Housing advocates thought that this was going to be the year when they finally cracked the California Coast.

In early spring, Democratic lawmakers, and the Yes In My Backyard activists backing them, rolled out a series of bills aimed at making it easier to build apartments and accessory dwelling units along California’s highly regulated coast and to make it more difficult for the independent and influential California Coastal Commission to slow or block housing projects. The 15-member group oversees almost all of the state’s 840 miles of coastline, a stretch of land that just under a million Californians call home.

The pro-construction push built off last year’s success for the coalition when the Legislature passed a major housing law and — breaking from long-standing legislative tradition — did not include a carveout for the coast. This year’s pack of bills was meant to cement and build off a new political reality in which the 48-year-old Coastal Commission no longer has quite so much say over housing policy.

Fast forward to mid-August and those new bills are either dead or so severely watered down that they no longer carry the promise of a more built-out coastline. Whatever happened last year, the California Coastal Commission is still a force to be reckoned with.

“Californians really treasure their coast and they feel very strongly about protecting it and bills that seek to weaken coastal protections are going to run into some strong headwinds,” said Sarah Christie, the commission’s legislative affairs director.

Since the 1970s, the California Coastal Commission has closely regulated any construction or demolition within the California coastal zone — a narrow band of land that varies from 1,000 feet to 5-miles inland from high tide. While many recent state housing laws have required predictable, by-the-book approval of proposed developments, the commission has remained a redoubt of discretion. The commission’s defenders say that that is as it should be, since the coast’s enormous value to the public, its fragile ecosystems and its vulnerability to searise require holistic and individualized protection.

On Thursday, San Diego Democratic Assemblymember David Alvarez pulled his bill, AB 2560, written to ensure that California’s density bonus law, a policy that allows developers to build taller, denser or meeting fewer local requirements in exchange for setting aside some units for lower income tenants or owners, applies in the coastal zone. As he explained in a press release, recent amendments tacked onto the bill would have made it “ineffective at building more housing.”

That tweak came out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which heard the bill in late June, just prior to the Legislative summer recess. The amendment would have subjected any density bonus project to the added protections of the California Coastal Act. The committee is helmed by Sen. Dave Min, an Irivine Democrat.

The amendment “undid the point of the bill,” said Will Moore, policy director at Circulate San Diego, a nonprofit that co-sponsored the bill. The only point in continuing to move forward after such changes would have been “if we were just in love with the number 2560 or something,” he added.

Min’s Natural Resources Committee emerged as a vital defender of the Coastal Commission this year.

In April, the committee also substantially revised two coastal housing bills by Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas. One would have exempted backyard cottages, otherwise known as accessory dwelling units, from Coastal Commission review. Amendments out of the Min’s committee revised it to simply require the commission to offer guidance to local governments on how to permit ADUs.

“Californians really treasure their coast and they feel very strongly about protecting it and bills that seek to weaken coastal protections are going to run into some strong headwinds.”
— Sarah Christie, legislative affairs director, California Coastal Commission

A second Blakespear bill would have sped up the appeal deadline for apartment projects in the coastal zone. Min’s amendments changed it to simply require that the commission submit a report to the Legislature by 2026. (The bill died in a subsequent fiscal committee last week.)

Blakespear accepted those changes at the time, but not happily, which led to a testy exchange at the April hearing.

“To clarify, you were not forced to take any amendments, you agreed to take them,” Min said.

“I am absolutely forced to take these amendments,” Blakespear responded. “I am doing that willingly, but I do not want to.”

Over the last half decade, a majority of state lawmakers have come to embrace the idea that bringing down the cost of housing in California requires a significant increase in the supply of homes. California housing regulators are pushing local governments across the state to permit 315,000 new units every year until the end of the decade — a pace of construction without precedent in California.

Housing advocates note that the coastal zone passes through many urbanized centers and that its population is disproportionately wealthy and white. That, they argue, has made the coastal commission a tool of elitist exclusion.

But Coastal Act defenders argue that the goals of making the state’s beachfront property more accessible and protecting the coast are not mutually exclusive.

“There’s a variety of ways we could increase workforce housing in the coastal zone without undercutting the Coastal Act,” said Christie. That might include requiring local governments, which are in many cases tasked with enforcing the act, to approve housing projects that don’t jeopardize coastal resources. The Commission has also long called for the state to give it the power to require developers to set aside units for low-income residents, authority that was taken away from the agency in the early 1980s.

