#121. How Ferndale Takes Care of Its Seniors | Leira Satlof

Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, boys and girls, and all those out to sea, it's Scott Hammond with the 100% Humboldt podcast, with my new best friend, Leira.

Scott Hammond: Hi, Leira.

Leira Satlof: Hi, Scott.

Scott Hammond: How are you?

Leira Satlof: I'm doing well, thank you.

Scott Hammond: Tell us your last name.

Leira Satlof: Satlof.

Scott Hammond: Satlof. Gotcha. Tell us your story. Who's, who, who's Leira?

Leira Satlof: Uh-

Scott Hammond: Who are you and what are you doing here?

Leira Satlof: Well, I've done a lot of things in Humboldt County.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Most people probably know me either because I ran Ferndale Repertory Theatre for a number of years-

Scott Hammond: Yes, you did

Leira Satlof: … or because I had a food truck for a hot minute-

Scott Hammond: Really?

Leira Satlof: … called Nature Serving World Food Fast.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: Um, yes, and now I run Ferndale Senior Resource Agency.

Scott Hammond: In Ferndale, which is in California.

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Wait, I could use my, my prop already. Look at this. So this is my, uh, map of Humboldt.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: And this is where we are here in Humboldt Bay, Eureka. Oh, Eureka's here. That's Arcata. And Ferndale is right down there, as you know. There it is right there. The little village of… The Victorian village.

Leira Satlof: It is a Victorian village.

Scott Hammond: Is it true that you have to live there about 2,200 years u- before you're local? Or considered as a local?

Leira Satlof: I don't think so, but it is true. That's not my impression.

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.

Leira Satlof: Uh, most of the Main Street businesses are owned by people who retired and got some sort of, you know, retirement project and thought it would be fun to be in retail, and are now dealing with the consequences of that.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Leira Satlof: Um, and they seem perfectly welcome in town. Um, but it is true that Ferndale has a long history.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: And that, um, especially in my business, where I'm taking, uh, you know, providing services for older folk, that there are, uh, layers of family

Leira Satlof: relations.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Uh, and so it's been… I, I often say I wish somebody would give me, like, a family tree overlay with the town map-

Leira Satlof: … so that I know who's, you know-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Leira Satlof: … which families are related-

Scott Hammond: There's the, there's the Portuguese

Leira Satlof: … to whom and which houses.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, it's got a rich heritage, so Portuguese, Italian, and what's the, it's not, is it Dutch? It's not Dutch.

Scott Hammond: They're, uh, Danish, Copenhagen.

Leira Satlof: Finnish? I don't know.

Scott Hammond: Is there some Finnish? Maybe from Denmark. A lot of dairy people. Anyway.

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Hi, Ferndale. What's up? You know who's cool in Ferndale that was on my show is, uh, my boy from, um, the Steeple, the Old Steeple.

Leira Satlof: Oh, yeah. He's great.

Scott Hammond: He's a great guy, man. Isn't it terrible, uh, everybody-

Leira Satlof: And that's, and that's a beautiful thing that, that he's doing there.

Scott Hammond: Uh.

Leira Satlof: Um, Mark, uh, Daniels, I think is his name, right?

Scott Hammond: No, it's the other guy.

Leira Satlof: It's the other guy?

Scott Hammond: He might… Yeah, it's the other guy. And I'll think of it here in a minute. He was a guest. Great guy. He's in a band. He's in a surf-

Leira Satlof: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Scott Hammond: … band. They're guy- They, they do good shows too.

Leira Satlof: They do great shows, and it's a, they've done a, a, it's a beautiful little space that they've created there.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's really-

Leira Satlof: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … it's-

Leira Satlof: Fun space to see an artist in.

Scott Hammond: We see Huckleberry Flint every year, uh, there. They do two shows. It's always fun.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: And Tulla's Tacos.

Leira Satlof: Hi. Tulla's is great.

Scott Hammond: Hi, Glory. Yeah, you're right. It's, uh, there's a lot of people that kind of are imports, but y- uh, to my, to, to not make my point, it's always friendly there.

Scott Hammond: I've never-

Leira Satlof: Yes

Scott Hammond: … felt that, you know, that vibe, whatever that vibe is, but it's always-

Leira Satlof: What vibe?

Scott Hammond: … that unwelcoming, "Hey, we're, we're local, and what are you doing here?" vibe.

Leira Satlof: Oh, I mean, I think that's just the difference between those who understand tourism and those who understand cows.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Leira Satlof: Right.

Scott Hammond: I like that. Good. So tell us, tell us the Leira story.

Leira Satlof: Oh, the Leira story. Okay, so I, uh, was born in Manhattan, and my parents are artists.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: And, uh,

Leira Satlof: my mother, we moved to San Francisco. My parents divorced. My, moved to San Francisco with a crazy Italian guy.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: And, uh, bought a piece of property in southern Humboldt County.

