#18. Balancing Community Service, Family, Ranching, and Real Estate: A Dive into Larry O’Doss

Scott Hammond: Hey, everybody. It's my friend Larry Doss. Welcome.

Larry O'Doss: Thank you.

Scott Hammond: How's it going?

Larry O'Doss: Thank you. Great.

Scott Hammond: Got your hands.

Larry O'Doss: Great, yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: What do I do with my hands?

Larry O'Doss: What do I do with my hands? [laughs]

Scott Hammond: I don't know.

Larry O'Doss: Just play with them.

Scott Hammond: Leave it right there. Just hold them.

Larry O'Doss: Just hold it.

Scott Hammond: [laughs] Remember, um, Talladega Nights where, um,

know what to do with my hands"? [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: What's the actor's name that played Ricky Bobby?

Larry O'Doss: Hmm.

Scott Hammond: Um, Will Ferrell.

Larry O'Doss: Will Ferrell, yes.

Scott Hammond: And he's going, "I don't know what to do," and it

Anyway, hey, welcome. Tell us, uh-

Larry O'Doss: Thank you

Scott Hammond: … tell me about your job, your duty. What, what do you do?

Larry O'Doss: What do I do?

Scott Hammond: For those of us that might not know you.

Larry O'Doss: Well, I am, uh, I am

a husband, so I'm married to Cass.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Or she lets me be married to her.

Scott Hammond: Good.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, I am a dad. I got, uh, three

kids. Um, uh, and we have, um, a business in town that I've been able to steward. It's a family business-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Larry O'Doss: … real estate brokerage. Uh-

Scott Hammond: Does it have a name? You can say the name.

Larry O'Doss: It, it's, it Ming Tree.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Um, my… So, um-

Scott Hammond: Everybody knows Ming Tree

Larry O'Doss: … Ming Tree was founded here in, uh,

over on, near 4th and L. Um, used to be Bob's Cafe.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Jerry, Jerry Nelson and, um, and my

dad and an- another lady, they… That she was the broker for a little while, and then-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Larry O'Doss: … Jerry and my dad took it from there.

Scott Hammond: And your dad's Larry Doss. You're Larry O'Doss.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, that's how the O comes in is-

Scott Hammond: I gotcha

Larry O'Doss: … everyone called me by a middle initial.

Scott Hammond: What's your… Do, what's O stand for? I never asked.

Larry O'Doss: O stands for Orion.

Scott Hammond: Orion? That's a cool name.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Huh. Does it mean something?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, named after one of my grandfathers.

Scott Hammond: Orion.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay, that's an old-school name.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, it is.

Scott Hammond: Like Floyd or-

Larry O'Doss: Floyd, [laughs] yeah.

Scott Hammond: I'm from Iowa. They had a lot, Opal. Aunt Opal.

Larry O'Doss: Opal, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Aunt Ines.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: What?

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, the old-school names.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I remember Sheila Forbes worked down there, and I, I-

Larry O'Doss: Yes

Scott Hammond: … met her and probably you and a group of them

advertising 100 years ago.

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. I got to be a little kid

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … great folks over the years.

Scott Hammond: And you grew into the business.

Larry O'Doss: Work in the business, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So what's your role at Ming Tree? What do you,

and-

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: … clean the bathrooms? [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: That's, that's the, the main thing.

Someone's gotta come in and turn the lights on early in the

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … make sure they go off late in the day and,

and, and help agents help clients-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Larry O'Doss: … is the, my biggest role, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So kind of coaching.

Larry O'Doss: It is.

Scott Hammond: Coach approach. Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Very much. I'd… My, uh, uh, when, when my

dad turned the business over to me and, uh, he, he passed from cancer about a year after that, little less than a year after that, um, a, a, a lot like ranching or farming. A lot of my family's been in that world, and it's a stewardship program really. I was given a great opportunity with great people to work with, and my responsibility was to keep the ship in line-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Larry O'Doss: … and, and steward it the, the way it's supposed to go and-

Scott Hammond: I like that

Larry O'Doss: … help, help everybody be productive

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. I like that approach. I take the same. It's, uh…

Remember Lord of the Rings, the Steward of Gondor?

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: He was a terrible steward.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: But it's the idea that you could-

Larry O'Doss: The idea, yeah

Scott Hammond: … you could… You'll, you don't… Do you really own it?

I mean, when you go, it's gonna go to somebody.

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: So you're just stewarding right now and-

Larry O'Doss: Exactly

Scott Hammond: … kinda like the earth too.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Give the earth and like-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … leave it for the kids.

Larry O'Doss: Well, the Boy Scout principle, you know.

You pack it in, pack it out, leave it better than the way it was.

Scott Hammond: Nice. Were you in Scouting?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: One of my kids got to do it for a while.

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: I was raised in San Diego. We couldn't afford it.

We were busy smoking weed or something.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: I don't know what I was doing.

[laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Well, I don't know. It's, uh, uh, Scout meetings, I guess,

for me growing up out in Freshwater area, that was a way for…

to hang out with kids a little bit longer-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … than the school day and-

Scott Hammond: That's great, yeah

Larry O'Doss: … learn something, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, the, you know, Scouting program's great.

Um, my son-in-law is one of four Eagle Scouts

Larry O'Doss: Oh, wow

Scott Hammond: … family.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, nice.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, they're hardcore.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And Matt, there's nothing he can't do.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: He's amazing.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Super smart guy. So-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … uh, I, I usually save this question,

Larry O'Doss: Okay

Scott Hammond: … get it out of the way.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: So who are you, and what do you want?

[laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Man, what do I want? Well-

Scott Hammond: My father-in-law said if you, if you could answer those two questions,

your way.

Larry O'Doss: You're on your way.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, so who, who do you see Larry Doss as, Larry O.

and what, what do you want? What do you want to see happen?

Larry O'Doss: Um,

I, I see my s- Well, the, actually I'm asking that question often.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um-

Scott Hammond: Good

Larry O'Doss: … s- sometimes when I, uh, best thinking is, you know,

drives, and sometimes I find my s- Well, I drive all over the place, so I find myself thinking and talking with myself often-

Scott Hammond: Good

Larry O'Doss: … you know, on those-

Scott Hammond: Like driving the Clydesdales?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, yeah, driving or just, just driving, you know, around the county.

There's a lot of places where it's tough to get radio, so just a good time to just turn everything off, turn, uh, disconnect and think-

Scott Hammond: Smart

Larry O'Doss: … and talk. So, you know, what's, what's Larry gonna do

up and-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … you know-

Scott Hammond: Five-year plan.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah, right.

I, I like to think that

I am

a nice guy.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, a trusted person.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Um, I'd like to think that I'm, uh, helpful-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and that I better peoples'

lives that I touch.

Scott Hammond: Those are great.

Larry O'Doss: So that's, uh, that's my, my focus.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Of course, we, uh, sometimes have problems staying on focus,

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … that's my

marching orders for myself. And when I talked to my sons as they

s- "Guys, my job is to help you grow up and, and to have similar plans."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: "You're gonna have to find what those are-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … but similar." But as really young, I said, "You're…

My job is to help you grow up to be a gentleman."

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: "And then from there, you know, you need to f-

to you."

Scott Hammond: Good way to say that. I like it.I heard service too.

Larry O'Doss: Serve people. You bet.

Scott Hammond: I like it. I like it.

Larry O'Doss: I think we're all on that s- path through life.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: There's no stopping point. We're just– keeps going.

So- [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Yes. [laughs] I tried to get off the bus.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Didn't work out that good.

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: So, so tell me about what… So what would you like to see happen?

What would you… What do you want, uh, what do you want from life? It was an old rock 'n' roll song-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … by The Tubes, I think.

Larry O'Doss: Well, y- you know, just always, uh,

mo- my mom's always reminding me, "Always go back to the

basics."

Scott Hammond: Good.

Larry O'Doss: So starting at the basics and up is, you know, one is, is be

a, a good parent, be a good dad, be a, you know, be a good

husband.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: Um, that's-

Scott Hammond: Boss. Boss

Larry O'Doss: … those are important. Yeah, be a good leader.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Um, maybe even be a good example.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um,

and, and whether someone wants that example or not, it's up to them.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's good.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, and, and, you know, better, better your community.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, it's sometimes I guess I could

be a really bad fish

sometimes-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … because I would jump on hooks real easy.

