###

The Bay Trail is finished, and now there’s a safe and beautiful trail that connects Humboldt Hill all the way to Clam Beach!

Guests Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper join the show to discuss the history of the trail (shout out to Supervisor Madrone for his work way back in the 1980s to get planning started) and how the trail will help Humboldt Bay residents roll, walk, or ride in a safe way that lowers their carbon footprint.

We hope to see you at today’s big celebration from 3-6 p.m. at the Adorni Center in Eureka! Find more information at this link or in the flyer below.

###

“The EcoNews Report,” June 28, 2025

###

ED. NOTE:  Suzanne Forsyth, former editor of the Humboldt Historian, was delighted to find herself channeling the pseudonymous voice of “Louella Parsnips” —an ill-reputed, scandal-hungry gossip monger who right-thinking society people publicly abjure — for these pieces of true history.

###

Would Amelia Bloomer, founder and editor of the first women’s magazine, The Lily, be disappointed to know that the thing for which she is most remembered is a pair of women’s undergarments? I very much doubt it. This suffragist and advocate of women’s dress reform herself adopted and advocated the revolutionary outfit of a loose fitting top (no corset) and short skirt with pants underneath in the early 1850s. The style, named bloomers in her honor, was intensely ridiculed and failed to catch on. Indeed, Bloomer was in advance of her time by about forty years. It was not until the 1890s that women could wear bloomers, or knickerbockers, with some degree of acceptance, and that was due to a movement entirely outside of women’s dress reform: the world-wide phenomenon of the great bicycle craze.

It was the gay nineties, and a major contributor to the gaiety was the newly comfortable and affordable instrument of liberation, the bicycle. With the invention of the pneumatic tire in 1888, and the creation of a machine called the “Safety,” with wheels of equal size, suddenly anyone could learn to ride without undue risk or discomfort, and everyone was jumping aboard. Over two million bicycles were sold in the United States in 1897 alone. That is approximately one for every thirty inhabitants, and the good people of Humboldt were as bicycle-crazy as in any place in the nation.

By 1895, downtown Eureka was absolutely teeming with bicycles. Everyone who was anyone was riding a bicycle, and just where were they riding them? Not on the bumpy unpaved streets, you can be sure, not with Eureka’s beautiful network of twelve-foot-wide wooden sidewalks just waiting to be utilized as deluxe bicycle thoroughfares. As my man about town recalls, “Bicycles on the sidewalks in Eureka were as numerous as autos in a wrecking station.” (1)

On one occasion, while wheeling happily along Third Street on his new Rambler, purchased at Ayers Fashion Stables and Cyclery, my man reports witnessing pedestrians “getting pushed aside and forced into the gutters” by the throngs of bicyclists flying down the sidewalks. City ordinances began to be passed, first for bicycle bells to warn pedestrians, and then for bicycle lights at night. Even so, pedestrian injuries remained high. Finally the city fathers passed a revolutionary ordinance “forbidding any bicycles to be ridden on sidewalks in the business district,” (2) with the boundaries being K Street on the East and Fifth Street on the south. This dreadful ordinance met with almost universal opposition, and no one abided by it.

I generally refrain from naming judges in my gossip column, for obvious reasons, but today I make an exception. As it happens, Judge C. J. Stafford was mayor of Eureka at this time. He became so concerned about this matter of everybody violating the ordinance against riding on the sidewalks that he introduced it for discussion at a January 1895 council meeting at which many spectators were present. In his eloquent speech, he asked for the assistance of each and every person present to help enforce the bicycle ordinance.

And he was taken at his word. I am sorry to have to say that the very next day, Judge Stafford himself was apprehended in the act of serenely riding his bicycle along a downtown sidewalk.

It was Lawrence F. Puter and Sam I. Allard who captured the judge in flagrante delicto.

“It was such a huge joke to the two,” recalls my informant, “that they hauled Judge Stafford before Police Judge J. M. Melendy, who assessed the chief officer of the city with a fine of ten dollars for the infraction.” (3)

Of course, every downtown business sported a bike rack for its customers, and every enterprising business proprietor in town wanted to get in on the rip-roaring bicycle business. Shops heretofore proudly selling groceries and dry goods now began advertising as bicycle dealers, mentioning their original merchandise only as an afterthought. For example, consider the grocer A. Cottrell, at the corner of Fifth and H Streets. He placed newspaper ads featuring the “Defiance Bicycle” in large bold letters, while noting in tiny print at the end, “I still continue to furnish groceries to my customers as usual.” (4) One afternoon in 1896, while pedaling through Eureka, my man about town and I counted sixteen establishments where bicycles could be purchased.

