When I first met Mary, I was captivated by her cheerful energy. She is vibrant, articulate, and has the gift of being able to listen as intensely as she speaks. She is quick to smile and laugh, and evokes the same in others.
Perhaps if I’d had a teacher like Mary, I wouldn’t have felt like a such a underdog when I graduated from high school and my only option for affordable post-secondary education was community college—a place, I thought, for losers. Mary knows that feeling. She, too, was not afforded the luxury of going directly from high school to a four-year university. However, she grew to appreciate how success at community college offered her the gateway to a becoming a teacher, a career that she loves.
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Most of Mary’s high school friends were teachers’ kids. When they graduated from Fort Bragg High in 1995, they were headed to four-year colleges. “Since I didn’t have the money to do that, I went to community college,” she said. “I felt I wasn’t as good as they were.”
She decided to pursue some sort of technical training where she could get in, get out, and make a living wage. For the 18-year old Mary, that decision led her to the dental hygienist program at Sacramento City College.
While in Sacramento, she often visited her best friend at Chico State. “I loved being on that campus. It made me realize that I really wanted a four-year degree. The following year, I went to Sierra Community College in Rocklin. I liked it better than Sac City, mainly because there was a much younger crowd.” She eventually transferred to Chico State.
Proud 4-H kid
Mary financed her education through a combination of working, help from her family, grants, and student loans. “I was a retail clerk at a western wear store in Sacramento. In Chico, I did filing for an attorney. During the summers, I came home and worked fulltime. One summer I was a file clerk at the Ten Mile Court where I made a whopping $4.15 an hour.” The former 4-H kid graduated from Chico State in 2001 with a degree in Ag Science with an emphasis in education.
While pursuing her degree, her dream was to return to the coast to teach Ag Science. Her boyfriend, John Iversen, lived in Mendocino and worked for his family’s logging business. During her final year in college, she applied for a position to teach Ag Science at Fort Bragg High School through Mendocino County’s Regional Occupational Program (ROP).
Was it weird to return as a teacher to her alma mater? “Not really. It took me a while to call my former teachers by their first names. For my first staff yearbook picture, the photographer asked me what grade I was in.” She laughed.
Mary and John married in December 2003. “When you marry a logger, you have to have your wedding in the winter if you want time to take a honeymoon.”
Two years later, she was pregnant with her first child and felt her schedule required too much time away from home. “I started transitioning out of ROP by teaching the Achievement Via Individual Determination [AVID] program and eventually taught health. I now teach a freshman seminar which is health one semester and college and career success the second semester.” Every incoming freshman is enrolled in these classes. “If you’re 32 or younger, I’ve probably taught you.”
The Iversens live in Mendocino where John attended school. Son Alex was born in 2006 and daughter Avery in 2009. Mary feels motherhood allowed her to become a better teacher. She protects each student as the child of someone who loves them very much.
As her children approached school age, she and John contemplated where to send them. Mary entertained the fantasy that she would get a job at the Mendocino Middle School. “I could live and work in Mendocino and the kids could go to school there.” She announced she would give the high school one more year. “A week later, I realized how much I love teaching at the high school. I decided I’d be there forever.” Alex and Avery both attend Fort Bragg schools.
Mary finds students still feel shame about going to community college. She works to take away the stigma of a four-year only option. “I tell students to choose what they want to do and take the path that will get them there—whether that be an apprenticeship at Fort Bragg Electric, going to a tech school, or becoming a doctor.” Community college can be an excellent place to start. The point is to keep the end goal in mind.
Mary has been able to formalize her beliefs through teaching classes that focus on college and career success. “The curriculum is called ‘Get Focused, Stay Focused.’ I work with freshmen to help them develop life skills, like creating a budget. I help them explore their aptitudes, interests, and passions. What do you value—fame, money, family? During this semester, they are dually enrolled in a class through Mendocino College.” Each subsequent year, students are again exposed to these concepts through a three-week course. This process deepens their insights into who they want to become, and culminates in a formal senior project where they research career choices and report their findings.
Mary views her students as her clients. “I want my classroom to be an inviting place where they feel comfortable. People often say that the décor makes it look like a party.
