Episode 13 · Pierre Carbonneau · August 19, 2023
Pierre Carbonneau is a longtime Humboldt tile man, veteran supporter, and one of those people who seems to know everyone and still wave at the ones he doesn’t. In this conversation, he talks about how he got here, why he stayed, and the local groups and causes that have shaped his life. It’s a grounded look at loyalty, work, faith, and the kind of small-town care that keeps a place feeling like home.
Watch the conversation
What this episode covers
- Pierre’s path from Southern California and earlier years in Vermont to settling in Humboldt
- How he got into the tile business and built Carbonneau Ceramic Tile
- His Navy upbringing, early work, and the people who shaped his life
- Humboldt Heroes, AMVETS Riders, the Elks, and other veteran-centered volunteer work
- Why he wants Humboldt to stay small, local, and connected
- A few stories about old Humboldt characters, favorite places, and the habits that still define him
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Transcript
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Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the man, the myth, the legend,
Scott Hammond: [laughs] my buddy, Pierre Carbonneau. Hi, Pierre.
Pierre Carbonneau: Hi.
Scott Hammond: Welcome to the show.
Pierre Carbonneau: As long as you didn't say I
Scott Hammond: Well, I didn't say that yet.
Pierre Carbonneau: You are my brother. You are my brother.
Scott Hammond: Hey, Pierre, tell us how you got to Humboldt. What's your Humboldt journey?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, when I was, oh, all three of my children were born, they're about five d- five years old each,
Pierre Carbonneau: about 40 years ago or more, we used to come to Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Pierre Carbonneau: For every vacation we stayed on, uh, on the Van Duzen.
Scott Hammond: Oh, nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: Right up Van Duzen a little ways.
Scott Hammond: Oh, Grizzly Creek up there?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, exactly. Grizzly Creek.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh, we did that for a few years. And then, uh, my partner died in, uh, my business in Oxnard,
Pierre Carbonneau: California.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I didn't wanna stay there anymore, and so we bought… We had a place in San Luis Obispo. We moved there on Lake Nacimiento. Well, the lake had gone down about 40 feet, and I told my wife, I said, "You know what? There's no water here." This wa- lake's gonna be gone before I finished building the house. [laughs] So we said, "Well, what the heck? Let's move to Humboldt." And we looked at each other and said, why not. And so. we traveled to Humboldt-
Scott Hammond: Nice …
Pierre Carbonneau: and I stayed in the trailer for a while till we bought our first house.
Scott Hammond: How about that? That's how you got here. Now, you were raised down in Bonita Vista down San Diego, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, no. I was, it's, it was north of San Diego
Pierre Carbonneau: by Pomona.
Scott Hammond: Oh, okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. Uh, San Dimas,
Pierre Carbonneau: California.
Scott Hammond: Okay. That's LA.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, baby.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Right downtown LA, and I, I grew up there in the s- in the '60s.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: A lot of
Pierre Carbonneau: fun.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. LA in the '60s.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: How many-
Pierre Carbonneau: We were hot rodders, and I worked for In-N-Out Hamburger.
Scott Hammond: Oh, really? Before they were anybody.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, oh, yeah. They had three stores. I worked for the Snyder family, who Mr. Snyder was our-
Scott Hammond: How about that? …
Pierre Carbonneau: a friend, and the guy and Richie Snyder I went to school with.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: Boy, they- What a good family that was. Oh,
Pierre Carbonneau: Wonderful.
Scott Hammond: So they started in Baldwin Park?
Pierre Carbonneau: Y- well, Francisquito and Baldwin Park.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And they had, you know… I've been to one of the original stores in Camarillo, California.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Old, older store.
Pierre Carbonneau: When I started putting tile in for them, started in the stores first. Never worked in the b- in the stand.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: But then Mr. Snyder said to me one time, he goes, "You wanna get out of the stores?" I said, "I sure would."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: But I had two children at that time.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh, he says, "Well, how about helping my tile guy? He lives only down the street from you."
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Pierre Carbonneau: I said, "Heck yeah, man." So I did. That's where I got in the tile business.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. So, uh, you are the owner. What's, what's your job role and name of your company?
Pierre Carbonneau: Carbonneau Ceramic Tile.
Scott Hammond: And you're a t- you're the tile man.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yes. I, I'm not so much nowadays. I'm old, but I still-
Scott Hammond: Well, you- …
Pierre Carbonneau: try …
Scott Hammond: you yell at the tile men.
Pierre Carbonneau: I do that.
Scott Hammond: And women.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well-
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs] They- We all love each other.
Scott Hammond: [laughs] That's good. So who were you at 10 years old? Where, were you in, in LA then?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, at 10, my father was in the Navy 35 years. He's a, a demolition diver.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: So I grew up in the Navy, my brother and I, and we traveled, oh, everywhere. We never finished three schools in one year. We'd travel. And, um, when my father would go overseas, my mother's sister and my uncle had a granite shop in LA.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: So we'd stay with them. And, uh, and for… 'cause my dad could be gone one or two years. And so that's how we ended up in San Dimas After he retired, he, they bought a little house 00:03:51,640 –> 00:03:55,[speaker_0] All those cats lived up there.
Scott Hammond: They're all dead now, but whatever. Um, we won't even talk about that.
Pierre Carbonneau: No. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: So where, where were [laughs] …
Pierre Carbonneau: I like where you were-
Scott Hammond: We're not talking about death, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: better than where you're going-
Scott Hammond: So, uh, age 30, where were you
Scott Hammond: then?
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh, 30
Scott Hammond: You must've been up here by then.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, yeah, I probably was. I've been here 45 years.
Uh, 35 years.
Scott Hammond: So did you start the, the, the tile business on your own or was
Pierre Carbonneau: No, I had a partner. We went through the union together,
tile man I ever known.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: He was going to be a priest and, uh,
went all the way through the priesthood, and then he met a woman.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And so he became a tile man.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh, he could speak Latin, but he was, knew mathematics
inside and out.
Scott Hammond: Is that right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, what a guy. Billy Schindler. And we opened, uh,
B&P Tile.
Scott Hammond: B-
Pierre Carbonneau: No. Yeah, Billy and Pierre. Billy and Pierre Tile Company.
Scott Hammond: BP. Oh, that's funny.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh-
Scott Hammond: And he met his bride, and he, uh-
Pierre Carbonneau: Got married and-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Pierre Carbonneau: … had children.