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: And those hooks you see out in life are,

you know, sometimes things just not going right,

right.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, so I, I jump on those sometimes.

Scott Hammond: In a bad way, like a bad hook?

Larry O'Doss: No, it, it… Well, it could be, um, yeah, more of

k- I've always, I've always fought for the underdog.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: So, uh, whether that was the most profitable way for me to

go or not, I don't think it was-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … but I, I've always just said, "Hey,

So that's, that's one of those things, you know, if I going through, I think I count on myself stop and help the ducklings across the street-

Scott Hammond: That's cool. Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … or whatever that might be.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Read a story about a guy in an airport, all his friends rushed to get to the but he, they knocked over the lady and then her apple cart, and she was

blind.

Larry O'Doss: Oh.

Scott Hammond: And it was really, really neat. And he's helping her,

back, and she goes, "Are you Jesus?"

Larry O'Doss: Oh. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: And he goes, "No, far from it."

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: She goes, "I'm pretty sure you're Jesus-"

Larry O'Doss: Uh-oh

Scott Hammond: … "for me." [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And he missed his plane, and it was– said it

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Stop to help the ducklings.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Love it. So you're from Humboldt?

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Went to Eureka High-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … 40 years ago?

Larry O'Doss: Eureka High, [laughs] yeah, 40.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, 1984.

Scott Hammond: What are you now, 39, 40 years old? 50?

Larry O'Doss: Right about there.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: [laughs] So, so who was Larry Doss at 15?

Larry O'Doss: At 15, um, I don't play-

Scott Hammond: Play football?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, played football. Uh,

I pole vaulted at Eureka High.

Scott Hammond: Are you and Billy Hansel the same age? He's a little younger.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, he's a little younger.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Um, yeah. But, uh, played sports, was involved in anything and everything.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, music, everything.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Um,

the, um, uh, student government. I, I, I was one of those people that just went across all kinds of… If there were, you know, the,

thing, I-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … I was in all of those and-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … mixing it up, so.

Scott Hammond: Good.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's good.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. It was a lot of fun.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, connector, relationship guy.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, I, I see that.

Larry O'Doss: That's proved very well going through life.

Um-

Scott Hammond: Sure. Does it, does it hurt business?

Larry O'Doss: [laughs] Doesn't hurt business. Um, yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Kind of that networking-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … kind of thing before it

Larry O'Doss: Right. Yeah, exactly.

Scott Hammond: Before it was cool.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, before it was networking.

Scott Hammond: Network-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Wait, I thought we just had a friendship.

[laughs]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Yeah, no, I, um, I did the same. Yeah, San Diego was real diverse where I was from,

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: And so, um, being a stoner with super long hair,

yes, I was voted most prettiest hair.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: You can't really tell from there. Uh, [laughs]

people came up over the weekend, they go, at our reunion, they go, "Where's your hair?"

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: "Weren't you voted the guy with the hair?"

Larry O'Doss: The hair.

Scott Hammond: I go, "Yeah, the kids and drugs. It's over."

Larry O'Doss: It's done.

Scott Hammond: Just like they– I lost all my hair. So 15,

20, what are you– Did you go to Humboldt?

Larry O'Doss: I didn't.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: Um, I went to College of the Redwoods.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: Played, played football at College of Redwoods.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Which was a, a fun, real fun experience.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, met a lot of great friends from other

Um, met, uh, some great coaches-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … and mentors there. Um-

Scott Hammond: Fred, Fred Whitmire, is that his-

Larry O'Doss: Fred Whitmire.

Scott Hammond: Nice man.

Larry O'Doss: Dave, Dave Banducci.

Scott Hammond: Is he still living? And, uh-

Larry O'Doss: Uh, Fred is, yes.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Great guy.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Tom Giacomini.

Scott Hammond: All those guys.

Larry O'Doss: Tom Giacomini, uh, had a class. Um, those were

some great sports minds. Tom's big love is baseball, but, uh, he taught a class called Football

Officiating.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: And I, I didn't realize that that class was gonna carry me

even to, through to today.

Scott Hammond: 'Cause you officiate.

Larry O'Doss: I, yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's right.

Larry O'Doss: This is my 32nd year.

Scott Hammond: Like youth football or high school?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, started off with youth football-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … and, uh, did high school, did college.

Scott Hammond: That's right. I've seen you suit up, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. I even had an invitation to do, uh,

and-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … and I just, "Hey, thanks." But it was cool to get the

[laughs]

Scott Hammond: That's cool. I remember Jim, is it Jim Turney, that he was an NFL ref?

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Met him. He was a professional speaker.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, I bet. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And super nice guy. Endorsed my book. He, he read it.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: He gave me an endorsement. He– It was really– What a great guy.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: I remember seeing him, uh, uh, ref a Super Bowl.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: So he was hardcore.

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: So ref school.

Larry O'Doss: Ref school, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. There was– I don't know

how he talked me into that class, but that, that was a great thing. I'm so glad he did.

Scott Hammond: All those guys are kinda legendary.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So did you meet Cass, your wife, there or in high school?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, no. Um-After, uh, well,

act- actually after, uh, CR, I was prepared to go to Humboldt, and,

um, as some– At the time, the family also had a moving

company.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, one of the drivers

was killed in a hunting accident.

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, I had to go, uh, cross the country and pick

up his truck-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and continue his route, which kinda aced me out

of school for that quarter.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: At that time, they did quarters and,

[clears throat] and then, um, before that quarter was up, I had an opportunity to buy into the pizza business.

Scott Hammond: Ah.

Larry O'Doss: So-

Scott Hammond: We're getting to Tom's Sourdough Pizza.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Dad, uh, Dad and Mom helped me-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Larry O'Doss: … and, uh, we, we bought Tom's Sourdough from Tom

Farrell at the time, was a friend of-

Scott Hammond: Original Tom.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And then Babette bought it after that somehow.

Larry O'Doss: After that, yeah, after we, um, sold it, uh,

she bought into it, yeah, a couple years after that.

Scott Hammond: I saw her a couple years ago. She's still around.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: S- her family, I know some of her family.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: So how long did you run, how long were you the pizza guy?

Larry O'Doss: Um,

uh, almost 10 years.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Almost 10 years-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Larry O'Doss: … before… And I was the, I was the one in the family that

reasons not to get into real estate.

Scott Hammond: Ah. [chuckles]

Larry O'Doss: And that was my last ditch effort of heels in.

Scott Hammond: I wanna be my dad.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Real estate's for chumps.

Larry O'Doss: Well, growing up, you see a lot of the negative side-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … behind the scenes-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … and all the issues and problems that can come up,

didn't wanna jump into that.

Scott Hammond: I thought my dad was crazy being an insurance guy.

That's just stup- Why would you-

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: … sell life insurance to Marines on Camp

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That doesn't make any sense.

Larry O'Doss: Right?

Scott Hammond: And he was great. He, they loved him.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: He's just, he did a great job, but…

So h- back to Cass, how, where did, how did she show up?

Larry O'Doss: So, um, let's see.

Uh, after, after pizza, um, uh, Dave Banducci was one of my football coaches at CR. He and I became real good friends, and another buddy, uh, Rick Ross. The three of us were pretty inseparable that time of life.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, late, my late 20s.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, we were out after

a football game. We had gone to see a football game, and we stopped in at the old Sidelines

in Arcata.

Scott Hammond: Yep.

Larry O'Doss: And Cass was there with some girlfriends and

relatives, uh, for a, uh, the, kind of the beginnings of a bridal

shower-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … or something like that.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And so, uh, Cass and Dave knew each other from

swimming.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, Da- Dave was a swim coach.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: All-level swim coach. And, and-

Scott Hammond: And she had went to CR?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, yep.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: And Cass, Cass knew Dave from when she

old, beginning to swim, and-

Scott Hammond: Way back

Larry O'Doss: … Cass was a competitive swimmer.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: So, uh, those two said hi, and that's, and

introduced. And, and really from that point on, we, we were pretty inseparable.

Scott Hammond: Ah. Come on over here and meet your husband.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: To be. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: That's pretty cool.

