Christine Kemp
Christine Kemp is a remarkable lady. Born in Branscomb California, a tiny town in Mendocino County, in September 1906, she has dedicated her life to excellence in the field of horticulture. This life choice evolved out of remarkable circumstances. The Great Depression influenced her life choices.
Christine attended elementary school in Mendocino County and moved into Fortuna California to attend high school. This was the closest high school to her family home in Branscomb where her family owned and operated a small lumber mill. Christine graduated from Fortuna High in 1924. In 1925 she moved to Berkeley to attend the University of California. Christine worked in San Francisco to support her education. Just to get to work was an adventure. She rode the Keystone trains from Berkeley into San Francisco each day to work. The Depression interrupted her education and her work. Christine had to return to Humboldt County, where her family had relocated after closure of their mill, and to a job as librarian at Fortuna High School. She held that job for 5 years. In 1939 she married Frank Kemp and had to leave her job at the school. Married women were not allowed to work in the schools then. Christine took up gardening.
During World War II, Christine's vegetable garden was supplying fresh vegetables to her family, neighbors and friends. She started by selling produce and bedding plants. By 1950 she had developed a full fledged garden and nursery, Kemp's Nursery in Fortuna. By that time Christine had four boys, was a member of the Fortuna Garden Club, and a Certified California Nurseryman. She was a board member of the California Nurserymen from 1948 through 1960. When she first became certified there were very few women in the profession.
Christine is a member of the California Garden Clubs, Inc., a member of the State Board of Garden Clubs for 25 years and financial officer for 8 years. She is an accredited master judge for the National Council of State Garden Clubs, a member of numerous horticultural societies, an accredited judge in daffodils, roses, fuchsias and landscape design. Christine first joined the American Fuchsia Society 50 years ago and has been a member continuously for the past 30 years. She has been the treasurer of the Eureka Branch since 1986. Christine has judged flower shows and landscaping throughout the United States. New Zealand, and Tasmania. In 1996, Christine celebrated her 90th birthday in Tasmania while judging a daffodil show. Her yearly schedule for judging assignments has included flower shows up and down the Pacific Coast, New Orleans, Ohio, New York, Portland (rose festival), Mississippi, Maryland, Tasmania, New Zealand and numerous state fairs including the California State Fair.
Christine was selected Woman of the Year in 1982 by the California Garden Clubs. For twenty years she has grown and shown daffodils for the Fortuna Garden Club's annual Daffodil Show. In addition, she propagates rare trees and shrubs. In keeping with her lifelong commitment to gardening, Christine feels that the ultimate goal for any community should be the creation of a botanical garden and she is delighted to be a Charter and Life Member of the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation established in 1991. The Fortuna Garden Club has honored her for this effort by sponsoring one of twenty limited edition benches in her name. A bronze plaque will be placed on this bench and it will be a permanent part of the Botanical Garden. The plaque will bear the inscription: "Treasuring her friendship and honoring her for unparalleled contributions to horticulture."
Joyce Farruggia
Born in Tillamook Oregon, Joyce Farruggia graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in English. She arrived in Humboldt county in 1967 when she married Humboldt State University professor, Joseph Farruggia. In September of 1967 Joyce joined the faculty of McKinleyville High. With the altruistic ideals of the Kennedy era still very fresh in her mind, she began a twenty-five year career that concentrated on teaching reading skills to at risk students at both the McKinleyville and Arcata High School campuses.
However, Joyce's teaching career is just the tip of the iceberg; her commitment and contribution to the community is prodigious. Joyce has been a member of American Association of University Women since 1981, and served as the Educational Equity chair. In 1995 she received a Community Action Grant from the Association which co-sponsored a GESA (Gender/Ethnic Expectation Student Achievement) training program along with College of the Redwoods. Twenty-six area educators, many from the more remote areas of the county were prepared to become GESA trainers by this activity. During her tenure with AAUW, she has served in many capacities, both elected and appointed, most recently as creator and webmistress of the Humboldt Branch web page (http://www.razorlogic.com/aauw) which publishes the online newsletter each month.
Ever the teacher, Joyce reached out to bring her knowledge of computer skills to the local schools. As a member of Smugglers BBS, she co-founded the Blackberry Bramble Network in an effort to familiarize students and their teachers with the technological skills they will need to compete in the future. Once again, Joyce spearheaded a drive to receive grant support that enabled the placement of six computers and modems in area schools. Students, with the support of community members, have created a Humboldt History project on the World Wide Web (http://www.northcoast.com/~bbn/welcome.html). This project has allowed the students not only to advance their technical skills, but also to appreciate the many facets, past and present, of the community in which they live. The combination of computers, students and Humboldt history was taken a step further in 1996 when BBNP and Evergreen Computer Systems sponsored the First Annual Humboldt History Homepage Contest in conjunction with History Day at Humboldt State University. The submissions were of such high quality that the state has been petitioned to allow student webpages to become an official category in future History Day competitions.