Scott Hammond: Wow. What was his name?

Leira Satlof: Carlo Mazzone Clementi.

Scott Hammond: Oh, famous.

Leira Satlof: People, people might know him as the founder of Dell'Arte, which he founded with my mother, Jane Hill.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: So that started, Dell'Arte started on a piece of property in Panther Gap.

Scott Hammond: Famous, yeah.

Leira Satlof: Uh, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Not that, not that necessary.

Leira Satlof: And then eventually they got tired of commuting.

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.

Leira Satlof: And so they found the building in Blue Lake, and they-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … moved to Eureka, and I think I was in, uh, I don't remember, fourth or fifth grade when that happened. So did most of my childhood here.

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.

Leira Satlof: And then, uh, went to Manhattan to study opera.

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Leira Satlof: And then lived in Santa Rosa for 20-something years.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: Uh, and then came back here.

Scott Hammond: Manhattan, I bet that was something.

Leira Satlof: Manhattan is something. Manhattan in the '80s was really something.

Scott Hammond: I bet.

Leira Satlof: Everybody was dropping dead.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it was really … It was a lot of… I remember New York really needed cleaning up at some point, as I remember.

Leira Satlof: Oh, it wa- was also the height of the tragic AIDS

Leira Satlof: crisis.

Scott Hammond: Right. Right, right, right. That's hard.

Leira Satlof: So when I was in school, lots of my colleagues were unwell.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. That's sad. Um, so today you've, uh, did you gradu- you didn't graduate Arcata High.

Scott Hammond: You just-

Leira Satlof: No, no, I didn't graduate anywhere.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Um, I left Eureka High, which was just a little too provincial for me at the time, and, uh, I, um, went, I told my parents that I had been accepted at the Wa- University of Washington, which was not quite true. I had been accepted by a voice teacher who also taught at the University of

Leira Satlof: Washington.

Scott Hammond: A little different.

Leira Satlof: It's a little different. Um, but by the time they caught me out, I had, um, gotten some big city experience, and I had applied to the Manhattan School of Music.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: So I went there, and I got an actual degree, a fantastic degree, a BM.

Scott Hammond: A BM, which is m- music

Leira Satlof: A Bachelor of Music, yeah.

Scott Hammond: And your mom was probably proud 'cause she's from Manhattan.

Leira Satlof: Uh, yeah, all the parents were proud.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And Carlo was… Where was he from?

Leira Satlof: Yeah, he's from Italy.

Scott Hammond: Is he Italian?

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. They had split up by then. Um, and actually my mother had remarried my father when I graduated from college.

Scott Hammond: Cool.

Leira Satlof: Uh, yeah, and then I came back here to, uh, have a baby with my first husband, who just had a baby of her own.

Scott Hammond: Oh, wow. Congrats.

Leira Satlof: And, uh, got a graduate degree from what was then Humboldt State University.

Scott Hammond: Now it's Cal Poly.

Leira Satlof: And now it is.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. We just had, uh, President Richard on. He's amazing guy.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, good school.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So cool. You've… So you traveled a bit.

Leira Satlof: I've traveled a bit.

Scott Hammond: What'd you do when you came back from, uh, opera school or music school with your…

Leira Satlof: Oh, let's see. What did I do? Well, we came here. I taught at Dell'Arte for a while. I had a baby. I got a graduate degree. My husband and I split up. He moved to Santa Rosa.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: And then I moved to Santa Rosa with my now h- current husband.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Leira Satlof: And we lived there for 20-something years, where I was the cantorial soloist at a, a synagogue and taught at the junior college. Did a lot of directing of shows at the junior college in

Leira Satlof: Santa Rosa.

Scott Hammond: Nice. Good school.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. And then in 2012, um, I had the crazy

Leira Satlof: idea that I would open a food truck in Humboldt County.

Scott Hammond: Wow, after-

Leira Satlof: And like-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Leira Satlof: … like most food businesses, it lasted three years- … and nearly bankrupted me. And then, uh, lucky for me, Ferndale Repertory Theatre was looking for somebody to-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … to help it recover from some bad leadership.

Scott Hammond: They had a l- a long, colorful history, right?

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Been, been around a while.

Leira Satlof: Yes. Ferndale Rep has been around for almost 50 years, I think-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Leira Satlof: … now. Maybe more than 50 years now.

Scott Hammond: Nice little theater too.

Leira Satlof: Beautiful theater.

Scott Hammond: And then there's the theater in Scotia, which I thought was really cool back in the

Scott Hammond: day.

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: I have no idea what it's like today, but-

Leira Satlof: I think it's exactly the same

Scott Hammond: … all redwood and-

Leira Satlof: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … kinda interesting, like tree thing, like tree f- forms of wood

Scott Hammond: in there.

