Ann Elliott
Alice Harris, PhDAlice Harris was appointed as City Manager of Arcata, California in 1988 and is presently serving the city in that capacity. Mrs. Harris was born and raised in Switzerland. She attended school and college in Switzerland. Upon completion of her Business Administration Degree in Switzerland, Alice was awarded a scholarship to attend college in the United States. She came to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated with a BA degree in Sociology. Alice worked as a social worker for the YWCA in Ohio and later moved to the west coast. In Seattle, she worked for the Girl Scouts of America and transferred in that position to Los Angeles. During this time, Alice and her husband began raising their family. The family moved to Utah and Alice returned to the university for graduate work. She obtained her MS in Sociology, a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration, and a PhD in Sociology in 1979 from the University of Utah.
The Harris's moved to Arcata in 1976 to teach at HSU. It was during this time that Alice completed her PhD at the University of Utah. Alice taught at HSU from 1979-83, worked as an Administrative Intern for the city of Arcata for two years, as an Administrative Assistant for 4 years, as Assistant City Manager for 6 years and in 1988 was appointed City Manager.
Alice has made contributions to the community as a member of Project Independence, a County appointed group of people studying energy alternatives, as President of League of Women Voters, and as a board member of the Humboldt Bay Alliance, a group dedicated to the economic development of Humboldt County. The objectives of the Humboldt Bay Alliance are to attract small businesses to the county, to help existing businesses to expand and to increase the economic base of the area. Arcata presently is active in attracting these businesses a place in which to manufacture their locally made products. These businesses are all located in one facility that meets the regulatory requirements for this type of manufacturing. An additional facility is in the works for the wood manufacturing industry.
Alice plans to continue her public service in this community and to make additional contributions toward making Humboldt County a better place in which to live.
Ann Elliott is a charter member of the Humboldt Branch of the American Association of University Women which she helped to organize in 1950. She served as president in 1952. Ann was born in Monte Vista, Colorado and grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. She attended local schools in Corvallis and graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Secretarial Science degree and a minor in journalism. She completed her graduate degree at San Jose State University earning an M.S. in librarianship.
During World War II, Ann was a member of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), serving in Fort Des Moines, Iowa and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She returned to Oregon and worked as a reporter and feature writer for the Coos Bay Times. She then moved to Colorado and worked in radio as a writer and broadcaster of local news.
Ann came to Humboldt County with her husband, Dean, and two daughters. She worked as a social worker, a music teacher, and an elementary teacher. She became elementary district librarian for Eureka City Schools. At her retirement the school district renamed one of their libraries in her honor. Today it is known as "The Ann Elliott Resource Center."
Among her many accomplishments, Ann has published books, poems, and articles. Her book, Exploring our World: Humboldt County was adopted as a supplementary text in Humboldt County schools.
Ann was the co-organizer of the first Humboldt County Author's Festival which is an ongoing, successful event today. She was instrumental in establishing educational television in Humboldt County and still works as a KEET volunteer. She is a member of numerous organizations including: the National League of American Pen Women, Friends of the Redwood Library, and the Humboldt Historical Society.
Ann was honored for her accomplishments in Who's Who of American Women, 6th edition; and Who's Who in the West, 13th edition.
Dorothy King Young has been a pioneer in education and nature studies throughout her life. The sixth daughter in a family of ten, she graduated from Humboldt Normal School in 1923. She taught school In Shively and Eureka for many years. Because of her innovative teaching methods with mentally and physically handicapped students, she received a $5,000 scholarship in 1954. Her work with "deviant children" took her all over the state where she set up the first academic classes for developmentally disabled children in California State Hospitals.
After retiring in 1964 because of visual impairment, she and her husband focused on their lifelong interest in native wildflowers. Their home in Gualala became a private arboretum visited by thousand including the International Botanical Congress in 1969.
Dorothy and her husband helped found the California Native Plant Society in 1965. There are now chapters all over the state, including the Dorothy King Young chapter in Gualala. Her book, Redwood Empire Wildflowers, is now in its fourth edition.
Dorothy was the Humboldt State University Alumni, Who's Who Recipient in 1975. At 87 Dorothy is still a strong and active advocate for the preservation of wildflowers and other plants in the Redwood Empire. A spirit of adventure as been consistent throughout her life.
