###

In April of 1889 a tragic set of events were set in motion with the arrival in Eureka of a pretty twenty-three-year-old music teacher. The teacher was Lillie Maud Wilcox, who had been living in Garden Valley, California with her widowed mother.

Miss Wilcox had met John A. Price of Eureka while attending the State Normal School in San Jose several years before. A courtship of several years followed and they were engaged. Due to business matters Mr. Price had to return to Eureka where he helped operate the Bay Stables at Third and D streets.

It was arranged that in April Miss Wilcox would come to Eureka and stay with friends until they could be married and that Mr. Price would pay for the passage of his bride-to-be.

On August 1 Miss Wilcox and Mr. Price were married by the Rev. George M. Sanborne of the First Congregational Church. The bride and groom were members of the church where Miss Wilcox sang in the chorus.

In December of the same year the County Clerk received an apparent routine inquiry from a W.J. Thompson, Jr. of Marysville, Calif. The inquiry was for information regarding the issuance of a marriage license for a gentleman named Price and a lady by the name of Lillie M. Wilcox and if the marriage had taken place.

On February 6,1890 a rejected suitor of the now Mrs. J.A. Price arrived in Eureka. His name was Charles H. Bawden, age 31, who was born in Michigan and after completing his education, migrated to the mother lode country of California. In 1885 he met the late father of Mrs. Price and the two became good friends.

Through Mr. Wilcox he met Lillie and in a short time became engaged to her. They were to have been married in the fall of 1886 but due to lack of employment and an injury to Mr. Wilcox, the wedding was postponed. For the next several years there was a stormy relationship between the two. The engagement was broken and renewed several times. Charles Bawden had become a very jealous, possessive suitor, while Lillie seemed to feel she was not ready to settle down at this point of her life.

During this time Charles Bawden proposed an agreement, with the approval of Mr. Wilcox, Lillie’s father, that he and Lillie enter into a mutual marriage. Lillie agreed to this arrangement and Bawden started supporting her.

This did not stop the bickering and accusations and finally they broke off their relationship. After this, Bawden started to drift from place to place, working when he could but never holding onto a job.

Through friends he heard of Lillie moving to Eureka and of her getting married to a Mr. Price. Using the name of W.J. Thompson, Jr. he wrote the Humboldt County Clerk, inquiring about Lillie. Bawden then went to San Francisco and contacted an attorney. The attorney informed him that he (Bawden) was legally married to Lillie and it would require a court order to set aside the marriage. Bawden later stated that he came to Eureka to obtain a private divorce from Lillie.

###

Arriving in Eureka on February 6, 1890, Bawden checked into the Revere House and took up residency in Room 38. Immediately he started to make inquiries as to where J.A. Price lived and worked. He also inquired into the physical description of Price.

Later he was to say that he was very despondent at this point and rather than cause any embarrassment to Lillie he would kill himself. Bawden further stated that he tried to kill himself with a small pistol he had with him but the gun would not fire.

Bawden did state later that on the first day in town he tried to find the Price home but could not as it was supposedly on the corner of Grant and D Streets but D Street did not go all the way through.

On February 7 at about quarter to seven in the evening Bawden approached the desk clerk, E.G. Kramer, at the Revere House and asked for the loan of a pistol. Bawden told Kramer that he was going out on the town and was going to “see the girls;” that a pistol in his pocket would make him feel more secure. So Kramer gave him a .44 caliber English Bulldog pistol. Kramer told him that the gun was unloaded but should do the job. During the conversation Bawden stated that he was a good shot but had neglected to bring his revolver with him.

At about quarter past seven Bawden stopped at E.H. Barnett’s Gun Shop and bought some cartridges for his borrowed gun.

Price asked a passerby if he would help him and the reply was, “I am a stranger here, ” and went his way.

After the purchase of the cartridges, Bawden walked to the southwest corner of Grant and D Streets. He went up to the Price residence’s front door and rang the bell. Mrs. Price was alone at home except for an eleven-year-old son of her friend Mrs. Baker, and had been sitting at the dining room table writing a letter to her mother. As Mrs. Price opened the front door she was surprised to see Bawden standing there. Bawden put his arms around her and kissed her. He then walked into the room and started to sit down. Lillie told him she expected her husband home any minute for supper. Bawden then said, “All right, I will go.”

As he started to leave, he handed her a letter he had written to her. She took the letter and placed it in her bosom. He then told her to read the letter, adding that he was going to die that night. He then walked outside and said to her, “I’m going to kill myself.” She tried to persuade him not to do it and kissed him. Thinking she had talked him out of it, she started back into the house. At this point Bawden pulled out the pistol to shoot. Lillie, seeing the pistol, ran to him and grabbed his hand, pulling on his hand every time he shot. When a bullet struck her breast she ran towards the gate. Bawden then shot himself in the neck.

So explains Charles H. Bawden about the death of Lillie M. Price.

The young Baker boy was later to testify that several shots were fired and Mrs. Price was fleeing, when he ran home.

At this same time the husband, Mr. Price, had almost reached home. As he was walking he heard shots being fired and heard his wife scream and call his name. Mr. Price then saw his wife run toward him, saying, “I’m shot, I’m killed.” When he reached her she fell into his arms and collapsed.

