It is with great joy that we announce that Barbara Jean Ratzlaff has been reunited with her loving husband of 63 years, Donald D. Ratzlaff on April 28, 2023. Their love for each other was obvious to all through to their earthly end as they cherished each other’s company.

Born the daughter of Carl Sr. and Mabel Schnauer and sister to Carl Jr. Schnauer in Madera, CA on 6/3/1936. She is survived by her son Christopher David Ratzlaff, her daughter Faith Erin Ratzlaff, her brother Carl Schnauer and many nieces, nephews and their families.

She attended high school in Crescent City before attending Humboldt State University and meeting the love of her life. She graduated with a teaching credential from Fresno State University and returned to Humboldt County to build their home in Trinidad. She used her degree as a substitute teacher at Trinidad Elementary School until 1969. After moving to Greenville CA, she became Teacher/Director of the Indian Valley Pre-school Chapter of the Northern California Childhood Development program in Crescent Mills. Being a major advocate for the betterment of disadvantaged children in the area with love and patience, many of whom have flourished. She retired in 2003.

They returned to their forever home in Trinidad to live out their storied romance together, enjoying the beautiful vistas of the sea and of Trinidad Bay from the windows they were so proud of.

She was an amazing woman filled with love and compassion and will be missed by all that knew her.

###

Alice Milicent Baker Eckenrode
December 15, 1925 - June 18, 2023

###

“If there is an afterlife — and I pray most fervently that there is not — I can only hope that they won’t sing.”

— Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger

###

He’s been compared to Hemingway, Melville, Faulkner, Conrad. But in my limited knowledge of literature, Dylan Thomas comes closest, with his sense of “crystalline, pulsing prose” as one critic put it. I love the guy. He reminds me of how I judge acting: if the actors seem to be enjoying themselves (think Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, or Emily Blunt in GOT, or Robert Downey Jr. in anything), then I’m probably going to have a good time watching their performance. Here he is on writing: “My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That’s heaven. That’s gold and anything else is just a waste of time.”

My introduction to McCarthy was late in the game, viewing the 2007 Miramax movie version of his 2005 book No Country for Old Men.

His death on June 13 caught me mid-Stella Maris, McCarthy’s coda to The Passenger, both of which came out late last year, one after the other. It’s no spoiler (it’s in the blurb) to say the books are about a suicidal math prodigy, a girl in love with her wise and troubled elder brother who, 10 years on, still mourns her. That’s pretty much it. But what it! Between them, the books embrace quantum mechanics (quantum mechanics, not quantum mechanics as it’s usually said), psychiatry, death, the making of the first nuclear weapons, God, morality, dreams, money, love. Not just embrace, but inform. Factually, but also through his sheer delight in words. Especially verbs: the parts of speech that give prose life, the élan vital of language.

Take this 16-word sentence:

“He shouldered his way through the patio doors and labored up the stairs with a mattress.”

Simple…except I can see it! Which, if he’d “pushed” and “carried,” I wouldn’t have been able to.

Or this, a fire on the beach:

“The flames sawed in the wind and the embers paled…”

To say McCarthy was a pessimist about the human condition is like saying Adele can carry a tune. F’rinstance:

“Grief is the stuff of life. A life without grief is no life at all. But regret is a prison.”

“I think a lot of people would elect to be dead if they didn’t have to die.”

“My guess is that you can only be so happy. While there seems to be no floor to sorrow.”

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him”

“You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow.”

The Coens’ version of McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men has, in my untutored opinion, the best ending of any movie. Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), sitting at the kitchen table, telling his wife about his dream: “And in the dream I knew that [my father] was goin’ on ahead and he was fixin’ to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up.” Cut to black.

On Sunday, June 18, 2023, Sheri Lynn Sundberg, loving mother, daughter, sister, friend, went to be with the Lord at age 38 from complications of Guillain Barre Syndrome. Sheri was born October 5, 1984 in Orange County and was the daughter of Marshall and Cheryl Sundberg.

Sheri grew up in McKinleyville and attended Arcata Christian School, Dows Prairie School and was in the 2003 graduating class of McKinleyville High School. As a child, Sheri loved spending time swimming on the Klamath River with her family, hunting, playing soccer, running track, and dancing.

On June 12, 2004 Sheri gave birth to her greatest love, Emma Sundberg. Sheri and Emma shared a love for shopping, watching crime shows while eating Chinese food, and eating pot stickers right out of the pot. Sheri and her sister Angie always had a very special bond. Sheri was grateful and thankful that Angie was able to help raise Emma when she wasn’t able. One of Emma’s favorite memories is when we wrapped Sheri up in a giant box for Christmas and surprised Emma with Sheri inside.

Sheri was known for her beautiful smile, sassy attitude, funny dark sense of humor, love for Hello Kitty, Supernatural and Resident Evil, love for food (especially her mom’s fried chicken she would barely even chew), and her love for scary movies. Aside from Sheri’s spicy side she was also incredibly sweet and so much fun. You could always count on spontaneous late-night phone calls where even if you hadn’t spoke in a while, it was always like no time at all had passed.

