Clif Clendenen was born on January 12, 1953, in Scotia to Andy and Carol Clendenen. He was raised on his family's nearly 100-year-old farm, Clendenen's Cider Works, on the banks of the Eel River in Fortuna. He graduated from Fortuna High School in 1971, and from the University of California at Davis in 1975 with a degree in botany.

After graduating from high school, Clif began working for the California Department of Forestry. In 1971, he was a firefighter in Garberville, and the following year was a firefighter in Whitethorn. In 1973, Clif worked as an engineer for CDF in Fortuna. After college, Clif traveled and worked as a carpenter. In 1978, he joined his parents at Clendenen's Cider Works, which he has operated for the past three decades, augmenting a seasonal farm income with carpentry.

When he's not working on the farm or greeting customers at his shop, Clif enjoys walking, backpacking and playing the mandolin. Growing up in Fortuna, he was active in Boy Scout Troop 81, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1986, he married his wife Laurie, a special education teacher at Fortuna Middle School. His son Drew, 20, recently moved to Mt. Shasta to become a member of the Mt. Shasta Ski Patrol, and his daughter, Elizabeth, 18, is a freshman at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

Clif's community involvement has included:

• Developing the Fortuna Apple Harvest Festival, now in its 23rd year
  
  
• Past board member of the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce
  
  
• Founding president of the Fortuna Concert Series
  
  
• Member of the Design Committee for Fortuna Middle School
  
  
• Past director of Humboldt County Farm Bureau
  
  
• Active engagment in Fortuna's General Plan Update.

Clif has written and spoken to encourage responsible planning and development that will preserve Fortuna's small-town character and foster sound economic development and diversification.

Photo courtesy of Eureka Reporter

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