Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Moon.

On May 7, 2023, at about 2:08 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the report of a vehicle driven by a subject suspected to be armed and transporting narcotics from the Hoopa area to the Loleta area.  At approximately 2:24 deputies on patrol in the Blue Lake area spotted a vehicle matching the description traveling at a high rate of speed westbound on Highway 299 and conducted a high-risk traffic stop on westbound Highway 299 just West of Blue Lake.

Smith.

Deputies contacted two occupants of the vehicle, the driver, 34-year-old William Carl Moon and passenger 23-year-old Anaiah Amber Smith. During the stop deputies viewed a “billy club” protruding from underneath the front passenger seat.  During the stop HCSO K9 Deputy Yahztee was deployed to conduct a free air sniff of the vehicle and alerted to the odor of narcotics inside.  During a search of the vehicle, deputies located metal knuckles, approximately 15 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Moon was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of metal knuckles (PC 21810), possession of leaded cane or baton (PC 22210), possession of unlawful paraphernalia (HS 11364(a)), and possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(a)).    Moon was also booked for a bench warrant for failing to appear on a felony charge (PC 978.5). 

Smith was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of metal knuckles (PC 21810), possession of leaded cane or baton (PC 22210), possession of unlawful paraphernalia (HS 11364(a)), and possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(a)).

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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The California Reparations Task Force approved economic models for calculating reparations which could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars owed to eligible Black residents to address past racial inequities.

The models tell the state what is owed. The Legislature would have to adopt the recommendations and decide how much to pay, task force members said.

The state-appointed task force also unanimously voted to recommend California formally apologize “for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity and African slaves and their descendants.”

After 15 public hearings, two years of deliberations and input from more than 100 expert witnesses and the public, the task force on Saturday voted to finalize its proposals in an Oakland meeting. The nine-member panel has a deadline to submit it all to the Legislature by July 1.

The historic effort could become a model for a national program of reparations, some observers have said. Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat from Oakland, said at the beginning of the task force meeting that the United States must repair the damage done to Black Americans.

“Reparations are not a luxury, but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans,” she said. “We are demanding that the government pay their tax.”

A bill by former state assembly member Shirley Weber created the reparations task force in 2020, in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd. The panel has since examined the history of slavery and racism in the state and developed detailed plans for how the state can begin to undo certain types of racial harm, such as housing discrimination, mass incarceration, devaluation of Black-owned businesses, the unjust taking of property and unequal access to health care.

The recommendations include policy changes and financial payouts. The task force’s final report and documents, numbering thousands of pages, don’t contain an overall price tag for reparations. They do include ways the state could calculate how much money eligible African Americans in California have lost since the state’s founding in 1850. The loss calculations vary depending on type of racial harm and how long a person has lived in California.

→ Try the CalMatters reparations calculator at this link.

For instance, the loss estimates are $2,300 per person per year of residence for the over-policing of Black communities, and they are $77,000 total per person, regardless of length of residence, for Black-owned business losses and devaluations over the years.

The task force voted in March 2022 that African American descendents from enslaved Americans were eligible, but other Black residents, such as more recent immigrants, are not. Nearly 80% of California’s 2.6 million Black residents would be eligible, said William Darity, an economist who consulted with the task force.

Task force members said elderly people should have priority for payment.

CalMatters created an interactive tool for calculating how much a person is owed, using formulas in the task force’s final reports and how long a person lived in California during the periods of racial harm.

For instance, a 19-year-old who moved to California in 2018 would be owed at least $149,799 based on the calculations, but a 71-year-old who has lived in California all their life could be owed about $1.2 million. On the other hand, an eligible 28-year-old Californian who moved out of state in 2012 and just moved back could be due around $348,507, according to the calculator.

Hundreds of millions of dollars

If all of the eligible African American residents lived in the state only two years, it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in potential reparations.

Eligible Black residents should not expect cash payments anytime soon.

The state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom will decide on reparations. It’s unclear what they will do with the task force recommendations. The task force was not told to identify funding sources.

“Reparations are not a luxury, but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans.”
— U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, Democrat from Oakland

Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a task force member and Democrat from Los Angeles, stressed that the process will take time.

“Giving the impression that funds will become readily available — or that cash payments are recommended by the task force to rectify marginalization caused by generations of reckless policies and laws — is not focusing on the real work of the task force or the report itself,” he said in an interview Sunday. “There is a process by which the legislature will look at and discuss all recommendations, and that will take some time.”

Task force members voted to recommend the Legislature consider “down payments” of varying amounts to eligible African American residents, saying direct cash payments are part of other reparations programs around the world.

