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: Lara Garrison
Treasurer: Jack Irvine
Directors
Catherine Alexander, Nick Angeloff, Sile Bauriedel, Susan Doniger, Susan Maschmeier and Royal McCarthy
Living Past Presidents
Arlene Hartin, Catherine Mace, Tom Mays, Leonard McLaughlin, Robert Palmrose, 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 autumn 2024
By Jim Garrison, President
Just like that, summer has nearly gone, soon to be replaced by autumn. It has been an eventful few months for us at the Historical Society, so I would like to take this opportunity to bring our members up-to-date on our summer fun, and thank some folks who richly deserve it. This summer our staff, board members, and volunteers donated their valuable time and labor promoting the Society and our local history at various events around the county. Amid the summer’s activities, the Society was also navigating some big changes in our organization.
The big change I must announce is the retirement of our Executive Director, Jane Hill. I simply cannot say enough good things about Jane and the work she did for the Historical Society during her time here. Jane’s compassion and drive to make our organization better has left an indelible mark on our Society. Jane’s experience, wisdom, and vision, have allowed our Society to grow and develop into a more modern, inclusive, and accessible resource for our members, our community, and for anyone interested in Humboldt County’s rich history. During Jane’s reign as our executive director, she supported and oversaw the efforts of staff, volunteers, and board members alike as we strove to make meaningful advances for the Society.
Jane’s efforts included the launch of our 2024 HCHS membership campaign, bringing in much-needed new members. During her tenure, Jane helped the Society get exposure on local media, and oversaw staff in maintaining a more robust social media presence, allowing staff to share fun and interesting Humboldt history with folks online, reaching a broader audience than ever. Jane secured grant-funding to process important collections and make upgrades to our 122-year-old facilities. She coordinated many of our events, and participated in the creation of our first big annual event. Jane has decided to retire and take a well-deserved break. Her plans include traveling abroad, and we wish her the best.
Just as summer makes way for autumn, Jane’s departure heralds the arrival of a new executive director. I was distressed when I learned of Jane’s imminent departure, but was greatly relieved when Humboldt Historian our next director agreed to take on the job. It is my honor to announce Chuck Petty as the new executive director for the Humboldt County Historical Society. Chuck brings a lot of experience to the position, and has been involved with local history organizations for many years. Chuck has served on many local nonprofit boards, and his knowledge and insights will help guide the Society expertly through the coming years. I would like to express my sincere thanks to both Jane and Chuck for their years of hard work and dedication in serving our local historical organizations, including the Humboldt County Historical Society.
I would also like to thank everyone who worked to make our summer activities a success, spending their summer days tabling at local events, including the Redwood Acres fair and the Humboldt County fair. These events are a fun opportunity for us to reach out to the community and share a little of what we have to offer, and we look forward to them each year. This year’s Redwood Acres fair was themed “History in the Making” and highlighted our county’s amazing history. We had a great time and were able to reach out to many of our community members. The Humboldt County fair gave us the opportunity to attract new members and display some of our collections to the public. We always love going to the Humboldt County fair and getting a chance to share some of our collections with people from all around the county.
This year, we began what we hope is a new traditional summer event: our very own Beer Fest at the Blue Ox Village. In collaboration with our fellow non-profit, Blue Ox Millworks, Beer Fest offered live music, locally-crafted beers, historical demonstrations, and exhibits. It was a wonderful chance for us to have a little fun and involve the community in supporting our two organizations in continuing to preserve our local history. I would like to thank all the volunteers, board members, and others for their efforts, former Historical Society board member Mike Berry for coming up with the idea, and for all his hard work to make it happen. I sincerely hope to see you all again at next year’s Humboldt County Historical Society Beer Fest at the Blue Ox Village!
Until next time…
“In 1852 the government and the Indian chiefs of the various tribes signed an agreement by which the government agreed to pay the Indians for their lands on condition that they stop their war-like attitude toward the white settlers…In California, however, the Indians claim that no settlement has ever been made, and the debt to the California Indian tribes is said to represent at the present time, the enormous sum of $150,000,000.”
The 1923 All-Indian Celebration deserves a much longer article—which I or another historian may write for some future Humboldt Historian. For now, I’m grateful to have gained glimpses into an important story from our county’s history, a story I might never have known about without the chance discovery of a 100-year-old photograph.