bridges, huckleberries and robin stew - Mendocino Art Center

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BRIDGES, HUCKLEBERRIES
AND ROBIN STEW
The Depression and the New Deal
in Mendocino County
By Robert Winn
Editor’s note: In 1989, history professor Robert Winn
and a group of his students from College of the Redwoods
researched and wrote Bridges, Huckleberries, and Robin
Stew, which documented the impact on Mendocino County,
particularly its coastal residents, of the Great Depression.
Mendocino Historical Research, Inc. published the study.
This story seems very relevant to the times we live in, even if
our dominant cash crop now is neither peas nor huckleberries.
Following are excerpts from this compelling narrative:
In the early twentieth century, Mendocino County’s
economy was kept healthy by the rebuilding of San
Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, the economic mobilization
during the first World War, and the post-war
building boom. But by the late 1920’s, building was
slowing down all over the country, and the county’s mills
began to feel the effects of a declining market. The Glen
Blair Mill closed in 1925, the Albion mill in 1928. The
county’s farmers felt the pinch somewhat earlier. Farm
The Fort Bragg Community Club in the 1920’s. In the early years of the
Depression, the Community Club was the center for the collection and distribution
of food, clothing, and fuel to needy families. (H.H. Wonacott, photographer:
collection of the Mendocino County Museum, #83-27-1.)
prices were . . . swept under with everything else in the
riptide that followed the Great Crash of 1929.
The Depression hit Mendocino County hard. The
value of products manufactured in the county (primarily
lumber) fell from five million dollars in 1929 to two
million in 1933, and the average annual wage in manufacturing
fell from $1,864 to $878. The mills at Caspar and
Mendocino were closed between 1931 and 1934, and the
Fort Bragg mill was forced to cut back production and lay
off workers. The bottom dropped out of agriculture and
fishing as well.
For many people in the county, what the Depression
meant was a shortage of jobs and a lack of cash. “There
was virtually no money . . .,” recalls Carolanne Wuoltee.
“I can remember the houses were always dark because
you had to have cash to pay the electric bill, and there was
so little cash that you didn’t turn the lights on unless you
absolutely had to.”
Among the people most victimized by the Depression
were those who were already on the edge when the hard
times began. In Mendocino County, the Indians and the
migrant workers fell into this category. According to John
Biaggi, the Indians around Point Arena “were in a terrible
state really.” The Beacon reported that “for several
months the Indians have been about one jump behind
the dead line and they have been living mostly on flour
donated by the national Red Cross.”
Migrant farm workers, and transients in general,
were a common sight in Mendocino County in the
1930’s. Driven by lack of work elsewhere, people walked
and rode the rails into the county in search of seasonal
work in the pea and hop fields, the vineyards, and the
apple and pear orchards . . . There was just enough work
to attract them to the county, but not enough to provide
more than the barest subsistence for them and their
families. A transient shanty town made out of driftwood
materialized on the bluff above the beach at Alder Creek.
Most residents of the county then remember transients
coming to their doors and asking to work for some food.
Many of the migrants were “Okies,” refugees from the
dust bowl states. Others were black or Mexican; they
were among the least fortunate, because they were the
least welcomed by the rest of the population. When the
pea packers struck the pea packing company in June
of 1934, demanding a raise from their wage of 18 cents
per hamper, the workers refused even to negotiate until

the company agreed to bar the “colored” and Mexican
workers from the fields.
Making Do: For many of Mendocino County’s residents,
making do was not a new thing. They had always
hunted and fished, for instance, to help fill their larders.
They gathered huckleberries and blackberries, grew
potatoes, peas, beans, carrots and greens, and kept chickens,
pigs and cows. A degree of economic self-sufficiency
was a tradition in the county, so when the Depression
A chicken ranch near Fort Bragg. In the 1930’s, egg production became a
major industry on the Mendocino coast. (H.H. Wonacott, photographer, collection
of the Mendocino County Museum, #83-27-1.)
came and cash was short, many people adapted simply
by increasing their reliance on hunting, gathering, gardening
and small farming. Some turned huckleberries,
peas, eggs and even seaweed into “cash crops.” People
adapted in other ways as well. They traded with neighbors
and bartered with storekeepers. They bought on
credit, sometimes putting up their homes and farms as
security. And once they had secured the necessities, they
figured out ways to live without cash. Drawing on their
reserves of optimism and good humor, they entertained
themselves with simple, homegrown pleasures: dances,
picnics, baseball games, boxing matches, holiday celebrations,
and lots of good talk. Family, friends, neighbors
and even strangers found ways to help out.
