I get alarmed calls every week about the Bulgarians. They’re paying exorbitant sums for property in Petrolia, Bridgeville and Alderpoint, I’m told. They’re jogging along rural roads with automatic rifles strapped to their backs, according to one woman at a recent community meeting. They’re buying out family ranches and slowly taking over the county. And — although absolutely no proof has been offered from either my tipsters or law enforcement — they’re all somehow connected to an organized crime cartel.
Shocking stuff, to be sure. And maybe at least 40 percent true. There is an established trend of Eastern Europeans buying property in rural Humboldt County. I don’t even have to scan the rolls of the county assessor’s office to substantiate this, I just have to go home to Honeydew and sit on the store porch for a while. As for the rifles and the cartel rumors, hey, they could be true, too. It’s not that I don’t believe you, neighbors, it’s just that I think this Bulgarian mania is a symptom of an ugly, hypocritical xenophobia, and I’m a little embarrassed that you don’t see it.
When my grandmother was a girl in Depression-era Ferndale, she was taught to shun the newly-arrived Portuguese immigrants. They were, she was told, “not white” and “not from around here.” A century later, the passage of time has smoothed the bite of this. Ferndale institutions are proudly peppered with Portuguese last names. Every May, the community gathers to celebrate the Festival of the Holy Ghost. Ferndale proves in miniature what sociologists write large on American history — that communities are strengthened rather than dissolved by immigration and inclusion.
We have had Bulgarian and Polish neighbors in Honeydew for almost 20 years. I have yet to see proof that they’re exploiting the Green Rush with more rapacity than the Colombians, the Floridians, the New Jersey-ites, the Los Angelenos, the Mexicans, than any other group of “outsiders” that arrive every day. And they’re not doing anything different than the good ol’ boys have been doing for years. You know the good ol’ boys I’m talking about: my cousins, your sons, our neighbors. Probably a few third-generation Portuguese families, too. Taking the long view of history, those Bulgarians may well be good ol’ boys in a few generations, the children of hard-working immigrant entrepreneurs who had the vision to get in on the ground floor of the pot economy.
Granted, the pot economy is not pretty, but neither was the gold rush, nor the timber rush. There are lots of problems in the weed industry, but the main problem isn’t the who, but the what. Time spent pointing fingers at the people who talk and look different than us is time wasted. Time spent actually getting to know your neighbors, convincing them to drive a little slower or showing them how to store water, is incremental work, but it’s ultimately more productive. And if you have proof that Eastern Europeans specifically are eroding our culture and landscape, for goodness sakes, bring it to me. But don’t cry “Bulgarians!” as a shorthand for your fear and insecurity.
A few weeks ago I ran into a neighbor who had read my article on mixed-light grows and light pollution. He liked it! He agreed with me! It was thrilling, to be honest, and now he says there’s at least one less greenhouse blurring the night sky in the Mattole. But his buddy the next ridge over had dismissed it at a glance.
“She’s not even from around here,” he said.
Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, Linda Stansberry has had Bulgarian neighbors since the 1990s and in the past happily accepted gifts from them. Specifically, one of them gave her a Walkman for her 10th birthday, back when a Walkman was expensive and pot was much more illegal than it is now. Make of that what you will.
This article appears in Prepare for Impact.
Really nice piece Linda. Thank you.
great piece Linda, being of the Polish persuasion I appreciate the support LOL
Good job. “..the main problem isn’t the who, but the what.” Great line when referring to the industry we all love but hate at the same time.
Great article! Ain’t none of us really “from” around there, unless we are part Mattole, Weott, Sinkyone, etc. When I moved to Salmon Creek in 1992 I had no idea it was pot central; just trying to live free, grow food and get water out of the ground. I feel fortunate to have happened to get an interest in the parcel through which the Stansberry road leads down from Wilder Ridge. Haven’t had the pleasure of living there or meeting many of the neighbors yet. I hope to meet you someday!
Thank you for the outstanding piece. Racism doesn’t belong in our community and either do the people who fuel it. It’s disgusting to read the post of some and hear the hate they spread. Most of generational TRUE HUMBOLDT families deirved from immigration movements. My family came from Eastern Europe in the late 1800’s worked their asses off for everything they received and still to this day own our orginial property they purchased in 1946. So… I’m very sorry to those who’s choose to sell out their family land and are now bitter about it. When I travel the back roads of Humboldt I see more tweekers driving like assholes than Bulgarians.
you are incorrect in stating that it has only been less than 20 years since the eastern Europeans arrived in southern Humboldt mountains. its been almost twice that long that some of them have been well known. however, nice article. thank you.
You make me proud. Excellent Journalism!
