Episode 72 · John Woolley · February 22, 2025
John Woolley sits down with Scott Hammond to talk through a long stretch of Humboldt life, from arriving at Humboldt State in the late 1960s to helping launch programs that still shape the county. He reflects on student organizing during the Vietnam era, the start of Youth Educational Services, and later work that helped seed North Coast Children’s Services, the Humboldt Senior Resource Center, local farmers markets, and other community efforts. It’s a grounded conversation about how local institutions get built, who keeps them going, and what it means to leave something useful behind.
Watch the conversation
What this episode covers
- Growing up in Southern California, coming to Humboldt State, and shifting from fisheries to political science and community work
- How John helped start Youth Educational Services and an experimental college model that let students teach each other practical skills
- Early community development work in Manila, including tutoring, preschool programs, and what grew into North Coast Children’s Services
- The agricultural and economic development efforts that fed into the North Coast Growers Association, small business support, and new work beyond old-growth logging
- Life in Manila, from cleaning up a burned mill site for community use to building an award-winning local wastewater system
- John’s years on the Board of Supervisors, including work tied to the Headwaters Fund and other long-term public programs
Listen to 100% Humboldt on
Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Amazon Music · Buzzsprout
Transcript
Read full transcript
Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, Scott Hammond with the 100% Humboldt Podcast with my new best friend, John Woolley.
Scott Hammond: Hi, John.
John Woolley: Hi there, Scott. Good to see you.
Scott Hammond: It's great to be seen. How's your day?
John Woolley: Uh, not bad. Uh, a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Scott Hammond: Man.
John Woolley: Yeah, it's great. You know, breaks in the rain.
Scott Hammond: 60 degrees.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Perfect outside. I was just driving in, I'm going, "Man, those poor suckers in Iowa."
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Where I'm from.
John Woolley: Yeah. Oh, good. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I just talked to my uncle, he turned 80.
Scott Hammond: They-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … they go from Sioux City, Iowa down to Mobile-
John Woolley: Ah
Scott Hammond: … Mobile Shores in Alabama-
John Woolley: Uh-huh
Scott Hammond: … where it's 40 degrees and freezing.
John Woolley: Jeez. Was he a corn farmer, too, or…?
Scott Hammond: No, he's a… He was, he delivered propane to farmers-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … for, like, 40 years, and now they, they leave three months out of the year and go down there. So tell us the John Woolley story, just the, the, the John Woolley arc, and then, uh, we'll, we'll go, we'll, we'll, we'll go
Scott Hammond: circle back.
John Woolley: Okay. Well, um, well, I was born-
Scott Hammond: Yes
John Woolley: … in 1962. I came up here after being born and living 18 years all around. My folks were great. Uh, my dad was being transferred, so we went from San Francisco all the way through Denver and Toledo and back to LA.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And then came up here in 1962 to go to
John Woolley: Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: It was good.
Scott Hammond: Humboldt State University, not Cal Poly.
John Woolley: No, it was Humboldt State College then.
Scott Hammond: Oh, oh, that's right. And before there was-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … the Teachers College.
John Woolley: Yeah, normal school they called it, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Right. '62.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: That's a long time ago.
John Woolley: It is. It is. It keep, uh, creeps up on you, but it's-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … happening.
Scott Hammond: I figure you for, like, you know, 62 or 3.
John Woolley: I'm 63.
Scott Hammond: All right.
John Woolley: I'm also 64.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Again.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And again.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I just turned 65 and, you know, it's funny how many people even today I talk to that, you know, 70s, 80s, they go, "I don't know where it went."
John Woolley: That's true.
Scott Hammond: You know, and you shake your head, you go, "I've raised nine kids here."
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: "And came up in '78."
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: "And now it's '25. Are you kidding me?"
John Woolley: Man.
Scott Hammond: And it's almost Christmas.
John Woolley: Yeah. Coming up again.
Scott Hammond: It's coming.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Christmas, folks, right around the corner.
John Woolley: Well, you have to start with nine. How many grandchildren do you have?
Scott Hammond: We have 11 now.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah, you gotta start saving now.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, tell me about it. It's, uh, I'm going broke, man. It's killing me. My wife, she, she, I got more stuff. I sent more stuff. I go, "Okay. Uh, that's what we do."
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's, that's a grand- grandparently duty, I guess so. Um, so what'd you study at Humboldt?
John Woolley: Well, I, I came up to go into fisheries. Uh, and my dad hitched up here in the '40s. He worked for a company called Eng-Skel-
Scott Hammond: Mm
John Woolley: … which was, uh, a fountain supply. So he got to know Joe Carter and, um, the Elis at Varsity
John Woolley: Cafe.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
John Woolley: So he knew the area and he said, "John, it's a good place to go."
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: So, so that's why I came up here. But then the… I was, I was telling Nick that, uh, the thing that really captured our attention in the '60s was the Vietnam War era, uh, that it was. Uh, the draft really had an impact on all college students that were, uh, attending-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … and made them focus their attention on what that draft meant to them both, you know, as a country, but also individually.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So obviously it was a tumultuous time. I got caught up in it a little bit.
John Woolley: Uh, became active in student government and started different things and, uh, managed to stay, stay em- employed, uh, working on that forever it seems like.
Scott Hammond: So you went to Palos Verdes High School?
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I know where that is.
John Woolley: Oh, you do?
Scott Hammond: On the hill.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, my father-in-law lived at PCH in Crenshaw.
John Woolley: Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: So he's just right up the hill in Torrance there.
John Woolley: Right. That's where I lived in Rolling Hills, it's called, right?
Scott Hammond: Beautiful.
John Woolley: On the canyon that went up, uh, Hawthorne.
Scott Hammond: Gorgeous.
John Woolley: Or, yeah, I think it was, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Now, if I had to live in LA, that wouldn't be a bad gig.
John Woolley: It was pretty nice. My mom always found us a good place to live.
Scott Hammond: I imagine back in the day that, the Rolling Hills, the, they call it The Hill,
Scott Hammond: right? PC-
John Woolley: Well, we, we were not-
Scott Hammond: … PV
John Woolley: … behind the gates. There was the gates and behind-
Scott Hammond: Oh
John Woolley: … we were on the other side, but it was still-
Scott Hammond: Oh, the ghetto part.
John Woolley: Yeah. Right. But no, we, uh, uh, moved there in '61 and, uh, opened up Pe- uh, Palos Verdes High in '62.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: Graduated and came up here. So I was only there for a year at PCH.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Great, great place.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Always loved visiting there and going down and a lot, lot of good memories. We, uh, we've had the occasion to go to the Getty Museum the last couple times.
John Woolley: Oh, nice.
Scott Hammond: Which did not burn, by the way, which is-
John Woolley: Oh, good
Scott Hammond: … good news.
John Woolley: Good.
Scott Hammond: Uh, but yeah, LA's fun. I used to really kinda cuss it. Now it's like, oh, there's stuff to do if you're-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … if you got time to sit in traffic for a minute.
John Woolley: Yeah, that's where I learned to surf and, uh, I brought my surfboard up with me in
John Woolley: '62.
Scott Hammond: Oh, nice. Is that right?
John Woolley: And, uh, there weren't many of us.
Scott Hammond: Did you ever meet Doc Ball?
John Woolley: No, I never had the opportunity. I wish I had.
Scott Hammond: The legend.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: The man, the myth, the legend.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: So Doc Ball, for those of you who don't know, he surfed Shelter Cove, which is, uh, way down there. He's one of the first guys to surf up here in the, I guess, in the '40s or '50s.