Leira Satlof: Indeed.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, interesting.

Scott Hammond: Well, cool. Um, so your current gig is you're taking a senior center, senior resource

Scott Hammond: center?

Leira Satlof: Uh, s- re- resource agency. We don't actually have a place.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: We, uh, use the commercial kitchen at the Ferndale Community Center, which some people know as the Fireman's

Leira Satlof: Pavilion.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: And we have a nice… The city owns that building, and we have a nice partnership with the city where we, we run some classes in there-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … and we have activities during the day, and then-

Scott Hammond: I love it.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, I've been working with Area One on Aging, Agency on Aging,

Scott Hammond: A1AA.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. What about them?

Scott Hammond: Oh, I just, uh, I've started to r- be, uh, to resource them for like Medicare and-

Leira Satlof: Oh, yeah

Scott Hammond: … and things of that nature.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And we're really-

Leira Satlof: That high cap program is fantastic.

Scott Hammond: High cap, yeah. Rosanna.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Hi, Rosanna. Yeah, they… She does a really good job. Maggie Craft is coming on soon.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. So yeah, I think you guys all do a super noble mission there in taking care of all of our seniors who are, turns out are, are us.

Leira Satlof: Well, that's true. That's really true.

Scott Hammond: It's become us.

Leira Satlof: Yep. Well, Ferndale's a little bit tricky, right? Because, um, the bridge turns out to be a bit of a barrier for folks.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Leira Satlof: So, um, so we run the Meals on Wheels program-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … in Ferndale, uh, about 70 clients a day.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: And, uh, we have a transport service because Ferndale

Leira Satlof: has no bank.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: And, um, we're working on improving the grocery store. The grocery store's just been sold, so we all have high hopes-

Scott Hammond: Oh, nice

Leira Satlof: … about the grocery store.

Leira Satlof: Um, but yeah, it's hard for folks to get, you know, to their doctor's appointments and whatnot, so we have a transport service.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Um, and then we have all these kind of social groups and-

Scott Hammond: Yeah. I would say-

Leira Satlof: … educational groups

Scott Hammond: … it's an island, right?

Leira Satlof: E- educational and, uh, exercise kinds of things geared specifically for older folk.

Scott Hammond: Will you have a building someday?

Leira Satlof: Oh, my board would really like me to do a capital campaign and get us a building

Leira Satlof: someday.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Maybe somebody will give you one.

Leira Satlof: Maybe. Could happen.

Scott Hammond: Could… Patrick Cleary, hey, um, well, he does, he d- he d- did he own that big barn where the KHUM was?

Leira Satlof: I'm not sure about that.

Scott Hammond: On the edge of town. Yeah.

Leira Satlof: That might be true.

Scott Hammond: Hey, he's a generous man.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. Right?

Scott Hammond: Hi, Pat.

Leira Satlof: No, that is absolutely the kind of thing that can happen in Ferndale. So for example-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … we just did a fundraiser. It was an online fundraiser. It had a $3,000 goal. We did it in partnership with Access Humboldt, who kind of hosted it. There were 32-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Leira Satlof: … it was called the Bold Day of Giving.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, we were part of that a little bit.

Leira Satlof: Oh, were you?

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Who's we?

Scott Hammond: Me, Scott Hammond, State Farm. Like a good neighbor.

Leira Satlof: State Farm was a part of the Bold Day of Giving?

Scott Hammond: My State Farm was.

Leira Satlof: Huh, interesting.

Scott Hammond: I was bold, and I gave.

Leira Satlof: Oh, I see.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: For, as a donor.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, correct.

Leira Satlof: I thought you meant as a-

Scott Hammond: No, no, I didn't organize anything

Leira Satlof: … I was like, "State Farm is not a nonprofit, is it?"

Scott Hammond: No, no.

Leira Satlof: Um-

Scott Hammond: They're, they're super, they're super helpful 'cause they air all, all these shows. You'll s- we'll see you there.

Leira Satlof: Fantastic.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Well, thank you, State Farm. Good for you.

Scott Hammond: Thank you, Christina Shields, and all of Access

Scott Hammond: Humboldt.

Leira Satlof: Anyway, yes. Oh, for sure.

Scott Hammond: They, they're wonderful.

Leira Satlof: They, they did incredible work. So anyway, um, we had a $3,000 goal, and we raised

Leira Satlof: $6,095.

Scott Hammond: Beautiful.

Leira Satlof: So that a building could drop into our lap is not a entirely impossible thing.

Scott Hammond: Think big, right? Watch what you pray for. You might get it.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. We don't receive 'cause we don't ask, so we need to ask more. And I love that, and so I, I love the fact that you have a heart for seniors. That's pretty cool.

Leira Satlof: Seniors are really quite interesting, and as you said, we are them.

