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Letters
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- Written by: Randy Ridgel
The Lake County Historical Society is grateful to many selfless and dedicated people who helped us bring about Lake County’s dream: Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum.
In 2001 a vision was born – a showcase museum for Lake County. Thanks to Andy and Betty Beckstoffer, Beckstoffer Vineyards, with the donation of the Ely Stage Stop and five acres to the county of Lake and the historical society, we began.
At this time the original Ely Committee was formed consisting of Rob Brown, District 5 supervisor; Bill Brunetti, business owner; Kim Clymire, Public Services director; Kelly Cox, county administrative officer; Marilyn Holdenried, Kelseyville Business Association and Wildhurst Vineyards; Tony Marchese, past Lake County Historical Society president; Randy and Jackie Ridgel, past historical society officers; Bob Roumiguiere, Lake County vineyard owner and Marin County supervisor (now deceased); Eric Seely, deputy director of redevelopment and Gerry Shaul, Public Works director.
A special thanks to all of you for your hours of dedication over the years.
Major donors are Andy and Betty Beckstoffer for Ely Stage Stop and land; the Kettenhofen Family Foundation for donating $100,000 for the Ely project; the Lake County Wine Alliance 2009 benefits of $4,700; county of Lake Parks Division staff, under direction of Park Superintendent Dana Smalley, restoration of the Ely Stage Stop (a special thank you for almost three years of working on the remodel); Jackson Equipment, donation of equipment and operator for site development; Kelseyville Lumber Co., discount on building materials; Clearlake Lava, donation of sand for barn foundation; Redi-Mix, discount on concrete for barn; Eric Stevenson Construction and crew, pouring the pad for the first display barn; Daren and Derrek Brodnansky, helping pour concrete; Mt. Konocti Growers, donation of storage space for artifacts; T-N-T Storage Kelseyville, donation of storage space for artifacts; California Department of Conservation, Division of Land Resource Protection, funding for project coordination.
Thank you to Lake County Historical Society member and Ely Stage Stop Project Coordinator Greg Dills.
He has worked countless hours, coordinating with the county of Lake to move the Ely Stage Stop to its present home, collecting, hauling, and storing of artifacts in friends’ and neighbors’ barns, and managing the teams to dismantle donated barns.
We will not forget all of you who contributed to the preparation of the open house and donated items, time and services to make the day a huge success.
To name a few: Rob Brown, master of ceremonies; Boy Scouts Troop No. 44, Clearlake, color guard, presentation of flags; Melody Staats, singing the National Anthem; Sea Scouts Ship No. 711, traffic control and parking; People Services Inc., Ilene Dumont and Marty Diesman, shuttle van drivers; Don Coffin, Andi Skelton and Elizabeth Cook, musicians; Lake County Model A’s Car Club, Tom Macomber; Clearlake Car Club, Rex Claytor; EcoArts of Lake County, parasols; Historical Society members, refreshments, merchandise sales and building decorations; Ely Committee, grounds preparation and building decorations; county of Lake inmate crew, grounds preparation; Lake County News, Lake County Record-Bee and Middletown Times Star, publicity and event coverage; MAX Design Studio, development of Ely logo and painted materials; Direct Image Printing, printed materials; Shelden Signs, hand painted sign on building; RAH Signs, event banners; Rainbow Ag, loan of stock tank; Vintage Antiques, loan of quilt and tablecloths; Lake County Chamber of Commerce, scissors and ribbon for ribbon cutting ceremony; donors of goods and services, furnishings, canopies, bunting and chairs; Historic Courthouse Museum, furniture and building décor on loan; Historic Schoolhouse Museum, Dwain Goforth, display and publicity photos; Barbara White, period costume, Laura Lamar and Max Seabaugh, period costume; David and Margaret Rutherford, period costumes; and Ray’s Market, Jeremy Hubbard, produce manager, Rodney Barr, store manager and Scott Gentle, assistant store manager, 200 brown bags for merchandise sold.
To name a few people who worked behind the scenes: Phil Smoley, Lake County Historical Society president; Greg Dills; Syd Stokes; Broc Zoller; Wilda Shock; Marilyn Holdenried; Linda Lake; Debra Sommerfield; Melinda Moranda; Victoria Brandon; Keith Petterson; Chuck March; Kevin Engle; Vonn Fuqua; Jim Bengard; Richard Smith; Michael Smith; Gerry Shaul; Karl Shaul; Vince Gamble; Chuck Villines; Jean Beeson; Bonnie Skee; and many more of the Historical Society members.
