Page 46 - Sonoma County Gazette September 2019

Goodbye to the “Queen of Hippies” September 21, 1940 - April 28, 2019
Our true summer has finally arrived in Bodega Bay! September & October are the perfect times to visit. The fog clears, the winds die down and the ocean glitters reflecting the bright sun. Yes, sun! The town quiets a bit as most children have gone back to school. What is there to do? Lots going on! Won’t you join us?
A Bodega Bay Poker Run! Do you have the winning hand? The cards
are in play the weekend of September 7th & 8th during the Bodega Bay Area Chamber of Commerce first Annual Poker Run. Visit participating businesses that were financially impacted by the sudden Highway 1 lane closure during Memorial Weekend to pick up a card. Turn in your best hand to possibly win a weekend for two in Bodega Bay. Lots of other incredible prizes too. Buy tickets for just $25 at: bbpokerrun.bpt.me/ Please help these impacted businesses who will receive the proceeds.
Locals gather round for a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the Bodega Bay Collaborative on Thursday, September 26th at 6:00 pm at the Bodega Bay Grange. Updates on Bodega Bay Fire Consolidation, Caltrans, Affordable Housing, Vacation Rental Management & so much more. Email with any questions - BBcollaborative@gmail.com
The Big Non-Event—Waves of Compassion Foundation, you know the amazing group that helped Evacuees during the Firestorm, offers a local food pantry twice a month and provides scholarships to the local preschool is having a “non-event’ where you don’t have to dress up or leave your home! All you have to do is donate money and get a raffle ticket for every $10 you donate to win fabulous prizes! Learn more at www.wavesofcompassionfoundation.org
Show some Coastal Walk on Saturday, September 21st for COASTWALK’s 35th Annual Coastal Clean-up Day from 9 am – 12 pm. Pick your beach, pick up trash and celebrate our beautiful beaches. For more information and to sign up go to www.coastwalk.org Trash belongs in the Trash, not our ocean!
Surviving a Disaster in Bodega Bay. Do you know what to do?
Join Bodega Bay CERT on October 4th for a coordinated Disaster Drill in
four locations around the town. We will practice our skills for Ham Radio Communication, using our Disaster Sheds, testing our CERT skills and assisting wherever possible to save lives. If you want to see a trained and coordinated Disaster Drill in action, join us! To learn more or volunteer visit bodegabaycert. org. After the drill, we will help our Firefighters kick-off Fire Safety Week with a BBQ & life-saving demonstrations. Mark your calendar today!
Merideth Pier: Historic building now in ruins—Join us at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting on September 10, 2019 to speak up about the future of this building crumbling into Bodega Bay. My “love” Grandma, Ann Valena, worked filleting fish there in the good old days! Back then it was known as The Cannery Building. Some talk of demolishing it, others like me want to preserve it! Maybe turn it into a historical landmark where you can learn the treasured history and also the future of coastal sustainability. Board of Supervisor’s meeting time for this topic can be found at this link 72 hours before the meeting: sonomacounty.ca.gov/Home/ Questions, Support or Comments? Contact Ed Cohen at ed@nelsoncohen.com
Well Deserved Retirement & Welcome to our Hero—Join Bodega Bay and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office in wishing Jerry Turney a happy retirement and welcome incoming Bodega Bay Resident Deputy Jason Pasero on Saturday, September 21st from 9:00 am to Noon at the Bodega Bay Grange. Drop in, say hello and goodbye, plus a HUGE thank you! Our local law enforcement officers are very important to our community. We are so thankful for all their service.
Searching for firefighters & EMS personnel for a Bodega Bay
Salli “Raz” (Harrison) Rasberry was a beloved West County community member, cherished and known by many as the Original Hippie of Sonoma County. She died peacefully in her Freestone home surrounded by family at the age of 78, after a heartfelt, successful and fulfilling life. She accomplished a lot in her years here and elsewhere, overflowing with bold and honest accomplishments.
Last month, there was a beautiful celebration of life and Rasberry’s loving husband, Michael Eschenbach, brought photo albums for friends to look through and take home ones of special meaning. Dressed in hippie attire for the occasion, everyone had a blast looking at old photos of the community they had formed together. People rejoiced and united in fond memories of Raz and still treasure all that she was made of.
Salli was a lifelong educator and life- bringer. She co-created an artist support group called Common Ground. Determined to make a difference, Rasberry spent most of her life as an environmentalist. She practiced preservation by serving as President of the Sonoma Land Trust. She also served on the board of the original Farallones Institute, before it transformed into the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center.
Raz was very creative and skillful. Many knew her by the recognizable and masterful goods she produced. For years she lived
on Coleman Valley working with a sheep ranch—harvesting, spinning, dyeing and crafting wearable wools.
Salli Rasberry is joyful spirit we will never forget who left her best for the rest of us. Her legacy lives on locally, now and forever. No doubt, our West County culture has been greatly enhanced by her and our community has lost a true gem. She was survived by
her husband Michael Eschenbach, her daughter Sasha Marshall, and her grandchildren Miles Dylan Marshall and McKinley Johnson.
For those of you who may not have gotten to know this local icon, she has published a list of books over her lifetime that may be of interest. Amongst her co-authored books are The Rasberry Exercises: How to Start a School and Write
a Book, Honest Business, Seven Laws of Money, Living Your Life Out Loud: How to Unlock Your Creativity and Unleash Your Joy and the most recent, Art of Dying: Honoring And Celebrating Life’s Passages.
There is also a quite entertaining and educational interview published by the San Francisco Public Library of several hippie women - Salli Rasberry, Delia Moon, Denise Kaufman, Judy Goldhaft and Alexandra Jacopetti Hart. It’s facilitated by Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, the author of Daughters of Aquarius: Women of the Sixties Counterculture. Search on YouTube for “Women of the 60s Counterculture”...at the San Francisco Public Library.
Fire History Project – If you were part of the Bodega Bay fire department dating back to 1953, we would like to capture the history! Join us on September 7th, 2019 from 2pm - 5pm as we will be hosting a gathering of past employees of BBAR, Bodega Bay Fire and Bodega Bay Volunteer Fire Department at
Story of West County Hippies The newest novel by Eldonna Edwards is Clover Blue, which is about a boy searching for identity in rural Freestone, Sonoma County, within a commune of the 1970s. Eldonna explores familiar themes of otherness, belonging and true definitions of home. She just completed two five-city book launch tours from Santa Barbara to Sebastopol Clover Blue is available locally at Freestone Artisan Cheese and Copperfields.
46 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/19
the Bodega Bay Fire Station at 510 Highway 1, Bodega Bay. This event is in conjunction with the Rancho Bodega Historical Society. They are currently seeking anyone who was part of the history! Visit: ranchobodega.org/firehouse. jpg to learn more and plan to attend!