Sheri is survived by her daughter Emma Sundberg; Mother Cheryl Sundberg-Grooms; stepfather Jack Grooms, brother Ryan Sundberg (Lacy), sister Angela Sundberg, brother Ronald Sundberg (Jessica), sister Jennifer Sundberg, step-siblings Jesse, Adam, Katie, Zack, Carly and Laura Grooms, as well as numerous aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who will all miss her immensely.

Sheri was preceded in death by her father, Marshall Sundberg; Grandparents, Rose Joy and Fred Sundberg and Roy and Harriet Jones; Aunt Karen and Uncle Drew Ward; and Uncle Ron Miller.

The family would like to give a special thank you to Brandon Shafer for caring for Sheri while she was so sick as well as the dedicated ICU staff at Sutter Coast Hospital.

Services for Sheri will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, July 9, at Trinidad Town Hall. Taco bar reception will immediately follow.

###

Donald Wayne Daniels
July 28, 1961 – May 30, 2023

Donald Wayne Daniels went by “Don”. Don was born in Tulare but lived in Humboldt County practically his entire life. Don was born with a brain injury that doctors said would impact his entire life so that he could not do things independently – but Don ended up proving them wrong and doing it all. Don went to school in Eureka City Schools and graduated from Eureka High School in 1979.

Don was loved by all who knew him. He was kind, funny, compassionate and a gentleman. His sister Connie recalls special moments when he would take her for rides to the South Jetty or Blue Slide RD in Ferndale on his motorcycle. Don loved working on his bike and tinkering around the garage. At Christmas time, he ran with the United Bikers of Northern CA (UBNC) non-profit motorcycle group for their Toy Run to deliver toys to underprivileged children while riding motorcycles.

In 2017, Don attended his first Redwood Run and couldn’t wait for the next one! Other favorite hobbies of Donald’s were to care for animals, camping, and spending time outdoors. His love for the outdoors made being a Cub Scout his favorite activity in childhood. As an adult, he worked at Bayshore Mall for many years and at local restaurants in Eureka.

Don will be missed dearly. He is survived by his mother Barbara Daniels, his sister Connie Harlow, sister Lori “Daniels” Burkhart, and Brother in-law Scott Burkhart. He is also survived by his nephews, Bradley Larson, and Deven and Christopher Burkhart. He will also be missed by his long-time friend Bruce Jesse who Don always looked forward to going on rides in Ridgewood, HWY 36, and all over Humboldt throughout the years. Bruce was a loyal friend of Don’s and still attends bible with Don’s mother each Saturday.

Donald’s sister Connie was not expecting his death so suddenly and thought they would have more time together. Her message to her brother is “We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but you were my baby brother and I’ll miss you very much… The day you passed I was so lost, but now I know you are happy and free. I know I will see you again someday and that will be the happiest day of my life, but until then little brother – you will always be in my thoughts and in my heart.”

He Only Takes the Best

A Heart of gold stopped beating,
Two shining eyes at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove us-
He only takes the best.

God knows you had to leave us,
but you didn’t go alone.
For part of us went with you
the day he took you home.

To some you are forgotten-
to others just a part of the past,
but to us who loved and lost you
your memory will always last.

###

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) once swam along the North Coast of California, but 18th- and 19th-century fur trappers nearly caused the species to go extinct. Statewide, only one remnant population of approximately fifty individuals was left in Big Sur by the 1930s.  Today nearly 100 years later, thanks to concerted efforts, more than 3,000 sea otters call California home from that small initial remaining population. While recovery efforts have increased the overall population, sea otters are still only occupy a narrow belt, roughly from Santa Cruz to Point Conception, of their historic range. 

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has studied the feasibility of sea otter reintroduction efforts and is hosting open houses across the North Coast to discuss potential reintroduction. Guests Chanel Hason of the Elakha Alliance and Andrew Johnson of Defenders of Wildlife join the show to discuss the vital role that sea otters play in ocean ecosystems and their work to facilitate sea otter introduction. 

Want to attend a meeting? There are some that are (likely) close to you!

• Crescent City - June 24, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM, Del Norte Recreation Department, Gymnasium 1005 H St., Crescent City, CA 95531
• Arcata - June 25, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Cal Poly Humboldt, College Creek Complex, Great Hall Community Center Building, Room 260, 1 Rossow St., Arcata, CA 95521
• Fort Bragg - June 26, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Noyo Center for Marine Science, Discovery Center 338 N Main St., Fort Bragg, CA 95437

###

###

This excerpt was taken from the diary of Kate McFarlan, which she kept from August 23, 1874 through December 4, 1875.

Kate was the oldest of seven children, two of whom died as infants. Her parents, George and Catharine, moved to Humboldt from St. Andrews, New Brunswick and began their family. According to the 1870 census, George was a logger.

The diary documents Kate’s last two years as a young, single woman in Eureka. It is filled with dances, picnics, boating, horseback riding, and visiting with her friends and relatives. Alex Gregor looms large as her beau and eventual husband. Besides her personal entries, it is an exceptional record of Eureka’s social life during the early 1870s and also mentions many old Eureka families, such as the Carsons, Cousins, Ryans, etc.

