The three-mast schooner Metha Nelson belonged to the Alaska Packers Association for many years after being in the lumber trade along the Pacific coast. It made its last salmon fishing trip to Bristol Bay, Alaska, in 1926. She was of 460 tons and built by Hans Bendixsen at Fairhaven in 1896. During World War II she was a Navy Identification Vessel and ended up as surplus.

My father, Carl Wikander, was a sailing ship captain for many years and never really retired. Not even when sailing ships were retired. He was skipper or mate on tugs or killer whalers until he was 71 years old.

In late 1927, the movie industry leased the Metha Nelson and my father signed on as third mate at 64 years old. On Feb. 20, 1928, the vessel was towed from Alameda to San Pedro by the tug Sea Rover and fitted out with accommodations for a film crew and remodeled for the part it was to play in the movie. The movie was The Sea Wolf with Milton Sills, and patterned after the German raider Count Von Luckner during World War I.

The vessel was disguised as a merchant and would capture other merchant vessels of enemy nations. In the story, the vessel is finally captured by the old Coast Guard Cutter Bear, which has a long history. My father was in charge of maneuvering the vessel according to movie directors’ instructions and at times he had the experience of a “stand-in” for some of the actors. On Oct. 3, 1928, the vessel was towed back to Alameda by the tug Sea Ranger and laid up.

In 1930 she was sold to Fox Film Corp., and involved in another movie with the same crew and this time had an auxiliary diesel engine was installed before being towed South. This movie was called The Seas Beneath with actor George O’Brien. In the story, the vessel was a submarine chaser, going after German subs during World War I, operating in the Mediterranean Sea. It was disguised as a merchant vessel and had a house on the main deck that collapsed exposing a large gun, surprising the enemy.

She was then laid up in San Pedro and later sold for yacht. In 1939 the Metha again appeared in a movie, Rulers of the Sea. Shortly after that she served time in the Navy.

I think everyone will agree that the Metha Nelson, launched in Humboldt Bay had a most distinguished career — in the merchant marine trade, in the fishing industry, in the movies, as a yacht and then the Navy.

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The story above was originally printed in the September-October 1981 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.

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ADDITIONAL ENDNOTE:

The Humboldt Historical Society — a truly great local cultural institution and resource — has just launched its 77th Anniversary Membership Drive. Won’t you consider becoming a member?

Here is a press release from the Historical Society:

In March 1947, a group of Humboldt County community members gathered in a series of meetings to discuss the need for a “historical society to promote the preservation of original historical materials… and the establishment of a suitable place for the collection.”

The “suitable place” was a series of temporary locations until 1993 when the estate of Helen Wells Barnum donated the family home on 8th St., in Eureka, to the Society. At one time it was the largest historical society in the state. Now, as the Society celebrates its seventy seventh birthday, it finds that maintaining such a large membership is a challenge. Executive Director Jane Hill notes, “Changing interests, new modes of communication and an aging membership make attracting new members and staying in touch with current members a challenge.”

The community board has taken on the challenge with a campaign to attract new members and by urging current members to introduce “someone new to membership.” Each year the

Historical Society publishes a 48-page quarterly journal, The Humboldt Historian. Filled with vintage photographs, personal recollections, scholarly articles, amusing tidbits and entertaining commentary, this publication is mailed to members as a benefit of membership.

Community members can follow the membership campaign by noting changes in the “campaign thermometer” banner hanging on the H Street side of the Society center – an old-fashioned historical tool for noting progress.

To learn more about the Society, people can visit the website at www.humboldthistory.org.

The bookstore and research center are open to the public at 703 8th St. in Eureka on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12:30-6:30 p.m.

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Papa & Barkley is merging with Mammoth Distribution, a distribution company headquartered in Los Angeles. The Eureka-based cannabis company is in the process of consolidating its distribution operations with the Southern California company, though the production side of its facilities is expected to stay local for the foreseeable future.

“The cannabis industry has been very tough for several years now,” Michael Kraft, Papa & Barkley’s Compliance and Government Affairs Officer, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “We have been looking at potential merger partners for the last year, and one of the things that was really important to us is that the brand carries on [and] that there be a real emphasis on quality. We wanted good humans and we think we’ve found that with Mammoth.”

Papa & Barkley emerged as a prominent player in the local cannabis wellness sector shortly after the company was founded by Adam Grossman and Guy Rocourt in 2016. The company swelled in the ensuing years and expanded its production facilities to the old Kmart building on Broadway and, in partnership with the folks at Humboldt Social, launched Papa & Barkley Social, a locally curated cannabis dispensary, consumption lounge and spa. However, the dispensary closed a few months back.