“The initial down payment is the beginning of a process of addressing historical injustices; not the end of it,” the task force report states.

The task force also is recommending a variety of policy changes to counteract discrimination. For example, the task force has recommended the state end the practice of forced labor in prisons and adopt a K-12 Black studies curriculum.

Freedman’s bureau

The group finalized plans to establish a centralized state agency similar to the national Freedmen’s Bureau, a federal agency created in 1865 to assist previously enslaved Black people. The state agency would provide oversight and implement the task force’s proposals.

“The agency will be doing the work that we weren’t able to finish in two years,” said Kamilah Moore, chairperson of the task force.

Saturday’s meeting was one of the more rowdy hearings by the task force. It included a brief shouting match between a regular meeting attendee and Amos Brown, the task force’s vice chairperson. Also the California Highway Patrol escorted a disruptive group out of Lisser Hall at Mills College, where the meeting was held.

During this nearly final task force meeting, debate continued over who is eligible for reparations. Some task force members also voiced concerns that the Legislature might not honor the task force’s vote to consider lineage for eligibility.

By a 5-4 vote last year, the task force narrowly defined an eligible person as an “individual being an African American descendant of a chattel enslaved person or the descendant of a free Black person living in the US prior to the end of the 19th century.”

That vote was contentious and emotional.

Reparations vote

The task force voted 6-3 Saturday to approve the recommendations for financial compensation. The three members who voted against it did so after changes they wanted failed.

Moore on Saturday made several attempts to further codify the lineage-based definition in the task force’s final reports by adding a new chapter. That failed to garner majority support from the rest of the task force.

When Moore requested a section of the final report move from one part to another, members of the Department of Justice staff who put the report together balked, saying the panel would have to rescind its prior vote and convene an additional meeting to redo the report’s structure.

Monica Montgomery Steppe, a task force member and San Diego City councilmember, disagreed with them. But a majority of the task force went on to approve the final documents as presented with slight tweaks.

Speaking on Sunday in Twitter Spaces, Moore said that meeting “procedure can be weaponized.” She declined to say more publicly about issues from the meeting. “Stay tuned for the ‘tell-all’ book, though,” she joked.

The task force tentatively set its final meeting for June 29 in Sacramento. Members said they plan to hand the documents to members of Legislature.

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

Nancy Blair Cringle passed away on February 26, 2023. Nancy was born in Arcata and lived in McKinleyville for her entire life. She worked as a preschool teacher at Noah’s Ark Preschool when her sons were young. She then worked for the Jalisco Cafe as a waitress until she went to work at the United States Postal Service as a city letter carrier in Eureka. She worked there for more than 25 years until she retired.

Nancy loved to travel, her favorite places to go were New Orleans and Sacramento. She also loved spending time with her grandchildren. She had many friends, coworkers and relatives. She loved her four dogs — Max, Ony, Bolt and Izzie — and they miss her immensely.

She was a kind and positive influence on everyone she met. She will be sorely missed by all that loved and knew her.

She was preceded in death by her parents John and Gladys Blair. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, John Cringle; her sons Jeremy Cringle and Nicholas Cringle; her six grandchildren, Alysa Cringle, Alex Cringle, Brayden Cringle, Savannah Cringle, Favan Champion, Arthur Frost; her brother John Blair and his wife Letha; her nieces Katie Blair, Kristin Kuxhausen and her nephew Michael Blair.

A memorial service will be held at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville on May 20 from noon to 2 p.m.

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“The Second Coming was expected at any moment; Antichrist was abroad in the land — he was the pope, or he was Martin Luther, or he was just the general vibe.”

— Michael Robbins, essay in December 2022 Harper’s

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In my increasingly-fallible memory, I stopped believing in heaven when I discovered there were no dogs there. Heaven without dogs would be like tiramisu without mascarpone: What’s the point? Better to fry in Hell with your pals — human and canine — than suffer those damn 24/7 harps, dogless.

(Curiously, there’s no explicit reference to “Hell” in the Christian Bible. Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, was a homeless encampment for lepers cum garbage dump outside Jerusalem, while Sheol, the other Biblical word associated with hell, was the Hebrew equivalent of Greek Hades, abode of the dead, neither good nor bad — just gloomy and boring.)