While hunting and gathering was a longstanding
tradition among the county’s residents, both white and
Indian, the hard times of the Depression heightened
people’s awareness of the food that was ripening and
quickening in the woods, clearings, streams and coves
just outside their doors. Jake Jacobs remembers how it
was: “There was ten years that was rough. If somebody
saw a deer track they talked about it for weeks, because
that meant there was at least one live deer still left in the
county. As for the jack rabbits, if they didn’t have the
boils, they went into the pot.” . . . Although hunting
laws were enforced, and deer poachers were fined $25 to
$50 when caught, people were willing to break the law
and risk the consequences in order to feed their families.
Local fowl and fish also went into the pot. “I was
an adult before I knew that you didn’t eat robin stew,
confesses Carolanne Wuoltee. “I thought everybody ate
robin stew because I’d eaten so much of it through the
years.” When Francis Jackson and his friends were out
of school for the summer and couldn’t find work, they
would head into the woods, “trying to get something to
eat.”
Another widespread practice was harvesting wild
crops for local and distant markets. Seaweed, blackberries,
and huckleberries were all marketable commodities,
and good sources of income for people who had more
time on their hands than cash. Dee Dahl remembers
going with her parents to gather seaweed to sell to a
Chinese man. Isabel Sanbothe picked blackberries – “the
little wild blackberries, not the Himalayas” – and sold
them for 25 cents for a six pound Crisco can. It would
take her all day to pick three cans of berries, but “in those
days 75 cents would buy you a dress.” Blackberries paid
for her school clothes.
By far the most important wild crop was huckleberries.
“That was a big business,” recalls Emery Escola.
“They shipped them by the tons . . . that’s a lot of huckleberries.”
For some people it was the only income they
had.
Like hunting and gathering, subsistence farming
was a well established tradition in the county, and one
that became all the more vital when cash was short and
jobs were scarce. Speaking of the small farms along the
coastal ridges, Emery Escola recalls that, “each one of
these ranches had their chickens, pigs, cows, butter, milk
and eggs and the whole works.” Jake Jacobs remembers
that there was always some suspense about how much
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food there would be – “you were always very conscious
of how much food there was available to put on the
table.” Not only on the farms, but in town as well,
people grew and raised at least some of what they put
on the table.
While subsistence farming during the 1930’s was
the continuation of an old tradition, the Depression
did produce some agricultural innovations in the
country. An innovation on a large scale was pea
growing . . . Pea production employed hundreds in the
fields up and down the coast and in the packing shed in
Fort Bragg (which later became the Co-op feed warehouse).
Peas were grown at the Filosi Ranch at Newport,
the Todd Ranch at Noyo, the Hargrave Ranch near
Russian Gulch, and all along the coastal plain between
Elk and the mouth of the Garcia River. Another important
agricultural innovation on the coast during the
1930’s was egg production. Of course, eggs had always
served as a kind of currency for farm and town folks
alike, but in the mid-thirties Mendosa’s and the Fort
Bragg Co-op became “poultry producing stations” for
the Petaluma Poultry Producers’ Association, and eggs
became a cash crop for many coastal residents.
Extensive credit buying was another survival strategy,
hard as it was on both buyer and creditor. “Truly
there were families in Fort Bragg who could not have
survived without the Company Store,” says Carolanne
Woultee. John Biaggi remembers that because of the
extensive use of credit in Point Arena, “the storekeepers
ended up owning an awful lot of real estate.”
People often got by because others lent them a
timely hand. “It was neighborly: we helped each other
out,” recalls Francis Jackson. When his family was completely
broke, out of food, and about to spend a silver
dollar that his mother treasured as a keepsake, a bag of
groceries appeared on their doorstep.
People maintained a positive outlook and found
a variety of ways to pursue the good life with little or
no cash, so that while times were hard they were not
necessarily bleak or dull. “Everything was jumping
even though it was the Depression,” recalls John Biaggi.
“People had to live, you know.”
One of the constant themes in the county’s newspapers
during the 1930’s was tourism. Early in the decade
the promotion of the tourist industry was identified as a
way to help the county out of the Depression. In a long
article in January, 1932, the Beacon cited a report show-
The pea-packing plant in Fort Bragg. Ninety-nine railroad cars of peas
were shipped out of here in 1932, as pea growing up and down the coast
provided much-needed employment in the early years of the Depression.
