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Posts published in “Essays”

The Valleys of Mendocino County

About 40 years ago the Mendocino County Historical Society was producing monographs on several subject areas. In the “Stories of Mendocino County” series #14 was Ray Shultz and is “Valleys of Mendocino County.” He tried…

Standish-Hickey & The Pandemic

What does Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area, a mile and a half north of Leggett, have to do with the Covid-19 pandemic? Nothing of a direct nature is the correct answer. However, there is a connection…

The Hallinans in the ’40s

Terence Tyrone "Kayo" Hallinan entered the ring in 1937, the second of five boys born two years apart, as per mother Vivian's plan, and given nicknames by father Vincent, who would train them to be…

Journal of the Plague Year (#2)

Berkeley, CA. Week of 3/23 – There’s something basically distressing about having to gather almost all of one’s knowledge and experience remotely. Not by “being there.” Phone calls and web contact, some of it accompanied…

Stay Home & Make News of Your Own

The doctor wasn’t in his office and wasn’t seeing patients either, but he was talking with them by phone, and trying to be supportive. After all, psychotherapy had to go on, with or without the…

AV Land Trust Sues Peachland Family (Part 9)

From my family’s perspective, the Anderson Valley Land Trust’s lawsuit against us was retaliation and payback.  When the AVLT decided that the location of a motorhome on our property was a violation of our easement,…

Russ Emal Looks Back

Sitting around with less than normal to do, my mind wandered to the time we first moved to Anderson Valley. It was in the late seventies. We moved here as Wendy, my wife, was from…

The Rock of Rocks

A big rock, located on the far back of my property, has always intrigued me. You need to know where it is and how to get to it. The rock is a round mass of…

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