Randolph Collier - Yreka, CA
N 41° 43.954 W 122° 38.445
10T E 529876 N 4620145
This memorial monument is located at the NE corner of Yreka Park at the corner of S Gold and W Miner Streets in Yreka, CA.
Waymark Code: WMH1Q5
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2013
Views: 3
At the NE corner of
Yreka Park sits a stone boulder with a metal plaque monumented on front which reads:
RANDOLPH COLLIER
SENATOR - STATE OF CALIFORNIA 1938 - 1976
THE CITIZENS OF YREKA, CALIFORNIA,
HEREBY HONOR ONE OF THEIR MOST ESTEEMED CITIZENS,
SENATOR RANDOLPH COLLIER,
FROM 1938, UNTIL 1976,
"HANDY" FAITHFULLY REPRESENTED HIS BELOVED TOWN
IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE,
A DREAMER, A DECISION MAKER, A MASTER POLITICIAN,
SENATOR COLLIER IS BEST KNOWN AS
THE "FATHER OF THE FREEWAYS".
YREKA CITY PARK,
IN WHICH THIS PLAQUE IS SITUATED,
WAS ONE OF HIS FIRST PUBLIC-SPIRITED ACTIONS AS
PRESIDENT OF THE YREKA 20-30 CLUB.
MAY 20, 1977 |
I did some research online regarding 'Handy' Collier and found a website that mentions a quick bio and reads:
Randolph Collier was born in Etna, California on July 26, 1902. He was a resident of Siskiyou County his entire life, attending Yreka grammar and high schools, and the University of California, Riverside. In 1925, he was appointed police court judge of the City of Yreka, serving in that capacity until his election to the California State Senate in 1938. He was re-elected in 1942, 1946, 1950, and 1954. He served as Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and co-authored the Collier-Burns Highway Act of 1947. He also served as Chairman of the Senate Interim Committee on Highways, Streets and Bridges. Senator Collier died on August 2, 1983.
There is also a rest area off of Interstate-5 named after him for his years of service and dedication in improving California's roadways and being a major proponent in the creation of Interstate-5 in the early 1960s. I also located an interesting article from the Mail Tribune that discusses the politics behind Collier and the reason why I-5 passes through the town of Yreka. If you look on a map, it's interesting to note how the Interstate swerves east to Yreka, then back west and north again. The price of Collier's politics cost an extra $7 million to the state to re-route the Interstate. In today's tight budgets and spotlights on many politicians, I doubt Collier's ambitions would survive in today's times.