That debate is dead in the Legislature for now, but it’s likely to resurface again in some form next year.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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MCKINLEYVILLE, CA – This morning at 8:49 A.M., Arcata Fire District was alerted to a travel trailer on fire in the 2000 block of Daffodil Ave.

Assistant Chief McDonald was the first to arrive on scene to find flames visible behind a single-story home.

Engine 8219 was the first to arrive on scene and was assigned fire attack. Shortly after, the remaining Arcata Fire engines arrived and assisted with fire attack and overhaul.

After the fire’s initial knock-down, Arcata Fire personnel were alerted to the trailer resident that had burns and smoke inhalation. Chief McDonald then tended to the patient and requested an ambulance.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a gas appliance that had an explosive reaction when the resident went to light the pilot.

Arcata Fire would like to remind residents to be cautious when igniting gas appliances, and to be sure to have the proper ventilation in small living spaces.

We would like to thank Arcata-Mad River Ambulance for a quick response time, and to PG&E for their assessment of the power lines overhead for safety.

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Should we borrow money to pay for urgent environmental priorities? That’s the question before voters this fall. Proposition 4 asks for the state to issue $10 billion in new bonds to pay for drinking water improvements, forest restoration work, land conservation, kelp forest reestablishment and climate action. The bond measure would direct that 40% of funding be explicitly directed towards under-resourced communities or are impacted by natural disasters.

Josefina Barrantes and Kim Delfino join the show to discuss the bond measure and how the North Coast stands to benefit from an investment in environmental protection.

The Boise Fire as of this morning. The squares are satellite-detected hotspots: Red squares were detected within the last six hours, orange within the last 12 and yellow within the last 24.

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Press release from the Boise Fire incident management team:

Quick Facts:

- Acres: 11,426

- Detection Date: August 9, 2024

- Containment: 7%

- Cause: Under investigation

- Crews: 28

- Engines: 60

- Dozers: 10

- Helicopters: 15

- Total Personnel: 1,078

- Fixed wing: Available as needed

- Information: https://linktr.ee/2024boisefiresrf

Headlines:

Fire information phone: 707 572-4860 or email at 2024.Boise@firenet.gov

Get all your Boise Fire information in one mobile-friendly place! https://linktr.ee/2024boisefiresrf

Evacuations are in place for the Boise Fire for residents near the fire area in Humboldt County. For the most current evacuation information please visit the Boise Fire linktree  or visit:

- Humboldt County: https://humboldtgov.org/356/Office-of-Emergency-Services

- Siskiyou County: https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/emergencyservices

Leader’s Intent: The Boise Fire is being managed with a full suppression strategy.

Operational Update: Continued mild weather allowed firefighters another good day of work on the line, and they continued tasks from previous days. They continued improving and holding lines around Orleans, Pearch Creek, Short Ranch, and Le Perron, building handline south of the Orleans Mountain Road, and re-opening lines from previous fires to the south and east of the fire as contingencies. Crews are hoping to contain the fire at its active edge on the east side to keep the fire footprint as small as possible. They will continue this work today as weather allows.

Weather and Fire Behavior: A fast-moving system is expected to move over the area today, bringing thunderstorms and accompanying gusty outflow winds. While the fire has not shown much growth in the last several days, this potential for erratic winds could impact fire behavior. The storm could also bring heavy localized rain, and crews are also watching carefully for debris flow and flash flooding. While a lighter rain overnight is expected to follow today’s storm, this weather event is not anticipated to put the fire out, and crews will be prepared to work quickly after it passes to take advantage of wet conditions.

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Two names that dominated the meat industry in Humboldt County prior to 1930 seemed to be clearly stated as Russ and Bull. A story told, with purported authority, was that one day, some years earlier, there had been an unsigned agreement between Ralph Bull, of Arcata’s J.C. Bull Company, and an unnamed key-person of the Russ Company of Eureka. Apparently peace reigned for several years, but as time moved along, disturbances were smoldering behind the scenes.

Looking back we find that Joseph Russ came to Humboldt in 1852, along with a couple of vaqueros, driving a herd of about 100 cattle he had purchased near Placerville to be sold in Eureka. En route he followed Eel River. Upon reaching Table Bluff and looking away in the distance he liked what he saw. (His grandson, Richard T. Harville, comments, with understatement, “When he saw the hill country to the south he felt it had possibilities.”)

