Big Gun Quarry- Notes from the Rocklin Redevelopment Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting

The following notes have been provided by Rocklin Historical Society Secretary Gene Johnson:  


"Dean Bender, acting Chairman, opened the Rocklin Redevelopment Citizens Advisory Committee meeting at the ungodly hour of 7am Friday morning on February 25, 2011.  The single item of business was the "Big Gun Quarry: Discussion of the Contract Status and Disposition of a Historical Property and Salvage Property.

Incoming City Manager, Rick Horst, was introduced and shared a bit about his family background.  There were no other introductions.  Members of the public attending the meeting included 6 representatives of the Rocklin Historical Society (President Skip Gebel, Dr. Jim Carlson, Kent Dazey, John Chase, Gary Day and Gene Johnson)   and  Councilman Scott Yuill.

Assistant City Manager, Mark Riemer, provided a review of the Historic and Salvage material. 

A handout was provided with images of items identified by Mr. Epperson and the City as either “Historic” (to remain on the property) or, “Salvage” (to be sold by Mr. Epperson, or the City, with proceeds to benefit Mr. Epperson’s corporation, SONCO).

Public comment was invited; Gene Johnson and Kent Dazey spoke in behalf of the Rocklin Historical Society.

Mr. Johnson introduced the concept of a heritage based “Hard Rock Mining Interpretive Center” as a visitor destination point in the heart of Rocklin.  Johnson stated the interpretive center would address both very early Quarry operations, for example, prior to 1922, and later representative operations ranging through the time of Big Gun Quarry inactivity circa 1990.  For this reason the Center would incorporate some items and buildings now identified as Salvage to be sold and removed from the Quarry Site.  He said 25 of the 50 items identified as Salvage would be valuable for the heritage interpretive Center.

It was not clear from the listing and images that the large overhead Gantry crane in the Monument Shed is being considered Historic or part of the salvageable Monument Shed.   The City (Mark Riemer) will verify that the crane is to remain on the property.

City Manager Horst cited that at this point no funds are available to purchase materials included on the Salvage List;   funds would need to come from the community.  Mr. Horst also stated that a mutually agreed upon moratorium on sales of salvage items would not be pursued by the City.

Kent Dazey provided a quick synopsis of other projects spearheaded by Historical Society members for the betterment of the Community:   Finn Hall, Rocklin History Museum, Heritage Park and Old St. Mary’s Chapel, Undergrounding of Power Transmission Lines in Central Rocklin.   

Big Gun will be included on the March agenda.  Chairman Bender asked that the Historical Society return with a written proposal related to the Quarry materials, their proposed use and expected cost."

The above picture is the preliminary concept of Big Gun parcels superimposed on a 1996 sketch of the property.  In blue is the proposed commercial parcel, in cream is a .6 acre parcel proposed for the development of a heritage site and in grey is the quarry itself.

With no city funds to purchase the twenty-five historic artifacts on the salvage list, it appears we now have cause for a community fund raiser.  Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and ideas in the comments section of this blog!

Sincerely,
Danielle Loebs
External Publicity Coordinator
Rocklin Historical Society

*Added February 26, 2011 at 11:16pm


Here is a picture of the proposed zoning from the perspective of Google Maps:

Inside the RHS Monthly Meeting (Part Two of Two)

"It takes an Historical Society to raise a city." -President "Skip" Gebel

Official business discussed at Monday's meeting included our current situation with regards to the City of Rocklin's purchase of the Big Gun Quarry site.  President Gebel explained that Big Gun is probably the second deepest quarry in the state of California at about 80 feet in depth.  Because the quarry is located so close to the train tracks and the granite was shipped by train, Gebel continued that the historical relevance of the site could be linked to the transcontinental railroad.

The Placer Herald featured an article about the city's purchase which outlines a few of our concerns.  The city finished the purchase deal on December 10th 2010, but offered up some of the site's historic equipment for the profit of the previous owner without consulting us to assess the artifacts' historic value.  Gene Johnson spoke to the council, and the Historical Society has now been invited to attend the Redevelopment Advisory Committee on February 25th at 7am in the Council Chambers.

In other news, we discussed the fact that the Installation and Recognition Dinner lost money and addressed a similar concern for the continuance of the Legacy Dinner in its traditional form.  Dr. Jim Carlson stood up with a point about how the problem with the costs were a result of the expensive food service that was chosen for these events.  He advocated for the Legacy Dinner to continue with a more affordable meal option that would not lose us money.


President Gebel proposed the idea that the Legacy event take the shape of the Front Street Block Party, an event that is currently in the works by RHS member Kent Dazey.  Gay Morgan added that October would be a good date for that event and Dee Owens suggested we consider a Cajun or Zydeco band to attract a bigger dance community.


Also brought up was the possibility of hosting a historic tour of San Francisco.  A suggested itinerary of this tour includes visiting SF landmarks that incorporate Rocklin granite such as Fort Point and Montgomery Street.  Alan Stone is the contact person for this program, and will be addressed at the weekly project planning meeting held Tuesdays at noon in the Oracle cafeteria. 


