Robert Celt
New Member
Marijuana has been a part of life in Mendocino since the back to the land movement of the 1960s and '70s, but new regulations for commercial cultivation and proposed recreational use are likely to bring a significant transition to local growing communities.
Over the decades, the original long hairs have become gray hairs, and with impending state legalization and shifts in national enforcement attitudes, it seems to many that the age of underground weed is drawing to a close and receding into history.
So while farmers seek out new market opportunities, local historians are looking to preserve some of the unique culture of these secretive communities before the legal changes relegate that way of life to a fading memory. These historians are trying to preserve the history of this community so that, as the world's first historian the ancient Greek Herodotus said, "...that time may not draw the color from what man has brought into being..."
Such projects face particular challenges bringing to light a cultural history long ensconced in secrecy, where keeping any kind of records can be even more incriminating than sharing seeds. Despite this, several local historians are beginning to tackle the project of presenting history to the public, creating ways for locals and tourists to understand the historical development of the internationally renowned growing communities which took root in the north coast region.
The Willits News talked with several of the local organizers intent on developing projects to preserve and exhibit Mendocino County's cannabis history.
MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
At the Mendocino County Museum, Director Allison Glassey has been searching for ways to display some of the historical materials in the museum archives to provide a local representation of the county's cannabis history.
"For people that are interested in historical documentation, this will be considered an interesting chapter in our county's history. It's our history–one doesn't have to take sides to see there's a value in collecting archives, and looking at a wider perspective than the day to day political perspective," said Glassey, emphasizing the importance of timely archival preservation.
"Anytime you have an archival collection, someone 20 or 50 years earlier had to decide to collect all that stuff. You can't get the same level of understanding from a newspaper article."
Glassey pointed out that such exhibits can provide a broader historical understanding to visitors to the region, and that Mendocino County is considered on the forefront of many of the cannabis policy decisions that have shaped the industry's development. "This is certainly part of the county's history, and we hope people will contribute materials to see things displayed here locally."
She pointed out that this year's Mendocino County Road Show is focused on the era of Mendocino alcohol prohibition and bootlegging, and she sees a variety of historical parallels between the two industries.
Glassey will also be working "archive to archive" with the 420 Archive, a national archive project started by historian and archivist Joe Hoover, who has been collecting and archiving oral histories from those involved with the cannabis industry around the country.
Hoover, who has attended national and local cannabis events seeking out participants for the project, is documenting histories in Humboldt and Mendocino counties from people who are willing to share their stories of the Emerald Triangle's past. After attending the Emerald Cup, Hoover met with Glassey and several local residents to expand research efforts in the region.
The project is focused on creating a formal archive for long-term material preservation, and California based board members to help identify resources and participants.
"It'll all be gone in a few years if we don't preserve it; it's very much in danger of being lost or misrepresented" he pointed out. "People think what's history is the pioneers, but as more states do their own growing, we hope to collect the heritage and history of this region in order to use it–for research, for tourism, there's a lot of substantial benefits."
Hoover is seeking additional participants and suggestions, and is also working to list a Laytonville area farm with the Federal Register of Historic Places as the oldest continuously operated cannabis farm in the country.
More information about the project and contact information can be found at 420archive.org.
Hoover and Glassey have also been working with one local archivist, Richard Jergenson, who started the Cannabis Culture Museum in Willits, which spans almost 50 years of local cannabis history.
After debuting at the 2014 Emerald Cup, Jergenson has displayed his collection at the Area 101 farmers' market in Laytonville and gives private tours. He is planning to collaborate with the museum and the 420 Archive Project to find ways to better share his archive and Mendocino's history with the public in the future.
LIBRARY COLLECTION
At the Mendocino County Library, the new cannabis collection went on display at the Ukiah Branch last week, showcasing the project initiated by former County Librarian Wally Clark last year.
Inspired by the Wine Resource Center and Archive housed at the Healdsburg Regional Library, Clark began developing a local cannabis reference resource before his departure last year. The Wine Library contains materials documenting the local history of winemaking, as well as collections to facilitate industry research and ongoing educational events.
After seeking out locals knowledgeable about different aspects of the industry, including cultivation, making medicinal products, history, cookbooks, botany guides and more, Clark and Collections Librarian Jennifer Bishop began developing a list of relevant titles, to be housed in a "closed stacks" reference collection in the county.
After Clark's resignation, Ukiah Branch Director Anne Shirako volunteered to continue the project at the county's main branch.