Joseph Russ sold the cattle and left Eureka, crossed the river and traveled by way of Centerville to the present site of Ferndale, where he spent the winter. In the spring of 1853 he filed a claim and built a log cabin on some property east of Centerville. This was to be the first of his many land acquisitions in Humboldt.

What was the background of this ambitious young man? In a biographical sketch presented to the Redwood Genealogical Society, Mr. Harville said:

Mr. Joseph Russ was born in Washington, Maine, on December 19, 1825. In 1835 his family moved to Belmont, Maine, and then following his education, he left home to go to work. It was 1842. Beginning in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, he went to Fall River and then to Appleton. His vocation had been teaming and merchandising, but in Appleton he purchased a sawmill and a grocery store that proved to be highly successful.

The California gold excitement of ‘49 caused him to sell everything and leave for California on the bark “Midas.” Directly upon arrival in San Francisco on March 15, 1850, he and six companions purchased a boat and headed for Sacramento. At nearby Oak Springs he operated a sawmill for two months before taking on contracts building summer bridges over Daly Slough, the American River and Cosumnes River. His one unsuccessful venture was a general merchandising store at Volcano. But in Placerville he bought a drove of cattle and herded them to Yuba for a good profit. It was in that area that he opened a store which turned out to be a well paying venture.

In 1851 he opened a hay and feed yard in the Sacramento Valley where he freighted between Colusa and Shasta. In the fall of the next year he left for the Humboldt County coast.

It was within a year or so of this time that he went into partnership with Barry Adams. Together they returned to Sacramento Valley, where they purchased a large drove of cattle which they brought to Humboldt and pastured in the Bear River Hills. They opened a meat market in Eureka and brought in beef as it was needed. Three years later he sold his interest to Barry. Next he purchased some merchandise, a drove of cattle and other equipment which he transported up in the hills where he opened a store at Forks of the Salmon. It was news of a gold strike that was behind the move to the Forks. Two years later he sold out. Then going to Oregon, he secured a drove of cattle which he brought down to the Bear River Hills. It was here that he preempted a cattle range on the cape ridge between Cape Town and Ocean House. At this time he came to Eureka where he opened his butcher shop and it proved to be most successful.

Joseph Russ continued to purchase ranch property and along with this, over the years, new butcher shops were started in such places as Ferndale, Fields Landing and Eureka. There were many years the the Russ Company had six butcher shops in Eureka, plus an excellent wholesale business.

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Swift & Co. installed a small plant in Eureka and other outside companies had also made inroads. Their sales representatives made regular calls on local meat markets and even though they found it unprofitable to maintain a local processing plant in Eureka, they were still interested in doing business in this county. Armour Co. also felt they could profitably maintain a salesman in Northwestern California. Contributing to the changing times in the local meat industry were highway improvements, reliable trucking, improved refrigeration and the advent of the “supermarket” concept.

The J.C. Bull Company of Arcata owned two retail butcher shops, the Humboldt on H Street, not far from Seely and Titlow and the other, the Pioneer Market, just west of the Arcata Hotel. Enos Brown ran the Humboldt Market. Porter Tufford worked for the company and Dan McGowan was the head butcher at the Pioneer. He had Leighton Woodcock working with him because there were quite a few “peddling wagons” operating out of this shop in addition to the regular retail business.

Peddling wagons were operated by butchers who drove on regular routes out of town through the country roads. Calls were made in various regions at intervals of a week or less. They would pull up in front of a house and ring a hand-bell to let the lady of the home know purchases could be made. It was usual that orders were placed for the following week, especially for fancy cuts or for a huge quantity. However, these butchers carried a wide variety of meats, butter and lard. The wagon was a miniature butcher shop complete with chopping block, saw and knife assortment, scales, wrapping paper, etc. When horse drawn wagons were being replaced by autos, light weight pickups or converted coupes were outfitted with the same type of canopy. Some may have converted their wagon canopies to the motorized vehicles or built new ones with a similar design. J.C. Bull Company had four or five peddling wagons of their own operating out of the Pioneer Market, plus several privately owned operators who purchased wholesale from that location. One wagon went to Klamath, another through Arcata Bottom, and others to Freshwater, Trinidad and other points.

