Sept 13 - RISE EVENT - "Out of the Darkness" - Arcata Community Walk Against Suicide. Begins at 10 am at the Arcata Plaza
Sept 26 - Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup - 9:30 - 11:30 am - Meet at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center
Sept 26 - District 5130 Rotary Foundation Workshop in Fortuna - 10 am to 2 pm
Sept 27 - District 5130 New Focus Membership Meeting in Fortuna - 10 am to 2 pm
Oct 3 - RISE EVENT - CASA Kids Walk (Support the North Bay Rotaract Club's team)
Oct 10 - RISE EVENT - HSU Homecoming Tailgate Party!
Oct TBA - RISE EVENT - Lost Coast Rotaract's "Spirits & Spirits" in Old Town
Nov 14 - RISE EVENT - Foundation Dinner North in Ferndale - "An Evening in the Enchanted Forest"
Nov 19 - A Taste of the Holidays at the Arcata Community Center
Dec 5 - RISE EVENT - Christmas Caroling for Arts Alive in Old Town Eureka
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| Tim Randles & President Howard |
- Before last Friday's meeting, we were treated to live music - Pianist Tim Randles provided us with some mellow jazz melodies as we prepared for the bell to ring.
- Exchange Student Sophia Waern-Bugge told us that the concert she attended the previous week. "It was a country concert," she said, "which was crazy American". She said that she's not very familiar with country music, but "now I know I really like it". Then Sophia talked about her first week at Arcata High School. She said that it's very different from school in Sweden. She said that she liked it, but she has to get used to it. She has moved in with Julie Vaissade-Elcock and her husband Stan, after spending a couple of weeks with her counselor, Tami Camper, and her family.
- North Bay Rotaract Club President Rachel Damme was unable to attend our meeting, but the group is now selling its cookbook. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to purchase one and help NBR support (in a yummy way) the local Raven Project.
Sergeant-at-Arms Committee Report
Last Friday, Sergeant-at-Arms Janice Newman provided a report on her committee's activities. The group is probably the most active committee we have. Although they don't have separate Committee meetings, they provide logistical support at our meetings and events. Janice said that her team is made up of "very helpful people" who are very dependable, which she appreciates.
In addition to Janice, the Committee consists of Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, Ray Noggle, Chris Hemphill, Lisa Hemphill, Craig Newman, Joyce Hinrichs, Steve McHaney, Tom Tellez, and Rina Brodhag (who is currently on leave).
They show up at 6:30 am to set up the room for our meetings, they greet Rotarians and guests as they arrive, collect meeting fees, sell raffle tickets (and conduct the raffle during the meeting), provide meal counts to the caterer, provide financial information and cash receipts to the Club Treasurer, provide attendance information to the Club Secretary, assist the President during meetings as needed, take down all the banners and clear the room after our meetings, and notify members when their meal card balances are running low.
President Howard noted how reassuring it is that all these details are handled so efficiently, "so I don't have to worry about it all".
Recognition
Joyce Hinrichs provided last week's recognition of Sunriser Legend Harry Johnson. She noted that Harry was born in Seattle, his parents' sixth child. When he was two years old, his family purchased a large ranch on the Winchuck River at the border between Oregon and California, 21 miles from town.
There, Harry grew up as a cowboy, and he attended Brookings Grade School through second grade. He transferred to Smith River Grade School for third through eighth grades, then he attended Del Norte High School for two years.
In 1958, the family moved to Arcata, and Harry attended Arcata High School while working at a Signal Gas station in Eureka and working nights at Fairhaven Plywood. He graduated from Arcata High "without honors" in 1961.
After graduating, Harry worked in the logging industry as a choker setter, a cat skinner, a truck driver, and a "secondloader". He then worked for US Plywood in Anderson while attending Shasta College.
In 1965, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was there that he married Sheryl Simpson. The couple lived in Milwaukee until Sheryl completed her coursework to become a Dental Hygienist at Marquette. Then they moved to Eureka, where Sheryl worked as a hygienist while Harry was a route driver for Coca-Cola.
The following year, Harry noted that "the US Army had a project going in Vietnam". Although they asked for Harry's help, he declined and joined the Air Force. His initial training was in San Antonio, then he was stationed in Glasgow, Montana for two years. Following a couple of overseas tours, Harry was stationed at Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, Louisiana. There, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and named Airman of the Year for the 15th Air Force. In 1968, while Harry was stationed in Louisiana, their son Brett was born.
After completing his military obligation in 1970, the family returned to Humboldt County, and Harry attended College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University, and he was a dedicated student, achieving a 3.8 grade point average.
In 1971, a second son - Marc - arrived, and two years later, Harry began studying at the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in June 1973. Although the family purchased a home in Pleasant Hill, Sheryl remained in Humboldt County until their daughter Stacey was born in August 1973.
Harry said that UOP's accelerated program was difficult - it ran throughout the year, with ten days off at Christmas. He started his days at 4:30 am and ended at 11:00 pm, but Sundays were reserved for the family. He graduated in June 1976, fifth in his class of 131.
After graduation, Harry immediately opened his practice in Sunnybrae. In 1990, he moved the practice to McKinleyville, where he worked until his retirement in 2008.
He joined the Rotary Club of Arcata in 1988, and he was one of several members who helped Charter President Jim Hamby form the Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise in 1992. Harry served as the Club's second President. Over the years, Harry has been part of eight different District committees, three of which he chaired. He has attended 11 International Conventions, and he was the chair for the Western States Youth Exchange (WESSEX) for three years. In 2000-2001, Harry served as the Governor of Rotary District 5130.