John Woolley: Yeah, he had the big redwood boards.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah, he was, uh, old school and, um, what a nice man. He was a Gideon at the end. He would, he would hawk, uh, he would, he would raise funds for the Gideons Bibles-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … that were in all the hotels. He was a really hardcore believer, and he loved Jesus and-
John Woolley: Oh, man
Scott Hammond: … what a sweet, sweet guy and then his son, I guess, was Doc Ball,
Scott Hammond: um, Junior.
John Woolley: Oh, up here at Humboldt. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: In Arcade, I think.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: And I think he's also retired, so that kinda dates him, but yeah, nice man.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So PV, had you surfed, like, Torrance Beach or Redondo?
John Woolley: Well, it was Redondo and the, the beach cities, uh, but we'd go to from
John Woolley: Malibu, uh, all the way down to Dana Point.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
John Woolley: Uh, different places. My, my folks had a Ford, uh, station wagon, and we'd plug the boards up-
Scott Hammond: We-
John Woolley: … and off we go. My next-door neighbor was Rick Griffin, who has now passed, but he was the cur- the cartoonist for Surfer Magazine.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah.
John Woolley: So he led me astray in all the surfing knots and stuff, so it was
John Woolley: good.
Scott Hammond: Sure. Boy, that's early surf days.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's pretty cool.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, you, you're a cool guy after all.
John Woolley: I'll do it, I'll do in a pinch anyway.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, did you end up with a fisheries degree at Humboldt?
John Woolley: No, I, I gravitated. Uh, I got– One class taught me is that, that, it was NR2, I think is the, the class name. It was National Resources lower division.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And the prof was really good. So he said, what struck me was, "You think you're in here to manage the fish or what- or the, the birds and the bees, what
John Woolley: have you."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: They said, "No, you're here to manage the people who are using the birds and the bees, et cetera."
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And I went, "Ooh."
Scott Hammond: Game changer.
John Woolley: Yeah. So that changed. I went from that
John Woolley: to education, politics. So I graduated in political science,
John Woolley: essentially.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: Because I became active on campus with, uh, starting what, what is now called YES, Youth Educational Services.
Scott Hammond: Familiar with it, yeah.
John Woolley: Yep. And it, I started an experimental college, it
John Woolley: was called.
Scott Hammond: Was that cluster?
John Woolley: No, it was, uh, it, it– in those days, you'd register in the gym by going through long
John Woolley: lines.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And you keep track of the chalkboard that was still it, and they would erase and say, "No, that class doesn't…" So you'd always have to be checking your sheet.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
John Woolley: So I put a cardboard table up in the middle of the line, and I had volunteers on both sides, and I say, "What, would you, do you know how to do anything that you'd like to tell people about?"
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: "Uh, yeah, I'd like to teach them fly tying."
Scott Hammond: Sure.
John Woolley: And so I set up classes, uh, for people to get to know each other, and fly tying became one of the classes as an example.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: That was the experimental college.
Scott Hammond: I like that. So no credits.
John Woolley: No credits.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Just fun.
Scott Hammond: Just for fun.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Which is the right answer for education.
John Woolley: I, I think so.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: It's a good start.
Scott Hammond: Should be fun. What are we doing if we're not having fun?
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: I had a friend that plays pickleball up in, uh, Medford. He had a friend that had, plays traveling baseball.
John Woolley: Oh.
Scott Hammond: Kinda our age.
John Woolley: Uh-huh.
Scott Hammond: And he goes, "It costs me 10 grand a year, and it's not any fun." He goes, "What are you doing it?"
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Or, "If it's not fun-
John Woolley: Right
Scott Hammond: … what are you doing, man?" He goes, "Yeah, you're right." Huh.
John Woolley: There's a good buddy my age that still plays the, in the senior
John Woolley: circuit, and he's 80, and he's up, he's… It's a different rules for him right now, but he's still playing. He still had it.
Scott Hammond: 80, wow.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Baseball or-
John Woolley: Ba- uh, s- uh, softball.
Scott Hammond: Softball.
John Woolley: Yeah. They go to St. George, Utah, I think it is.
Scott Hammond: Big tournament.
John Woolley: A big, uh, it's a senior tournament for all sports.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: It's huge.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: It's great.
Scott Hammond: A lot of silver-hair folks.
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: So we'll go up to the Britt Festival in Oregon and see Jackson Browne or whoever, and Jodi will look around and g- she goes, "There's our tribe, man. We're all here."
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Everybody with the silver hair folks are here.
John Woolley: Right, right.
Scott Hammond: Which is kinda funny, some of the, uh-
John Woolley: It's all true
Scott Hammond: … it's all true. It, my coach calls it advanced maturity.
John Woolley: Well, I don't know how advanced we are or how mature we are, but
John Woolley: it's-
Scott Hammond: Both, both are questionable.
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you started YES 'cause that's, uh, that has, uh, still has a… Is that still there?
John Woolley: I believe it is. It still has about-
Scott Hammond: Yes House
John Woolley: … volunteers a year-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … going through the program.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. They did a lot of good stuff for the-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … community, right?
John Woolley: It was, uh… Back in those days, the, the concept of town
John Woolley: and gown-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … was prevalent. Uh, when I first came to Humboldt, there was only about 23, 20- 2,500 students overall. And so it was really an enclave onto itself.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Not much community interaction at all.
John Woolley: And so-
Scott Hammond: Across the highway that wasn't there yet.
John Woolley: Right. Yeah. And it came in-
Scott Hammond: Well, there was a four, there was a two-lane highway.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah. Right there, uh, with the light and all that.
Scott Hammond: Right.
John Woolley: Yep, yep. Uh, so we actually started youth tutoring, a youth, a tutorial program, and I, I talked to the Arcata School District, allowing us to use then the Manila School, because they had to shut it down for a lack of enrollment.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
John Woolley: So we opened it up, ran tutorial programs during the, uh, afternoon and evening hours, and that was the first year, and then the year after that, we expanded it to YES, Youth Educational
John Woolley: Services-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … so that we could take in other, uh, interest areas of college students-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … besides just education. S- co- counseling, uh, r- river rafting, for example, uh, w- became a program.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So that, it really just spawned and went crazy after that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Interesting. So, um, my involvement was with a fella who you probably know. I can't remember his name right now, but he'd, during the Carter years, while I was
Scott Hammond: at Humboldt-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm. Right
Scott Hammond: … he was gonna reinstitute the draft, or maybe President Reagan instituted that, but they were threatening d- another
Scott Hammond: draft. And I did a conscientious objector file.
John Woolley: Oh.
Scott Hammond: Which is really interesting because now I support Humboldt Heroes. We're all about veterans, and who isn't? But the story is I went back and I was sharing this with my father, who was a World War II P-51 killer diller great guy pilot, and he looked at me and, and I, I still could see the hurt in his
Scott Hammond: eyes-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … that his son was a CO, and it's because, uh, because of Jesus, Dad. And, and I couldn't really bear to kill anybody, and I think that's all valid and actually pretty, pretty okay. But the, the, um, the grace of the man, knowing that his knucklehead-
Scott Hammond: … hippie, hippie son at 19 was gonna have 10 other permeations of maturity, and, you know, we're still working on growing up. And so, uh, I look at my dad now and remember him in d-
Scott Hammond: deep grace.
John Woolley: There you go.
Scott Hammond: You know?
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, he used to say, "I wanted to let the kid grow up," and shouldn't we all let each other grow up a little bit, a little bit more?
John Woolley: Yeah, it's part of the process at a tender age, that is.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Even at our tender age.
John Woolley: Oh, thanks.
