Lost Coast Outpost

OBITUARY: John David Olson, 1956-2021

LoCO Staff / Monday, Sept. 27, 2021 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits

John David Olson
September 25, 1956 – August 16, 2021

John was born in La Grange, Illinois and attended Cossitt Elementary School and Lyons Township High School. He was a journalist for the high school newspaper, played intramural basketball and had many friends. John was active in Boy Scouts through grade school and high school. He developed a lifelong passion for camping and spending time outdoors on the many camping trips with his family and his Boy Scout troop.

John studied forestry for two years at the University of Illinois, then travelled to Alaska for a gap year. Spending a winter washing dishes in a hospital in Fairbanks inspired him to return to college. John graduated from the University of Illinois in 1981 with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and English, then headed west in search of work and adventure. He worked at Silicon Valley start-ups, including Agile and Sherpa, where he was valued for his quick intelligence and strong interpersonal skills. He was frequently sent to troubleshoot problems in the field that required the combination of technical skills and the ability to communicate with people at all levels of the clients’ organizations. During this period John lived in Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and San Jose. In his off time John found adventure skiing, backpacking, and traveling, including trips to Nepal, France, England and Italy.

John was community oriented and loved volunteering. In San Jose, he was active in the preservation of historic buildings and was very involved in his Naglee Park neighborhood. John married Kathleen Carlson in 1998 and they moved to Bayside in 2003. They later divorced but remained friends.

After moving to Humboldt County, John became involved in the local beekeeping club and the Humboldt Amateur Radio Club (HARC). Dear friends from HARC, Rod, Gail, and Wyatt Ledbetter helped John feel at home in Humboldt. John communicated with the ham radio group to coordinate event security, medical, and staff at many races and festivals. His favorite event was the Kinetic Sculpture Race. John was always delighted to be out talking to people and was often accompanied by his friendly dogs, Tug and Magill, who lured people into John’s conversational orbit. He was a volunteer at the Bayside Grange pancake breakfasts and a devoted Crabs baseball fan.

In 2009, John used his skills with sound recording to help create the documentary film, “Tricky Bidness”, and developed a new friendship with film maker, JoAnn Schuch. They had a wonderful time attending film festivals and celebrating with local people who participated in making the film. Later John assisted in the creation of Redwood Coast Village, a local group that coordinates volunteers to help seniors stay in their own homes.

John was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009. Through cycles of chemotherapy and radiation, he lived with grace for 12 years, continuing to be a part of the Humboldt County scene. John kept an eye on Eureka’s old town and was a fixture of the Arcata evening scene, meeting with friends in Humboldt Brews and The Alibi Restaurant. He especially enjoyed the hospitality of the folks at Libations Wine Bar and Shop. Nursing a glass of wine, John would chat with people, watch activities on the Plaza and do his New York Times crossword puzzles.

A true pleasure was his Thursday Night Trivia group. John loved the humor, fun, and twisty puzzles. This raucous group was a huge comfort and support to John, especially during the pandemic when they were able to continue online.

John Olson made lasting friendships that stretched from his hometown to every place he lived and worked. He loved being a tour guide and welcomed visitors. Wherever he went he touched many lives. John was a true gentleman: thoughtful, compassionate, intelligent, soft-spoken, and loyal to friends and family, a man who was genuinely interested in other people. He will be sorely missed.

Preceded in death by his father, Irving Olson and mother, Claribel Olson, John is survived by his sister, Jane Olson and her husband, Frank Isaacs of Philomath, Oregon, his niece Wren Isaacs and nephew Eric Isaacs.

The friends and family of John Olson would like to thank the staff at St. Joseph Hospital Oncology, the nurses of the Outpatient Infusion Center, and the people of Resolution Care. The family asks that any donations be made to the Redwood Coast Village in John’s name.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of John Olson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

OBITUARY: Delos ‘Dj’ Lance Mcgaughey Jr., 1970-2021

LoCO Staff / Monday, Sept. 27, 2021 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits

“Your wings were ready, but our hearts were not”
“You’re simply the best”

Oct 1,1970- August 29,2021

Delos “Dj” Lance Mcgaughey Jr. was born in Eureka and passed in Eureka. Dj was the oldest of five children. He was tremendous big brother, yet was a rowdy one growing up. He was very protective of his three little sisters. He grew up all over Humboldt County with his mom, Sue, and in Bandon, Oregon with his dad Paty and mom Tilda. These four parents made Dj into the all-around genuine man that he was.

