James Keefauver left this life on July 21, 2023. He was a loving son, father and grandfather. James is survived by his children, Shelly, Ryan and Amber; grandchildren, Alexander, Sabastian, Ameilya, Bryan, Jesse, Jaimie, Michael, William; brother Ron Keefauver and his Aunt Sarah.

James was preceded in death by his father, Walter Keefauver and mother, Betty Kinsley. He was also preceded by his son, Brandon Keefauver.

James was a Vietnam veteran and a Reserve Police Officer for Arcata Police Department. James became a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputy in 1974. James held many positions as a Deputy including the Orick resident Deputy, Petrolia resident Deputy and Field Training Officer, Corporal. James received many awards and commendations during his career. He retired on May 21, 2005, after 31 years of continuous service to the citizens of Humboldt County. Thank you for your service!

James was a long time member of the local H.O.G. group and was an avid Harley Davidson rider.

A Memorial Service for James Keefauver will be on September 8, 2023 at 11 a.m. at The Faith Center on Bay Street, Eureka.

James will be laid to rest at Sunset Memorial Cemetery, Eureka at 3 p.m.

Please join us for a celebration of life for James Keefauver on Saturday, September 9, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.at the Humboldt County Peace Officers Hall , located at 2351 Freshwater Rd., Eureka, Ca.

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of James Keefauver’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Fact 1: In Jonathan Swift’s satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels, the eponymous hero visits the floating island of Laputia, where the local astronomers tell him about Mars’s twin moons. “…the innermost is distant from the center of the primary exactly three of his diameters, and the outermost five: the former revolves in the space of ten hours, and the latter in twenty-one and a half.” Gulliver’s Travels was published in 1726.

Fact 2: During the close approach between Earth and Mars in 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Mars’ two moons using the largest refracting telescope in the world at the time, the 26-inch pride and joy of the US Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The moons were subsequently named Phobos and Deimos, meaning “panic” and “dread” respectively. They’re the names of the twin horses pulling Ares’ (Roman Mars) chariot. Phobos and Deimos are probably captured asteroids.

The Laputian astronomers claimed that Phobos and Deimos orbit Mars in 10 and 21.5 hours respectively; the actual values are 7.7 and 30.3 hours. Similarly, the Laputians’ values for the distance from the center of Mars was 3 and 5 Martian diameters for Phobos and Deimos; the correct values are 1.4 and 3.5 diameters. How could Swift have known about Mars’ two moons 151 years before they were discovered, and how could he have made reasonable estimates for their orbits?

First off, he didn’t know. No one did until Hall discovered them with a really large telescope. One possibility is that Swift knew of an incorrect interpretation by Johannes Kepler of an anagram devised by his contemporary, Galileo Galilei. In 1610, Galileo wanted to announce his discovery of the rings of Saturn, but was afraid of being preempted. In those pre-arXiv days, you wrote coded letters about your discoveries to your fellow scientists. Kepler, however, misinterpreted Galileo’s code, believing he was claiming to have found two moons of Mars, an impossibility given the small size of Galileo’s telescope.

Or — equally plausible — Galileo had discovered Jupiter’s four largest satellites, now called the Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto). Earth has one moon, so perhaps (according to Kepler) Mars, which orbits the sun between Earth and Jupiter, has the geometrical mean of 1 and 4, i.e. 2 moons.

And as for the orbital elements for Mars’ moon — the periods and distances from Mars’ center — I think we can safely put Swift’s numbers down to lucky guesses. As blogger and neurologist Steven Novella puts it, “These figures are correct to within an order of magnitude, which is another way of saying that they are wrong.”

Finally, a shout-out to Asaph Hall’s wife, Angeline Stickney, who was instrumental in convincing her reluctant husband to spend time looking for moons of Mars during one of Earth’s closest approaches. In her honor, the largest of Phobos’ crater, about six miles across, is named “Stickney.”

(Thanks to Total Recall, starring our once-time governator, Arnie, for the title of this piece.)