Scott Hammond: We are them.

Leira Satlof: So, um, I have a mother who's 87, who-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Leira Satlof: … as we speak, this is why I have a heart out, as we speak, is being moved from a hospital where she's just had a variety of procedures-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Leira Satlof: … to, um, uh, Granada, and she is not happy about it.

Scott Hammond: I bet.

Leira Satlof: Um, so I took this job kinda just in time-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … to learn. I've been in the job for just over a year now, and, uh, I have learned a ton.

Scott Hammond: Lots of resources

Leira Satlof: And, um, lots of folks in this community have been really helpful to me.

Scott Hammond: Cool.

Leira Satlof: And, uh, but also the seniors are f- are

Leira Satlof: fascinating.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Leira Satlof: And I get to come to work, like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, there's a thing called a SAIL class, Staying Active and Independent for Life.

Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.

Leira Satlof: It's free to anybody who's in the Ferndale neighborhood.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Um, and, uh, people are very devoted about… It's a long class.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: It's a two-hour long class, right?

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: But it starts with aerobics and, you know, to music.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Leira Satlof: Yes. So I will come into my office Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and there are all these people, you know, like dancing to the Bee Gees

Scott Hammond: Perfect

Leira Satlof: … and doing their own thing.

Scott Hammond: Way to go.

Leira Satlof: It's like the most cheerful way to come to work.

Scott Hammond: I love that.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, me too.

Scott Hammond: I think it's really cool. And, and so many seniors have so many cool stories and life lessons and, and wanna share.

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, and wanna share. I have a 93-year-old attorney that I'm gonna have on later in the summer.

Leira Satlof: Fun.

Scott Hammond: Local guy that's got, you know, he's gonna regale us with s- crazy history of, of Humboldt. It should be fun. Speaking of Humboldt, what do you like about Humboldt County?

Leira Satlof: Oh, you know, the environment is pretty

Leira Satlof: incredible.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Uh, my husband and I are thinking about retiring to Oregon to be with our youngest child.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: And, um, so we've been spending some time up there looking for property and whatnot, and every time we drive back down, it's like, "Hmm."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: "Hmm, it's very beautiful here. It's very beautiful there."

Scott Hammond: What part of Oregon?

Leira Satlof: It's quite different. They wanna be in Jackson County.

Scott Hammond: Yes. That's, um… Is that Grants Pass, or is that

Scott Hammond: Josephine?

Leira Satlof: Uh, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm not sure if Jack- if Grants Pass. I think Grants Pass is in, in Jackson.

Scott Hammond: I think so. One's Josephine and one's Jackson.

Scott Hammond: I think-

Leira Satlof: Yeah, Josephine is right when you cross the border, and then it pretty quickly becomes Jackson.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: So, uh, sh- my youngest, who is a, a world-traveling lighting technician, needs to be within 45 minutes of th- an international airport, which Medford has.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Leira Satlof: So that's kind of our circle.

Scott Hammond: That's neat. And then there's Ashland, the Britt Festival, and-

Leira Satlof: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … the Britt. Have you been to the Britt and seen concerts?

Leira Satlof: I have not seen a concert, but I have driven by the Britt.

Scott Hammond: Oh my gosh. It's so cool.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. And we now have, like, a favorite coffee shop in Jacksonville.

Scott Hammond: Oh, the, uh… Which one?

Leira Satlof: It's called-

Scott Hammond: It's right by the Britt down the hill

Leira Satlof: … Bean…

Scott Hammond: Something with a bean in it.

Leira Satlof: Human Bean. Human-

Scott Hammond: It's got, it's got brick. It's got brick on the inside.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, yeah, exactly right.

Scott Hammond: It's a cool place.

Leira Satlof: They make a mean bagel in there.

Scott Hammond: Really? Yeah, they're good.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: We, we eat there sometimes. Yeah, we love going up there to see shows. In fact, we're going in a few weeks to see, first show of the year, Los Lobos, I think.

Leira Satlof: Oh, nice.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it should be fun.

Leira Satlof: Good show.

Scott Hammond: Whiskey Myers, and then we're gonna see…

Scott Hammond: I mean, I'm really old, but I like String Cheese Incident. They're really like this… They're so good.

Leira Satlof: Okay.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Well, you're out- outside my wheelhouse now.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, I gotta wear tie-dye and everything. It's really gotta be colorful. So anyway, uh, fun, fun group of people. So yeah, we- we're g- we're going to see about six shows this year.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's just fun to, to hang out, and we look around at all the silver-haired people, and Joni goes, my wife, "Hey, our tribe is, they're all here."

Leira Satlof: Yes.

Scott Hammond: I go, "Yep. Yeah, they're, there they are."

Leira Satlof: We went to see Curtis Salgado recently, and, uh-

Scott Hammond: Is he blues?