As you can see, it has taken an army to get Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum ready for Lake County. Please forgive me if I missed anyone or if I misspelled your name.
We are looking for docent volunteers; if you are interesting in becoming a part of this great dream please call Val Onellion at 707-995-2022.
Once Val gets a team together and trained, we plan to open Ely’s doors for tours during the holidays. Look for an announcement about dates.
Thank you to every one for attending our open house; about 400 visitors came to Ely July 24. We call that a huge success.
Randy Ridgel is a member of the Lake County Historical Society. He lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Olga Martin Steele
Given the recent clash in Sparks, Nev., between these same two notorious motorcycle gangs, we may well have dodged a bullet.
Unfortunately, the people in the Sparks casino where the clash occurred were, literally, dodging bullets.
Media reports tell of a horrific scene with people diving for cover in what is being called a shootout between the Vagos and Hells Angels.
When the dust settled the president of the San Jose Chapter of the Hells Angels was dead and two others were injured. In a nearby location another person was shot the next day, possibly in retaliation.
At last check, a Vagos gang member was in custody while the search for the suspected killer of the Hells Angels president was under way. How that will end is uncertain but I pray there are no innocent bystanders around if the Hells Angels find the suspected killer before the police.
History shows that to these gangs, bystanders are inconsequential. To this point, a shootout in August of 2010 between the Vagos and Hells Angels left five wounded after some 50 shots were exchanged in the small, unsuspecting neighborhood where the incident took place.
It’s impossible to know if the events that transpired in Sparks could have been prevented. This will no doubt be discussed in debriefings that will surely follow.
But there are poignant and instructive parallels in the handling of these events and those that occurred less than five months earlier in Lake County.
When the Vagos drove into Lakeport they created a specter of disruption and fear such that law enforcement agencies joined forces to keep the peace and the sheriff made the decision to stage a strong police presence at the county lines.
Similarly in Sparks, heightened security and a strong showing of support from various law enforcement agencies was reported.
Also as in Sparks, where decision makers restricted movement and shut down business for a time, similar decisions were made in Lakeport. Police were positioned at strategic entry and exit points, inhibiting movement and effectively shutting down normal activity until it was deemed that Lakeport citizens and patrons were safe.
Later, when the sheriff received word from official sources that the Hells Angles were heading toward Lake County, presumably to war with the Vagos, he took cautionary steps to avoid further disruption and possible calamity by closely monitoring the Vagos and staging officers at county lines until he could be certain the Hells Angels were not heading our way.
In Sparks, a long planned event that was to draw thousands was canceled out of an abundance of caution and extra security and patrols were added, there and in nearby locals.
Thankfully the Hells Angels did not show on the day the Vagos converged on Lakeport, although several days later a Vagos member was severely beaten by Hells Angels at one of our local casinos. In this case, the sheriff’s diligence in pursing and securing evidence from the crime scene resulted in search warrants and arrests.
The sheriff took plenty of heat, including an ongoing investigation into a claim he may have violated the civil rights of the Hells Angels, when he took steps to prevent possible deadly consequences on Lake County soil.
And while we may never really know if we dodged a bullet, one thing is now abundantly clear. Given the obvious callous disregard these gangs have for the rights of law-abiding citizens and innocent bystanders, a fact recently punctuated by the shootout in Sparks, our sheriff and the other law enforcement personnel involved in making the decisions on the day the Vagos paid us a visit knew whose civil rights needed protecting – the citizens of Lake County.
Olga Martin Steele lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.
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- Written by: Henry Bornstein and Gae Henry
The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA) is grateful to all those who helped to make this year’s sixth annual Anderson Marsh Old Time Bluegrass Festival a success.
The festival is the major fundraiser for AMIA, whose mission is to preserve and educate about the natural, cultural and historic resources protected by Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.
Funds raised will be used to support AMIA’s current effort to keep the Park open and accessible to the public.
Other local nonprofits and service groups as well as art, craft, and food vendors also benefited once again from this first-class event.
The Lake County Community put its best foot forward and earned rave reviews, receiving unanimous positive feedback from the musicians, volunteers, vendors and public attendees.
Musicians reported “this is the best run festival they’ve been at.” And we know why – it’s the fantastic group of volunteers who make this event a great experience for everyone.
AMIA Board members Anna and Frank McAtee got this event going six years ago and we still feel the spirit of their team and community building.
Bluegrass Festival Musical Director and AMIA Board Member Don Coffin brought us the best lineup ever. His passion and commitment are an inspiration.
Our vendor team of Nora Moore, Anna McAtee and Ellen Lundquist completely took care of this very large “piece” of the festival and made sure there was a great mix of food, crafts and art.
