Geddes Harper addressing HCHS Staff and Board of Directors, 1959. Howard Melendy.
The Humboldt County Historical Society is supported by a Board of Directors, which meets once a month to plan events, orchestrate fundraising efforts, and oversee other organizational operations. These board meetings are open to members. Any interested community member may apply to volunteer as a member of our board. Elections are held on the first Saturday in November prior to the First Saturday Lecture.
Humboldt County Historical Society President, James Garrison, and Secretary, Lara Garrison. Jim was formerly our archivist, then began his career as a teacher in Redway. He is the author of the Arcadia book, Scotia & Rio Dell. Lara is also a teacher at Redway and has been a long-time volunteer at HCHS. They are a talented and effective team!
OFFICERS for the 2023 - 2024 TErm
President: James Garrison
Vice President: Mark Castro
Past President: Dr. Alexandra Service
Secretary: Alyssa Ellis
Treasurer: Jack Irvine
Directors
Catherine Alexander, Robert Cliver, Paul Geck, Jackie Farrington, Nick Angeloff, Lara Garrison, Sile Bauriedel, Susan Maschmeier and Royal McCarthy
Living Past Presidents
Arlene Hartin, Tom Mays, Leonard McLaughlin, Jack Nash, Armeda Reitzel, Bill Rich, Jerry Rohde, James Roscoe, Renee Ross, Merry Schellinger Phillips, Steve Lazar, Alexandra Service, Joe Walund, Catherine Mace
HCHS Past Presidents Page
A page to honor our past presidents who have served over the last 75+ years.
President’s Place for Spring 2025
We’ve Got Your Grandma’s Stuff
By Jim Garrison, President
For years, I have made this outrageous, sometimes alarming statement at fairs and public events around the county. I do it to get people’s attention and start a conversation, but in a very real sense it is exactly true. Our society, and the amazing collection of documents, photographs, artifacts, and other relics from Humboldt’s past, all came from the people in our community. Your family, my family, and families all over this county have donated this collection, one piece at a time. The Society preserves these things for future generations to experience, learn from, and share in.
Before joining the Humboldt County Historical Society board, I worked for seven years as the society’s Collections Archivist. In that time, I saw a great many donations come in. Some of them were amazing, but all of them were valuable to our shared history. These donations are what this society is all about. They are our mission. Each time we pay our membership dues for the Society, we are supporting the continued preservation of these artifacts. In supporting the Historical Society, we are helping to support the maintenance of our “Grandma’s” collections.
So, what about these collections? They are, quite honestly, incredible. When I started working for the Society, I was impressed by the size and scope of the collection. In my first month there, I vowed to explore and understand a new collection every week. I would come in to work, and whenever I had a spare moment, would break open a box to start exploring. I was a man with a mission. Although I made a lot of progress, I, joyously, never completed that mission, as the job was just too big.
Our Society, and if you’re reading this, your Society, has something to offer anyone interested in history of any sort. We are home to thousands of photographs and maps, amazing research and genealogy libraries, and several rooms full of family histories, business and local government records, newspapers, film, and other collections of local historical interest. To be honest, there is simply too much to list. All of it came from your family, and my family, and it represents the shared history we have worked to preserve for the past seventy-seven years and more.
What started out as a handful of people with a desire to preserve the history of their family and of their county has grown into this wonderful and tremendous collection. This Society represents everything our ancestors, our families and thoughtful folks from all walks of life who knew the value that these simple things, these photos and papers, maps and records, would have to our future. It is our responsibility to carry this torch forward and to pass it to the next generations.
We can’t do it alone. We are on a mission, not just to preserve and maintain the collection, but to share our history with the public, and support others in exploring and celebrating our rich, diverse, often surprising, and always incredible history. Our goal is to make our county’s history, and our collection, as accessible and meaningful as possible to the people of Humboldt County and beyond. Toward this end, we have made a concerted effort to engage the public and to bring more folks into the Society.
We have just wrapped up February’s annual HCHS luncheon, and are looking forward to a host of events this summer, including our 2nd Annual Humboldt County Historical Society Beer Fest at the Blue Ox Millworks. We hope to see you there! Also watch for us at the Humboldt County Fair and other community events this summer, where we will be showing off some great Humboldt history!
What does this have to do with Grandma’s stuff? Well, our collective “Grandmas” left us all an amazing legacy of history, as new collections come in nearly every week. But Grandma also left us a responsibility. As a member, you are helping to meet the demands of this responsibility with your ongoing generosity and commitment to our society’s mission. I would like to sincerely thank each of you for your support.
Our Society plays a crucial role in preserving and interpreting our shared past and provides a link between generations. Collecting, archiving, and sharing the stories, artifacts, and documents from our past helps us to understand our community, and helps foster a deeper understanding of the present through the lens of history, just like Grandma wanted.