Greenwood/Elk: Community Notes
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Artists’ Collective has a jewelry show featuring artists Rhoda Teplow, Lee Zabin, and Walt Rush. The gallery is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so, stop in and check out the jewelry and all the other artwork on display. The gallery is located at 6031 S. Hwy. in greater downtown between the Elk Post Office and Queenie’s Roadhouse Cafe. For more information call 877-1128.
A couple of apologies are in order this week. First to Tawny MacMillan, who submitted the note in last week’s column about Mendocino Coast Clinics and whose name failed to appear with it. Thank you, Tawny, for keeping the community informed regarding MCC fundraising and all-things-covid. Also, I was late reporting Pierrot Esnol’s paintings at the post office, and I am sorry to those who went in expecting to see them. However, in their place are the paintings of Elk poet and artist Stuart Greenberg. These are also well worth a gander in their vivid realism. Postmaster Judy Bonney tells me the exhibits will be up for one month each and that she is looking for other Elk artists to show their work. Call her at 877-3232 if you are interested.
According to “Memories of the Elk Post Office,” a historical booklet published for the Post Office Centennial in 1987, Elk has had ten postmasters since 1921, including our current postmaster. The booklet is dedicated to the memories of George Burk (postmaster from 1921-1933) and Mary Burk (wife of George and postmaster from 19331947) and is a compilation of various townsfolks’ memories. From Melvin Matson, “George H. Burk was our postmaster, and his wife was his assistant. They were busy all the time…Sometimes, in real stormy weather would be somewhat late, but perhaps at nine o’clock at night, one would hear the Studebaker come clanking into town as the rear wheels would have steel chains on them. Then Mr. Burk and his wife would get busy sorting the mail, and it was not unusual for people to be gathered at the Post Office waiting for their mail.” Anne Walker Daniels remembers that “Mrs. Burk also wrote the ‘Greenwood News’ column for the Mendocino Beacon. She knew everything that was going on and, I wager, what might be going to happen, in our town and Vinegar Hill (a.k.a. Greenwood Ridge)…rumors, or it was common knowledge, that Mrs. Burk knew as much and could write a lengthy column because she looked the mail over carefully to each box holder…” Uh, oh! I guess that is one way to report the happenings around town, but seriously, I feel I am in good company with Mary Burk, beloved community member, dedicated postmaster, and one of the Greenwood/Elk columnists.