Scott Hammond: And he ministered.
Pierre Carbonneau: And then he died.
Scott Hammond: Oh, no.
Pierre Carbonneau: So.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, after he died is when I came here.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: I just wanted to start all over again.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, what… Uh, the tile business,
story. Did you do some tiling for the Scientology
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, we-
Scott Hammond: … Southern Humboldt?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, we, we-
Scott Hammond: Is that worth a story?
Pierre Carbonneau: Eh, I didn't do much. They were, I didn't-
Scott Hammond: They have a vault, right, where they stored all their-
Pierre Carbonneau: Right
Scott Hammond: … their stuff.
Pierre Carbonneau: But we never went there. They didn't give you a tour.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: We went to the main house and did some work in the kitchen for the
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh
Pierre Carbonneau: … a little bit of patchwork and-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Pierre Carbonneau: … my buddy George, he was the caretaker there.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: Now, he got to go all over, but-
Scott Hammond: That's down in Petrolia?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Area?
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
And they, so, uh, y- you, uh, if I have the story right, you, you came in and did a $200,000 whatever, and then they didn't like it, and you tore it out and did it again.
Pierre Carbonneau: No. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: I've heard some j- some story of the job like that.
Anyway.
Pierre Carbonneau: No, that'd be down in San Diego.
Scott Hammond: They would do that.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, for sure. So, uh, how do you give back to Humboldt?
Yeah, I know you're part of a lot of things.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, you know how. I tell them how good it is
protect it. I get offended when people say bad things about it.
Scott Hammond: Right on.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I don't mind saying it. To anybody that don't like it, leave.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: I love it.
Pierre Carbonneau: Simple as that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh, Humboldt's a good place. It was-
Scott Hammond: It is
Pierre Carbonneau: … my saving grace when I was in…
I came here, and it saved me from a lot of things.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I think it's the end of the line for a lot
Pierre Carbonneau: That, that's a good point right there
Scott Hammond: … it's, it's not a bad… And end of the line, by the way, folks,
thing. You gotta-
Pierre Carbonneau: No
Scott Hammond: … you gotta stop somewhere and plant.
Pierre Carbonneau: I moved my whole life
and lived in every state that borders water, uh, and, uh, all over. You know, we traveled my whole life.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I came here and dropped anchor.
Now, I've moved probably seven times since I
Scott Hammond: You're, you're in Humboldt.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I like it. So y- you're fiercely loyal to the area-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yes, sir
Scott Hammond: … to what it stands for, the culture, the people.
And I, you know, I've heard it, uh, yeah, and, and, you know, I'll, I'll get your message, and God bless this beautiful Humboldt
Pierre Carbonneau: Amen. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: And it's like you don't mess around, man.
It's like you, you, you give back. So some of the things you do as a community guy, I know you're part of our Humboldt Heroes-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … deal for seven years. You're my right, my wing man.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, we started it together pretty much.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's been amazing.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's been a good run.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. So what we do, folks,
uh, very modest for 20 minutes, uh, the last Friday of the month when the, when the bell rings at the church. We do 15, 30, 40, 50 people sometimes.
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, uh, current or people that have served.
By the way, the hero a couple months ago, uh, Mr. Rhody, died a, uh, la- last couple weeks.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, sorry to hear.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, World War II vet.
Pierre Carbonneau: You know, World War II and Ivo,
um-
Scott Hammond: Did he pass?
Pierre Carbonneau: No, he's 103. He's gonna be 103 years old-
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: … coming up.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Pierre Carbonneau: He's a great man. No-
Scott Hammond: This guy coming up-
Pierre Carbonneau: … talking about history-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … there's a guy.
Scott Hammond: He knows about it.
Pierre Carbonneau: He knows.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, he's been around. He is.
Pierre Carbonneau: Born and raised for 103 years. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: It's so cool to, we, this guy coming on his birthday week from
Friday is 100 years old.
Pierre Carbonneau: Isn't that something?
Scott Hammond: Yeah, nice man. I wouldn't-
Pierre Carbonneau: That's what we wanna, we're trying to reach the older ones
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Yeah. And I really, um, it's just heartwarming, and I appreciate all your heart and your help, and it's, couldn't have did it without
you and-
Pierre Carbonneau: And couldn't do it without your leadership
Scott Hammond: … and it's, it's just fun. I mean, everyone's different.
Some people are laughing. Some people are-
Pierre Carbonneau: They make me cry.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, they get to you every time, and you're-
Pierre Carbonneau: Every time
Scott Hammond: … you old softy.
Pierre Carbonneau: I know. I hate… [laughs]
Scott Hammond: So-
Pierre Carbonneau: God gave me a weak point, and that's it.
Scott Hammond: That's all right. No, that's-
Pierre Carbonneau: I don't know. I do.
Scott Hammond: You know, Gandalf told Frodo, he goes, "Not all tears are evil."
Pierre Carbonneau: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, that's a good word. So we recognize a vet once a month.
For those that don't know, it's called Humboldt Heroes. Go, go check us out. Um, you know, somebody asked me on a interview, "Hey, you gonna go statewide or national?" I go, "Why would you? It would wreck it. No."
Pierre Carbonneau: No.
Scott Hammond: We're gonna stay.
Pierre Carbonneau: The most I'd like to see us go is maybe to, uh, reach the,
go into the, uh, Elks and the Masons-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … and all those type programs too.
Scott Hammond: We did Bear River. We, we did Bear River.
Pierre Carbonneau: We did Bear, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, you were there.
Yeah, we'll do that.
Pierre Carbonneau: Several times.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: The Bear River has helped the veterans in this community.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Several times.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they're great. Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yes, they are.
Scott Hammond: They're super-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … big supporters. So tell us about AMVETS.
I know you got your vest on.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. Well, I wear this-
Scott Hammond: Is that your AMVETS vest? Let me see that, you know, your patch.
Oh, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Looking good.
Pierre Carbonneau: I'm the vice president for our local AMVET Riders Post 96.
Scott Hammond: Will you always be vice president?
'Cause I, it's-
Pierre Carbonneau: I, I don't wanna be president.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Ever since I've known you, you've been vice president.
