. I just have a big enough heart to keep him alive inside of me.

145 years and counting...

Scotia, CA
Brief history:
1863 -- Pacific Lumber Co. formed
1906 -- Redwood rebuilds San Francisco after quake
1964 -- Massive flood wipes out PL log decks, nearby timber towns
1975 -- Pacific Lumber listed on New York Stock Exchange
1986 -- Houston-based Maxxam Inc. takes over PL
Summer 1990 -- Redwood Summer protests
Jan. 1997 -- Mudslide from PL land swamps town of Stafford
Fall 1997 -- Activists pepper sprayed during protests
Dec. 1997 -- Julia Butterfly Hill begins tree-sit above Stafford
Sept. 1998 -- David “Gypsy” Chain killed by tree felled by logger
March 1999 -- PL sells Headwaters Forest, groves to government for $480 million
Jan. 2007 -- PL files for bankruptcy in Texas
June 2008 -- Bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt approves Mendocino Redwood plan for PL
July 30, 2008 -- Mendocino begins rebuilding PL as Humboldt Redwood Co. and Marathon Investments takes over the town, the co~generation plant and other properties.

The mill will continue with a new name and new management. It is a new beginning that holds great promise for the community as sustainable logging practices are implemented. The collective sigh of relief is heard and felt by all concerned. There will be some that will not be hired by the new company but most of the workers will soon return to their jobs with a feeling of security that has been missing over the last few years.

The new Town Company met with the residents and business owners in a Town meeting yesterday and answered some questions regarding the town's future. They made it clear that they will be making improvements and proceeding with the steps necessary to sell the homes. In the meantime the workers and others like us will continue to rent. For some, the opportunity will come for them to purchase their homes. Some will want to do so and others will decide to move. Some will be unable to buy and eventually have to look for rental options elsewhere.

The affordable rents close to work will be gone. It is a shame, but hopefully, as the changes are made, the nature of the town will not be completely lost and it's charm will somehow be retained. The representatives of the company did seem to understand that part of their new acquisition at least in so much as it applies to the bottom line. The small town community, the stability of the workers, the infrastructure, the parks and museum and churches are all important to the people and therefore important assets toward the future sale of the homes.

145 years. The name of the mill and possibly the town will change and the town will not be company owned but it will not become another ghost town. The Mill will hopefully continue on under it's new owners and management for many generations to come. I won't be alive to see it but I sincerely hope that 145 years from now someone will be writing about the wonderful success of a little mill in Humboldt county and the thriving little community surrounding it.

On the up side, it should take 2-4 years for them to make the necessary changes and cut through the endless red tape before they can sell the homes. For us that means that we will have 1 or both cars paid off and if it takes the full 4 years we would be in a better position to purchase...IF... and the list of IFs is a long one!

Who knows, I may even get to plant a few tomatoes next year and live to taste them!

links to stories done in the past concerning Scotia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotia,_California

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-10-companytown_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/us/06scotia.html?_r=1&ex=1183867200&en=1cc273cc8839b4ff&ei=5070&oref=slogin

http://www.humboldtbeacon.com/local/ci_9984029

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_10039446

http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_9560701



http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_n4_v184/ai_8833863



And for a laugh: Check out this table made from reclaimed lumber from one of the old mills. Note the asking price and realize that this same old wood is present in every old building and house in town and the same reclaimed wood I used as a compost bin at the apartment. So what will these old pieces of history sell for as homes? http://www.tamalpais.com/htmlpages/scotia/ARWC_table1.html

Living in History

To say that life in these parts has been interesting lately would be a great understatement. Living in Humboldt county is always interesting because it is a hotbed of political diversity that polarizes the citizenry on almost everything. In fact, you can predict most peoples votes based on where they live within the county and where they work or if they are attending HSU.



I usually refer to HSU as "Berkley North" since both campus seem to have the same 60's hippy mentalities which can be both refreshing and aggravating...mostly the latter...

I live and work in Scotia, Ca. This little town is one of the last, if not the last, genuine company towns in America that is still serving it's original purpose of housing the workers of a single company, owned in whole by that company, managed by the company, cared for by the company, ruled by the company. When you enter Scotia you are entering a piece of history that has been preserved and presents itself as a charming little hamlet nestled in a small bend of the Eel river. The streets are clean, the homes are cared for and the people are friendly.

All that is about to change. The company, after almost 20 years of being under the control of Charles Hurwitz and being broken up into several corporate sections, has been reunited to some extent by a judge in a Texas bankruptcy court. The case stretched on for more than 18 months. When a plan was finally approved by the court it was instantly appealed by one group of note-holders. Tensions have run high and fear of losing more jobs and having the mill closed has had the population feeling the stress. As the case is starting to finally reach it's end we have a plan that will have the mill and timber taken over by what appears to be a good company and the town, power plant and other properties will be taken over by an investment /banking firm and will be sold off.

The houses, the businesses, the post office, the recreation center and the school will no longer be company property. The company will no longer decide who lives here or be able to insist that the yards be kept tidy, the houses be painted in pastel shades or set the rules for the workers outside of the mill. They will no longer be maintaining a little park, atv trails, river access, a museum, a fisheries exhibit and...

There are some things that will need to be done before the houses can be sold and many of the people now renting them will not be able to buy and will have to seek housing elsewhere. They will face higher rents, no pet policies and longer commutes to work in a tight rental market. As one of those people I can only hope that the process is very slow moving.