Indoor bicycle riding arenas and lessons were another distinctive feature of the day. L. L. Ayers Fashion Livery Stables at 4th and G Streets added Cyclery to its name in 1895, and began the “Ayers Cycling Academy,” with newspaper ads by Ayers reading:

Mine is the largest, best ventilated hall in town. I give personal instruction and have competent help. 50 cents an hour. Engagement made to suit convenience of ladies. Electric light at night … Ladies’ Parlor entrance on G St.

During the early years of the bicycle, the idea of women riding bicycles had been denounced as improper and even immoral, and those who did so were condemned as such, but by the mid-1890s, the immense popularity of the bicycle among both men and women was such that popular sentiment could not but follow along. It was the era of the new woman, and it was women, indeed, who had the most to gain from the great bicycle craze. As they took en masse to their wheels, which required them to be able to breathe deeply and also to enjoy some unrestricted movement of the legs, the impediments of corsets and voluminous floor-length skirts were flung aside — though not everybody was happy about it, as depicted in the 1890s sketch at right. A woman’s ability to go out on her own, under her own power, choosing her own destination, increased both vitality and confidence and widened a woman’s world. As Susan B. Anthony famously stated in 1896: “The bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world.”

Of course, bicycling revolutionized courtship, too. For one thing, when women began to travel afield on their bicycles, they necessarily had to leave their chaperones behind — “a most agreeable development!” according to my man about town.

“A Bicycle Built for Two” was the most popular song in the country in 1892, and by the mid-nineties tandem bicycles were a feature of the local dating scene. On April 27, 1895, the Arcata correspondent for the Blue Lake Advocate reveals:

The first tandem or “bicycle built for two” ever seen in Arcata was ridden around the bay last Saturday by Mr. Vidy and Miss Edwards of Eureka. They came up in an hour and seven minutes and back in one hour and fifteen minutes. (5)

This timetable would have interested many readers, and all would have pricked up their ears at the indication of a new romance. The following year the same correspondent prints this teaser, “I see my worthy friend Charlie Devander rides a tandem, and of course Charlie don’t ride it alone.”

Not every swain could avail himself of a bicycle built for two, though, and in such cases many a gallant beau would ferry his girl on the handlebars — though perhaps not every couple executed this mode of conveyance in the manner of my man about town and his energetic inamorata. In his own words:

Miss D seemed to enjoy riding on the handlebars, so we developed a method of boarding the bike while in motion. Miss D became adept at coordinating her footwork to the speed of the bike and had no difficulty “coming aboard” and we were off on a tour to Sequoia Park. (6)

But perhaps the most well-known “bicycle built for two” of the late 1890s belonged to the prominent Eureka octogenarian, Rev. C. A. Huntington. This was a vehicle built not for romance but for practicality. The reverend’s great-grandson, Col. Thomas H. Monroe (retired), tells the story best:

Determined as he was to learn to ride a bicycle, he never mastered it. However, the San Francisco Balcom bicycle shop solved his problem by framing two ladies’ bicycles together in parallel. This contraption proved to be rather awkward, and definitely hard to ride, especially for his young grandsons, Tom, Joseph, and McDougall Monroe. One or the other would always be drafted to ride with the old gentleman, who would urge the child to greater efforts by saying, “Push, push harder on the pedals! (7)

Bicycle clubs called the Wheelmen sprang up all across the nation. The Humboldt Wheelmen had clubs in Eureka and Arcata, and they organized cycling tours and picnics every Sunday. Captain of the Eureka Wheelmen Willard Wells routinely led Sunday tours of twenty–five to thirty miles to the Mad River, Hookton, Table Bluff, Southern Humboldt, Salmon Creek, Essex and Korbel.