(H.H. Wonacott, photographer; collection of the Mendocino County
Museum, #83-27-1.)
ing that tourism was actually increasing in northern
California even as other sectors of the economy were
declining. This report was offered as “proof that the
tourist business can be relied upon as a sort of industrial
balance wheel when other industries are below normal.”
The Board of Supervisors, the chambers of commerce,
and the Redwood Empire Association all vigorously
promoted tourism, spending precious Depression dollars
to prime the pump that would, they hoped, eventually
bring in a steady flow of free-spending visitors.
They ran ads in newspapers, hustled articles in travel
magazines, and even created a travelogue to be exhibited
at Exposition Park in Los Angeles during the 1932
Olympics. They lobbied for the Shoreline Highway,
the state parks, the CCC camps, and the Mendocino
Woodlands. By the end of the decade the results of their
efforts were clear: Mendocino County, and in particular
the Mendocino Coast, was well on its way to becoming
a tourist destination. Motels or “auto courts” had been
built at Noyo and Pine Beach. Little River Inn opened
for business in 1939. Hendy Woods, Montgomery
Woods, and Paul Dimmick state parks had been established,
along with Russian Gulch and Van Damme.
Although the parks were not heavily used at first and
the motels were modest, a new direction had been set
for future development.
Reprinted with permission from Mendocino Historical
Research. The complete 48-page booklet, with many period
photographs, is for sale at the Kelley House Museum in
Mendocino. Phone 707-937-5791.

Memo of the Air!
Friday 10pm-6am
on KMFB (92.7 fm coast, 96.7 inland)
I’m Marco McClean. Years ago I published a
paper called /Memo/, where I printed everything
anyone sent me. That ended, and then since
February of ‘97 I’ve been reading stories on
the radio every Friday night, all night.
All night means lots of time to read and play some
very long things, and some very odd things. The
show is within the so-called safe-harbor
hours, so I’m free to speak the living language.
Try it out some Friday night when you’re up late--
listen for a while, and if you don’t like it, try again
even later; you might like it then.
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MENDOCINO COUNTY COAST
There Is Always Something Happening At
The Mendocino Art Center
On-Going – FLOCKworks. Creative works by over 200 local
artists with monthly shows. Visitors also learn of Artful experiences
throughout the area. Free. Open daily. Odd Fellows
Hall, Kasten & Ukiah St, Mendocino.
707 937-2486.
Thru July 19 – “Leading Ladies” performed
by the Mendocino Theatre Company.
Another hilarious comedy by Ken Ludwig.
Directed by Virginia Abascal. Thu. – Sun.
8 pm; Sun. 2 pm. Helen Schoeni Theatre,
45200 Little Lake St, Mendocino. 707 937-
4477. MendocinoTheatre.org
Thru October – Mendocino County Farmers’ Markets. Wed.,
3:30 pm - 6 pm. Main and W. Spruce, Fort Bragg. Fri., 12 pm
- 2 pm, Main and Howard, Mendocino.
July 4 – Fourth of July Parade. Celebrating anniversaries,
including 50 years for the Mendocino Art Center, 100 years
for Mendosa’s, and 150 for the Mendocino Presbyterian
Church. 12 pm. Downtown Mendocino.
July 11 - 12 – Summer Chamber Music Weekend: Roy Bogas
and Friends. Superb performances by pianist Bogas and outstanding
musicians from the Bay Area. Gualala Arts Center,
46501 Gualala Rd, Gualala. 707 884-1138. GualalaArts.org
July 11 - 18 – 38th Annual E. John Robinson Mendocino Art
Auction and Raffle. Exhibit viewing July 11 through
July 17 – There will be a special exhibition of paintings by
E. John Robinson, who was instrumental in starting this
event. Auction & Raffle: July 18, Preview at Noon, Auction
EVENTS
July – September 2009
July 18 - 19 – 50th Annual Summer Arts & Crafts Fair
August 13 – Sha Sha Higby Performance
September 5 - 6 – Labor Day Yard Sale
September 24 – North Coast Brewing • Five-Course Brewmaster Dinner
See the Mendocino Art Center’s Gallery Exhibit Schedule on page 16.