He led a wonderful life. The little things meant more to him that the big. He was a simple man and proud of it. His family was his everything. His bond with his younger brother Nathan was admirable. He was very close with his sons. They were thick as thieves. He really looked forward to his Thursday nights with them. He was an amazing father to his five children.

Dj always wanted what was best for everyone no matter what. He had a heart of gold and a great sense of humor just like his dad Pat. He was someone you could always count on to feel comfortable and safe around. He was so kind and understanding — he put himself in in others’ shoes often. He was with the love of his life Kristina for 10 years, but knew her and were friends for 17 years. She says “Everyone needs a DJ in their life” and she is absolutely correct.

He was preceded in death by his father, Delos Mcgaughey Sr., mother Sus Ward, father Patrick Thomas and younger brother Nathan Thomas. He is survived by his wife Kristina Mcgaughey, mother Tilda Thomas, sisters Amy Thomas, Julie Thomas and Terrelle Martinez, children Kevin, Kyle, Mia and Brooklyn Mcgaughey. daughter-in-law Lela Mcgaughey and grandchildren Dakota, Serenity, Elijah, Xavier, many nieces and nephews, one great-niece. Also, by his daughter Ashley and his three youngest grandchildren. All arrangements are with Sanders Funeral home and family.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Dj Mcgaughey’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

(AUDIO) HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP: St. Joe’s Medical Staff Members Austin Allison and James Ladika On Life in the Hospital During COVID

LoCO Staff / Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021 @ 9:30 a.m. / Humboldt Holding Up

James Ladika (left) and Austin Allison

Austin and James are Holding Up

When we started recording “Humboldt Holding Up” in April, 2020, as a way to check in with local folks during the pandemic, we certainly didn’t think we would still be at it sixteen months later. Like many folks, we thought that maybe things would be better by now.

But with the Delta variant, COVID continues to tear through our community. August was the deadliest month of the pandemic Humboldt has seen.

On this week’s episode of Humboldt Holding Up, we are joined by two people who work at Eureka’s Providence St. Joseph Hospital — former Eureka City Councilmember Austin Allison, a surgical technologist, and James Ladika, a registered nurse — who discuss the frightening reality of working on the frontlines of the COVID-19.

Topics discussed include:

The impacts COVID has had on hospital resources and being forced to delay surgeries and other types of care
The mental and emotional toll the pandemic is taking on healthcare workers
Videos posted by COVID patient Linda Urbina and the hope that others will share their stories
A plea for people to get vaccinated!
More

Click the audio player above to listen to Allison’s and Ladika’s chat with the Outpost’s Stephanie McGeary and Andrew Goff or click on over to Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to take an audio journey through past Humboldt Holding Up guests, see below.

PREVIOUS GUESTS:

OBITUARY: Danny Alan Sousa, 1955-2021

LoCO Staff / Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021 @ 8:02 a.m. / Obits

Danny Alan Sousa was born on April 4, 1955 and passed away September 7, 2021. He was the first born to Elias and Marilyn Sousa of Ferndale. Dan grew up in Ridgewood until 1972, when the family relocated to Ferndale.

He enjoyed spending his childhood and high school years in Eureka, where he made many memories with his brothers and friends. He graduated from Eureka High alongside his longtime friends, class of 1973.

Dan was very gifted in many aspects of the construction industry, specializing in laying tile and installing carpets. He worked for Eureka Floors, McKenny & Sons, Brenden McKinney and alongside his brother Jerry Sousa at Sousa Construction. He was extremely proud of the work he had done on various commercial buildings throughout Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and enjoyed pointing them out to whoever was with him.

Dan did not have kids of his own but he had many nieces and nephews who he spent years spoiling. He was very close to his niece Jerika Sousa. He also had a great-niece and nephew which he loved smiling and waving to for the past 3 years.

Dan is preceded in death by his father Elias P. Sousa. He is survived by his mother Marilyn M. Sousa, brothers Jerry Sousa and Rick Sousa (wife Melanie Sousa), sister Crystal Sousa, nieces and nephews Laura Petersen (Ryan), Jared Sousa (Courtney), Jerika Sousa, Angel Sousa (Forest) and Derek Sousa (Kaylee) and great niece and nephew Ellie Sousa and Vincent Petersen. A memorial will be held Monday, September 27, 2021 at 3 p.m. in the Turf Room at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds 1250 Fifth St., Ferndale. 95536.

