Links Carranco: His memory lives on in his writings
The Humboldt Historian
July-August, 1987

In Memory

LYNWOOD (LINKS) CARRANCO prominent author, educator and past president of the Humboldt County Historical Society, died July 1, 1987, in Arcata at the age of 66. He was a native of Eureka and a resident of Arcata.

In a eulogy by the Rev. Fr. Fergal McGuiness, it was noted that Links was raised in the lumber town of Samoa and had a "life filled with images of the land he loved…The people of Samoa were special to him…He had a passionate interest in his surroundings…He was sensitive and always ready to help others…His memory will endure through his writings."

In addition to publishing history articles, many of which have appeared in The Humboldt Historian, Links authored several books on North Coast History. His hallmark as an author was careful research and documentation. He shared his research and writing talents with students enrolled in his History 13 course at College of the Redwoods and a number of outstanding student articles inspired by this effort have appeared in The Humboldt Historian.

He has had articles and stories published since 1954 in professional journals and historical magazines including Clearing House, Education Digest, American Speech, American Heritage, Pacific Historical Review, Western Folklore, The California Historical Society Quarterly, California English Journal, Journal of the West, San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle, California History, Journal of Forest History, and the Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History.

He authored five published books, The Redwood Country, Logging in the Redwoods (with John Labbe), Genocide and Vendetta (with Estle Beard), The Redwood Lumber Industry, and College of the Redwoods: the First Nineteen Years, and two books to be published, Steam in the Redwoods (with Henry Sorensen) and Logger Language.

He was a member of the Western Writers of America, Humboldt County Historical Society Northern California Logging Interpretive Association, Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum, Clarke Memorial Museum and St. Mary's Catholic Church in Arcata. He served on the advisory board and was a book reviewer for Journal of the West.

Links attended local schools in Samoa and Eureka and graduated from Eureka Senior High School. He served as a radio operator with the U.S. Naval Air Corps during World War II.

He earned a bachelor's degree in education and a secondary teaching credential at Humboldt State University. He attended Columbia University in New York where he earned his master's degree in the teaching of English. He attended several other universities and earned a PhD. in English from the University of Sarasota in Florida.

He taught French, Spanish, and English at Arcata High School from 1951-56, English at Humboldt State University from 1956-64, and English at College of the Redwoods from 1964-82. For several years he served as head of the English Department at College of the Redwoods.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth E. Carranco of Arcata; his sons, Robert F. Carranco of Sonoma, Calif., and Donald F Carranco of Arcata; his brothers, Gabriel Carranco of Arcata and Robert Carranco of Fairhaven; his sisters Eva Lay and Helen Braun, both of Eureka.