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Of a lot of different motorcycle groups in Humboldt County,
Scott Hammond: That's right.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, uh, no, AMVETS is, we're the
only AMVET Riders group left in California now, is here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Pierre Carbonneau: The rest of them, some, they've died off or-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Pierre Carbonneau: … folded up. Now, there are back East and Midwest.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, um-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Pierre Carbonneau: … we're the only ones in California at this
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. And when I started, we had about, I think, eight
groups.But they've all closed, and our little-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Pierre Carbonneau: … group still does a lot for the people
We-
Scott Hammond: Good
Pierre Carbonneau: … help out at Humboldt Heroes every Friday.
Scott Hammond: Yes, they're faithful.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. We clean the highway once
Scott Hammond: Do you do the rides, too, for Toys for Tots at all?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah, I always did that until I broke my back,
again someday.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, um,
our, the, I went to the 77th annual state convention as a representative for Northern California.
Scott Hammond: How about, uh…
Where was that at?
Pierre Carbonneau: Um,
oh, good grief.
Scott Hammond: Was it i- in state or elsewhere?
Pierre Carbonneau: It was in state, but Vallejo.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, um, we had sponsored, we bought a great big old bus.
I don't know where we ever got the money, 'cause we never have any.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh, everybody chipped in to this.
Um, we did a s- big bus load all the way down,
America to-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Pierre Carbonneau: … Washington, DC.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, where we, um, we pr- we preached the Bible
of AMVETS.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's not really a Bible, but-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … what we believe.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: We gave them leads how to get to the hospitals, and all their needs,
what I mean?
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: We told them how to fill it. But, uh,
AMVETS is just a bunch of American veterans who had served, or are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … since World War II. And where we responsibility, our
main responsibility to our community and our state and our nation i- is ourselves of following the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Scott Hammond: Imagine that.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, imagine that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And w- 'cause as a military man or lady or woman,
never been relieved of the oath that we took.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Pierre Carbonneau: And that's what it was.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Pierre Carbonneau: To support the Constitution of the United States of America.
And, uh, we teach those principles. We watch for safeguards of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: And promote the cause of goodwill among nations, and
freedom of our country, and peace and goodwill among other nations. That's what we are all about.
Scott Hammond: Greatest document ever written, maybe.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, that's our preamble, kinda.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: No, it's good. It's good. Tell us about this.
You brought this, uh, thing for Elks, the Elks Lodge.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. Now, the Elks Lodge-
Scott Hammond: Are you part o- Are you an Elk, too?
Pierre Carbonneau: And a Mason.
Scott Hammond: And a Mason.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And a tile guy.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] And if anything else anybody else wants to
Scott Hammond: And the wing, wingman.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] Yeah, and a wingman.
Um, well, the veterans committee at, at the Elks is,
uh, about 10 people who that's all we do all year round, is we try to promote veterans affairs.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Um,
we last year raised $34,000
for, uh, m- uh, money that we give away every year to ho- vets that need help with food.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: We just don't give it to them. We, we go out and check it out,
legit.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Pierre Carbonneau: Um, we feed them. Uh, we s- they can drive
through. Because of COVID, they were driving through on Christmas They were getting a turkey dinner, you know, in box.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh, we don't cook it, and then they take it home and cook it.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: Um, and then, uh,
then aft- uh, Thanksgiving, they get a turkey dinner.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: We have two dinners for the Coast Guard during Coast Guard Week.
We, the, the Elks Lodge itself.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: We're giving, having a steak dinner,
Scott Hammond: You invite all the Coast Guards and their families?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yes, and the families.
Scott Hammond: So are most Elks Lodges
very much vet supporters, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, you bet.
Scott Hammond: Across the nation.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. We f- we file for grants through them.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh,
this, this car show that we're bringing out will be about our
fifth. It's a nice friendly car show. Uh, no pressure, free lunch. It's don- it costs $20, uh, pre-enrollment and $25 at the event.
Well, that money we're hoping to make up from one of the grants we lost-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Pierre Carbonneau: … this year.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. It was for the… It was money that we made,
down with-
Scott Hammond: Let's, let's c- I'm gonna call it out here,
Lodge out there in Herrick-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … here in Eureka, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, food, raffle,
trophies, registration form's 20 bucks.
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh, if you pre-enroll, 25 at the gate.
Scott Hammond: So if Joanie wants to come out with her '67 Beetle-
Pierre Carbonneau: She's very welcome to come out.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. How about her husband?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, he can come.
Scott Hammond: That's [laughs] –
Pierre Carbonneau: We need entertainment
Scott Hammond: … it's debate, it's debatable.
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: I don't know if we're gonna bring him or not.
She's, she's got a nice Volkswagen. She's a nice lady.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, uh, maybe we'll come out,
Pierre Carbonneau: Sure. It's a friendly-
Scott Hammond: Oh, it'd be great, hang out-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … have lunch.
Pierre Carbonneau: I'm gonna borrow your s- PA system.
Scott Hammond: Oh, that's right.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Belongs to Greg, but you can have it.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] Greg's a veteran. He's a…
[laughs] He can-
Scott Hammond: He'll support it.
Pierre Carbonneau: He will. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: He's all about fun. So what, what are you proud of,
most proud of in your life in Humboldt and
generally?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well,
I'm proud of my family. I'm proud of my daughter, stuck by me through thick and thin-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Pierre Carbonneau: … on me. And, uh, uh,
proud of the community here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I like it when we all stick together,
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … like we do sometimes.
Scott Hammond: And we've done a lot lately.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, we have.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh,
I don't know. I, uh, God came into our family more.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Pierre Carbonneau: Church of Nazarene, and, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … my, my son John-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … who had a rough start at life-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … like his old man.
Scott Hammond: On a journey.
Pierre Carbonneau: On a journey, and now-
Scott Hammond: A journey
Pierre Carbonneau: … now God saved him. Jesus stepped in andI'm
proud of that and proud of him and his family.
Scott Hammond: Does he work with you?
Pierre Carbonneau: No, he does his own thing. And him is-
Scott Hammond: Does he tile?
Pierre Carbonneau: He knows how to tile and paint.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, uh, him and, uh, Mitzi Bailey is his wife.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, she's great.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. So together they run a… They have, uh,
grandkids. Three.
Scott Hammond: How many grandkids you guys got?
Pierre Carbonneau: I have nine.
Scott Hammond: Nine?
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Do you know that we have nine?
Pierre Carbonneau: I know you do.
Scott Hammond: We have 10 in the oven.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yours or a grandkid?
Scott Hammond: Grankid.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. They… In, in the Netherlands.