Local historian Barbara Canepa Saul writes:

The Tour of the Unknown Coast bicycle tour may have had its origins in September of 1895, when it was reported that “Wheelmen Soule, Wells, Janssen, and Littlefield of Eureka arrived in that city last Saturday from their trip ‘around the block’ via Petrolia, Shelter Cove, Garberville and Scotia, the distance traveled from the time they left Swauger was 192 miles.” (8)

Nor were Humboldt women to be left behind: a July 1895 article in the Enterprise reads, “A number of young ladies in Eureka are organizing a bicycle club similar to those of the men. They will adopt a distinctive name and costume, indulge in road runs and sociables in every way.” (9)

Arcata women also formed a club: “The Arcata cycling club expects to take a run to the mouth of Mad River next Sunday. The Ladies Annex of the club will also join. A commissary wagon will be a feature of the run and a good time is anticipated by the participants.” (10)

Trips between Eureka and Arcata were common in both directions. A newspaper entry in the Susie Baker Fountain Papers states that the Eureka Wheelmen rode to Arcata on Sunday mornings and circled the Plaza, executing “a well-learned drill,” which may have consisted of formations and possibly even bike tricks, as one Wheelman, Rodney Burns, was said to be proficient in trick-riding and “antics.”

An important activity of the bicycle clubs was improving the roads, and benefit dances and other fundraising activities were always on the calendar. An August 1, 1896 newspaper announcement reads:

Eureka is preparing to wet the road toward Arcata, and tanks are being erected by the roadside for the sprinkler. The Arcata cycling club will give a good-road dance at Arcata Hall next Tuesday evening to raise money to sprinkle public roads. (11)

It is a wonder and a delight to recall, as revealed in an 1896 Munsey’s Magazine, that at one time “rapid transit” was envisioned as “elevated bicycle paths.” It didn’t happen. The Gay Nineties gave way to the new century. The Wheelmen’s improved roads were taken over by a new must-have, the automobile — “even better for courtship!” declares my man about town. By 1913, Eureka’s bike racks had disappeared, and only one store continued to sell bicycles. Automobile-related businesses, however, were thriving.

NOTES

1. Humboldt Times, February 12, 1931 “Old Timer! Do You Remember When …” by Will Speegle.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid; Ferndale Enterprise, January 1895.
4. Daily Humboldt Times, March 26, 1896.
5. Blue Lake Advocate, April 27, 1895.
6. “Bike Riding Memories,” The Way it Was, edited by Gayle Karshner, 1973, vol 2, p. 8.
7. Humboldt Historian, September-October 1974.
8. Humboldt Historian, 1998.
9. Ferndale Enterprise, July 1895; Humboldt Historian, September-October 1988.
10. Blue Lake Advocate, June 6, 1896.
11. Susie Baker Fountain Papers.

###

The story above was originally printed in the Winter 2013 issue of the Humboldt Historian, a journal of the Humboldt County Historical Society. It is reprinted here with permission. The Humboldt County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to archiving, preserving and sharing Humboldt County’s rich history. You can become a member and receive a year’s worth of new issues of The Humboldt Historian at this link.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for defamation, claiming that the network lied about the date he last spoke with President Donald Trump on the phone and accused the governor of lying about the call.

“By disregarding basic journalistic ethics in favor of malicious propaganda, Fox continues to play a major role in the further erosion of the bedrock principles of informed representative government,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit, filed Friday by Newsom as an individual, seeks $787 million in damages from the network — roughly the same amount Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle a defamation case over the network’s election claims. Newsom promised to drop the suit if Fox News retracts its claim that Newsom lied and issues a formal on-air apology.

To some Democratic strategists, Newsom’s move demonstrates the governor’s willingness to check Trump’s power. It is the latest episode of an on-again-off-again feud between him and Trump, who collaborated over Los Angeles wildfire aid earlier this year but fought over the president’s deployment of troops to quell unrest in the same city despite Newsom’s objection.

“Democrats across the country are out there yearning for Democrats to take on Trump,” said longtime Democratic consultant Garry South. “Partly through Trump’s own stumbles and his own mistakes, I think that he has inadvertently boosted Newsom into the position of being the chief protagonist against him.”

Fox News said in a statement that it would defend the case “vigorously.”

“Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him,” the statement said.

Newsom’s attorneys argued in a letter that the network intentionally misled its audience into believing the governor lied about his last call with Trump earlier this month, before the two clashed over Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid protests over immigration enforcement.