A special thank you goes to Theresa Holland for giving care and love to Dan in his final two months. Your care for him did not go unnoticed.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Danny Sousa’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

GROWING OLD UNGRACEFULLY: Rat-Proof Containers

Barry Evans / Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021 @ 7 a.m. / Growing Old Ungracefully

A list of “the most important inventions of all time” sometimes arrives, unbidden, via the internet. You’ve probably seen these. They usually include language, writing, agriculture, the wheel, the lever, bronze (for weapon making, in particular), and then — coming more up to date, glasses, the steam engine, clocks, and vaccines (don’t get me started). Absent from all such lists I’ve seen is what I consider to be the most important invention, ever: baskets.

Before baskets, you ate where the food was. We use the phrase “hunters and gatherers” to describe the lifestyle of our pre-agriculture ancestors, but in reality, it was the gatherers — traditionally the women — who, on average, supplied the bulk of the calories. Having gathered, what do you do with the nuts, berries and grains that you’ve accumulated? You either eat them there and then or — huge difference! — you figure out how to get them back to camp where, if the guys had had a bad day hunting (i.e. a normal day), they were particularly ravenous. Hence baskets, containers to carry back the (literal) fruits of your labor. How old are baskets? No idea. The fibers and osiers from which they were woven have long since disintegrated.

After baskets to carry food came (long after) pots to carry water. Pots, as in pottery, date to at least 20,000 years ago. We know that, because fragments of pottery were found a few years ago in a cave in south China. This discovery that refuted conventional wisdom that the invention of pottery coincided with the switch from hunter-gatherers to farmers around 10,000 years ago. You can read about it here: “Ancient Chinese pottery confirmed as the oldest yet found,” from the Guardian.

But there’s another major use of pottery, one that I hadn’t thought of until I watched a lecture by Kenneth Harl, Professor of Ancient History at Tulane, of what was then The Teaching Company. (It’s since morphed into The Great Courses, highly recommended.) He was talking about the Hittite Empire, centered in Anatolia — most of present-day Turkey. Specifically its capital city, Hattusa, which flourished in the late Bronze Age, destroyed in the “Bronze Age collapse” around 1200 BC. Professor Harl is one of those “Where were you when I was at school?” teachers. So much so that Louisa and I visited the site in 2007, the year after I viewed his inspiring lectures. (“Why did you go to Turkey?” I was asked. “Hittites,” I replied.)

The city of Hattusa, which flourished in the late Bronze age, encompasses about a square mile of land in what is now central Turkey. Photos: Barry Evans.

Harl mentioned, almost in passing, what pottery jars were really for. “Rat-proof containers,” he said, a phrase that stuck in my memory. Pots, for our early agricultural ancestors, were just that, a way of storing grain through winter without it being eaten and/or contaminated by rats. The Hattusa pots are huge, ten feet high and nearly as wide.

Huge grain storage pots in Hattusa, ancient Hittite capital.

I was reminded of Harl’s “rat-proof containers” a few days ago, as we were walking through Housesteads (Vercovicium), one of the main forts along Hadrian’s Wall, the 80-mile stone wall spanning across present-day northern England at the very limits of the Roman Empire. Built between 122 and 128 AD, the wall defended the Empire against Pict raiding parties from the “uncivilized” north — future Scotland. Up to 800 soldiers were housed and fed at Housesteads, meaning that vast amounts of grain needed to be stored in such a way that it was protected, not just from fire and mold, but from rats. Instead of big pots, the Roman solution was to build stone granaries like this one, with a raised floor for air circulation. Located on the highest, i.e. driest, part of the fort, it was originally buttressed by stone walls with air vents and an overhanging roof.

These pillars supported the stone floor of the Housesteads granary, allowing air to circulate underneath. You can see part of Hadrian’s Wall below the trees on the left.

These days, we take containers — for food or liquids — for granted. Back then, containers were among the greatest inventions our kind ever came up with. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.

FLOWING AGAIN! South Fork of the Eel Reconnects to the Main River After Recent Rainfall

Stephanie McGeary / Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 @ 11 a.m. / Environment

The South Fork he South Fork Eel River below Highway 101 at Dyerville | Photos from the ERRP

PREVIOUSLY: South Fork of the Eel Not Connected to Main River Due to Extreme Drought Conditions

###

After discovering last week that water levels of the Eel River were so low that the riverbed where the South Fork connects to the main river had completely dried up, the Eel River Recovery Project now reports that this section of river is flowing again.