Meanwhile Mr. Price heard another shot and saw Bawden. As he laid his wife on the sidewalk he saw Bawden, still in possession of his pistol, run by him and he could hear the hammer snapping. Mr. Price grabbed hold of Bawden who threatened to shoot him. Mr. Price then took the gun away from him and threw it into the street.

As Bawden jerked loose from Price, he said, “Let me go, Mr. Price. She was my wife. Poor Lillie.” Price then threw him to the ground, in the street, and tried to hold him.

Price asked a passerby if he would help him and the reply was, “I am a stranger here, ” and went his way.

During the course of the struggle Price got hold of the pistol he had taken away from Bawden and began beating Bawden with it.

Upon hearing the shots, two neighbors, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Rotermund, came upon the scene and took hold of Bawden. Another neighbor, Charles Pratt, helped Mr. Price carry his unconscious wife into the house. Within a few minutes she was dead.

Jackson and Rotermund, after taking hold of Bawden, took him to the City Marshal. While walking Bawden told them that Lillie was his wife by mutual consent and that he loved Lillie and wanted that they should die together.

###

Word quickly spread about the murder through Eureka. Several hundred people gathered at City Hall where Bawden was in an unconscious condition in the City Jail but no mob action took place. Due to his condition Bawden was transferred to the County Jail at the Courthouse that night.

Two days after her death, Mrs. Price was buried. The newspapers estimated the attendance at her funeral between 1,500 and 2,000. The funeral was held at the First Congregational Church, which was at Brett’s Hall, Fifth and E Streets. Due to the large crowd, the sidewalks outside were jammed.

A week after the shooting Bawden was in serious condition from the bullet wound he inflicted upon himself. It took about a month for Bawden to recover from his wound.

On March 17 the preliminary examination of Bawden took place at the County Jail. Bawden was charged with first degree murder in the killing of Mrs. Price. Justice of the Peace Loveland presided. Bawden refused to answer any questions and presented an attitude of stupidity or morose. He would just look at the large crowd that was there and inquire what was going on around him. The only response that he showed was when Mrs. Price’s name was mentioned. Mr. Price, John Rotermund and Sheriff Brown were called as witnesses. Bawden offered no witness and was bound over on a charge of murder, without bail, to Superior Court.

Sheriff T.M. Brown pulled the trap-door lever after the prisoner uttered his last words.

While awaiting Bawden’s trial. Sheriff Brown had to install on the defendant what was known as an “Oregon boot.” This contrivance was manufactured from steel and weighed eighteen pounds. The device was fastened around the ankle and made it impossible for even the strongest man to run. The “boot” was only used when there is a threat that a prisoner would escape or as a safeguard while transporting a prisoner.

Two months after the murder, on April 7, 1890, Bawden was arraigned before Superior Court Judge G. W. Hunter. Bawden asked for a continuance so that he could obtain legal councel. A week later, on April 14, Judge Hunter appointed Ernest Sevier and J.N. Gillett as attorneys for the defense. As the attorneys were appointed by the Court, they would receive no fee. The newspapers at the time commented on this appointment and stated that Bawden would be ably defended.

Three days later, on April 17, Bawden was again before Judge Hunter with his attorneys. Bawden plead not guilty. The The trial was tentatively set for June 9. This date was later changed to June 16, at 10:00 a.m.

Jury selection began on the appointed date. It took all that day and until 2 p.m. of the 17th to select the jury of twelve men. District Attorney Monroe made his opening statement and called Mrs. Wilcox, mother of the victim, as his first witness.There was then a parade of prosecution witnesses which took up the next two days. Two well-known local photographers, J. Wunderlich and Walter Pratt, testified to photographs taken at the scene of the crime. The case went to the jury on the evening of the 19th after evidence was heard from the defense.

On June 21,1890 at 1:30 p.m. the jury returned its verdict of guilty. Upon hearing the verdict, Bawden stated he was “an innocent man and that he would ‘ meet them in heaven,” and was visibly affected by the verdict. June 30 was set as the date of sentencing.

On June 30 Judge Hunter postponed the sentencing of Bawden until July 3.

This delay gave Bawden’s attorneys time to prepare motions for an argument for a new trial.

These arguments were presented on July 3 and 5. After arguments on both sides. Judge Hunter took the arguments under advisement.

###

Superior Court Judge G.W. Hunter presided at the trial and pronounced the death sentence.

On July 8 Judge Hunter ruled that there were no grounds for a new trial. He then pronounced the sentence that any civilized man dreaded to hear. Judge Hunter, passing sentence, stated the following:

Mr. Bawden, when you were brought up for judgment on the 30th of June last, you were informed by the Court of the nature of the charge against you, of your plea of not guilty and of the verdict of the jury that your were guilty of murder in the first degree, and you were asked by the Court whether you had any legal cause to show why the judgment of the Court should not be pronounced against you, and through your counsel these several motions, which I have just been considering, were made and subsequently argued, and have not been disposed of. And it appears to me that no sufficient legal cause has been shown why the judgment of the Court should not be pronounced in this case.

