COLUSA, CA (MPG) – It was standing room only last week in the Colusa County Arts Council gallery for people clamoring to see the Faces of Colusa County.
The long-awaited exhibit of Mitchell Yerxa’s black-and-white photographs of the county’s movers and shakers, as well as artisans, events, and places of interest, opened on Jan. 11.
“I’ve been working on this for four years,” said Yerxa, during last Thursday’s opening reception for the exhibit.
Yerxa’s photographs include Chung Sun Market stalwarts Roy Lee and Sonny Park; motorcycle racer and artist Hal Tacker; Arbuckle farmers and world travelers Alan and Bonnie Ehrke; duck call carver Glenn Wellborn; Burchfield Secretary Rosemary Hicks, among many others.
“Rosemary has done too many things with the community to count on fingers and toes alone,” Yerxa noted in the brief personal biography he prepared for each of his subjects. “She started working for the Colusa Unified School District in 1977, which makes her the longest tenured employee of CUSD. (This) would be cool, but when you add in coaching youth soccer, being president of the Colusa Little League, working as a translator, helping with wreaths for veterans, bartending every fundraiser in the county, Ag in the Classroom, president of education employee’s union, garden clubs, friends of the library…the list goes on. But most important to every kid that comes through those doors is knowing that Rosemary will have a smile and a hug for them, if needed. She is so much more than a kind face. She is a beacon of warmth for all that meet or know her. She is kindness, joy, and the kind of person our county is lucky to have watching over our kids for four generations.”
Yerxa said his show was mostly inspired by the 1950s era black and white photograph taken by Ken Keller of his great-grandfather, Max Yerxa, a depression-era prune grower, fly rod maker, artist, and boy scout leader, who proved the importance of working hard while giving back to the community.
“He was Troop 32 scout master from 1948-1971, and in those years, he helped 23 different young men achieve rank of Eagle Scout; the first two being Ron Meyers and Jim Davison, Yerxa noted in the biography.
Yerxa said the exhibit is also inspired by people from all walks of life that Yerxa has come to know over the past decade who have made Colusa County great.
While Yerxa is a fifth generation Colusa farmer, working with his parents, Woody and Kathy Yerxa, and sister and brother-in-law Melissa and Antonio Ortiz at River Vista Farms, going off to college as a young man and then later working out of state kept Yerxa out of touch with the local community until his return.
“I came home in 2012 and didn’t really have anyone that I knew here,” he said. “I went from 12 years ago not knowing anybody in the county to having kids that I coach that are 16 and guys I play bridge with that are 85, so I have 70 years of friends around this county. So, this is kind of show to say thank you to everyone who makes this county a really cool place to be.”
The Faces of Colusa County showcases the people in the community who are predominantly known for the work they do, but who are also artists, youth sport coaches, and volunteers with local community organizations or for local causes that raise the quality of life for everyone.
On the walls of the gallery are photographs of Mark Rablin, retired River Bank Pizza owner, who cooks for Lions Club and is “never without a smile, a laugh, or a helping hand.”
Also featured are Restaurateur Don Litchfield; Griff’s Feed and Seed CEO Clancy Seaver; Rotarians Ed Hulbert, Brenden Farrell, and Luke Steidlmayer; Rick and Sue Johnson, of Johnson’s Printing; airplane and helicopter pilot Sherman MacPherson; tractor parts guru and multi-sport youth coach Bobby Barsotti; and second generation oil and gas distributors Jerry, Mike, and Robbie Davies, who supply farms, ranches, and processing plants in Colusa County, and have service stations throughout Colusa County.
“They are heavily involved in Colusa fundraisers, coaching sports, and supporting local causes,” Yerxa noted with the photo he titled ‘Davies Brothers.’ Families and businesses like Davies Oil are at the heart of what keeps small communities going. They epitomize the idea of working together for the best of all.”
Yerxa made the photographs available to the public at a nominal cost to cover frames and gave many others away.
The exhibit will continue to run during the gallery’s regular hours until March 1. The gallery is open from 3 to 6 PM on Tuesdays, and from 10:30 AM to 1 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays.