After driving back roads and living off the beaten path for 50 years I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about our local natural world. When I see something growing along the road that truly looks out…
Posts published by “Katy Tahja”
This account of the Hopland Stock Farm will be a testament to this historian’s self control in that I will try and NOT go into too many details about the fascinating story of A.W. Foster…
To historians maps are a time trap—just ask the folks at the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino. A map inspection can turn from a quick glance to an hour or more, often with the assistance…
Please read about the massive 1931 Comptche Fire and how people survived in the middle of a firestorm due to defensible space. It’s a good lesson on what saves lives. In 1931 in late September…
One of the problems an historian faces is starting with a simple thought—I would like to know more about the log rafts pulled along the Mendocino Coast a century ago—and pretty soon the researcher has…
Matt Turner built schooners, brigs and barkentine vessels on California’s north coast 120 years ago to transport lumber and general merchandise. Why is this interesting? It’s the side story of how and why he became…
One of my favorite discoveries studying history is how creativity and ingenuity solved problems, like moving really BIG things. Incline railways were one such invention. These rail lines had nicknames for their many parts—they were…
As AVA readers have interest in Mendocino County history beyond the Anderson Valley the following is offered. It’s easy to be researching one project and get waylaid by interesting materials that have nothing to do…