Sac History Happenings

To get in the spirit of this weekend's 39th annual Sacramento Music Festival in Old Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum will provide its own live music inside the building.

A variety of banjo groups will perform in the Roundhouse on Friday (1 to 4 p.m.) and Saturday thru Monday (11 to 4 p.m.). There will be more live music in the Museum Theater on Saturday and Sunday (1 and 2:30 p.m. And passengers enjoying the 40-minute excursion train rides will be treated to performances by members of the Sacramento Banjo Band.

Excursion trains will run all three weekend days, departing hourly from 11 to 5 p.m. from the nearby Central pacific Depot on Front St. between J and K Sts. Tickets may be purchased at the Sacramento Southern Railroad ticket office starting 10: 30 a.m. on the day of the ride (first-come, first served).

What: Jazz-Related Activities at the California State Railroad Museum
Where: 2nd and I Sts., Old Sacramento
When: May 26-28, 10 to 5 p.m.
Cost: Museum admission: general $9, youth (6-17) $4, children (0-5) free. Excursion train rides: general $10, youth (6-17) $5, children (0-5) free. First class Eldorado Car: per person $15, children (0-5) free. Free museum admission for those holding Music Festival badges.
For more info: (916) 445-6645 or website

It's a big weekend coming up for Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. The vintage trains will run all three days, taking passengers on a 40-minute ride through California's Gold Country. The "Movie Star Locomotive" Sierra No. 3 will working Saturday. And on Sunday the Pullman car No. 2901 will be available for its first trip of the season.

All weekend the historic belt shop will be running and the famous Caboose No. 7 will be open for tours.

Train excursion tickets may be purchased online in advance or at the park starting 10 a.m. on the day of the ride (first come -- first served).

What: Excursion Train Rides Over Memorial Day Weekend
Where: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
When: May 26 to 28. Excursion trains depart on-the-hour from 11 to 3 p.m
Cost: General train rides - $13 adults, $6 youths ages 6-17, free for children 5 and under. First-class train ride (Sunday only): $21 adults, $9 youths ages 6-17, free for children 5 and under.
For more info: 209-984-3953 or www.railtown1897.org

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Sierra No. 3, the "Movie Star" steam locomotive. Courtesy Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

The Corvette has been America's sportscar since General Motors introduced the first model in 1953. The fiberglass convertible was meant to compete with the likes of British-made Triumph and Jaguar, and cost around $2,000. The Beach Boys' song "Shut Down," about a drag race involving a 1963 Stingray, helped put the official stamp on the Corvette as an icon.

That's the kind of lore that you'll hear when Corvette owners and fans gather at the "Vettes for Vets" car show at the California Automobile Museum, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 27. It's in honor of "the hard work and dedication that military veterans have committed to our country."

The Corvette showing is free to everyone; military veterans will be admitted free to two special exhibits inside the museum, opening the same day. "No Job Too Big" will display commercial vehicles such as buses, tow trucks and police cars. The second show will feature the French Citron DS.

If you're a Corvette owner, you can display your car at the "Vettes for Vets" show. Advance registration is $10, or $15 the day of the event. To register: (916) 442-6802, www.calautomuseum.org.

General admission to the museum is $8, $7 seniors, $4 students, free for age 4 and younger. The museum is at 2200 Front St., Sacramento.

-- Allen Pierleoni

PHOTO CREDIT: 1959 and 1963 Chevrolet Corvettes on display at the Towe Auto Museum. 2004 photograph by Ken Jordan

For the month of May, the California State Library will celebrate the 75th birthday of San Francisco's fabled Golden Gate Bridge. The library's California History Room has changed its featured display to showcase many fascinating books about the bridge. Particularly noteworthy are the 1938 official report on the bridge's construction, a more recent report on the Doyle Drive approach to the span (timely since that inadequate and dangerous stretch of highway was torn down this past weekend), and a 1921 volume titled Bridging the Golden Gate, showing the ungainly original design for the bridge which fortunately did not come to pass.

And on Wednesday, May 16, the monthly "A Night at the State Library" program will present the 1968 film Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen as a San Francisco police lieutenant and showcasing an almost 11-minute car chase in which the Golden Gate Bridge is visible (permission to actually film part of this chase on the bridge was denied by authorities). A post-film discussion will feature historic photos and archival material on San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from the State Library's collection. The library is located at 900 N Street in Sacramento. The doors open at 5PM, the presentation starts at 6PM, and light refreshments will be served. If you wish to attend please RSVP to rfontaine@library.ca.gov or call 916-215-9280.