Scott Hammond: Please let us, please let us grow up.
John Woolley: Yeah, really.
Scott Hammond: I'm trying to grow up, man. It's just difficult.
John Woolley: And I'm not that tender anymore.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's too much fun to not grow up. That's what I'm gonna tell you.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, so YES, then you graduated. Did you get a grad degree there?
John Woolley: No, I start, I, I got my teaching credential.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But then I decided just to experiment. I hitched across country.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: Came back, worked in the mill, uh, went commercial fishing.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: And then I said, "Well, I wanna start working in the community," so I wrote some grants up, um, and got 'em funded w- with the Higher Education Act of '65, and managed to hire myself to work-
Scott Hammond: Man
John Woolley: … to work in, so work in community development programs.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So I did that for a couple years, uh, focusing on Manila, and that's where we started the, uh, preschool programs, which soon became then Head Start, the first Head Start.
Scott Hammond: Wonderful. So did that spawn Manila West Haven Parent-
John Woolley: Yes. Well, Manila became- Manila stood alone, and then we included West
John Woolley: Haven.
Scott Hammond: Go figure.
John Woolley: And you're right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Man- Manila West Haven Parent Council.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Then it grew, then it became North Coast Children's Services.
Scott Hammond: Okay. And that was the funding arm for the Humboldt Rec program, the recreation program.
John Woolley: Right. And that was going-
Scott Hammond: With Peter Shepherd.
John Woolley: Yeah. We-
Scott Hammond: And Greg D- Greg Devaney
John Woolley: … it w- well, it actually started at the Center for Community Development.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And then we… What the center was good at was getting things going, but finding how to get them integrated into the
John Woolley: community.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: And the community would run off with them, and that's what North Coast Children's Services eventually did.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: And Pete Shepherd, as you're mentioning.
Scott Hammond: Yep. Hey, Pete.
John Woolley: Yep. He's, he was a, a good leader for that program.
Scott Hammond: What a great guy, him and Greg Devaney.
John Woolley: Yeah. We had 19 at one point summer programs going on.
Scott Hammond: They were wonderful. I was part of many of them.
John Woolley: Oh, good.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I was part of Arcada.
John Woolley: Whereabouts? Which, uh-
Scott Hammond: Uh, I, I actually started Blue Lake as a-
John Woolley: Ah
Scott Hammond: … as an aide through the CETA program through Federal Star.
John Woolley: Right. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So these are all funded, grant-funded, cool things that were happening in the '70s,
Scott Hammond: '80s.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah. There was the, there was-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … we, by chance, the, the center's boss was, uh,
John Woolley: Tom Parsons.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And his wife, uh, Sarah-
Scott Hammond: Legend, right?
John Woolley: Yep. Sarah knew Jimmy Carter really well 'cause they'd both, both served in Georgia's, uh, school board activities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Uh, Sarah wrote the book From, uh, Southern Wrongs to Civil
John Woolley: Rights.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: It talked about, she talks about growing from a debutante to an activist in that book.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And includes in stories about Tom, their relationship, and their, and their move out to here.
Scott Hammond: What a… Yeah, that was legend- How long ago did she pass?
John Woolley: She passed at 100, uh, about, gosh, uh, I'm thinking about 10 years ago now, and Tom passed at, a bit after that.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: Her f- her, their son's, their son Tim lives in South
John Woolley: Lake Tahoe, and their daughter lives in, uh, Alameda, I think. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, okay. So they were-
John Woolley: Pam.
Scott Hammond: So was she key at getting funding, federal funding because of the
Scott Hammond: connections?
John Woolley: Well, we-
Scott Hammond: Or she just found out how you could do it and then…
John Woolley: She, she was a name known within the Carter administration.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: We knew how to make things happen.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So we just used the good graces of what she could say-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … and then wrote to some of the key players, and they made sure because that was also the period of the expansion-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … of Redwood National Park. Huge, huge controversial time that allow us to bring in what we would call change monies-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and labor dollars, economic development dollars-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … to the area.
Scott Hammond: And recreation for all the kids.
John Woolley: Well, that was state money.
Scott Hammond: Stem. Okay. That's, that's California.
John Woolley: Yeah, the Davis-Grunsky Act was the one that, uh-
Scott Hammond: Okay
John Woolley: … got that going.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and I'm gonna use my prop here. So imagine this county with how many, 19 programs? So rural recreation for kids that live in the sticks for six to eight, 10 weeks a, a summer.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: And some of these programs had 15, 20, some of them had 50, 60 kids with nothing to do. All, all of us ne'er-do-wells- … including the staff.
John Woolley: At times.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, we-
John Woolley: Sure
Scott Hammond: … went to Camp Kimtu and Willow Creek-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and do outings.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And then I finally, uh, took over Trinidad, uh, Rec program.
John Woolley: Oh. Oh, good.
Scott Hammond: Ogle baya.
John Woolley: Oh, yes.
Scott Hammond: They paid us five bucks an hour.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: I mean-
John Woolley: You were rich
Scott Hammond: … that guy was making bank. Yeah, I was rich.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, so my experience is kind of funny one.
Scott Hammond: Um, turns out that PD didn't have any insurance. There was no liability, so I, I did want to do one injury, so I had two injuries with kids-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … uh, that were completely not my fault for the record. But at the point, at that point, my career was over, and I was, you know, 20 and a rec major, and I'm not gonna do this crap. But, um, we got through it all. Pa- parents were pretty cool about it.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Somebody got a tooth knocked out.
John Woolley: What was, I, what I found really uplifting was we would put kids from Willow Creek with kids from
John Woolley: Eureka-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … at a week-long summer camp together.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
John Woolley: And that's how they got to know each other, experience different lifestyles,
John Woolley: different-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … things. And so we did that several camps throughout the summer.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And we ran it, it, it didn't last, you know. It, it unfortunately-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … there, there's still gems of it or germs of it, I guess-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … but not the same.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Times change, and-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … yeah, it's too bad 'cause that, that was a really wonderful program-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and I was really glad to be part of that. So all that community development, you know, talking to Wesley Chesbro, I mean, he was really instrumental in things like recycling, but was YES about recycling and s- things of that nature too?
John Woolley: I think so. I, I, when I was, when I did my gig, I, I soon left, so it became more of a flowering for different programs.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Um, one of my good friends, Tom Weslo, he was part of LEAP, uh, which was the r- river
John Woolley: rafting-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, experience for kids.
Scott Hammond: Did he have a beard?
John Woolley: Huh?
Scott Hammond: Did he have a beard?
John Woolley: Yes. Yeah. He still does.
Scott Hammond: He still has the beard. Nice beard, Tom.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Huh. Yeah.
John Woolley: So, so I can't remember all the programs, but what I do like is the fact that it still attracts people and is still going here some almost 60 years, I guess.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Good legacy.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So where'd you go from there? So you poli- poli sci major. You're in the community. Did you immediately run for supervisor?
John Woolley: No, no. No, that was in the mid-'70s when I l- Realized that some of the grant programs were gonna end, and so we got some things going and they stayed in the community.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But then I went and worked for the center. The, the, Tom hired me as assistant director.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And I worked for him about '73 through
John Woolley: '76, uh, starting things and getting them out and about. Uh, one of the major ones for me was the senior citizen efforts. I hired P- uh, Patty Berg and Greg O'Leary. They did the planning.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And then we got the funding for then the Humboldt Senior Resource Center-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … RSVP, some other meals programs, and we put them out in the community, and they still are going well today.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Considered to be one of the better ones in the state maybe.
