Welcome to Promise of Paradise, Back to the Land Oral Histories of Mendocino County. We are working to document an experiment that began roughly fifty years ago all across the country. In the 60’s and 70’s, young people began to “tune in, turn on, and drop out.” Anything was possible. College-educated hippies began to stream away from the cities and into the country, to put a modern twist on ancient homesteading skills. We’ll hear about the sense of exhilaration, the resilience, and how these now aging hippies recall their rush towards freedom and responsibility.
We’ll also hear about how the lack of boundaries led to tragedy and disillusionment; the racial insensitivity; and how the back to the land experiment altered Mendocino County.
Who were these people, why did they come, and what mark did they make on this county’s history?
Promise of Paradise is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, California Humanities, the Arts Council of Mendocino County, the Judy Pruden Historical Preservation Fund of the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, the Mendocino Institute, StoryCenter, and Grace Hudson Museum.
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January 24, 2019 — Today we’ll hear from John Mayfield, Jr. whose entire family relocated from Oklahoma to the “Orr Springs country” right after WWII to… -
Jan 31, 2019 — Today we’ll hear from John Shaeffer, owner and founder of Real Goods, now in Hopland. John is the epitome of the old-fashioned… -
February 7, 2019 — Nancy Peregrine, an herbalist and healthcare practitioner carved out a spot of wilderness for her homestead in Whale Gulch - located in… -
February 14, 2019 -- Today's story comes from George Montag, who was born in Hungary, grew up in New York City, and came to California for the Summer of… -
River began her journey as Sally Shook, a 1950s Washington DC suburban housewife who had a longing for something much more.She found it in Mendocino… -
Midwifery was an important aspect of the back to the land movement. Expectant mothers wanted to deliver babies in their own homes, into the hands of… -
Today we’ll be hearing from Diana Wiedemann, an Albion architect and Fifth District Mendocino County Planning Commissioner. In the early 70s, Weed, as… -
March 14, 2019 — Les Boek is a musician who moved to Redwood Valley in 1971. He and his wife still live in the same house, where they’ve spent years… -
March 28, 2019 -- Today we’ll be hearing from Tom Wodetzki of Albion, a long-time political activist. Tom lived on a commune in Albion called Salmon Creek… -
April 4, 2019 -- Today we’ll hear from two people in Covelo, who still farm according to the principles of harmony between the garden and the gardener,…