Speaking of historic images from the State Library, seen here is a photo of a workman high up alongside the cables during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, and another of classic aircraft flying over the bridge, likewise during its construction. I have also included a photo from my own collection taken by Debra Wilensky of San Francisco, early in the morning of May 24, 1987, showing people crowding onto the bridge during its 50th anniversary celebration. I was standing close by as the photo was taken and, believe me, we did not advance a whole lot further than this.

National History Day is a year-long competition in the area of historical research, writing and analysis (sort of history's equivalent of a science fair for primary and secondary school students around the country). Contestants who qualified at the regional level went on to compete at this past weekend's state gathering in Riverside where winners were chosen for the national competition coming up in Maryland June 10-14.

This year's NHD theme is Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. Students chose a related event from local, state, national or world history and presented their research in one of six formats: 2-D display, documentary video, exhibit, paper, performance or website.

Valarie Okamoto, a student at Spring View Middle School in Rocklin, earned co-champion honors in the Junior Individual Exhibit category. Her entry was entitled There's No Crying in Baseball: The History of the All‐American Girls Professional Baseball League. Andrew Kambe, also of Spring View Middle School, was runner-up in that same category for his exhibit, The Berlin Wall: A Wall Dividing a Country. Both students were coached by Spring View teacher Lynne Meiers.

Congratulations to all the students from the region who participated in California History Day!

PHOTO CREDIT: Tien Pham and Lisa Mayorga, 10th graders at Florin High School, listen to judges' questions, appraisal and commentary about their exhibit, Medical Miracles and the Heart, during Sacramento History Day. 1999 Sacramento Bee photograph by Dick Schmidt.

Historic redevelopment is flourishing in Folsom. Recently the city celebrated the opening of an amphitheater and public plaza that comprise the centerpiece of the ambitious Historic Folsom Station project.

But Folsom Station isn't the only historical effort currently underway. The Folsom Historical Society and the Heritage Preservation League of Folsom have been working to save from demolition a 1910 home that's one of last vestiges of the town's Chinese heritage.

Chan House (917 Sutter St.) was once home to Oak Chan, considered the first mayor of Folsom's Chinatown, the second largest Chinese community in California in the 1880s. The Chan family lived in the residence until 1971. Now preservationists want to restore the house and transform it into a museum to display local Chinese artifacts and commemorate the role Asian immigrants played in the development of the region and state.

The partnership aims to raise $300,000 to purchase and convert the property. You can help by making a donation to the Heritage Preservation League, Chan House Fund, c/o the Folsom Historical Society, 823 Sutter St., Folsom CA 95630.

For more information, call (916) 985-2707 or email: Candy Miller, folsomcandy@sbcglobal.net, Barbara Leary, barbaraleary@comcast.net or Jeff Ferreira-Pro, ferreirapro@earthlink.net.

IMAGE CREDIT: Artist rendering of the proposed Howard Sr. and Mabel Chan House Museum. Courtesy Folsom Historical Society

Built in 1911 and opened to traffic in 1912, the I Street Bridge will be honored in a new photo exhibit at the Sacramento History Museum.

According to a 2011 Bee article, the current structure is the fifth bridge at that location. Not as glamorous as the Tower Bridge, the steel truss I Street Bridge was solidly built and has marveled engineers by carrying trains every day for almost a century.

What: Sacramento's I Street Bridge -- Photo Display
Where: Sacramento History Museum, 101 I Street in Old Sacramento
When: April 28 thru Dec. 31. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $6 for adults; $4 for youth ages 6-17; free for children five and under
For more info: 916-808-7059 or website.

News release
2011 Bee story about the I St. Bridge

PHOTO CREDIT: I Street Bridge in 1949. Frank Christy Collection. Courtesy Center for Sacramento History

Our planet has experienced a series of rather large earthquakes over the last couple of days, so you might want to visit the California History Room at the State Library. Its featured book display for April is titled "I Feel the Earth Move" and appropriately highlights the San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 1906. Among the volumes on display are several works of fiction, a collection of reminiscences, several mass-produced photo and text descriptions (some rather sensationalized) issued in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, and William Bronson's The Earth Shook, The Sky Burned of 1959, which in my humble opinion is still the best overall work on the subject. In addition, the National Board of Fire Underwriters' report is on display along with a 1913 work on the post-disaster relief efforts.  

