"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
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