It is a painful duty to perform, and one that comes but seldom to a person in my position during a lifetime.

I feel, however, somewhat relieved of the responsibility on account of the fact that although you were without means to employ counsel, you were defended by two of the members of the bar, ably and well, and they worked as zealously and faithfully in your behalf as though they had been well rewarded for their services. I also feel relieved by having the consciousness myself, that throughout this trial I have done everything possible to secure to you a fair and impartial trial of your case, and wherever a doubt arose in my mind on any question of law that came up for any ruling, as to the admissibility of evidence in the case, I felt it my duty to give you the benefit of that doubt and I decided the question in every instance in your favor. I feel relieved also to know that exceptions were taken to such ruling as were made against you and those exceptions will be presented to the Supreme Court of this state for consideration on appeal, and if any error was committed by me in those rulings, it will be corrected by the higher court.

It is not my desire to review the sad history of this affair, which culminated in a terrible tragedy. It would serve no useful purpose. You were once engaged to the young lady whose life was taken, and had your disposition and conduct been different your life probably would have been prosperous and happy. But were so bitterly jealous, according to your own declarations, that her life with you could have been nothing but miserable. Trouble arose between you; there were bickering and dissertions, and according to your own statements, at your request, your engagement was broken off. You afterwards sought a reconciliation and desired to be taken back, but she refused, and then you uttered those terrible threats that were subsequently carried into execution. In a moment of anger you declared that if she never could be your wife, she should never be the wife of any other man. In this way you separated. You went your way and in time she came to this city, was married, had a pleasant home and to all outward appearance was happy and contented. Nevertheless it must have been apparent to everybody who heard the testimony in this case that during all that time there was a terrible foreboding in her breast. She must have been fearful of some terrible calamity, and when she answered your summons at the door on that dreadful night, and witnessed you standing there before her, no doubt she felt that her time had come, that her fate was sealed. That on her own doorstep, in sight of her husband returning for his evening meal, you fired that shot which took the life of Mrs. Price and then unsuccessfully attempted to take your own. It was for the jury in this case to say whether that shot was accidental or intentional. It was for the jury by their verdict to say whether the fact of your former engagement, of your attachment for her, if you had any, of your unsuccessful and yet almost successful attempt to take your own life, was an extenuating circumstance in the case that would authorize their reducing the punishment from death to imprisonment in the state prison for life.

They were fully and clearly instructed that they were possessed of the discretion if they found an extenuating fact or circumstance in the case, to make the punishment imprisonment for life, and yet they failed to do so.

Under the law, I am neither permitted nor allowed to exercise any discretion under the verdict which has been rendered here. There is but one duty for me to perform, and that is to pronounce such a sentence as will carry that verdict into effect.

It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed, that you, the said Charles H. Bawden, be detained in close custody in the prison of this county, and thence be taken, at such time as the Judge of this Court shall by his warrant appoint, to the place of execution, and there be hung by the neck until dead. You will now be remanded to the custody of the Sheriff.

###

The date of September 5 was set by Judge Hunter as the date of execution. Attorneys Sevier and Gillett, still serving without pay decided that there existed grounds for appeal. So on July 15 a stay of execution was asked for and received. An appeal was filed with the State Supreme Court on five different points.

It wasn’t until July 14, 1891 that the Court handed down its judgment. The State Supreme Court ruled that the trial was proper and that Bawden must die.

Meanwhile another legal stumbling block to Bawden’s hanging emerged. During the 1890 session of the State Legislature, a law was passed that made San Quentin the place of all executions.

Noting the change in the law, Bawden’s attorneys filed an appeal with the United States Supreme Court. This appeal took two years and finally the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The Court did hear another case, on the same grounds, from San Francisco County. In that case the appeal was denied.

In May of 1893, over three years after the murder, word was received that the execution was to take place.

On May 19, a new District Attorney, T.H. Selvage, asked the Court to fix the date of execution. Several days later Judge Hunter set July 21 as the execution date.

Still fighting for their client. Attorneys Sevier and Gillett joined with Attorney Frank McGowen to secure signatures on a petition for clemency. By the middle of June the attorneys had 2,000 signatures and filed a bill of exceptions with the Court, in order to postpone the execution.

With a sixty day postponement, Sevier traveled by steamer to San Francisco. He again appealed the case to the State Supreme Court. The Court, after listening to his arguments, refused to hear the case again.

Sevier then having only one recourse open to him, took his petition and appeals for clemency to Governor Markham. The Governor granted Bawden a sixty day stay of execution, in order that he could review the case.

On September 21, 1893, word was received by Bawden’s attorney that the Governor would not interfere with the execution.

Upon receipt of this. District Attorney Selvage again asked the Court for a date of execution. Judge Hunter set the next day, September 22, as the date.

“Gentlemen, a grievous wrong is being done here. Grievous wrong.”
— Charles Bawden

Sheriff Brown immediately contacted R.B. Welsh, a local builder, and had him assemble the gallows in the jailor’s room at the County Jail. This did not take too long as the county had a collapsible gallows that fit the room. This same gallows was used in the execution of a man named Rodgers in 1886.