Mammoth has been involved in the cannabis industry in one way or another since 1996, according to its website. The company carries eight brands, including Papa & Barkley, and distributes cannabis products to more than 600 retail partners across California, Nevada and New York.

“Papa & Barkley is one of the highest quality and authentic brands in the industry,” Wesley Hein, Mammoth’s Head of Brand Initiatives, told the Outpost. “Our values are completely aligned, and we look forward and are honored to expand and grow what they have built.”

Papa & Barkley has already integrated some of its operations with Mammoth, including dispensary deliveries and sales, according to Kraft. “We closed distribution facilities in Los Angeles and Berkeley over the past few months, and those activities have gone to Mammoth. The only real estate that we sit in is here in Eureka,” he said, referring to Papa & Barkley’s two production facilities. “Now our attention is turning to production.”

Papa & Barkley’s production processes are split between its two Eureka facilities. The cannabis extraction process begins at its Second Street facility where staff make freshly pressed rosin and use coconut oil to extract phytonutrients, terpenes and cannabinoids from locally grown cannabis plants, a process known as lipid infusion. The extracts are used for capsules, tinctures, gummies and patches, or blended with beeswax and essential oils to make salves and balms. The final products are sent over the the Kmart facility where they are packaged for distribution.

Asked whether Papa & Barkley plans to move all of its operations out of Humboldt County as a part of the merger, Kraft said it’s too soon to tell. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s accurate – or at least not yet known – whether we’re entirely pulling out of Humboldt County, but clearly some stuff that we do here now is going to move,” he said. “We’re trying to be proactive with our employees and tell them what we know when we know it. … Our vice president of production briefed our employees a little over a week ago and, you know, he told them that we’ll have work for them at least through May 1. Now we know it’s going to be quite a bit beyond that. How far? I don’t know.”

Papa & Barkley currently employs a little less than 40 people, down from about 200 during the company’s heyday. Kraft noted that he probably won’t have a job with the company once the merger is complete, but said he couldn’t speak for the other employees. 

Asked whether Papa & Barkley would continue to source Humboldt-grown cannabis, Kraft said the company would work with Mammoth on product sourcing but offered assurance that the quality of their products would be maintained. “There’s quite a bit of pride in the quality of our products,” he said, recommending the Releaf Balm for anyone with chronic knee problems.

Reached for additional comment on the matter, Humboldt County Economic Development Director Scott Adair said the merger was an “unfortunate” sign of the times.

“Keeping business ownership and employment decisions local is ideal, but we do support mergers when they prevent complete closure and mass layoffs,” Adair wrote in an email to the Outpost. “In some cases, a merger may be the best option to preserve local jobs and livelihoods. The cannabis market has been hit particularly hard and we expect to see more of this type of activity in the future.”

Adair added that the GoHumCo team provides business recovery services and “remains at the ready “to provide rapid response and layoff aversion services to Papa & Barkley and its workers.” 

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Do you really enjoy watching the rain, snow or hail? Well, instead of just standing there in your bathrobe, sipping your coffee and looking out the window, occasionally saying to yourself, “Yup It’s really coming down out there,” you could put your weather observing skills to good use by volunteering for the National Weather Service’s weather observing program! 

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network (also known as CoCoRaHS) is in need of more weather observers – volunteers who record and report rainfall levels and other important weather information to the NWS to help the organization better map and predict weather conditions. 

“We do have a fairly good number of observers, but the more the better,” Matthew Kidwell, lead meteorologist for the NWS Forecast Office in Eureka, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview.

CoCoRaHS is a national program that was born in 1998 in response to the devastating flash flood that hit Fort Collins, Colo. in 1997. The program was formed with the goal of better mapping and reporting on intense storms. As more volunteers joined throughout the years, the program grew to include general reports on rain, snow, hail and drought conditions throughout the country. 

But why is this necessary? Doesn’t the NWS have its own weather monitoring tools? Well, Kidwell explained that, while the NWS does have its own rain gauges scattered throughout the region, there is not enough funding to place gauges in every little nook and cranny of the county. Since weather patterns can change drastically across locations, it is really helpful to the NWS to have measurements from as many different location points as possible.   

To become an official citizen weather observer, you’ll need to fill out the form at this link. The next step is to order your official CoCoRaHS rain gauge, which you can find here. The rain gauge cost $35 plus shipping, but it is yours to keep forever. Not into spending the money? Depending on where you are located, you may also be eligible to receive a free rain gauge. Kidwell said that the California Department of Water Resources provided a handful of free gauges, but NWS wants to reserve them for folks who live in the more rural areas, where there aren’t already observers. If you’re a deep rural Humboldtian, and you’ll be able to regularly report your observations, you can apply for the free gauge using this form. 