The governor spoke with Trump over the phone for 16 minutes on June 7, the letter said. But Trump told a reporter on June 10 that he’d spoken with Newsom “a day ago” instead, stating that he had called Newsom “to tell him, got to do a better job, he’s doing a bad job.”

Newsom rebuked the president in a statement on X, arguing there was no call or even a voicemail from Trump on that day. “Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to,” he said.

But Fox News hosts John Roberts and Jesse Watters left out Trump’s comment suggesting the call had taken place June 9 in their coverage, Newsom’s attorneys argued. And Watters claimed on air that Newsom lied, even though he reported that call logs showed the call occurred on June 6.

“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?” Watters said, with a banner appearing on screen simultaneously that said: “Gavin lied about Trump’s call.”

Newsom’s attorneys argued the coverage shows the network’s effort to “cover up for President Trump’s error.”

But in suing Fox News, Newsom is taking a page from Trump’s own playbook by suing prominent media outlets for their coverage, drawing concern from First Amendment advocates who urged Newsom to drop the case.

“Lawsuits like this risk becoming a form of censorship and send a troubling message to news organizations: that they may face legal retaliation for their work,” said Katherine Jacobsen, program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

###

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Erika Tomczak, née Janssen, a resident of Eureka, Calif., since 2002, passed away on June 7, 2025, at the age of 83 years.

She was an unselfish, kind, brave, and sharing person, born in Bremen, Germany, on May 12, 1942. Her early childhood years were not easy, as they occurred during World War II. The Allies — England and the United States — were bombing her port city on the Weser River in northern Germany until late 1945.

Her parents were Herbert and Magdelena Janssen. After fathering Renate, Hildegard, Erika, and Marianne, Herbert was drafted into the German Army and shot down in a passenger/transport plane over Greece in 1943. Erika’s mother, Magdelena, remarried and had three more children: Heike, Elie, and Ilse, who still live in Bremen. Erika helped care for her younger sisters during those difficult times after World War II. The children collected metals and intact artifacts in the destroyed parts of their city, redeeming them for a few coins to help pay for precious food supplies.

Schools reopened after the war, and by the time Erika was 16, she was working as a caregiver for the children of German playwright Bertolt Brecht. She later became the head cook at a government-sponsored health recovery resort for sickly, malnourished, and health-challenged German children in Berchtesgaden, in the German Alps. Erika eventually returned to her native city of Bremen, found work, and began building a career as an office worker with a German defense contractor.

In the summer of 1965, the lives of Erika Janssen and Cpt. Gerry Tomczak, a U.S. Army officer stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany, changed forever when they met on a beach called Duhnen on the North Sea. That Gerry could speak German (learned courtesy of the U.S. Army) made a difference in their relationship, as Erika could not speak English. They spent many weekends together doing all the things that cost little — long nature walks, visiting small towns, historical sites, zoos, listening to music, and simply enjoying each other’s company.

In August 1966, Gerry received orders sending him to Vietnam. Nothing was settled between them except a promise to correspond. Gerry arrived in Vietnam in October 1966. In May 1967, Erika received a letter from Gerry telling her he was leaving the active Army in September 1967 and proposing marriage. Erika answered with one word: Ja.

Erika left her family and a potentially lucrative job in Bremen, Germany, and bravely came to Chicago knowing only Gerry. They were married in church on October 14, 1967, welcomed and celebrated by Gerry’s family.

After the wedding, Erika and Gerry traveled to Santa Barbara, where Gerry entered the Brooks Institute of Photography for training as a professional photographer. It was a hard, lonely time for Erika, with no nearby friends or family. Gerry worked long hours taking pictures, developing film, and printing photographs. The only bright spot was Erika watching lots of TV and rapidly learning English.

In the fall of 1968, Erika and Gerry returned to Chicago after their lease expired. In the interim, they traveled to Las Vegas, Death Valley, and San Francisco.

Erika thrived in Chicago. She grew close to Gerry’s family and became friends with a married woman from Germany who lived in the same high-rise apartment building. Gerry began a commercial photography business. Erika got a job as a filing clerk and part-time switchboard operator for Esquire Magazine; her English had become that good.

What bothered both Erika and Gerry was that, except when northerly winds blew off Lake Michigan, the city air was hard to breathe — gray and dirty. Even 50 miles away, you could see the gray dome hanging over the city.