Judge Esther Bradburn was the first (and only) female judge in Humboldt County, having served for 12 years as the justice court judge of the Klamath-Trinity Judicial District in Willow Creek until her retirement in December, 1976. Prior to that time she clerked for Judge Graham and Judge Talley in Willow Creek from 1950 until 1964, when she passed the Judicial Council test for judgeship.
Esther Bradburn was born on April 8, 1906 in Aurora, Missouri. She attended grammar school, high school and 2 1/2 years of college in Portland, Oregon. She moved to Willow Creek in 1936, where she and her husband George (who died in 1973) lived the entire 36 years of their marriage. They had two children, a boy and a girl, who still reside in Humboldt County.
Looking back 16 years ago to her years in the black cloak brings smiles and a twinkling of Judge Bradburn's eyes. She states that she thoroughly enjoyed being a judge and loved the people she served. The justice she doled out was based on, "You got what you had coming"--tempered with her sixth sense about the goodness in people.
When she was first appointed, she faced a lot of adversity to female judges but she managed to "wear them down after a year or so," she said. She cared very much about the people in her community. She was effective in crushing "rumbles" or potential riots before they occurred and was able to "keep a cap" on trouble. She would request that the people involved come into her office for an appointment, and in the privacy of her sanctuary managed to quell the discontent. She feels that her respect of the Indian rituals, including their magic, all contributed to her success in attaining peaceful solutions. A little bluffing also helped her out in impossible situations.
Esther Bradburn carved a path of possibilities for women in a very small rural community as not only a justice court judge, but also as an influential white female in a predominantly Indian population. She well deserves the world traveling she has been enjoying since she was forced to retire due to her lack of a law degree.
Lea Mills is a social activist and educator who as made a strong impact on her community. As the Division Director of Arts and Humanities and Coordinator of Community Education at College of the Redwoods, she influences educational opportunities.
At College of the Redwoods Lea has written and implemented a major post secondary educational grant for Pier 4 (Prevention, Intervention, Education, and Referral), a chemical dependency counseling program. She was designed a implemented curriculum for several certificate programs such as Chemical Dependency Studies which as received special recognition from the Humboldt;dt County Office of Education for substance abuse prevention.
Programs in foster parent training and independent living skills training are also results of her grant writing and leadership ability. She coordinates within the community to supplement, not duplicate, programming already available.
Awards recognizing her contribution include: Leadership Training Program, California Community Colleges, 1990; Woman of Distinction, Soroptimist international, 1988; Humboldt County Juvenile Justice Award for work with Foster Parent Programs, 1986; American Association of University Women "Name Grant Award," 1983.
Lea serves on many professional and community boards including St. Joseph Hospital Family Recovery Center Board, Humboldt/Del Norte Medical Consortium Board, AEDC Small Business Incubator Board, SBA/US Bank Mentoring Program for Businesswomen. Lea has taught in community colleges, adult education, elementary school, city recreation programs, and open university classes. She has a B.A. in Education/English from San Jose State University, and a M.S. in Therapeutic Recreation/Gerontology from the University of Oregon.
Lois Risling is an extraordinary teacher. She is currently Director for the Center for Indian Community Development at Humboldt State University. Lois attended elementary school at Bloomfield and Sunset in Arcata and graduated from Enterprise High School in Redding. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Sacramento State University, and as a Ford Foundation Fellow completed her Master of Arts degree and work towards her PhD in the History of Education at Stanford University. Professor Risling's original career goal was to become a high school counselor. After completing her graduate work, however, she decided she wanted to work with adults in teacher education, specifically with Indian adults who wanted to become teachers. It was at D.Q. University that Lois first worked in this capacity. As a third generation Hoopa, Lois Risling has a genuine interest in her community. After the birth of her two children, she wanted to come home to give them the experience of growing up in this place. She also wanted to come home and be involved in the tribe.
She believes that people have a civic responsibility to participate in the country of which they are citizens. In addition to being a citizen of the United States she is also a citizen of her tribe. She has been an active member of the tribe since she was four years old when she began learning the tribal dances. Now her son and daughter carry on this very important tradition.
