The Mendocino Coast Hospital District held their December Board of Directors meeting on January 10th. If that seems puzzling, strap in for further confusion. One of the first pieces of business for the hospital board…
Posts published by “Malcolm Macdonald”
On January 3rd Mendocino Coast Hospital held a special board of directors meeting. The agenda for the meeting appeared straight forward: a short open session to gather public input followed by a closed session regarding…
In the 1860s the Frost and Coates families of Little Lake engaged in a running feud that culminated in a shootout outside Baechtel's Store on election day, 1867. The gun battle lasted but fifteen seconds.…
In the 1800s the Mendocino County Sheriff held a second job, that of tax collector. In the autumn of each year this duty entailed traveling throughout the county, gathering thousands of dollars at each stop…
A hundred years ago, in 1918, the Melburne Post Office closed, signaling a dwindling end for a once prosperous community along the Comptche Road, about ten miles east of the coast. Melburne's height of prosperity…
Along the Comptche-Ukiah Road, east of the nearly forgotten town of Melburne, is a spot known to locals as Tom Bell's Flat (or Tom Bell Flats). Tom Bell settled there in the 1860s. He made…
Here, along the Albion River, we are getting some much needed rain. A hard rain often sends our cattle uphill. Unfortunately, some of the current herd don't have sense enough to stay close to the…
This starts innocuously enough with an email from Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH) on November 9th announcing the agenda for the November 13th meeting of the hospital's Planning Committee. Stick with it because there will…
Here on the Macdonald ranch mid-autumn is a time to pick apples. In my youth, keeper varieties were stored in rectangular wooden bins on the kitchen porch. Rhode Island greenings were peeled and cooked into…