John Woolley: I, I, I would say so-
Scott Hammond: I think they are
John Woolley: … but then we're biased.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Well, hey- … that's okay. No, it seems like they really perform. I mean, they're-
John Woolley: Oh, yeah
Scott Hammond: … they're out there and, um-
John Woolley: Yeah. They're doing great
Scott Hammond: … they're our go-to for, uh, Medicare questions.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And they're-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … pretty, pretty available and pretty present.
John Woolley: The other one that, that stands out for me was an economic, community-based economic development effort.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Given the change in old growth logging no longer really available and mills were going down, we needed options to be developed that could build on the legacy of the work that was here-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and create other opportunities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So we created the Ag Development Project, and, uh, several good staffers were the ones that led the day on creating an, a 15-volume, uh, Ag Development Project that gave us the guidance by which the farmers markets, uh, ag development, uh, could be taking place.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And so North Coast Growers Association grew from that.
Scott Hammond: Right.
John Woolley: And then we had Forest Improvement Tr- Training Program where
John Woolley: we realized that people can, uh, make other, uh, livings in the woods besides-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … just cutting trees.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Uh, pre-commercial thinning, trail building, uh, other things like that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … can… are also seasonal. So you can do, you can still do logging, but you can build in, if you look at a spectrum of time during the whole year-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … there are other jobs you can do related to what you had as a skill.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: So we developed that, and then we started the first small business development center.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And, uh, Joan Rainwater Gish, I don't know if you-
Scott Hammond: Sure, know her
John Woolley: … Joan, Joan was my accountant. I made her into the-
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: She was the one that really carried the ball.
Scott Hammond: This is downtown Eureka, or was it based in Eureka?
John Woolley: Yeah, it was based in Eureka. Well, it was at the Carson Block where we had the headquarters.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And she ran the, the, the business development center there.
Scott Hammond: The first SBDC?
John Woolley: Ye- yep.
Scott Hammond: Well-
John Woolley: Well, it wasn't real- it wasn't, and it wasn't-
Scott Hammond: It was something else then.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah. It was.
Scott Hammond: But it developed into that?
John Woolley: Well, the SBDC became a flowering of what Re- Redwood Region Economic Development Commission-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, created.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: And by which those loan programs needed guidance from people that could help, uh, small business owners get started. SBDC was the perfect model.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So that, anyway, so it take o- it, it would take over what we were doing then-
Scott Hammond: Wow
John Woolley: … and go on from there. So yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's so cool. The things we take for granted like the farmers market or
Scott Hammond: the marsh-
John Woolley: Right
Scott Hammond: … or, or the YES programs, um, you know, Manila West Haven Parent Council.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: They, they, they all started somewhere.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, it's, it's, so it's, it's like, oh, a farmers markets. That just didn't happen one day.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: You know, these, these guys have a whole machine, right?
John Woolley: Well, it's, it's really much larger in scope than what we first thought it
John Woolley: would be.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Uh, we- and we're thankful that it's really successful, um, and the fact that it really represents when you look at the demographic, uh, uh, uh, landscaping-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … of our area with the five microclimates
John Woolley: we have-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, Humboldt used to be able to feed itself, uh-
Scott Hammond: Wow
John Woolley: … over time-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
John Woolley: … because of those microclimates.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: And so I think the Ag Development Project helped guide and steer those thoughts so f- people who wanted to be farmers could use that information and go off on their own and create it. So all we, a- all we did was become a vehicle by which people made the things work in the f- i- both in growing and also in markets.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Went to the s- farmers market Saturday. Hadn't been to one in a while in Arcata. It's great. Man, what a great outing.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Just made a couple laps and-
John Woolley: Good to see people. Right
Scott Hammond: … "Hey, what's up?"
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, look at that.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Jersey Scoops.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Ice cream.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: Hey, it's pretty good.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, so, and the, there's the egg lady, and then-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … our friend Jim Pauley, uh, from Fieldbrook. He sell apples. He's, he's like an apple savant.
Scott Hammond: He's-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … really hardcore.
John Woolley: Oh, good.
Scott Hammond: A little old for it now. He, I think he doesn't do it, but- So, uh, how did you then become i- into the political re- realm,
Scott Hammond: John?
John Woolley: Well, let's see. Uh,
John Woolley: so I, we had to kill, um, our, the, the, the corp that we started that was the umbrella over these other things that were happening in the community-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … was called Redwood Community Development Council. So when Reagan came into office, he, he did a lot of cutting of funding, and s- and CEDA was one of them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: So we saw the handwriting. We killed the corporation, got the services to still exist either under different umbrellas or on their own.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
John Woolley: And then we, and then that's where our Redwood Community Action Agency came
John Woolley: into play.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And th- they're the ones carrying the ball-
Scott Hammond: For C-
John Woolley: … for the community development work at that time.
Scott Hammond: And CEDA was-
John Woolley: And still do to this day.
Scott Hammond: Right.
John Woolley: Yeah. So-
Scott Hammond: So CEDA was long after Reagan.
Scott Hammond: I mean-
John Woolley: Oh, yeah
Scott Hammond: … it was still going with-
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah
Scott Hammond: … Carol Star and-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Rodney and Jose Quesada and all those guys.
John Woolley: Right. Right, all those guys.
Scott Hammond: They, I mean, all these guys used to come out to Kim Tu for the rec program. That's how I met you, in fact.
Scott Hammond: I think-
John Woolley: Oh, okay
Scott Hammond: … you'd been up, you'd been up there a time or two-
John Woolley: Oh, yeah
Scott Hammond: … with the kids.
John Woolley: I would go, I was the director at, uh, the R- Redway Camp, uh, what was that called? Anyway, the Redway C- it was a YMCA camp-
Scott Hammond: Is that Rav- Ravenwood?
John Woolley: … uh, at the time. Uh, maybe that's it.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Could be.
John Woolley: Can't remember.
Scott Hammond: There's Camp St. Michael's too. That's down by Leggett though.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's Catholic.
John Woolley: Kim Montgomery. Do you know that name or-
Scott Hammond: I do. You met Kim?
John Woolley: Yep, yep.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
John Woolley: He's a good man.
Scott Hammond: He's a dude, right?
John Woolley: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
John Woolley: That was, uh, yeah, those were beginning of many people's careers that just went on their own.
John Woolley: I mean-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … we're all still around in certain ways, so-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … it's really good that way.
Scott Hammond: I had a good seated job. I had my first desk job. It was right over here on, um, Boone and, um,
Scott Hammond: Harrison.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, my job was to go bring you, a 14-year-old, to a, a builder and s- and job shadow for a day.
John Woolley: Oh, good.
Scott Hammond: I had to sell that thing.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, um, it was, it was great. Still saw Roy Hedin the other night.
Scott Hammond: He was-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … one of my first, uh… He was a contractor. He had some, a kid on his job site just to see if the kid would like to be a
Scott Hammond: contractor.
John Woolley: You know, that effort is still being thought of and talked about today, but, but it's in terms of apprenticeships.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: Uh, the more we can do that and offer opportunities that maybe are not the classical high school, college, what have you-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … but help sponsor other, other activities that kids wanna do.
Scott Hammond: Maybe trades.
John Woolley: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
John Woolley: Exactly.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, the trades guys came and heard them speak. They were great. I th- what a great program. Wow, so, uh, we're getting to the political r- realm here.