Some other names remembered to be connected with the work at the plant during that era are: Tony Ramos, Hershal “Buckskin” McGrew and a man named Holt. Jake Boenzli was head butcher and cattle buyer. Les Rousche worked on the killing floor, Ray Chaffey and Bill Siedel worked on the killing floor and helped in the sausage kitchen. The sausage maker was Herman Klinger. O.F. Olsen recalls when Les Stromberg was a young fellow he used to go with George Sowash, the delivery man, as he made his deliveries around Arcata. When they pulled up in front of a house Les would run to make the delivery. In theory this speeded up the work; anyway, the driver’s job was easier. It was not an uncommon practice for youngsters to get an after-school and weekend job such as this, from a variety of businesses at that time.

The J.C. Bull abattoir was located in Arcata Bottom. At that plant, an ammonia refrigeration system was installed where ice was manufactured into 300-pound blocks. These units were hauled into town to the two markets for their cold boxes. The Pioneer Market was the center of activity for the company. The main office was above the market on the second floor. Percy Lovejoy was office manager and with him was Martin Gross. Ice was sold to the public and delivered in small 25 or 30 pound blocks for ice boxes in homes, or larger quantities to cafes and stores. The ice was delivered by George Sowash for several years.

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Fred P. Hanson, an experienced meat cutter, who retired a few years ago after working in the meat industry of Humboldt County for over 40 years, contributed many details and recalled scores of names for this article. He was born in Monterey, Calif., and when a young child, moved with his parents to Watsonville, where his father, a pharmacist, had purchased a drugstore. It was during his junior year in high school that he took an interest in learning the trade of meat cutting. He had found a job at Petersen Bros. Market doing errands, making deliveries and working around the store. Ed Petersen, his boss, took an interest in him and taught him the trade. After working there some length of time he went to San Jose. After working several years, plus a couple more in Monterey County, he loaded tools and personal things in his Oakland automobile and headed north.

“Eureka looked like an interesting place,” he explained …

I thought I might find some work for a few days. My first work was with Fritz and Laurie Baumgartner. Their shop was on Fifth Street between D and E streets. Fritz said to me, ‘If you stay a year in this area, you’ll never leave.’ He was sure right, that was 1928 and I’m still here! They only had work on the weekends so they suggested I contact a man by the name of Pete Ferreira, who managed the J.C. Bull Co., at Arcata.

Mr. Ferreira offered me a job on a peddling wagon, but I declined, telling him I was trained in retail work as a counterman. He told me to leave my name and where he might contact me. It was only a couple of days until he called for me. He hired me to work at their abattoir. I enjoyed working with him and stayed until his sudden death nearly ten years later.

We manufactured ice. Each day at one o’clock George Sowash would drive up to receive a load of 20 and 30 lb. blocks of ice for a long string of customers. Our main business was supplying the lumber camps with meat and meat products, like weenies and sausage. We sold to Little River Redwood Co., California Barrel and other cookhouses, but the main sales were to the many lumber camps for these mills and several others. Also we made good sales to the Hammond Lumber Co. for their ships. Joe Nellist was head butcher at Samoa and he and Joe Murphy would come over from Hammonds to the abattoir and pick out 10 to 15 head of cattle at a time. These carcasses would be trucked over to Samoa and they would be loaded aboard the ships.

When I went to work there, we didn’t have any wholesale business. After I’d been there several years, I suggested to Pete Ferreira that we try to get some of that business. He agreed for me to take some time away from the plant so I could make calls on markets and we developed a pretty good wholesale business. After a time, we were selling to several Eureka markets; Phillip Bruce’s Independent Market on Fifth near H St.; Goff and Slingsbe, across from Baumgartner Bros.; Safeway at 7th and E sts. and other small shops such as Fred Slack’s Market at Clark and B streets.

Over the whole country there was a TB epidemic going through the dairy cows. The State was having rigid inspection of all meat sold. For several years the veterinarian assigned to inspect meat at the Bull plant was Dr. Ahr, a fine gentleman. Nothing got by his critical eye.

When WW II came the U.S. Government started meat grading and marking or as it was known, “rolling,” each carcass with indelible ink. This technique really set the price that could be charged for the cuts of beef from that particular animal. There were six grades of beef; Prime, Choice, Good, Commercial, Canner and Cutter. Then came shortages, rationing and food stamps. Everyone knew the war was on!