Director Risling believes it is important for people in higher education to have constant contact with education at all levels. Supporting this belief, she is on the education committee of her tribe, works in the Title V program for the Arcata School District, and is a member of the Site Council at Sunset Elementary School.
On national and regional levels, Lois Risling is a member of the development committee for George Washington University's Policy Development Research Institute for Native Americans, a think tank for issues concerning Native Americans. She is a member of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Task Force on Consultation and is an Education Consultant Tribal Representative to the Hearing Committee for the west coast. She has served as President of the California Indian Education Association and on the board of directors for the Native American's Rights Fund. Currently, Lois serves as a member of the board for the Museum for the American Indians Smithsonian, developing a museum for American Indians in Washington, D.C.
Besides her children and family, Lois, first love is teacher training. In her view it is a profession that is very rewarding. When discussing teaching, Lois says, "It's a gift and a talent. If you have it, then you can have a tremendous impact on the individual and society." She defines education as, "...a reproductive system. It is the system you reproduce your society in. That's an incredible responsibility and definite challenge."
Lynn Warner is an Associate Professor of Health and Physical Education at Humboldt State University. Professor Warner began her teaching career after completing her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at H.S.U. in Physical Education. She has taught courses in health, physical education and teacher education at the university level. Additionally, Professor Warner has taught at the high school level to maintain a focus on the audience with which she prepares adults to work.
In addition to teaching, Lynn Warner has successfully coached numerous intercollegiate athletic teams. Over a sixteen year coaching career she guided several H.S.U. teams to conference and regional championships in volleyball and softball.
As a representative to the AIAW, Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, Lynn Warner contributed to the advancement of women's athletics at the national level. Competition and success in athletics at the national level has been familiar to Lynn for a number of years. In 1960 she was the American record holder in the 880 yard run and earned a spot on the 1960 United States Olympic Team. Although an injury prevented her from competing at those Olympic games, she realized success as a world champion in softball playing for the Orange Lionettes and the Whittier Gold Sox.
Surviving cancer has taught Lynn Warner the importance for real health. After completing her coaching career she focused her teaching in her specialty area of biomechanics and kinesiology and opened a fitness center. She realized how important it was that people understand about their body and how it works. Lynn shows people that they can be the same age a fifty as they were at age thirty. Perhaps even better.
Lynn has ridden in the Tour of the Unknown Coast and will run in a marathon for Hospice of Humboldt this year because she believes in their program so much. She is a Champion of bioethics and the right to die with dignity. Lynn Warner is an inspiration who believes that, "when you can't, then you must."
As a founding member and past president of the Humboldt County Historical Society, Martha Roscoe was widely thought of as the Dean of North Coast History. She has been quoted a saying, "I am not a historian, just a history buff." However, history was not her only interest during her lifetime. She was a singer, dancer, stage director, scriptwriter, secretary, bookkeeper, teacher, wife, mother, civic leader and a voluntary helper in many community causes.
Martha was born on May 19, 1896 at Callensburg, Pennsylvania. When she was nine, her family moved to Ohio where her father purchased the Byesville Enterprise, a weekly newspaper. It was in Byesville that Martha got a taste of journalism, learning to set type, operate the job press, and write items for publication. In 1913 she enrolled at the University of Oregon with dreams of a stage career. She soon changed her major from Speech and Drama to English Literature with a Minor in Drama graduating with honors in 1917.
Upon graduation from the University of Oregon, her father helped her obtain a position as an assistant to the secretary for the President at Humboldt State Normal School. Part of her responsibilities were to develop correspondence courses for the World War I soldiers and for grammar school teachers who were not college graduates. She accepted the position on condition that she get a teaching post when one became available. Her starting salary was $70 per month with a raise to $100 per month when she mastered shorthand and typing.
In 1919, she married her husband of 54 years, Stanley Roscoe. The Roscoe family moved to the Upper Mattole where they lived until 1928. It was during this period that Martha wrote a book of children's poems called "Growing Up on Granny Creek." She also served as assistant postmaster, bookkeeper for the Petrolia Stage Company and helped run a ranch. In 1928, the family moved back to Eureka where Martha sought a teaching position in the Eureka school system. She was unable to obtain that position because she was a married woman.