Once you’ve signed up and received your gauge (oh, and by the way, you do need an official gauge, you can’t just use your own) you can check out the training videos on the CoCoRaHS website to learn how to properly use your gauge. After taking measurements, observers will be able to sign into the website to make their reports. Ideally, Kidwell said, measurements should be reported every morning. Of course, sometimes people go out of town or forget, which is fine. There is also a way to make reports for a five day span or longer, Kidwell said. 

If you live in an area that gets snow, then you’re also asked to measure and report snowfall. You don’t need a gauge for that, and you can also find several training videos on how to measure snowfall on the website. Hail reports are also helpful and in some areas reporters are asked to measure the size of the hail balls. Here in California, the size is not much of a concern, Kidwell said, since we don’t really get large hail here. For our area, observers are asked to report when there is hail, how much it is sticking and how much it is covering the ground, etc. 

If becoming a citizen weather observer sounds intriguing, but you’re still not sure about it, Kidwell wanted to mention that there is no long term commitment. CocoRaHS definitely appreciates the long term volunteers, and the longer data is collected from one location the more helpful it is for identifying weather patterns. But many volunteers only help out for as long as they can, which is why the NWS is always in search of more volunteers. So even if you only want to do it for a little while, that can still be very helpful to the CocoRAHS weather mapping efforts! 

“This widespread coverage gives us a much better understanding of the rain patterns, hail and snow patterns,” Kidwell said. “Now we can go back and see the weather conditions on certain days and we can forecast [the weather] better.”

Press release from St. Bernard’s Academy:

St. Bernard’s Academy is excited to announce that our Women’s Basketball Team will be competing tomorrow at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento for the Division 4 High School State Championship versus Grossmont High School of El Cajon, California. This is the first time in the history of the HDNL that a women’s team will participate at this level. The game will be at 10:00 am.

St. Bernard’s Academy is a Division 6 school by population with an enrollment of 198. We played our season in Division 5, due to competitive equity and then the state seeding committee moved the Crusaders up to Division 4 due to their stellar season and overall state ranking which was helped by the strength of Women’s Basketball competition in the HDNL this year. St. Bernard’s overall record for the season is 29-5.

Tickets may be purchased through TicketMaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com/

The game can be live streamed through NFHS: https://accounts.nfhs.org/

On the journey to the state championship game, the SB women were the #1 seed in NorCal in Division 4. They advanced through victories over the West Campus Warriors (55-39), the Lincoln Mustangs (62-53), and the Foothill Cougars (49-42). On Wednesday night local fans were treated to a celebration of local women’s basketball. St. Bernard’s came out on top 60-54 verse the #2 seed Arcata Tigers for the NorCal Championship in front of a sold-out crowd at College of the Redwoods to advance to the state final.

Grossmont High School from the San Diego Section, Division 1, is a school of 2800 students, playing in Division 4 for the state tournament. Their overall record is 27-8. They are the 4th seed from the southern region.

The history-making team is led by junior Laila Florvilus and senior Madelyn Shanahan. Sensational freshman Samantha Sundberg had key baskets in the last two playoff games to help propel the Crusaders to the state championship game. The whole team is playing some of their best basketball of the season heading into tomorrow’s game. Multi-sport coach, Matt Tomlin, has previously led the Crusaders to State Championships in Football and NorCal championships in football, women’s basketball and baseball and now looks forward to the opportunity to compete in the state championship game.

Catherine Scott, SB Co-Principal stated, “St. Bernard’s is grateful for the support of the HDNL. This whole journey has been a celebration of Humboldt basketball that started in New Orleans and is ending in Sacramento. We are proud to represent Northern California at tomorrow’s game.”

Paul Shanahan, SB President, stated, “I am tremendously proud of our student athletes for their record breaking season and I am very proud of our school community for their wonderful support at all of our games. Our Crusader Crazies have been difference makers.”

St. Bernard’s would like to extend their gratitude to Storer Coachways for donating two 54-passenger buses to transport our students to the game.

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A local doctor wants to develop an abandoned Eureka church property into a project that would deliver two of the community’s top priorities: housing and medical care facilities.

It may look like a bell tower but this is actually a 60-foot cell phone tower, erected by Verizon in 2009.

Dr. Deepak Stokes, an OB-GYN currently working with Providence Medical Group, has requested a zoning change and general plan amendment that would allow for construction of a multi-use development including eight two-story townhomes – for a total of 16 new housing units – plus a rural health care facility offering urgent care, women’s health services, primary care and more, according to tentative plans submitted to the city.

The 1.01-acre parcel, which is currently home to a vacated Apostolic church with a parking lot and a detached five-car garage, occupies the northern section of a block on Harris Street between Williams and D streets, near Henderson Center.

