Jim McQuillen, Sr., known by most as “Mac,” passed away March 11, 2011. He was born Jan. 19, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to going into law enforcement, a career that span nearly 26 years, Mac served four years in the United States Air Force, being stationed at Requa 777th Radar Station in Klamath,…

Another Del Norte High School classmate has passed away. He was in the class of 1980. I remember him as a smart-a$$ed kid always ready with a sarcastic remark — which I like about him. Born and raised in Crescent City, Bobby Allen passed away February 18, 2011. He spent most of his adult life working…

What started as a search for Grandpa Tom’s military records has led me in a direction I never saw coming. For the last couple of years I’ve been inquiring about the possibility of recovering Grandpa’s “Bluejackets’ Manual.” The BJM as it is known amongst those in the Navy is the bible when it comes to…

The last couple of days, I have been dealing with a slight case of writer’s block — and while trying to “not think” of something to write I remembered this article I originally published in the now defunct weblog, “InfoCow.”  I’m not sure but I think I wrote it as my bipolar disorder was operating on the manic-side.  This is an…

Before U.S. astronauts could collect a single moon rock — there was the desert sands of Spanish Springs — where many of the rockets used by America’s space program were tested. Those tests happened at a facility operated by Rocketdyne at the Sky Ranch Airport, between Spanish Springs Road and Calle de la Plata. My Uncle…

I found this little piece of humor in one of my news files at the radio station. I thought it fairly funny and worth sharing. The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, so Gomer, who was not exactly the sharpest nail in the bucket, went in to try out for the job. “Okay,” the…

My wife was gone for a week’s long visit to her sister’s home in Ramona. Her’s were not the only plans made for the week. Kay and I decided to paint one of the front room walls the same color we had painted the hallway earlier in the year. It took us a total of…

The bride and I were traveling along Interstate 80 and had jus’ dropped into the valley on the north side of the Grapevine. It was difficult to keep a single radio station tuned in for any length of time as we drove along. But every time we did find a station it seemed the one…

At the end of nearly every summer, we’d receive a box from our Aunt and Uncle filled with hand-me-down clothes. It wasn’t until high school that I came to think of this as uncool, as I didn’t want to be seen wearing used clothes. It wasn’t that we were poor, because we were far from…

We were moving as quietly as possible along the outskirts of a town believed to be home to a coca-producing operation. The idea was to get in close enough to observe and then bust everyone in one surprise movement. I was in the fifth position as our squad used a small ditch for cover during…