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Posts published in “Essays”

The Mendocino Outlaws: The Recapture of Dr. Wheeler

Dr. John F. Wheeler had been hiding in an abandoned cabin in Salt Hollow, a mile west of Cleveland's mill, for parts of two days and nights since his November 7, 1879, escape from the…

Pulling With “Highload”

In the last episode in the House of Morgan saga I reported luck more than skill had elevated me on The Greenchain to position #4, right next to and facing “The Boss,” Ken “Highload” Hurst.…

Supes Talking When They Should Be Listening

It’s not required to be a historian to know that legalization of pot in California is the most important law and public policy in California since 1978’s precedent-setting tax reform initiative Proposition 13. It’s clear…

The Klan in Mendocino County

What? Ku Klux Klan in Mendocino County? You bet! Unfortunately our county was no different than the rest of the USA in having a KKK presence over the last century. First, thanks to the Fort…

‘Highload’ & His Mythic Gyppos

Sometime during the Summer of '73, after the unionization strike dust had settled at Philo Lumber, and I had resettled into the routine pulling strips at The Point, Sammy Prather, leader of the Green Chain…

Correcting Political Correctness

California Governor Gavin Newsom may be an empty suit and Corporate Liberalism personified, but those trying to recall him are much worse. A prospective Republican challenger is Caitlin Jenner, the Olympic decathlon champ formerly known…

The Mendocino Outlaws: Dr. Wheeler’s Escape

John Wheeler and James Anthony escaped from the county jail in Ukiah in the dinner hour of November 7, 1879. They employed a Babbitt metal key to unlock their cells and a door to the…

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