The gallows, which was approximately ten feet square and five and a half feet high, allowed for a drop of about four feet when the trap door was sprung.

Bawden, upon hearing the news, was very calm and spent his time writing letters. He thanked his attorneys for all their help and wrote the Humboldt Times, professing his innocence.

During his stay in the County Jail, Bawden became fond of Sheriff Brown and thought highly of him, although he knew it was the Sheriff’s duty to carry out the Order of the Court.

###

On the appointed day, approximately fifty people crowded into the execution room and the adjoining office. Another hundred people waited outside, with some trying to see through the windows.

At 1:15 p.m. Undersheriff Ferrill entered Bawden’s cell and read him the death warrant and at its end added his own words, “The execution of Charles H. Bawden was consummated this 22nd day of September 1893.”

After spending some time with his minister, Bawden was led to the gallows at 2:30 p.m. Upon mounting the gallows, Bawden was calm and collective. When asked if he had anything to say, Bawden committed his soul to God and promised to see everyone in the hereafter. He then kissed the Sheriff, minister and attorney on the cheek. Then he stepped over the trap door and held his coat so Undersheriff Ferrill could put the straps on him. Showing no fear, Bawden allowed the black hood to be placed over his head. A few minutes later he asked that the hood be removed so he could speak. Addressing the gathering, Bawden uttered his last words, “Gentlemen, a grievous wrong is being done here. Grievous wrong.” At this last moment of his life, Bawden was still protesting his innocence.

With the hood replaced and the rope around Bawden’s neck. Sheriff Brown clasped him on the shoulder and then quickly stepping away, pulled the trap door lever.

After twenty minutes, attending physician, O.W. Sinclair, checked the hanging corpse and could find no pulse. At the end of a half hour the body was cut down and turned over to the undertaker for burial.

Thus ended the last execution in Humboldt County, and possibly a greater tragedy than Lillie Price’s death.

###

The story above was originally printed in the September-October 1984 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.

UPDATE, April 30: Sometime after this post was published, the troll’s racist, slur-festooned message was deleted from the Lost Coast Populist’s online petition, where it had remained for nearly a week. Early Saturday afternoon, that website’s creator, Donnie Creekmore, responded to the email I sent him yesterday.

His email reads, in part:

This, like about 15 other fake signatures we’ve deleted due to user tips or our own discovery, is clearly not real as has been defined [?] by the signee himself, who is CC’d on this email as I figure you’d likely have questions for them as well if you take yourself seriously as a journalist. I hold my reservations.

Obviously, we did not put this [message] on the website; this is not our comment, and nowhere on our website will you find language that says we automatically support the messages sent from the community to the Board of Supervisors concerning this matter.

Creekmore goes on to directly address “William,” the petition “signee” and alleged real person who supposedly posted the offending message, only to later take credit, admit it was an empty provocation and apologize to all involved.

Creekmore thanks “William” for “providing direct evidence that the boogie man you portrayed doesn’t actually exist.”

You don’t say.

Like so much else in this painfully stupid and time-wasting episode, the email address that Creekmore provides for “William” is — you guessed it — fake. Emails sent there Friday and Saturday bounced back.

###

Over on the drag-show-obsessed (formerly anti-vax-obsessed) fringe blog Lost Coast Populist, founder Donnie Creekmore has launched a petition calling to “End Drag Events for Kids in Humboldt County, CA,” and evidently he rigged it so that each time someone “signs” the thing (anonymously, providing only a first name), his website sends an email to each of the county supervisors with the “name” of the signatory and a message they’ve written.

As such, all 66 signatories (as of this writing) have had their messages automatically entered into the public record. The messages mostly repeat buzzwords from the current right-wing freakout over drag performances: “groomers,” “pedophiles,” “gender confusion,” etc.

But on Saturday evening, someone using the name “William” and claiming to be from Eureka left a real doozy of a message, one so replete with hate speech it’s like a royal flush of bigotry. 

“White pride world wide!” is what “William” wrote in the petition’s “Subject” field. In the “Message” field, he (or she but let’s be honest, probably he) added, “It’s time to take our culture back! Don’t stop until every [gay smear], [n-word], and [lesbian smear] is dead!!! And we’ll start here in Humboldt!”

Now, obviously, such a hate-filled and explicit call to violence is repugnant, no matter the venue or context. But it was also obvious to me at first glance — when a screenshot of the message was first sent to me six days ago — that there’s ample reason not to take this particular message at face value. 

Given the anonymous format of the petition, the incendiary topic at hand and the very nature of internet discourse, this thing has “troll” written all over it. Whether it was typed by an angry teenager in his basement or a “false flag” agitator aiming to discredit the Lost Coast Populist, the rhetoric amounts to the digital equivalent of a turd in a flaming paper bag. Unless that thing lands at your doorway, best just to ignore it.

Anyway, that was our thinking here in the Outpost newsroom: Reporting on this vile message would only serve to legitimize it, emboldening both the troll who wrote it and the troll whose website hosts it. (Worth noting that, as of Friday evening, the loathsome message was still up at lostcoastpopulist.com. There sits the flaming shit bag, stinking up Creekmore’s internet doorway. He did not immediately respond to an email Friday afternoon seeking comment.)

