Category Archives: Uncategorized

For Veterans Day, I am repeating this post from a few years ago, featuring an eyewitness account of the armistice on November 11, 1918. My husband’s grandfather, George Robert DeBeque, was commissioned on June 28, 1917 and served in France … Continue reading →

It’s here! My new book, a collaborative history of Bidwell Mansion, from 1865 to 2024. The book was written by Dave Veith, and completed by me after Dave’s passing in 2024. Dave worked on this book for over a decade. … Continue reading →

John Bidwell did not like dealing with domestic staff problems. Running the home smoothly — that was Annie’s job. But when Annie took one of her months-long trips to Washington, D.C., handling servant problems fell to him. Bidwell Mansion could … Continue reading →

I am excited to be presenting at two of my favorite venues on two of my favorite subjects. First up: The Annual Meeting of the Butte County Historical Society on Saturday, November 21st at 1:30 p.m. at the BCHS Museum, … Continue reading →

“Last night being Halloween the Normal students cut up shamefully.” So wrote John Bidwell in his diary for November 1, 1899. What did those students get up to? The Chico Weekly Enterprise can tell us. Hearing that some of the … Continue reading →

Annie Bidwell was featured in a short instructional film in 1914 showing the citizens of Butte County how to cast their ballot in the November election. On the ballot was a measure to move the county seat from Oroville to … Continue reading →

My new book is on its way to the printer! Here is the cover. I took this project on after Dave Veith passed away in 2024. He had shared the book with me and I had agreed to help revise … Continue reading →

Among the many digital collections at the Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley) is one called “Gold Rush Materials.” It contains letters written by the men and women who came to California seeking their fortunes. Two of the letters mention Bidwell’s Bar … Continue reading →

. . . at the Tehama County Museum! If you are a Northern California history buff, this is the event for you. I’ll be there with my books and with books from ANCHR. It’s a fun event with activities for … Continue reading →