"We're still working on expanding the collection," explained Shirako, who encouraged patrons to check out the resource and make suggestions for titles they'd like to see included.
"There are locals who have a lot of knowledge about this," she said, explaining the library wants to acquire titles that local residents think are important resources for cannabis cultivation, industry information and other cannabis research subjects.
A clipboard is currently attached to the new display to allow patrons to make title suggestions, and the list of available books can be found by doing keyword searches for cannabis, hemp or marijuana in the library catalog. Books can also be requested from other branches, and the collection includes over 40 titles and counting.
Shirako explained that due to the subject matter, the collection would be considered a "closed reference" collection for some titles, meaning that patrons must request some books that will not be shelved in the main library in order to prevent theft (also an issue for mushroom field guides, Grateful Dead histories and other popular subjects).
OTHER EFFORTS
Another local group seeking to present the history of cannabis cultivation is the recently opened Emerald Pharms dispensary in Hopland, a dispensary focused on providing CBD-rich cannabis.
Martin Lee, who is involved in starting the project, said the dispensary will feature displays detailing the history of cannabis cultivation as well as some more recent artifacts from cannabis cultivation in California.
Lee is also coordinating with The Solar Living Institute in Hopland to build a hemp-based structure on the institute's grounds which will focus on presenting the history of renewable energy and cannabis cultivation in the region.
Lee said the group is working to develop a museum exhibit for the building that will illustrate how off-grid living and renewable energy use developed alongside the often remote homesteads where local growers began cultivation decades ago.
Lee said he expected the facility to be open to visitors to the Solar Living Institute and expected completion of the building sometime this spring.
Outside the county, historians in Humboldt County have been discussing similar museum projects since 2010, and researchers with Humboldt State University have begun several efforts to collect research for posterity.
Finally, the Oakland Museum of California will be presenting an exhibit titled "Altered State: Marijuana in California," billed as the "first ever" exhibit on cannabis in California, which opens April 16.
With the high possibility of a recreational use initiative on the 2016 ballot, the exhibit description states its purpose is to provide "a community space where people can come together to learn, question, discuss, and add their voice to the different points of views surrounding this complex and evolving topic."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Locals Collect Mendocino County's Cannabis History
Author: Kate Maxwell
Contact: Daily Journal
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Daily Journal
Over the decades, the original long hairs have become gray hairs, and with impending state legalization and shifts in national enforcement attitudes, it seems to many that the age of underground weed is drawing to a close and receding into history.
So while farmers seek out new market opportunities, local historians are looking to preserve some of the unique culture of these secretive communities before the legal changes relegate that way of life to a fading memory. These historians are trying to preserve the history of this community so that, as the world's first historian the ancient Greek Herodotus said, "...that time may not draw the color from what man has brought into being..."
Such projects face particular challenges bringing to light a cultural history long ensconced in secrecy, where keeping any kind of records can be even more incriminating than sharing seeds. Despite this, several local historians are beginning to tackle the project of presenting history to the public, creating ways for locals and tourists to understand the historical development of the internationally renowned growing communities which took root in the north coast region.
The Willits News talked with several of the local organizers intent on developing projects to preserve and exhibit Mendocino County's cannabis history.
MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
At the Mendocino County Museum, Director Allison Glassey has been searching for ways to display some of the historical materials in the museum archives to provide a local representation of the county's cannabis history.
"For people that are interested in historical documentation, this will be considered an interesting chapter in our county's history. It's our history–one doesn't have to take sides to see there's a value in collecting archives, and looking at a wider perspective than the day to day political perspective," said Glassey, emphasizing the importance of timely archival preservation.
"Anytime you have an archival collection, someone 20 or 50 years earlier had to decide to collect all that stuff. You can't get the same level of understanding from a newspaper article."
Glassey pointed out that such exhibits can provide a broader historical understanding to visitors to the region, and that Mendocino County is considered on the forefront of many of the cannabis policy decisions that have shaped the industry's development. "This is certainly part of the county's history, and we hope people will contribute materials to see things displayed here locally."
She pointed out that this year's Mendocino County Road Show is focused on the era of Mendocino alcohol prohibition and bootlegging, and she sees a variety of historical parallels between the two industries.
Glassey will also be working "archive to archive" with the 420 Archive, a national archive project started by historian and archivist Joe Hoover, who has been collecting and archiving oral histories from those involved with the cannabis industry around the country.