Local officials, on the other hand, are taking the comment quite seriously. The top-listed department report on Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors agenda concerns this troll’s blog comment, which the attached staff report describes as “a vicious and hateful message that threatened the lives of members of the Black and 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities.”

County staff has also prepared a letter, entitled “Affirming Our Stance Against Hate,” that does just that, earnestly and at length. It has been signed — or is slated to be signed before it’s presented Tuesday — by nearly four dozen community leaders, including all five county supervisors, Sheriff William Honsal, department heads, tribal leaders, educators, local city officials, nonprofit leaders and more.

An excerpt:

We are committed to protect and preserve the values of democracy and freedom for all Humboldt County residents including, but not limited to, Tribal communities, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQIA2S+ community, people of all religions, individuals with disabilities, and all vulnerable and historically excluded populations. Throughout history, and in many cases for generations, these communities have experienced trauma due to acts of violence, hate, and discrimination.

It reads as an impassioned and unequivocal condemnation of some truly hateful rhetoric, which is commendable! Except that the rhetoric in question appears to be bogus. 

On Friday afternoon, just as this letter was being finalized for posting to the county’s website, a new Populist petition-triggered message landed in supervisors’ inboxes.

“I am the person who left the racially motivated comment a few days ago,” the message reads. It continues:

My expectation was that it would be deleted quickly before anyone else in the public saw it, and this site would *hopefully* put out a statement reaffirming their commitment against violence. Queer people are terrified of them, and these concerned parents are worried about violent retaliation or doxxing from the “Rainbow Coalition,” so it seemed necessary to force [Lost Coast Populist’s] hand in this way. Get both sides to start a conversation about avoiding violence. However, it’s been several days, and they’ve left the comment up and haven’t addressed it, which almost seems negligent. My sincerest apologies to anyone who saw it and became concerned, offended, or fearful. My apologies to the queer community. And my apologies to Lostcoastpopulist staff themselves. 

Be kind. And do better. I will try to be better myself.

This, too, is clearly bullshit, to a large degree. Or are we to accept that the still-unidentified author earnestly believed that his original message “would be deleted quickly before anyone else in the public saw it”? And that his bouquet of hate speech was actually designed to “Get both sides to start a conversation about avoiding violence”?

Please. His apologies — including one to Lostcoastpopulist staff, for some reason — are just another facade donned by a classic internet troll. It might not even be the same one who wrote the original message.

Nevertheless, I do like his closing imperative, which is good advice for everybody these days: Be kind. And do better.

###

DOCUMENT: Letter Against Hate + Signatures

HUMBOLDT TODAY: Students in Eureka have a new welcoming space to tend to their mental health; California is attempting to battle Fentanyl on several fronts; plus, your weekend weather, happenings and more in today’s online newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• CONVERSATIONS: Rodney Oien on the North Coast’s Toddler Services Infrastructure
• Crescent City Woman Tried to Smuggle Two Ounces of Fentanyl Into Jail, Del Norte Sheriff Says
• Del Norte County Pursues $8 Million State Grant For ‘Resiliency’ Upgrades to Veterans Memorial Hall, Rec Department Gym

HUMBOLDT TODAY can be viewed on LoCO’s homepage each night starting at 6 p.m.

Want to LISTEN to HUMBOLDT TODAY? Subscribe to the podcast version here.

Map showing the existing and additional bus service and other project elements that will be funded with $17.5 million | Images from HTA grant proposal

As you likely know, the state of California is doing its dangdest to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and a big part of the state’s climate plan includes reducing the number of gas-powered vehicles on the roads. To help make that happen, the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) has been providing funding to help improve public transportation access and convert transit vehicles to electric power across the state. 

And the Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) has received a lot of said grant money over the last year, including a recent $17.5 million Transportation and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant, which will go toward deploying 10 battery electric vehicles, extending existing transit routes, building a new transit center in Crescent City and creating a new hydrogen fuel cell electric coach that can be used for long-distance transportation. 

The grant application was a partnership between HTA, Redwood Coast Transit and the Yurok Tribe, which have all been working together to try to improve transportation connections between Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and tribal lands. The project will add four battery electric buses to the Yurok Tribal Transit Service, including the Tribe’s dial-a-ride service available to tribal members in the Klamath area. The electric vehicles will also be used to revive the Klamath Trinity Non-Emergency Transit service, which offers a bus route between Orleans and Willow Creek. 

Natalie Arroyo, county supervisor and chair of the HTA board, told the Outpost that working on these forms of microtransit – small-scale public transit that falls somewhere between rideshare service and traditional bus service – is a good way to address the needs of our most rural areas, where public transportation is really needed to help residents reach jobs, grocery stores or medical services, but there aren’t enough daily riders to support regular bus routes.