John Woolley: Well, that, well, well, when I, when I had to kill, then I worked for Hoopa-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and developed, uh, some programs up there for them.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: Then I jumped to Northern California Indian Development Council-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … and became a, a planner, a building manager, uh, tribal development. I worked on tribal petitions for Norrel Muck, uh, Wintu-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
John Woolley: … out of Hayfork-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
John Woolley: … and Shunamah, South Fork Hoopa, right there at Friday
John Woolley: Ridge and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … all that area-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and really enjoyed that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: A- and then wrote up a bunch of programs for disaster relief, things like
John Woolley: that.
Scott Hammond: Wow. So you were right downtown in the Carson Block?
John Woolley: Yeah. That's where our headquarters were, right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Who was the guy that headed it up? He, I, I don't know if he's there anymore.
John Woolley: You're, you're probably thinking it. Well, there, there's t- two significant people, uh, Bill Risling-
Scott Hammond: Bill
John Woolley: … and, and Terry Colcha followed him.
Scott Hammond: And Terry. I knew Terry.
John Woolley: But Bill and Terry have now passed.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they've done that.
John Woolley: And then, and then Greg Geer-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … just retired, and he k- took over what, uh, Terry had started, and now the building is full up. It's got, uh-
Scott Hammond: Oh, man
John Woolley: … all sorts of things going on.
Scott Hammond: How much money did they put in that to redevelop?
John Woolley: It was a $17 million project.
Scott Hammond: Oh my gosh. It's bea- it's beautiful.
John Woolley: Yeah. It's, uh-
Scott Hammond: Just went up with, uh, to Patrick's place at Lost Coast-
John Woolley: Oh, good
Scott Hammond: … Communications and-
John Woolley: Yeah. You know the spot then
Scott Hammond: … their open house. Oh, gorgeous.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And then Handsome Pereira, uh, fiduciaries up there.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: It's just like-
John Woolley: Oh, okay
Scott Hammond: … remodel. I mean, actually, I think they're owned by, uh, Bob from Globe.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Anyways.
John Woolley: Do you know Terry Sepulhon?
Scott Hammond: Mm-mm.
John Woolley: He'd be an interesting sort because he runs North Coast, uh, what was it? No- uh, True North.
John Woolley: Um, and-
Scott Hammond: True North, yeah
John Woolley: … but it does a lot of organizing for families in minority-based communities throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and other places as
John Woolley: well.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: It's quite a good story by itself.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Well-
John Woolley: So he, he works out of there as well.
Scott Hammond: Okay, yeah. There's such a his… There was a theater in there at one time.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: My gosh.
John Woolley: Yeah. It was a boxing ring at one time.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And Freshwater had diving.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: At the old, at the old park there.
John Woolley: Uh-huh.
Scott Hammond: They had guys that would come through and tour and do di-
John Woolley: Right
Scott Hammond: … a little bit of diving.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: I'm like, "What?" So, uh, give me, give me some memorable stories. So in your journey, uh, and we're still pre-supervisor here, what, uh, what stands out? I mean, did you, did you shake hands with John Wayne or something? I mean- … what, what, what kind of, uh-
John Woolley: Well-
Scott Hammond: What, what stories kind of catch your attention?
John Woolley: Well, I think a story that, that… What I like is I, I, I organized in Manila and fell in love with the community.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: I mean, here you are. I live right on the bay, just across the highway from the ocean.
Scott Hammond: Beautiful.
John Woolley: There's no place to go because it's all natural resource surrounded. So I bought my place and then became active in the community on the services district board.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
John Woolley: We were unfortunately laid bare from liability in- insurance, uh, programs, so I helped start a pool, and now it's a statewide pool. And that, that was fun.
Scott Hammond: That's pretty cool.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you get up, and you could see the sun rising over-
John Woolley: Oh, I have pictures
Scott Hammond: … Federal Hill.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, I bet that's amazing.
John Woolley: Yeah. And, uh, and then the park, uh, it used to be a burned down lumber mill.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And it was about 11 acres, and it became rat infested with car bodies back in the-
Scott Hammond: It's a pretty rough little place, right?
John Woolley: Oh, it was. Terrible.
Scott Hammond: Go to Manila for drugs.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: It was bad back-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … way back. And, uh, uh, uh, Mary Jo, uh, Bobalot was a PTA member. She too was upset with it.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: But she found the means by which we can get the funding-
Scott Hammond: Huh
John Woolley: … to, to clean it all up, and then we have people on the, on the, in the community that wanted to take ownership of it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And so for a dollar, the county turned it over to the services district. So now it's a community park.
Scott Hammond: That's wonderful. Wait, did you have any hand in Ma-Le'l Dunes with the BLM?
John Woolley: Not directly, but indirectly. I was part of a, uh, the, the county, uh, had a, a master plan for coastal dunes
John Woolley: activities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And it dealt with off-road vehicles carving up dunes.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Ma-Le'l Dunes was really, um, a great gal, Andrea Pickart, was the, the driving force in that.
Scott Hammond: Oh, is she still around?
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
John Woolley: And then, of course-
Scott Hammond: Shout out to Andrea, yeah.
John Woolley: Pardon me?
Scott Hammond: Shout out to Andrea.
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah. And Carol Vandermeer at Friends of the Dunes-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … was very active with the nature, uh, uh, development that they have on their properties. So it's, uh, it's, it changed quite a bit from, let's say, mid-'90s to the present day.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So my wife Joni's a big hiker. You've met Joni a time or two.
John Woolley: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And s- she drug me out there. "Where are we going? I don't wanna go for a hike." And so it's out here in Manila. See it right there, Arcata Bay.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: And I looked across the bay, and I'm going, "I'm up on this giant dune," like from Star Wars or from one of the movies, and I'm down in Glamis Dunes. You know, it's like… And it's just an unbelievable view back at the mountains and the Arcata Bottom-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and the bay, and you go, "What- Why haven't I done this before? And, and y- 'cause there's a lot of acres too, right?
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: And you could hike, do the hike along the bay, and then it goes over the dunes and-
John Woolley: Right
Scott Hammond: … circle back and-
John Woolley: Yep, yep.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: And you can get down to the wave slope, and there's, uh, channels out.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: One, one other story I think from Manila's standpoint-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … is that Danny Ohara, uh, now passed unfortunately, but was the leader in keeping us with grant and in- innovative funding for then creating, um, a, a wastewater system-
Scott Hammond: Oh
John Woolley: … that moved from a leach field into a facultative pond system. Meaning there's three ponds that collect the effluent, and if it is Bob Gearhart, uh, the, the, the architect, uh, designer, operational sometimes-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Legend
John Woolley: … of the f- of the Arcata Marsh.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: He created the same kind of program in Manila.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
John Woolley: And it won the small district award for innovative approaches for wastewater treatment.
Scott Hammond: Still functional?
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. Very much so.
Scott Hammond: Go figure.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I like it. So what I'm putting together, inferring with what you're telling me, is that there's, there's been a series of creative folks that had vision and could, and had connection enough to pull down the right, the right ideas and, and match the right funding. And so we, now we have sewage in Manila. I mean, a- amongst other things.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: Farmer's markets.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: Um-
John Woolley: D- the disc golf.
Scott Hammond: Disc golf. There you go. That's right.
John Woolley: And the, uh, mini putt.
Scott Hammond: And the putt-putt, yeah. He came from Rio Dell, right?
John Woolley: Yes, he did.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: I like that mini golf. It's-
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Hey, it's-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … it's our mini golf. The, um, I was thinking about, uh, you know, some of the other pl- uh, programs, and it's just like, it's, it's astounding. Stuff we just take, our kids take for granted. Oh, there was always a marsh pot- project to go hike and bird watch, and it's like, no, there wasn't.
