Valley People (June 2, 2021)

PAUL MEILLEUR, 79, and a long-time resident of the Anderson Valley, was killed Friday afternoon when the Honda ATV he and his 63-year-old passenger were riding turned over. The fatal accident occurred on Meilleur’s Nash Mill property. The passenger managed to jump clear  before the vehicle overturned, killing Meilleur. The CHP said neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the accident.

RUSS EMAL WRITES: “Sadly I report the death of a long time valley resident, neighbor, friend. Paul Meilleur. Paul was killed in an off road accident on his four wheeler on Friday afternoon. While not fully apprised of the incident, my understanding is he was climbing a steep path from his house to Clow Ridge Road. I do believe the path he was on had only been used going downhill. He may have been headed up this path in what might be called the wrong, steep direction with a load of batteries on his rig. Paul, a few other friends, and myself gathered often to enjoy sports together at our house. We always share food and drinks. Paul never failed to bring a gallon of Gowan’s juice and a quart of vodka (no one ever drank this combo!) While quite the hermit Paul was well educated. When in conversation he had many good points to add. His presence, thoughts, and friendship will be missed. I have no information as to services nor do I know if he has any local family. Should such info become available I would like to hear about it. Likewise should I hear I will post here.”

A NEIGHBOR COMMENTS: “Paul Meilleur is someone I've known since about 1974 or so although not super well and not continuously. A cheerful and smart guy, he had been managing the Clow Ridge Road Association for many years. It never would have occurred to me he could be as old as he was reported to have been, but of course these ridiculous numbers are happening to all of us. I am glad I had occasion to talk with him on the phone a couple of weeks ago.”

BRIAN WOOD: “I never met Paul, but was in semi-regular contact with him through emails for over a year because I was providing him the daily totals for long-time Boonville rain records he was curating. The records were kept by workers at the Cal Trans yard, among them Johnny Pinoli, and go back several decades. At some point Emil Rossi acquired the hand written numbers from the Cal Trans yard, and continued record keeping. When he died the numbers went to Ken Montgomery. When Ken died Paul somehow acquired them. But it was my next door neighbor, Rich Ferguson, who in recent years recorded the Boonville rainfall which he emailed to Paul since Paul didn’t live in Boonville. Rich and I had our rain gauges set about 100′ apart and we had been comparing our totals for years. So when Rich started providing the numbers to Paul I was part of the email link between them. When Rich died January a year ago, Paul contacted me asking if I would continue sending the daily reports. It’s never been clear to me what Paul was planning to do with the records, but he said they were in a disorganized state and he was working to get them back in order. I don’t know if he finished doing that. He was going to give me a copy in some form. Maybe the records can be retrieved and I can continue adding to them. The AVA or the AV historical society might be the best place for the actual records to go, if possible.”

STEVE SPARKS CONFIRMS that was indeed Natalie Matson putting a fresh coat of paint on the lamp posts in front of the old Buckhorn, about to be revived by Ms. Matson as Lauren’s at the Buckhorn. “Natalie has been putting in many, many hours at the old Buckhorn, sprucing it up and changing the look and feel in various ways.  Hopefully, “Lauren’s at The Buckhorn” (L.A.B.), a combination of the best from Lauren’s and The Buckhorn, will be open in the next couple of weeks or so. Meanwhile, this is the final week for Lauren’s at the original location. The last night, after 25 years of operation, will be Saturday, June 5th. Hope to see you at the L.A.B. in the near future.”

MEMORIAL DAY was commemorated at Evergreen Cemetery, Boonville, Monday, beginning precisely at 11, ending 40 minutes later with a color guard gun salute. Some fifty persons — veterans, wives and locals showing their support for veterans, made up the audience for several spoken recollections by Valley veterans, who included Patrick Ford (Marines); Kirk Wilder (Army); Hans Hickenlooper (Marines); Ray Langevin (Navy); Tom Condon (Army); Kirt Frost (Air Force); Greg Sims (Navy). Val Hanelt informed us of some of the older military graves in the Cemetery: Christopher Columbus Huffaker (1842-1911) obtained by his grandson Jim Wellington a few years ago.  He was in the 30th Kentucky Infantry and a Civil War Veteran. And there is John Lewis Estes of Custer’s 7th Cavalry, who eluded Custer’s last stand to live out his days in the Anderson Valley. Among attendees was Sheriff Matt Kendall, whose roots in Mendocino County go back to his pioneer family who named Boonville ‘Kendall City’ before it was Boonville. Delicious sack lunches were provided by Love to Table, a volunteer group steered our way by Arline Bloom. “They have been making meals for the homeless,” Arline explained. “When they asked who they could cook for today, I suggested our Legion and families. That's where the lunches came from.”

I’LL BET I’m not the only local who can’t drive past the Memorial Day Flea Market without thinking of the late Carl Kinion, a regular at the market for years and, also, among the Redwood Empire’s elite blood donors, giving more of the life stuff than any other resident of this county, past or present. And while waxing nostalgic, it was Homer Mannix and Wayne McGimpsey who brought the fire hydrants to central Boonville. 

