Humboldt County Historical Society
Newsletter

What's Happening

August Closure

The Society will be closed during August and reopen Sept 7, the day after Labor Day. Closing the doors allows staff members to work on projects like refinishing floors, building and installing new shelving, and entering information about our collections into the database. If you want to contact us, leave a message on our answering machine or send us an email. Just be aware that we do not work on research requests during our summer closure.

Newsletter

The newsletter will be coming out every 6-8 weeks. We hope to keep you current on events that are happening at the Society. For questions contact us through email at hchs@humboldthistory.org or by phone at (707)445-4342.

Facebook

On Facebook there is a Discussion tab. Anyone who visits the page can read the articles posted on the Discussion tab. Facebook members who "like" the Society can respond to the postings on the Discussion tab.

Currently there are articles on the Tugboat Wars, Ballooning in Humboldt, Trade Tokens, the Elinor to Sherwood stage and "Queen City of the Ultimate West." Something new is added to the page about once a week. Enjoy the articles, post a response, let us know you visited.

The Survey

Thank you to the many of you who completed the survey about what you'd like to see on our website. The request was sent out to 1130 members. About 550 people responded! In the survey we discovered that most of the folks who responded were over 50. Yes! Seniors do use the web and enjoy it!

It seems that many of you are comfortable using credit cards on the web and would like for us to offer that service. We hope to be able to take credit cards online by next year.

The other big change you requested is to make the Society's collections easier to search online. It seems that the lengthy lists of wills and Historian articles and census records that we have online are helpful, but difficult to use. We are beginning to work on redesigning the website to make it easier to use.

At the Society

Director Transition

This has been a big month for us. Our director for the past five years, Durry Jones, has retired. He is on the first of many voyages around the US to explore the country and the many resources for family history. Durry helped the Society establish more of a web presence and encouraged the addition of the museum database that helps make our collection accessible to researchers. His guidance and direction have been appreciated by the board, the staff, and researchers.

We now have a new director, Matina Kilkenny. Matina worked for the Society as Research and Collections Manager from 1995-2004. We look forward to her experience and the new directions toward which she will guide the Society. Help us welcome her!

Display Case

This month's display is on Summer Fun in Humboldt County. Our displays are put together by Arlene Hartin who draws on her experience in Humboldt County and the many resources she has as well as some from the Society's collection. Included are features on swimming holes, rodeos and fairs, parades, redwood adventures, camping, and much more. Stop into the Society and take a look.

Historical Lecture

There is no presentation in July or August.

The next one will be on Sept 11. The program, Eureka - Then and Now will be presented by Jerry Rohde. The 2010-2011 program list will be on the website soon.

Each month from September to June the Historical Society presents a series of free lectures at the Humboldt County Library, Eureka Branch. These take place on the first Saturday of the month at 1:30 PM in the library's meeting room.

There is also a break during the month of December. In February the Annual Luncheon takes place rather than the library lecture.

Visit the Programs page of the Society's website for more information on events sponsored by the Historical Society. There is also a list of the DVD's of the programs that are available for viewing at the Society.

Local History Mystery

General Identification Card
Humboldt Bay Identification Bureau

A recent attic discovery, this collection of fourteen cards came from a donor who is as curious about them as we are. Stamped "Humboldt Bay Identification Bureau" and dated July 1, 1925, the cards all bear the signature of Paul Luykan. The local Bureau's address is his own.

Our research informed us that the names on the cards belong to young women born between 1907 and 1911 who, at the time they were issued the cards, lived in Fields Landing. With one exception, the women were single.

On the back of each card, under the heading "General Identification Bureau, Branch no. 7/Headquarters 136 McAllister St., San Francisco," the following instructions appear: "To prove the bearer of this card is the rightful owner thereof; have the bearer make another fingerprint, for you, in your presence, and compare it with the one on this card."

Why did these girls need identification cards? Have you heard of the Humboldt Bay Identification Bureau? Let us know if you have any information that can lead to solving this Local History Mystery.

Volunteer Opportunities

July 4th Booth

Each July 4th the Society has a booth at the Eureka Street Fair. It gives visitors a chance to see some of the work that the Society does. This year the booth was staffed by volunteers, board members, and HCHS staff. It was a wonderful event until the wind came up and threatened to blow the booth down the street.

August Help

August is the month that each of the staff takes on a project that can't be done when the Society is open. There are several projects with which we could use some help. Examples are prepping and painting portions of the Society, inside and out; sanding and refinishing floors; moving boxes of books and other heavy items; weeding and cleaning the outside of the Barnum House; and many more odd jobs. If you will be available during August and would like to help, please contact us by email at hchs@humboldthistory.org or by phone at (707)445-4342. Make sure to leave your name and contact information. We will contact you to arrange times.

In the Bookstore

Images of America: Eureka and Sequoia Park by Dione F. Armand. This book is a photo essay on the history of Sequoia Park in Eureka. Armand presents the history of the "gold" of Eureka, the lumber, and the efforts to preserve a small portion of the redwoods. Sequoia Park was established in 1907 on an uncut logging claim set aside in 1894.

This is the story of the founding and history of Eureka's Sequoia Park and of the people who gave it shape. Local resident and community forestry scholar, Armand, brings this history to life with her narration of historical photographs and images of artifacts from private and public collections, including those of the Humboldt County Historical Society.

Images of America: Eureka and Sequoia Park by Dinoe F. Armand $19.99 ($18.00 members)

If you are ordering any of these books or other items from the Historical Society Bookstore, make sure to include shipping - $5.00 for the first item and $2.00 for each item after that. If you are in California, include 8.5% sales tax before you add in the shipping costs. Or, call the Society at (707) 445-4342 for a price.

The Historical Society is closed for the month of August. We will reopen the Tuesday after Labor Day. The Historical Society is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - 12-4 and Thursday evening - 4-8.
Call at (707) 445-4342 or email at hchs@humboldthistory.org.
Visit the Historical Society's website at http://www.humboldthistory.org

Statement of Purpose
The Humboldt County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization. The Humboldt County Historical Society shall further an understanding and appreciation of all peoples, places, events and activities of Humboldt County and related areas.The Society shall accomplish this by acquiring, creating, preserving, interpreting and disseminating historical information and by assisting others to do the same.

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