707 937-5818 • 800 653-3328 • www.MendocinoArtCenter.org
& Raffle from 1 pm - 4 pm. Sponsored by the Rotary
Club of Mendocino. Odd Fellows Hall at Kasten & Ukiah,
Mendocino. MendocinoArtAuction.com
July 11 - 25 – Mendocino Music
Festival. Maestro Allan Pollack
conducts the Festival Orchestra
with music by Ginastera, Brahms,
Beethoven, Stravinsky, Falla, and
Mozart’s Requiem. Features guest
performers Maria Muldaur, classical/rock
violinist Alexander
Markov, Susan Waterfall’s “They Left A Light” (Masterpieces
from Nazi Prison Camps), Puccini’s La bohème, Czech
avant-garde violinist/singer Iva Bittová, Grammy nominee/
steel guitarist Alex de Grassi, Spanish classical dancer Fanny
Ara, pianist Julian Pollack; Piano Series, Village Chamber
Concerts and more. Festival Tent on Mendocino Headlands
State Park. 707 937-4041. mendocinomusic.com
July 18 - 19 – 50th Annual Summer Arts & Crafts Fair.
Sixty juried arts and crafts booths display a quality mixture
of unique hand made artwork, including glass works, fiber
wearables, jewelry, functional and sculptural ceramics, paintings,
photography and more. Food court and live music. 10
am – 5 pm. Free. Mendocino Art Center, 45200 Little Lake
St, Mendocino. 707 937-5818. MendocinoArtCenter.org
July 24 - 26, 31 & August 1 - 2 – “Little Foxes.” This psychological
thriller, set in a Southern 1900s town concerns the
antics of the Hubbard family – scheming, prosperous and
despotic. Lillian Hellman’s play is wickedly funny and completely
enthralling. Gualala Arts Center, 46501 Gualala Rd,
Gualala. 707 884-1138. GualalaArts.org

July 30 - August 2 – 20th Annual Mendocino Coast Writers
Conference. Literary readings, receptions and workshops with
prizewinning authors, agents, and editors. mcwc.org.
August 1 – Art in the Gardens. “The best garden party on the
Coast!” 10 am – 5 pm. Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden,
18220 North Hwy One, Fort Bragg. 707 964-4352, ext. 10.
gardenbythesea.org
August 6 - September 6 – “The Circle” performed by the
Mendocino Theatre Company. Rich in humor, wit, insight
and depth, “The Circle” is W. Somerset Maugham’s lasting
contribution to the theatre. Directed by Ayn Ruymen. Thu.
– Sun. 8 pm; Sun. 2 pm. Helen Schoeni Theatre, 45200 Little
Lake St, Mendocino. 707 937-4477. MendocinoTheatre.org
August 13 – Sha Sha Higby Performance. Mendocino Art
Center presents legendary performance artist Sha Sha Higby.
Her sculptural costume and puppetry dance is a drama of
memory and timelessness. Matheson Performing Arts Center,
Cahto and Ford Streets. 707 937-5818.
MendocinoArtCenter.org
August 13 - 16 – Art in the
Redwoods. The 48th annual
festival is the largest art festival
on the North Coast. The Top
Hat Dinner diners get sneak
peeks at over 400 works of art.
Judges give their awards during
the Champagne Preview on Friday. The Festival Saturday and
Sunday rolls out live music, vendor booths and great food.
Free. Gualala Arts Center, 46501 Gualala Rd, Gualala. 707
884-1138. GualalaArts.org
August 21 – Blues on the Coast
2009: Mo Fo Party Band. Arena
Theater’s blues series brings this
high-energy dance band back by
popular demand with their Retro
look, dynamite stage show, and
fresh lively blues grooves. Arena
Theater, 214 Main St, Point
Arena. arenatheater.org
August 21 - October 4 – “The Pajama Game.” Gloriana
Musical Theatre presents this classic, American musical
comedy that enjoyed a long run on Broadway. Musical numbers
include “Hey There,” “Steam Heat,” and “Hernando’s
Hideaway.” Stage Director: Ann Woodhead. Musical
Director: Justin Pyne. Fri. & Sat., 7:30 pm; Sun., 3 pm. Eagles
Hall Theatre at Alder, Fort Bragg. 707 964-SHOW.
