At this glad time of year when there is so much celebration with Hanukkah and Christmas and all they bring, sometimes sadness creeps in, like the Grinch that stole Christmas. Sometimes there are sad memories or missing loved ones who are far away now, but that is usually balanced with the happy and joyous memories of Christmas past.
However, should sad things come along that might ruin the celebration, remember the Rule of the Garbage Truck applies. A recent e-mail explained that “many people are like garbage trucks, they run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger and disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally, Just smile, wave, wish them well and move on.
Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets of Happy Camp.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t. Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. Have a blessed, garbage-free day!”
Happy Camp is a friendly little town at the top of California. It is a beautiful place. Some, like Dennis, say it is a majestic place. The wild Klamath River winds its way from Oregon to the Coast surrounded by evergreen forests beneath a beautiful azure blue sky. Last trip down the river there were several foxes crossing the road, which I like to see, and a skumk which I’d rather avoid. In the past we have seen many black tail deer, elk, moutain lion, and bear. Squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, and ringtails can also be seen. In the past, we used to watch the water for frolicing otters but I haven’t seen any lately.
What we don’t see many of, is people. Oh, there are a few cars, a few homes, and sometimes people in various modes of travel, hiking, bicycling, motorcycling or driving down the highway. Sometimes you can see a person or a group in a canoe, kayak, raft or driftboat on the River.
The thing that makes this beautiful part of creation the most wonderful place in the World is the volunteerism of the community. When we work together, we can accomplish anything!! The Grange and others in the community built our River Park, a wonderful place to gather with friends for quiet times, or festive events, for the neighbors in Happy Camp. Why even getting a high school in the depression seemed impossible from all points of view. With land and logs donated and lots of labor from the community, a two room log high school was built and served the educational needs for some years, until expansion was needed with the current high school on Indian Creek Road.
The Family Reseource Center has a gigantic need for volunteers in many areas of service that they provide. For little kids they can use people to teach arts and crafts, or offer books to the youngsters. For families they offer family nights and parenting classes. For our neighbors with the green thumbs they are launching a fabulous new community garden. It will be a great opprotunity to learn and grow food and flowers for many good purposes. They also work together with the Happy Seniors for advice on what the senior citizens of our community need. They can use drivers right now since many of the seniors need rides to medical appointments both here in town and out of town.
What do you have to offer? What do you think needs to be done? What is keeping us from all working together to achieve the goals and objectives that will bring about the best possible community for our children, our families and every individual living in this wonderful Place?
That is what this New Year, 2010, stretches before us with possibilities. Let’s work together and accomplish great things!
A sunrise memorial service had been held in honor of Chief Daniel Packer at the Ukonom Complex Incident Command Post in
Orleans in the morning. Over a thousand firefighters attended to honor the fallen firefighter who died in the line of duty. Many more attended services in Happy Camp that evening.
Chief Packer was from Washington, the East Pierce Fire & Rescue. He was preparing to take over duties of division supervision on the Panther Fire, 15 miles south of Happy Camp in rural
Siskiyou County, California.He was an experienced and able firefighter, but while Packer was scouting the fire, the wind shifted and the fire blew over him.
Each and every firefighter that comes to fight fires in our neck of the woods does so in peril of his life. We dare not take lightly the courage and valiant honor of these firefighters.
Tributes to Chief Packer mentioned his courage, service and commitment, as is true of many of our heroes fighting wildfires in the forest but some especially noted his faith, compassion and humility.
We pray that God will bless and comfort the Packer family and his friends and comrades on the fire line who have our deepest sympathy. Chief Packer is among those heroes who selfishly give of themselves for their fellowmen, and his sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Happy Camp is a small town and there’s no bad side of town. Every side is just about like any other. And this causes some people discomfort.
You see, if you’re used to being able to live on the good side of town in a larger community, it is a step down to come to a place like Happy Camp where we’re all together – the good, the imperfect, and whoever comes to live with us.
We’re deep inside the Klamath National Forest – a group of less than 1500 souls. Some were born here. Some have had family here for many centuries and others for more than one century. But many of us have no idea where our ancestors came from. We were born in this country which is not our ancestors’ native land, and we struggle to find a place we can call home. We’ve been drawn to this remote mountain community either by the hand of fate or the will of God, where we learn that Happy Campers are all like one big extended family. We’re together here, deep in the most remote part of the forest, trying to make the best of it.
So if you’re reading this website thinking you might want to move here as many have done before you, consider this. In Happy Camp we’re not just talking about the unity of mankind. We’re living it. There are no bad people here, but there are plenty of imperfect ones and if we’re going to be honest we’ll admit that everyone is imperfect. There are those who let it show and those who try to hide their imperfections, but in general we’re all pretty much alike.
Though there are no bad people here, there are bad drugs that cause some of our citizens to act in ways others consider to be irresponsible and immature. And in a larger town most of those people would be living on ‘the other side of town’ – forced by economic necessity to rent places that we can not see or be bothered by because we never go there.