They decided to buy a small photography studio in Cadillac, Michigan, a northern lower Michigan town of 11,000, and moved there in 1971. Erika and Gerry enjoyed success in their business of portraits, wedding pictures, and especially commercial/industrial photography for manufacturers in northern Michigan. Erika helped manage the studio and took several community college courses, particularly in accounting and marketing.

Around 1976, a general decline began in the manufacturing sector due to increased oil costs, which severely affected the Rust Belt states of the Midwest, especially Michigan. In December 1981, Wexford County, where Cadillac was located, had a 23.2% unemployment rate. Erika applied for a job at a local motel, resort, and golf course as a “night motel clerk with light bookkeeping duties.” Unsuccessful, Erika discovered that even CPAs had applied for the position.

In early 1982, Erika told Gerry to pack up and drive to California to sleep on the couch of a friend who had already moved there, until he found a job. California was booming due to the military defense buildup under President Ronald Reagan.

They closed the studio, and Gerry drove to California. He found a job running a store selling software for the popular new Apple II computer in Costa Mesa, Calif. Erika painted and prepared their house for sale. She contacted a broker and increased the commission to expedite the home sale in a slow market and cover the remaining mortgage. She sold as many possessions as possible, including their second car, to raise enough money to rent a U-Haul truck and make the move.

Neighbors helped load a large U-Haul with their remaining possessions. This included two small dogs, dearly loved by Erika — a medium poodle and a cockapoo — tranquilized and riding in the cab with Gerry’s mother, who had come to live with them. Erika drove 2,245.5 miles from Cadillac, MI to Costa Mesa, Calif.

The Tomczaks discovered a bright new world full of excitement, business activity, and construction when they arrived in California in the spring of 1982. Because Erika had mastered balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and payroll, she easily found a job as a full-charge bookkeeper with MBH Electronics, a small, busy PC board manufacturer. Gerry continued working in PC software sales until he started a job selling newspaper advertising for the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Unfortunately, by 1998, PC board manufacturing was being done much more cheaply in Asia than in the U.S. This put Erika’s well-paid job increasingly at risk. At the same time, newspaper readership and advertising began declining due to the internet and television, causing concern for Gerry. Erika endured a grueling commute between Corona in Riverside County and Santa Ana (where most jobs were). She faced a 2½-hour commute each morning and evening, and up to three hours on Friday evenings. Erika couldn’t find a comparable job closer to Corona.

In 2000, Gerry took Erika to visit a high school friend living in Eureka, hoping to relieve her commuting stress by relocating. Erika particularly appreciated the area and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Gerry suggested moving there, but Erika insisted she didn’t want to live in the woods. They agreed to find a place in town. Gerry found a suitable home, and they moved to Eureka to be semi-retired in the summer of 2002.

Erika volunteered with the Timber Heritage Association and worked as an in-home caregiver until slowing down due to surgery and later knee damage from a fall. Erika and Gerry enjoyed visiting the local Pacific Ocean beaches, often letting their dogs run. In 2013, Erika traveled to Germany to visit family, and in 2018, two of her sisters visited the Tomczaks.

By early 2018, Erika showed signs of dementia and could no longer manage financial tasks accurately. Gerry underwent surgery in August 2019 and recovered well. Despite health challenges, they continued visiting the ocean regularly.

On January 31, 2025, Erika became seriously ill and was admitted to the Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center on February 5, 2025. Gerry visited her almost daily for the next four months. When Erika’s health seriously declined, her treatment transitioned to comfort care on June 6. Erika passed away on the afternoon of Saturday, June 7, 2025, with Gerry at her bedside.

Erika is survived by her loving husband, Gerry Tomczak, and three sisters: Ilse Bossing, Elle Schulze, and Heike Schnelle. Friends are welcome to attend the scattering of her ashes from the Madaket on July 14, 2025. Meet at 1 C Street, Eureka, at 11 a.m. Flowers are optional. Following the send-off, all are welcome to enjoy food at Jack’s Seafood.

###

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

Bill Williams passed away peacefully on June 10, 2025, leaving a legacy of love for his family, friends, and community.

He was born on October 3, 1935, in Eureka, California, to William Williams (originally Hulskath), an immigrant from Switzerland, and Amalia “Mollie” Williams (née Scheisser), also of Swiss ancestry. Bill was raised in a modest house on F Street near Henderson Center. He spent the final year of his life in the same house, living with family members and enjoying daily visits from friends.  