Scott Hammond: Dave always had that kind of fatherly thing going on-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … with me, you know, like, "Uh, you know, I'm,

Larry O'Doss: I want you to be-

Scott Hammond: "I'm still gonna give you a hard time, but I'm gonna l-

Larry O'Doss: That's, that's great. A mentor like that.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Sidelines, are they still open?

Larry O'Doss: I don't think so.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. So for you folks that don't know, Arcata

my map.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: My trusty map. Arcata Bay, there's Arcata. That's Eureka.

That's where-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And then Larry went to school down here at CR.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … Arcata had Bar Row, right? 'Cause it's a university town.

Larry O'Doss: That, that square, yeah. That square, um-

Scott Hammond: Had a lot of bars.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: In the day.

Larry O'Doss: One of my neighbors growing up was Fred Seiler, and he was the defensive

coach-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … at, at Humboldt State.

Scott Hammond: I knew Fred.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And Fred, uh-

Scott Hammond: He's hardcore.

Larry O'Doss: Oh my gosh.

Scott Hammond: He was a grouch, man.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, he was– He taught also diving.

So, uh-

Scott Hammond: In a classroom.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah. And, uh, he grabbed a hold of me at

one point and said, "Hey, I need a ball boy." And, uh-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Larry O'Doss: … I would go hang out with Fred on

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, we'd go do the, uh… Back then, in

the '70s, um, the square had lots of bars, but they were all also big supporters of the, the football program at Humboldt.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: So-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … we would drive in to H- The routine was kind of funny.

Um, 16 millimeter films. So we'd stop in at Greyhound, drop off three or four, uh, 16 millimeter films going out to a school.

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.

Larry O'Doss: Pick up the ones coming in for next week's game, and then, uh,

we'd roll over to, um, uh, Fourth Street Market, get a case of oranges, then roll up along the

row there.

Scott Hammond: Case of oranges.

Larry O'Doss: A case of oranges.

Scott Hammond: From Del Porto?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah. And then, and, and everything, everybody was just, you

know, giving in support of the school.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, those were– Well, that was way before, you know,

bottles.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: So, you know, just, "Here's a hose.

Get a drink." And-

Scott Hammond: Right. Here's a bucket.

Larry O'Doss: Um, yeah, yeah. Um, but he'd get the oranges,

That was-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Larry O'Doss: … that was– I'd never seen that before.

Scott Hammond: That was Mike's don- donation.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah. Then we'd pick up some cigars and then,

whatever else down that row of different things, all the different ven-

Scott Hammond: Case, case of beer

Larry O'Doss: … you know, businesses. Yeah, I didn't see alcohol,

been.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: Um, and then we'd head over to the school

Scott Hammond: Huh. The benefits of coaching.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: And my dad was a football coach, so I, I kinda knew that feel.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: But that was a little bit ramped up, more adultish.

Scott Hammond: And they had good teams back in the day.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah, and tough. That was back grass field and-

Scott Hammond: Tough, tough guys

Larry O'Doss: … it was– Yeah, it was a lot different than the turf bowl,

Scott Hammond: What's Chuck's name that owned, um, the, um, Napa store?

Chuck G-

Larry O'Doss: Giannini.

Scott Hammond: Giannini.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: He was a pretty tough football player.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: He was part of that, uh, part of that, um,

um-Uh, what's the name of that team? The famous team with Humboldt, uh, Whitmire was on it.

Scott Hammond: That went all the way.

Larry O'Doss: Banducci was a kicker. Um, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So all those cats were in that. Okay.

Larry O'Doss: They were all, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow. Y- The reason I like this conversation

reflective of Humboldt.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: At least Humboldt State, and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … you know, you still got Mike Williams at the Joggin

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … you know, who stayed at Forest-

Larry O'Doss: Yes. Yep

Scott Hammond: … and, and the PE department, and there's-

Larry O'Doss: Right

Scott Hammond: … such a, um,

kind of a heritage.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: You know? In, in terms of… And guys that stayed.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: You know?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: This isn't, you know,

University of Massachusetts where people go and leave and never come-

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm

Scott Hammond: … the people that have stayed and planted roots.

Like Joni and I with nine kids and-

Larry O'Doss: Right

Scott Hammond: … I was, I was a rec major. I majored in recess.

Larry O'Doss: Right, there you go. Recess. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Kids go, "Majored in recess? What, what are you talking about?"

Larry O'Doss: How do you do that? [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Rec major. What's that even mean?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: So, so I know how you got to Humboldt.

Larry O'Doss: I, well, I, we weren't, I wasn't born here, but-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Larry O'Doss: … I'd, um, I arrived at four years old.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: So I was born in, um, Santa Clara. My

grandparents were all in the stone fruit farming world, so, um, plums, apricots, prunes.

Scott Hammond: Back in the day.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And, um, my dad was a football coach down there.

Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.

Larry O'Doss: A high school football coach, and he had gone to

San Jose State, four-year letterman, so he, he was big, um, into sports.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, had an opportunity to come up and

teach and coach at Eureka High.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: So we moved up in '69.

Scott Hammond: So what happened after pizza?

Larry O'Doss: After pizza-

Scott Hammond: And Cass.

Larry O'Doss: And… [both laughing] Um, I w- that's when I got into real estate.

Scott Hammond: Okay. So you were just a general agent under your dad's

Larry O'Doss: Yes. Yep. Yep. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: What'd you like? How'd you do? Were you good at it?

Larry O'Doss: Oh, I, I… I- I, you know, uh,

in that business and, and at, you know, seven or eight years old, I'm putting stamps on catalogs that go out to mail, and I'm putting together signs, and I, you know, I'm doing all the,

Scott Hammond: The stake signs in the front yard.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Uh, you, so you'd think with all that time around the business-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … that you would just fly, but-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … um, no, I started off, uh, I was driving a cement

truck early in the morning.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And get that done by, they would try to get me out of there by

11:00, and then I'd go do real estate and, um, did that. I was a single dad for, doing that for-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … several years and, and, um,

and then Cass came along, and, um, we, uh, solidified our relationship within a couple years, got married and-

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And had some Clydesdales.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, yeah. So we all, uh,

have come from some sort of agriculture background.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, I can remember teams of horses with my

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … um,

uh, Joe Tripoli in Morgan Hill area. He w- he had, um, either old tractors or, or teams of horses that would come in.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: They weren't necessarily his teams, but they would come in

and-

Scott Hammond: Plow and do stuff?

Larry O'Doss: And, yeah. Yeah, mainly in the, um, harvest times.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: You know, f- um, the pickers would fill up big lugs of,

uh, wooden boxes of, uh-

Scott Hammond: When Morgan-

Larry O'Doss: … apricots or-

Scott Hammond: Morgan Hill had

fields. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And hills.

Larry O'Doss: He was one of my early real estate lessons, and I didn't

really know I was gonna use it till much later in life. He sold a little piece of, of his farm, uh, to this company that nobody knew too much about, and it became their main headquarter campus that they know as IBM.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, learned from grandpa-

Scott Hammond: Go figure

Larry O'Doss: … early-

Scott Hammond: IBM

Larry O'Doss: … on that, huh, there's something to that owning and

selling and owning and-

Scott Hammond: Edge of that.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Flips of it.

Larry O'Doss: Fl- yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: IBM, wow.

Larry O'Doss: IBM.

Scott Hammond: In Morgan Hill?

Larry O'Doss: In, uh, it was South San Jose.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: So just, just north of Morgan Hill up the El Camino

was, was where his farm was, and then it, a lot of his friends stretched all the way into Morgan Hill, so.

Scott Hammond: Wow. So this is early Silicon Valley.

Larry O'Doss: Early, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Early.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow, okay. So, uh, l- let's, uh, flip it for a minute.

So what, let's talk about Humboldt.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: You, you're a guy that l- born and bred, love Humboldt.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: What do you, what do you see as our challenges?

Larry O'Doss: You know, um,

a year or so ago, I ran for supervisor.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, uh, that was a great

experience to f- to really get a different layer of, of knowledge in what people think out

Scott Hammond: Exposure.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: I've always been around,

um, positive, uh, let's do the

best we can.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Let's, you know,

it's a good thing to, to work hard and make a profit. I mean, we all try to… The profit is when you put a dime in your savings that's a profit.