Joyce has combined her interest in computers and history to investigate her family tree. Although she began this project in her pre-computer days, the current technology has greatly facilitated her research and connected her to many "new" family members. She enjoys not only learning about ancestors, but also learning more about history as she places these people within the context of their times. Her website contains her genealogy database online, and she publishes a research newsletter for her mother's families each Christmas. Joyce has conducted workshops on the "how to" of genealogy research to various community groups. She plans to distribute this workshop on videotape so that the information will be more easily available to a greater number of people.
Joyce Farruggia is a busy and productive woman. The above has but lightly touched on a few of her major interests. Currently she is finishing yet another Humboldt History project (watch the BBNP webpage for this) while coordinating a fifty year history project of the Humboldt Branch AAUW which will culminate in the year 2000. Joyce has managed to weave her many interests together to benefit her community. The exhortation from JFK's inaugural address "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" is not merely an idealistic memory for Joyce Farruggia; it is the way she lives her life.
Kate Buchanan was born in 1904 in Humansville, Missouri, a dentist's daughter and the third of five children. When she was young, her family moved several times before settling in Ashland, Oregon. After Kate graduated from high school in Ashland, she taught for one year in a one-room schoolhouse on Green Springs Mountain in Southern Oregon. She and her young students enjoyed themselves. Kate Buchanan knew how to make school fun, but she also realized that she wanted more education herself. The Buchanan family had moved to Eugene so that their children could study at the University of Oregon. It was here that Buchanan received her Bachelor's Degree and high school teaching credential in English and Drama. Eventually, she also earned a Master's Degree at Washington State College and completed additional graduate study at Columbia University.
From 1927-1939 Buchanan taught high school English, speech and drama in Roseburg, Oregon. During that time, her sister Loom was the school librarian. From the beginning of her teaching career, Buchanan was loved by her students. At Roseburg, students dubbed her and her sister "Lovable Loom" and "Kissable Kate."
Buchanan was head resident of the women's dormitory at the University of Oregon from 1939-1941 and then served as Dean of Women at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. At both colleges, she also taught English. In 1943 the DuPont Company called upon her to serve as Director of Women's Housing at their wartime Manhattan Project headquarters in Hanford, Washington.
Buchanan's sister and brother-in-law, Gayle and Don Karshner, had been active in the Humboldt State College community since 1941. In 1946, Buchanan came to visit them and their two young sons. When College President Gist met her at a social event, he was so impressed by her that--on the spot--he asked if she would come to Humboldt as Dean of Women. Buchanan liked her job at the University of Oregon, but agreed to a year's leave of absence from that position and took on both the administrative job and a teaching position in the Speech Department. During that year, Kate became particularly attached to her nephews and decided to make Arcata her home. In 1950 her position title changed and from then until her retirement in 1968, Buchanan was Humboldt State's Associate Dean of Activities-Housing.
Many Humboldt State traditions have Kate's stamp. She helped organize the first Homecoming Parade and the first Lumberjack Days. She attracted over 100 scholarships to the college by speaking to local service groups about student needs. As campus club advisor, she more than doubled the number of clubs on campus. She inspired the formation of the Phoenix Club, an early effort to organize re-entry women at the college. At the time of her retirement, Dean of Students Don Karshner was quoted by a Lumberjack journalist: "Katy says she's done everything [at Humboldt State] but coach football." She made many friends among the young people she guided over the years. Even long-ago students stayed close. When she retired in 1968, forty of her former students from Roseburg High School traveled to Arcata to attend the celebration in her honor.
Buchanan always loved dramatic activities. Her brother Edgar Buchanan was a Hollywood star, but he didn't outshine Kate; when they got together they were an entertaining duo, delighting guests with their banter. Kate worked with the Arcata Community Players, directing several of their plays. After her retirement, Buchanan was induced by Retired Senior Volunteer Program Director, the late Charlotte Tropp, to create and moderate a television interview program. "The Best Years" received state and national recognition during its four and a half year run.
A member of the American Assn. of University Women, Buchanan was also listed in "Who's Who of American Women" and honored by the Arcata Soroptimists with their "Woman Helping Women" award. In 1977, the Kate Buchanan Room in the Student Center at Humboldt State University was named in her honor.
Kate Buchanan died February 2, 1981, at age 76.
Dr. Marianne Pennekamp
Dr. Marianne Pennekamp is living proof of the importance of education to the betterment of both the individual and society. Her interest in education and passion for child and youth development came about in large part from the support she received from her teachers throughout her schooling.
Dr. Pennekamp was born in Germany and, while still young, left for France with her family when Hitler came into power. She continued her education after coming to the United States, receiving her BA at UC, Berkeley. She did advanced work in Child Development at UCB in 1946-47, and in Child Psychology at the Sorbonne, Paris, France in 1948-49. She graduated with a Master's of Social Welfare from UC Berkeley, with an emphasis on Mental Health, Child Guidance and Child Welfare. She received her Doctor of Social Welfare UCB in 1975.
