Oh, burl! The L.A. Times has managed to feature Poor Orick in an economic-fallout story and deftly dodge The Answer To Why Has Poor Orick Gone Doggone Belly Up?
No, it isn’t the writer’s thesis: The slow housing market, which led to the closure of the town’s last mill on Oct. 15.
The slowdown is hurting communities throughout Northern California, including tiny Orick, population about 300. Life here in rural Humboldt County is marked by the sudden appearance of a herd of elk in a clearing and gentle tides on the rocky seashore a few minutes outside town.
Many residents have never ventured the 700 miles south to sprawling, smoggy Los Angeles, and don’t much care to. Yet their fate is inextricably linked to the construction of subdivisions, apartments and condos in Southern California.
OK, sure, the mill closure’s a damned shame for the 48 employees and for the town itself. Devastating, in fact. But it’s more the door slamming into the timber industry’s backside there than the actual booting that launched it toward the exit.
Come on, you know The Answer To Why Has Poor Orick Gone Doggone Belly Up? Any old-timer will rant you: Redwood National Park. Killed logging, killed beach burl gathering, killed beach fishing, killed beach RV camping, killed town, killed hope. And the town’s been living on burl fumes ever since.
So, what, are Orick people finally letting the park off the hook? The story features Ron Barlow, who worked 34 years at the mill.
Barlow is thinking of applying for a job at nearby Redwood National Park, which would keep him out in the woods where he has spent most of his working life. Still, he knows his old company’s departure will mean big changes for Orick.
Oh, damn. Not a whiff of irony? Not a single spitting dig at the park? Either the L.A. Times writer really did manage not to get trompled by the elephant in the room, or Orick really has lost all of its spirit.
This article appears in Cup Runneth Over.
gentle tides …. um, no.
I’m confused as to why anyone would think that the LA Times could actually write a coherent story about northcoast economy.
I love burl!
Yea I read that and was like what?
When high tide is "gentle" in Orick, that means 7 feet. 8-9 feet is common.
This reporter must have been high.
Its like they’re blind and deaf at the LA Times. Ive been misquoted by one of their writers and it pissed me off enough to write a letter to the editor (that was never published)… no foul language or anything! If they are gonna use your name on a quote at least they could print what you watched them write on the yellow pad while your lips were moving.
Not a bad story I thought. It’s time to quit mourning the loss of great pay and fun times because we now understand the true costs. Recovering the health of the watershed may well take longer than all the generations of Orick folks. The park is the best thing to happen in our modern times. Yes, it has cost the community dearly but there is no need to be angry or sad. It is a beacon of change that people need to appreciate and respond to. The animals already look. Look at this Saturday’s article in the Times Standard about how the salmon are adjusting to warmer water tempetures. We humans need to take note and starting using our ingenuity to both adjust and celebrate a more enlightened approach to nature.