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: 10 would work 'cause Jodi's had nine. I'm number 10.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: No, but she's… We won't go there.
So number 10 in, in, in Net- in Nether… I can't even say it.
Amsterdam.
Pierre Carbonneau: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, they're excited. They're gonna-
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah, that's right. They moved
Scott Hammond: … little girl, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: [clears throat]
Scott Hammond: She got a job with Nike, and they're, they're over there.
And shucks, folks, we gotta go to Netherlands now to go see the grandkid. What? Okay, if we have to.
Pierre Carbonneau: I know I have one that's a Marine, and he just got home.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: He's-
Scott Hammond: So you give back in a lot of ways. You give back in, in the bikes,
the car show stuff, veteran stuff. What else? There must be some other… You're, you're, you're… How do you do it all? I mean, you're-
Pierre Carbonneau: I don't know
Scott Hammond: … you're out late every night.
Pierre Carbonneau: Every night. I got home last night at 10:00.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. 'Cause you-
Pierre Carbonneau: And the night before I got home 9:30.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Well, you've aged pretty well. You're only 27, isn't he?
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. Uh, yeah, right.
Scott Hammond: It's hard life. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: I was doing fine.
Scott Hammond: So being fierce- fiercely protective and, and in love with
Humboldt, what do you, um, what do you see happening now-
Pierre Carbonneau: That we're changing?
Scott Hammond: Yeah. What do you, what do you wanna see happen?
What do you envision for Ami's kids growing up here next 10, 20 years?
Pierre Carbonneau: I w- I, my, I pray that they'll stay here, for
one.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: I know my grandson coming back from Marine Corps is trying to get on with
type of law enforcement, so I'm pretty sure he can get a job.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I, the other one, he has a, uh, Brandon,
he has a d- uh, detail shop, and he's real happy with that, a mobile detail business-
Scott Hammond: Nice
Pierre Carbonneau: … with Bob's car lot there-
Scott Hammond: Sure, sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … in town. And then, uh,
so I, I pray we can all hang together pretty
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Which is tough 'cause a lot of kids leave here.
Pierre Carbonneau: They do 'cause I'm chasing the work, man.
Scott Hammond: Of our nine, all the older ones are gone.
They're gone.
Pierre Carbonneau: They are.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And maybe not to come back.
air quality.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yep.
Scott Hammond: He just, he goes, "Dad,"
he takes a big-
Pierre Carbonneau: Humboldt
Scott Hammond: … big hit of air, and he goes, "Nothing like this.
It's…" Yeah, Alameda, Portland, forget it.
Pierre Carbonneau: The water's horrible. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah, just-
Pierre Carbonneau: Too.
Scott Hammond: And they, they love coming back here.
So who is, who is Pierre Carbonneau?
Pierre Carbonneau: You know, I sometimes wonder myself.
Scott Hammond: Ah. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] I really am not a… I don't know how to identify myself.
I love the motorcycle people. Uh, uh, they've been a big part of
my life for-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … I bought my first one when I was 13 years old.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: But here locally, uh,
they've always been very inspirational. So I've been a motorcyclist.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh,
I've been in a lot of organizations, and the tile business has been my
baby for-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … many, many years.
Scott Hammond: You're kind of the tile king, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, I don't know about that, but-
Scott Hammond: But you're, you're-
Pierre Carbonneau: … I'm a tile man. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: You're ti- You're… That'll, that'll work.
Pierre Carbonneau: The, uh, there's a lot of good tile people in this
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, uh,
I, I just care a lot, sometimes more than I hate to admit it-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … 'cause it, it has, does affect
maybe sometimes family life.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: But-
Scott Hammond: You gotta find that work-life balance.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, man.
Scott Hammond: They don't care how much you know till they know how much you care,
it, it beats the opposite.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: I'm afraid of-
Scott Hammond: I don't give, I don't give a care.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. I'm afraid if I slow down, I'll die.
74, I'm still gonna-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Really, you're 74?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I had you for 53 or 4.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah, right. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Of course I did. So, uh, what's
your, uh, so what do you wanna see for the future, family, but for the county? What do you, what do you see the county pulling together and doing or this, this-
Pierre Carbonneau: I'd love to see us stay small.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: I know I'm in the business of build- or, you know, doing homes-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … and hotels and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … all that, but I'd give everything I got just to have
little town in a little community-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … where everybody knows everybody.
Scott Hammond: It's good.
Pierre Carbonneau: I drive around and wave and, honestly, even if I know, don't
know them. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah, why not?
Pierre Carbonneau: I tell them hello. I tell them hello in the street, you know,
Scott Hammond: Who doesn't? Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: I don't want them to go away thinking, "Oh, that place is a dump."
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: You know? And so
we can paint the walls all these different morial- memorials or whatever on them,
the flat-
Scott Hammond: Mur- murals?
Pierre Carbonneau: Murals-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … that Flat Mo does and all that, and they're great, but-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … it doesn't change what they feel
Scott Hammond: That's true. Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: You see somebody homeless, and
it kinda puts a, "Well, they don't take care of the homeless."
Scott Hammond: Well, they would.
Pierre Carbonneau: But we do. We try.
Scott Hammond: We do, yeah. The homeless need to c-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Is that ha- is that hateful to say that?
Pierre Carbonneau: No.
Scott Hammond: It's kinda true.
Pierre Carbonneau: My boy did that. He was down there for a long time.
Scott Hammond: He was in there, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, he was part of it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. We've, we've helped, helped some.
It's, it's, it's a challenge. Um, so what, what's your tombstone gonna say?
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh, Pierre always cared.
Scott Hammond: Pierre. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: That's good. Well, and loved tile.
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: It's, uh, beautiful tiles. Tiles all over that thing.
Pierre Carbonneau: I know. We, this week I had, uh, the privilege of helping a
Hupa family out with a gravestone for one of their uncles.
Scott Hammond: With some tile work?
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, no, we did slab. We cut a slab out for them and sent back
east for a little, uh, stone.
Scott Hammond: Oh, that's neat.
Pierre Carbonneau: And y- you know, it's just that kinda stuff.
It's just being part of the whole community.
Scott Hammond: I love it. Yeah, that's, that's exactly true.
Well, hey, we've reached that part of the showDid you hear that?
Pierre Carbonneau: I did.
Scott Hammond: That's a bonus round.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, good.
Scott Hammond: Are you ready?
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] Yes, sir.