“Working with the Yurok Tribe has been a fantastic opportunity,” Arroyo said in a recent phone interview. “I think we’ll have more opportunities to look at how microtransit works for communities throughout the North Coast. Because in many ways, traditional forms of transit don’t serve spread out, rural communities quite as well.” 

route between Orleans and Willow Creek

In addition to those four buses, the funding will also be used to add six electric cutaway buses to the existing Redwood Coast Transit (RCT) route between Arcata and Crescent City and the route will be extended south to Eureka. Currently, to get between Crescent City and Eureka, riders have to transfer to a different bus line in Arcata.  Eventually, the route will connect to the Eureka Regional Transit & Housing (EaRTH) Center, a mass transit hub planned to be built on Third Street between G and H streets in Eureka. Construction of the center, which will also be partly funded by CalSTA grants, is still in the planning stages and is expected to be completed by 2026. 

The recent $17.5 million grant will also go toward the construction of a Del Norte County transit center in Crescent City, which is proposed for a publicly owned, 1.75-acre lot located at K and Front Streets. According to the agencies’ grant proposal, the site is ideal for several reasons, including that it is very near the Crescent City Library, the Redwood National and State Parks Information Center and the Cultural Center and the coastal trail.  In addition to providing a center for the RCT vehicles, the transit center could also serve as a place for Redwood State and National Parks to provide shuttle service to and from locations within the parks. 

Lastly, the funding will go toward supporting HTA’s efforts to work with a bus manufacturer to design and pilot a prototype over-the-road hydrogen fuel cell electric coach that is capable of traveling long distances.

Greg Pratt, HTA general manager, told the Outpost that HTA is currently working with bus company New Flyer, which created the hydrogen fuel cell electric buses HTA has been adding to its fleet over the past few years. Pratt said that New Flyer is working to increase their vehicle’s hydrogen storage capacity, to achieve a minimum range of 400 miles. The hope is for these coaches (buses with a raised passenger area with luggage storage underneath) to be used to operate a route between Eureka and Ukiah. 

As far as how long it will take for the prototype to be built and be available for use on the road, Pratt said it will probably take a couple of years. Adding the electric battery buses to the existing routes will probably take about nine months because of the way the bidding process works. But in the meantime, diesel buses will be added to provide the extended service – between Orleans and Willow Creek, and between Crescent City and Eureka – temporarily. The route extension between Eureka and Crescent City will probably be added within a couple of months, Pratt said. 

“Eureka and Crescent City are two of the bigger cities in our area and a lot of people want to travel in between,” Pratt said. “The need is there now.” 

All of the changes are a part of the efforts to increase connectivity between bus and train routes throughout Northern California and the entire state and to eventually transition to entirely zero-emission transit vehicles to meet the state’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2045. And though there’s still a long way to go, Pratt and Arroyo said that these steps to help reduce people’s reliance on cars and other gas-powered vehicles are helping us get there. 

“Surface transportation is one of the biggest impacts to our climate, making up more than 50 percent of emissions in most communities,” Arroyo said. “If people can use transit more easily, even occasionally, that can make a difference.”

There are few things more essential to a thriving community than high-quality public transit. A good transit system increases equity by ensuring that all members of the community can access jobs, schools, parks, shops and services, conveniently and with dignity, regardless of income or physical ability. It improves public health by increasing access to medical care and healthy food, and because most transit riders walk or bike to and from the transit stop. It improves safety, because transit is about 10 times safer than traveling by car. It improves the economy, with every $1 invested in transit yielding $4 in economic benefits. It provides precious free time for reading, daydreaming, or watching the scenery - but also a social space where people from different walks of life can interact in those serendipitous exchanges that are the heart of any community. Not least, riding transit generates a fraction of the climate pollution of driving a car, so every new rider helps protect the community from the storms, floods, and fires of the climate crisis.

If you’ve never ridden the bus in Humboldt County, I highly recommend that you give it a try. If you have, then you know the many joys of getting where you want to go without having to get behind the wheel of a car. But you also know the difficulties and frustrations that can be involved in getting to the nearest bus stop, waiting for the next bus to come, and planning carefully to ensure you don’t get stranded by missing the last bus of the day.

The Humboldt Transit Authority and other local transit operators do an admirable job of providing service under challenging conditions. For example, much of the region is developed at low densities that can’t provide the demand for frequent bus service, and much of our housing is separated from jobs and services by relatively long distances. These are things we need to work on, and are some of the many reasons to support affordable infill housing development.

But if we want better public transit any time soon, there’s another factor that can’t be ignored: funding. The majority of funding for our local transit system comes from state and federal government sources, and almost all of the rest comes from riders’ fares. Our local governments provide almost none of their own discretionary funds to support public transit. We’ll never have truly high-quality transit, with all of the benefits, if we don’t invest some of our local dollars.

The good news is that Humboldt County is already considering putting a transportation sales tax on the 2024 ballot. It’s crucially important that, if it passes, some of the money goes to supporting public transit improvements - things like more frequent buses, late-night and weekend service, and even on-demand service for lower-density areas. Recognizing the need for local transit investment, organizations including the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP), Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility (RCCER), Northcoast Environmental Center, Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), and 350 Humboldt all support including transit funding in any transportation ballot measure, and will oppose any measure that doesn’t include that commitment.

Another good option for transit funding is parking meters. Parking meters may not be very popular with drivers, but a modern smart meter system in a downtown area can actually make it easier to find a parking space and even stimulate business by increasing turnover, all while generating money to support better alternatives to driving.