Leira Satlof: Yeah. Incredible. Incredible story and amazing performer at his age with only one lung.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: Um-

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: And yes, the entire audience was-

Scott Hammond: Where'd you see him?

Leira Satlof: We're all old now.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Uh, I don't remember the name of the theater. It's a converted movie theater in, uh, in Grants Pass.

Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. Yeah, Judy Collins is coming there in October.

Leira Satlof: There you go.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's the Rogue Theater. Been there for a long time. They have a, they've had a lot of shows over the years too. But, uh, Britt, we just like it 'cause it's outdoors, and it's, it's a very small Hollywood Bowl surrounded-

Leira Satlof: Right

Scott Hammond: … you've been there, you've seen it. But it's, uh, it's, it's, well, it's magic. You're right, the, so you leave Humboldt County, you go up there, and Joni and I have nine kids, three of which live there, and three grand- four

Scott Hammond: grandkids.

Leira Satlof: Wow.

Scott Hammond: And so we've been going back and forth for a while, and mentally going back and forth going, "I don't know, uh, could we leave Humboldt

Scott Hammond: County?" I-

Leira Satlof: Right, I know. It's a tricky decision.

Scott Hammond: It's, there's so much, so much here.

Leira Satlof: Well, I'll tell you what the deciding factor for us is. I mean, aside from the fact that we'd like to be near our children, um, uh, is healthcare.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Is this Talking Seniors Talk again?

Leira Satlof: So as, as my, as my 87-year-old mother is trying to access

Leira Satlof: healthcare-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … and I am looking at how hard that is-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Leira Satlof: … not just for her, but also for many of our clients-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Leira Satlof: … uh, you know, I'm thinking maybe go someplace with a really good healthcare infrastructure would be smart.

Scott Hammond: Robust.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, it is robust.

Scott Hammond: So my daughter's next-door neighbor, Tim, is a doctor, and he sees a lot of people from Humboldt. Go figure. You know, so they, we, they come up there.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And, um, yeah, they have a lot of healthcare and a lot of senior housing and senior programs and pretty, pretty hardcore. International airport, good weather, kids.

Leira Satlof: Yep.

Scott Hammond: Healthcare.

Leira Satlof: Yep.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Leira Satlof: All good reasons, but we're not retiring yet, so- … we'll see what the universe has in store for us.

Scott Hammond: That's right. Hear that, universe? So what do you, what do you not like, since we're back on Humboldt, what do you not like about Humboldt? Anything that catches you-

Leira Satlof: Healthcare

Scott Hammond: … uh, there you go. There's one.

Leira Satlof: No, I mean, I love Humboldt. You know, Humboldt has, uh, I don't know, this might be apocryphal, but, uh, more artists per capita than any place else in the United States is something that we used to say when I was-

Scott Hammond: Right

Leira Satlof: … in the arts world. I'm not sure it's actually true.

Scott Hammond: Kind of anecdotal-

Leira Satlof: But-

Scott Hammond: … but probably true

Leira Satlof: … uh, it might be true. Uh, in part because, um, there were fantastic programs for developing those kinds of things in the

Leira Satlof: '70s when-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … I mean, that's when Ferndale became an artist resident-

Scott Hammond: Right

Leira Satlof: … town. That's when Dell'Arte was established.

Leira Satlof: That was-

Scott Hammond: Right

Leira Satlof: … you know, we were trying to get people working after the Vietnam War, and there were-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … all these programs.

Scott Hammond: And you got the Ink People that does a lot here still.

Leira Satlof: Yes, and more theater than any small area could possibly need

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Talking to Paul DeMarco about music in the Old Town Bar and Grill in those days, he had music five, six nights a week-

Leira Satlof: Yep

Scott Hammond: … with real bands.

Leira Satlof: Yep.

Scott Hammond: Robert Cray would come through and, you know, all these guys that were-

Leira Satlof: Yep

Scott Hammond: … fabulous and, um, so less of that. Doesn't mean we don't have good music. There's lots of good musicians.

Leira Satlof: Lots of good musicians. Do you ever go to the Arcata Playhouse?

Scott Hammond: I do. Yeah, I really like that.

Leira Satlof: Me too.

Scott Hammond: We saw The Wardens. They were a bluegrass band from

Scott Hammond: BC.

Leira Satlof: Nice.

Scott Hammond: And they were– They had, they had, like, ranger uniforms, and they had a sl- a slideshow of Banff and Vancouver-

Leira Satlof: Nice

Scott Hammond: … and all the… They were great, yeah. I've seen a couple people there that were really good. It's a fun venue.

Leira Satlof: It's a great venue. Very sweet.

Scott Hammond: Arcata Theatre Lounge is interesting. We just saw, um, Dirty Cello at Humbrew's, uh, last weekend, and she's amazing. She can play rock and roll cello.

