Author Archives: nancyleek

The Weekly Butte Record found a number of reasons to celebrate in February. All the following come from the issue for February 13, 1864. The event that got the most coverage was the completion of the California Northern Railroad, linking … Continue reading →

Today is a beautiful day to be out and about, so I went to William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park in Red Bluff to walk their StoryWalk. The guides at Ide Adobe do a StoryWalk every month, featuring a … Continue reading →

Alvin Coffey is getting some attention during Black History Month! The Red Bluff Daily News announced that my book, Alvin Coffey: The True Story of an African American Forty-Niner, will be the featured book at a StoryWalk activity at Ide … Continue reading →

Get ready for Black History Month! Alvin Coffey is the ideal book to highlight black history in California. As 4th grade students study the Gold Rush, they learn about the prospectors who came seeking gold in the rivers and hills … Continue reading →

A cold, clear morning in January 1848. Jim Marshall goes out early to check the tailrace of the sawmill that he is building for John Sutter on the American River. The night before he had turned the water from the … Continue reading →

. . . as John Bidwell traveled toward Oroville on Friday, January 1, 1869. He drove a buggy and intended to take “the cars” (the railroad) to Marysville and then go by steamboat to San Francisco on business. But the … Continue reading →

This is not my usual history of Northern California post. Instead I am sharing a bit of family history for the New Year. My father, Alfred R. Norris, was a Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Navy. From 1958 to … Continue reading →