Gloriana.org
September 5 - 6 – Labor Day Yard Sale. Browse the treasures…
household items, furniture, rugs, antiques, art and
photography equipment, science equipment and more. 10
am - 5 pm. Mendocino Art Center, 45200 Little Lake St,
Mendocino. 707 937-5818. MendocinoArtCenter.org
September 5 - 7 & 12 - 13 – Gualala Arts Center’s 17th
Annual Studio Discovery Tour. Over 40 artists working in a
wide array of media open their studios. Free. 707 884-1138.
GualalaArts.org
September 11-12 – Winesong!. A nationally recognized
charity wine auction and tasting event held in the beautiful
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. 707 961-4909.
winesong.org
September 13 – Joe Ely Band Live! at the Garden. Mendocino
Coast Botanical Garden, 18220 North Highway One, Fort
Bragg. 707 964-4352, ext. 10. gardenbythesea.org
September 17 - October 25 –
“Eurydice” performed by the
Mendocino Theatre Company. With
contemporary characters, ingenious plot
twists and breathtaking visual effects,
“Eurydice” is a refreshingly modern look
at a timeless love story. By Sarah Ruhl
and directed by Steve Siler. Thu. - Sun.
8 pm; Sun. 2 pm. Helen Schoeni Theatre,
45200 Little Lake St, Mendocino. 707 937-4477.
MendocinoTheatre.org
INLAND MENDOCINO COUNTY
Thru October – Ukiah Farmers Market. Every Saturday with
crafts and artists. Tuesdays, 3 pm - 6 pm, Saturdays, 8:30 am -
12 pm. Alex Thomas Plaza. 707 462-7377.
Thru October 2 – First Fridays Ukiah! Eleven Gallery
Receptions. Fri., 5 pm – 8 pm. 707 984-6747.
July 9 - August 2 – “Little Shop of Horrors.” Thu., Fri., Sat. &
Matinees. Ukiah Players Theatre, 1041 Low Gap Road, Ukiah.
707 462-9226.
July 10 & 17, Aug. 7 & 21, Sept. 4, 18 – Moonlight Movie
Madness. Alex Thomas Plaza. Dusk. Main Street Program.
707 463-6729.
July 11 – 13th Annual Boonville Art Walk. Over 20 local
artists and craftspeople will display their work in venues
throughout downtown Boonville. Sponsored by AV Arts and
Anderson Valley Chamber of Commerce. 3 pm – 6 pm.
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July 11 - November 8 – Edward Curtis
(1868-1952), “ Early Native American
Photography.” Grace Hudson Museum, 341
S. Main St, Ukiah. 707 467-2836. gracehudsonmuseum.org.
July 11 & August 8 – Rock Camp Concerts.
Local youth rock performances. 7 pm. Ukiah
Music Center. 707 462-8863.
July 12 – Kalia Moraes and Sambaguru (Brazilian). Sundays in
the Park Concert Series. 6 pm. Todd Grove Park, Ukiah.
July 18 – Bejazzled (Jazz Standards) Acoustic Café. 7 pm.
Ukiah Music Center. 707 462-8863.
July 28 – Bumpus (Chicago Funk and Soul). Sundays in the
Park Concert Series. 6 pm. Todd Grove Park, Ukiah.
August 1 – Luv Planet (Alt Rock from Santa Rosa) Acoustic
Café. 7 pm. Ukiah Music Center. 707 462-8863.
August 1 – “Where Are We Now” Artist Reception. 7 pm - 9
pm. Willits Center for the Arts, 71 E. Commerical Willits. 707
459-1726. willitscenterforthearts.org
August 2 – John Mattern Reunion Band (R & B, Swing &
Jazz). Sundays in the Park Concert Series. 6 pm. Todd Grove
Park, Ukiah.
August 8 – Franco Marone, Acoustic Café. 7 pm. Ukiah Music
Center. 707 462-8863.
August 9 – John Mattern Band Original Blues Jazz. 7 pm.
Ukiah Music Center. 707 462-8863.
August 15 – Will Siegel & Friends, Americana at its Best. 7 pm.
Ukiah Music Center. 707 462-8863.
August 15 & 16 – SOL FEST Hopland. Workshops, speakers,
music and food. Solar Living Center, 13771 S Hwy 101,
Hopland. 707 744-2100.
August 16 – Coco Montoya (soulful blues). Sundays in the
Park Concert Series. 6 pm. Todd Grove Park, Ukiah.