Humboldt County deserves a high-quality public transit system, with all the economic, social, environmental, health and safety benefits that come from having one. We’ve got a pretty good system already, but with strong local support it could be truly great. Let’s invest in the future of our communities. Let’s invest in public transit.

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Colin Fiske is executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities.

Do you have a tiny baby somewhere around your house? Well, guess what — that thing is gonna be toddling soon! That’s going to cause huge problems! It’s going to be almost as much of an alteration to your habits as bringing the baby into your household in the first place!

The time to start preparing is now. And to that end, we welcome Rodney Oien of Northcoast Children’s Services to a Humboldt Conversation. Oien is here to tell us about all the help that his organization can provide to you in the very next crisis that you, the young parent, are just about to experience any day now. Believe me, you’re going to need it!

Video above, rough transcript below.

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JOHN KENNEDY O’CONNOR:

And welcome to another Humboldt Conversation. I’m really pleased to say I’m here today with Rodney Oien, who is the Executive Director of Northcoast Children’s Services. Rodney, nice to see you again and thank you for joining us for a Humboldt Conversation. Now, tell us what North Coast Services actually do.

RODNEY OIEN:

Yeah, so we provide Head Start, Early Head Start and state preschool programs as well as year-round child care programs for families of children 0-5 with income-based program. So Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded. Primarily we provide preschool services, but we also work with families in acquiring community services, social services, health, dental, medical and mental health services to support them and their children at the beginning of their life.

O’CONNOR:

And what is the requirement to actually participate in this?

OIEN:

Yeah, so depending there’s we have both state and federal programs. So for the federal programs, it’s based primarily on the federal income guidelines.

O’CONNOR:

So families have to be below that…

OIEN:

We are allowed to have a certain percentage of families who are above that So we do have some over income slots and then the state programs have to qualify for our traditional preschool programs They have to meet the state income eligibility guidelines and for the full day, full year child care program. They have to also meet a work requirement or something. They have to have a need for care. So that could be their work. They’re going to school. They’re incapacitated. Those kinds of things

O’CONNOR:

Okay, and so how do people actually become part of the program? What do they need to do?

OIEN:

Yeah, so they start by applying and you can do that online at ncsheadstart.org. You can come into our offices. We’ve started now putting QR codes on our applications so that people can do that and apply online. It makes the process easier. Then there’s an eligibility determination. You know, and some things are categorically eligible. So if someone’s receiving CalFresh, they’re categorically eligible for the Head Start program now. There’s a little bit of an interview process that happens. So someone from our enrollment and recruitment team would connect with you and kind of, you know, make sure we have all the paperwork and documentation to show you’re eligible. And then you’d be put on our wait list. And you know, then we select families from that and we have some ranking priorities like homeless and foster youth first. There’s different criteria that we use to determine who gets into open slots.

O’CONNOR:

And so there is a limit on how many children you can have at any one time? 

OIEN:

Yeah. So our center base, our three year old programs, our class sizes, those three to four year old, they’re 16 children in a classroom. And so sometimes we can go a little over that depending on the need and the community and the families that we’re working with. But yeah, we serve 344 children in Head Start, 198 in Early Head Start, and another 80 in state standalone programs. 

O’CONNOR:

Now we are here today actually at the Arcata office, but there are actually multiple offices around.

OIEN:

Yeah, we go from the southern end of Humboldt County and Redway is our furthest south location. We go all the way up to Crescent City and Del Norte County as well as east out to Willow Creek and Orleans.

O’CONNOR:

And I think you’ve just opened a new facility in McKinleyville?

OIEN:

No, we’re working on a new facility in Eureka, but we do have a few facilities in McKinleyville, one on Hiller Road and one at the Morris Elementary School campus.

O’CONNOR:

And how can people, do you need any sort of volunteer help? Do you need fundraising, et cetera? How can people become involved with the service? 

OIEN:

Yes, absolutely, we’re always looking for volunteers and fundraising. We’re working on some ways for people to be able to donate more easily. Currently, donations are by check, but we’re working on doing PayPal and credit cards so that people can do that more easily online.

O’CONNOR:

We were talking to your colleague, Christy, for a Humboldt Conversation. You’ve got the Rock Search coming up. But any other fundraising events coming up in the future?

OIEN:

Yeah, so every year in the fall, at the beginning of the first Saturday in October, we do our Pastels on the Plaza, where we come here to Arcata. You know, businesses sponsor a square and they either have an artist that they pair with it or that we have artists who are looking for businesses to pair with and we pair them up that way. It’s a great community event. You know, farmers markets going on.

O’CONNOR:

It’s wonderful, and in fact that’s when you and I first met last year and I came along to see it. I mean it was, because that was my first year here, and it was beautiful. But it seems such a shame that they all get one.

OIEN:

Yeah, I know it is, but we do you know we do keep we take pictures of them with a professional photographer.

O’CONNOR:

And so the businesses get that so that they can use it for advertising.

OIEN:

Yeah, it’s a great event we do.

