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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Free Museum Presentation
It’s free museum weekend in Butte County and I will be giving a free talk at the Pioneer History Museum in Oroville. Please come and meet me, enjoy the museum, and learn about Alvin Coffey and Black Slavery in Gold … Continue reading
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Jennie Carter Visits Oroville
Jennie Carter, African-American journalist writing for The Elevator, predicted the future of California in all its scenic variety and human diversity. Oroville, June 13, 1869 Mr. Editor,–California as a part of Uncle Sam’s domains is truly an important part, and … Continue reading
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Jennie Carter on Women’s Art
Letter from Nevada County. Mud Hill, May 3, 1868 Mr. Editor:– All women admire the beautiful. Here lies a broad field for woman’s talent–painting, sculpting, music, all the fine arts. Here her intuitive faculties can have full play; she can … Continue reading
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Free Museum Weekend!
February 25th and 26th is Free Museum Weekend in Butte County, with more events and activities than anyone could possibly fit into one weekend. All participating museums, galleries, and cultural centers will offer free admission from 10am-4pm all weekend, and … Continue reading
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A Valentine from the Bard of Butte
Our very own Bard of Butte, poet Pres Longley, penned this valentine one hundred and sixty years ago. It appeared in the Weekly Butte Record on February 28, 1863, and undoubtedly touched many a lonely miner’s heart. Lines to Etna … Continue reading
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Chickens at Rancho Chico
All this talk about the price of eggs reminded me of this letter, written by one of John Bidwell’s employees in 1851. Edward Shackelford Darlington, who was only 19 or 20, can’t resist spoofing the etiquette of 19th century letters. … Continue reading
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February Is Black History Month
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 streams … Continue reading
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Finnicum, Father and Son
When Randy Taylor posted this business card on Facebook, I figured that J.D. Finnicum must be the same man as “Joe Finnicum, the Jehu” immortalized in poetry by Pres Longley. But that is not the case. James Duncan Finnicum, stage … Continue reading
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The Floods of 1852
It’s a rainy January all over California this year, a welcome relief after several years of drought. I have written before about the floods in Sacramento in 1850 and in 1862. Flooding came again in 1852. Determined to build on … Continue reading
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Give the Gift of Books
Something they want, Something they need, Something to wear, Something to read. (Detail from Charles C. Nahl’s Sunday in the Mines. Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento.) As a librarian and devoted book reader, I have always given the gift of books. … Continue reading
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