Dow’s North of Mad River

“Will you please take that over to the neighbor’s tomorrow?” my wife asked as I sat the kitchen counter eating dinner.

“Sure,” I responded, as shoveled another bite of spaghetti into my mouth.

She had checked the mail and found a newsletter addressed to our neighbors in our box.  Having gotten home late, she didn’t want to return the pamphlet after dark.

Some may call it nosey, others might claim it’s curiosity. Either way, I picked it up and  thumbed through it.

Much to my delight I found an article on a woman who lives in Humboldt County, California, where I have family remaining today. Loberta Gwin is both an area historian and an author.

While the article made it sound like it was recent, she published a book in 2000 called “Dow’s North of Mad River,” after ten years of research and writing. The book is an accounting of McKinleyville (Minorville, back in the day) and the Dow’s Prairie area, north of Arcata from 1850 to 1950.

“I’m a history nut,” Gwin the California State Education Association’s ‘Retire’ Newsletter. “That’s why I got involved with this project.”

She’s working on another book about the history of Rohnerville.  Titled “Hills of Rohnerville,” she says she plans to give an early history of the town and show how roads, schools, a hospital and an airport had an impact on the community.

After 13-years, I wonder if she has finished it yet? I’m very interested in “Hills of Rohnerville,” as my great-grandpa, George Washington Hufford was one of the early pioneers of the region.