Just before this period, around 1931, the country went into a terrific depression. There were many people in need of food so the government stepped in to help and one of the things they did was to contact canning companies.

Fred Hanson tells about it:

There was a fish cannery at Klamath operated by Stacy Fisher and Chester Paul; these fellows received a contract to do canning and moved to Humboldt. They built a cannery right next to us. The year was 1932. The cans were a large flat-looking can nicely labeled holding about a pound of beef. This was the first meat cannery in northern California. It is difficult to imagine the amount of meat that was canned. We were killing and delivering thirty cattle a day to them. We paid one cent a pound dressed weight for the cattle and sold it to the cannery for three cents per pound dressed weight. They had four or five butchers working to bone the meat. The average boner at that time could bone eight cattle a day. We certainly were busy, beside the thirty cattle for them, we had our own business plus the peddling wagons. So we had the plant going at 10 or 15 times the capacity it was built to handle.

That business was originally started by J.C. Bull, Jr. When I came there it was owned by his brother, Ralph Bull. The manager was Peter Ferreira. Pete formerly had been with Swift Co., in fact he sold for them up here. After I went to work I was put in charge of the plant and later made plant manager and sales manager. Pete was general manager of the whole enterprise when he died.

I recall one day Pete explaining an idea he had of preparing meat in packages and putting them in a grocery or a good location where purchasers could make their own selection. We installed a special cutting block right at the plant so I could do the meat preparation. He purchased cellophane type wrapping material and made arrangements with the Eureka grocery firm of Messerle & Waldorf at 5th and A streets for their cooperation. He then purchased a display case and a small refrigerating system for it. We put in a display and gave it a good try, but it didn’t go over like we expected. It wasn’t just because it was a new idea for people of Humboldt. We concluded later that what it needed was to be set up in a place where there was a meat cutter or someone trained to give regular care to the meat. Anyway, it was an interesting experiment. This turned out to be the first packaged meat display in Humboldt County for sure.

Henry Calanchini, formerly of this area, had one or two shops in Vallejo, but wanted to get back to Humboldt County. When previously here he had been a partner in the Ferndale Meat Co. with Louis Gist, Art Dedini and Emery Brightman. When Mr. Bull contacted him he accepted the offer. I agreed to stay until he got on the job. Pete Ferreira was like a father to me. I worked with him nearly ten years and missed him and just wanted to make a change. Even though the Bulls and Henry Calanchini urged me and made a real good offer, I left because I had other things in mind. As a matter of fact, I had been talking with Walter Kretner about an idea I had.

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Looking elsewhere in the county we find that Art Dedini and his wife, Tillie, opened the Fernbridge Locker Storage Plant in 1936. This was the first Locker Storage plant in Northern California. Later ,when the Russ Company closed, their former manager, Leonard Carlson, and Henry Calanchini opened a Locker Plant in the Russ Building at Third and G streets in Eureka. Among those working in the meat industry in Eureka were Carl Lundgren and Fritz Wollper operating the City Market on Third Street.

And there was a little abattoir called the Redwood Meat Co. Wally Kay was their bookkeeper at that time. This plant is still operated under the same name but is now owned by Nylander Brothers.

Also there was the Humboldt Market on Myrtle Ave. near Sixth street, not to be confused with the market of the same name in Arcata. Langer and Kretner were owners and operators of this fine market and abattoir. The founders, John Langer, Sr., and John Kretner, Sr., were both born in Germany and came to America near the beginning of this century. They met in 1912 after working for others in various places, John Langer, Jr., in the central part of the state and John Kretner, Jr., in lumber camps such as The Pacific Lumber Co. This was near the time that John Langer, Sr., started his butcher shop in Eureka. The men quickly found they had real partnership capabilities.

John Kretner, Sr., took over the butchering and primary meat preparation. He was a master sausage maker and he produced many kinds of sausage including wieners, bologna, pork sausage, salami, blood sausage, head cheese and other specialities, as well as bacon. They were off and running in a partnership that would last for over two generations. Public response was good.

