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The book on Pres Longley, edited by John Rudderow and myself, is out! If you are interested in The Miner Poet: Poems of Pres Longley, it is available at Lyon Books, Paradise Coin and Gift, Bidwell Mansion, and from the … Continue reading →

I have learned a lot about old times in California as I have worked on editing this book on Pres Longley, the miner poet. Yesterday John Rudderow, the instigator of this project, told me about the old custom of “firing … Continue reading →

I have a new project that I’ve been working on for the past month or so, and I am hoping it will be a book soon. I am helping to edit a book of poems by Pres Longley, the poet … Continue reading →

Sorry I dropped the ball here at the Bidwell blog. I’m ready to get back to blogging, although I’m not making any big promises. But I should be showing up occasionally with some tidbits about John Bidwell and his world. … Continue reading →

After his experience at the disastrous 1860 Democratic National Convention—the one that split the party in two—John Bidwell came home to California and attended the state convention that would nominate a candidate for governor. He wanted the job. In 1867, … Continue reading →

In 1891, John Bidwell dictated a memoir in which, among many other things, he recalled his career in politics. Here is what he had to say about his role at the 1860 National Democratic Convention: When I was sent as … Continue reading →

John Bidwell would have told anyone who asked him that all he ever wanted to be was a farmer, and a farmer he was, albeit on a grand scale. But he had political ambitions too. Not like William C. Gwin, … Continue reading →

Yesterday Jim and I visited Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento, another one of the state parks that was slated for closure last year.  Thankfully, that unfortunate chapter in state parks history is behind us, for the time being … Continue reading →

“The days of old, the days of gold, the days of ’49” live on in California. There’s a reason it is called the Golden State, and the San Francisco football team is called the Forty-Niners. Those Gold Rush years left … Continue reading →

The Great Seal of California depicts Minerva, goddess of wisdom, seated, with a grizzly bear by her side.  Why Minerva?  Because Minerva (or Athena) sprung fully formed from the forehead of her father Jupiter (or Zeus). As explained by Caleb … Continue reading →