Ferndale Humboldt Parents

A taste of history at the fair

The 1964 flood in Humboldt County swept away lives, homes, livestock and entire towns, making for a bleak Christmas for many families living along the Eel River that late December.

But, there were also many things that survived, including an array of homemade recipes of food cooked and baked for 19 years at the old Pepperwood Café (later called the Boehm Café) by Joy Boehm Worrell's parents, Em and Mary Boehm, prior to the devastating flood that closed the café forever.

”I was 10 years old when we moved up (to Pepperwood) from Los Angeles in 1945,” Boehm Worrell, now 76, recalled. “My parents found this little restaurant, which they had no idea how to run. They were adventurous souls and they just decided they could do it. They ran it like a home kitchen, with nothing but good stuff and all of it homemade. My mother made all the pies strictly using the local produce and berries kids would bring by the café.”

Mary Boehm became known in the area for her apple dumplings, which were a specialty of the house.

Taking the new Humboldt Made theme of the Redwood Acres Fair to heart, Boehm Worrell (also known as Joy Boehm Frasier) spoke excitedly during a recent stint at Fortuna's Art and Wine in the Park about the upcoming food demonstrations she will be giving at the Redwood Acres Humboldt Made Fair, which opens in Eureka today and runs through Sunday. The fairgrounds are located at 3750 Harris St.

”I will demo (how to make the apple dumplings) at the Redwood Acres Fair from scratch,” she said. “I give the recipe for the dumplings away for free, but what I sell is the cinnamon sauce that I call Sassy Mary's Cinnamon Sauce. I named it that because (my mother) was that kind of a girl, kind of a smart aleck. That's the real secret to her apple dumplings, the cinnamon sauce.”

In recounting how she became involved in resurrecting her mother's recipes, Boehm Worrell said, “I approached Clif (Clendenen) and said, 'You're the apple guy; what do you think about me bringing my mother's recipe for cinnamon sauce over and baking (dumplings) in your kitchen and bringing them out hot and fresh with the cinnamon sauce over it with whipped cream or ice cream spread out over it?' (Clendenen) responded, 'Oh my, that sounds so 1950s.'”

Boehm Worrell said she answered right back, “That's right, that's when they were being made by my mother, back in the 1950s.

Round 'em up | North Coast Journal | Humboldt County

Editor:

Hopefully someone from Child Protective Services read the news reports about the start of the Kinetic Grand Championship Race and launches an investigation into the actions of Alice and Al Krause, the “parents” who tried to force their children’s entry into the race (“Know Your 2011 Kinetic Sculptures!” June 2). From the news reports, it appears that the entry of their minor children was more about the Krauses’ stubbornness than about the children, the race, or its rules.

According to sources I’ve spoken with, the Krauses had been told months ago that their minor children could not formally compete in the race due to liability issues. In case anyone isn’t aware, the race’s volunteer organizers must negotiate with a series of governmental entities whose permission must be granted for the race to take place: the Cities of Arcata, Eureka and Ferndale, plus Caltrans, the Highway Patrol, and the Harbor District. The race takes place in jurisdictions controlled by each of these government agencies and liability is correctly a major concern to them. It is true that, in the past, race organizers looked the other way when minors participated. Those days, however, are long gone. This race is covered by national media and issues such as liability cannot simply be ignored.

The Krauses knew this, yet insisted on forcing their children’s entry. From the news reports, it also seemed like these “parents” were attempting to incite a riot on the Arcata Plaza at the start of the race when the race organizers refused to allow them to enter. Shame on them. Hopefully Child Protective Services will look closely at this family and explain to the parents what a poor example they are to others as well as their children.

John Graves, Arcata / June 9, 9:35 a.m.

The Kinetic Race gets it’s insurance from here:

“Francis L. Dean & Associates is a national general underwriting facility specializing in sports and student related risks.” (Home Page}

See: http://fdeanca.com/about.asp

Age of insured is NOT the problem here. We would welcome a visit from CPS, or even you John. Let’s see who the bad guys really are in this issue.

While Kinetic Universe was dragging their feet in signing a contract with Justin Hobart Brown I was asked to begin getting “back up” permits for the Race. I started May 2, I was usually calling before KU did. I was very diligent in asking if there were age requirements for the event. THERE ARE NONE.