Local history explorations often start with something as simple as a piece of paper. Walking into the Comptche store recently owner Belinda Pollack handed me…
Posts published by “Katy Tahja”
This story is dedicated to AVA reader Richard Hargreaves of Redding, who is pushing 90 years of age and has vivid history memories. It’s how…
Living 45 years on the coast, but having business or family needs that take me into the Central Valley, I’ve driven Highway 20 along the…
Ever heard of Indian Schools in Mendocino County? Why were they needed? Why were there a dozen of them around the County? Investigating this phenomenon…
Several months ago I did a column on place names on the Mendocino Coast. An AVA reader, Jonah Raskin, left a comment on the newspaper’s…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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?…