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click to enlarge Ken Rotch Rothschiller, Jan. 21, 1947 to April 20, 2021. Throughout his life, the artistic sensibility of Ken “Rotch” Rothschiller manifested in many forms, Rotch was best known, and beloved, for being Humboldt County‘s first surfboard manufacturer, shaping and glassing beautiful, functional surfboards that were invariably works of art. A longtime resident of Manila, Rotch was born in Klamath Falls, Ore. His family moved to Eureka when he was nine months old, renting a place over Phillip’s Camera shop until his dad had the opportunity to buy five-and-a-half acres of land in Manila – for $300 – where Rotch and his friends would make rafts out of old railroad ties to play around in the bay. This interest in being on the water grew exponentially when Rotch began surfing in 1963. He was a junior at Arcata High at the time and inspired ....