Scott Hammond: She's-

Leira Satlof: Fantastic

Scott Hammond: … you talk about a hardworking band. They're from Bay Area, and they come… She's come several times now. She's quite good. So hey, let's do the quiz. You, you already walked right into the, uh, Dick Taylor chocolate world.

Leira Satlof: Oh.

Scott Hammond: Are you a milk chocolate or a dark-

Leira Satlof: Are we gonna have a chocolate quiz?

Scott Hammond: You, yeah. You-

Leira Satlof: I'm a milk chocolate kinda gal.

Scott Hammond: Oh, perfect. Okay, let's do this. Here, hazelnut okay?

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay. Look, look at… It's not yours yet, so-

Leira Satlof: Okay

Scott Hammond: … you gotta, you gotta, you gotta earn this now.

Leira Satlof: Okay. Maybe I should've asked a question or two.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Leira Satlof: You offered to answer questions.

Scott Hammond: Look, we've never done it that way.

Scott Hammond: Go ahead. Sh- you wanna, you wanna ask a question?

Leira Satlof: No, no, no.

Scott Hammond: Oh, okay.

Leira Satlof: I'm just saying when we were setting up the interview, you asked if I had any questions, and I said-

Scott Hammond: Oh

Leira Satlof: … "No."

Scott Hammond: Okay. Yeah.

Leira Satlof: You know, just a-

Scott Hammond: Well, I have the-

Leira Satlof: … just a little bit of hubris.

Scott Hammond: Okay, I got… Okay, got it. Question number one. Best day ever.

Leira Satlof: Hmm. My youngest's wedding.

Scott Hammond: Ooh, nice.

Leira Satlof: Prairie Creek. Beautiful.

Scott Hammond: That's my wife's favorite hiking spots all over there. Like, right out in the meadow there?

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That'd be magic.

Leira Satlof: No. Well, it was in the forest. Like, there's a little theater, little amphitheater-

Scott Hammond: Right

Leira Satlof: … like, luxury spot. That's where they did it.

Scott Hammond: Oh, that's a cool spot.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow. Plenty of free parking. Up and down the road there, you could park a million cars.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, that's true.

Scott Hammond: We'll go up there when it's, uh, uh, they gate it off, and we can ride bikes-

Leira Satlof: Nice

Scott Hammond: … on the old dairy whatever parkway. Question number two. Worst day ever.

Leira Satlof: Hmm. I broke my leg while conducting, while having a temper tantrum during a technical rehearsal at Santa Rosa Junior College.

Scott Hammond: Broke-

Leira Satlof: And I finished the rehearsal before being whisked off to the hospital, and then I was in a wheelchair for four months.

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Actually broke your leg?

Leira Satlof: Oh, yeah, in several places.

Scott Hammond: Ouch. Did you fall off the stage or?

Leira Satlof: No, I was being a jerk.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Leira Satlof: And I was demonstrating something, and there was a soft spot in the stage, and my leg just sort of went sideways and-

Scott Hammond: Bummer

Leira Satlof: … I'm a big girl, so when I go down, I break things.

Scott Hammond: I break things when I go down. What do you find fulfilling in your life?

Leira Satlof: Uh, I love to garden, and I use that as sort of a regulation tool.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: When life gets overwhelming, you will find me weeding.

Scott Hammond: Ah.

Leira Satlof: Uh-

Scott Hammond: Where's Mom? She's processing in the garden.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, exactly right. Exactly right.

Scott Hammond: That's good. It's good therapy.

Leira Satlof: She's out there. Well, then they know whether or not they really wanna come out and talk to me, right?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Leira Satlof: "What's she doing? She's pulling weeds. Mm, maybe later."

Scott Hammond: Yeah. "Today she's fertilizing. Okay, I could go say hi."

Leira Satlof: Right, exactly. "And today she's harvesting." "Oh, good.

Leira Satlof: Let's go."

Scott Hammond: Let's go get a snack. It's a process. Um, and what is for you a perfect day in Humboldt?

Leira Satlof: Mm. Well-

Scott Hammond: Do whatever you want, 9 AM to 9 PM. Money's not an object. Where do you go? What do you do?

Leira Satlof: Oh, nice.

Scott Hammond: Let's go.

Leira Satlof: Well, I start at… What is that beautiful restaurant that's right over the, in Trinidad that's right over the, um… It's owned by the tribe up there.

Scott Hammond: Seascape.

Leira Satlof: Is it Seascape?

Scott Hammond: On the, on the pier?

Leira Satlof: Right on the pier.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Best sourdough blackberry pancake you could ever hope to eat.

Scott Hammond: Really? Good one.

Leira Satlof: Oh my gosh. Go try it. Really, really good.

Scott Hammond: Really?

