Dispatches from Home-Down the Road...

Hi all!

This week, there will be a bit of a break in the blogging action while I work on researching a few more stories for the blog. Here's what is in store down the road.

The Trinity Hospital

We alluded to this in a recent article- stay tuned for more information on the Trinity Hospital and Mad River Hospital.

Image of the modern-day Trinity Annex at Humboldt State, Courtesy of North Coast Journal

​Types of Baskets and Their Uses

The first time I ever walked into Nealis Hall before I started working here, I had never seen a locally-made basket. I was a bit overwhelmed by all the types and felt something like "basket blindness" as they all blended together in my mind. Learn the hallmarks of different baskets and their uses in this blog post.

Basket by Carrie Turner, Clarke Historical Museum Collections

Balloon Flight

It's starting to feel a little like summer (on the sunny days, anyway). Watching ballooon-ers was a favorite past time of turn of the century Humboldt County residents- but it wasn't the safest spectator sport.

Balloonists prepare for flight on the Arcata Plaza

Meet the Weaver: Carrie Turner​

In February of 1982, Coleen Kelley and Craig Irvin interviewed weaver Carrie Turner at Wautek (Johnson's) California. Sections of this interview were used in the publication "Baskets and Weavers" sold at the Clarke Museum. Get a peek into the rest of the interview and some of Carrie's baskets in the Clarke collections in this blog post.

Humboldt County and the World's Fair

Probably one of my favorite topics- Humboldt County at the World's Fair and other grand exhibitions including the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Can you guess what popular museum artifact appeared in the 1915 Exposition in San Francisco? You'll find out in this story.

Zipping Along - Sport Races in Humboldt County

There's a lot of open space in rugged Humboldt County- perfect for people who are looking for daring, adventurous hiking or running. Hear the story of Elta Cartwright, a runner who when to the Olympics, the race to Kneeland, and ​the Redwood Empire Indian Marathon, that was run from San Francisco to Grant's Pass, Oregon, a distance of 482 miles, over the Redwood Highway.

Elta Cartwright and "Flying Arrow" meet during the Redwood Empire Indian Marathon in 1928, the second and last year the race was run.

Meet the Weaver: Vera Ryerson

Part 2 in a series of interviews held by Coleen Kelley and Craig Irvine, this one was conducted with weaver Vera Ryerson in August of 1982. While we don't have any of Vera's baskets, we'll feature images of some of the other baskets in our collections.

Projectile Points

The Clarke has a large collection of projectile points in storage. Check out some high resolution photos of the points courtesy of CalTrans, and learn a bit more about how the points help us understand the changing lifestyles of early people in the area later known as Humboldt County.

Anything specific you'd like to learn more about? Let us know in the comments or by emailing us at [email protected]!