Scott Hammond: That's a profit.

Larry O'Doss: Um, and I'd, I've found a lot of people that

d- were very put off by people that made money.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: Um, success-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … not such a nice thing.

Scott Hammond: That was a surprise.

Larry O'Doss: That really confused me.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Um, because I, uh, really, w- uh, my

purpose of running at that time was, "Hey, there's a lot of things that aren't right."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Like I, I told, you know, we s- talked about earlier

the bus and, you know, fix that, even though the plan

further.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, it's hard for me to, to see things go afoul-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … and not do something about it.

So, um, that, that was a surprising thing for me-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … is, um, I-The, the need to,

to not [clears throat] do your best or not provide the best

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: That's not a large segment of our population.

I'm sure they were the ones that didn't vote for me, though [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Sure. Well, people, yeah.

I think there's a lot of coasters.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. I-

Scott Hammond: And it's surpri- it's disappointing 'cause I,

Larry O'Doss: [sighs] I, I-

Scott Hammond: Also

Larry O'Doss: … I totally assumed otherwise.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So that's a challenge to the county, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: That, that's a challenge because that

Scott Hammond: [clears throat]

Larry O'Doss: … and, um, and I've sat on, um… Most recently I sat on the

Harbor Commission.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, the, um, being a Harbor Commissioner, and,

um, I found through there that the reputation of Humboldt Bay

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Larry O'Doss: That no was the reputation around the world.

Scott Hammond: The answer is no.

Larry O'Doss: The answer is no.

Scott Hammond: Don't come here.

Larry O'Doss: Don't come here.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh-

Scott Hammond: You'll hate it. The weather's awful.

It's-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … ugly fall day here today.

Larry O'Doss: Absolutely.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, don't come.

Larry O'Doss: Don- don't look at the blue sky that's right-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … there right now. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Yeah. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And don't look at all the opportunity

port.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: That's the cleanest port in California. It's got the most eelgrass.

80% of the eelgrass in California grows in Humboldt Bay.

Scott Hammond: Is that right?

Larry O'Doss: Which says-

Scott Hammond: 80%?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, which says that Humboldt Bay is clean.

It, it-

Scott Hammond: It's healthy

Larry O'Doss: … it's very healthy.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: It's really set up geographically to be a

perfect

bay for ecology and economy. Um, e- e- the economy can work-

Scott Hammond: Interesting

Larry O'Doss: … well with it, and the ecology-

Scott Hammond: So they can coexist

Larry O'Doss: … can thrive. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So you're touching on something that's I, I find interesting i-

to all the old development stories. We could add Hershey.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: We could add, uh-

Larry O'Doss: I remember that. Yeah

Scott Hammond: … that, you know,

um, Walmart wanted to come and-

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm

Scott Hammond: … build a building.

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: Um, Home Depot, the whole-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … what's that, the, the balloon project?

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: You know, that could have been s- And,

furthermore, hell no.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: It's like w-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So where do you…

What do you suppose that comes from? 'Cause there, there, there's certainly the blame of the good

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … that keeps us small. There's also-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … the ambivalence network.

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: We don't care.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: We're not gonna start caring.

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: Let's keep it-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … you know, not in my backyard.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So how do you,

rather than feed you that answer, how do you-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … see that play? What, where, where-

Larry O'Doss: Um

Scott Hammond: … does it stem from?

Larry O'Doss: The… I, I don't see the,

the good old boy network as really being a network much

anymore.

Scott Hammond: Not really.

Larry O'Doss: Um, the network that I see as being very pow- powerful

network.

Scott Hammond: The no network?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And they, um,

they have figured out… I mean, we have, like, I f- I don't know what the exact number is, but we've got a ton of nonprofits here.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, we do.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, and bless them all. There, there's a lot

of them that are on great missions, but there's several that their mission is to say no-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … and, and hide behind a grandiose name and,

and facade.

Scott Hammond: So to keep us small and small in thinking.

Larry O'Doss: Small, yeah. The most people that I have run into too,

the no folks are not born and raised-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … here.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Um,

I would say a very high percentage, very high percentage of folks that and raised here are a little disgusted about the no.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, for some reason, there's a,

area, you know better.

And-

Scott Hammond: Of course you do

Larry O'Doss: … I've, I've gone to Humboldt. I took a class.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: I know things.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And-

Scott Hammond: You're from San Diego. I got it.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I got this.

Larry O'Doss: And you guys are doing this all wrong.

Scott Hammond: [laughs] Nice.

Larry O'Doss: And, and that attitude ends up being

Scott Hammond: Right. It's funny 'cause a lot of the no folks,

are those who should be curious.

Larry O'Doss: Exactly.

Scott Hammond: And let's, let's find out. You know, as a parent, I wanna say yes.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: "Hey, Dad, can I do this thing?" "Well,

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: No. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Then I can say no.

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: But nobody even got curious with some of the, some of the things

forward.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So I guess we've said yes to a few things, like the wind-

Larry O'Doss: You know, some of the good old boy stuff that's,

back and s- you know, in, in Humboldt history, the railroad.

Scott Hammond: Ah.

Larry O'Doss: So initially, the railroad was supposed to go from

Humboldt Bay east over towards the Red Bluff

area.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: That's, that is the, the path that was

designed and surveyed and-

Scott Hammond: 36 out that way

Larry O'Doss: … it was g- some- someplace that-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … direction it was gonna go. Um-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and what, what happens is the San Francisco earthquake.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: And so the m- the market demanded our

timber companies up here were like, "Well, the direct route to the market that needs the most wood is-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … is there."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: "So let's try to follow," in those terms, in those days,

"well, the river valley, you know, find those low spots and, and let's get it to San Francisco as fast as possible."

Scott Hammond: Along the Eel River.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And then there's a lot of games in the rail world back then too of

and, you know-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … who's, who's… So that was one that unfortunately it didn't

Scott Hammond: That's a good… Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: If it had gone east, we would've been a very balanced

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: The success in the economy of our, um, of our county

is important because it brings in the necessary services. You know, I'd, I hear a lot about, oh,

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Well, living wage isn't solved by raising the

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Y- They're, they're talking about that right now in,

Midwest in, uh, Detroit. You know, the auto workers are striking

over,

you know… Everybody, when you, when you raise minimum wage,

then now-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … you gotta go back and, and deal with, okay,

didn't do anything.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: The effect is zilch or, or negative.

Scott Hammond: Right. They lay people off.

Larry O'Doss: So, yeah. So we're seeing the end of

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … in Detroit, and now, now we're gonnaNationally, see how

So having some niche economy-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … strong in Humboldt-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … is huge. So,

you know, present day, uh, wind.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, N- Nordic Aqua Farms.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: Um, land-based-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … uh, aquaculture, uh, organic aquaculture.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, w- when I first met the, the people that were

scouting

for Nordic,

uh, y- you know, I, I told them, I said, "This, this couldn't be a more perfect business."

Scott Hammond: That's the aquaculture guys?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And what are they gonna, what are they gonna raise? It was salmon?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And they cha- no, uh, yeah, uh, Atlantic salmon.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And of course, some of the, the fearmongers are saying, "Oh, well,

that's gonna be a Frankenfish," or, "That's gonna be-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … you know, they're gonna get out

y- that's not science-based.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: So it's like-

Scott Hammond: That's just fear.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's just no.

Larry O'Doss: Exactly. That's just the-

Scott Hammond: Here we go with a no

Larry O'Doss: … I don't wanna hear it, it's no.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Um, the, the simple answer to it is, um, you

know, the Atlantic salmon, if, if it ever

got out of, um, the dry land racetracks that they were,

would raise-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … the fish in-

Scott Hammond: Probably wouldn't make it

Larry O'Doss: … they, they can't make it for more than about six

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: The salination is different.

Scott Hammond: Right. They'd croak.

Larry O'Doss: It would kill them. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Would, it just wouldn't work.

Scott Hammond: I'm interested in this no thing, because it, it has me f-

I think there's, there's probably all camps

Larry O'Doss: Sure. Yep.