Scott Hammond: Okay. So there, there's no right or wrong answers,
and it's pass/fail. So are you ready?
Pierre Carbonneau: Okay.
Scott Hammond: And take your time. You could…
Pierre Carbonneau: So boy, you're running a strict ship though, boys.
Scott Hammond: [laughs] So, uh, when you go out,
If you had 200 bucks to take on me to dinner tonight, where would you go?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, we'd probably go to the Double A.
Scott Hammond: Double A for a steak.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Where do you go for drinks? Not there.
Pierre Carbonneau: Not where?
Scott Hammond: Question number two.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, I go to the Elks normally.
Scott Hammond: Oh, you go down to the Elks?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They have pretty-
Pierre Carbonneau: I'm a trustee there. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Do they have hard liquor?
Pierre Carbonneau: Good grief, yes.
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: And it's a good price.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, they're pretty reasonable.
Pierre Carbonneau: After you go there a few times, you get to meet folks and…
Scott Hammond: Oh, that's great. Is Judy still working at the bar?
Pierre Carbonneau: No.
Scott Hammond: Palasiо.
Pierre Carbonneau: Didn't she move?
Scott Hammond: No, there's, I think… Well, I don't know. I haven't…
She used to play pickleball together with her and Sal.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh.
Scott Hammond: Maybe. I don't know.
Pierre Carbonneau: Hmm.
Scott Hammond: I'll ask her next time I see her.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, I don't recall Judy.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Third question.
You're gonna go for a hike. I know-
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: … ex- exercise. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Can I ride a motorcycle on the trail?
Scott Hammond: Sure. You'd ride up to the trail.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What, where do you, where do you hike,
Pierre Carbonneau: You know where we go outdoors? We go to Old Station, California.
Scott Hammond: Where's that?
Pierre Carbonneau: It's, uh, about four and a half hours from here,
Creek, and we h- go to the back mountains and hike the fishing trails and…
Scott Hammond: That's nice back there.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's your cabin, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: I have place up there. Yeah, I do.
Scott Hammond: Very cool.
Pierre Carbonneau: Little old 1942 cabin.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: How long do you usually go?
Pierre Carbonneau: Long as I can stay. Probably a week.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Is there cell phone service?
Pierre Carbonneau: No cell phone.
Scott Hammond: Good. Oh, man. POTUS.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's funny. You bring the n- little younger kids up, and they, they go,
Grandpa, where's the phone?"
Scott Hammond: That's funny.
Pierre Carbonneau: "Right there." And they look at it, and they go-
Scott Hammond: It's-
Pierre Carbonneau: … "How do you work it?"
Scott Hammond: It's a dial phone. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: And they're pushing them circles on the phone.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: And they're, they're-
Scott Hammond: They can't do it
Pierre Carbonneau: … They go, "It don't ring, Dad, Grandpa," or whatever.
And, and I go, "Turn it." And they turned it, and they go, "Oh. Well, how do you get the number?"
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: "Well, just go to, hitch the finger, stops,
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: That's the funniest thing.
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Since I grew up with a twist phone on the wall, and, um, you
know, it had zero-
Scott Hammond: Did you really? Come on, you're not babying our…
Pierre Carbonneau: I swear. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You had one of those?
Pierre Carbonneau: In, in Barre, Vermont when we grew up on the farm,
Scott Hammond: Like Aunt Bea. Aunt Bea's on the line.
Pierre Carbonneau: We were seven rings. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Scott Hammond: Speak into the tin can.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs] It was, uh, I grew up with those.
Scott Hammond: That's funny.
Okay, question number four. Where do you go for, um, uh, fun? Let's say you wanna go out and have a fun night. Where would you go?
Not a bar.
Pierre Carbonneau: Not a bar. Um-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: … it's really… [laughs] It's…
You know,
I don't-
Scott Hammond: Do you shoot pool or bowl or?
Pierre Carbonneau: We do all that at the Elks.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's all there.
Pierre Carbonneau: And we bowl sometimes, not very often.
Scott Hammond: There's no bowling alley.
Pierre Carbonneau: We go to the movies.
Scott Hammond: Okay, movies.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, we enjoy movies.
Scott Hammond: What's your favorite beach at Humboldt?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, heck, um,
up there in Trinidad, uh, the one you walk down the stairs to.
Scott Hammond: Oh, Moonstone.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, my, when I back-
Scott Hammond: Oh, Baker Beach, the nude beach?
Pierre Carbonneau: Not the nude one. Oh.
Scott Hammond: Oh, I figured.
Pierre Carbonneau: No. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: We… I was gonna say, we spread his-
Scott Hammond: This is a G-rated show though, Pierre.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, we spread his-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: … my, uh, uh, wife, ex-wife's, uh,
ashes there and my daughter's.
Scott Hammond: They're at Moonstone?
Pierre Carbonneau: They are.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Pierre Carbonneau: I'm not a spreader of ashes, but the family said it was okay.
Scott Hammond: And that was a good spot.
Pierre Carbonneau: For them.
Scott Hammond: Why not? Hey.
Pierre Carbonneau: And that shows it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Beautiful beaches up there.
Pierre Carbonneau: Just gotta make sure the wind's blowing the opposite way.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, you want, you wanna do that wrong. Yeah.
So, uh, last, last question. We'll see how you do on this one.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: What's your favorite chocolate in Humboldt County?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, um,
he just built a new store down there.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, down in Old Town.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Oh, I know the name too.
Scott Hammond: This way?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah, it's, uh, Dick Taylor's chocolate.
Scott Hammond: Oh, POTUS.
Pierre Carbonneau: And they got, they, they got the best hot chocolate around.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Oh, have you ever tried it?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. It… I never, I could never believe I'd taste chocolate
Scott Hammond: Courtesy of Dick Taylor's-
Pierre Carbonneau: What's that?
Scott Hammond: … you get the, uh, Dick Taylor craft chocolate,
72%, not 71, not 70, but 72% cacao dark chocolate bar. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Pierre Carbonneau: There you go.
Scott Hammond: That's for you.
Pierre Carbonneau: No, the, he, the, it's a great place to go.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they're… It's great. He was just, he was our last guest.
Adam Dick is a nice, nice man.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And it's funny, I, I caught that loyalty that you had for
Humboldt, and he and I were talking about people have loyalty for
chocolate almost like they do in, in the same vein as Humboldt.