But the end really is nigh, at least the end of what we’ve come to think of as “business as usual.” Earth’s resources really are finite; global warming is happening as we speak; ocean acidity is real; species are going extinct faster than ever; fascism and censorship are back in vogue; the current (post-gold standard) economic system is broken; US citizens have 1.3 guns per man, woman and child; sperm counts worldwide dropped by over 60 percent in the last 50 years; and wildfires… flooding… 

John — Revelations John who wrote the definitive book on the “end times” around 95 AD as he looked out over the lush green fields and soft blue water of the isle of Patmos — John wasn’t thinking of anything like the above list of doom and gloom. He was more interested in “unveiling” (Greek: apolalypsis, first word of the Book of Revelation) the future, which in his fevered imagination was just around the corner. (Patmos has a reputation for magic mushrooms.) The immediate consequences of mankind’s wickedness would include: fiery lakes, multi-headed dragons, locusts with human heads, boiling seas, total darkness, fresh water turning to blood, and much other good stuff. Not forgetting the Sea Beast who would force the unbelievers to bear his mark, the number 666. Or 616, according to the earliest version we have — whichever, he was probably referring to the Roman emperor Nero. (Transliterating Nero’s Greek title “Neron Caesar” into Hebrew, letters standing for numbers, gives 666, while the Latin version, “Nro Caesar,” gives 616.)

John’s apocalypse was one of many in vogue during the late first century AD. We have apocalypses of Peter and Paul, Stephen and Thomas, Golias and Elijah, and more — not counting several Gnostic apocalypses. Why John of Patmos’ version, Revelation, made it into the Bible is something of a mystery. Martin Luther, when he was compiling his version of the New Testament, put it in the appendix. Seems no one paid it much attention after the Second Coming failed to make an appearance soon after Jesus’ proclaimed that “some standing here will not taste death.” (They did.)

But something happened about 200 years ago, during the Second Great Awakening in this country, when cult leaders found it to their advantage to interpret Revelation according to their lights. Perhaps the most infamous of these was William Miller, who in 1831 prophesied the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would happen in 1843. Or 1844. Leading to the Great Disappointment. After that, we had Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses (whose official end-time date of 1914 looked like a winner at the time) and many more.

Recently, the most popular recent end-time claims are all about the Rapture, when the Good among us — no dogs — will suddenly woosh up into heaven. (To be fair to John, the Rapture actually has its origins in Paul’s First Epistle to the Thessalonians.) We can thank Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth for initiating contemporary Rapture thinking (30 million sold, best-selling non-fiction book of the 1970s), although his claim that it would happen in the 1980s was (probably) a bust. Not to be outdone, Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series of Rapture books has sold around 80 million copies. Good business, the Rapture.

All this excitement makes mundane talk of the Antichrist’s arrival a bit of an anticlimax. These days, when everything seems to be falling apart, what’s actually happening is (quoting Michael Robbins, above) just the general vibe.

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In the United Kingdom, the great day has finally arrived! Charlie Windsor has been tap-tap-tapping his toe for decades upon decades waiting for this moment, and now all his subjects are celebrating the culmination of his dreams. Arise, King Charles III! It is your Coronation Day!

To mark the occasion, the Outpost’s John Kennedy O’Connor welcomes fellow Brit Brendan Fearon into the Tea-Dome for a debrief. Only problem: Neither of them gives a toss! Instead, we talk about Fearon’s life and his day job as the owner and operator of the Old Town Carriage Company, the county’s only horse-drawn-carriage-based tourism opportunity.

Fearon is a delightful raconteur. Among the topics discussed:

• Growing up Scouser in the early days of The Beatles.
• The decline of industrial England.
• What the word “t’ick” means.
• Working as a coachman in New York’s Central Park before coaching one’s way to Eureka.
• How Fearon handles people who, on animal rights grounds, object to the very concept of a working horse. (Not gently.)
• Finally, dutifully, eyes rolling out of heads, just a little bit on His Majesty and that whole extended brood.
  

Today’s official tea-time treat is, of course, Coronation Quiche. Fortunately the recipe is readily available on the Internet despite the fact that the baking of this quiche has been punishable by death and/or the Tower for nearly the last 70 years.

Empty your larder of broad beans, then press play on the video above to join the PG Tips-fueled coronation party! Many thanks, again, to the Eureka Visitors Center for hosting our little do.

Running a transit agency in a rural area is hard work. Just ask Greg Pratt, General Manager of the Humboldt Transit Authority. Less dense development means longer distances between fewer people, both increasing operational costs (diesel is expensive, y’all!) and limiting potential ridership revenue. Despite these challenges, Humboldt Transit Authority is plowing ahead with new solutions to boost ridership and reduce tailpipe emissions from its fleet.

Listen in to learn more.

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From the beginning, the people of Humboldt County had to create much of their own entertainment.