David George Gordon, author of the new book, Heaven of the Half Shell, joins the show to discuss all things oysters. From indigenous cultivation to the oyster’s role in settling the West, the oyster has always been an integral part of local diets and has helped to shape our history. Now, climate change and invasive species put our oysters at risk. Come learn more about this lovely mollusk!

David will be in town for an oyster-filled weekend the second weekend in September The first event will be held Friday, September 8 at 7 p.m. at Northtown Books and the second event (featuring oysters!) will be on Sunday, September 10th at 4 p.m. at Wrangletown Cider in Arcata.

I must have been a very small child when I heard adults sitting around the kitchen table at 816 Harris Street talking of the Coyote Flat killings and saying that Jack Ryan, the man serving life-imprisonment for the murders, was innocent. Both my parents had spent their childhood at Showers Pass near Coyote Flat. Surely they knew Jack Ryan and also his half brother, Walter David. The murders of Henry Sweet and Carmen Wagner took place in 1925, two years before I was born, but, due to the many unexplained and questionable events surrounding the case, were still a topic of conversation when I was a child. A jury had found Jack Ryan innocent in 1926; then, two years later, Ryan confessed to the murders. I imagine there were others, besides my family, who questioned the circumstances surrounding Ryan’s confession.

In 1981, when one of Jack Ryan’s accusers admitted before her death that she had lied in court, investigator Richard Walton decided to find out what really happened on Coyote Flat in 1925. Walton spent ten years searching for the truth. He interviewed more than 400 people, including the sheriff ’s deputies who had witnessed District Attorney Stephen Metzler’s aggressive interrogation of Ryan, driving the young man to confess to murders he did not commit. Richard Walton concluded that Henry Sweet was killed over a bootlegging debt and that Carmen Wagner just happened to be in the killer’s way. On the other hand, one wonders if perhaps Henry and Carmen had stumbled upon a whiskey still while hunting and camping on Coyote Flat, and the bootleggers had felt they had to silence them.

An April 15, 1996 Los Angeles Times newspaper article on file at the Historical Society states that Sweet’s body was found near a cabin close to Coyote Flat. This was the Wagner cabin where the Phillips side of my family lived while building a house on their homestead just down the hill below Showers Rock. Several years ago, my husband, Ken, and I were fortunate enough to join a short caravan of family members interested in Showers Pass history. Erwin Fredrickson, a longtime family friend with a ranch at Iaqua, obtained permission from the Fort Baker Ranch, which now owns the Showers Pass and Coyote Flat property, for us to go in with a guide who had keys to the gates. We were shown where, back in 1925, Henry Sweet’s body had been found with a bullet in his head next to the Wagner cabin. Henry Sweet’s Roadster had been parked nearby loaded with camping gear and with the carcass of a deer tied to the running board. Sweet’s companion, Carmen Wagner, was missing. A volunteer posse of 40 men searched the mountains near Coyote Flat. Carmen’s body was found in a shallow grave. She had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the throat.

Immediately after each body was discovered the areas had been searched for clues. None were found. Jack Ryan and his half brother, Walter David, young half-Indian men who lived in the area, were arrested for the murders. Not until after the arrest was Carmen’s watch “discovered” in Jack Ryan’s chaps that had previously been searched and found empty. Shell casings supposedly from Ryan’s gun were found near Carmen’s grave. Jack’s half brother, Walter David, was released, as he had an alibi, but Jack Ryan had no alibi and went on trial for five weeks, the longest trial in the history of Humboldt County. The clumsy effort to frame Jack Ryan did not sway the jury. On March 12, 1926, Jack Ryan was acquitted.

Stephen Earl Metzler ran for District Attorney in 1927 on the platform that he would do away with the “dry squads” — authorities who smashed hidden whiskey stills. This plan would serve Metzler well, as, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper article, he was a successful and powerful bootlegger. Metzler also vowed to solve the Coyote Flat murder within two years, or he would resign the position of District Attorney. It seems likely that he wanted the murders solved according to his own plans. When Jack Ryan’s brother, Walter David, was found brutally murdered in October 1927, Metzler did not investigate the case. Instead, he began sending letters to Ryan, warning that if Ryan did not confess, he would end up like his brother.

