Nonprofit wants to beautify Bayside
Residents raise funds to restore historic building in the community and more
A historic building in the heart of Bayside will soon be getting needed repairs and renovations with the support of an active community organization.
“In Bayside, we have learned that longtime and new residents alike enjoy learning about the community’s history, the beautiful historic homes and public buildings. Sharing stories and old family photos in presentations at community potlucks has been a grassroots organizing tool for residents to get to know each other better. This stronger sense of community promotes safety, information-sharing and neighbor-to-neighbor assistance,” said Maggie Gainer, Bayside resident since December 1978 and vice president of the board of directors for Bayside Corners, Inc., which is helping raise funds to tend to the building that now houses Mistwood Educational Center.
That building — at the corner of Jacoby Creek Road and Old Arcata Road right next to the larger Bayside Community Hall — was constructed in the early 1880s by the Sons of Temperance organization, Gainer said. Temperance Hall housed Bayside Grange meetings for nearly 10 years before construction was finished on the larger hall and kitchen in the early 1940s. For many years, Temperance Hall was also a venue for square dancing, community meetings and meals, musical performances and religious worship.
For the past 27 years, Mistwood Educational Center — a home-schooling/grammar school combination founded in 1980 — has occupied the space.
“This has been a wonderful location and building for generations of our students. It now needs basic repairs … so that it can continue to serve young people and Bayside,” said Rebecca Nordquist, head teacher/director at Mistwood along with Alice Finen.
Gainer noted in an email interview with the TimesStandard: “The smaller hall right in the center of Bayside is the oldest and most prominent historic structure to residents driving by.”
Bayside Corners — formerly known as Bayside Pride — will be launching a fund drive to help pay for repairs that need to be done on the historic structure, including work on the foundation, windows, gutters and roof, as well as plumbing and electrical wiring work.
As it prepares to initiate this major fundraising drive, Bayside Pride has also changed its name to Bayside Corners, Inc.
“The new name … reflects the importance of the community’s historic central hub,” Gainer said. “Over the past 30 years, the ‘downtown’ hub of
Bayside has devolved into chain-link fences, the city of Arcata pump house, litter and parking lots. Newer residents are unaware that its appearance could be much more appealing. Bayside Corners will be recruiting more residents of Bayside to join us in historic preservation and beautification projects to build a greater sense of community in Bayside.”
The nonprofit — incorporated in 2007 — not only supports community improvements and projects for residents of Bayside, the Jacoby Creek Valley and surrounding communities, it also serves as a fiscal agent and fundraising arm for Bayside groups and community improvements.
“Community groups that are not incorporated periodically request Bayside Corners to help them by serving as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation to manage donations and grants for them,” Gainer said.
In recent years, traffic safety — especially for pedestrians and bicyclists — has also been a focus for the organization, as well as providing fund development assistance for repairs and restoration of the historic Bayside Community Hall.
“In 2007-2012, after a young bicyclist was hit by a car, the organization administered a Grassroots Grant from Humboldt Area Foundation to conduct a walkability survey, … organize large meetings of Bayside residents to receive community input for prioritizing the residents’ concerns and desired projects for Bayside and monthly ‘Walk and Roll Wednesdays’ for Jacoby Creek School students. The grant helped to pay for signage, supplies and materials for motorist, bicyclist and pedestrian safety education,” Gainer said.
She added: “Bayside Corners began a fundraising project for Bayside Com
“In Bayside, we have learned that longtime and new residents alike enjoy learning about the community’s history, the beautiful historic homes and public buildings.”
— Maggie Gainer, vice president of the board of directors for Bayside Corners, Inc.
munity Hall maintenance and repairs more than 10 years ago. PG&E awarded a grant at the time to upgrade the electrical panel in the hall’s kitchen. In 2017-2019, Bayside Corners participated in the major capital fund drive for significant repairs and restoration of the (Bayside Community) Hall.”
To help restore Temperance Hall (Mistwood Educational Center) and take part in other Bayside beautification projects, contact Bayside Corners at 707826-2021. Donations can be mailed to Bayside Corners at P.O. Box 342, Bayside, CA 95524.
“We will begin holding community events, send a letter of appeal to residents and graduates of Mistwood and make it easy to donate via Facebook and our website,” Gainer said. “Once Bayside residents and former students learn of this need to repair and restore the building, we hope that they will join in with their expertise, skills and in-contributions. A ‘fundometer’ will soon be posted in front of Mistwood School to track fundraising progress.”
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The good news is that flu shots are already widely available. They’re free with most types of insurance and are often available at discounted rates at flu shot clinics. Free flu shots are also
For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/BaysidePride.
available through community organizations and public health departments. For flu shot locations in your area, visit vaccinefinder.org.