The land has a land-use designation of Low Density Residential, but Stokes has asked the city to convert it to Neighborhood Commercial and to change the zoning to Henderson Center, which is a mixed-use designation that allows for multi-family housing, medical facilities and commercial offices.

“It’s awesome that they want to do housing on there, but [the project] is still in the very early stages,” said Millisa Smith, an assistant planner with the City of Eureka. 

The city recently issued a notification to neighboring property owners informing them about the rezoning request and offering a broad overview of Dr. Stokes’s plans. 

According to Smith, Stokes hopes to set up a rural health care clinic in the church’s 5,285-square-foot basement with more medical offices upstairs, including medical spa facilities offering plastic surgery, injections, laser treatment, massage and esthetician services. 

Calls to Dr. Stokes’s Eureka office were not returned by publication time. 

The development will require compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and so an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) is being prepared. Smith said that document should be posted publicly later this month.

From there the project must head to the Eureka Planning Commission for a public hearing, and the City Council will need to hold at least two public hearings of its own – one to approve the environmental documentation and another to approve the general plan amendment and zoning change.

Smith said the “very tentative” timeline calls for those latter hearings to take place in June.

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Representatives from the McDonald’s Golden Grants Program joined Food For People staff outside of the non profit’s 14th Street site on Friday morning to present them with a $10,000 check to help support the Food For People Backpacks for Kids program. 

Carly Robbins, executive director for Food For People, told the Outpost that this grant money will help provide meals for school-age children who are struggling to meet their nutritional needs. The Backpacks for Kids program was launched in 2006 in response to teachers and administrators at local schools noticing that many children were having trouble focusing and displaying behavioral issues when they returned to school on Mondays. They identified that many of these children were not meeting their nutritional goals over the weekends, Robbins said. 

Backpacks for Kids helps combat the issue by working with the schools to identify children who are struggling and sending them home on Fridays with a backpack full of nutritious food – enough for two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and snacks – to get them through the weekend. Currently the program serves 37 different sites, with around 600 children signed up, but there are many more children in need and this funding will help expand the program to serve more families. 

“We always have children on the waiting list that we just don’t have the funding to serve,” Robbins said outside of Food For People on Friday morning. “So this [grant] is huge. This will allow us to expand out and serve more children on the waiting list, which is really wonderful.” 

And the program has been very successful, Robbins said, and teachers have reported seeing a significant improvement in the recipients, with children arriving at school on Mondays with more energy, more ability to focus and less behavioral issues. Robbins added that this crucial program is “very grassroots,” receiving no state or federal funding. It is completely supported through grants and local contributions. 

The McDonald’s Golden Grant Program is made possible through donations from McDonald’s owners and operators, who donated $40,000 in funding this past year. The program aims to support nonprofit programs that benefit children, including nutritional or educational programs. Out of more than 100 applicants, Food for People was selected for the top grant award of $10,000, and 16 other applicants throughout Northern California received somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000. 

Cosmo Fagundo, the owner operator of all the McDonald’s in Humboldt County, said that the grant committee selected Food For People’s application because it offers help to a lot of local children and has a noticeable positive impact. 

“Our communities are really important to us,” Fagundo told the Outpost about the grant selection process.  “This is a great program – it serves so many people. Food for People does an amazing job, so that’s really the reason for it. They’re making a huge impact.”

After an inspection yesterday, the county’s Division of Environmental health shut down the popular Moonstone Grill — that restaurant just above Moonstone Beach in Westhaven — due to what the health inspector described as

… rodent access to all areas of the facility inspected, along with evidence of ongoing contamination of critical surfaces, and potential/actual contamination of utensils (food contact) and food.

The restaurant was deemed to be “an immediate health hazard” due to the infestation, the inspector wrote. In particular, the inspector noted rat feces in a corner of a food prep sink, on floors throughout the kitchen and elsewhere. Chew holes were identified in various locations throughout the facility.

In addition, many of the restaurant’s employee handwashing sinks were determined to be defective. The sink in the employee bathroom provided no cold water, the inspector wrote, and the hot water was 136 degrees Fahrenheit “making [the] sink unusable.”

Yesterday, on Facebook, the Moonstone Grill posted that “due to equipment failure, we will be closed this weekend due to repairs.”

The health inspection report noted that the restaurant would have to remain closed until a professional pest control company eradicates the rat infestation and various other violations of the health code are addressed. The restaurant’s owners have 15 days to request a review of the health inspector’s decision to shut the restaurant down.

DOCUMENT:

“Official Inspection Report,” Moonstone Grill, March 7, 2024.