Woodland Museum Day offers a rare opportunity to sample a lot of the town's historic legacy when eleven unique venues are open this Saturday:

* The Christian Church Museum, 509 College St.
* The Gibson House Yolo County Historical Museum, 512 Gibson Road.
* The Hays Antique Truck Museum and the Heidrick Ag History Center both at 1962 Hays Lane
* Reiff's Gas Station on Jefferson Street.
* The Historic Woodland Railroad Dept at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Sixth Street.
* The Spring Lake School House at the Yolo County Fair Grounds.
* The Spring Lake/Woodland Fire Museum at the Yolo County Fair Grounds.
* The Woodland Fire Museum, 532 Court St.
* The Woodland Museum of Biblical Archeology, 240 West St.
* The Woodland Opera House, 320 Second St.

Maps and brochures will be available at each location. And knowledgeable docents will be on hand to explain the exhibits.

What: Woodland Museum Day
Where: Woodland museums
When: April 14, 10 to 4 p.m.
Cost: some venues free; some have donation boxes; half price at Hayes and Hedrick.
For more info: BJ Ford, 304-7521, or event brochure

PHOTO CREDIT: Fordson Track Hadfield-Cahl Tracks 1923. Courtesy Heidrick Ag History Center

The California Railroad Museum has added more than 100 additional items to its popular produce label exhibit.

Museum visitors will not only see striking commercial art from 1880-1950, they'll learn how rail transport was critical to the success of the state's burgeoning food industry. In addition, guests will have the chance to design their own art labels. (Bring your camera.)

What: "Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art & the California Dream" Exhibit
Where: California State Railroad Museum, corner of 2nd and I Sts. in Old Sacramento
When: April 10 through Oct. 31, 2013. Open daily 10 to 5 p.m.
Cost: $9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under
For more info: 916-445-6645 or website

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Fruit label on display at the California State Railroad Museum exhibit "Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art & the California Dream" that opened last year. Courtesy California State Railroad Museum

A traveling exhibit of rare Holocaust photographs is currently on display at the State Capitol. The Courage to Remember offers deep insight into one of history's worst episodes using 200 exclusive images found no where else. Over 2 million people in 73 locations have viewed the exhibition which is sponsored by The Foundation for California and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

A special ceremony, featuring "elected officials, Holocaust survivors, special guest speakers, representatives from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and other community supporters of Holocaust education" will be held next Tuesday at the Capitol to commemorate the exhibit.

What: The Courage to Remember: The Holocaust 1933-1945
Where: California State Capitol Museum, 10th and L Sts., Sacramento
When: March 30 thru April 13, daily 9 to 5 p.m. Special ceremony April 10, 4:30 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: (562) 961-5595 or email

PHOTO CREDIT: Visitors walk through the entrance gate of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp in Oswiecim, southern Poland. 2005 Associated Press photograph by Herbert Knosowski

Although there weren't major battles in California, the state did play a role in the American Civil War, supplying gold and volunteer soldiers to the Union side. But early on Californians were very divided in their loyalties and the state almost sided with the South in 1861.

The story of the struggle between northern and southern sympathizers is told in a new exhibit opening today at the Folsom History Museum. Displays include images of soldiers and politicians, plus period weapons and clothing.

California and the Civil War was designed by Richard Hurley and TJ Meekins, co-authors of Queen of the Nevada Mines, a historical novel set in Nevada City during the conflict. The two writers were interviewed about their research in a recent segment of the KXJZ radio program Insight.

What: California and the Civil War
Where: Folsom History Museum, 823 Sutter St., Folsom
When: March 30 thru May 13, Tuesday thru Sunday, 11 to 4 p.m.
Cost: $4 for adults, $2 for youth, children under 12 free.
For more info: 916-985-2707 or web site.

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Nevada City ACWA (American Civil War Association) Civil War Re-enactment at Pioneer Park in Nevada City 1pm. Photograph by Penny Meyer

In October 2010, the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) received the Nathaniel S. and Jerlean J. Colley Papers. On March 22, 2012, CSH staff unveiled a finding aid to these important records, as well as an accompanying online web exhibit, and short film.