Leira Satlof: Uh, so that would be the start of it, and then there would be a beach

Leira Satlof: walk.

Scott Hammond: Lots of beaches up there.

Leira Satlof: Yeah. I mean, you can just step across the parking lot if you wanna take-

Scott Hammond: It's right-

Leira Satlof: … the low-hanging fruit.

Scott Hammond: It's right there.

Leira Satlof: It's good. It's right there.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Leira Satlof: Uh, and then, let's see. We'll drive back south, maybe stop at Los Bagels and pick up a little something, something to have as

Leira Satlof: a snack-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … later.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Uh, and then I would happily spend the day hanging out in my beautiful yard in Fields Landing.

Scott Hammond: Very nice.

Leira Satlof: If I was feeling super ambitious, I might go for a walk in a redwood.

Scott Hammond: Oh, there you go. Okay.

Leira Satlof: Something somewhere.

Scott Hammond: Fields Landing. So you have a garden in Fields Landing?

Leira Satlof: I have a big garden-

Scott Hammond: What do you grow?

Leira Satlof: … in Fields Landing. Well, for a minute, I left this out of my biography, but from, uh, during COVID when theaters closed-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … I took a job as a bread baker at the co-op.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Oh.

Leira Satlof: 'Cause I wanted to learn more about that-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … and how better to do that than take a job?

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: Uh, and I gave up my vegetable garden while I was working at the co-op because we got great vegetables for free at the co-op. So I now have a lot of flowers because I changed everything over to flowers, but now I don't work at the co-op for the last year and some.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Leira Satlof: So I've begun growing vegetables again. It's going okay. I've got various squashes and tomatoes and-

Scott Hammond: Love both the co-ops

Leira Satlof: … lettuce and radishes and all the things.

Scott Hammond: Wow. You, and flowers.

Leira Satlof: And lots of flowers.

Scott Hammond: I love it. Yeah, Joni had a garden, and we just have, we have a lot of apple trees now around the garden.

Leira Satlof: Ooh.

Scott Hammond: And deer.

Leira Satlof: Oh.

Scott Hammond: Oh, dear

Leira Satlof: Oh, dear.

Scott Hammond: Oh, dear. We have lots of deer.

Leira Satlof: That's a great sideline of my job in Ferndale-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … is that I often go to people's homes to deliver, uh, if they need medical equipment. We have a medical lending-

Scott Hammond: Mm

Leira Satlof: … library for free.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Leira Satlof: Um, so if you live in Ferndale and you need a walker or something for a little while, give us a call.

Scott Hammond: Cool.

Leira Satlof: Uh, anyway, I get to go to people's houses to drop thing, things off, and during apple season and plum season-

Scott Hammond: Ah

Leira Satlof: … you can just like- "Oh, so and so out on Centerville, they have the best apples."

Scott Hammond: And they're, and they're giving some away.

Leira Satlof: And they're giving them away because they're broken and they can't pick them.

Scott Hammond: Right. Would you like some zucchini with that?

Leira Satlof: Right?

Scott Hammond: That was the old joke. How do you know somebody with no friends? They're buying zucchini.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, exactly.

Scott Hammond: In, in Humboldt in the summer somewhere. Anyway, so he- here's the fun question. This comes from Joni's father, Tom.

Leira Satlof: Okay.

Scott Hammond: Hi, Tom, in heaven.

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

Leira Satlof: I want to retire

Leira Satlof: with joy-

Scott Hammond: Mm

Leira Satlof: … and enough energy in my body to do the things that life has not given me room to do yet.

Scott Hammond: Ooh, well thought out answer.

Leira Satlof: I've been thinking about this for a while.

Scott Hammond: It's a good one.

Leira Satlof: You, you work with older folk, and you start to think pretty clearly about your

Leira Satlof: end of life.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Leira Satlof: Uh, who am I? Yeah, I don't know. Ask me tomorrow, I'd probably give you a different answer.

Scott Hammond: Right. Change, shifts a little bit.

Leira Satlof: I'm a, I'm a creative and energetic problem solver.

Scott Hammond: I like it. I think what I like about you is you're really self-aware. There's some self-aware thing that you do that I like.

Leira Satlof: Huh.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. I mean, I, you may be wrong, but it c- it, I think probably

Scott Hammond: not.

Leira Satlof: Well-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Leira Satlof: … it's acquired if it's true.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, that, uh, that whole emotional intelligence thing that we all talk about. Well, hey, um, you've done very well.

Leira Satlof: Oh, well enough to earn chocolate?

Scott Hammond: From Dick Taylor Chocolate.

Leira Satlof: Fantastic.

Scott Hammond: Located in Eureka, California.

Leira Satlof: I love Dick Taylor.

Scott Hammond: Just for you. Don't eat it all today. Might share it.