August 29 – Frankie J (R & B) Acoustic Café. 7 pm. Ukiah
Music Center. 707 462-8863.
September 5 – “Diane Hinkle Oil on Canvas” Artist Reception.
7 pm - 9 pm. Willits Center for the Arts, 71 E Commerical,
Willits. 707 459-1726. willitscenterforthearts.org
LAKE COUNTY
Ongoing – Diego’s Gallery “New Art” reception with refreshments.
First Saturdays, 11 am - 5 pm. 9495 Main Street, Suite
3, Upper Lake. 707 350-4209. diegoandsherrycraftart.com
Ongoing – Outdoor Summer Concerts in the Park. Library
Park on the lake, Lakeport. Every Friday.
Ongoing – First Friday Fling at Lake County Arts Council
Gallery. Music, hors d’oeuvres and wine. First Fridays, 5:30
pm - 7 pm. Main Street Gallery, 325 N Main Street, Lakeport.
Free. 707 263-6658. lakecountyartscouncil.com
Ongoing – Tuscan Village Friday Concert Series. Live music
by Lake County’s finest performers, great food, wine tasting,
and arts and crafts. Presented by 2Goombas Deli and Terrill
Cellars. Tuscan Village on Main Street. Lower Lake. Fridays,
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Free. 707 994-3354.
Thru October – Certified Farmers Market at Steele Winery.
Saturdays, 8:30 am - 12 pm. Thomas Dr & Hwy 29, Kelseyville.
lcff@pacific.net
July 25 - 26 – Lake County Wine Adventure. Sample awardwinning
Lake County wines and hors d’oeuvres. Presented by
the Lake County Winery Association. 800 595-WINE. lakecountywineries.org
August & September – Thursday Nights Street Market. 5 pm -
8 pm. Upper Lake.
September 12 – Old Time Bluegrass Festival. Performances
by Laurie Lewis & Nina Gerber and the Susie Glaze Band,
Old-time handmade crafts, Art in the Barn, beer and Lake
County wine garden, food prepared by local schools’ culinary
programs and service organizations and children’s activities.
Period attire is welcomed. Benefit for local educational programs.
10 am - 6:30 pm. Anderson Marsh State Historic Park,
8853 Highway 53, Lower Lake. 707 995-2658.
andersonmarsh.org
September 26 – Kelseyville Pear Festival. 17th annual celebration
of the agricultural heritage of Kelseyville. Presented by
the Kelseyville Business Association. 9 am - 4 pm. Main Street,
Kelseyville. Free. 707 279-9022. kelseyvillepearfestival.com.
To be considered for Mendocino Arts magazine’s Fall/Winter
issue calendar October 2009 – March 2010, please send your
Mendocino County event information to mcdonald@mcn.
org, fax: 707-937-1764, or MAC Event Calendar, P.O. Box 765,
Mendocino, CA 95460. Deadline is July 15.

Become a Member of the Mendocino Art Center
and Give Yourself the Gift of Art…
Do You Know?
Revenue from workshops and gallery exhibits does not fully cover the expenses of the
Mendocino Art Center. Like all non-profit organizations, support from students and
individuals in the community is imperative for MAC to bring vital cultural programs
to the community, including hands-on field trips to over 1,000 children each year,
low-cost open studios and free arts fairs and musical concerts, and a wide array of
world-class art workshops taught by some of the country’s finest instructors.
BENEFITS AT ALL LEVELS:
Complimentary subscription to Mendocino Arts magazine
$25 discount on one workshop per year
Exhibition opportunities in the Abramson Gallery and the Gallery Shop
Special invitations to participate in Members’ Juried Exhibits
Members only discounts at selected businesses (lodging, art supplies)
Recognition in annual newsletter
Receipt of workshop catalogs and other mailings
(Mendocino County residents only: half price tuition through our local stand-by program)
ARTIST: $50 - $99
All of the above.
ART LOVER: $100 - $299
All of the above plus recognition in Mendocino Arts
magazine.
ARTS BACKER: $300 - $499
All of the immediately above and invitation to a special
gallery preview event.
ARTS SUPPORTER: $500 - $999
All of the immediately above and invitation to a special
board-catered dinner at MAC.
ARTS PATRON: $1,000 - $2,999
All of the immediately above and name on plaque in
Main Gallery.
ARTS PILLAR: $3,000 - $4,999
All of the immediately above and a special gift book.
