Heydays in Mattole: More Wild Tales of the Mattole Valley & the Lost Coast of Humboldt County
Heydays in Mattole: More Wild Tales of the Mattole Valley & the Lost Coast of Humboldt County
By Neb Roscoe. Roscoe's book is filled with hilarious tales and interesting facts about the families of the Mattole Valley. You'll even learn a little history along the way! Ned writes, "The reader will have to decide how much of this book qualifies as history, how much is common gossip, and how much is apocryphal." Member Price: $13.45
Neb Roscoe's book, Heydays in Mattole is a mix of community history and family stories -- as the subtitle suggests, "More Wild Tales of the Mattole Valley and the Lost Coast of Humboldt County".
Through the nearly century and a half that is covered in this book, there are accounts of major happenings affecting this area: the conflicts with native peoples, the tanbark industry, the brief oil boom (leaving the name Petrolia), shipwrecks, the Depression and wars. Still, the real heart of his book is portraying the life of a small community -- the gossip, jokes, tragedies, childhood adventures and friendships.
We also hear a lot about the Roscoe family itself, particularly the author's mother, Martha Roscoe, who contributed so much to preserving the history now housed at the Historical Society. At the end, a thorough index allows for tracing the people and places that gave life to this special community.
A good read and a chance to be submerged for a while in what makes Humboldt what it is -- Humboldt.