He attended Nazareth Convent School (now St. Bernard’s), Eureka High School, and Humboldt State College, where he played on the collegiate tennis team. Living nearly his entire life in Eureka, he had many lifelong friends, too numerous to name them all, but they start with his childhood friends John Marcuz, Mike Fielding, Jim Callison, and Bill Johnston. These friendships continued through adulthood and included their families. Annual summer trips were taken to Briceland at the Marcuz ranch and houseboating on Trinity Lake. Bill also had special bond with Phil Dwight, who he first met in first grade at the Nazareth Convent School. 

Following college, he served his country in the Army, then returned home to start a career at his family’s business, Ten Window Williams. His father opened the store in 1927 as a journeyman watchmaker and with Bill’s help, they built it into a Humboldt institution until its closing in 2019 after 92 years. Bill learned from his parents to treat employees as family, resulting in many employees working at the jewelry store for more than 30 years.

Bill shared three children — Jennifer, Jeff, and Evan — with his first wife, Nancy Buckley. He was introduced to Nancy by his neighborhood friend, Jere O’Neil, who was Nancy’s cousin. He later married Gale Paradise, staying married for many years followed by a long, loving relationship with Linda Osborne and her two children, Eric and Ali.

Bill witnessed Humboldt County thrive during its peak, when the lumber and fishing industries flourished, the population was growing, and Eureka served as the region’s vibrant center. He enjoyed all aspects of living on the beautiful and rugged North Coast but especially enjoyed duck hunting and fishing for salmon and steelhead. 

He felt privileged to belong to the Centerville Duck Club for many years, and enjoyed annual hunts in Tulelake, Alturas and the Sacramento Valley. Bill told stories of the past where catching 30-pound king salmon right in the bay was common. Hugo Papstein taught Bill to fly fish for steelhead on the Trinity River gorge between Hoopa and Weitchpec. Later, he was introduced to fishing the Klamath River by Larry and Helen Marshall, in particular the Mettah riffle, located just upstream from Pecwan.

Bill would continue to fly fish on Mettah for the next 40-plus years. Whether on the ocean or a river, or smoking a cigar by the fire, Bill enjoyed the company and camaraderie of his closest friends and fishing companions, of which there are many, but most notably Steve Dolfini, Laurie Lazio, Si Wrigley, Glen Wood, Mark Moore, Tony Karlich, Alan Marsh, Lynn Hemas, Davey O’Brien, Rich Ames and Ron Coleman.  

He was preceded in death by his parents; his aunt Eva Marte (Hulskath); his uncle Hans Marte; and his first cousin Helen St. Louis. He is survived by his three children: Jennifer Williams, Jeff (Mavis) Williams, and Evan (Holly) Williams, along with seven grandchildren: Yazan, Jordan, Paige, Emma, Cameron, Devon, and Laurel; and last but not least his cousin Judy Powers (St. Louis).

The family would like to extend special thanks to Bill’s daughter, Jennifer, whose daily care enabled a comfortable and joyful final year, and to close family friend Wallie Fitzpatrick for his friendship and never-ending support. 

A celebration of life will be held in Bill’s honor at future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of Humboldt in his memory. 

###

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

Lars David Burnside Sr. passed away on June 18, 2025, surrounded by family in Fortuna.

Lars was born in Fortuna to Walter David Burnside and Elsa Johanna Larson on March 9, 1938. His father Walter was well known in Fortuna, owning the gas station on the corner of Main Street and 14th Street. Lars was their only child. He attended school in Fortuna, where he met his future wife, Barbara Anne Freeman, in the 8th grade.

On June 21, 1955 Lars married Barbara in Stevenson, Washington. They always made Fortuna their home, celebrating their 68th Anniversary together in 2023, before Barbara’s death on March 4, 2024. On August 9, 1955 they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Trudi Anne Burnside. Then on June 15, 1961 they welcomed their second child, a son named Lars David Burnside Jr.

Lars will be fondly remembered for his infectious chuckle and generous spirit, always quick to help others. Whether it was offering a hand or lending his skills to fix or repair something for a friend, he gave of himself without hesitation. His warmth and kindness touched many lives and will not be forgotten.

