Dr. Richard DicKard, Retired Dentist and Camptonville Community Builder

Host Brian Buckley gives us an insider’s perspective on the life and times of retired dentist and Camptonville community activist Dr. Richard DicKard. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, raised in Southern California, spent time on a ranch and looking for copper and gold in Arizona. Studying Physics at UCLA brought a confrontation with Calculus, and a realization that his interests were more about working with people than being a lab scientist. A great score on a dental aptitude exam led to a dental degree from UCSF Medical Center. Marriage brought a partnership effort working with Vietnamese families in the Central Valley, a year in Florence, Italy, and a dental clinic for indigenous folks in Arizona. The young couple looked at many small communities as candidates for a permanent home, found our area to have great cultural assets and geography, purchased raw land and built their home in 1976 in rural Camptonville, and opened a dental practice in Nevada City. A bias for community-building resulted in thirty-five years on the Camptonville School board, a current position on the Camptonville Community Services District, which oversees the volunteer fire department and cemetery, water and parks and recreation districts. Spare time is often focused on fishing, and more explicitly, on catching fish by learning to “call” them!