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Posts published by “Bruce Anderson”

Jerry Coffman, Arky Vaughan & Joe Dimaggio

When I first met Jerry Coffman I had just bought a two-bedroom, one bath house in Boonville. The half-acre was set back off what is now called Anderson Valley Way, conferring on its two-mile length…

Oaky Joe Munson Soldiers On

Oaky Joe Munson stopped by last week. On the marijuana fame meter, Oaky is about a 9 headed for 10 where he'll join the legends of the Northcoast business — Eddy Lepp, Pebbles ‘Pebs’ Trippet,…

The Theory & Practice Of Redwood

Long before wine grapes and marijuana, family farms were Mendocino County's dominant feature. Timber sustained several thousand families who were able to take home enough money from the woods and the mills to create the…

Tate Laiwa Did Not Kill Joe Poe

Martin "Tate" Laiwa remembers the day he was formally accused of the murder of Joe Poe.

"David Eyster saw me in the jury box prior to being arraigned that day back in 1992, and he comes up to me and says, 'Tate, I read the case and they want me to take it. I told them no, and from what I read there is no evidence and I know you did not do it.' I broke down and started to cry, and he says, 'I believe you and you should be home as soon as the investigation is over.' I believed him, and I was surprised to hear that come from his mouth because he didn't like me and I didn't like him much. I was sure that the truth would clear me, and I would be home soon. Even a man who didn't like me could see that I was not the one who killed the man, and he read the reports!"

The Stick Lady Is Dead

She was known around Boonville as the Stick Lady, a gaunt, listing figure in hip-length khaki, high-water trousers, a leather Australian bush hat securely fastened to her head, a predictable sight every afternoon, rain or shine. On hundred degree days she'd walk in the morning. On rainy days Dolores would walk up and down the grandstand stairs at the Fairgrounds. Her daily effort may have extended her life, or abbreviated it.

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