Leira Satlof: I won't. I might even share it. This might even be my favorite, hazelnut milk chocolate.

Scott Hammond: It's tasty. It– You know, all of it goes good with a little bit of red wine.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, so true.

Scott Hammond: It's super true. That's, uh-

Leira Satlof: Or a zucchini.

Scott Hammond: Or or an apple. Sliced apples. Hmm. They do a lot of pairings over there. They've done-

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I mean, they've done pairings with whiskey and beer and-

Leira Satlof: Oh

Scott Hammond: … wine and-

Leira Satlof: Somebody needs to invite me to the whiskey and chocolate pairing.

Leira Satlof: That-

Scott Hammond: That'd be a trip

Leira Satlof: … I should go to that.

Scott Hammond: They have a whiskey chocolate they do once a year.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Or, oh, no, it's ongoing actually. It's an ongoing flavor. What, what's the other, that, uh, barley wine that they make? That they, the old-timey whatever beer? That was interesting.

Leira Satlof: Yep.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Didn't know it could be that good. So, uh, let's, as we w- wrap it up, give us the shout-out. How do we get ahold of you and the, the agency, and, and how can we participate or give-

Leira Satlof: Oh, very, very easily

Scott Hammond: … to you all and-

Leira Satlof: So, uh, 707-786-4141-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … is how you reach the agency.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Leira Satlof: We have a website, ferndalesenior.org. Not Ferndale Seniors, just one senior. There's only one senior in Pheni- Ferndale

Scott Hammond: Senior.

Leira Satlof: I'm kidding, of course.

Scott Hammond: Gotcha. Yeah.

Leira Satlof: No, it's just that some town in Connecticut or something had-

Scott Hammond: Had the seniors?

Leira Satlof: … the plural. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Leira Satlof: So I took the singular.

Scott Hammond: It's shorter.

Leira Satlof: Yeah, ferndalesenior.org.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Leira Satlof: And there you can learn all about our programming and-

Scott Hammond: And you can give

Leira Satlof: … all, all the different things we're doing. And, uh, you can give in many different ways.

Scott Hammond: Mm.

Leira Satlof: You can just send me a check.

Scott Hammond: That's cool.

Leira Satlof: PO Box 726, Ferndale 95536.

Scott Hammond: 3-6. You heard it here first. Um, so I could bring my Jag and donate a car, donate some land, maybe donate a facility for the, the center?

Leira Satlof: Yes, if you have… Not really interested in trying to remodel a barn, but if you actually have a building in which we could put a commercial kitchen.

Scott Hammond: That'd be something.

Leira Satlof: That would be something.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, I think it's great. Take care of people.

Leira Satlof: Or here's the other thing we're looking to have in case somebody has one and is gonna not need it forever. We are looking to have the kind of van that you can transport a person in their wheelchair-

Scott Hammond: Yes

Leira Satlof: … that has a wheelchair. So we have one that will transport a wheelchair-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Leira Satlof: … but not with a person in it.

Scott Hammond: We have a disabled daughter, so I'd… No, we have one.

Leira Satlof: Oh, you do?

Scott Hammond: It's a Honda. Yeah, it's beautiful.

Leira Satlof: Oh, well, when you don't need it anymore.

Scott Hammond: You'd be my first-

Leira Satlof: When you up, when you upgrade.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Michaela, you hear that?

Leira Satlof: Think, think of me.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, it's, it's beautiful. It's a Honda. It's beautiful. So, uh, real quick before we go, we always ask, what, what would you like to be your legacy? What would we– What would you like us to say about you?

Leira Satlof: Hmm. She cared and got some stuff done.

Scott Hammond: Nice. I like it. Gets that stuff done.

Leira Satlof: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Appreciate you being here.

Leira Satlof: I appreciate you inviting me.

Leira Satlof: Thank you.

Scott Hammond: And, um, yeah, and, and if you ever, um, if I could ever help, uh, I'll come– Well, I, I was gonna say I'll come by the

Scott Hammond: building.

Leira Satlof: You can come by the building. We're there most mornings.

Scott Hammond: You, you have an office?

Leira Satlof: Yeah, I have an office-

Scott Hammond: Okay

Leira Satlof: … and the kitchen is popping off until early afternoon.

Scott Hammond: You got it. Okay. Well, hey, that's it. That's a wrap. Scott Hammond with 100% Humboldt podcast. Like us, love us, join us on Facebook, Access Humboldt, all the podcast platforms. Uh, give. We would like a building and a Jag too, but maybe just a donation would be great too if you feel like you wanna support us. And, uh, mostly you could support us with a nice review. That'd be cool. Would you agree?

Leira Satlof: Yes, I do agree.

Scott Hammond: Thanks for being here, Leira.

Leira Satlof: Happy to be here.

Scott Hammond: Have a good day.

Leira Satlof: You too.