RANDAL SCOTT FRASER
June 19, 1968 - Oct. 12, 2024
by Terry Sites
Long-time member of the Anderson Valley Community member Scott Fraser who was born on June 19, 1968 died on October 12, 2024 following a long illness. People came together on Sunday, October 20 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds Redwood Grove to celebrate his life. His wife Saffron and his two sons Otto and Angus graciously received hugs, words of comfort and shared memories from the crowd. There was a joyful quality underlying the sadness of loss. Clearly Scott was well loved.
Everyone mingled and drank, ate wood-fired pizza, Boont Berry salads and potluck desserts. Get-togethers like this are always reunions with people who haven’t seen each other in a long time catching up. Finally people started circling the picnic table where Saffron was sitting. Memories were shared. The “program” developed into a kind of a call and response with people calling out, “Tell about the tattoos,” or “Tell about the fish.” Every thread of a story led to a laugh and another story. Saffron (a good story teller) fleshed out these tales. You could feel the fondness in both the telling and the listening,
Although Scott looked like a tough guy, his wife and those who knew him best reported that underneath it all he was a tender and caring man. His two vibrant sons are a testament to his fathering skills. Otto serves in the U.S. Coast Guard and Angus is an aviation mechanic. Obviously, Saffron also had a lot to do with the successful parenting. Several people spoke of Scott’s love of babies and how patient he was with them even when holding a crying tot.
A table of memories was assembled containing many photos from different phases of the Fraser family’s life. It is always interesting to see how people change as the years roll by. The engagement picture of Saffron and Scott was especially touching — so young and so beautiful with their whole lives ahead. Life includes so many adventures, triumphs, challenges and heartbreaks.
Along with the mementos were some small business sized cards with a photo of a bearded Scott. On the flip side of the card a single quote read: “The star that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” Also there was a carved wooden marker inscribed “Randal Scott Fraser June 19, 1988 - Oct. 12, 2024 Husband, Father, Friend. Rev. in Peace.”
Scott Fraser, gone too soon, will be missed.
BENEFIT FOR CLAY MATSON
by Terry Sites
This past weekend on October 18 friends and family of Clay Matson gathered at the Anderson Valley Brewery to benefit Clay Matson and his family. Clay Matson is long-time employee of the Brewery who originally took care of the Brewery’s original owner Kim Allen’s Clydesdale horses when they lived at the brewery.
Clay has been suffering with severe pancreatitis. Following a long stay in the hospital, he is recuperating at a rehabilitation center in Sebastopol. A GoFund.Me campaign (gofund.me/ce579d84) has been established that allows anyone to donate at any time.
The benefit at the Brewery included a sizeable silent auction with all proceeds going to the Matson family. Friends and brewery staff did a wonderful job of organizing. Working off an Oktoberfest theme, there was continuous German(ish) music that kept the pace lively. Lederhosen and Dirndls were worn by some (Judy Basehore, Shea) who danced boisterously through the crowd. No stranger to drinking beer; Clay would have loved the party.
This family can use all the support they can get at this difficult time. Clay’s three energetic young sons Spike (Clay Jr.), Kingston and Cannon all miss having their Dad at home. You can help with expenses by visiting the GoFund.me website (above) or you can send a check to the Anderson Valley Brewery, P.O. Box 505, Boonville, CA 95415. Attention Clay Matson.
REPORT FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE
Hi friends,
In celebration of our 20 years spent creating a farm, and making the wild assumption that you're curious about how one would do such an insane thing, attached is a before and after essay in pictures. When we look back at the first photos, we too, are amazed at how everything has flourished when the landscape was so drear, dry and dark on first arriving. We fell in love with the “bones” of the place. To be completely honest though, the seasons, spring and fall, in which the pictures were taken, are opposites; we bought the property in May of 2004, and it was a wet and gray one. I've taken the recent pictures in the past week before everything dies back. Even the color of the skies are starkly different.
As to the doing of “such an insane thing”, we're talking about hard physical labor, much local help, and a steep learning curve (everything from how to drive a tractor, one of our first purchases, to where the water's coming from, what with the electrical system, how septic works, what kinds of fences to build and where, how and why, why are the toilet, sink and shower stained orange, how do you raise chickens, what do yaks need, and don't get me started on the marketing regulations for produce and meats, etc. etc.) One needs a vision, a faith in nature responding to what we consider improvements to their habitats, and a persistence that knows no bounds. It's a slow and often unsteady process that costs a lot in time, energy and the usual, money. The rewards are the critters and birds that come to pass through or to stay, produce that flourishes, and the creativity that's unleashed when there's an overabundance of everything and wasting nothing is the goal. In the end it's been my best masterpiece…a work of fine art in the true sense of the expression.
Come visit anytime and if you're interested in starting your own farm, we'll happily advise ;>)
Have a frightening Halloween (and an ecstatic election day. It will be, we promise!!).
Nikki Auschnitt and Steve Krieg
Boonville
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