John Woolley: No. At one time it was-
Scott Hammond: It was a dump
John Woolley: … it was a rat-infested dump. We used to go down there with shotguns and shoot rats.
Scott Hammond: Is that… Had to do something fun.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. So I imagine Humboldt State was different in the '60s, was it?
John Woolley: Yes.
Scott Hammond: It wasn't quite Berkeley, but it, was there some tense moments with, uh, uh, anti-war sentiment and-
John Woolley: Exactly. I mean, uh, yeah. I mean, I was a leader in the anti-war movement at the time when we had a student strike.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And we, too, shut down the campus for a week, but we did teach-ins and media outreach, and we, so we just g- we were able to k- keep the energy focused on doing positive things.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And it's just so tempting to say unlike this last round last year.
John Woolley: Well, every o- every era has its, uh, different people and different things, so-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … it's hard to compare.
Scott Hammond: It is, yeah. $2 million in damage is, is, you know-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … no contest, so.
John Woolley: No.
Scott Hammond: Uh, lest I wax a little bitter and mention that some more. We'll move on with my notes here.
John Woolley: Okay.
Scott Hammond: I never do the note thing. I like that. It's my new… I'm not gonna do the map anymore. I'm just gonna do notes like, uh, like, like I'm reading the news.
John Woolley: Just take those, have those every time, and you can-
Scott Hammond: I should. Hey-
John Woolley: Just keep 'em
Scott Hammond: … they can be your notes, and I'll just, uh- So you were supervisor in '96. Well, '96 to '08.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: Is that two terms? Three.
John Woolley: Three.
Scott Hammond: Wow. For, uh, second, or is it the fifth district?
John Woolley: Third district.
Scott Hammond: Third.
John Woolley: Uh, my good friend Julie Fulkerson-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … was the sitting supervisor,
John Woolley: and she was wanting to do other things. Her, her, her mindset and her beliefs and her energy can't be corralled very easily.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And so she went off to do what she wants to do and asked me to run.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So I ran, and, and I got good endorsements from that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And in '96, I r- ran in the primary and managed to take it outright.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: And then in, in, in the other terms, I didn't have any, um,
John Woolley: opposition.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: So that was, that was me back then.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Nice not to have to run a big campaign and-
John Woolley: Different times
Scott Hammond: … go nuts, spend money, and yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: My wife, uh,
John Woolley: was a, a early childhood education, uh, guru, I would call her.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But she was also a professor at, uh, College of the Redwoods.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: But she also was a musician.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
John Woolley: And she played the cello and is a vocalist for, uh, Good Company-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, and other groups as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So they, they, they, they had, I had the music background.
Scott Hammond: Right.
John Woolley: And I pulled them in, and off we went.
Scott Hammond: Nice. Do they, do they still play?
John Woolley: Yes, Good Company is. Unfortunately, Anne Marie passed in '16.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
John Woolley: But the Good Company is still alive and kicking.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: They're gonna be playing, I know, March 15th at the Bayside, um, Hall that's being created.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So, and they do periodic, you know, places as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But still g- still going good.
Scott Hammond: I'm not sure you didn't call it the Bayside Grange.
John Woolley: Yeah. I will, eh-
Scott Hammond: Is it the formerly known as the Grange?
John Woolley: There's another, there's another story. Have Maggie come talk to you about that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's, that's a whole story.
John Woolley: Yeah, by itself.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: We used to go to church next door at the old Bayside-
John Woolley: Oh
Scott Hammond: … Community Hall.
John Woolley: Sure. Well, that's where it's gonna be.
Scott Hammond: Oh, is it? Okay.
John Woolley: Yeah. That's now the place, yeah.
Scott Hammond: They're re- retrofitting. They-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … back to the community, right?
John Woolley: Yeah. There is in yesterday's paper a story about it, I think, coming up so.
Scott Hammond: Oh, really? Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They've periodically. So it was the Good Templars of America owned
Scott Hammond: it.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They were an anti, they were a prohibition group. And, uh, Pastor Mark wrote them a letter, and they said, "Hey, you guys can have it for a dollar a year."
John Woolley: Mm.
Scott Hammond: Nobody knew who had title.
John Woolley: Yeah. Oh, boy.
Scott Hammond: And they donated it back. With the, with the provision, there will be no wine in that, uh, communion.
John Woolley: Oh.
Scott Hammond: No problem. We just do grape juice, whatever.
John Woolley: Nope. Temperance, the, the oldest temperance, I was told-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … in the hall. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And it was, uh, it was a wreck, and we, uh, fixed it up, and we're a bunch of hippie kids-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … wherever, and it was, uh, it was good. It lasted a while. It did, and then it's, to change hands a few times.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Is the, the Grange is still there, of course, and-
John Woolley: Yeah. It's now that, well, if, if as we know the story of the Grange, the state Grange, uh, took con- back its control legally they felt they had from all the work that the local folks had put into it, thinking they had ownership.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: So it became a legal issue.
Scott Hammond: The whole thing.
John Woolley: And that was replicated in other Granges here in Humboldt, for
John Woolley: that matter-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and elsewhere as well.
Scott Hammond: A lot of Grange halls.
John Woolley: Yeah. That's true.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: And they become more community-like and less Grange-like in a sense of what Grange stood for.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Because it, Grange is, I mean, where they're located, it's not all ag. It, you know, it's lots of th- lots of things, so.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
John Woolley: But anyway, that's then.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Lot of pancake breakfasts.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I always remember that from the Dow's Prairie Grange where we lived.
John Woolley: Right. Freshwater.
Scott Hammond: So, so what are you proud of in terms of your service i- uh, on the
Scott Hammond: board-
John Woolley: Mm
Scott Hammond: … specifically?
John Woolley: Well, um, I, I, when I first got on the board, um, I went statewide to public hearings about the Headwaters, uh-
Scott Hammond: Mm
John Woolley: … activities and a- at, uh, making a case that we believe in, in preserving old growth as best we can, and this is a good example. However, in so doing, the economic, uh, um, uh, vitality of Humboldt gets, gets pushed b- down because we don't have either the tax base nor the production any longer. So we need, we need, uh, support from both the state and federal
John Woolley: government.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And that's when we were able to capture, uh, 23 million and set up the Headwaters Fund board.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And so I, I worked with my board then-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and created, uh, the basis by which the Humboldt, uh, the Fedwaters board manages it for, uh, three, yeah, a variety of purposes.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
John Woolley: And that was one. And then, um, I also served on the North Coast Railroad Authority as an appointee.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: And so that was-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … challenging and still, still may be, but it's still, you know… It obviously, it, it had its role and place to try and see if we could bring it back.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But it, it, it really shouldn't be there now. I mean, it's really got a problem with the kind of canyon that the Eel River creates-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … for the, the kind of track that needs to be maintained.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And then let's see. I also… What else? Um, oh, um, I really loved working on First
John Woolley: 5.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
John Woolley: Uh, the, the zero to five programs paid for by, uh, tax dollars on cigarettes and tobacco use.
Scott Hammond: Right on.
John Woolley: And so getting that set up was good.
John Woolley: Um-
Scott Hammond: So that helps low-income families with health-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … related-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … family-
John Woolley: And we still need-
Scott Hammond: … kid, kid stuff
John Woolley: … yeah, we still need to work on that, but that's another story.
John Woolley: So-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … um-
Scott Hammond: Well, those are all cool.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So Headwaters Fund, 23 million. Does it, is it d- designed to be invested in, in perpetuity and
Scott Hammond: to create funding that's ongoing?
