If time is a river, it makes sense that the historic Requa Inn sits at a river mouth. For over a century, guests have come and gone - but so have families, industries, and even dams. "There's six dams between here and the Klamath Falls in Oregon. And so they've taken down two dams now. And a lot of that conversation happened in that dining room," says innkeeper Cass Kuck.
And as the outside world changes around it - the Requa remains relatively stoic. The rooms have no phones or TVs and cell service is spotty. "No one complains about no televisions, no one complains about, you know, the internet's kind of spotty," says Kuck.
Sitting around a small table overlooking the Klamath River, she tells Dr. Keith Flamer and Dr. Tom Jackson from Cal Poly Humboldt about the building's history, its connection to the Yurok Tribe, and the hotel's informal ghost policy.
Photo Credits:
Requa Inn circa ~1926 by Ruth Roberts via Cal Poly Humboldt Special Collections
L-R: Dr. Keith Flamer, Dr. Tom Jackson, Cass Kuck - Cal Poly Humboldt
Transcript:
Cass Kuck:
Do you want me to walk you through…?
Keith Flamer:
This was known as what before?
Cass Kuck:
This used to be called the Klamath Inn, this building.
Keith Flamer:
Klamath inn. What's the history of it?
Cass Kuck:
So in, let's say, in the late 1800s, they built this place to support the cannery. In 1913, the place burned down and they rebuilt it in 1914. And that's when they called the Klamath Inn.
And then after that, then in 2002, they went ahead and changed it to Requa Inn, ‘Requa’ means ‘mouth of the river.’ And it just kind of stayed all these hundreds of years. I mean, the owner's family has lived here for hundreds of years, and so it's really cool to have her here.
Tom Jackson:
See, the one question I was asked to make sure I ask you had to do with Sasquatch. Have there been any Sasquatch sightings?
Cass Kuck:
As you know, my name is Cass. Yes. And my friends call me Cassquatch, because I'm very tall. I have this hair. And so that's why they call me that [laughter].
Keith Flamer:
…Cassquatch. Oh, that’s good!
Cass Kuck:
They're always asking, is there a Sasquatch up there as well? If you're hearing a noise in the forest, it's probably a bear. And his name is Ruckus.
Keith Flamer: The bear’s name is Ruckus?
Cass Kuck: This one guests came in and goes, “There's a bear in the parking lot!” I’m like, “all right, I'll be right there.”
And like one guest said, “I'm going to get a picture of this.” And he followed behind me, and I've got my Home Depot bucket, and I'm banging and the bears running up into the bushes, and he's just laughing [laughter]. He took pictures and he posted about it. That was pretty cool.
Keith Flamer:
That's a great story. I love that one!
Tom Jackson:
That's another use of a Home Depot bucket… [laughter]
Keith Flamer:
There you go. Bear repellent!
Tom Jackson:
I'm thinking of all the stories this Inn could tell. Can you talk a little bit more about that history and some of the changes you may have seen? You mentioned pioneers earlier, and we've evolved in that respect, but…
Cass Kuck:
They would rent here to work for the cannery. And so they would live here and work down there. Then this used also used to be the Klamath Post Office.
Keith Flamer:
How much has this building’s footprint changed since 1913?
Cass Kuck:
Well, they did the post office downstairs and turned it into an apartment. There are pictures around of what this may have looked like back in the day, so I can show those to you…
Keith Flamer:
I'd love to see it though. That'd be great.
Tom Jackson:
There may have been families and children born in here.
Cass Kuck:
And the owner current owner’s family would stay here, and they lived right over in this area. They have a little apartment there too. A lot of the kids did kind of grow up here, and you'll see when you walk into the kitchen there's a height chart of all the grandkids.
Keith Flamer:
Oh my gosh!
Cass Kuck:
…Which is pretty cool.
Keith Flamer:
So it's family-style.
Cass Kuck:
It's a family.
Keith Flamer:
I'd be also very curious about how connected is the Inn to the Yurok Tribe.
Cass Kuck:
Very, the owner is a tribal member.
Keith Flamer:
Okay.
Cass Kuck:
So if you go up this road about seven minutes, you're going to see the Klamath River overlook. And when you see that, you're looking at where the river meets the ocean. Very historical site. And last year when I was here, they had a Brush Dance down there for the Tribe. And that's something that you're not allowed to go to unless you're invited to it.
And it's a big deal. The owner's granddaughter got to be the princess for that one. So that was an honor. It was huge. And they do it for seven days and seven nights. I mean, it's just amazing. They host a lot of of their things here for the Tribe. They loved brunches and meetings and things like that.
The Yurok tribe has done a huge movement - there's six dams between here and the Klamath Falls in Oregon. And so they've taken down two dams now. And a lot of that conversation happened in that dining room. And I was here. It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. And the people would come here, discuss it, and they got fundraising going here and all kinds of things to make that happen. And it was just it was so cool to be part of that history right there.
And so two of them have gone. And when they get rid of them, this turns into chocolate milk. So I know when they've taken one down because this whole thing will turn brown, for about three weeks and then it'll stop and get back to normal.
And then this is very strange for me, because sometimes that water goes that way, and sometimes that water goes that way. And this is a river. I'm like, well, that's interesting. And I do know that it meets the tide out there with the ocean, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it that's pushing it. It's just fantastic to see that happen.
Tom Jackson:
It's doing that right now.
Keith Flamer:
Actually, I was looking out the window because it's so beautiful. I'm thinking, ‘wait a minute, the current is in the wrong direction’, but I didn't want to ask. So thank you for answering the question.
Tom Jackson:
It's following the fog. We're here again today with Cass Kuck, the manager of the Requa Inn.
Keith Flamer:
You know, I was just thinking… I would describe this place... and by your stories, this is a place where you can restore yourself to being human versus being fast paced all the time. Is that how you would talk about this in.
Cass Kuck:
I do have two ladies in my mind that will come in, they're so relaxed, they're like, “I don't even know if I can get myself back in gear to go back to what I just came from.” So it's wonderful that the peace that comes with this and and no one complains about no televisions, no one complains about, you know, the internet's kind of spotty because the trees suck up that internet.
Cass Kuck:
They really do.
Tom Jackson:
Somewhere in all of this is a foundation of breaking away from life's pressures.
Cass Kuck:
This is like the center of five national and state parks. Then they go for a hike out in nature, and then they come back here and rest. It's such a respite. I mean, I can't explain to the human psyche what that does.
Tom Jackson:
And that's a good way, probably to explain it because it's so hard to describe it.
Keith Flamer:
So a building this old 100 years, are there any ghosts here?
Cass Kuck:
Well…
Keith Flamer:
[I mean] Is there anyone who would report a ghost here?
Cass Kuck:
Well, I would have to say the owner wants me to share that, if you do happen to come across a ghost here, that you brought it yourself. And please take it with you when you go.
Keith Flamer:
So really the only thing we have to worry about is Ruckus.
Cass Kuck:
That's it! [laughter]
Keith Flamer:
Ruckus the bear.
Cass Kuck:
Exactly.
Tom Jackson:
That's a good point to wrap it up. Cass Kuck, thank you so much for your time this afternoon and providing such a beautiful venue to have this discussion about the Requa Inn.
Cass Kuck:
Kindly. Thank you. Thank you very much, guys. Appreciate it.