Konocti Unified School District not only loaned chairs and tables for the event, but Bill McDougall and Ed Zander came and lent a hand. Carlé Principal Dennis To and Carlé High School students provided lots of help before, during and after the event. Also giving invaluable service during the festival was Joan Mingoni and students from Lower Lake High School.
Carolynn Jarrett, along with other members of the Children’s Museum of Art & Science (CMAS), produced the children’s activity area, providing a variety of interesting, fun activities for children of all ages. John Burke and Billy Gear of CMAS coordinated the many community volunteers needed for the gate and perimeter security.
MCs Bill Fredriksson and Linda Guebert, along with Stage Managers Dennis Purcell and Michael Barrish, kept the flow of the day going and made it seem easy. Dwain Goforth and his team graciously hosted performers in the Ranch House.
Lake County Arts Council’s Richard Seisser curated, set up and coordinated the volunteers at the Art-In-the-Barn exhibit. The art on display was varied, interesting and beautiful, and added so much to the event.
The Kiwanis Club of Clearlake took care of the Beer & Wine Garden. Special thanks to Sharon Bassham for coordinating and Jim Mackey for dealing with the finances.
Thanks to all our vendors, whose diversity helped showcase the depth of talent in our area, the Clearlake VIPs who provided additional security and CHP Explorer Scouts who made the parking area run so smoothly.
Many thanks also to Buck Bouker, Del Cox, Dan Harris, Jenn Jensen, Kris and Nancy Langdon, Roberta Lyons, Tom Nixon, Robert Riggs, Andy Weiss and the KPFZ Radio team, Clear Lake Sector Superintendent Bill Salata and Rangers Darin Conner and Aaron Wright – as well as AmeriCorps, the Kiwanis Club of Clearlake and all the community volunteers – you gave selflessly of yourselves to help make the event run very smoothly and it did!
AMIA appreciates the regional businesses and local senior centers who sold tickets: Band Box Music, Bob’s Vacuum, Dig!Music, Earth Goods, Highlands Senior Center, Lakeport Senior Center, Lakeview Supermarket & Deli, Marie’s Lakeshore Feed, People’s Music, Strings & Things, The Last Record Store and Watershed Books.
This Festival could not have happen without the sponsorship of the following businesses and individuals, who made the event possible by their financial and in-kind support: 5 Happiness Webmaster; Action Sanitary, Inc.; Affordable Signs & Tees; America’s Best Value Inn & Suites; Barreda's Lower Lake Feed; Bruno's Shop Smart; Burrell's Auto; Charlotte Griswold; Chernoh Excavating, Inc.; city of Clearlake, Clearlake Stadium Cinemas; Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, Clearlake Veterinary Clinic; County of Lake; DJ's Pizza; Epidendio Construction Inc.; Ewing and Associates; Four Corners Building Supply; Gae Henry & Henry Bornstein; Gregory Graham Wines, Inc.; Grocery Outlet – Clearlake; Hardester’s Markets and Hardware; IGA Foods, Etc.; James Kinsel DDS, Inc.; Jonas Oil / Jonas Heating & Cooling; Kiwanis Club of Clearlake; KPFZ 88.1 FM Lake County Radio; Lake County Chamber of Commerce; Lake Marine Construction; Lake Transit Authority; Lakeport Lions Club; Lakeshore Lions Club; Lincoln/Leavitt Insurance Agency; Love Farms; McAtee's Marine Repair Inc.; Mendo Lake Credit Union; Neft & Neft Realtors; Photos by Joe Harden; Ray's Food Place; Reliable Caregivers, SF; Roberta & Dr. Harry Lyons; Ronald Lovitt; Safeway Stores; South Lake Refuse Co.; Spotless Janitorial; Thomas Hewlett, DDS; Vigilance Winery and Vineyards.
This event was truly a team effort. Thank you so much for being a part of it and helping show-off Anderson Marsh and our community for what it is – a jewel of Lake County.
Henry Bornstein and Gae Henry are members of the for the AMIA Board & Bluegrass Coordinating Team.
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- Written by: Fr. Leo M. Joseph
But my most special thanks and appreciation goes to the incredible folks at Hospice of Lake County for the daily care they have provided me through the course of this dying process.
They are the most dedicated, competent and otherwise beautiful human beings I ever had the opportunity to experience. Each of them is the embodiment of the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Please do not miss any opportunity within your means to support their work here in Lake County and to thank them personally on my behalf.
There are angels among us!
Fr. Leo M. Joseph, O.S.F., is parish priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lakeport, Calif.