They Have a System

They have a system, these two men, as they find their way around town to do errands on any given day. One seems to shift forward to blaze the path across the day's obstacles, to find the safe path. The other seems to lean back in counter balance, blind and holding his head high, poised to meet the day, in complete faith that his comrade will not lead him astray.

Officer Down

On Saturday, mourners gathered at Willits High School to honor Officer Dave Tiller, who finally succumbed to cancer last Wednesday. Members of law enforcement from all over the area gathered along with local family and friends in the Auditorium, then proceeded to the Community Center for a reception. As with the recent Smith memorial, the Boy Scouts set out American flags to line Main Street and Commercial in Tiller's honor. We are all moved by a community united in grief.

The Mortuary

There's one mortuary in town, Anker-Lucier, located on the corner of Commercial and School Streets. The red tile roof with white stucco is rare in this county, and reminds me of the Spanish Colonial Revival style found in more southerly parts of the state. There were a couple of Mexican land grants in Mendocino, but the Spanish era missions came no further north than Sonoma county.

I did not personally know Dave Tiller, but earlier this week he lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer. I do know that he was a police officer who touched many lives here in Willits, and his memorial will be this Saturday. Photos of a barbecue to raise funds for his treatment trips to San Francisco were posted here last June.

The Memorial

After the procession and flag raising and the multitude of preparations, came the actual memorial for Jeff Smith inside the vast warehouses of the former Little Lake Industries. The announcement in the paper simply invited "family and friends" to come here at 3 PM on Sunday. The city limits of Willits contains about 5000 people. The planners of the event were wise to anticipate about two thousand guests. For more images of the memorial setting, click here for my Overflow blog.

Half a dozen speakers told their stories, and eulogized the man. His professional gifts were widely known. He had been awarded an unprecedented two Medals of Valor from the California State Firefighters Association; once for retrieving a man from a "fully engaged" burning fuel truck wreck, and most recently for intervening as a gunman shot two women and then himself. Jeff saved the life of one of those women, but he was the sort who never felt he deserved the medals. As one speaker said, he was a low visibility guy in a high visibility job. A similar spirit has recently been demonstrated by Captain Sullenburger, who safely landed his passenger plane in the Hudson River, when he said he was just doing his job, and even though the event went as well as possible, he continued to imagine how he might have done better. Such humility combined with such competence inspires everyone graced to witness it, and Jeff Smith was all of that.

He was also a man of tremendous good humor and good will. Those of us who glimpsed it through his professional role and composure, and those endowed with his high-spirited friendship at play, will be forever grateful.

The Preparations

A former industrial site, developed by Little Lake Industries once upon a time, now leased for storage by a horticultural/agricultural supply retailer called Sparetime, was the location for the memorial ceremony. Jeff Smith had died Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday his fire department colleagues launched forward with one of their many professional skills: logistics. Calfire work camp inmates came to move out tons of sacks of fertilizer, etc., along with department and community volunteers, who then cleaned and arranged warehouse spaces, installed temporary toilets, etc. Word went out to schools and churches for tables and chairs, as well as other community networks for staging equipment, food, beverages, waste management, etc. Decisions had to be made quickly about what would happen, who would do what, and where, and when.

With the ready stand-in assistance of other regional fire departments, the Little Lake/Willits crew were all able to participate in the event. None of them wanted to miss honoring their former Chief. A matching ladder truck was brought up from Ukiah to hoist and bear the huge flag, along with the Willits ladder, which was suspended over the entrance to the industrial grounds. Brooktrails fire trucks were positioned at the Main station in case of any alarms.

By the end of the procession from the south end fire station, winding up Highway 101 (Main Street) to the headquarters station, then west to the Little Lake Industries site on Commercial Street, the Percherons had pulled the heavy steamer pump for about a mile, with a couple of inclines, and were dripping with sweat even on this very cool day. Click here to see more photos of these events on my Overflow blog.

The Procession

The memorial for Jeff Smith was Sunday, and began with a procession through the length of town. As I noted earlier on this blog, he was a member of the Willits/Little Lake Fire Department for 31 years, and was Chief for 22 of those years. An antique "steamer" pump wagon, provided by the California State Firefighters Association, led the way, followed by a stream of the department's trucks and personnel. Bringing up the rear was a pack of Smith's Harley-Davidson riding buddies. For more photos of the procession, click through here to my Overflow blog.

I like the quote in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat obituary, where a long-time colleague pointed out that Smith was "the closest thing to a celebrity we had in Willits." When I positioned myself to catch the action near the Willits Arch, I had no idea how moved I would be by the sight of the black cross, pulled by three draft horses. Then, even more, by the long line of silent, flashing fire trucks, knowing how respected he was by so many who knew him so long.

There were no California Highway Patrol officers anywhere to be seen. I believe they were busy looking the other way during this unconventional use of Highway 101. City police officers handled traffic control.

This will be a short series. More tomorrow.

