Author Archives: nancyleek

About nancyleek

Nancy is a retired librarian who lives in Chico, California. She is the author of John Bidwell: The Adventurous Life of a California Pioneer.

The Ohmura Bowl — part 2

Posted on February 8, 2019 by nancyleek

Evacuation of Japanese residents in Chico began in early July of 1942. Evacuees from Butte County were sent to the camp at Tule Lake in Siskiyou County. May Ohmura, who had just completed two years of study at Mills College … Continue reading →

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The Ohmura Bowl

Posted on February 7, 2019 by nancyleek

This bowl was a gift to my husband’s maternal grandparents, Robert and Mary Grace DeBeque, who lived in Chico during the 1940s and ’50s. I don’t know everything I would like to know about the bowl, but the letter accompanying … Continue reading →

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A Poem for All Seasons

Posted on February 2, 2019 by nancyleek

The following unattributed poem appeared in the Butte Record on November 12, 1853. I WOULD NOT DIE AT ALL I would not die in Springtime, When worms begin to crawl; When cabbage plants are shooting up, And frogs begin to … Continue reading →

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A Sunday in Oroville

Posted on January 27, 2019 by nancyleek

According to the editor of the Butte Record, Sundays in Oroville were wild and raucous. Other cities in the state had progressed in civilization, but not Oroville. No quiet, peaceful Sabbath in this city — the streets were crowded, the … Continue reading →

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Marketing Techniques — Forty-Niner style

Posted on January 25, 2019 by nancyleek

How do you catch the reader’s eye in an old-time newspaper? If you were a miner reading the Butte Record at Bidwell Bar in 1855, there’s one advertisement that would stand out, especially if you were hungry or thirsty. (Especially … Continue reading →

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From the Butte Record

Posted on January 21, 2019 by nancyleek

Last Saturday I went to the Chico Museum to hear David Little, recently retired editor of the Chico Enterprise-Record, speak on the history of our hometown newspaper. The Butte Record, published at Bidwell Bar, was the first newspaper in Butte … Continue reading →

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Like a Hole in the Head — part 3

Posted on January 15, 2019 by nancyleek

John Bidwell was proud of what he called his “self-possession.” He prided himself on keeping calm and cool during a crisis. Decades after the wreck of the steamboat Belle he recollected the incident as an example of this trait. … Continue reading →

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Like a Hole in the Head — part 2

Posted on January 10, 2019 by nancyleek

Luckily for Major Bidwell, the Sacramento Daily Union was in error. After the explsion of the steamboat Belle, John Bidwell was taken back to Sacramento and to a doctor. Evidently (if the newspaper notice can be trusted that far) he eventually … Continue reading →

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Like a Hole in the Head

Posted on January 7, 2019 by nancyleek

Have you ever seen a photograph of John Bidwell that so clearly showed him with a hole in his head? This photograph, taken at the Mathew Brady studio in Washington, D.C. in 1865, shows the injury he suffered in a … Continue reading →

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Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Posted on January 2, 2019 by nancyleek

Planning a trip 140 years ago? The Chico Weekly Enterprise for August 29, 1879 gives you these options: The train schedule is pretty decent, better than it is now, and look at all the places you could get to by … Continue reading →

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