“When I walk through the doors of the school, I’m happy. Even if I won the lottery, I would keep my job. I have a fulfilling life as a teacher, which also gives me time to be fulfilled as a mom. I feel at home at Fort Bragg High, it’s comforting. I have great colleagues who love their jobs, work hard, and are dedicated to kids. We work well as a team.”
She credits two teachers in particular with mentoring her in her early years. “During my first week, Cindy Rusert gave me a lesson planning sheet that I continue to use to this day. Mary Makela and I bonded over our shared passion for teaching. She brought the ‘Get Focused, Stay Focused’ program to the school.”
Mary feels fortunate to have a career where she’s given the opportunity to encourage the youth of our community to think about their futures and explore a variety of scenarios. Lucky for them to have a teacher with such enthusiasm, a stellar example of how community college can start a person on the path to success.
Mary with fellow teachers Tara Larson, Stacie Morse & Mary Makela
On the morning of January 20th, I was alerted to a fire at what I called the Hoarder House. I’d never witnessed a fire in real time. It was equally fascinating and disturbing (
Months went by. Winds and rain caused the waterfall of junk to precariously shift. People started asking me why the City hadn’t torn the place down. I’m flattered they have the impression that I’m privy to the goings on around town. I actually know next to nothing, and often stifle an urge to make things up.
So what you think Nationstar did?
A few weeks ago, black tarps were draped over the chain link fence and the demolition began. Within a couple days, the dumpsters supplied by Waste Management were filled to capacity and work paused until they could be hauled inland and emptied.
Heather grew up in Morro Bay where she learned commercial fishing from her dad. “I moved here in 1999, and immediately began a flaming love affair with Mendocino County.” By 2001, she had saved four thousand dollars and bought a small boat, the Julie. “My idea was to have a floating fish market—to sell fish right off the boat.” She admits that running her own boat was a different experience than crewing with her dad.
Her dad tried to help her, but she was intent on doing things her way. “At one point, he threw his hands up and said, ‘You’re going to kill yourself,’ and went back to Morro Bay. Bless his heart, he must have been so worried. This strained our relationship, but a few years later, we fished together in Alaska.”
Along the way, she sold the Julie and bought and sold two other boats. In 2009, she purchased a larger vessel with a blast freezer named 
As a woman in this field, Heather is not unique, but rare. “There are a lot more women in Alaska.” She admires her crew which includes Maia and Anna—graduates of Humboldt State. “The salmon season lasts about six months. It requires a great deal of endurance. We get only five to six hours of sleep a night and are away from home so much. I got a crab permit last winter. Catching crab is easier and is a lot more fun.” Maia and Anna also sell the fish at the farmers’ markets.
After college, she moved home to Fort Bragg in 2012 to regroup and figure out her next move. She was 22. “I picked up some shifts at Los Gallitos, worked for Carol Millsap for a year, and took on overnight shifts for Andersson Caregiving, caring for elderly and terminally ill people. This was one of the most significant jobs I ever had, getting to care for people in that way. Each experience taught me something and made me a better person. It reminded me we’re all going to grow old and die. It caused me to be less self-centered.”
She returned in the fall of 2013 to take a full time position at Project Sanctuary as a client advocate and counselor. When the organization received a sexual assault prevention grant, Karina was hired to conduct community outreach with other agencies—Safe Passage, the Children’s Fund, Gang Awareness and Prevention. “We disseminated information about healthy relationships, especially among teens. I provided in-service to groups like the Catholic church’s youth groups and held lunchtime meetings at the middle school and high school. At Fort Bragg High School, I organized the Youth Leadership Team, a group focused on teen education and awareness, which still exists today.”
Her first year entailed teaching a World Culture and Language class to sixth graders and a couple of Spanish classes to seventh graders. “This year, I had to add a second level Spanish class for the eighth graders. It’s the equivalent of high school Spanish I.” She teaches separate Spanish classes for native speakers. If all that isn’t enough, she also teaches a seventh grade AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) class on critical thinking and study skills.
Sometimes the inspiration to move back to the place you love arrives in the most random of ways. An email sent by your wife, added to the hundreds you received that day, nearly lost until a couple weeks later when you find it and ask why she sent you a link to a house for sale in Fort Bragg. She knows how your long work days often spill into late nights and take a toll on your personal life. Since leaving the Mendocino Coast over 20 years ago, you’ve always said you’d move back. Maybe now is the time.