Scott Hammond: And th- I always argue with my lovely wife, Joni,

um, about this. I, I think progress is not our enemy.

Larry O'Doss: No.

Scott Hammond: I think it'd be good.

Larry O'Doss: No.

Scott Hammond: I'd love to see my kids and grandkids stay in Humboldt.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And out of nine kids, I've got four left here,

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: And, you know, Medford, Boise, Netherlands, they're-

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm

Scott Hammond: … bye bye. And so to have jobs and l-

living wage-

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm

Scott Hammond: … affordable real estate, heal- healthcare, we can go there, but-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … um,

but to have somebody ran- random from LA go, "Yeah, no, I'm gonna… And I have a little bit of power,

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: And, "No, and hell no for you guys."

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And it's like, wait bro, that's… Where's dem- where's democracy?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So it's, it's kind of frustrating.

Larry O'Doss: I, you know, the, the other side of that is a lot of us

have been raised to be very polite.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And, and if we don't agree, sometimes we're quiet.

Scott Hammond: Exactly.

Larry O'Doss: And that's where you get run over.

Scott Hammond: That's… Oh, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: The loud no versus the polite silent.

Scott Hammond: Right. Right.

Larry O'Doss: So.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. So, uh, speaking the truth in love.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Here we go.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: The answer's yes.

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Say yes.

Scott Hammond: So [laughs] why would we not say yes?

Larry O'Doss: Now good economy, our, our healthcare goes up, our schools go up,

up with, with some good jobs.

Scott Hammond: Wouldn't hurt.

Larry O'Doss: Economy. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wouldn't hurt, especially clean jobs, and-

Larry O'Doss: Even the spirit of folks, I mean, if you think about travel,

idea to travel out of the area once in a while.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And, and just, you know, just

l- look at, at the, the person that's checking you out in the grocery store 300, 400 miles away in a, in a, in a larger area-

Scott Hammond: Different

Larry O'Doss: … or it doesn't even have to be a large

th- they breathe different.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: They smile. They, you know, they're, they're excited because they're,

able to do something and-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … and, uh, we're really crunch, and the, the nos

Scott Hammond: Yeah. There's a, this gets crunchy around here.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I, um…

So we have this boom and bust economy with timber-

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm. Yep

Scott Hammond: … with cannabis-

Larry O'Doss: Yep

Scott Hammond: … with whatever.com.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Um, so we need sustainability-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … and good jobs.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And you think we can do that?

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah. Uh, very easy.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Super easy.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Super easy.

Scott Hammond: What-

Larry O'Doss: Take the magic wand-

Scott Hammond: Just gotta say yes

Larry O'Doss: … and, and yeah, there's, and there's no reason for

our environment to take backseat.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Y- you can say yes, we can be very successful in Humboldt

and everybody wins, including the environment.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Hmm. So it's a win, win, win, win, win.

Larry O'Doss: Win. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. I like it.

Larry O'Doss: It's good.

Scott Hammond: I like it. Okay. Hey, time for [bell dinging]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Time for, time for that part of our show, folks.

Larry O'Doss: I'm wearing you out, am I? [laughs]

Scott Hammond: No. No, I like it. It's good. Uh, so time for our

show where you actually get a fabulous prize from the prize bag.

Larry O'Doss: Oh.

Scott Hammond: And, uh, but you have to answer the quiz questions.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: So, uh,

so, uh, Nick, you got those ready?

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: He d- he doesn't. He probably does, but I'll ask.

So I, uh, where do y- where do you eat out tonight? You and Cass have 500 bucks to go eat somewhere. Where do you go? 200.

Larry O'Doss: Um, oh gosh, we have some great restaurants.

We have a lot of art-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … and a lot of great-

Scott Hammond: You probably have restaurant clients, so it's almost-

Larry O'Doss: Oh

Scott Hammond: … I don't wanna be a-

Larry O'Doss: I, you know what? I l- I, well, relatives too, but, um,

The Waterfront, the Cafe Waterfront-

Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah

Larry O'Doss: … First and F in Old Town.

Scott Hammond: Ben?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Ben and Leslie, and, uh-

Scott Hammond: They do a good job

Larry O'Doss: … my aunt Diane.

Scott Hammond: Oh, Diane?

Larry O'Doss: Be- before it was, yeah, that's my aunt, my dad's sister.

Scott Hammond: That's such a great restaurant.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Waterfront's great.

Larry O'Doss: I, I love it. And you know what?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Always look at the special board.

Scott Hammond: Right. Right.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, the creativity is awesome.

Scott Hammond: Oh, they do. And the view is right there-

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah

Scott Hammond: … on the waterfront.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. But then you, you know, around the corner you've got Sea Grill,

um-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … we love, uh, um-

Scott Hammond: Bayfront topping it?

Larry O'Doss: … what, what Cass would say bar food, but it's,

Brewery.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Oh my gosh.

Scott Hammond: Delicious. Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Go sink your teeth into some of those wings.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Oh man, I'm getting hungry now.

Larry O'Doss: Um, all of the-

Scott Hammond: Stop

Larry O'Doss: … Shamus, and oh man, those-

Scott Hammond: Not that far away

Larry O'Doss: … sliders they have.

Scott Hammond: Pretty good.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, they're-

Scott Hammond: I haven't eaten at Shamus for a while. I should probably try that.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: 'Cause I had a Chris there.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. He's a great guy.

Larry O'Doss: Yes, he is.

Scott Hammond: So, uh, t- question number two.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: Where do you, uh, go for coffee?

Larry O'Doss: Um,

all of them.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: You know, I'm, I'm the guy that, you know,

Scott Hammond: Black coffee

Larry O'Doss: … cup of joe. Yeah. I don't, I don't want the opalata-

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: … cremas whatever.

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Just give me a black coffee, I'm good.

[laughs]

Scott Hammond: Somebody goes, I was behind somebody and I was…

Or they were behind me, and I ordered a decaf mocha, and she goes, wonder, huh?"

Larry O'Doss: [laughs] Yeah, I guess I,

I guess I was.

Scott Hammond: I'll take a, I'll take a mocha once in a while if I'm,

feeling low.

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: Just get a little chocolate going and then-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Uh, so you have an afternoon to,

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: Where, where do you, where do you go? Do you…

And who with?

Larry O'Doss: I'm gonna-

Scott Hammond: It's a free day

Larry O'Doss: … I'm gonna see what Cass is doing, and I'm,

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: We're gonna talk about the horses next.

Larry O'Doss: I love that.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's, that's rec-

Larry O'Doss: Or-

Scott Hammond: That's therapy

Larry O'Doss: … or go see the cows. Go feed the cows.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: Go check fences.

Scott Hammond: This is all up at Orick.

Larry O'Doss: That's heaven.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Nice. Nice. Uh, so what do you like most about Humboldt?

Larry O'Doss: Uh,

y- well, okay, the, the people.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: L- uh, the, the spirit of Humboldt,

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … is, is, um-

Scott Hammond: Well stated

Larry O'Doss: … is big.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And, and to me-

Scott Hammond: It's unique, right?

Larry O'Doss: It's, it goes back to, like, John Waynish. You know, it's, it's gritty.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: You think about the people that, uh, the families

have made Humboldt Humboldt, and, you know, looking at th- we take a lot of things for granted, you know, moving around the county. Um, you know, they didn't have paved roads here-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … 100 years ago. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Um, they didn't, in most cases, you didn't have a wagon.

You had a mule-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … um, if you were lucky, to pack goods, you know?

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: It just, it was tough territory to live in.

Scott Hammond: It wasn't five hours to San Francisco.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. These big giant redwoods were kind of,

around.

Scott Hammond: Right. [laughs] Even tougher to mill.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you look at the, that.

I mean, it, yeah, s- things weren't done perfectly, but still, um, talk about some grit.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Tough.

Larry O'Doss: I, I remember, um, Rocky, the barber down on F Street-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … has been my barber forever. And,

old tree faller that was, that told, was telling him, "Hey, you know, Rocky, I can remember standing right out, and looking in towards Old Town, Old Town." Well, of course, Town then. That was downtown.

Scott Hammond: Right. That was downtown. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Right.

[laughs] He said, "This town did not sleep."

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: It had probably 100 bars.