Martha then turned her attention once again to serving the public. She helped establish the Sequoia Little Theater. In 1933, one of her triumphs was directing her own production of "The Secrets of Oz". During World War II, she was the secretary for the Coordinator for Civil Defense in Humboldt County. She helped with home nursing, first aid stations, emergency plans for mass feeding of people and many other projects in support of the war effort. After the war, she joined in a wide variety of community betterment projects taking lead roles in establishing a County Health Department, getting a home demonstration agent hired by the county, served as a senior intern for congressman Don Clausen, serving as a member of the auditorium advisory committee for the building of the Eureka Municipal Auditorium, member of the 1945 City Charter Committee, and served on many other committees.
Some of the many awards that Martha has received are: Historian of the Year from the Humboldt Historical Society, Woman of Achievement Award for science and research from the Humboldt County Commission on the Status of Women, and the first life membership from the Eureka Council of Parents and Teachers. Martha's affiliations have included the American Association of University Women, Humboldt County Historical Society, Friends of the Clarke Museum, Society of Humboldt County Pioneers, Eureka Women's Club, Ferndale Museum, Sequoia Little Theater, league of Women Voters, Eureka Heritage Society, California Congress of Parents and Teachers, plus many others.
Pearl Oliner is a professor of education and research director of The Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute at Humboldt State University.
With her husband Samuel, she has researched and published The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe, 1988. The book is the product of an eight year international research project comparing rescuers and non-rescuers of Jews during the holocaust.
Another book, Toward a Caring Society, is in press. It is an extension of their work on altruistic behavior, and addresses how to promote caring in multiple institutions, including education, the work-place, religious institutions, and the family.
As research director of the Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute, Pearl oversees and coordinates the research aspects of projects dealing with the promotion of prosocial and caring behaviors, especially in education. Her work is also looking at the influence of gender, nationality, and religiosity on altruistic behavior.
Pearl has written numerous articles and chapters as well as made many professional presentations concerning her work.
In addition to teaching in the education department, Pearl has taught Women's Studies and was instrumental in starting the Women's Center on campus.
Pearl received her B.A. from Brooklyn College. Her Ph. D. is from University of California, Berkeley in education.
Dorothy Haberman is well known in Humboldt County for her commitment to serving people and, in particular, the Yurok Indians. Born on August 8, 1917, to a Yurok mother and a Greek father in Requa (Klamath), she has lived in or near Humboldt County nearly all of her life.
She attended Riverside Elementary School (now nonexistent, but then located on the south side of the Klamath River) through 8th grade, then attended Del Norte High School from which she graduated in June of 1937. Subsequently, she has taken a variety of secretarial courses and a UCLA management course.
Although Dorothy knew her husband, Clell, while they both attended Del Norte High, they did not begin dating until after graduation. They were married on February 11, 1939--53 years ago--and between 1939 and 1949, they bore five sons and how have 13 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Today, Dorothy and Clell are obviously proud of their family and still happily married.
Dorothy was employed before her marriage by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; then worked for the State Board of Equalization for about three years until, in 1943, they moved to Crescent City and then to Eureka, where they have been ever since. She was employed by the County of Humboldt office of Emergency Services for 15 years and since December, 1991, has worked full-time (at age 74) for the Yurok Interim Tribal Council in Eureka.
In addition to working and raising children, Dorothy has served for many years on various commissions and boards, including the Human Rights Commission of Humboldt County; the Adult Day Health Care Council for Area 1 Agency; the Humboldt Senior Citizens Council; the Clarke Memorial Museum; the American Indian Constitutional Rights Institute; and the United Indian Health Services. In addition, she is frequently asked to speak at various conventions and schools on subjects such as "Native American Contemporary Issues," issues related to the Jesse Short case, etc.
When asked what stands out most in her life as her contributions to the County of Humboldt, she expressed these two things:
1. Her hard work and long hours while employed for the Office of Emergency Services during the 1964 flood, and her fears and concerns for the entire county during that multi-million-dollar disaster.
2. Her constant and continuous efforts on behalf of the Yurok tribe for their rightful share of the reservation and funds, as well as for opportunities in higher education and better health care, and her work for and concern about the senior citizens of all races in the county in terms of health care services and housing.
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Last Updated 3/10/97