Her career included teaching in the public schools in San Francisco and Oakland, serving as a consultant in individual guidance in the Oakland Public Schools from 1956 -1981, a teaching associate at UCB School of Social Welfare from 1972-75, Lecturer, School of Social Welfare, Berkeley, 1975-82., adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology and Lecturer, Social Work, Child Development and Teacher Preparation, HSU, from 1983 to 1993, with continuing ties to the campus.
During this time she also authored The Humboldt County Families. Children and Youth Services and Community Development Study, commissioned by the Humboldt Area Foundation, April, 1993, and co-authored, with Mary A. Sarvis, Collaboration in School Guidance, 1970, and with Dr. Edith Freeman, Social Work Practice: Toward a Child. Family, School Community Perspective, 1988.
The Humboldt County community is reaping the benefits from Dr. Pennekamp's interests, education, and experiences. She is a commissioner of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commissions and former Chair of its Parenting Committee which developed a unique program: the Children of Divorce Workshop. She also helped develop the concepts and tools for a county-wide Hot Line, Warm Line, and Information and Referral Community Switchboard program which includes a complement of trained volunteers walking callers from all over the county through their concerns and linking them to appropriate services. She is also a member, since the beginning, of the Humboldt Community Network (the NET) which provides a forum and technical assistance to a wide circle of persons planning and delivering family support. For example, the Mateel Center now includes a community center for children. She is an active member of the County Mental Health Board, 1st Vice Chair (1995-97) and Co-chair of the Children's Mental Health Committee. She is Co-chair of the Humboldt Co. Whole Child Interagency Council (1995-97). Her interest in working with a wide variety of like-minded organizations helps the groups see the larger picture of their efforts, gain support and knowledge from each other, and avoid duplication of effort.
She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends as well as traveling extensively throughout the United States and the world.
This overview of Dr. Pennekamp's achievements and contributions can barely scratch the surface. She has deservedly received many honors and awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Coalition for School Social Work, which help, in a small way, to show the communities appreciation for her many contributions.
Monica Hadley
Monica was born in Bellevue, Idaho, twelve miles south of Sun Valley. She grew up there in a family supportive of her complete education. In addition to her scholastic pursuits in high school, which included four years of Latin, Monica enjoyed participating in sports. Her participation in sports helped her see many career options to pursue in college.
Monica completed two degrees at the University of Washington, Seattle. She graduated with a bachelor of science and a master of science in Corrective Physical Education. Monica taught for two years at the University of Washington before moving to Arcata and joining the faculty at Humboldt State College.
In 1933, Monica began teaching at Humboldt State College as an Assistant Professor of Physical Education. She was later appointed as the Dean of Women and Director of Health Services, positions she held until her retirement in 1945.
Monica's intention of retiring to stay at home with her then three-year-old son was short lived, one year. Instead she began her second career as a newspaperwoman with the Arcata Union, the newspaper she and her husband, Gordon, had purchased in 1939. For thirty-nine years, Monica was the author of the popular column "Party Line", which appeared on the editorial page, she was the women's news editor, developed the women's section of the newspaper and served as vice-president of Hadley Newspapers Inc. In 1965, she was honored as Business Woman of the Year.
After the sale of the Union in 1986, Monica was asked to continue to contribute her insights in the column "Seems to Me", which she did until 1994. Monica belongs to the National Federation of Press Women, the California Press Women and is an Associate of the California Newspaper Publishers. She was honored for her 45 plus years of contributions to the field of journalism in 1992, as the first inductee named to the Northern California Journalism/ Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
The contributions Monica Hadley has made to the local community are exceptional. Her activities focus on the arts, local youth and civic responsibility.
In the 1940's, Monica helped establish the Arcata Recreation Commission. Through this organization, children enjoyed the Summer Swim Program at the Mad River and a full summer recreation program. The adults in the community enjoyed participation in the Humboldt Chorus, today's Humboldt Chorale, the Arcata Community Players, a theater group she helped organize, and the Summer Rep Theatre. Not surprisingly she is a member of the Humboldt Arts Council and received their Certificate of Recognition in 1984.
Monica's further commitment to local youth is seen through her work in the Humboldt Sponsors, of which she is a founding member, on the Board of Governors of the Humboldt Area Foundation and the Retired Senior Volunteers Program.
Monica's civic responsibility is seen in her work on the Humboldt County Grand Jury, the Humboldt County Citizens' Welfare Advisory Committee, and as an appointee by Governor Edmund Brown to the North Coast Water Pollution Control Board.
The American Association of University Women recognizes and honors Monica Hadley, a superior example of a woman of achievement, for all her achievements and contributions.
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Last Updated 3/3/97