MY FAMILY, a portion thereof, enjoyed an excellent dinner at the Company Kitchen, Philo, on Saturday night where Libby Favela was cooking in the same kitchen where she became regionally famous as the eponymous Libby’s Restaurant. 

CURIOUS about how fast competitive cyclists can get from Cloverdale to Boonville? Coupla Sundays ago I passed a Coast bound, lycra-clad couple at Cloverdale’s Boonville turnoff, and exactly an hour later, their energy apparently undiminished, they zoomed through Boonville.

BOONVILLE BOY IN THE BIGS. Andrew Vaughan’s parents and grandparents were from the Anderson Valley so we’re claiming him, although he grew up in Santa Rosa. In his first year in the major leagues, Vaughan is hitting over .300 and has a good shot at Rookie-of-the-Year.

AV AMBULANCE MANAGER CLAY EUBANKS REPORTS:

“We have one EMT who has returned from the COVID reserve and will start taking regular shifts again. The schedule is doing ok, however we are still relying on a few folks to take two to four shifts per week. We need more EMT’s and drivers who can fill some of those open shifts. “

NAVARRO AREA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL inaugural event takes place on  Saturday, June 5th, 4pm-6pm

Camp Navarro, 3/4 mile up Masonite Road, from Hwy 128, Navarro. Turn right at the sign to Camp Navarro into the main parking area. Please join other Navarro area residents who are concerned about Fire Prevention and Safety. The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council and other wildfire experts will discuss ways we can work together to prepare for and prevent the spread of wildfires in Navarro. This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, receive information and resources, volunteer for future NAFSC activities, and begin this important work together. Live music in a beautiful setting for your enjoyment. Masks recommended. We look forward to seeing you there! Visit www.firesafemendocino.org for short videos in English and Spanish, and other resources for you and your family. 

MIKE KALANTARIAN WRITES: Frost Fan Tip: “Save those wine-bottle corks and whittle them down, as they make excellent earplugs!”

A READER WRITES: “I saw this notice on Lemons’ Philo Market’s door last week that says they aren’t going to have the daily papers — NY Times, Press Democrat, Chronicle — for sale anymore.”

SAD NEWS for us remaining newspaper people. The Press Democrat, the SF Chronicle and the mighty New York Times will no longer be distributed in AV, and the distributor has already cut off the South Coast. Outside newspapers haven't been available at Gallery Book Shop in Mendocino for some time, but remain available at that little coffee kiosk across the street from the old firehouse. At the Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah they sell exactly 3 SF Chronicles a day and an average of 4 Press Democrats, but assume the papers will still be distributed along the 101 corridor.

DOYEN of Northcoast newspaper people, Gaye LeBaron of the Press Democrat, was contacted through former PD staffer Mike Geniella, who asked her eminence about the history of the circulation of the Press Democrat beyond the Rose City. She remembers, “I can make a reasonably educated guess that it began in the late 40s when Bill Townes took over as publisher and turned the PD into a regional paper. Dan Bowerman continued that with a vengeance, referring to the circulation area as ‘Mid-Empire.’ It has certainly served Ukiah for all my years of association— 64.”

I STARTED READING the Press Democrat when I arrived in Boonville, circa 1970, and still read it every day on-line out of professional obligation, you might say. Old timers have fond memories of the O’Briens who faithfully delivered the PD to its many readers in the Anderson Valley. In exile from the cool gray city of love, used to buy the Chronicle every day at the Anderson Valley Market, stopping only when Herb Caen retired. I never have read the NY Times, only because I've never wanted to set aside a couple of hours to absorb it, agreeing with Noam Chomsky that the only truth in the paper is buried somewhere in the final paragraphs, but you've got to read all the trickery before you get to them.

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT was always a must read, not so much anymore but certainly back in the 70's and 80's before the internet and cell phones kicked in and destroyed newspapers and the rest of the world with them. The PD provided exhaustive coverage of high school sports, and everyone who had a kid playing ball from Point Arena to Covelo read the paper for its encyclopedic sports guy, Herb Dower. Mendocino County was important enough that the PD established the much missed Mike Geniella full time in Ukiah, whose fine reporting out of Mendocino County several times drew national attention. The paper also funded Pat McKay to report on the Mendocino Coast, a jolly, plus-size hippie complete with granny glasses who fell in love with an Arab (Syrian), and the next time I saw her she was un-jolly and clad in a full harem tent, wobbling ten feet before her new man. And, like everyone else in this area, I was an avid reader of Gaye LeBaron's daily PD column, several times exchanging barbs with the old girl who out-barbed me with her numerically superior circulation numbers. As troubadour Bob told us back in '65, the times were a'changin. He couldn't have known the times were also a'ending.

AND THEN THEY DRIVE OUT ONTO 101 and.... “A beer and a shot: Rohnert Park brew pub 1st stop in county bid to vaccinate more young people.” (Press Democrat)

THE MONSTER who opened fire on his colleagues Wednesday at a San Jose rail yard, killing nine of them, was reportedly scheduled to attend a work disciplinary hearing over alleged racist remarks on the day of the massacre. Bay Area media have devoted hours to re-hashing the sad event, reporting yesterday that 12 guns and 23,000 rounds of ammo were found in the shooter's house, a middling arsenal by gun guy standards.