Dog Walk

Finally a little rain broke the dry spell on Friday, and while it wasn't enough to contribute to the municipal reserves (less than an inch predicted), at least we are somewhat damp again. But while the sun still shined, people could walk their dogs without much suffering. My camera couldn't resist this recumbent tricycle rider with his gorgeous husky strutting by Recreation Grove.

Fire Training Tower

Here we are in February, and already we're thinking about, talking about, and preparing for extreme water limitations. And where there's drought, there's fire. Last summer's Lightning Complex fires showed how fragile the system is, and as big as those fires were, there's still plenty more to burn out there. With government budgets crashing from top to bottom, and water reserves practically nonexistent, I can't help but wonder where the resources will come from to protect us this year.

Meanwhile, anyone know what those 6000 pound blocks are for?

Sad news to report. Retired Little Lake Fire Chief Jeff Smith died Monday night. I hope he knew how much our community loved and admired him. He had been retired less than a year. Late edit: Jeff Smith's obituary in the paper.

Such A Name

Seeking new vistas on my territory, I went to Willits Cemetery, on acreage rising from Highway 20 just west of town. My first time here, I wandered a bit to see the names and artful monuments. There were a couple of areas with these standard military veteran's grave markers, with surviving vets and casualties of the 20th century wars indicated on the inscriptions. This one stopped me short.

George J DeBourbon-Habsburg, California, PVT [Private], Army Air Forces, World War II

Notice that he was born in 1901 and died in 1973. That's pretty old to be a lowly soldier in that war. How did someone with such a bombastically historic name from two royal houses of Europe end up in Willits?

I could have held this one back until I could do some more research, but the mystery itself appeals to my inner novelist/screenwriter, and there may be no information to be found. I did check the county phone book, and the names don't appear to continue here. Do any local readers know his real story? Or should I continue to imagine one of my own?

Jazz in the Afternoon

A local jazz trio offered cool sounds on an easy afternoon at coffehouse Mendonesia last weekend (the piano is out of frame). We may be small, but we've got it all. Some time, I'll try to capture the open mic poetry readings done here each month.

Beginning Again

I was able to grab a fair number of images from an abandoned auto service center building complex in 2008, and a few weeks ago added the image above to the list. A new owner for the property has apparently been found, so the old buildings have been disappearing a little at a time. This laborer is in a trench up to his knees, but I'm not sure what he is doing. The back wall of the post office is behind him, and the floor of a now vanished retail showroom spreads before him, shortly to be jack-hammered away.

On sunny Tuesday, I found further progress on the site. New concrete has been poured into the same building footprint as the previous structure, and this strange rotating machine was polishing? texturizing? the fairly fresh surface.


It's good to see some investment still going on, even in these hard economic times. But I miss the glass brick entrance of the former building. All the boxwood and datura is gone as well.

January Theme Day: Best Photo of the Year 2008

This isn't what I consider my best photograph just on visual quality, but it was my best post for the year of 2008, for the story of my shared quest to photograph that horse through the Ardella's Diner windows. It speaks to the experience of doing Willits Daily Photo like no other, and this particular moment was so joyful. Read the story behind it on the original post, here. I hope anybody passing through Willits will be inspired to have a meal at Ardella's.

For some of my other favorites from the past year, see my Overflow blog. It's been an interesting year, and this blog has connected me to Willits in ways I never imagined.

The first day of the month is always a theme day among more than a hundred City Daily Photo Bloggers who choose to participate, all around the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all the participants answer to the theme "Best Photo of the Year".

Latte No Foam

After the photo safari to the valley brought very few photos to bank in my computer the other day, I went for warm refuge in Mendonesia, housed in the former Bank of Willits building. With compassion and efficiency, the kindly crew simultaneously whipped up a latte and a Pine Mountain sandwich for my tired soul.

An Open Face

With all this arctic air numbing our toes and crusting our windshields, it's high time we found refuge indoors. A warm, comforting meatloaf on a gravy-smothered, open-faced sandwich (with side salad) at Ardella's is just the thing in this weather. Good news for the owners and staff: they will be taking their winter break from December 21 to January 7. For the rest of us: bad news. But they have earned it.

Human Rights Day

I wish I had remembered that the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was coming up today. I might have planned a better photograph, etc. The 1948 declaration by the United Nations covers a wide scope of basic, inherent rights that anyone, anywhere should be able to expect under the authority of any state.

Probably the biggest current issue around such rights, here in Willits, has to do with claiming equal marriage entitlements for homosexuals. Following the elation of electing Obama for president, most of us were heartbroken for friends and family who faced passage of a California referendum against gays and lesbians having state recognition of their partnerships. The photo above is the only one I could find in my archives that tied in to such human rights, a wonderful musician from San Francisco performing show tunes at Shanachie Pub in Willits not long after voting day. It was a mix of gays and straights that night, combining Obama-joy with Proposition 8-grief. Also present was one of the foremost activists for gay civil rights, from the days when known homosexuals were not even allowed to teach at universities. We need to crack down on war criminals, not people who love.