It's like-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, it's the only place I ever go buy it
Scott Hammond: … I mean, I'm loyal to Heineken. I like a Heineken,
a Chevy, or I like a Verizon wire, uh, you know, but I'm not loyal to it. But some people really call this out. "Hey, you know, you gotta try this. Hey, we're gonna have communion, and it's got chocolate."
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So there's, uh, we talked about that, that
it's a very interesting-
Pierre Carbonneau: It's a hometown brand.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. It's interesting, and I think you're right.
Like, this is, this is our home, Humboldt County. This is our turf. So we asked who you were. You said you were a biker. What, You have biking roots, I should say.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, well, I'm a Christian.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Good.
Pierre Carbonneau: You know?
Scott Hammond: Good deal.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I'm, uh, uh,
I'm pretty much stomping my way and my beliefs, you know.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: So I'm focused on…
I, I don't accept other ways much, especially-
Scott Hammond: Pretty, pretty fixated. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, on the old ways and-
Scott Hammond: Old school.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, old school person.
Scott Hammond: That's all right.
Pierre Carbonneau: That's what I'm trying to say. You know how to say what I'm trying to
Scott Hammond: Well, 'cause I know you a little bit.
Pierre Carbonneau: You do. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Old school. You're old school. So, uh, and, and what do you
want?
Pierre Carbonneau: I wanna have everybody my friend. I like to have friends.
Scott Hammond: Good.
Pierre Carbonneau: And at least acquaintances that I respect and that they
respect me.
Scott Hammond: I like it. We all want, we all want good friends.
So the, um… You said it well, too. And this has come up in another podcast. There's this division that we've been about for a little a separate… But you said y- you'd like to see people come together.
Pierre Carbonneau: I do.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Why not?
Sheriff Honsal said it well. He said university means unity in diversity.
Well, I-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … that was really profound for me to go,
syncing." We could all be different and be freaky freak shows 'cause we're all weird and damaged, but we could have unity in that as maybe starting as Americans and, or as human beings. Let's start there and then may- maybe American, and there's no reason we can't, um, keep working on stuff. Right now I th- I think it's kinda sad for me to see go, "I would- can't work with that guy, that party-
Pierre Carbonneau: Right
Scott Hammond: … that, that group."
Pierre Carbonneau: I know. I was on an estimate. I don't even know if I should bring this
tell you. I was on an estimate the other day, house over there, and I looked over and thought, "Boy, they got a lot of tile up on the yard," looked really cute. I thought, "Well, that's a really nice little cute place." I looked on their flagpole, and they, they had the American flag upside down. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Pierre Carbonneau: And so I thought, "Oh, my." And so I went over
"You know what?"
Scott Hammond: It might be a mistake, but [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: It was a mistake.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I felt about an inch high.
Scott Hammond: Good. Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: But anyway, I, I thought, y- you know, I knocked on the door and said,
what, sir? I, I think you might've made a mistake. You got the American flag upside down. I'll help you put it up right."
Scott Hammond: Did he feel bad?
Pierre Carbonneau: And he-
Scott Hammond: He felt terrible?
Pierre Carbonneau: No, he didn't. I did 'cause he said-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Pierre Carbonneau: … "That's the way I wanted it."
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Pierre Carbonneau: I go-
Scott Hammond: So it wasn't a mistake.
Pierre Carbonneau: No.
Scott Hammond: Oh, okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: That hurt my feelings.
Scott Hammond: Oh, well.
Hey, I guess that's part of, part of freedom is you gotta-
Pierre Carbonneau: That is right. It's freedom of-
Scott Hammond: You know? Just 'cause you're-
Pierre Carbonneau: … speech
Scott Hammond: … yeah, you're, you're different and, uh,
honor that, um… So, uh, new developments Anything new coming up on the horizon that you like seeing happen?
Pierre Carbonneau: No, not really.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: Don't like the idea of the wind farm.
Scott Hammond: I like you said you wanna keep it small,
that. I want small-town America-
Pierre Carbonneau: That's what I moved here for, man
Scott Hammond: … not in my backyard. I wanted to keep this thing.
Well, you've had your wish for 50 years.
We've-
Pierre Carbonneau: I have, but I wanted it for my grandkids.
Scott Hammond: One- and 2% growth or negative growth.
Pierre Carbonneau: I, it used to be as many moved in, moved out-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … they said. But
yeah, I would like very much to see it ta- I know it's a, more of a wish than a reality.
Scott Hammond: Well, it's gotta grow a little. It has to.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's gotta grow. Yeah. But-
Scott Hammond: We don't have all that much room to grow.
I mean, we have a lot of acres, but it's timber.
Pierre Carbonneau: But you gotta realize I migrated from Southern California,
I was younger-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … we could go swimming in the ocean
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: You know? And then, uh,
I worked in the oil fields for a little, on the offshore.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I saw how they treated the ocean out there.
Scott Hammond: You know, you said that Oxnard and Camarillo just did-
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah. I worked from the-
Scott Hammond: Santa Barbara
Pierre Carbonneau: … Mexican border all the way up to s- uh,
Geyserville.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Pierre Carbonneau: And, um,
y- you know, I saw what it did there, and then when I see what they're doing here, they wanted to have offshore oil. I
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I'm against the windmills.
Scott Hammond: Are you?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, very much strongly, but-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Pierre Carbonneau: … I think I've lost the battle.
Scott Hammond: I think that battle's been fought and over.
Pierre Carbonneau: Over. We lose.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Or I lose, but, um-
Scott Hammond: That's a clean, regenerate thing
Pierre Carbonneau: … but they use hundreds of gallons of oil
Scott Hammond: Well, they have to to manufacture it and make-
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, no, they keep it oiled
Scott Hammond: That's a great point.
Pierre Carbonneau: It is. And then what do you do with the blades
I mean-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Huh.
You're right. It's gonna kill a couple of birds.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs] Yeah.
Scott Hammond: But it's also gonna generate generational electricity.
So yeah, uh, that's a good point. So there's this trade-off thing.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: They didn't think all the way through, I th- but-
Scott Hammond: Well, I want my kids and grandkids to have some good,
that-
Pierre Carbonneau: I do, too
Scott Hammond: … that'll create that, and then the trails coming in.
W- You drive back and forth from Arcata.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, but I hated to lose our trees, too.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, those eucalyptus, man.
Pierre Carbonneau: The eucalyptus. Same thing in Oxnard.