But aside from my personal dread of having to move again when the houses are sold off, I also dread seeing the little town change. In a time when the world is worried about the environment, communities are being designed to be "green" where people can live, work, shop and find recreation all in their neighborhood, this little piece of history which actually had all that, is changing away from it.

National Geographic had photographers here last week. I wonder if they will publish a piece on the death of a way of life in a company town or if they will just cover the story of the mill and the redwood timber lands.

Interesting History

History is more than facts and figures. It is also skewed by our personal experiences, what we are taught, and what we choose to believe. I ran across a discussion concerning the "War of 1812" on line and was delighted reading the different viewpoints. Of course someone had to post this old song...

Well, in eighteen and fourteen we took a little trip along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip. We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,And we caught the bloody British near the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a' comin.There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began to runnin' down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, I see'd Mars Jackson walkin down the street talkin' to a pirate by the name of Jean Lafayette [pronounced La-feet]He gave Jean a drink that he brung from Tennessee and the pirate said he'd help us drive the British in the sea.The French said Andrew, you'd better run,for Packingham's a comin' with a bullet in his gun.Old Hickory said he didn't give a dang,he's gonna whip the britches off of Colonel Packingham.

We fired our guns and the British kept a' comin.There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began to runnin' down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, we looked down the river and we see'd the British come,and there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum.They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring while we stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise if we didn't fire a musket til we looked 'em in the eyes.We held our fire til we see'd their faces well, then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave a yell.

We fired our guns and the British kept a' comin.There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began to runnin' down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, we fired our cannon til the barrel melted down,so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind,and when they tetched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.We'll march back home but we'll never be content till we make Old Hickory the people's President.And every time we think about the bacon and the beans,we'll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a' comin,But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began to runnin' down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch 'em down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our guns and the British kept a' comin.But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began to runnin' down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

And in response someone else posted this version...


Come back proud Canadians,To before you had TV.No hockey night in Canada,there was no CBC.
In 1812 Madison was mad,He was the president you know.Well he thought he'd tell the British where they ought to go.

He thought he'd invade Canada,He thought that he was tough.Instead we went to Washington,And burned down all his stuff.
And the white house burned, burned, burned.And we're the ones that did it,It burned, burned, burned.While the president ran and cried,It burned, burned, burned.And things were very historical,And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies Wah-Wah-WahIn the war of 1812.

Those hillbillies from Kentucky,Dressed in green and red.Left home to fight in Canada,But they returned home dead.It's the only war the Yankees lost except for Vietnam.And also the Alamo and the bay of ham.The looser was America,The winner was ourselves.So join right in and gloat about the war of 1812.

And the white house burned, burned, burned.And we're the ones that did it,It burned, burned, burned While the president ran and cried,It burned, burned, burned And things were very historical,And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies Wah-Wah-Wah In the war of 1812.

In 1812 we were just sitting around,Minding our own business,Putting crops into the ground.We heard the soldiers coming,And we didn't like that sound.So we took a boat to Washington and burned it to the ground.

Oh we fired our guns but the Yankees kept on a coming,There wasn't quite as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and the Yankees started running,Down the Mississippi to the gulf of Mexico.

They ran through the snow,And they ran through the forest,They ran through the bushes where the beavers wouldn't go,They ran so fast they forgot to take their culture,Back to America, and golf and Mexico.

So if you go to Washington,It's buildings clean and nice,Bring a pack of matches,And we'll burn the white house twice.And the white house burned, burned, burned,But the Americans wont admit it.It burned, burned, burned...It burned and burned and burned It burned, burned, burned I bet that made them mad.And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies Wah-Wah-Wah In the war of 1812.

Viewpoints varied on the reason for the war... Some say it was in response to the British conscripting American citizens into the British Navy... Others say The British were merely retaking AWOL British sailors and that the war was started because the Americans were invading Canada which was still a British colony at that time.

Both sides seemed to feel that no one really "won" that war although there were some interesting comments on how it changed Canada's capital to a safer location.

The British and Canadians both seemed to agree that the Americans were wrongly trying to take Canadian soil and that the British had every right to invade America to capture their AWOL sailors... But they did not think America should, by that way of thinking, have invaded Canada during the Vietnam conflict to capture AWOL and draft dodging USA citizens...

So, depending on your nationality, the 1812 war was started by_____, because____ and the truth about who won is__________.....

Now, Why were we in Vietnam? .... Depends on who you ask... Why are we in Iraq? ....Hmmm.... Want the World view? , the Liberals view? or the reasons given by the White House?... How will history tell about it?.... depends on who is writing the History books....Facts and figures are only important in how they are skewed to present the version of history they want to teach our children...

QUOTATION: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ATTRIBUTION: George Santayana (1863–1952), U.S. philosopher, poet.Life of Reason, 'Reason in Common Sense,' ch. 12 (1905-6).

Which version are we supposed to remember?

Next project

The next area to be tackled is the back yard. It is overgrown grass with some thistles, brambles and weeds. For a bonus they also left a lot of trash which we have already removed.













I would like to avoid killing the grass by cutting it in stages. This past weekend I used the weedwacker to take it down about a third and removed the large thistles and brambles. I hope to mow it this coming weekend with the highest setting on the lawn mower... if we can get it running. After sitting in storage for 5 years it will start but quits after a couple seconds.
















Pyxle is enjoying the space and is settling into a new routine now. She likes taking a toy up to the top of the steps and dropping it over the edge. She runs down to get it and repeats until she is panting and then lays in the grass with it for a while. It keeps her busy and gives her excercise besides her daily trip to the local park.