Fresh and Clean

In contrast to yesterday's crumbled wall, this freshly molded walkway was installed between the Willits Center for the Arts and the Carnegie building, to allow cleaner access to the back door of the WCA. Such cultural organizations are already operating on a shoestring budget (very little money), and are wise to complete whatever repair and maintenance they can before funds get even tighter. I would have liked to see some autumn leaf imprints on this cement, but these guys seemed intent on cleaning all that away.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The "wheelie-bins" used for household solid waste disposal are gray with black hinged lids, and the curbside bins for mixed recycling (yes, we don't separate materials at home) are blue. Garden clippings and leaves go into a muted green bin. But if you want the exciting colors, take your excess cardboard, mixed paper, and glass right over to the solid waste transfer station. Convenient ramps lead right up to the tops of the truck-sized collection containers, neatly labeled for their proper contents.

It's true. Americans have a remarkably different idea of the fit of their clothes than Europeans do. We don't like anything too binding or snug. We like the blood to circulate easily to all the important places, with room to breathe.

Deliveries Come to an End

Our deliveries from Live Power Farm CSA are due to end next week, for this season. Subscriptions for the next season begin in May. In the interim, the farmer's market will continue indoors, and I expect some cold-weather produce will be available there.

I know I've mentioned the efforts in Willits to develop a more localized economy, not only to keep money circulating among local businesses, but also to build our own food production base in the face of threats to our food security. Willits was featured in a documentary called "Escape from Suburbia" (and may have been in the precursor, "End of Suburbia", but I'm not sure), and I found a promo/excerpt on You Tube called Escape from Suburbia returns to Willits, CA. I know almost all of the speakers, and some even know me. No, I'm not in it, but I hope you'll enjoy seeing this six minute clip anyway. 8^)

Willits City Council

Wednesday night's city council meeting had the full array of officials in attendance. The mayor sits directly in the center of the dais with three of her fellow council members on her right, and one on her left. Then there are the city manager, city lawyer, city clerk, and city planner. Their regular meetings are the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, except for Thanksgiving week.

As always, the meeting started with the US Pledge of Allegiance, performed by all citizens in the room. Then members of the community were invited to address the council with formal presentations of reports, or requests for action to be taken by the officials. When the speaker is finished, members of the council may ask for points of clarification, and then invite anyone else to step forward to speak to the same issue before deciding among themselves what action to take. Decision-making discussions must be conducted by the council during these public meetings, and not in any secret or "off the record" conversations together, so that the public may know how their local elected officials have made their decisions, and their reasoning for voting the way they do on the issues. Otherwise, they would be in violation of The Brown Act, a California law meant to keep local governments open and to reduce corruption. This is usually described as "transparency" in worldwide policy discussions.

At this meeting, a neighborhood leader described a dangerous pedestrian crossing on a state highway running through town, and asked the council to send a joint letter of support for a safer design to the State Transportation agency. Another speaker described the results of a community trash clean-up day, and thanked the council for supporting that in the past. Yet another speaker described his disappointment that newly built single family homes, in a recently approved development, had not been required to use drought tolerant landscaping instead of turf grass, which he said was contrary to the city's already adopted policies.

The entire meeting was recorded and broadcast live by a Community Television camera, to give even greater access to the proceedings for the citizenry. A few more pictures of the meeting are on my Overflow blog.

Art Butterfield Memorial Photography Show

The fifth annual Willits Photo Club show, now named in honor of a late and inspiring member, opened Saturday night with a lovely and well attended reception. The latest information I have indicates there were 41 photographers exhibiting 318 photographs in all. This show runs through November 30th, and gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays. Check the Willits Center for the Arts website for more specifics.

Right, so up above there, do you see the black and white photo of the jagged crest of the awe-inspiring Patagonian Andes? And next to it, the wraiths of clouds caressing the sheer granite cliffs of Yosemite Valley? Those aren't mine.

Mine are the four colored canvases stacked, meaningfully enough I thought, next to an open glass panel door. Each depict openings which are shut, in some way. But really, they are just three walls and a railroad car, and were posted on this blog earlier in the year. When I did catch a few people looking at them, the expressions were typically gape-mouthed bafflement. This is the first time I ever put up anything of mine in an art gallery, so some seriously narcissistic curiosity kicked in and I tended very much to linger in the front lobby area to see how people might respond. Or if they would even look.




Finally, someone mercifully reminded me that there were a lot of spectacular photos to see in the two gallery showrooms, the rest of the lobby, the hallway, the reception room, the stairwell, and the vast upstairs gallery and events venue. Did I mention there were 318 photographs, and a lot of people looking at them? Kudos to the hard working volunteers from the Photo Club, who spent countless hours organizing and installing this event. All I did was put my own up on the wall.

To see more of the reception for this show, please look at my Overflow blog. And of course, there's an Animoto, for those of you who like that sort of thing.