They cut all the eucalyptus down.
Scott Hammond: My, my dad Bob called those the eucalyptus
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Terri- Don't put 'em along a highway.
They just,
they l-
Pierre Carbonneau: They fall apart
Scott Hammond: … they leak and fall apart. Yeah, they're terrible.
So, uh, here, here's a profound question for you. I'm kinda coming back for you. If you could have a couple of do-overs in your life, what would you do over?
Pierre Carbonneau: Hmm.
Well, I probably would've stayed in college longer and got my degree.
And-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Pierre Carbonneau: … I never… I got it in ano- a technology degree.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I really wanted to be a lawyer. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Ah. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: But I, you know, I had children, so-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … I couldn't afford it.
Scott Hammond: No.
Pierre Carbonneau: And so I became-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … a tile man.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I had nine. We did it on one income and-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … you had to grind, man.
Pierre Carbonneau: So did I.
Scott Hammond: What are you doing? I'm going to work again. What
I'm going to bed.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What are you doing? I'm getting up and going to work.
Pierre Carbonneau: For f- ma- 54 years, that's been my-
Scott Hammond: Hey, man
Pierre Carbonneau: … my thing.
Scott Hammond: It's honorable, man. So, okay. W- Another do-over.
So you would've got a degree. What else would you have done differently, if anything? A lot of guys don't have any regrets.
Pierre Carbonneau: I, you know, I really don't. I think I grew up in the best times of
America.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: I really do. We grew up-
Scott Hammond: Heck
Pierre Carbonneau: … with the things they've got movies about
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Were you born in the, in the late '40s?
Pierre Carbonneau: 1949.
Scott Hammond: '49.
Yeah, I was born in '60. So that means you're older and I have to respect you.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. I bought my first new car in 1964.
Scott Hammond: Is that right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: '64?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: What'd you buy?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, nothing but a Chevy.
Scott Hammond: Nothing but… [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. A Chevy Malibu.
Scott Hammond: Um, those are great cars.
Pierre Carbonneau: Two door, four speed.
Scott Hammond: My stepmom had one in Oceanside.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I almost killed us in one night.
Fallbrook in Vista, California. Great car, though.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's an old stock Malibu.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's the funniest thing, that I teach my grands-
put them in a stick shift, you know. I take them out to the logging roads.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: I get out, I put them in the driver's seat,
thing, we're dead. You stay… If you're gonna crash, 'Cause they don't go fast, but-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … uh, uh, oh, boy, it's a joke. It… I just roar.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: They're trying to figure it out.
Pierre Carbonneau: Figured it out and hopping all over.
But the, to this day, they can all drive them, you know.
Scott Hammond: It's good training.
Pierre Carbonneau: A lot of them don't know how to drive stick shift.
Scott Hammond: It's a… I think it's a rite of passage, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Why would you?
So how would… If you were to talk to
me, us, Nick, your audience, how can we make a difference in Humboldt? Soon, this week, this month, this year.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, in my point of view-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Pierre Carbonneau: … forget about being a Democrat
Scott Hammond: Nice
Pierre Carbonneau: … and care about each other.
Scott Hammond: That's a good start.
Pierre Carbonneau: I don't care what you do in the vote, how you vote, but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … treat everybody equal. I don't care what you do in your bedroom,
everybody equal.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah.
Basic human rights.
Pierre Carbonneau: That's it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and human, human relationships and connection.
Anything, parting shots before we go?
Pierre Carbonneau: No, I thought it was gonna be a little tougher.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Well, wait. Oh, here's another list.
Pierre Carbonneau: No, no, never mind.
Scott Hammond: I have another list of que- [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Nick, he don't talk much. He's-
Scott Hammond: No, he tries to… He's, he's low-key.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He's a producer. So, hey, thanks for coming.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, hey, it's always my honor.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Really is.
Scott Hammond: In, in the last
nine years, I'll be open nine years on Labor Day.
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And I haven't known you all those nine, but eight of them.
Um, uh, and there's a lot of secondary benefits to your, your main ministry or career or whatever, and you, you're a, you're a shining light, uh, on second or third.
[laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: What, what, what I mean by that
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, I do.
Scott Hammond: And, um-
Pierre Carbonneau: That's the fun of it
Scott Hammond: … and it's, and you've been a delight to get to know
sharing your love for veterans and not being a veteran. I could, you know, live through you a little bit and your, and passion for these guys and gals and your tears and, you know, it's always, you always come out heartfelt and, uh, from the heart and, um, you know, the wind's blowing and your speech sheet is going all over the place.
Pierre Carbonneau: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: We, we don't know what's gonna happen next,
and-
Pierre Carbonneau: One way or the other
Scott Hammond: … finish it. [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: Then I run into these words I can't explain how to say them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. How do you say that last name? [laughs] They got it.
They, they understood that you-
Pierre Carbonneau: No, they tell me 10 times before I go on
nervous.
Scott Hammond: No, you do great.
Pierre Carbonneau: But boy, when it comes telling their stories,
Scott Hammond: Oh, man.
Pierre Carbonneau: Especially when they describe what they did,
saw what they did, and you, you're just amazed they got home safe and sound.
Scott Hammond: Yep, and they lived through it, and they-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … came back, and they became Humboldt-
Pierre Carbonneau: People
Scott Hammond: … Humboldt people and more, more Humboldt heroics.
Pierre Carbonneau: I'll say one thing for Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Please.
Pierre Carbonneau: You know, you hear that we have, uh,
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: But thanks to organizations like Humboldt Heroes, and the
Elks, and AMVETS, and all these different places that raise money for the vets, w- we only have people that are veterans living outside of a home is because they choose to. If they have any desires-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Pierre Carbonneau: … to get into a home-
Scott Hammond: You find them a place
Pierre Carbonneau: … we find them a place,
and we help them. And whenever I meet one take him down and show him he can.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. So if you have a problem,
anytime, and I'll bend over backwards to try to get I'm, I have no… I can't say I can get you a house, people or take you to what people that will help you-
Scott Hammond: Right
Pierre Carbonneau: … with your-
Scott Hammond: Get them connected
Pierre Carbonneau: … with their benefits and homelessness and-
Scott Hammond: Beautiful
Pierre Carbonneau: … all that.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, Pierre Carbonneau, Humboldt Heroes.