Additionally, Metzler arranged for a booby-trapped tripwire that would fire a rifle at Jack Ryan when he used his regularly traveled trail. Metzler also prevailed upon a woman (and may have paid her) to get Ryan drunk and elicit a confession to the murders, but this plan failed. Then as she was driving Ryan over a bridge, two gunmen fired three shots at the car. Ryan jumped from the bridge into the river and got away.

On June 12, 1928, Metzler paid another woman $100 to swear that Ryan had raped her thirteen-year-old daughter. Ryan was arrested and two other women came forward with similar charges against Ryan. In September, after an all-night interrogation by Metzler, Ryan appeared in court on the rape charges and shocked everyone by confessing to the murders of Henry Sweet and Carmen Wagner. Ryan was sentenced to life in prison and within ten hours transported to San Quentin, where he stayed for twenty-five years.

Eventually, Metzler was convicted of bootlegging and went to prison for fifteen months. When released, he used his political influence in Washington D.C. to win a pardon from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Metzler continued to oppose all Ryan’s petitions for parole. Why? And what about Jack Ryan’s half-brother, Walter David, who was found heinously murdered as a threatening example to Jack Ryan? Metzler secretly paid three women to testify against Ryan. It’s possible that he also paid someone to kill Carmen Wagner, Henry Sweet and Walter David. As District Attorney, Metzler had used the women’s testimony to force Ryan to claim he was guilty of the murders. Why would he do all of this unless he had something to cover up?

Ryan spent 25 years in the San Quentin State Prison, where he was a model inmate and worked in the cobbler shop. In 1953, at the age of 50, he was paroled with the condition that he could not return to Humboldt County. Ryan moved to Redding, where he worked on highway projects. He became friends with a family in Burney and helped the grandmother raise her grandchildren when they were orphaned. He is buried in this family’s graveyard.

Due to Richard Walton’s tenacious investigation, Jack Ryan was exonerated in 1996 when Governor Pete Wilson pardoned him posthumously. In his pardon, the Governor said, “We must remember that a just society may not always achieve justice, but it must constantly strive for justice.” The Governor quoted the philosopher Francis Bacon, “If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.” Governor Wilson continued, “Therefore, so that justice is maintained, I grant Jack Ryan posthumously a pardon based on innocence.”

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The story above was originally printed in the Summer 2008 issue of The Humboldt Historian, a journal of the Humboldt County Historical Society, and 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.

Mikal (Mike) Eugene Anderson was born to Gene and Kathy Anderson in Sacramento on December 1, 1972. Sadly he passed away from a broken heart and Fentanyl overdose on July 6, 2023.

In 1983 the family moved to McKinleyville where his father was raised and attended high school. His elementary years were spent at Humboldt Bay Adventist School in Bayside where he was a member of Humboldt Bay Trackers Pathfinder youth club. He was on the McKinleyville High School football team and played baseball where he was chosen for the All Stars team as an excellent catcher. Many lifetime friends were made during this time. Mikal was blessed with vibrant energy and good health and a need to excel in all he did. He expected this from not only himself but from everyone else as well. The death of his father in 1986 deeply impacted his life in many ways.

Mikal had 2 children, Jarid and Toria that he loved with all his heart. Jarid’s death at age 20 from Fentanyl poisoning compounded unresolved grief from his father’s death when he was 12 yrs old.

Mikal loved the outdoors. He hiked, biked, surfed and skateboarded many parts of Washington, Oregon and California. Friends and family delighted in the sight of him flying down 14th street or Buhne on his skateboard at 50 years old. In keeping with his love of nature he made his way in the world doing yard work and landscaping. All of his clients were impressed with his attention to detail and ready smile when addressing his more elderly friends. As his mother I always appreciated that he was kind to strangers and would bring me flowers and little gifts of chocolates when he visited me. I miss his smile so much.

