Monthly Archives: January 2020

“Yours for Equal Justice”

“Yours for Equal Justice” was Susan B. Anthony’s signature line, and this year it is the theme of the Bidwell Mansion Association’s Annual Meeting. Please join us next Sunday, Jan. 26 to celebrate women’s suffrage and to mark the 100th … Continue reading

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Nikolai and Conchita in Literature

Any romance novelists out there reading this? It is high time that Conchita Arguello and Nikolai Rezanov were brought to life on the pages of a romantic novel. Such a great love story deserves a new treatment. No happy ending … Continue reading

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Nikolai and Conchita: The Opera

I was just thinking that a revival in popular culture of the love story of Conchita Arguello and Nikolai Rezanov was long overdue, when I found out from my lovely daughter-in-law that the Russians have already taken care of the … Continue reading

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Nikolai and Conchita Separated

Nikolai Rezanov left San Francisco Bay on May 11, 1806. By June 7 the Juno was back at Sitka, where he found the colony about to go under from a combination of starvation and the threat of an attack by … Continue reading

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Nikolai and Conchita

Nikolai Rezanov must have looked quite impressive in his dress uniform, with the diamond Order of St. Anne on his breast and a laced bicorne hat under his arm. He went out of his way to be charming and courteous, … Continue reading

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A California Romance

My visit to Fort Ross reminded me about a story I have told previously, one of the great love stories from California history: the romance of Nikolai and Conchita. Over the next few posts I will reprise this tale for … Continue reading

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The Trees of Bidwell Park

I went to ABC Books (on Mangrove Ave. in Chico) yesterday and bought a copy of The Trees of Bidwell Park, written by Roger J. Lederer and illustrated in color by Carol E. Burt. (I encourage you to buy local … Continue reading

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When the Russians Left California

In 1841 the Russian-American Fur Company decided to leave California. They sold their holdings — lock, stock, and barrel — to John Sutter. The contract was signed in December, 1841, not long after John Bidwell arrived at Sutter’s Fort. Sutter … Continue reading

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A Trip to Fort Ross on the Penultimate Day of 2019

Last Monday I took a trip up the California coast to Fort Ross with some family members. Our #2 son and his family live in the Midwest; his wife was born in Russia. They were in California visiting us for … Continue reading

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