John Woolley: Yeah. The pressures we were getting were from people that wanted to see projects be fully, fully funded at that point in
John Woolley: time.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: So we had to put that aside and say, "No, we believe in something that could last forever if we can make it happen-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … and in with both grants and loans."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And, and that it would, we could build off the legacy of what the interest rates, uh, were accumulating at that time-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … which were good. Then we could use those dollars earned to support the grant programs-
Scott Hammond: Wow
John Woolley: … et cetera. So that's essentially the model-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … uh, that came about. Uh, I'm not sure of the upshot today, but I'm sure it's still operating with that same format-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … because we made sure it got chartered that way.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha.
John Woolley: So the only way it can be changed is changing the charter.
Scott Hammond: So they could blow the 23 million, or you could have it for a-
John Woolley: Yeah. Yeah
Scott Hammond: … for a legacy.
John Woolley: And then, and then you're, then you're reacting or responding to current conditions they, as they are-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … 10, 15 years later, instead of looking-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … at something only at one time.
Scott Hammond: Were you part of Humboldt Area Foundation at any s- any sorta
Scott Hammond: way?
John Woolley: No, no. I was-
Scott Hammond: That was a separate deal, right?
John Woolley: I mean, I would, I would, I would encourage, I would help people get funding through
John Woolley: them-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, and get funds located in there.
John Woolley: Um-
Scott Hammond: Who started that? Who was at the grassroots of that?
John Woolley: Oh, that was a gal. Well, she wa- she was the head of it, but it was a, a group of, uh, like-minded, uh, folks here that had the
John Woolley: wherewithal-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … to get it going.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And I'm trying to remember. Dopkin. Dop- no. I can't remember her name right now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But she was the one that got the, the really structure set up-
Scott Hammond: Huh
John Woolley: … and moved it forward. Um, and so it is what it is today, thanks to those birth roots that were taking place.
Scott Hammond: They manage a lot of, lot of money, right?
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Lot of giving.
John Woolley: There's a lot of good community foundations throughout Northern California, uh, that, uh, the more they can work together, especially on the margins-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … that is population margin areas-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … the more growth will, I believe, we can see.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: I believe in, in the, in, in community development terms, it's the law of like a concentric circle.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: You take a headquarters where things are going well, and you go out so far where people can live-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and work. That becomes the basis for a concentric circle.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And then you can look out and then figure out where the next one is, and how they interface is where growth might be able to take place. And that's where community economic development, I think, has a role to
John Woolley: play.
Scott Hammond: I like it. Yeah. So, uh, I'm thinking also, uh, the land trust, the regional, uh, what are they called out in Freshwater?
John Woolley: North Coast Regional Land Trust.
Scott Hammond: That's a whole other-
John Woolley: Yes
Scott Hammond: … thing, right?
John Woolley: Yeah. I remember Dave-
Scott Hammond: Talk, talk about that
John Woolley: … oh, Dave McMurray. I remember him being a leader in that, and I just saw him the other day. But anyway, uh, but it's, it's taking that concept of developing cer- conservancies, conservancies on different lands throughout the area and make it large enough so that under one he- under one organization, it becomes cost-effective to manage. But there's other land trusts as well, of course, Trinidad.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Um, gosh darn, even the one out on Old Arcata Road, um, uh, uh, can't reme- s- s- uh, anyway, Sunny Brae. Sunny… Anyway.
Scott Hammond: Look it up. Yeah.
John Woolley: They're small, smaller ones, but they're good, good models.
Scott Hammond: Trinidad just did a really nice little, uh, Tapona Point there.
Scott Hammond: They did a-
John Woolley: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … they built a deck out there.
Scott Hammond: Secret spot.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Pretty cool.
John Woolley: Yeah. They're a strawberry.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, tell me more about, uh, if you were to… Let's do the quiz.
John Woolley: It's time.
Scott Hammond: John, it's time for the quiz.
John Woolley: Oh. Okay.
Scott Hammond: For many points, where do you go to eat if you could go anywhere tonight?
Scott Hammond: Here's, uh- Here's a, here's a gift card.
Scott Hammond: Go dock yourself up.
John Woolley: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Where, where do you, where do you go to eat?
John Woolley: There's so many good choices, that's the trouble.
John Woolley: Uh-
Scott Hammond: The putt-putt golf in Manila. Just kidding.
John Woolley: Uh, no. Um, I'm a, a Cafe Waterfront fan.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, big time.
John Woolley: I'd say.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: But, you know, I would also go to 511.
John Woolley: Um-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … I would love the E- East Indian food place. Uh, uh, I can't remember its name. I don't know.
Scott Hammond: It's, uh-
John Woolley: They're all good
Scott Hammond: … Tandoori Bites?
John Woolley: Tandoori Bites.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: That's the one. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He's got a pizza joint now too.
John Woolley: Yeah, I heard that. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's not bad.
John Woolley: Yeah. Okay.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's good. Got, uh, butter chicken though. That's really good. Okay.
John Woolley: Oh, Brick and Fire. There's another one.
Scott Hammond: Brick and Fire. Oh, boy.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, and everybody has to say Larpin on the show.
John Woolley: Do I only get one gift card?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I think you have two.
John Woolley: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Got one for you right here.
John Woolley: All right.
Scott Hammond: Second question. For all the money, where, uh, you get a day off. You could do anything in Humboldt. Starts at 9, ends at 9. Where do, what are you gonna do for 12 hours? And money's not an object. Pretend it's 70 degrees all day.
John Woolley: Well, what I really love doing is with Tom and John, my buddies, is when we go fishing on the Eel-
Scott Hammond: Oh
John Woolley: … or the Trinity.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And I would love, I always love doing that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Going for steelhead and stuff.
Scott Hammond: Fly fishing?
John Woolley: Uh, mostly plugs nowadays.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But I also have my little putt-putt, and I go out in the bay-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and do, uh, California halibut as well.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
John Woolley: So I like fishing and that kind of activity.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Um, and I need to walk more.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Uh, that's, that's one thing I wanna include.
Scott Hammond: So say we all, yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's g- it's good, man.
John Woolley: No hamstrings involved here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, I, uh, yeah, yeah, I wanna do a lot more walking. Joni has me walking on the regular. All right. Where's the best cup of coffee in town?
John Woolley: My house.
Scott Hammond: Your house? Nice.
John Woolley: You know what? There's others.
John Woolley: Uh-
Scott Hammond: My house.
John Woolley: Your house. Yeah. It's hard to beat local brews.
John Woolley: Like-
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah
John Woolley: … yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Uh, but for me, I, I, I, I don't know. They're all good. I prefer, of course, the locally owned-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … coffee shops and stuff-
Scott Hammond: Sure
John Woolley: … and how they go about their business.
Scott Hammond: You know who's got good coffee now, is Dick Taylor Chocolate.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh my gosh.
John Woolley: Oh.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, 'cause they got a Mexican mocha that'll blow your mind. It's, uh, Joni gets it all the time.
Scott Hammond: So-
John Woolley: Oh, good. I'll have to try it
Scott Hammond: … when she goes shopping for our fam- our giant family,
Scott Hammond: she'll, uh, go to Costco and then wind up at Dick Taylor for the, uh, psst.
John Woolley: Oh, the espresso?
Scott Hammond: Not too shabby.
John Woolley: Oh, good. I'll have t- I've never done that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: I'll have to try that.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they have, and of course, uh, they have chocolate, which is really weird, right?
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah.
John Woolley: I like Kenny's Chocolates too. Do you know Kenny's?
Scott Hammond: I think I've had some of Kenny's.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I think I've met Kenny.
John Woolley: Yeah, he's a good guy.