As Center for Sacramento History Interpretive Specialist Heather Downey writes, "Nathaniel Colley, affectionately known by friends and colleagues as 'Nat,' devoted himself to the improvement of his community. As one of Sacramento's earliest African American lawyers, Colley spent 50 years helping to shape the course of social reform across Sacramento, California, and the nation.

A brilliant trial attorney, Nathaniel managed a successful Sacramento law firm, paving the way for groundbreaking anti-discrimination lawsuits and arguing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Together with his wife, Jerlean, Nathaniel raised five children and led numerous civic organizations. His legacy lives on in this collection, comprised of awards and accolades, photographs, and the insightful speeches, letters, and articles for which Nathaniel Colley was renowned."

The Colley collection documents the legal and civic activities of Nathaniel Colley, and is primarily comprised of speeches, statements, editorials, and publications. The finding aid provides a complete description of the collection, and is available through the Center for Sacramento History's website, as is the online exhibit, "The Time is Now: The Civic Life of Sacramento's Nathaniel Colley." The short film, seen above, is also accessible through the Center for Sacramento History's Youtube page.

Illuminated manuscripts are hand-written manuscripts whose texts are embellished with elaborate decoration. The purest definition of this term involves illustration done in gold or silver, but it has expanded to include other handwritten texts accompanied by decorative design. This is a primarily Western tradition (although similar styles existed in the Far Eastern and Islamic worlds and are usually referred to by different names) and dates back to late Antiquity, when illuminated manuscripts were responsible for preserving much Greek and Roman literature that might otherwise have been lost. The majority of the surviving illuminated manuscripts date from the middle ages and are primarily religious in nature. This tradition lasted into the Renaissance as well.    

During the mid 19^th century, artists became interested in imitating the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Now on display in a new exhibit-Illumination and Color Printing During the Victorian Era-in the State Library's first floor gallery are several rare examples from this Gothic Revival era in which artists decorated manuscripts with gold, silver, and other bright colors produced from semi-precious stones. With the introduction of chromolithography or printing in color, publishers could produce in quantity spectacular reproductions of this attractive form of page decoration made to look like the page leaves created by the monks and scribes of the 10^th - 14^th centuries.  In addition, Illumination and Color Printing During the Victorian Era includes books ranging from a late Middle Ages Horae or Book of Hours to the spectacular Arion Press 2000 Millennium Bible with original illuminated initials created by noted calligrapher Thomas Ingmire of San Francisco, as well as examples of books actually bound in papier mâché and made to look like carved wooden bindings from the Middle Ages. Illumination and Color Printing During the Victorian Era will be on exhibit until April 30.

In conjunction with this exhibit, this month's A Night at the California State Library program will feature "Illuminated Manuscripts" with internationally known antiquarian bookseller John Windle. Windle specializes in illuminated manuscripts, early and fine printings, and illustrated books. He will be discussing the history and making of illuminated manuscripts, and the State Library's History Librarian Emeritus, Gary F. Kurutz, will present rare pieces from the California State Library's collection and the stories behind them. A Night at the California State Library will take place Wednesday, March 21. The doors open at 5PM, and the presentation begins at 6PM. The State Library is located at 900 N Street in Sacramento. If you wish to attend, please RSVP to Rebecca Ann Fontaine at rfontaine@library.ca.gov or 916-653-9942. Light refreshments are generously sponsored by the California State Library Foundation.

Once again a new month has arrived, and the theme for the March book display in the California History Section at the State Library is "What's cooking? -- California cookbooks."

The California Section staff has selected a variety of cookbooks which explore the tremendous diversity of cooking styles in California, reflecting the state's extraordinary mix of ethnic cultures, its often innovative cooking styles, and the history of changes in its cuisine (among the books on display is one of my own favorites, Recipes from the Russians of San Francisco, featuring many of the scrumptious delights that came from my great-grandmother's kitchen when I was a youngster).

The books are displayed on the shelves across from the lockers in Room 200 at 900 N Street, and come from both the California Section's circulating and non-circulating collections--so drop on by weekdays between 9:30 and 4:00 and have a look!

This Saturday the California State Railroad Museum will debut a new exhibit based on the illustrated book Steam: An Enduring Legacy, the Railroad Photographs of Joel Jensen. Fifty dramatic black-and-white images selected from the volume celebrate the era of steam locomotives, which ended around 1960.

In addition to the exhibit, Joel Jensen will appear at the Museum this Sunday for two special presentations and book signings.

