Eureka!

The highway has led us to the northern California coastal town of Eureka, right in the heart of Redwood country. We had a very nice visit with the staff at the KOA, (but it's still cold!). Since this park is owned and operated by a local church, we 'compacted' our review into one day (Saturday), and had a nice visit with the staff over dinner at a local restaurant that evening.

The park manager, Rebekah, just happened to have an 18-month old son (Jeremiah) - that is just 4 days older than our Hayden. Roger tried to get him to 'give him five' - but that he wouldn't do it. However, he did consent to 'knock knuckles'. Made us both a bit homesick for our kids!

Sunday morning, we headed over for breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse. This is the only surviving 'cookhouse' in the West and has been in operation since the late 1800's. The lower floor of the building houses the kitchen and dining room. During its prime, three 'squares' a day was served up for the 300-400 hungry loggers. (I did the math . . . that's 1200 meals a day!)

But it's 'my kind' of cooking. You eat what's being served - or go hungry! The tables are set 'family style' and one eats until they have had their fill. A good cookhouse never sent a man away saying, "I could have eaten more!" The loggers could tell what day of the week it was by the menu. Our breakfast started off with biscuits & gravy, juice & coffee or tea. Then followed thick slabs of French toast with link sausage. And in true fashion, both Roger and I could honestly say, "We couldn't have eaten more!"

In reading some of the history of this interesting place, we found that up until 1915, only 'single females' were employed as servers, and they resided in rooms on the second floor of the cookhouse. The loggers lived in kabins in the area that is now the parking lot. The lumber mill operation sat behind the cookhouse.

Meals were (and still are) served at long tables covered with oil cloth. There were no "reserved seats", but some of the men had places, where through habit, they sat, and no one dared to sit in that place. At times a newcomer would inadvertantly sit down and refuse to move, which often ended in a fist fight over the matter. Table manners took a back seat here; rarely was food passed - the boarding house 'reach' having preference.

One of the most important employees was the baker. He turned out hundreds of doughnuts, cakes, cookies and pies - and was a favorite with the kids of Samoa. Occasionally a cookhouse ended up with a 'bad' cook, which they referred to as a 'boiler'. On rare occasions, the lumber yard steward would find hotcakes nailed to his office door - a sure sign it was time for a new cook! (Now that's a mental picture!)

According to the recollections of one of the 'girls' who worked there from 1900 to 1910, the favorite
'game' during their free time was called 'pot-sliding'. An old chamber pot was thrown down the hall like a bowling ball. She remembers that when it got too noisy from the laughter and rumbling of the 'crockery', the superintendant would yell up the stairs to 'cut out that noise!' (Times haven't really changed, have they!)

When longshoremen were loading ships down at the dock, 30 extra tables were set. If the logging train came in from the woods late, the cookhouse stayed open until everyone was fed. It's told that once the management decided that the men crowding into the dining room for a meal was too boisterous. So, a turnstile was installed to slow the speed of the crowding men. This wasn't well received by the men, and they nearly broke the leg of the supervising man standing beside the turnstile. The new gadget, it was decided was a flop, and was immediately discarded.

The girls were often targets for jokes from the men. Often they returned to the kitchen to find a soup ladle hanging from their apron bows. But they got even. Cups were always turned upside down over the saucers to keep them free from dust or insects (they still are). Their favorite 'revenge' was too fill a cup with water and invert it over the saucer. When the unsuspecting victim picked up their cup, he would receive a lap full of cold water. But, occasionally the wrong fellow would get the cold 'bath!'

A very enjoyable morning, as we lingered over breakfast, visited with the friendly staff and enjoyed all the old pictures and relics from that time.