Scott Hammond: It's rock and roll all the time.

Larry O'Doss: Um, you, you got, you came in with your crew,

and then you left with your crew, but for a couple days you had off-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … you, you bar hopped.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: And there was 100 bars down there that-

Scott Hammond: Go figure

Larry O'Doss: … all over. It was loud. It was-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … it was a Las Vegas-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … there. It was the, how they rolled back then.

Scott Hammond: Whole different, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: But that was a m- a dirt street.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: You know? They, they-

Scott Hammond: It was rough.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: They came in with a pocket full of money, a bunch of sailors.

Larry O'Doss: Exactly.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah. Sailors, loggers, uh, f- some, some ranchers

Scott Hammond: Worked hard for that money.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: All mixing in there.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Gritty. That's a great way to say it 'cause I,

Millers in McKinleyville or-

Larry O'Doss: And the Russes. The, I mean, there's tons.

Scott Hammond: The Russes. I mean, there's tons.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Ferndales.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: McKinney.

Larry O'Doss: Lots of old, old families.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: The-

Scott Hammond: And rancher families, like, way back in the-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … I don't even know who they are, but-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … um, yeah, not easy. Not easy.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: I miss the ocean when I'm, you know, d- as far as terrain.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: I, uh, the ocean, the trees.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Is your ranch close to, uh, the ocean in Orick?

Larry O'Doss: We are, yes.

Scott Hammond: Or do you have actually-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … beachfront? [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Well, we don't have beachfront, but we're-

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: … we're, we, we see the ocean. It's-

Scott Hammond: You see it there

Larry O'Doss: … it's just right… Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So tell us about Orick. So Or- Orick is kind of a product of, of a big

no which was-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … we're gonna

cancel logging or-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … the timber industry-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … in, in great part for-

Larry O'Doss: Back in the '60s, the move, the-

Scott Hammond: … for a lot of reasons.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: But Orick, to me, is an example every time Joanie

hike at Lady Bird Johnson or-

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: Let me show you where that is real quick. It's over there.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: So what we do is, uh-

Larry O'Doss: Right on.

Scott Hammond: Nick's tired of that joke. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: It's right in there. Look right there.

Uh, so I'm always sad because I go through Orick, and it's just bereft. And, and Redwood National Park-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … is the most underutilized national park in

Larry O'Doss: It is. Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: And it should have hotels and casinos, and, and there should be,

you know, restaurants and coffee, and there's…

You don't-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I'm sorry. You don't have that many shops.

Larry O'Doss: No. No.

Scott Hammond: And, uh-

Larry O'Doss: And, and it's dwindling less

Scott Hammond: Yeah. And so I, I kinda make segue to that, that no

Orick and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … and it, and it trickles down to the kids

Larry O'Doss: Absolutely

Scott Hammond: … the poverty-

Larry O'Doss: Yep

Scott Hammond: … mentality and-

Larry O'Doss: Yep. Lots of services

Scott Hammond: … yeah, and crime and drugs-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … and s- sex, drugs, and rock and roll and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … here we go.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Um, but you have a ranch there.

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: And you have Clydesdales. Is that where you keep your horses?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, yeah, and they're not Clydes- they're, uh,

Scott Hammond: Shires.

Larry O'Doss: Which are, are cousins to the Clydes.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: Clydes are from Scotland. Shires are from England.

Scott Hammond: Gotcha.

Larry O'Doss: So yeah.

Scott Hammond: Man, I feel super ignorant right now.

Larry O'Doss: No. They-

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: You wouldn't know.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: You wouldn't know.

Scott Hammond: Are they the same size?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, pretty much. They're the…

I mean, you, you just wouldn't know looking at them. In fact, you know, honestly, uh, Budweiser has a few Shires in their

mix.

Scott Hammond: They sneak them in there?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, they sneak them in. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Super Bowl-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: … horses that are talking at the fence-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … to the dog.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. So most people would not know.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay. So, uh, what do you like about ranching?

Uh-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … how'd you get into it? What top three takeaways?

Uh, tell us the ranch part of your life.

Larry O'Doss: Ranch part of our life. We ended up in Orick, um,

oh, about 20 or so years ago.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, and, uh, real estate, uh, brought us up there.

I'd, I'd drug Cass along with me and, and our little daughter who was probably less than a month old.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, it was one of those beautiful April

days-In Humboldt-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … that can sometimes become short sleeve or

less type of shirt weather.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Larry O'Doss: It just, just gets beautiful, and you start to see everything's budding

flowering and gorgeous.

Scott Hammond: Still snowing in Iowa.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And, uh, I t- I took her with me to, to go s- um, mark

property corners-

Scott Hammond: [clears throat]

Larry O'Doss: … on this property that, um, I had helped the folks buy years

before and, and sell before that.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, we're, um, putting ribbons on the property

markers and, and driving around through this place,

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and, uh, Cass is like, "Why aren't we thinking about this?"

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: And, and we had, um… Our, our ranching life

up to that point was, um, several small acreage pieces all over the place that we were-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … renting, and we'd have to travel water into those

and we'd have to-

Scott Hammond: A lot of work

Larry O'Doss: … you know, a lot of, a lot of time, a lot of work.

And we were young, but that was, that's still a lot of work.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Larry O'Doss: So we were looking for a place to consolidate.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Larry O'Doss: We were able to scrape up some money and sell a few

things and-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and get a down payment on it.

Scott Hammond: Nice. How many acres?

Larry O'Doss: There's about 230.

Scott Hammond: So you're east of to- or west of town?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, we are-

Scott Hammond: Is it-

Larry O'Doss: … west of town, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And below the hill that I see on the left as I'm coming into

Larry O'Doss: Uh, y- we are d- no, we're all mountain, so-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Larry O'Doss: … um, our cows have, have feet that are, like-

Scott Hammond: [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: … shilted 'cause they're walking sideways on

Scott Hammond: Boots.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Plates.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, we're all mountain. I, I'm, uh…

Anytime, uh, Cass and I see, you know, setups that are on flat ground, we're like, "Oh, that'd be nice." [laughs]

Scott Hammond: We, we went and surveyed. Uh, who's the sheep ranch lady on the right

road, on the east side of 101? She died a-

Larry O'Doss: Tiki Romanini.

Scott Hammond: Tiki.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: About nine years ago she died.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So Don Brown-

Larry O'Doss: Tiki and Joe

Scott Hammond: … at the state farm and I went up, and he

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … and she had just died, and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … she, uh… Yeah, the daughters were giving us the legend of

She, she had a spotting scope-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … and she could see down at her sheep.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, okay.

Scott Hammond: And if she saw critters-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, coyote or something

Scott Hammond: … she would come at-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … come at you, bro.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, tough lady.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, e- what a wonderful person, though.

Scott Hammond: What a grit, what a grit thing, right?

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So she was special?

Larry O'Doss: Tiki, um, she was, she was a rodeo queen.

I saw a poster of her-

Scott Hammond: Of course she was

Larry O'Doss: … and, uh, way back. And Joe f-

them, but Joe found her, and they became the, the Romaninis and, and-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Larry O'Doss: … brought her up to Orick, I think, from southern Humboldt,

Scott Hammond: Is that right?

Larry O'Doss: I may be totally wrong, but that's the story.

Scott Hammond: Is she Italian as well?

Larry O'Doss: I don't know. I don't know.

Scott Hammond: Is Romanini Italian?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, oh yeah, Romanini is, yeah.

Scott Hammond: No, it's Polish.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. [laughs] But she's, um… One of the things that, uh, she

for, she was… She did so much for that community, but, um, she made… She was a heck of a baker. Made candy, cookies-

Scott Hammond: I heard that, yeah

Larry O'Doss: … all kinds of stuff. She would… Her, her pickles,

Scott Hammond: Really? Pickles is a… That's a whole thing.

Larry O'Doss: She… We'd do fundraiser auctions, you know,

something going on in the community.

Scott Hammond: The rodeo.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. And, um, sometimes her jars of pickles would go

100 bucks or-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … you know, lots-

Scott Hammond: Famous

Larry O'Doss: … and lots of dollars. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Larry O'Doss: You wanted those pickles. But one of the things that

You brought the story up about the critters and coming after her sheep. If you took out

a predator, um, Tiki would remember you at Christmastime,

candy.