What: Steam: An Enduring Legacy, the Railroad Photographs of Joel Jensen - Exhibit & Presentation/Book Signing Opportunity
Where: California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento State Historic Park
When: Exhibit - March 9 thru July 29, 2012. Presentation/Book Signing - March 11, 2012 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Museum hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Cost: $9 adults, $4 youths ages 6-17, free for children ages 5 and under (regular Museum admission)
For more info: 916-445-6645 or visit the California State Railroad Museum.

News Release

The black Mercury coupe James Dean drove in Rebel Without a Cause and Erik Estrada 's motorcycle from CHiPs and other famous vehicles from film and television are part of the new California Automobile Museum exhibition "Cars of the Stars."

The exhibit runs through March 31, The "Rebel" car, on loan from Reno's National Auto Museum, has been at the Sacramento museum since the fall.

The museum at 2200 Front Street is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last admission 5 p.m.) every day. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors 65 and older, $4 students. Children 4 and younger are free.

For information, call (916) 442-6802 or visit the museum site.

-- Carla Meyer

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy California Automobile Museum

Want to read about movies, movie stars, and the Academy Awards? Each month the California History Section at the State Library displays books on a specific theme in its reading room, and the February theme is: "The envelope please...". In honor of the Academy Awards which will be held on February 26th, California Section staff have selected an assortment of books from the Section's extensive holdings on movies, movie stars, and the Academy Awards. The books are on display in Room 200 at 900 N Street on the shelves across from the lockers and are from our circulating collection--so come have a look before the end of the month, and the theme changes again!

With the recent death of the last known World War I veteran, direct memory of "The Great War" has passed away.

Fortunately there's a traveling exhibit coming to Northern California to help educate the public about this pivotal chapter in world history.

This week the 18-wheel big-rig WWI Museum visits downtown Napa and the University of the Pacific as part of its 75-city "Honoring Our History" tour. Visitors to the exhibit will get a direct experience of the war via artifacts (weapons, tools, equipment and uniforms), multimedia displays and a walk-through simulated trench environment.

What: Honoring Our History Traveling World War I Exhibition
Where: Veterans Park, Downtown Napa and University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton.
When: Feb. 15 (Napa) and Feb. 17 (Stockton), 9 - 5 p.m.
Cost: free, donations appreciated.
For more info: website

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: WWI Machine Gun and Trench Experience, part of the Honor Our History traveling exhibition. Courtesy National WWI Museum

Before a federal court ended the practice in 1884, hydraulic gold mining in the Mother Lode exacted a terrible environmental cost on the downstream rivers and farmland.

To help visitors better understand this era in mining history, the Gold Country Museum in Auburn rebuilt its exhibit on hydraulic extraction (the use of water jets to sweep away whole hillsides to get at the ore).

If you're unable to see the exhibit in person, check out the online version on the Placer County Museums' blog. Six diorama-like displays explain in detail the technique and its impact.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo of powerful hydraulic hoses being used in gold mining operations.

A new California Museum exhibit on the Tuskegee Airmen coincides nicely with the recent release of Red Tails, the George Lucas film depicting the famed World War II fighter group.

The Tuskegee Airmen not only fought heroically in Europe, they also overcame prejudice and discrimination in the Army Air Forces. Their success helped prepare the way for desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948.

Developed by the California African American Museum in partnership with The California Museum, the exhibit showcases aircraft and military memorabilia, original letters, journals and other personal mementos.

What: Tuskegee Airmen: Journey to Flight
Where: California Museum
When: Today thru Aug. 5, 2012. Museum hours: Mon.-Sat. 10 - 5 p.m.; Sun.: 12:00 - 5 p.m.
Cost: Adults $8.50; college students & seniors $7 with valid ID; youth 6-17: $6; children 5 & under free.
For more info: see website

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Robert A. (Bob) Matthews, former Tuskegee Airman of World War II (1944 photo) and UC Davis geology instructor. Matthews died in 2006. Courtesy Friends of the Davis Library

Museum Day is your once-a-year opportunity to sample the region's wealth of art, history, science and wildlife exhibits for free or half-price.

The event features 28 facilities, including the Sacramento History Museum, California State Railroad Museum, Aerospace Museum of California, the California Museum, State Capitol Museum, State Indian Museum, State Military Museum and Sutter's Fort.