We, his family and close friends invite all who knew and loved Mikal to join us in celebration of his life on Sunday September 10, 2023 at Moonstone Beach. Services will begin at 4 p.m. A beach style potluck dinner will be served around 5 p.m. We will provide meat and vegetarian burgers. Bring a side dish, chair or blanket, an instrument, pictures and stories to share. A “paddle out” will happen around sunset, so bring your suit and board. For non surfers we will send flowers out to sea.

Mikal is survived by his mother Kathy, sister Krista and husband Will, brother Joshua, sister Molly and husband Aaron, daughter Toria, nieces Ashley and husband Dillon (with grandnephew Spencer) and Cambria, nephews Isaiah, Elijah and Kobe, many cousins, uncle Bob, aunt Viola, aunt Julie and children that he helped to raise; Daniel with his mother Cindi (Jarid and Toria’s mother), and Kirsten, Jesika, Amanda and Dylan with their mother Lynette.

We ask that all who read this will seek ways to stop the flow of Fentanyl into our communities. We are losing too many precious souls to this horrible epidemic. And support Suicide Prevention programs in your area, never lose hope.

Trust in the Lord always. Psalms 3:5.

Gadie McBride, 1941-2023, passed away August 17 at her home in Bear River, Ferndale. She was 82. Gadie was born in South Africa and moved with her family to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) as a young child, where she lived for 40 years. Gadie’s parents became farmers in Rhodesia.

Gadie met her husband, Bill McBride, in Rhodesia and they were married in Ferndale in 1983 and were married for 40 years until Bill’s passing in May this year.

Gadie’s family: son, Hugo Klopper (wife Liz), daughter Rentia O’Neill (husband Paul), sister Marie (Botha) Harris (husband Steve), grandchildren, Ryan, Aaron and Matthew Klopper, Russ Hobbs (wife Jen), Andrew Hobbs (wife Lucy), great grandchild Hugh Hobbs. Stepchildren, Bill McBride Jr (wife Angela), Bobby McBride, Cathy LaFleur, Peggy Norton (husband Ron).

Gadie owned a boutique by Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe for many years and upon settling in Ferndale she opened The African Connexion and bought African crafts and artifacts to sell. Upon retirement to her home in Bear River Gadie found true love as a Master Gardener and created a truly wonderful garden.

Gadie was a crafter and entered many categories at the Humboldt County Fair, including wedding cakes, flower arrangements and handwoven rugs. She loved to collect rustic art and pottery for her garden.

Gadie and Bill took many trips together including Africa, Mexico, Alaska and England.

Gadie loved to play Pinocle with her group of friends and always enjoyed listening to her husband Bill as he sang and entertained at The Ivanhoe for many years.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to The Fortuna Senior Center or Ferndale Community Church.

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Gadie McBride’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Once again, a local woman has made her mark in the sports world, with our own Mary Burke of McKinleyville recently being inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame.

Burke at the 2008 Regionals in Eugene Oregon | Photos submitted by Burke

“There is just an amazing [Ultimate] community,” Burke told the Outpost in a recent phone interview about the recognition. “So you know, I’m super humbled.” 

To be clear, Ultimate is what many people might refer to as “Ultimate Frisbee” – the no-contact sport that involves two teams throwing a disc to their teammates, in the attempt to reach the end zone and score a goal. But, as it turns out, it is now officially called “Ultimate,” since Frisbee is trademarked by the toy company Wham-O. This is also why it is now called “Disc golf,” rather than “Frisbee Golf.” (Apparently, “Ultimate Disc” was not a popular option.)

Burke, 50, was first introduced to Ultimate in high school, and started playing at UC Santa Barbara in 1991 for the women’s team, the Burning Skirts. After college, Burke moved to Lake Tahoe, where she played for a mixed team called the Donner Party, and eventually moved to McKinleyville in 2005, where she worked as both an assistant coach and coach for the Humboldt women’s Ultimate team, the Humboldt Hags. She also traveled to play for Montana-based team the Mental Toss Flycoons (a reference to the Frank Zappa song “Montana.”) 