Well in Happy Camp, we don’t have that type of luxury. There’s no bad neighborhood. All neighborhoods are pretty much alike with both good and troubled people in them. And though we may complain about our neighbors, they are still like our cousins, brothers and sisters, and they’re probably not going away any time soon. So like any big family there are sometimes petty arguments, then we usually get over them because that’s what people in families do.
So if you’re used to luxury living, it is possible Happy Camp isn’t the place for you. True, you could buy a home outside of town and only drive into town to get your mail and groceries, but then you’d miss the true beauty of Happy Camp. By true beauty I mean the friendships and comaraderie you find by associating with all classes of people here. Yet this apparently is not for everyone.
As editor of this news site I have met people who learned about the town from this site and came here to buy property. Please consider this your warning. Though Happy Camp is a beautiful and isolated community in the middle of a gorgeous national forest, we’re not all upscale and if you find that bothersome, you may want to look for other lodging.
However if you love humanity, care about people, and want to join together with all classes to help and find new kinds of friends, this is a great fishbowl to be in.
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Linda Martin is the editor and publisher of Happy Camp News. She writes novels in her spare time. Her writing website is at http://www.lindajomartin.com.
In my column in the “Pioneer Press” last week, I said that the present Happy Camp Health Services Board, considering comments from the majority of voting members, chose not to give the building to another organization and that“The Karuk Tribe has already put a new building for these services on their property between Second Avenue and the Highway.”
I was mistaken that the new modular was for the doctor’s offices and services that are presently in the Happy Camp Health Services Building. The modular moved unto the property will house program staff moved from the building next to the Administration Building; information technology and self-governance. The building next to the Administration Building was originally designed for a Medical and Dental Clinic and that is the area being remodeled, at considerable cost, for the medical services. The former Council Chambers will be the medical reception, medical records and nurses station. That wing is being remodeled for examination rooms.
That is why the Karuk Tribe of California notified the Happy Camp Health Services that they were NOT interested in buying or leasing the Happy Camp Health Services building and said they planned to be moved out by end of September.To hold a NEW board of VOLUNTEERS responsible for past years isn’t really fair since they coveyed their desire to listen and learn what needed to be improved.
Even though I usually ask readers to respond and share with me, I don’t get large volumes of mail in response! Last week was an exception; I received quite a few calls about the column. A caller might have given me information on corrections,. since she said I was ignorant, and was writing illegal slander, but never gave me a speck of information on what might need correcting. I did ask, but the phone slammed down! I’m still of the same mind, that Happy Camp needs mental health and similar services which are not adequately available, and that a community group, everyone working together, like the Happy Camp Health Services has always been, could help in this regard. I’m a good listener, but after calling names, no one gave me any specifics. We just don’t need more vacant unused buildings sitting around for years when there are nearly a dozen organizations that need places to meet. We can help each other when we can work together more effectively. I’m happy to listen to anyone’s views, but a few pertinent facts might be more effective than bluster and name calling.. I listened quietly to the name calling but got hung up on when I asked for help in understanding their point of view.
The speaker who rudely accused John Godwin of the Happy Camp Health Services of rudeness when he is the quietest, kindest and a hard working volunteer who called the meeting to hear all views, made me wince. That is why Leon Hillman’s comments to friends and neighbors that whatever the disagreement, we will go on being friends and neighbors was so moving. Sharing viewpoints helps us all learn, when it is done in that frame of reference.
We respect the fact that Tribal members families and also many other members of the community and their families were also active in building the clinic building. The land, milled lumber, and many hours of labor were donated by the mill and citizens of the community. Wasn’t it a wonderful accomplishment they achieved together! It reminds me of the Memorial Log Building which was built with community working together, to provide education for our children, also, (although that was before my time!)
We need more mental health services in Happy Camp and lease of the building to an organization working with Behavioral Health, is one way that it could be provided. Also, I see some value in some organization that could be the whole community working together, not exclusively for any particular group to the exclusion of others. Amazing things can be accomplished when we work together!
Give me a call, I’ll be happy to hear your views. If I’m busy at the moment, I’ll be happy to call you back. Also appreciate your telling me of any news and announcements that you have to share. That is why living along the wild beautiful Klamath River in the midst of the green forest, with blue skies above is so wonderful. We have great neighbors, mostly courteous and concerned about the community.
Thank you for your new e-publishing venture with Happy Camp focus!
I had to miss the Bigfoot Byway Dedication due to driving a car full of teenagers to San Francisco for Acquire the Fire at the Cow Palace. I was very glad to read Debbie’s remarks.
The only problem with John Titus’ account of how Happy Camp got its name is that our town was called Happy Camp over a decade before the incident in John Titus’ story. No doubt the name Happy Camp intrigued the Camp brothers (John and Heil) to come here and they did build the brick building for their business in partnership with John Titus.
Before the prospectors that settled the town renamed it Happy Camp in July of 1851 it was called “Murderer’s Bar.” So glad they changed it!
Looking forward to seeing more of your Happy Camp News!
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