“About three inches of rain in headwaters near Branscomb and about an inch elsewhere has reconnected the river with the main Eel at Dyerville and it doesn’t look like it is going to disconnect again,” Patrick Higgins, managing director of the Eel River Recovery Project wrote in an email.

Higgins also mentioned that, following this extremely dry year, conditions are likely to improve this winter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a 70 percent chance of La Niña weather, which will bring heavy rainfall between November and January.

“We should get an average to wet year coming up,” Higgins said.

The same section of the Eel River on Sept. 17

OBITUARY: José “Joe” Manuel Pires Sancho, 1937-2021

LoCO Staff / Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 @ 8:19 a.m. / Obits

José “Joe” Manuel Pires Sancho at the age of 84 went to be with the Lord on Thursday September 16, 2021. He was born April 10, 1937 in São Brás de Alportel, Algarve, Portugal to Rafael & Lucinda Sancho. He lived in Portugal until 1959 he served nearly three years in the Portuguese military — 1 year in Portugal in 1958 and 2 years in Goa, India on active duty for the Portuguese Army from 1959 to 1961. It was during that time away from home our father turned to expressing his emotions on paper. His love for poetry began then.

He returned to Portugal in 1961 to eventually begin his journey as an immigrant. He went to France for seven months in 1963 until he eventually crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in New Jersey. He came to America in 1964 worked in construction for 6 months in Elizabeth, N.J. then finally arriving in Rio Dell in December of 1964 where his brother Emidio was living at the time. He was introduced to our mother Rosaline Mary Katherine Machado in January of 1965, and married on May 8, 1965. They moved to Rio Dell to build their life together for 47 years until his dear wife Rosie lost her battle to breast cancer on May 26, 2012.

Jose resided in Rio Dell in the family home for nearly 56 years. He was a hard worker and worked for 25 years at Carlotta Lumber Company until it closed and later went to work at Pacific Lumber Company until he retired at the age of 65. When he wasn’t working Jose was spending time in his garden with all sorts of fruits and vegetables that filled the kitchen table. During the Summers, they’d do some camping as a family and attend the annual Luso American convention where he’d meet up with friends from all over California. He was a member of Luso for over 50 years and served as local council President for many years. He was also a member of PFSA and would support the local Portuguese community with the Holy Ghost festival. He continued to write poems in Portuguese and send them to be published in his hometown newspaper in Portugal.

After retirement he and Rosaline liked to give back to the community volunteering at the local Food Banks. He also traveled a bit more after retirement including 5 trips to Portugal. He also visited Hawaii twice including a cruise to Hawaii and Alaska with friends. He really enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Jose is survived by his four children, Joey Sancho, Robert Sancho (Johanna), Mary Shannon (Andrew), Christina Sancho Gomes (Jorge), Grandchildren Makayla Ellena (Ryan), Joseph and Bryce Sancho, Samuel and Sophia Sancho, Martina and Sianna Shannon, Vanessa, Sabrina, Nelson, Rafael Gomes. His sister-in-law Fatima Sancho, his brother-in-law Tony Machado and several nieces, nephew, and cousins. Preceded in death by his wife Rosaline Sancho, parents Rafael and Lucinda Sancho, sister Albertina Sancho, brothers Emidio and Barnabe Sancho and other aunts, uncles and cousins.

Family and friends are invited to attend visitation at Gobles Mortuary 560 12th St., Fortuna, Friday October 1, 4-7 pm. Visitation, and Rosary Services Friday October 1, 2021 at 7 pm at Gobles Mortuary. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Saturday October 2, 2021 at 10 am. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 810 14th St. Fortuna, with Deacon Tom Silva celebrant. Interment will follow at Sunrise Cemetery in Fortuna.

Casket bearers will be Joseph T. Sancho, Bryce Sancho, Jorge Gomes, Andrew Shannon, Tony Machado Jr, and Everett Flores. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Rio Dell Fire Dept or Hospice of Humboldt.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Joe Sancho’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

OBITUARY: John David Olson, 1956-2021

BOOKED

JUDGED

CHP REPORTS

ELSEWHERE