John (Fritz) Kretner, Jr., who came from Germany with his parents, John, Sr., and Sophia, was quite knowledgeable about the things in which his father was so proficient. In spite of being a youth he was of real help to his father. Later, his brother Walter grew up receiving instruction in various phases of the business. Before going into full-time work here he went to the San Francisco Bay area, where he worked gathering some modern techniques he was able to bring back to Eureka. John Langer, Jr., and Charles Langer were also zeroing in to find phases of the business that appealed to them. John, Jr., was a good meat cutter and a fine manager and Charles enjoyed working with the books and managing the office. Charles, for a short time, went to work for the railroad and his brother, John, Jr., went into military service. It was WW I but these interruptions proved to be just that, as another generation found its niche in life.

As time progressed, John F. Langer, Jr., took charge of the Humboldt Market, their retail outlet, located at 531 Myrtle Ave. After WW I he purchased his mother’s interest in the firm. It was upon his return from the service that he became a charter member of Fort Humboldt Post American Legion and began an active roll in community life. He served on the City Council and was Mayor of Eureka from 1947-51.

Charles Langer’s business office was also located at the market location. Berta Langer, wife of John, Jr., began helping with the books part-time and aa business improved she worked fulltime. Following the death of Charles Langer in 1952, his wife. Ruby, assisted Alberta until they retired in 1966.

Mrs. Anne Gustafson and her sister, Mrs. Louise Walund, daughters of John Kretner, Sr., one of the founders, both recall how Thanksgiving and Christmas time was ushered in at their home. For a period of many years the entire family was involved with turkeys on these holidays. Hundreds of turkeys were delivered to the Kretner home where they were fed and cared for until needed. Mrs. Kretner and the children all participated. Today they can tell you how the feathers were plucked and why it was done in a certain manner. (If it was not done correctly, giving signs of carelessness, the price of the bird would be much less.) Of course the above procedure was practiced before the organization had reached maturity. 

The main plant and abattoir was located on Arbutus street in Cutten. From its very modest beginning it was expanded several times over the years. In August, 1948, Langer & Kretner’s Humboldt Market was sold to Jim Worthen, Sr. From that time on bookkeeping and business details were all conducted from the main plant. Fred Hanson had joined the organization as he had hoped to when leaving the J.C. Bull Co. His experience in dealing with wholesale accounts was put to good use.

Concentrating on the wholesale business proved to be a wise move for the firm. The tremendous growth over the years was the result of a number of things, but there is agreement that their quality of product and service were of paramount importance and was recognized by the customers. There were two labels associated with the Langer & Kretner sausage kitchen. Both Gold Star and Rockin R brand meats proved to be winners. Their kitchen had a large wood burning boiler for cooking and smoking. Fantastic as it may sound, they were producing over a ton of sausage each day. (This plant was taken over by the Moxon family of Arcata following the retirement of the Langer & Kretner operation.)

Near the abattoir, there was ample space for 50 or more head of cattle to be held for a short period of time and a place for storage of trucks and other equipment. For years “Fritz” and Walter Kretner shared the duty of animal buying. “Fritz” bought cattle, sheep and hogs from local farmers and at nearby auctions. The majority of his purchases were for the sausage kitchen. Walter was mainly interested in the prime beef buying. He would talk with ranchers, visit feed lots and attend auctions, many located miles from Eureka. Arrangements were made for large cattle trucks to transport the animals to the plant, generally this was accomplished within 36 hours of a purchase.

Thad Smith had a meat market at Blue Lake many years ago (late 20s and 30s). Murray Harvey was a cutter for him and drove the meat wagon around the Korbel/Blue Lake area.

Around that period of time, the City Meat Market operated in Eureka (first on Third Street near E Street). The owners were Fritz Wollper and Carl Lundgren. They moved up to a new location on Fifth Street between E and F streets on the north side of the street in 1934. Wally Kay was bookkeeper and did some outside selling for the firm. Later Uno and Allen Nylander and Ray Hutchins were with that firm. Hutchins became a key figure among the meat cutters of Humboldt County. He was the first union member to retire and take advantage of some of the benefits.

Eber “Slim” Winchester had been working with markets in the Sacramento Valley. He had worked several years as manager or meat cutter for markets in Westwood, Susanville, Dunsmuir and Redding. In 1942 he was asked to come to Eureka for Purity Stores where he worked at Sixth and G and Sixth and E, then for Cannam’s Markets for many years. Upon his retirement from Food Mart, where he was last employed, he had completed over forty years working with meat marketing.