Hoover, who has attended national and local cannabis events seeking out participants for the project, is documenting histories in Humboldt and Mendocino counties from people who are willing to share their stories of the Emerald Triangle's past. After attending the Emerald Cup, Hoover met with Glassey and several local residents to expand research efforts in the region.
The project is focused on creating a formal archive for long-term material preservation, and California based board members to help identify resources and participants.
"It'll all be gone in a few years if we don't preserve it; it's very much in danger of being lost or misrepresented" he pointed out. "People think what's history is the pioneers, but as more states do their own growing, we hope to collect the heritage and history of this region in order to use it–for research, for tourism, there's a lot of substantial benefits."
Hoover is seeking additional participants and suggestions, and is also working to list a Laytonville area farm with the Federal Register of Historic Places as the oldest continuously operated cannabis farm in the country.
More information about the project and contact information can be found at 420archive.org.
Hoover and Glassey have also been working with one local archivist, Richard Jergenson, who started the Cannabis Culture Museum in Willits, which spans almost 50 years of local cannabis history.
After debuting at the 2014 Emerald Cup, Jergenson has displayed his collection at the Area 101 farmers' market in Laytonville and gives private tours. He is planning to collaborate with the museum and the 420 Archive Project to find ways to better share his archive and Mendocino's history with the public in the future.
LIBRARY COLLECTION
At the Mendocino County Library, the new cannabis collection went on display at the Ukiah Branch last week, showcasing the project initiated by former County Librarian Wally Clark last year.
Inspired by the Wine Resource Center and Archive housed at the Healdsburg Regional Library, Clark began developing a local cannabis reference resource before his departure last year. The Wine Library contains materials documenting the local history of winemaking, as well as collections to facilitate industry research and ongoing educational events.
After seeking out locals knowledgeable about different aspects of the industry, including cultivation, making medicinal products, history, cookbooks, botany guides and more, Clark and Collections Librarian Jennifer Bishop began developing a list of relevant titles, to be housed in a "closed stacks" reference collection in the county.
After Clark's resignation, Ukiah Branch Director Anne Shirako volunteered to continue the project at the county's main branch.
"We're still working on expanding the collection," explained Shirako, who encouraged patrons to check out the resource and make suggestions for titles they'd like to see included.
"There are locals who have a lot of knowledge about this," she said, explaining the library wants to acquire titles that local residents think are important resources for cannabis cultivation, industry information and other cannabis research subjects.
A clipboard is currently attached to the new display to allow patrons to make title suggestions, and the list of available books can be found by doing keyword searches for cannabis, hemp or marijuana in the library catalog. Books can also be requested from other branches, and the collection includes over 40 titles and counting.
Shirako explained that due to the subject matter, the collection would be considered a "closed reference" collection for some titles, meaning that patrons must request some books that will not be shelved in the main library in order to prevent theft (also an issue for mushroom field guides, Grateful Dead histories and other popular subjects).
OTHER EFFORTS
Another local group seeking to present the history of cannabis cultivation is the recently opened Emerald Pharms dispensary in Hopland, a dispensary focused on providing CBD-rich cannabis.
Martin Lee, who is involved in starting the project, said the dispensary will feature displays detailing the history of cannabis cultivation as well as some more recent artifacts from cannabis cultivation in California.
Lee is also coordinating with The Solar Living Institute in Hopland to build a hemp-based structure on the institute's grounds which will focus on presenting the history of renewable energy and cannabis cultivation in the region.
Lee said the group is working to develop a museum exhibit for the building that will illustrate how off-grid living and renewable energy use developed alongside the often remote homesteads where local growers began cultivation decades ago.
Lee said he expected the facility to be open to visitors to the Solar Living Institute and expected completion of the building sometime this spring.
Outside the county, historians in Humboldt County have been discussing similar museum projects since 2010, and researchers with Humboldt State University have begun several efforts to collect research for posterity.
Finally, the Oakland Museum of California will be presenting an exhibit titled "Altered State: Marijuana in California," billed as the "first ever" exhibit on cannabis in California, which opens April 16.
With the high possibility of a recreational use initiative on the 2016 ballot, the exhibit description states its purpose is to provide "a community space where people can come together to learn, question, discuss, and add their voice to the different points of views surrounding this complex and evolving topic."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Locals Collect Mendocino County's Cannabis History
Author: Kate Maxwell
Contact: Daily Journal
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Daily Journal