In case it isn’t obvious, silly team names are common in the Ultimate community and it’s a sport that really celebrates and encourages having fun. In addition to the athleticism and skills required to play the game, the self-governing and the fun-loving attitude is a big part of what fed Burke’s love for Ultimate, she said. 

“This is an incredibly creative community,” Burke said. “Just in the naming of the teams, you get a sense of the good humor…And one of the key things to the passion that people who play Ultimate feel is our connection to what’s called the ‘Spirit of the Game.’”

The Spirit of the Game, which is written into the official rules of Ultimate, is a unique aspect of the sport that places the responsibility of fair play solely on the players themselves, requiring them to thoroughly know the rules and make their own calls without the help of a neutral official. The USA Ultimate website says that these rules “reinforce mutual respect and trust between opponents; communication and conflict resolution skills; and self confidence – both on and off the field of play.” 

Ultimate was started in 1968 in New Jersey and the official name and rules were established in 1970. Within a few years, the sport had grown in popularity and teams began popping up around the country, including on the West Coast. The Ultimate Hall of Fame was established by the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) in 2004, and has since inducted more than 100 players who have made significant contributions to the sport. 

Burke was inducted on Aug. 28, along with 12 other players who were active in the sport between 2004 and 2012. Each year the Vetting Committee of the Ultimate Hall of Fame focuses on a different time period when selecting the inductees. According to the Ultimate Hall of Fame’s website, Burke was recognized for her contributions as a “game-breaking handler and fantastic leader,” among other things. 

Generally playing as a “handler,” a position that requires a lot of throwing and is reserved for people with very good disc skill, Burke was known for her impressive throwing abilities, using skilled maneuverings to throw around defenders . 

Burke throws around a competitors hand at the 2003 Mixed National Championships in Sarasota, Fla. 

During her time playing with the Donner Party, her team brought home two National Championships and two World Championships, and she also helped the Mental Toss Flycoons secure a Club gold in 2008 and a World Ultimate Club Championship (WUCC) bronze in 2010. 

Since attending the world championships in 2010, Burke has essentially retired from the sport, which she said did eventually start to take a toll on her body. Burke, her husband and their 11-year-old son still live in McKinleyville, where Burke serves on a subcommittee of the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee (McK MAC) that focuses on “incorporation exploration.” She also serves on another subcommittee dedicated to exploring multimodal transportation for the community. 

Burke has always held a great love for McKinleyville, where she spent a lot of time throughout her life visiting her aunt who moved to the area in the late 1960s. Burke said that when she planned to come to Cal Poly Humboldt (then HSU) to complete her masters in 2005, she knew that she wanted to live in the same part of McKinleyville where her aunt lived. 

“I love my community, and I’ve been of service in a variety of fashions, all the way up to being a director for the Community Services District for a spell, to continuing ongoing participation in community efforts,” Burke said. 

Though she no longer plays, Burke is still actively in touch with her Ultimate community, many of whom are also local champions. Maya Conrad, who serves on the subcommittees with Burke and is also on the McK MAC, is an Ultimate national and world champion; and Carrie “Burl” Berlogar, another friend and former teammate of Burke’s, is a multiple national and world titled disc golfer. Burke also wanted to give a shout out to friend and fellow hall-of-famer Mike O’Dowd of Arcata, who was inducted to the Ultimate Hall of Fame in 2011. 

Burke will be traveling to San Diego in October for the induction ceremony, which is happening at the same time as the next Ultimate national championship, and wanted to say how thankful she is for all of the friends, memories and skills she acquired from the sport. The next big goal for the local ultimate community, Burke said, is to work with other organizations to launch some ultimate and disc-golf programs for local youth. 

“Both disc golf and ultimate have great spirit or ethic training, and athleticism that are great for working with kids,” she said.