You can call my office, Scott Hammond State Farm. AMVETS, are they probably reachable in some way?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: And Donna Landry-
Pierre Carbonneau: The vice president
Scott Hammond: … and Donna and-
Pierre Carbonneau: Donna Landry
Scott Hammond: … and Brian, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Great people.
Scott Hammond: Um, there's the Veterans Center, right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: The Resource Center.
Um, there's the Veterans, uh, Hosp- Is it? It's not a hospital, it's the, uh, medical-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, it's a care facility
Scott Hammond: … the old, the one down in s- the old Safeway.
Pierre Carbonneau: Safeway.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: That's… Yeah, they do a lot of work with us.
They got podiatr- podiatry and optical and-
Scott Hammond: The whole nine
Pierre Carbonneau: … pretty much almost everything, X-rays.
Scott Hammond: You gotta go out of the area for bigger surgeries, so.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, you go to the-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … Santa Rosa or to the Bay.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: And I'd rather be in the Bay. It- that's a full-on
facility.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's got its own care.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's got its own, uh, address, its own PO box, and it's a city.
Scott Hammond: So you're, you're saying to me that
and goes, "Hey, I wanna help some vets," there's plenty of numbers in Google, and your f- in your Facebook page-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … that people could find veteran,
Pierre Carbonneau: In the county, through the county, Renee,
She helps everybody, comes to the car shows,
Scott Hammond: Oh, is that right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Anything she can reach. Outreach is the game.
Scott Hammond: Is she, is she a county employee? Is she veterans-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, Veterans Administration.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's over there n- uh, on the same street as the, uh,
county offices, not the jailhouse, but-
Scott Hammond: Right, right
Pierre Carbonneau: … the one that they're gonna…
Scott Hammond: Over there at Henderson Center, over that way?
Pierre Carbonneau: No. Well, that is one, but this one's downtown.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: It's right…
I think it's on, what, Seventh or Sixth?
Scott Hammond: Yep.
Okay, I'm gonna give you a lead-up. I'm gonna let you think about a story about Humboldt that's gonna crack us up.The best story that you've ever heard, that thing that happened. Remember that one guy, and it was just hilarious. It was memorable. It's your, it's your favorite Humboldt story It happened within the last 50 years.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I'm gonna let you envision that story.
Pierre Carbonneau: I got a lot of them.
Scott Hammond: I bet you do. You probably got more than-
Pierre Carbonneau: But I got one.
Scott Hammond: You got one already?
Pierre Carbonneau: You want it right now?
Scott Hammond: We'll let you end with that on your story.
Pierre Carbonneau: Or do you have a commercial? [laughs]
Scott Hammond: No. No, the commercials have all ran.
Pierre Carbonneau: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
The man, the myth, the legend, Pierre Carbonneau.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, I used to work for old, uh, Ivo, and he owned, uh, Roy's
Club, him and his brother.
Scott Hammond: Oh, right.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. And Ivo,
he, he was picky, and he was bullheaded. He don't like to spend a lot of money, but, uh-
Scott Hammond: Is he Italian?
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, yeah. [laughs] He grew up, uh, polishing shoes,
and his dad and him, uh, they were– he bootlegged as a little kid. He sold newspapers to the houses of ill repute and all the-
Scott Hammond: Is that right?
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. And that's how he helped his family.
Scott Hammond: Cancl- what was their last name?
Pierre Carbonneau: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Ivo-
Pierre Carbonneau: C-C-
Scott Hammond: It wasn't Canclini. That's-
Pierre Carbonneau: No
Scott Hammond: … the shoe guys up in Arcadia.
Pierre Carbonneau: God, I know. In, uh, my mind-
Scott Hammond: Can- Canter.
Pierre Carbonneau: No.
Scott Hammond: We'll think about it.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah, think about it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I'll look, I'll look it up.
Pierre Carbonneau: But e- everybody knows Ivo and Roy at Roy's Club.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Pierre Carbonneau: But
anyway, we're working on the club one day, putting in a new floor for him, and I couldn't find Ivo. And here's this old… I walk into the kitchen, and here's this old guy on a ladder, on the ladder, the other on the water heater-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Pierre Carbonneau: … both of them metal, and he's got one, one 10 line in this hand
and another one 10 line in this hand, 220 volts. I go, "Ivo, what the heck are you doing?" "What do you mean?" I go, "You don't belong up there, and you don't… You need to put one of those lines in a neutral position and get it away from
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: And he says, "Watch this." And he put them in there,
in and got down off the ladder. And I said, "You know what? I'm telling your wife." [laughs]
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Pierre Carbonneau: But that's the kind of guy Ivo was.
Scott Hammond: Ivo Fanucchi.
Pierre Carbonneau: Fanucchi. And old Ivo-
Scott Hammond: Fanucchi
Pierre Carbonneau: … he could tell you stories about Humboldt
I, I think he's gonna have a book come out before we lose him.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. They shut it down in '17, February '17.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: It was a sorry day.
Scott Hammond: They had a half a chicken that you could… or a whole chicken,
That was their-
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … signature deal.
Pierre Carbonneau: Oh, I loved their spaghetti sauce.
Scott Hammond: Oh, man.
Pierre Carbonneau: But, um,
he, he, he's been a, a big inspiration in my life, and he still mows his grass and drives.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, you remember him became a Humboldt Hero.
He drove up in that-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Pierre Carbonneau: … Mercedes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, he sure did.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah. Great inspiration.
Scott Hammond: That's good. I love guys like that.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And then he, he kind of s- uh, codifies the,
exemplifies a Humboldt-
Pierre Carbonneau: He does
Scott Hammond: … 100% Humboldt spirit.
Pierre Carbonneau: Boy, but if anybody ever gets to hear one of
worth the travel.
Scott Hammond: Bring, bring him by sometime.
Pierre Carbonneau: You should.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Pierre Carbonneau: Well, he's sharp at 103.
Scott Hammond: 103. Wow.
Pierre Carbonneau: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's a, that's a long, full life. Well, Pierre Carbonneau,
Thank you.
Pierre Carbonneau: Thank you. Bless you guys too.
Scott Hammond: Appreciate you and, uh-
Pierre Carbonneau: Bless Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. How do you answer it? So, uh, thanks for…
You, you do it on your voicemail, and you… I'll let you end with that.
Pierre Carbonneau: Thank you for calling Carbonneau Tile, and God bless
Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Amen.
Pierre Carbonneau: Amen.