Many farmers, ranchers, auction workers, customers and employees who worked closely with Russ Co., Langer & Kretner and J.C. Bull Co., over the years could contribute some interesting experiences and anecdotes — but that would be another slice of our meat history!

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The story above is excerpted from the January-February 1988 and March-April 1988 issues 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.

Mark Stephen Boyd was born to Calvin and Gloria J Boyd, on October 16, 1953, in Eureka, and was called home on August 8, 2024 while residing at Humboldt Hospice House in Eureka, due to stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Mark was the owner and operator of American Star Private Security, for over 30 years. Before that he worked for Brinks in Eureka for 14 years. He also worked for McDonalds, Arctic Circle and Longs, locally.

Mark graduated from Eureka High School in 1972. He continued to College of the Redwoods and graduated in 1974, then graduated from Humboldt State University in 1980 with a B.A. in business. Mark was incredibly intelligent and well read. He often shared about climbing through brush to get to a private spot on local beaches, like Trinidad, to read his favorite novel. He was truly an exemplary person, who served as a role model for his family and community. Mark always took others poking fun at him with good humor. He never complained when family members and friends called him a “geek.”

Mark met the love of his life, Doris Smith at Harbor Lanes and married her on June 15, 2002. Mark and Doris married on the waterfront at the foot of F Street, during Coast Guard Days and the television media were present and filmed the wedding. Mark and Doris spent their time with family and running the business. They delighted in spending time with grandchildren and they both loved sports and traveling, including to Paris, France and London, England in April 2000.

They made memories together every single day. Mark was a history buff and loved sharing his fun facts with anyone who would listen. He loved his trip to Washington D.C. and New York in August 2011. He was a coin collector, so loved seeing the museums and Arlington National Cemetery.

Mark was a member of Elk’s Club, Redwood Guns Club, Chamber of Commerce, a lifetime member of NRA, Coin Club, Calazager Security Industry and the NAACP. Mark owned property in Big Bar, California and loved riding his motorcycle there on days off. Mark and Doris often hosted family at Big Bar in Trinity County where there were barbecues, swimming, bird watching and lots of fun and games. When Mark was a child he went with his family to Ishi Pishi and Hayden Flat. He also hiked Fern Canyon with his brother, sister and cousins.

Mark loved adventure and time with his family. Mark is preceded in death by his parents. Mark leaves behind his wife Doris Boyd, his step-son Jimmy Rodgers (Emi), his four grandchildren, Tiana and PJ Rodgers, and Olivia and Nelson Botzler-Washington, his brother Dave (Rachel), nephew Brad Hulbert, (Julie), and niece Jessica Hulbert, his sister Edie Lupien, niece and nephew Michelle and Kyle Lupien, first cousins Suzie Owsley and Jeff Owsley, cousins Judy and Bill Fish, Donald and Charlotte Beck, nephew Rriver Nile, Sirius Seven and Ronnie Brandon, godchildren Stanley and Talia Fleming, and a host of extended family.

The family would like to extend special appreciation to Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Timber Ridge and Hospice of Humboldt for their care, kindness and compassion towards Mark. There will be a celebration of life on October 12, 2024 at 2 p.m. at the Elks Lodge.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Aug. 15, 2024 at about 3:40 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s (HCSO) deputies were dispatched to Bear River Casino in Loleta for the report of a possible shooting nearby.

Upon arrival, deputies began gathering statements from two males who reported that they were shot at from two vehicles—a silver two-door sedan and a large black pickup truck—that were driving by them while they were walking along Brenard Rd. toward Carroll Rd. Bear River Police Department (BRPD) and HCSO deputies teamed up to locate the suspects at a residence in the 100 Block of Carroll Rd.

After failing to obey commands, two suspects were subsequently taken into custody:

• Fernando Martinez, age 26 of Visalia, for violating parole (PC 3056) and resisting arrest (PC 148(a)(1))
• Robert Ellis, age 33 of Loleta, for being a felon in possession of a firearm (PC 29800(a)(1)) and having an unregistered firearm (PC 24610)

Multiple firearms were located at the scene. Madison Carroll, age 23 of Loleta, was determined to be a suspect in this case. On Aug. 15, around 11 a.m., Carroll was located and detained by BRPD to be turned over to HCSO deputies. Carroll was taken into custody for brandishing a firearm (PC 417(a)(2)) and discharging a firearm (PC 246.3(a)).

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

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