In Memory
Got some goodbye's to say...
Rachel George,
left the Salmon River many moons ago, she a Hoop took the
family to the Scott Valley for high school, starting with Bonnie and Roy.
Her life circled around her family and her family circled around her.
She was a powerful Salmon River woman and her spirit never left. I
didn't always see eye to eye about raising kids with Rachel, but we both
raised amazing families, whose daughters are still tied together, but when
I looked around at her memorial at the old George graveyard, I had
compliment her and tell a story... One day the gals of the Forks
School, Muggs, Bobbi, Suzanne, Rachel, Woody and one guy, me, were taking
up major space at the Beer Tree, (loudest bunch Marge had ever heard, and
that says a lot) pretty much scaring away anyone bold enough to think "now
there's a bunch o' good lookin wimmen" and try to break in on the table's
energy-warp. As the evening grew Rachel (Muggs and Bobbi, too) started to
worry out loud about not getting home and having dinner ready when Hoop or Mike or
Les got home from work. Rachel, drinking Boone Farm Apple Wine, had
gotten just a bit tipsy. She was worrying that Hoop would notice
when he drove by and picked her up, so
she started practicing stepping into his old Chevy pickup by trying to
casually step up onto the Beer Tree bench without swaying. She was
doing pretty good, too. Then came Hoop, he pulled over under the
Beer Tree and leaned over and swung the passenger door open for her.
Rachel gave everyone a smile and wave, got up from the table and walked
over to Hoop's waiting truck. Without hesitation she raised up that
practiced leg and stepped completely onto the seat, hitting her head on
the roof of the truck. I'm afraid that the assemble group of women
friends weren't much help, being incapacitated with laughter and tears.
When you say good by to friends that's what you get, laughter and tears.
Doug Andrews, 1947 -
2004, died with his boots on, working with his crew in the Marble Mountain
Wilderness. There's probably no more fitting image of a proud
western life, than to say, "he died with his boots on." Doug spent
his life within the love of his family and the much larger family he
shared his love for the wilderness with. I've tried to remember the
first time we met, on the Dad's Pocket fire? On a backpack trip into
the Marbles in the early 70's? When you met him it was clear where
his heart lived, deep in the wild country and it was there he eventually
died.
Gordon McNeil was born in 1905 at the ranch at the mouth of Lewis Creek, on the Salmon River. He was the oldest living Karuk man at the time of his death. This spring friends and family gathered at the graveyard in Forks of Salmon to pay their respects to a wonderful man. Proud nieces and nephews shared memories of his adventures.
David Dellinger,
a life long pacifist, was an enormous figure in the Peace Movement
for over a half a century. Dellinger stood for what was honorable in
social change and comment. He is probably best remembered for his
participation in the 68 Democratic Convention demonstrations and the trial
of the "Chicago 8" that followed. In his final statement, at the end
of the trial, over Judge Hoffman's strident admonishments, Dellinger
said:
"You want us to be like good Germans, supporting the evils of our decade,
and then when we refused to be good Germans and came to Chicago and
demonstrated, now you want us to be like good Jews, going quietly and
politely to the concentration camps while you and this court suppress
freedom and the truth. And the fact is, I am not prepared to do
that."
Ray Charles' sweet soul voice was quieted by death. I'm sure the flags stayed at half-mast for so long to honor him, it's only right.
Spaulding Gray's somewhat eccentric life ended as bizarrely as it was lived.