Special this year: free ice cream will be provided by Umpqua Bank (while supplies last) at three locations as follows: 10 a.m. at Fairytale Town, noon at the California State Railroad Museum and 2 p.m. at the Aerospace Museum of California.

Please note that shuttle buses will not operate this time.

What: Sacramento Museum Day 2012
Where: 28 museums located throughout the Sacramento region (complete list and map)
When: Feb. 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last guests are admitted at 4 p.m.)
Cost: free at 26 museums; half-priced at Sacramento Zoo & Fairytale Town (Sacramento Zoo is $5.50 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 2-11 and free for children under two; Fairytale Town is $2.25 for everyone and free for children under two years of age).
For more info: 916-808-7777 or website

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: The California Gallery at the Crocker Art Museum. 2010 Sacramento Bee photograph by Randall Benton

The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento and its sister facility Railtown1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown have put out a call for new volunteers to help with their educational activities.

The Railroad Museum seeks adults over 18 who can serve as docents, help with steam train operations, track restoration, clerical work and other types of essential jobs. Volunteers commit to 84 hours of work annually, but hours are flexible. You don't have to be an expert in rail history. Most folks learn by doing.

The Museum's volunteer orientation will be held on Feb. 25, but you must fill out an application and be interviewed prior to the meeting. Applications are being accepted through Feb. 6. Call Volunteer Training Coordinator Theresa Gonsolis at (916) 324-7593 or see the CSRM website for more information.

Railtown, home of the "movie star" locomotive, is currently recruiting Car Hosts, Ticket Agents, Tour Guides, Public Greeters, and Fire Patrol Operators (entry level engine crew). Interested people should attend the Volunteer Open House on Feb. 4 and submit an application by Feb. 6. For more information call 209-984-4408 or visit the web site.

News releases

PHOTO CREDIT: California State Railroad Museum docent Jack Seigal talks about the completion of the transcontinental railroad during a tour. 2001 Sacramento Bee photograph by Randy Pench

Concluding its two-year tour in Sacramento, Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America recounts the important social and cultural contributions of a small group of dedicated women. For 300 years Catholic sisters built and maintained schools, colleges, hospitals and orphanages. They ought for social justice and were early advocates of health and child care. Their remarkable stories are documented by a variety of artifacts -- some never displayed before.

The local exhibit is supplemented by a special display depicting the history of those sisters who arrived in San Francisco in 1851 and served this state in its early years.

What: Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters In America
Where: California Museum, 1020 O St., Sacramento
When: Jan. 24 thru June 3. Museum hours: Mon-Sat, 10 - 5 p.m.; Sun, 12 - 5 p.m.
Cost: Adults $8.50, seniors and college students $7, youth 6 to 17 $6, children under 6 free.
For more info: 916-653-7524 or web site

Exhibit brochure

PHOTO CREDIT: Women & Spirit exhibit. Courtesy Leadership Conference of Women Religious

The Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum will honor African American heritage during special Kwanzaa activities this Saturday.

Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan African holiday founded by CSU Long Beach Professor Maulana Karenga in 1966. It's observed every year between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 to celebrate African history, culture and values.

The Sojourner Truth Museum is dedicated to presenting Asian, African, Hispanic and Native American visual and performing arts to people of all ages in the Sacramento region.

What: Kwanzaa Celebration at the Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum
Where: Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum, 2251 Florin Rd., Sacramento
When: Dec. 21, 4 to 7 p.m.
Cost: free, donations welcome
For more info: 916-320-9573 or website

PHOTO CREDIT: Joyce Bahati applauds a performance during a Kwanzaa celebration at the Center for Spiritual Awareness in West Sacramento. 2007 Sacramento Bee photograph by Lezlie Sterling

A California Museum artifact associated with Ishi, the Yahi Indian "discovered" in 1911, will be the subject of the Dec. 20 segment of Mysteries at the Museum on the Travel Channel.

Anthropologist Dr. P. Christiaan Klieger will explain how the fur cape was found and how it shed light on the discredited claim that Ishi was "the last wild Indian in North America."

The cable show runs this Tuesday at 9 to 10 p.m. on Comcast in Sacramento (check local listings for times and channels elsewhere).

The cape is on display in the California Museum's ongoing exhibit, "California Indians: Making A Difference."