Scott Hammond: He used to be at Shocks?
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Right.
Scott Hammond: He's, he is a good guy. Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Their chocolate's good. Shout out to Kenny.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Cafe Waterfront, not too shabby either.
John Woolley: No, no. It, it's gone through some changes. It got the award from the chamber for Hospitality-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … of the Year, and it's, it's well deserved. Well deserved. They have a good menu.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: Lots of good choices.
Scott Hammond: Did you go to the gala the other night when they gave out the awards?
John Woolley: No, uh-
Scott Hammond: Oh
John Woolley: … I, I, I used to go when I, I, when, I also worked for Jim Wood and Wesley Chesbro-
Scott Hammond: Right
John Woolley: … as field rep, and that's one of our-
Scott Hammond: I see that on the resume here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Field rep.
John Woolley: Right. And that's what we would do. We'd lo- I love going to those events.
Scott Hammond: It's funny. Just moments ago, I was looking at my wall at the, um, um, my recognition, 'cause I, we got recognized for Humboldt Heroes the other night.
John Woolley: Oh, good. For sure.
Scott Hammond: For, uh, for, uh-
John Woolley: Well deserved.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It, you know, n- for for-profit community involvement.
John Woolley: Ah.
Scott Hammond: And it had, uh-
John Woolley: Perfect. That's you, baby
Scott Hammond: … state assemblyman signed it.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I got that baby framed on the wall.
John Woolley: Good for you.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Good, good.
Scott Hammond: Classy.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You walk in and you got, you got, you got a plaque from the chamber-
John Woolley: Right
Scott Hammond: … from the supes, from, uh, the assemblyman, from the state senator. I'm going, "Man, where's-
John Woolley: Yeah. That, that's-
Scott Hammond: … where's the president here?" "Or the governor?"
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Kidding.
John Woolley: Yeah. That was fun. Yeah. Uh, Dale Nort went to there. Yeah. And so yeah, it was a good time.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Shout out to Eureka Chamber. Doing a good job.
John Woolley: Yep, I think so.
Scott Hammond: Good job, Nancy.
John Woolley: Yep.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, parting shots. I, I always ask people, what, what do you wanna be remembered for, by? What, what are we saying at your celebration of life? What, what do, what do you think and you'd like, what would that be? What would that sound like?
John Woolley: Well, I think everyone has that, because I was very active-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … in the community in different roles-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … different pla- things, is that I hope that I made a positive impression with everyone.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: I know there's some that I did not, because we just disagreed.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And that's fine.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: But at least if they felt that I was able to listen and either not agree, but also let them know why I didn't agree, if you wish.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: So it's being respected for what you did in the community-
Scott Hammond: Love it
John Woolley: … is, is the best thing, no matter what it was.
Scott Hammond: Great answer. I like that. Uh, listened to and listening.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I love it. Well, hey, uh, parting shots. Any other, any other great stories?
John Woolley: No, I-
Scott Hammond: I mean, Sarah Parsons, that's, uh-
John Woolley: Yeah, she was-
Scott Hammond: … Patty Berg.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: These, these were l- you know, legendary folks that made a big difference.
John Woolley: I was on the Coastal Commission with, uh, and it, we were meeting in, at the Queen Mary. Uh, uh, and they, that means you're, you're in a r- a, um, a state room-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … with portholes.
Scott Hammond: Right.
John Woolley: And so I'm sitting there and, and Patty calls, "John, are you gonna run or not?" And that was, that's because then it was up for who's gonna run for the assembly.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: I said, "No, Patty. You run." So bingo.
John Woolley: Off she-
Scott Hammond: And she did, and she won, right?
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Big time.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Did, uh, did she serve just one term?
John Woolley: No, she was, uh, she was termed out. Uh, in other words, she ran for the six years.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Huh. And working for Wes, was that fun?
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. Wesley is, uh, uh, I have so many good photos and memories of working with him.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: Uh, t- we both had same kind of value sets and- And he loved getting engaged with folks, uh, all up and down. He was really well-liked, both in the Senate side as well as in the Assembly.
Scott Hammond: Bonnie Neely, did you work with her much?
John Woolley: Bonnie and I were c-compadres-
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh
John Woolley: … on the Board of Sups. Uh, we often worked together as, uh,
John Woolley: co-chair or-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … co-members of– 'cause you only could have two on a committee of the board.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And we often were, like, the budget or personnel, that type of thing.
Scott Hammond: I'm on a roll here. Anna Sparks, were you guys on the same board?
John Woolley: She was, she was, uh… I came on when Paul Kirk, who proceeded her, or succeeded her.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
John Woolley: And then I got to know Paul, but not Anna. I knew Anna because at one point we were in the fifth district, and we were– and then she got to know me, et cetera, but-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
John Woolley: … I never was a colleague.
Scott Hammond: Going back a ways.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Then of course, uh, Shannon Dixon's dad down in-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Ferndale.
John Woolley: Yeah, Stan Dixon.
Scott Hammond: What a nice man.
John Woolley: Yeah, he was a great– he and I were compadres as well.
Scott Hammond: Good servant, public servant, right?
John Woolley: Yep, yep.
Scott Hammond: Who was the guy that died at the, uh, So-Southern on one oh one, uh, several years ago, the supervisor?
John Woolley: Oh, Roger Rodoni.
Scott Hammond: Rodoni. He's also legendary, right?
John Woolley: Oh, yeah. He was, he was tremendous. He and I would do battle, but we'd go out and have a cocktail together-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … and have a good time. So we knew how to lay aside our differences and be friends at the same time. And Johanna took his place, and she's a great gal too-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
John Woolley: … uh, when he, when he got killed in that terrible accident.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. K-Kind of a, a memorable guy. Yeah, it's, uh-
John Woolley: Jimmy Smith.
Scott Hammond: Jimmy Smith, yeah.
John Woolley: Yeah, another good man.
Scott Hammond: A lot of years, right?
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
John Woolley: We had a good board then.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah, no, um, appreciate all that you guys do.
John Woolley: It was fun.
Scott Hammond: We've had, we've had Steve Madrone on. He's-
John Woolley: Yeah. He's a good man
Scott Hammond: … Steve's colorful. Had his cool shirt on.
John Woolley: Yeah. He d- he, uh, he was active in the forest improvement training projects back in the day.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
John Woolley: And so he and I worked together on trying to find the funding and supporting those efforts.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
John Woolley: And yeah, he, he, he's close to the land that way, very much so.
Scott Hammond: I think it says a lot. We, we, we differed here, and then we went and had a cocktail, and we, we were still connected.
John Woolley: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know? Hear that, kids? You know, wouldn't that be something-
John Woolley: Yeah, yeah
Scott Hammond: … if we could still do that? Well, John, thanks for being on the show.
John Woolley: Sure, Scott. Appreciate it.
Scott Hammond: Appreciate it, yeah. Thank you so much for your time, and appreciate the, the notes. And I'm gonna do a whole new note thing, I think, like, like Saturday Night Live when Colin Jost-
John Woolley: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and Michael Che do the notes. Anyway, hey, it's Scott, Scott Hammond. Thanks for joining us. Uh, if you like us, show it on the, uh, on, on, online. Uh, subscribe, share. Uh, we're on Access Humboldt.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: We're on YouTube.
John Woolley: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: We're gonna be on TV.
John Woolley: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Look at you go.
John Woolley: Good.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, all the podcast platforms. And, uh, come back next week. We're gonna have another guest. And, uh, wanted to say thanks again, John Woolley.
John Woolley: Thank you. Thanks, Scott. Appreciate it. Put it there.