A big crowd gathered in Old St. Mary's Chapel for the Rocklin Historical Society's monthly meeting at 7pm on Monday April 18th. The public was eager to hear Professor Scott Lankford discuss a fascinating history of Placer County' Lake Tahoe. First, President Skip Gebel called the meeting to order and made the necessary introductions. Then, Gary Noy of the Sierra College Press took the podium to introduce our speaker:
"Scott Lankford was raised in Colorado and got lost en-route to Stanford University and spent much of the next ten years as a maintenance man, musician and mountaineering guide at Lake Tahoe. After joining the 1985 American Everest West Ridge Expedition, he completed a Ph.D. in modern thought and literature with a dissertation on John Muir. His doctoral dissertation is entitled John Muir and the Nature of the West: An Ecology of American Life, 1864-1914. Currently a Professor of English at Foothill College in California’s Silicon Valley, he has served as Foothill’s Dean of Language Arts and Co-director of the Foothill College Cultural Diversity Center."
Lankford took the crowd on an eloquent and fascinating tour of Lake Tahoe's history beginning with the first evidence of man, 9,600 years ago, to the 20th century Rat Pack. All of the stories are available Lankford's book, Tahoe Beneath the Surface, which he sold and autographed for interested residents at the end of the meeting. The book was published in collaboration with the Sierra College Press and is also available for purchase on-line. For more details on the book, including audio interviews with Lankford and a video promo, visit The Sierra College Press and scroll down a bit!
Events Coordinator, Ronna Davis, decorated the Chapel Annex with festive Easter accents and set some delicious treats aside for enjoyment during the break following Lankford's presentation. After some scrumptious nibbles, the crowd reconvened for official business.
It was announced that member Barbara Corral has been ill, but is recuperating at home and is in good spirits---get well soon, Barbara!
The April edition of the Quarry Quarterly is out and has undergone a makeover thanks to the efforts of Gary Day. This edition has been expanded to six pages and includes color photos. Everyone liked the improvements and the consensus was that the new additions should continue.
Additionally, a questionnaire was included in the letter by President Gebel. All members are encouraged to answer the questionnaire so that the Rocklin Historical Society can continue to serve you best. If you lost your copy of the Quarry Quarterly, here is the questionnaire, please feel free to respond to President Gebel by pony express or email him at gebel@earthlink.net
Click on the questionnaire to enlarge:
- Roy Ruhkala is organizing the Rocklin Reunion at Finn Hall on May 29th. All are invited and the museum and chapel will be open that day.
- The Placer County Heritage Trail Days are occurring August 6th and 7th, with Barbara Chapman heading the program coordination at the Rocklin History Museum.
- The Rocklin Historical Society is working on an outdoor legacy event on Front Street to take place October 8th. The committee is still deciding the details and suggestions are still welcome.
DON'T FORGET: Our next meeting is the last before a three month summer break! Gene Johnson will be speaking on May 16th to present "Big Gun Quarry: Past, Present and Future," followed by the traditional ice cream social.
Danielle Loebs
External Publicity Coordinator
Rocklin Historical Society
Video promo courtesy HeydayBooks on Youtube, Easter decor photo courtesy Ronna Davis, President's Survey courtesy of Skip Gebel and rocklinhistory.org.
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