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Rare Yahi cape on display in the California Museum's permanent exhibit, "California Indians: Making A Difference." Courtesy California Museum of History

Feeling creative this holiday season? Decorate a gingerbread house and enter it in the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse annual gingerbread house contest.

Entries will be accepted at the Schoolhouse on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. Winners will be announced on Dec. 10. Houses will be exhibited at the Museum through Dec. 21. After that they'll be given to local children's homes and hospitals.

What: Gingerbread Holiday
Where: Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum, 1200 Front St.
When: Entries accepted Dec. 2 & 3, 1 to 4 p.m. Houses on display thru Dec. 21.
For more info: 916-483-8818 or web site

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch continue the Museums on Us program which provides their customers with free admission to more than 150 cultural institutions in 87 cities across the nation. Two local attractions are featured: the California Museum and the Crocker Art Museum.

Participants must present a photo ID and a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit/debit card. The program excludes fundraisers, special exhibitions, and ticketed shows and is not intended to be combined with other offers.

What: Bank of America's Museums on Us
Where: California Museum (1020 O St.) and Crocker Art Museum (216 O St.)
When: Dec. 3 & 4, regular museum hours
Cost: free with valid photo identification and a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card.
For more info: http://museums.bankofamerica.com

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: "Standing Man" a ceramic piece by Viola Frey on display at the "new" Crocker Art Museum. 2010 Sacramento Bee photograph by Manny Crisostomo

The California State Railroad Museum launches the holiday season with special attractions this weekend.

Visitors of ages will delight in interpretive handcar ride, scale model and toy train layouts throughout the museum (including a Polar Express version), a scavenger hunt and a toy-train movie. Mrs. Santa Claus will be on hand to greet the kids and ell stories.

While you're visiting Old Sac, go see Santa at the nearby Eagle Theatre  from 2:30-8:30 p.m., Fri., Sat. and Sun. And check out the Old Sacramento Theatre of Lights show at 6:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., Thurs. through Sun. (See a video of the 2009 show.)

What: Small Train Holiday!
Where: California State Railroad Museum
When: Nov. 25 & 26, 10 to 5 p.m.
Cost: $9 for adults; $4 youths ages 6-17 and free for children five and under
For more info: Call 916-445-6645 or go to californiastaterailroadmuseum

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: As part of the Railroad Museum's "Train Time for Santa" event in 2003, modular (portable) toy train and scale model train layouts were on display throughout the Museum.

A new exhibit honors World War II veterans from East Yolo County (West Sacramento, Broderick and Bryte).

Sponsored by the West Sacramento Historical Society, this collection brings together photographs, memorabilia and other information on the men and women who served in the armed forces during that conflict. There's a photo gallery of the exhibits on the Society's web site.

What: Veterans of West Sacramento
Where: History Gallery, West Sacramento Community Center, 1075 West Capitol Ave.
When: Nov. 12 through June 2012. Center hours Mon-Thurs: 8 to 7:30 p.m., Fri: 8 to 5 p.m. Sat: 9 to 2 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: 916-374-1849 or web site

PHOTO CREDIT: Guests look at the historical gallery during a preview party for the new West Sacramento Community Center in West Sacramento, which opened in October 2010. The Center features an art gallery, history gallery, childcare center, black box theatre, senior lounge, cafe and classrooms. 2009 Sacramento Bee photograph by Andy Alfaro

As part of its national tour, Amtrak's historical Exhibit Train comes to Old Sacramento this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the passenger rail system.

Visitors to the Exhibit Train will see displays of all types of Amtrak memorabilia: photos, vintage advertising, old menus and dinnerware, period uniforms and more. In addition kids will enjoy the special children's activities at the nearby "Chuggington Depot."

Just on Saturday, there will be two showings Amtrak's 40th Anniversary Film inside the California State Railroad Museum.

What: Amtrak 40th Anniversary Exhibit Train & Special Activities
Where: Old Sacramento State Historic Park (outside at the foot of I Street just beyond the Sacramento History Museum)
When: November 5-6. Exhibit train tours both days offered 10 to 4 p.m. Amtrak 40th Anniversary Film showings Saturday only at 11 and 3 p.m.
Cost: Free for public tours of the Exhibit Train and the "Chuggington Depot" activities. Regular admission fees apply for film showings inside the Railroad Museum ($9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under).
For more info: 916-445-6645 or www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org and www.amtrak40th.com

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Undated Amtrak photograph of one of its trains moving through the western portion of the country. AP Photo

Car buffs of all ages can delight in six generations of Chevrolet Corvettes this Saturday at the "Vettes for Vets" car show sponsored by the California Automobile Museum and the Just for Corvettes car club. The event will benefit Northern California veteran's groups via sales of raffle tickets, vendors, veteran displays and music.