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| Harry and Sheryl treat a Project Amigo dental patient |
Joan Gold - Art and the Artist
When Howard asked artist Joan Gold to speak to our Club, she wasn't sure where she should focus. She asked him whether she should concentrate on her artistic process and vision, her personal history, or art as a business. Howard said that she should talk about "all of it". Joan asked, "How much time to I get?" When she was told that she would have twenty minutes, she said, "I'm 81 years old, so the history's not short!" But she was able to address these areas of interest - her personal history, her history as an artist, her career history, and her take on the art business.
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| Joan Gold |
Joan was born in Brooklyn. "I was a good student when I studied something I liked," she said, "and I was a poor student if I didn't like what I was doing." She has been drawing since early childhood. Her father was a policeman who would bring home pads and pencils from work, and he would also provide crayons and coloring books. Joan would also draw in grade school during her classes. "No one would ever stop me," she told us. "That always amazed me in retrospect."
When she was 17 years old, she was accepted into "one of the finest free tuition schools in the country, which is the Cooper Union in New York City. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me." Joan felt at home there, and she loved studying there.
She was later provided a fellowship which allowed her to study art in a foreign country. Although her friends applied to European countries, especially France, Joan applied to Latin America. She was interested in botanical forms. She hoped to go to Costa Rica, due to its distinct art history. However, there was labor unrest there at the time, so Joan was sent to Venezuela instead.
Although Venezuela was Joan's "second choice", she went and she stayed for 24 years. "I married," she said, "and raised my children there." She decided that she wanted to paint, and so she took her children and she came to Humboldt County, where her father and one of her brothers lived here.
Even as a child, Joan realized that she didn't want to simply reproduce, on paper, the things she saw in the world. Instead, she created designs. When she began art school, she disliked figure drawing projects. During one of the assignments, she drew the model, but she also drew a number of empty bottles on the floor around her. The implication was that the model was drunk. "I got into trouble for that," she said. The instructor felt that Joan was being disrespectful.
Although she did not enjoy such assignments, she said that they had value for her. She learned how to use lines, and she still appreciates that and uses it in her work today.
She began to develop her style, using botanical forms as a starting point. She showed examples of pieces inspired by blossoms and by fruits. Upon her return to the US, her style became more minimalist, but still based on plants and fruits.
About a decade later, Joan's style had evolved to where she is now - based in colors. She enjoys patterns, textures, stripes, and flowers, all of which she incorporates into her work. Her goal is to paint something that gives her pleasure, and she hopes that it pleases others as well.
She noted that there are "a huge number of artists in Humboldt County". Few of these artists export their work out of the area, so most of them have day jobs. By contrast, Joan markets her work outside the area, to a much larger market.
She had her first one-person show while she was still in Venezuela. She said, "I was totally naive - I got completely ripped off." The paintings sold, but the various fees charged by the gallery owner left only a few hundred dollars for Joan.
By the time she had her second show, in Arcata, she was much more savvy. One of the people who attended encouraged Joan to show in Seattle, and she arranged a contact with a gallery there. The appointment with the owner never took place, because she was rebuffed by the gallery manager. So she went to other galleries, but most said that they only showed local artists.
Finally, she came to the Lisa Harris Gallery in Pike Place Market, and the owner offered her a shot. She sold every one of her paintings quickly, and so Joan was "in". She worked with that gallery for many years. "I learned about the business," Joan said, "from someone who ran a business well."
She said that she made a mistake, however, because she did not seek out additional markets. When Lisa Harris "got tired of me", it took a bit before she made another solid connection, this time with a gallery in Boston. But Joan became determined to market herself better, so she developed a new system.
She has photos of her work on her website (joangoldart.com), and she sends emails with links to her price list and other information to art consultants. She follows the emails with a packet of information and a letter. Some respond directly, but others place the information into their databases. These often lead to sales to builders and designers, which can lead to in a "pretty check" arriving in the mail.
Initially, she spent three days a week painting, three days marketing, and one day off. Now that she is in many of the art databases - in Atlanta, Toronto, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Houston - when a project comes up, she is contacted for a consignment piece. She says that this works to the point that "it may be an easy old age".
Special Daze
Alyson Hunter's birthday was August 8th, and she said that she celebrated at Lake Tahoe ... President Howard noted that his offspring contacted him for his August 10th birthday ... Tomas Chavez's birthday fell on August 11th, which was a Tuesday. So he and Heidi planned to go to Ruth Lake the following weekend for four days of camping. That didn't happen. "Instead," Tomas said, "we were calling to see if our boat was still there, or if it had burned". Fortunately, it hadn't, so instead they visited his brother in Portland for a visit ... Special guest musician Tim Randles provided accompaniment for our rendition of "Happy Birthday" ...
Ray Noggle took his wife Holly to Jacksonville for their anniversary, "and she took my wallet and bought all of the wine" ... Randy and Lisa Mendosa "still have to go to Larrupin's", but they did go up the coast to Newport, Oregon for their anniversary, and they stayed on the beach ... Ian and Elizabeth Schatz did go to Larrupin's for their anniversary. It rained that night, "which was great, since we woke up in the morning in Trinidad, and we could see everything. It was absolutely beautiful" ...
Unsung Rotarian of the Month
President Howard's Unsung Rotarian for August is Joyce Hinrichs. She served as Club President for the 2000-2001 Rotary Year, she co-chairs the Recognitions Committee, she provides staunch judicial support of our community's young people, she is a loyal Sunriser, and she is the "Gatherer of the Badges" at the end of each meeting.