After graduating from Fortuna Union High School in 1957, Lars began his career at Pacific Lumber Company in the Machinist Apprenticeship Program. He went on to become a skilled machinist, and after receiving additional training, he became an accomplished railroad locomotive mechanic. He took great pride in his work and was entrusted with overseeing the roundhouse at Scotia — an important role he fulfilled with dedication and expertise.

Lars had a passion for restoring classic cars, especially his beloved 1931 Ford Model A. He was an active member of the Eel River Model A Club, where he once served as club president. He and Barbara shared many adventures with fellow members, going on countless road trips and enjoying the camaraderie of the classic car community. Each year, Lars proudly drove his Model A in the Rodeo parade, often with his grandchildren riding along. He also served as a judge for the Model A division during the parade, a role he took great pride in. His dedication to preserving history and sharing it with others was a true reflection of his generous and enthusiastic spirit.

Lars and Barbara shared a deep love for family, friends and community. They would always be at their grandchildren’s sports events or traveling to visit their grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Music also was an important part of their love story, from the early years when Lars played saxophone to their later years where they could be found dancing in the hallway of their home to “Through the Years” by Kenny Rogers.

Lars is survived by his two children, Trudi Burnside McKamey ,and her husband Mark; Lars Burnside Jr. and his wife Cindy. Lars has four grandchildren: Chandler Burnside Sawyer; Lars David Burnside III and his wife Audrianna; Nicole Woodruff and her husband Michael; and Kelsie Lipscomb and her husband Boden. He has nine great-grandchildren: Brayden; Kynslie; Keely and Bodie Lipscomb; Larson, Emma, and Liam Burnside; and Ridley and Sawyer Woodruff.

Graveside services for family and friends will be held at Sunrise Cemetery, 3315 Newburg Road, in Fortuna on Saturday, August 2 at 1 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Monday Club 610 Main Street, Fortuna, directly after the graveside service at 2 p.m.

PREVIOUSLY

• (UPDATE) Humboldt State Announces the Evisceration of KHSU
• Last Remaining KHSU Employee Quits; Estrada Says She ‘Will Not Be Buried’
• As Sort of Expected, Humboldt State Hands KHSU Programming Over to Capital Public Radio

Control of KHSU, for the last four years managed by CSU Sacramento NPR affiliate CapRadio, will be returning to Cal Poly Humboldt by the end of this year. Control of NSPR will also return to Chico State University. 

CapRadio has controlled the day-to-day operation of KHSU since 2021, when they obtained the managing agreement from Humboldt State University. The news broke June 18, when CapRadio’s Interim General Manager and President Frankie Maranzino announced the change after a monthly board meeting was postponed. (It’s now scheduled for July 2 at 5:30 and is open to the public.) 

CapRadio’s chief marketing and revenue officer, Chris Bruno, said it’s a money-saving “business decision.”

“Our goal at the end of the day is to think about how we can be good partners and work collaboratively to transition operations back to the universities,” Bruno told CapRadio reporters in a briefing last month. “Our goal is to think about the future and the opportunity for CapRadio to operate sustainably and position ourselves for growth.”

CapRadio has struggled to stay solvent and has been accused of mismanaging funds. An audit done this year by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) found that CapRadio reported earnings over three years of almost $6 million that didn’t exist. Now, the CPB wants $200,000 from CapRadio to repay CPB grants.

In January, CapRadio sued its former general manager Jun Reina for embezzling over $370,000, accusing him of using CapRadio’s funds to cover personal expenses such as family vacations and golf course fees.

Bruno also claimed that CapRadio had lost over $280,000 running KHSU and NSPR the first two months of this fiscal year.

Representatives from Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State shared this statement with employees on June 18:

As CapRadio shared with employees today, Chico State and Cal Poly Humboldt are in discussion with the organization to transfer the current operating arrangements of NSPR and KHSU back to our respective campuses. We are all committed to building a strong, sustainable future for local public media so that the stations remain trusted and reliable news sources for our Northern California and North Coast communities. We will ensure broadcasting continuity throughout the process. We look forward to sharing more details after the budget vote on July 2 and continuing discussions among the three university partners and license holders, Sacramento State, Chico State, and Cal Poly Humboldt.

Full article and reporting from CapRadio’s Chris Nichols and Sarit Laschinsky.