Additionally, President Gebel announced that we have the support of Rocklin's fire chief for building a replica of Rocklin's original firehouse on Front Street.  This may be a project for the very near future and an exciting addition to Heritage Park.


That's all for the February Monthly Meeting Report!  


The next monthly meeting is scheduled for 7pm at St. Mary's Chapel on March 21st and will feature a presentation about Rocklin's quarries from Roy Ruhkala.  Quite the appropriate topic with respect to our recent publicity!


Sincerely,
Danielle Loebs
External Publicity Coordinator
Rocklin Historical Society

Inside the RHS Monthly Meeting (Part One of Two)

St. Mary’s Chapel cast a warm glow onto the otherwise dark and frigid February evening as members and guests of the Rocklin Historical Society convened for the first monthly meeting of 2011. Friends met inside with warm greetings and good humor as all readied themselves for a special President’s Day program about Abraham Lincoln.

Newly installed President Gebel murmured that he’d been up since 3 o’clock (though whether he meant in the am or pm is uncertain) and was waiting for the arrival of Gene Johnson, the Historical Society Secretary, before taking his place at the podium. As guests took their seats in the chapel pews, Johnson arrived on cue with handouts detailing the program ahead. Speaking to a captive audience, President Gebel decided to forgo the banging of the gavel and “launch the adventures for 2011” at what he announced to be the first meeting since December of 2010. He welcomed regular members as well as new guests and started things off with a few announcements:


• Over fifty members and friends attended the Installation and Recognition Dinner at the Springfield community center. The Whitney room and the food provided by Granite Rock Grill were both excellent and the multimedia program based on the life of J.P. Whitney was enjoyed by all. Springfield residents complimented us on the effort.
• We’re happy to announce the appointment of Miss Dani Loebs as Publicity Committee Chairman. Dani will focus on external publicity including social media, while Christy Barros will continue on internal publicity through e-mails and Carol Peterson will remain in charge of physical mailings.

• The Heritage planning committee meets Tuesdays for lunch at Oracle; board meetings are held in the Chapel Annex at 6pm on the second Monday of every month. All interested parties are invited to attend the meetings.

President Gebel then introduced Jean Sippola to discuss the evening’s distinguished speaker, Arnold Kunst. Jean informed us that Kunst has been a lifelong student of President Lincoln and gave his first speech about the president when he was in high school. The members gave Kunst a warm welcome as he took the stage and what followed was an enthralling speech that had everyone in the room hanging on every word. Kunst began with a point of recognition for the Rocklin Historical Society and all historical societies in general. He stated that as Americans, we generally do not think much of history, yet it is so integral to the human experience. After seamlessly linking history to democracy, Kunst regaled us with an anecdote about seeing political bumper stickers while driving on I-80: 

“I won’t say which party the bumper sticker promoted, but I will say it was the wrong one. And as I drove alongside the car fuming about the problems caused by that party and working myself up into a rage, I glanced through my passenger’s side window at the driver of the vehicle. I was shocked. The motorist, beyond all of my belief, looked completely normal. It was then that I realized that the driver wasn’t the one with the problem after all. It was me.”

Kunst noted that the prejudice we build against each other with regard to politics is “corrosive of Democracy itself.” To illustrate his point, he compared the modest credentials of Abraham Lincoln (circa 1860) with the impressive resume of Jefferson Davis and then asked us who we would have voted for if the two had run against one another in an election. This drew a somewhat sheepish response for Davis.  

While continuing with an entertaining and educational history of Lincoln, Kunst wielded his talents for public speaking to highlight how Lincoln’s triumphs stemmed from his humanity, his humility and a heart large enough to quell the hatred of a divided populace into a reconciliation “with malice toward none [and] charity for all.” Those final lines of Lincoln's second inaugural address, Kunst concluded, showed us a way out of hatred and prejudice. Though intended to apply to the very large divide caused by the civil war, they hold just as true for the tiny rifts caused by bumper stickers on I-80.  

After clamorous applause from the audience, Kunst took his seat and President Gebel announced a short break for members to stretch and mingle. A crowd gathered around Kunst to congratulate him on a job well done and to buy copies of his book. The speaker was generous to sign and dedicate copies to all who requested them.  

A peek into the Chapel Annex showed specially baked cookies provided by Jean Sippola and Jean Day. Some were labeled with a President’s Day theme including the “Lincoln Fruit Cookies” and “Reagan Vienna Bars.” Conversations echoed throughout the chapel in English and Finnish with an air of laughter and delight before President Gebel called the meeting back to order.  

In official business, Gene Johnson read a summary of the February 14th 2011 Board Meeting Minutes and Kathie Nippert gave the Treasurer’s report (both of these are available upon request). President Gebel then opened the floor to general discussion which I will write about in part two! 

Sincerely,
Danielle Loebs
External Publicity Coordinator
Rocklin Historical Society

Above image of President Gebel courtesy of Ronna Davis.