On the Fourth of July, they would load an anvil with black powder and set it off to produce a very loud explosion. Another sport was a tug-of-war in which one team of loggers would pull on a long rope against another team and when the center marker was pulled across a line the winners took all. There were the hose cart races put on by various volunteer fire companies, band concerts at Sequoia Park and New Era Park, picnics held by clubs and organizations and many dances for such occasions as new house-warmings, barn-raisings or shivarees for newlyweds. And, of course, there was always swimming at the old Sand Banks at Ryan’s Slough and the mouth of Elk River. In addition, there was always boating on Humboldt Bay.

There were many beautiful parades staged for each holiday, and there were all kinds of stunts performed to entertain. Various groups put on shows and vaudeville acts.

One day a daring fellow walked a tightrope stretched between the roofs of the Humboldt County Bank on the southeast corner of Second and G streets and the Vance House on the northwest corner. This was an exciting event. During these days there were traveling peddlers, photographers, gypsies, medicine men, preachers, musicians, circuses, and tin-ware peddlers called “sheenies.” These people traveled throughout the United States, probably more in the southern and eastern states. However, when our roads improved, a few did manage to tour this remote section of California.

In the year 1908, there were several such persons in Humboldt County during the summer months. One was a balloonist and parachutist, George Sousa. He would fill his balloon with hot air and smoke, and go up every Sunday, weather permitting. He started his operation from New Era Park, located near Fairhaven on the north peninsula of Humboldt Bay. Here he would spread out his balloon and build a smoking fire. The smoke and heat would be piped under the balloon, and this would gradually fill the big bag which was securely tied down until ready for flight. There would always be a large crowd to watch as Sousa climbed into his basket suspended under the balloon. He would holler and some helpers would release the lines and up he would go. When he reached a certain altitude, he would jump out opening his parachute and start down, hoping he would not land in the bay.

Balloon advertisement appearing in Eureka paper in 1908.

One Sunday, Sousa took a small dog up with him and the pooch was dropped with the aid of a parachute. The dog made it all right, but some people did not like this action, feeling it was “cruelty to animals.” Sousa always made safe flights and jumps in Humboldt County, but he was later killed when his parachute failed to open. This accident occurred in the southern part of the state and was quite a sensational news item in those days.

There was always some form of entertainment going on at New Era Park. An expert bicyclist, Court Edwards, did sensational tricks and stunts on his bicycle. There was another attraction at this same time at the Park. A daring fellow. Captain McLean, came with his new diving outfit (this was the old fashion kind with the heavy diving bell and required that air be pumped to the diver at all times). He would walk into Humboldt Bay for quite a distance, bringing up crabs and clams, much to the amazement of all the spectators. This event was held on Sundays and was well attended.

Hundreds of people would take their picnic lunches and go down to the foot of F Street and get on a launch at Wilkinson’s Launch Co. (this was before Cogshell Co. operated vessels). This would be a pleasant ride across the bay to the park, especially on a nice sunny day. The children would wade in the surf, some would swim and some would play in the sand. Others would build sand castles, pick up pretty shells and stones and sand strawberries that grew all over the sand dunes. The older folks would gather driftwood and build a fire, spread a blanket or tarp and there would be weenie roasts. We were sorry when time came to board the launch and head for home.

Also, I must mention that some of the braver ones would, at low tide, climb on the decks of the old Milwaukee wreck (this was in the latter days of 1918-19). I remember the worst sunburn I ever had while out there.

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The main part of this story is about one of those persons who traveled all over the country with a small wagon especially built for light delivery, like mail carriers and laundry wagons. It was pulled by a single horse or mule. If it was a heavy wagon, there would be a team of horses. This particular man arrived in Eureka on August 3,1908. He was well advertised and much talked about and called “Patent Medicine Fakier, the World’s Great Fer-Don.” He moved into town with his horses and colorful wagons, all painted up to draw as much attention as possible to his show. He and his crew set up a giant tent on the corner of Fourth and I streets. Also, he opened an office in the Week Building at 311 F Street, and here his “European medical experts” worked their trade during the day.

Meanwhile, the Eureka City Council decided on a $50 per day license fee, which did not seem to bother the Great Fer-Don. He started his operation by staging a giant parade with all of his people, including his Great Diamond Cluster Band. The band was composed of several good musicians. The parade would circle around town for a couple of hours, finally ending up at his large tent. It reminded one of a circus or carnival day to see the large crowds assembled to hear and see the Great Fer-Don on opening night. He amused himself by throwing handfuls of silver coins into the excited throng. None but the Great Fer-Don knew how much money he threw away, but a bank cashier estimated the amount to be several hundred dollars. It was also estimated by a newspaperman that fully 10,000 people were there.

“Great Fer-Don” publicity seen in Eureka paper in 1908.