Scott Hammond: Ah. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Special prize involved.

Larry O'Doss: Special prize involved. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: That's right. Let's don't forget your prize. By the way,

Don't let me forget.

Larry O'Doss: Parting gift here.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Plate of cookies. And if you took out two, you're really-

Larry O'Doss: Oh, you're… Yeah

Scott Hammond: … in the money.

Larry O'Doss: You're… Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Was she involved with the Orick Rodeo team?

Larry O'Doss: She was, yeah.

Scott Hammond: And that's still going. It's a going rodeo.

Larry O'Doss: Still going, yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Do you guys bring the, the, the horses to that?

Larry O'Doss: Sometimes. We haven't for a few years, but-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … sometimes. It's great, uh, as far as your seat.

You're sitting right on the rodeo.

Scott Hammond: Perfect.

Larry O'Doss: I mean, you're sitting right on the ground and-

Scott Hammond: Perfect

Larry O'Doss: … with the, with the bulls and the bears

Scott Hammond: So that's your safe spot. When you go up there, that's therapy.

The ranch is-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah

Scott Hammond: … is it?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So tell us about the hor- How'd you get into the horse, the Shires?

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh.

Scott Hammond: And you, you compete with them or you show them or?

Larry O'Doss: We do, yeah. In fact, just got back from a, a show,

to that's over in Grass Valley.

Scott Hammond: The one in Ground… Grass Valley?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Is it the fairgrounds?

Larry O'Doss: It is. Nevada County Fairgrounds.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: It's a beautiful place.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: Beautiful. And the-

Scott Hammond: It's, it's nice to-

Larry O'Doss: … tall pines, and they- they've situated everything.

They even situate, you know, the Ferris wheel might be between a couple or whatever. It's-

Scott Hammond: Oh, that's neat.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Scott Hammond: That's the old gold country, huh?

Larry O'Doss: It is. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. They've… You know, that, um, Grass Valley's a beautiful old

gold town, um, and they've got certainly great Humboldt, doesn't beat Eureka, doesn't beat Arcata.

Scott Hammond: Doesn't have an ocean, man.

Larry O'Doss: Or Ferndale.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Doesn't have grit.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh-

Scott Hammond: I mean, that's-

Larry O'Doss: Well, they have some grit.

Scott Hammond: Sure do.

Larry O'Doss: I'm sure they have some grit over there.

Scott Hammond: There's a little grit.

Larry O'Doss: We got big grit. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: No, our grit, true grit.

Larry O'Doss: Real true grit. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: We have true grit.

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: 100% Humboldt true grit.

Larry O'Doss: Humb- 100%, yeah.

Scott Hammond: I like that. Oh, that's good.

Larry O'Doss: Well, at that same time, when we bought the ranch,

horses, and they were, uh, Belgians, so a blonde, big blonde draft horse. And-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … good friends of mine, uh, Lemsters, they used to have the, uh,

Ranch-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Larry O'Doss: … up at Fickle Hill.

Scott Hammond: Is that Craig's dad?

Larry O'Doss: Craig's dad.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Um, he-

Scott Hammond: Craig's cool. He loves… He plays Glen Campbell-

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah

Scott Hammond: … like nobody.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, amazing.

Scott Hammond: He knows the daughter.

Larry O'Doss: Amazing.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Craig's a nice guy.

Larry O'Doss: He's got a great song that he wrote, original, um, about

Humboldt and Humboldt Bay.

Scott Hammond: Oh, really?

Larry O'Doss: You ever get him to come in and perform it, it's a treasure.

Scott Hammond: Wow. Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: It's super.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Nice guy.

Larry O'Doss: But it's, uh, it's such a great song.

Brings a tear to your eye of, of the, what he sings about for Humboldt.

Scott Hammond: Well, that's good. I haven't seen him in a few years.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: He's still around.

Larry O'Doss: He is, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Up at Specially Foreign Auto.

Scott Hammond: Specially Foreign Auto. McKinneyville, California.

Larry O'Doss: McKinneyville, California. It's right there on the map.

Scott Hammond: It's right… [laughs] It's right there.

Uh, [laughs] It's all right there. Lot of grit right there

Larry O'Doss: Right there.

Scott Hammond: The grit map.

Larry O'Doss: It's a grit map. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: So he, um, he used to work on, um, all the Hollywood guy- Redondo Beach

guys'-

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah

Scott Hammond: … sports cars.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: So, uh, who's the guy I'm thinking about?

Uh, Chuck-

Larry O'Doss: Chuck Norris.

Scott Hammond: Chuck Norris.

Larry O'Doss: He used to work with Chuck Norris.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Did movies with Chuck Norris.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: He was like… I think Craig was, like,

number two in the kickboxing, um-

Scott Hammond: Oh, really?

Larry O'Doss: … not 100% kickboxing. I'm forgetting what the discipline is.

Scott Hammond: He was a martial arts guy, that's right.

Larry O'Doss: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah, yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's true, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, he's, um, nobody's into Glen Campbell more than-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … our brother.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: He's pure, he's so great.

Larry O'Doss: He and I officiated football together, college football together,

on and did Division, um, I- one-

Scott Hammond: Oh, really?

Larry O'Doss: … even, and, um-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … we've been in some tight spots on the

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … a few times, and one time we just felt like hell

down on us where-

Scott Hammond: Really?

Larry O'Doss: Uh-

Scott Hammond: Fans or players or both?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, coaches and-

Scott Hammond: Coaches

Larry O'Doss: … and, and the whole, you know, everything.

Everybody was trying to be hard about it, you know, all, all night long and, and, uh, Craig had this great phrase that he gave me that night, and I use it forever. It's, "Run to the roar."

Scott Hammond: Run to the roar.

Larry O'Doss: Run to the roar.

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Larry O'Doss: And that coach that was giving you grief, you just, "Larry,

roar. You did great." Yeah, you [laughs]

Scott Hammond: Wow. Ran to the roar.

Larry O'Doss: He's always, he always gets the compliments out of it

Scott Hammond: Does that mean, like, go, go to the-

Larry O'Doss: Don't run away. Go at it.

Scott Hammond: Go at it.

Larry O'Doss: Go at the problem. Go deal with it.

Scott Hammond: That's good, man.

Larry O'Doss: Don't, don't… Kinda like eat, you know,

Scott Hammond: Mental toughness, man.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Don't let the thing-

Larry O'Doss: Run to the roar

Scott Hammond: … fester and go into cancer.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah. Get, deal with it right there.

Scott Hammond: Thanks.

Larry O'Doss: It's taken care of.

Scott Hammond: That speaks to me. I have a phone call to make right now.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: It's the roar.

Larry O'Doss: I gotta go.

Scott Hammond: I gotta go. [laughs]

Larry O'Doss: I gotta run to the roar.

Scott Hammond: [laughs] Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: I think I will, actually.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Thank you. That's good. Well, getting back to the Shires,

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … uh, when our daughter was a month old.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, we ran those guys, uh,

for several years, and they were a little bit greenish.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: So they taught us a lot about how, how to, you

know, sharpen up our game.

Scott Hammond: How many horses is that?

Larry O'Doss: That's two.

Scott Hammond: You got two?

Larry O'Doss: Team of two.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, then when those, those two horses were retired out,

uh, we retired them up on the ranch.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And their job was to protect the ranch. They did.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: They… For some reason, elk don't like the draft horses, so.

Scott Hammond: Interesting. So elk stay out-

Larry O'Doss: So that's what, that was their retirement job.

Scott Hammond: And the elk, they'll screw up your property, right?

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah. Yeah, and fences.

Scott Hammond: And you're right in elk country.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Ah.

Larry O'Doss: So when those two retired, um, we were at

a fundraiser dinner, um, and Cass was like, "Oh, Larry," you know, it was one of those seasons where we're at three dinners a week, you know?

And-

Scott Hammond: Right

Larry O'Doss: … and, and she was like, "Man,

So she sat down at our table, and she grabbed my phone, and she's looking around, and she's, she finds these-

Scott Hammond: Oh, look what I found

Larry O'Doss: … two horses in Pennsylvania,

and then she finds this cool wagon.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, she said, "Hey, you know, we're, we just changed the

colors of the company to black and red, and look, this-"

Scott Hammond: Whoa

Larry O'Doss: "… these are black and white horses and a red wagon."