O’CONNOR:

Well, we’ll talk to you further, closer to the time I hope, and we’ll certainly be there for that. Rodney, it’s great to see you again, thank you so much for joining us for a Humboldt Conversation.

OIEN:

Well, thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here. I appreciate it.

O’CONNOR:

And thank you for joining us for a Humboldt Conversation, and join us for the next one very soon.

Donell McCanless passed away at age 96 on April 17, 2023, at her home on the family dairy surrounded by her family. She is survived by her three sons and their wives/partners, Jack McCanless (Nina), Kurt and Judy McCanless and David and Debbie McCanless, seven grandchildren Randy McCanless (Ashley), Tami McCanless (Theresa), Jason McCanless, Beckie McCanless, Kenny McCanless, Lucas McCanless (Nichole), and Katie Chisam (Matt), and eight great grandchildren Korbin McCanless, Tatum McCanless (and her mother Dana McDonald), Tanner & Tinnley Pidgeon, Grady & Miles Chisam, and Hunter & Wiley McCanless.

She is also survived by her very special friends: Jackie Amos, Lucille Scilacci, Mary Enos, and Karin King.

She is preceded in death by her husband Jack McCanless, parents Claude and Ruth Hunter, twin brothers Elias Don Hunter, and William Austin Hunter, brother Dean Hunter, grandson James McCanless and daughter-in-law Marian Qualls

Donell was born September 22, 1926. Her mother instilled in her the importance of education from a very young age. She spent her life pursuing her own education and building the knowledge of others. She attended Petrolia High School until her senior year where she attended and graduated from Mountain View High School while living with a cousin in Mountain View. She married Jack McCanless on July 15, 1946, in Oakland, CA while attending the University of California at Berkeley. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1948 before she, Jack and their first son, Jack Jr. moved back to Ferndale. A few years later, once all her sons were in school, she continued her education at Humboldt State and got her teaching credential. Her first teaching job was at Price Creek Elementary (Grades 1 through 8). Donell was a substitute teacher at many local elementary schools and established her own preschool in her home. Lastly, she taught Special Education for many years at Ferndale Elementary, retiring after 40+ years teaching in 1994.

During WWII, she wrote to many service men she grew up with in Petrolia who were overseas, knitted scarves for the Red Cross and worked on a drydock as a welder in 1944. Donell was a life member of the Ladies’ Auxillary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for over 75 years, a volunteer/historian for the Ferndale Museum for 45 years, and a member of the Ferndale Garden Club for 49 years, just recently making a trip to Petrolia (along with her good friends, Mary and Karin) to help start a new Garden Club. But, this amazing lady was perhaps most well known in Ferndale for her talents in spinning wool and her many knitted creations, from hats, sweaters and slippers to stuffed kittens and chickens, items most adored by her own great grandchildren. One of her proudest projects was the spinning of llama wool from an entire pack of llamas. Donell came by the art of spinning naturally, at a young age, and was taught by her grandmother, Lucy Hunter. Donell never met her great grandmother, but she learned that she had spun wool from a spinning wheel to make yarn many years before. Being the lifelong student that she was, she enrolled in a class to learn how to do just that. She was a much loved and proud member of the Humboldt Handweavers and Spinners Guild. She was one of the founding members of the well known and loved “The Folks” Craft Fair, where she met customers from all over the world, many who later became friends. This craft fair has continued for over 50 years.

Donell was a regular participant and blue ribbon winner for her baking, gardening and knitted creations at the Humboldt County Fair, and on one or two occasions won the prize for most blue ribbons overall. One year, she and her mother both entered apple pies, and when Donell came out the winner she joked that her mother likely wasn’t too pleased about it. She was also quite the historian, she loved the Ferndale Museum, and took pride in her many contributions of stories and historical artifacts.

Donell loved having her family close by, and was proud of the growth and success of her family members. She enjoyed supporting the many sporting events which her grandchildren and great grandchildren played, including soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball and rodeo. When asked what she was most proud of, Donell mentioned her own graduation from U.C. Berkeley as well as seeing several of her grandchildren graduate from college, and one graduate from the California Highway Patrol Academy.

Donell was always curious. She delighted in meeting new people and learning their stories. She had many penpals around the world over the years, and loved to share stories of the people she met and corresponded with. Donell was always game for adventure, and took so much joy from trips she got to take with her sons, their families, and her grandchildren.

Donell was the cornerstone and matriarch of her family, and a pillar of the Ferndale community. She will be remembered as a fiercely independent woman, who lived a story of her own willful creation. To quote her dear friend Buck Miner, “If all the world could be like Donell, well it sure would be a wonderful spot to enjoy.”

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Beckie (granddaughter) and Mary Enos for their special TLC they provided to our Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma and friend, especially in her final days. We will remember this always. This grand lady was so loved and will be remembered by too many to count. Donell left her mark on this world, and gave each of us many stories to share and countless memories to treasure. Hers was a storybook life, with a storybook ending. She lived it her way.

Donell will be laid to rest at a private family burial service at the Ferndale Cemetery. There will be a celebration to honor her remarkable life on May 13, 2023 from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Ferndale Community Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ferndale Museum or to your favorite charity.

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