Fer-Don was an unusual character, and reports from other cities he had visited indicated that he had always been liberal with his money, especially among the poor and destitute. It was rumored around Eureka that Fer-Don had visited many poor families and distributed his charity among them. The Great Fer-Don was the talk of the town in nearly every home, barbershop, store and office. Each night, on a large platform at the free-show grounds, he treated the lame, the rheumatic and the deaf. Some asked if the cures were permanent. The press reported the case of Ed Knapp of Bucksport, who had been deaf in his right ear for ten years. One night during the show he was made to hear and many people said it would not last, but Knapp’s hearing remained at a normal level.

Fer-Don said to a reporter, “There are ten thousand testimonials on file in the main office in San Francisco. People from all over the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah all claim to have been greatly benefited or cured by these methods and there will be some cured right here in Eureka.”

Max Hanker of 1835 Second St., Eureka, told his story. He said he had a large tumor on the back of his head. The Great Fer-Don had his European medical experts apply a preparation to the head of Hanker and, according to Hanker, this dissolved the outer covering of the tumor and inside of a very few minutes the entire growth was gone. He said no knife was used, there was no pain and no blood. It was reported that many saw and marveled at the way the cure was accomplished. Many of the skeptical came for the entertainment, saying the operation could not be performed painlessly and bloodlessly as had been promised. It was reported that these left satisfied that the Great Fer-Don had known whereof he spoke in claiming his staff could conquer disease, remove tumors, cancers, and gallstones without operations.

The press reported that “crowds of humanity are now calling at the offices of the European medical experts in the Week Building, 311 F Street. Many people are taking advantage to see and test the bloodless surgeon’s methods of curing the sick.”

During an interview Fer-Don said that many people asked him personally if he would examine and treat them and his answer was always, postively, “No, the European medical experts do all the treating. I do nothing but attend to managing the staff of doctors and delivering the lectures. I don’t profess to be a doctor or hold myself out as such.”

When the Great Fer-Don first came to Eureka he told the people that the European medical experts would work miracles and he claimed their method in healing the sick was unknown to other physicians. He boasted proof of how well FerDon kept his word, saying, “Hundreds of our most prominent citizens have tested their skill.” Fer-Don said he had on file, here in his office, hundreds of testimonials from people who lived in Eureka.

His advertisements said:

Each week, standing out boldly from amidst failure of others, he publishes the names and addresses of people cured in this community; people whose standing forbids the thought of their lending their names to say but an honest statement. The people ask themselves, what does this mean? And the answer impresses itself upon them with a force of complete conviction.

Nothing but merit and real conscientious work could produce such results and make such a record as this. Go to see these people, have a talk with them. They do not live 1,000 miles away, but are right here where they can be seen and have their truthful statements verified.

Miss Metsala, living at the Revere Hotel, in Eureka, called at the office of the European experts to thank them for curing her and saving her life. The young woman was suffering from gallstones and had as usual failed to get any relief. She had suffered greatly for months with attacks. Doctors who had been attending the case said the only hope of relief was an operation. She heard of the wonderful cures for gallstones by the European medical experts now visiting Eureka.

Miss Metsala called at the office at 311 F Street and the European doctor gave her three doses of their medicine and in less than 16 hours time, hundreds of gallstones were removed from her system, some as large as cherries. In speaking to a reporter. Miss Metsala said, “I am so happy as all doctors told me I never could get well without an operation. But just think — I was cured without the use of a knife and no pain whatever.”

…There are many testimonials like this here in Eureka, too numerous to mention.

The Great Fer-Don liked little children, and he was always giving something to them wherever he went. On Saturday, August 8, 1908, he invited all Eureka children to attend a free theatre party at a local showhouse. He would often rub some of his patent medicine on a small boy’s head and ears, saying it would make him grow to be big and strong. The Great Fer-Don had his own minstrel show, with several very fine black singers. In addition, he had a couple of clowns and tumblers. Fer-Don was a magician and a skilled speaker. He could hold an audience spellbound with his gift of speech, and he could sell anything, including his magic potion at the awful price of $1 per bottle.

Fer-Don would be at New Era Park every Sunday with his wonderful Diamond Cluster Band, where they would play a concert for the crowd. Selections included, March Chorale Overture, Poet and Peasant, Waltz Sweet Remembrance, Cornet Solo, Polka Impromptu, Flower Girl, Intermezzo, Grand Fantasia, March by Sousa and other numbers. These concerts were enjoyed by a great many people and are still remembered by some of the old timers.

The Great Fer-Don remained here in Eureka until September 2, 1908. He then took down his huge tent, loaded up his wagons and headed south.

And that’s the way it was.

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The story above was originally printed in the March-April 1986 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.