The diary and a full transcript are available at the HCHS research center. This excerpt has been edited for readability.

###

Sept. 21, 1874

Tuesday at half past seven Sam (1) brought my horse up to me (Billy by name), then I rode down and joined Mr. and Mrs. McFarlan and Maria Carson. Then off we started for Freshwater to join the rest of our company. We got there at nine o’clock, then the rest joined us: Mr. H. Wilson (2), Mr. J. Baldwin and Mr. Thompson.

Then off we started again and rode seven miles uphill all the way [until] we reached Mrs. Nellis’s, a very beautiful place indeed. We remained there about half an hour [and] had some plums and pears so we felt very much rested. Then we mounted our horses again and rode four miles farther … [to] Mrs. Fitzgerald’s (3), where we stopped and cooked our dinner, which we all enjoyed very much.

At three o’clock we again mounted our horses and rode three miles farther, then we reached our destination. The men were busily engaged unpacking the house and making everything as comfortable for us as they possibly could. While they were engaged, Nellie and I built a large fire out of old fence rails and began to prepare supper.

After supper we all sat around the camp fire and sang songs till after ten o’clock. The moonlight was perfectly beautiful. I thought I never saw a full moon look so bright before.

At ten o’clock we retired to the barn, where we remained the rest of the night. Ellen (4) fell asleep as soon as she laid down, but Maria and I did not get to sleep until after one o’clock, the horses made so much noise.

We got up at four o’clock and prepared breakfast, then the men went out hunting. After we got our work done up, we took a walk up on a hill and gathered some acorns. Then we came back to the camp again and cooked dinner. At eleven o’clock the men came in from hunting and we had dinner, which consisted of stewed grouse, bread and butter, hard gingerbread, cheese, and tea. We all enjoyed it very much.

After dinner Mr. Thompson came to us and said that Skeff (5) had sent for his horse and he had to go and take it home. We understood how it was­­ ­— the men made up that story just to get rid of him because we did not want his company any longer. We took our blankets and made an awning to keep the [sun] off us, so we sat there the rest of the afternoon. We composed a piece of poetry as follows:

My friends and I camped all alone,
Out on the Bald Hills far from home,
Some killed grouse, some killed quail,
And we cooked them in old [Norcer?] pail.

If I had Davy and he was mine,
I’d dress him up and make him shine,
Send him on his homeward way,
Hoping to meet him another day.
Ha Ha Ha &c

As we were sleeping in the barn,
Secure we thought we were from harm,
Up jumped Davy Bub Bub Bub,
Up jumped Sam and gave him a rub.

So we were sitting on the hay,
Sam was full of fun and play,
He’d took something, I don’t know what to call it.
I don’t know but I think it was the Colic.

In the eve Mr. Wilson cooked a rabbit and a squirrel. We all had a taste of it but did not admire the taste very much—­it tasted rather wild.

At eleven o’clock we all retired to the barn and slept all night till five in the morning, then we got up. Mr. Wilson had breakfast all ready for us, which consisted of fried bacon, hot biscuit, tea, gingerbread, and canned meat.

After breakfast the men went out hunting again. They came in about ten o’clock with three or four grouse, half a dozen quail, and a large gray and white squirrel.

At half past two they packed the horses and we started for home. Got as far as Mr. Fitzgerald’s and had supper there and slept in their barn all night. Slept very good indeed as I was very tired.

We got up and got breakfast at six o’clock. It consisted of bread and butter and tea. It was not very much, for our state of provisions were nearly exhausted. At ten o’clock we left Mr. Fitzgerald’s for Mr. Nellis’s.

Arrived there at twelve, then we got off our horses and had dinner. I tell you, it tasted splendid – the first square meal we had had since we left home. I thought Ellen never would get through eating. But I hadn’t better say anything, for I did not eat a very small dinner myself.

At half past two we mounted our horses again and started for home. We rode eight miles, then we reached Jim Wilson’s house. Ellen and I went over to Mary’s, did not get off our horses, then we came back as far as Sandy Wilson’s (6) and had supper. Then we went back to Jim’s to join the rest. At seven we again started for home and got there at nine o’clock, all agreeing that our trip to the Bald Hills had been a very happy one.

###

ENDNOTES:

1. Probably Sam McFarlan. His wife, Ellen, also went on the trip.

2. Probably Hugh Wilson, who was a Freshwater pioneer. He was a native of Charlotte County, New Brunswick and would have been about 34 at this time. (Obituary, Arcata Union, Thursday, 1 Feb 1923)

3. Perhaps Margaret Fitzgerald, who lived with her family at Kneelands Prairie. 1880 Census.

4. Ellen McFarlan, wife of Samuel W. McFarlan

5. Skeffington Carson. We don’t know what he did, but Kate apparently forgave him, because after her first husband died, she married him almost twenty years later.

6. Alexander Wilson’s obituary mentions his brother, James Wilson of Dows Prairie and his sister, Mrs. William Carson. They could be the Sandy and Jim Wilson named here. Humboldt Times, 4 August 1894

###

The story above was originally printed in the Summer 2020 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.