Yet again Linda, your gentle touch belies the razor sharp edge of the journalistic knife you wield with the precision of a surgeon. You have that rare ability to see the real behind the assumed truths that so many of us find easier to accept. You then present it in a manner that enlightens and educates without rancor or malice, with sensitivity and unwavering commitment to that truth. All communities have raw spots caused by a continued acceptance of assumed truths that are not valid but nonetheless commonly accepted by that community because the assumption is more comfortable and less threatening than the unvarnished truth. We guard our assumptions jealously, they provide justification for the prejudges we carry but won’t acknowledge. It might be apt to note that forty some years ago, the communities and established families of the Mattole were faced with the invasion of their home ground by another group of foreigners that lived in ways that were reputed to be a threat to the established ways of the existing Mattole society. Fortunately the ‘old timers’ saw past the assumption of those newly arrived oddballs representing a dangerous, uncontrollable, and uncivilized threat, shook their hand, sold them some land-on an owner carry handshake-and taught them how to dig waterbars. And I’ve lived here ever since.
Linda, you demonstrate a maturity of perception and an unwavering commitment to fair, just and honest treatment of those uncomfortable raw spots in our communities that is so needed in today’s world. But then I think I know where you learned a lot of that so it shouldn’t surprise me.. Again thank you for saying what needs to be said so well, with so much compassion. You are one hell of a journalist and our Mattole community is much richer for your efforts.
Melanie Mirthan-Nelson
No one is “from around here” except the Natives who were wiped out in the 1800’s.
this is a great article! thank you for sharing without prejudice!
I find the Bulgarians of Humboldt County to be extremely polite and amagable. I think the reason they get a bad rap is because they are good at what they do. Their professionalism in their work is extremely apparent. They take greater risks then their neighbors. Therefore greater reward. All interactions I have had have been pleasant. They might even be willing to help you out as a neighbor if your not a bigot. America is a country of immigrants, it’s a melting pot of cultures. If you don’t like culture start packing.
I just drove the Mattole road from Ferndale into AW Way Campground for a few days, a quick stop into Honeydew for gas and EVERY person who passed us on the road waved. The waves were enthusiastic, consistent and each came with a smile. Was it my classic Ford 4×4 that provoked the locals to be friendly? Did they know of my Portuguese decent from my grandfather and great aunt who immigrated to Ferndale in the 60’s? I highly doubt it. Just the most friendly warm folks I’ve come across in Humboldt. Pordagees, Bulgarians, eastern European who knows. What I can confirm is I had a great experience and felt welcome! Leaving Ferndale when I was a child to return to Humboldt as an adult, all i can say is Thank you!
Great article, LOVE the bridge!
I think this is one side of the argument. But I see a different side. The Bulgarians or Eastern Europeans are heavily funded from big money organizations. They have offered me money to run my property, all upfront(in spring) and they have made the same offer to other neighbors. They are also buying large tracts of land at above market prices. As someone who cares about the livability and character of my neighborhood, this is a problem. I don’t want my hood to turn into a third world feeling, drug producing, gun toting(yes they shoot all the time) place. I will admit, I prefer loggers, hippys, and the other unique characters that have lived in these hills and I really don’t like the big money people AT ALL. All races included, but the organized crime people in particular. Which happen to be Eastern European at this time.
Of course there are friendly bulgys, that’s not the point! It’s the bigger picture. I’m sure I could write up a great story about a wonderful plantation owner back in the good old days, but that doesn’t mean it’s an acceptable way to do things in the bigger picture. We need to police our rural neighborhoods ourselves or the police and f&g are going to be all over us, as they are beginning to do. Time to wake up and stop the p.correct handwringing people. That’s my opinion!
Linda – This article was a great piece of writing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I wanted to talk about a piece of history largely ignored in Humboldt County and that is the migration of the Okies that moved to Humboldt in the 40’s and 50’s.
I got here in 1952 as a one-year old and we spent the next 6 years living in Salmon Creek area next to the old Hansen mill. We brought along grandparents and uncles and aunts and nephews and cousins. We provided a lot of the labor for many of the local sawmills, including Morrison-Jackson and others I no longer remember.
We weren’t particularly liked by the locals. I was called Okie in school and many a kid bigger than me went home with a bruise and a better appreciation of Okie upbringing. We were accused of being liars and thieves and drunks but almost no one accused us of being lazy. And that was a good thing.
I recall one time my family got together in Garberville for a Christmas/New Years party in an old Victorian. As was often a problem with my family, people got contentious the more they drank. My mother sent my two older brothers down to the closest pay phone to call the cops. When the oldest told the cops what was going on, he was asked, “What’s your last name son?” Needless to say we never saw the police that night, although we did meet a very nice CHP on the way home. But that’s a story for another time.
Also, Humboldt saw mini-migrations of Swedes and Norwegians and Mexicans. And like many of the groups that migrated here, we were dirt-poor and our labor and our minds eventually brought us a place with those who came before.
Everybody here was from some place else to begin with and that seems pretty normal to me.
Dave
Need that contact info asap
Well, folks around here are up on the pc posturing. They overlook the homelessness (2.7% of the population of Eureka, 1% of Humboldt County, .4% of Ca), meth and heroin and fentanyl drug running, homicides, suicides, kidnapping, human trafficking, work and prostitution slavery, squalor, poverty, lack of work etc.