Jason was born in Houston, Texas and moved to Elk with his mom Laurie Graham when he was seven years old. “My mom’s whole life was her children, but she was always willing to open her home to a friend in need. She loved nothing more than spending time with family and friends.”
Those were the days before cell phones, when a homesick kid had to pay for long distance calls if he wanted to talk to his mom. Jason didn’t have this luxury. He got an on-campus job as the audio visual tech manager at the student union. He eventually became the building manager.
He bought a condo near San Jose State and rented out a bedroom, usually to a college student. “In 2009, a friend told me her friend Cate—who lived in Willits—was planning to go to San Jose City College and needed a place to stay. I rented her the room.” They began spending time together and slowly became a couple. They married in 2013.
Dewey Turner considers himself a positive person. If you’re fortunate to spend time with him you’ll agree with that assessment. There’s a twinkle to his eyes that gives away his friendliness, a quickness to his wit that gets you laughing. He possesses a tender heart and a deep love of family.
“I was horrible at it, but figured if I practiced enough I’d get good.” He played five nights a week until dark and most weekends. He joined a golf tour and entered tournaments around Northern California. In 2012, he qualified for the national championship tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Florida and came in eighth among 150 entrants. That same year, he earned the title of Sacramento Player of the Year. In 2013 and again in 2017, he won the Little River Inn Golf Club Championship.
Dewey and Jamie’s first date included Ali. They went to Mackerricher State Park beach and Jenny’s Giant Burger. “I knew I wanted them in my life forever. Ali and I have a special relationship. She’s truly my first daughter.”
Dewey loves Fort Bragg and the life he’s built since his return. “It seems our town needs to find its identity over and over again. So much of our future depends on how the mill site is developed. We need to keep opening our minds to change.”
When I first heard Mindy Slaughter on the radio as the voice of Sport Dodge a few months ago, her upbeat tone and energy impressed me. She must have had this effect on others, too, as random people encouraged me to contact her for an interview. Her warmth, intelligence, and easy laughter made me glad I did.
In January 2000, her dad Mike and business partners bought Jack Smith Dodge in Fort Bragg. She was in the ninth grade, her brother Matt in the seventh. “I was excited about moving to the coast, but stayed in Ukiah with my mom to finish the school year. That summer, Dad introduced me to the high school basketball coaches for Fort Bragg and Mendocino. I got to practice with both teams.”
“On prom night I got dressed in her hospital room. The nurses decorated it with our prom theme—Mardi Gras—and helped us celebrate.” A month later, Mary was deemed too frail to attend the graduation ceremony. “Her nurse Kathy Lang and Kathy’s policeman husband Joe sprang her from the hospital and took her anyway.” Mindy smiled at the memory.
“In June 2008, the Services Coordinator position for the Sacramento Kings became available. I applied and started a week after I graduated.”
“I got the job and moved to Eugene in November 2011. I was 25—eager to do the work and learn. Professionally, I was fulfilled—I got to help with the Olympic trials and an appearance by the Dali Lama. I had the opportunity to learn and do more than most who spend years in this type of role. But personally something was lacking. It was hard living in a town where people are either college students, young marrieds with children, or retired. My heart was in California. I missed home.”
On one of my walks with my dog Lucy a few years ago, I discovered a house three blocks west and one block south that had all the hoarding signs—disintegrating drapes that were perpetually closed in downstairs windows, paraphernalia piled against upstairs windows, a backyard that looked like a combination of junkyard and garbage dump. My fascination with it caused Lucy and me to walk by on a regular basis.
In the late morning of January 20, a friend called to say “my house” was on fire. I rushed to the scene to see firefighters battle toxic smoke spewing from the asbestos-singled structure. It was riveting to watch a firefighter stand high in the air on a truck ladder and spray hundreds of gallons of water on the house. When the smoke dissipated, the spray stopped. Within moments, the smoke started up again. All that water—and still there remained a deep burning that refused to surrender.
The next day and the day after that and the day after that, I drove by. The house is in shambles—an astounding collection of possessions destroyed and caved into a monstrous heap. I was surprised to discover that underneath the shingles is a wooden gingerbread design. A lifelong coastal friend told me that in the fifties and sixties a number of people covered old houses in this way to make them appear more modern.
According to 
It Happened at Purity 