ARTS CHAMPION: $5,000 and up
All of the immediately above and a commemorative tile
with wording of your choice in the Zacha Tile Garden.
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Poetry
By Robin Rule
SPRING
Messy bits of nests and creek:
long branches snarly in water;
the long noisy all a-far down
to the mouth of the river;
I stand there, waiting for the paper ship
I let loose at the top of the falls
with all my wishes written on them,
a child’s scrawl.
Still waiting, but grown now, I reach
out my hand to grab the sodden white bird
as it whirls by in arcs and circles,
stealing time.
NO WITNESS
February’s black ice on rough slanting road,
I slip and fall on the back of my head,
see stars for twenty minutes
before I’m able to sit up and feel goose egg
on hip, in small of back the popcorn crunch
of pain, deep slivers of buck knife jab and
I cry out, but no one hears on three hundred plus acres
of oak trees and screaming creeks of snow melt,
like no one heard Susannah in the wheat field and the two field hands.
NO REAL NAME
My real name was slapped from my mouth when I was two
and wanted to ride the dime pony in front of the clothes store.
My grandfather called me Princess and I played in the mud
outside the trailer in Flint Michigan.
My name was on the envelopes
under the bed from Viet Nam when I was twelve.
My name was the scar on my hand under my thumb.
My first boyfriend called me Alabama.
My name was the smacked face-answer-back
big voice inside a little kid.
My first step-father called me get out of the way,
My name was who ate the effin’ cookies.
My first teacher called me slow, but a good girl.
My name was I’m afraid of the dark.
My name was Appalachia.
My name was the great great niece of Jenny Bailey
who walked the Trail of Tears to Vinita Oklahoma.
My name was the angry hunger of a seven year old girl.
My real name is the pearl, the bird, the luminous moon.
Robin Rule is a poet from Willits. She is the recipient of a California Arts Council Fellowship in Literature and,
since 1981, she has been publisher/editor of Rainy Day Women Press with Mary Norbert Korte, dedicated to
broadsides, chaps and poetry on CD’s. Daniel Essman is now associate editor. Robin has been making handmade
books and assemblages since 1994.

Beauty. Security. Activity.
Retirement Living at The Woods.
The Woods. Retirement living for seniors 55+ on 37 sunbelt
acres nestled among ancient redwoods, pines and rhododendrons.
A special place, the beauty of California’s North Coast
and the vibrancy of historic Mendocino arts and cultural community
is just minutes away.
Explore and enjoy all the area offers from your private, quality
manufactured home. Start with activities in the on-premises
clubhouse. Read a book from our library. Take a dip in the
indoor heated pool and spa. Meander on almost two miles of
wooded walking paths. Visit neighbors and make new friends
in the community.
Take a scenic drive to pick huckleberries, play golf at a nearby
course, or visit any of six stunning state beaches. Enjoy an
active and secure lifestyle with a unique blend of nature and
gracious living.
The Woods. Affordable living on the magnificent Mendocino
Coast.
To learn more about The Woods call 707 937-0294 or 800 469-6637
43300 Little River Airport Road, Little River, CA 95456 • www.ncphs.org
The Woods is owned and operated by Northern California Presbyterian Homes & Services, Inc.
Privacy. Dignity. Safety.
Assisted Living in the
Lodge at the Woods
Residents enjoy privacy and independent living in their own
apartments. Relatives enjoy knowing their family member is
safe and well cared for.
Friendly, caring staff serves three delicious home-style meals
a day with accommodation for dietary needs. An on-site
licensed nurse, emergency call system, and 24-hour assistance
provide peace of mind and security. Transportation
to and from appointments is included. Individualized
attention is given based on a complete personal assessment.
Companionship with peers and stimulating activities both
on- and off-site help residents live life to the fullest. All this
is surprisingly affordable, and there is no community fee or
security deposit required!
The Lodge at The Woods. Committed to serving seniors.
To learn more about The Lodge at The Woods call 707 937-0294 or 800 469-6637
43300 Little River Airport Road, Little River, CA 95456 • www.ncphs.org
NCPHS
Equal Housing
Opportunity NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
PRESBYTERIAN HOMES
& SERVICES
NCPHS
Equal Housing
Opportunity NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
PRESBYTERIAN HOMES
& SERVICES
The Woods is owned and operated by Northern California Presbyterian Homes & Services, Inc. CA Lic. No 236800187