goldfields

It’s April 1st, time to start planting your vegetable garden, just like Bidwell did back in the day.  In 1853 Bidwell recorded a Garden Journal in the back of his store ledger. Here’s what was happening day by day in the garden at Rancho Chico in April 1853:

Fri 1:  Sowed Beets
Sat 2:  ditto  ditto
Mon 4:  Planted Irish Potatoes
Tues 5:  Hoed Peas and Grapevines
Wed 6:  Made Beds (vegetable beds, that is)
Thurs 7:  Transplanted Lettuce
Fri 8:  Made Beds
Sat. 9:  Hoed out Seed Onions
Mon 11:  Planted Watermelons
Planted Corn
Tues 12:  Transplanted Cabbages
Plowed and made 2 Beds
Sowed Cabbage & Cauliflower Seed
Wind from the South

Keep in mind that Bidwell was not doing all this work himself. He had a number of men and women working for him: Americans, Mexicans, and Indians. In addition to these vegetables, he was growing grains and livestock. I wish we had more of his journals from the 1850s!

I have a new respect for the seamstresses and tailors of yore. What a lot of work went into a shirt or a waistcoat! And a full three-piece suit — let’s not even go there.

The patterns I used contained complete instructions for sewing the garments by hand, for the true and authentic 19th century experience. I am not that dedicated and did most of the work on my trusty Bernina sewing machine. Even so, there was a fair amount of hand-stitching to be done, especially on the shirt. And 19th century men’s shirts were voluminous — longer and fuller than men’s shirts today.

And yet in 1850 a man could buy a shirt for less than a dollar. Unless he was mining in California. In 1849 at Bidwell’s Bar and other mining camps a shirt sold for $8. Men were astonished at the prices.

On Thursday I am doing a school presentation, and I am taking “John Bidwell” with me to talk to the kids. Here is a picture of Nick Anderson in his new Bidwell outfit. All he needs is a cravat, and his costume will be complete.

I feel like I ought to be writing more blog posts. I have some topics I’d like to research and write about. But instead I have been sewing.

I have a friend named Nick Anderson who portrays John Bidwell at events put on by the Bidwell Mansion Association. He and I are going to take our show on the road next week and visit a couple of 4th grade classes at Fairview School in Orland during the school’s Community Read-In. I’ve gone and talked about John Bidwell before, but I never actually brought him with me. I think it will be great fun!

At Mansion events Nick wears a fabulous 19th Century frock coat. But I didn’t want to ask to borrow that from State Parks. So I decided to make a vest, using this pattern from Past Patterns. And here it is — I finished it last night. Let’s just hope it fits.

Next I want to make a shirt. Here’s the pattern for that. And now I am going to get off the computer and go cut out some fabric.

Just as John Bidwell had his casaba melons, so Henry Wallace had his banana squash. Grown right here in Chico, the giant squash shown in this photo played a role in the presidential campaign of 1948. This item came via the Facebook page “You know you’re from Chico when . . . ” and was posted by Suzanne Stone.

The squash in the picture was grown by Joe Stutz of Chico, Ms. Stone’s grandfather. He cut the letters in the squash rind when it was small. As the squash grew the cuts scarred over and formed the slogan.  Mr. Stutz was an ardent fan of Henry Wallace, who had served as Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary of Commerce, and Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1944 Wallace was dropped by the Democratic Party in favor of Harry Truman for Vice President, so in 1948 he ran on the Progressive Party ticket for President against Truman, Republican Thomas Dewey, and “Dixiecrat” Strom Thurmond. He won about 2.4% of the popular vote.

The article about oddities in American politics came the website Past Daily, which features a variety of historic and cultural stories, and is well worth checking out.

A snippet from a letter by John Bidwell gives a glimpse into his political views in 1891. The image may be difficult to make out — it reads as follows:

What political party do you belong to? As to myself, I am a Prohibitionist – have lost all faith in the old parties – they are corrupt – non-progressive – controlled by the liquor and foreign vote. I believe in progress – that Americans should rule this county – that all the corrupt rings and monopolies must be overthrown – and that women should be given the ballot.

Bidwell wrote the letter to Nicolas “Cheyenne” Dawson in 1891. Dawson was one of the few members of the 1841 emigrant party to California still surviving. He was living in Texas, and wrote to Bidwell for news about others in their party.

John Bidwell considered himself a progressive — he stood for a number of social reforms — not only prohibition of alcohol, but also control of monopolies, educational reform, restrictions on immigration, the Australian ballot, and votes for women.

When Bidwell ran for president in 1982 he only got 2% of the national vote, but one of those votes came from Texas, where Nicolas Dawson voted for his old traveling companion.