Scott Hammond: What do you think?

Larry O'Doss: Boom. You know, she said, "Don't buy anything at this auction

We just-"

Scott Hammond: Save it.

Larry O'Doss: "I think we [laughs] save big time."

Scott Hammond: 10 grand.

Larry O'Doss: Target here. [laughs] 20 or 30 grand.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Larry O'Doss: No, they were, it, um, they were, uh, somewhat retired

horses. They were 10 years old, 10 and 11 years old.

Scott Hammond: Just trailered back and-

Larry O'Doss: Trigger and King.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, um,

they, uh,

they, um, got picked up by a service that moves horses around.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, uh, that was our only experience hiring somebody to

country. And I'm like, "Gosh, that sounds so complicated," but-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … they made us grow and learn and-

Scott Hammond: Now you have trailers, right?

Larry O'Doss: … open a window and… Oh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Where the, where was the cart or the-

Larry O'Doss: The, the wagon-

Scott Hammond: The wagon

Larry O'Doss: … was in, um, Michigan.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Larry O'Doss: And, um,

and I met, we, Cass and I met the, the neighbor of the, where the wagon was. They were, it was all out in farming country.

Um-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Larry O'Doss: … he was a trucker and happened to have…

He was gonna be taking off, and so he brought the, the wagon-

Scott Hammond: Coming to help out

Larry O'Doss: … out to Willits. We met him-

Scott Hammond: Perfect

Larry O'Doss: … down in Willits.

Scott Hammond: Close enough.

Larry O'Doss: Rolled it onto our trailer and-

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh

Larry O'Doss: … brought it home. And since then, we've, um,

got a different wagon, a little bit lighter wagon. That's a pretty heavy wagon, old school wagon.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Great wagon, but old school, and so, um, we got a different wagon.

We got more horses.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Larry O'Doss: King and Trigger are no longer with us, but, um,

they, they did a great job the first f- four or five years of, um, the, that setup of-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … and then, and we had a mixture of Clydes and Shires.

We've, we've just gravitated more to the Shires.

Scott Hammond: So primarily, do you breed them at all?

Or do you j-

Larry O'Doss: We don't, no

Scott Hammond: … do you show, show them then take them-

Larry O'Doss: Show them, yeah. And, and, um, I guess it's one of those,

guys deal because all these horses that we get-

Scott Hammond: Mm

Larry O'Doss: … are, uh, we have two young ones, two

uh, they're in training. But, uh, they're mai- mainly 10, 12 years old, and that's kind

of the-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … you know, where they start to look for a different

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And so we have this old guys rule thing.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: It kinda works with me, you know?

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Larry O'Doss: Gray hair and-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Larry O'Doss: … the vibe. It's kinda good. [laughs]

Scott Hammond: I don't know what you're talking about at all. I,

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: No, that's cool. What a great, great heritage, and that's something,

of service to share your passion-

Larry O'Doss: It is

Scott Hammond: … and-

Larry O'Doss: The reason we-

Scott Hammond: … people love horses

Larry O'Doss: … love that is we really saw a, a need to promote

agriculture.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: [clears throat] To me, agriculture is, uh,

freedom.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Um, you know, you, you have the,

of things.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: And, and when we drive the horses, I'm,

think that-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Larry O'Doss: … you know, we can do anything we want.

Scott Hammond: That's right.

Larry O'Doss: And, um, and this is some of our heritage.

This country is built on the backs of horses.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Uh, all of it, the whole country was.

Scott Hammond: I was reminded of freedom. We were at the Miramar Air Show-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … America's Air Show over the weekend.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And, um-It's a three-day air show that has-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: …

well, it has everything. And, and to see, you know, an F seven– 15 go, you know, four Gs-

Larry O'Doss: Straight up

Scott Hammond: … up, and just hear the roar, and you go,

"This is amazing."

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I– Where- wherever you're at, it's, it's the sound of freedom.

It's like we are free, you know, through s- you know, peace through strength.

Larry O'Doss: Through strength.

Scott Hammond: You know?

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And, and these… And it's all ran by Marines.

It's Marine-

Larry O'Doss: Uh-huh

Scott Hammond: … Military Base.

Larry O'Doss: Oh, wow.

Scott Hammond: And, uh, got– You know, they're all, they're all 15 years old.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs] Right. Right.

Scott Hammond: But it was really heartwarming, and it was fun, and, um,

so much stuff to do. So if you ever get to that air show, it's,

Three days.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: It's really fun, so. Hey, uh, in conclusion, a couple things.

Larry O'Doss: Okay.

Scott Hammond: If you had to do one or two things over,

life?

Larry O'Doss: One or two things over.

I would not worry as much.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Good one. Stressing out? Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yep. Living in your head.

Larry O'Doss: Yep. Yep.

Scott Hammond: How do I know about that?

Larry O'Doss: Turn, turn it over to God.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: That's-

Scott Hammond: That's good

Larry O'Doss: … that's cool. Now, don't worry as much.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Don't worry, be happy. Every little thing,

Larry O'Doss: It's gonna work out. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Seems to.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Except for that one today that looked so hard.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: It's always, there's that one that looks horrible.

[laughs]

Larry O'Doss: Right. Right. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Cool. So on your, um…

What do you wanna be remembered for?

Larry O'Doss: Uh, probably

kinda how we started talking about, you know, what's my daily charge.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Larry O'Doss: Good guy, gentleman-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Larry O'Doss: … professional,

helpful-

Scott Hammond: Trusted

Larry O'Doss: … contributed, trusted.

Scott Hammond: That's good.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I hear integrity in that.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Faithful and serving other people. Um, I al- I ask this frequently.

What, what's that say on, on Larry's tombstone?

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Uh, well, hopefully spell my name right.

But-

Scott Hammond: [laughs] Phone number, email address,

website.

[laughs]

Larry O'Doss: No for-

[laughs]

Scott Hammond: Sorry.

Larry O'Doss: No forwarding calls, please.

Scott Hammond: No forwarding calls, please. [laughs] He stopped taking

calls.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Well, cool. Any parting shots?

Larry O'Doss: Well, that's a good thumbs up.

Scott Hammond: Anything you, you wanna talk about before you go?

Larry O'Doss: No, this was a lot of fun. This is a great place.

Scott Hammond: Thank you.

Larry O'Doss: Great spot.

Scott Hammond: This is a great space. This-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … Nick is amazing and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … just a good guy and so-

Larry O'Doss: This is fun. And, you know, this is a great reminder in life,

kinda conversations.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Larry O'Doss: I, I think I have these deeper conversations

Scott Hammond: Well, good

Larry O'Doss: … and I should have them with other people.

Scott Hammond: Well, you got a couple topics now.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs] Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Got the no guy culture-

Larry O'Doss: The no, yeah

Scott Hammond: … and the, and the, um…

Yeah, I, I, I, I agree. There's, there's the grit.

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: There's grit here.

Larry O'Doss: There is.

Scott Hammond: And that's what makes us really iconoclastic and unique and-

Larry O'Doss: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … um, and it, it's, it– I think you grabbed some of that.

And, and there's the, the spirit of the area, the spirit of the people.

Larry O'Doss: Mm-hmm.

Scott Hammond: You know, the land is, is, of course, unique.

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: You know, world-class.

Larry O'Doss: Absolutely.

Scott Hammond: My kids all come back and they go, "Hey,

Larry O'Doss: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: "I can breathe here. It's ama- Smell the ocean." I go, "Yeah."

Larry O'Doss: Right.

Scott Hammond: "I do every day. Thank you for reminding me."

Larry O'Doss: Thanks for reminding me, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's good. So, no, thanks for coming.

I appreciate you and, uh, our friendship and, um, um, look to hear more from you.

Larry O'Doss: Great.

Scott Hammond: All right. Anything else?

Larry O'Doss: Hey, take care.

Scott Hammond: There it is.

Larry O'Doss: [laughs]

Scott Hammond: You take care. Thanks, Larry.

Larry O'Doss: Bye.

[laughs]