My name is Kendall Hannon, the newly appointed judge at the Superior Court. I have just concluded my third month on the bench. Now that I’ve settled into my position, I wanted to introduce myself to your readers.
Born and raised in California, I attended the University of Notre Dame for both college and law school. As an attorney, my career focused on service to the United States and the State of California. I worked within the federal and state judicial systems, advising trial and appellate judges on a wide variety of civil and criminal cases. In my last position before my appointment, I served as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. I worked in the Correctional Law Section, representing the brave officers and staff work in the California state prison system against lawsuits filed by inmates.
I am incredibly honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve not only as a judge, but specifically as a judge in this community. Up to now, my career has been spent elsewhere in California. My heart, however, has always been in Siskiyou County.
My family’s Siskiyou roots go back almost a hundred years. My great-grandfather was awarded a homestead in Tulelake back in 1929. He built a one-room farmhouse, farmed the 70 acres, and raised his three sons on the farm. My grandfather, after retiring as an attorney, returned to Tulelake to help run the farm. The farm—including the original farmhouse, which has been expanded over the years—is still in the family. It is, in truth, my family’s center, just as it has been for decades. Though I was raised down in the Bay Area, as a child and young man, I spent my summers in Tulelake. One summer in college, I worked as a fire fighter with the National Park Service at Lava Beds National Monument.
These summers and my experiences in Tulelake, and Siskiyou County more generally, taught me numerous values that continue to guide my personal and professional life. Three immediately come to mind.
First, the farmers and ranchers I watched as a child taught me the importance and value of hardwork. Over many years, I saw how “normal business hours” mean nothing to the farmer and rancher. I would wake up early to see them already hard at work and then see how they continued working late into the night under their tractor lights. I then observed the ultimate reward of this hard work, as I watched potatoes, barley, horseradish and other crops harvested and shipped off by the truckload. Similarly, I watched the livestock auction and 4H/FFA competitions at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair, amazed at the work that went into raising those magnificent animals. I realized that these men and women did not work hard just for the sake of it. Instead, they worked hard knowing that agriculture and ranching is the foundation on which society is built. Their example impressed upon me a sense of duty; a duty to not only work hard but also to ensure that hard work was directed at the betterment of society.
Second, over the years, the Tulelake farmers and their families personified patriotism and the rights Americans enjoy. Tulelake is a community built by veterans. The initial homesteaders fought in the Great War. Their children liberated Europe and the South Pacific in World War 2. Then their children fought in Korea and Vietnam. As civilians, they carried themselves with an independent, confident spirit; they knew they were free because they had fought for that freedom. They left an incredible impression on me as a child, just beginning to learn what it meant to be an American. I felt that these men were living embodiments of the Declaration of Independence’s principles: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I was taught at an early age to respect how these men had sacrificed to protect the rights I enjoyed. I thus learned to be proud of those rights but, more importantly, to be ever vigilant and protective of those rights so that my sons can enjoy them just as I have.
Finally, the resilience of Siskiyou County taught me the importance of a strong community. Over my lifetime, Siskiyou County has had more than its fair share of hardships. For example, I recall the water crisis that ravaged the Tulelake basin in the early 2000s. Drought has deeply affected the agricultural industries. Recently, numerous fires have ravaged our communities. Through these adversities, the men and women of Siskiyou County have rallied to support their neighbors. I know farmers who, without needing to be asked, stepped up and worked their neighbor’s field when that neighbor suffered a personal tragedy. I have seen community members take in individuals made homeless by fire, providing support in the darkest of times. At a time when division and isolation seem to be increasing throughout society, Siskiyou County has served as a shining example of the strength of a real community, where everyone looks out for each other.
I carry these lessons with me every day. These lessons are also why I have now decided to make Siskiyou County my home. I am the proud father of a wonderful 5-year old named William Patrick. My wife, Kristin, and I are also excited to welcome our second son, who is due in March. We want to raise our children where we can be part of a true community—one where people do not just talk about values, but live them. Siskiyou County is that community.
To the men and women of Siskiyou County: Thank you for shaping me over the years into the man I am today. Thank you for welcoming my family and me. And thank you for the opportunity to serve you as a diligent, conscientious, and impartial judge.
Kendall W. Hannon
Superior Court Judge