An exhibit of Corvettes will continue at the museum all through November.

What: Vettes for Vets Car Show
Where: California Automobile Museum, 2200 Front St., Sacramento
When: Nov. 5, 10 to 3 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: email and web site

Event flyer

PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Millard pops the hood on his 1954 Corvette during the California Auto Museum's Big Event on the Road. 2009 Sacramento Bee photograph by Cathy Locke

The Courage to Remember, a free exhibition at Sacramento State's Anthropology Museum in Mendocino Hall, is set to come down in just a few days. Now through this Friday, November 4, visitors can view nearly 200 images on 40 posters which chart the course of the Holocaust.

According to a Sacramento State website, the display offers "new insights into the Holocaust and unfolds through four major themes: Nazi Germany, Moving Toward the "Final Solution", Annihilation in Nazi-occupied Europe, and Liberation."

The exhibit is quite powerful and gives its viewers the opportunity to reflect upon a dark time in history and the chance to consider its legacy.

The Courage to Remember is on exhibit until November 4. Sacramento State's Anthropology Museum is open from 10am-5pm, Tuesday through Friday and is located in Mendocino Hall on the CSUS campus. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy the CSUS website.

What's the difference between a toy train and a model train? Both are miniature versions of the real thing. But model railroads are realistic and built to scale, whereas toys are made to delight a child and are less concerned with realism.

You can see the contrast in a new exhibit debuting Thursday at the California State Railroad Museum. "Common Diversions" will showcase toy and model trains, including a  "Plasticville" railroad town and a selection of brass model cars and locomotives.

What: "Common Diversions: Toy Trains and Scale Model Railroads" Exhibit
Where: California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento
When: Nov. 3 through Sept. 14, 2012. Open daily 10 to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Cost: $9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under
For more info: 916-445-6645 or www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Brass model trains (top) and Plasticville toy train town. Courtesy California State Railroad Museum

On Tuesday, November 1 (6 p.m. - 8 p.m.), Jim Dahlberg, a former resident of the Delta since 1943 and founder of the annual Courtland Pear Fair, will visit the Central Library (828 I Street) to present a history of Sacramento Delta pear crate labels. 

Many colorful stories about the pear growers and packers that once thrived in the Delta region are all but forgotten except in the memories of a few long time Delta residents--and the vividly colored crate labels left behind for today's collectors. In this special program, Mr. Dahlberg will present his extensive Delta pear crate label collection along with the fascinating histories of many of the Delta pear growers and packers.

What: A History of Delta Pear Crate Labels
When: November 1, 2011, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Where: Central Library, West Meeting Room (828 I Street)
Cost: Free
For more info: www.saclibrary.org or (916) 264-2976

In celebration of Filipino History Month, the Sacramento/Delta Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society will host a brunch featuring Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. She will speak about growing up as a Filipina in Sacramento, as well as the historical significance of Magellan Hall, home of American Legion Post 604 founded by Filipino veterans of WWII.

There will also be historical displays and artwork by Justin Delacuesta, James Lane and Ernest Maningding.

What: Continental brunch with Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Where: American Legion Veteran's Post 604 (The Historic Magellan Hall), 8831 Gerber Rd., Sacramento
When: Oct. 22, 10 to 1 p.m.
Cost: $15 per person
For more info: email Frances, fte9000@gmail.com; Linda, lindarevilla@aol.com; or Pam, pamelamultimedia@aol.com

Event flyer

The Friends of the McKinley Library and the McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association (MENA) have organized a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Florence Turton Clunie Memorial Community Center (601 Alhambra Blvd.) to take place from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, October 23rd.  The program includes a juried exhibit and auction of plein air art by regional artists, talks on the history of the center and the community, and historical photographs, plans and more tracing the history of the McKinley Library. Refreshments will be provided, and all ages are welcome.

The Clunie Community Center was named for Florence Turton Clunie, wife of pioneer and state congressman Thomas J. Clunie, and a notable Sacramento businesswoman in her own right.  Upon her death in 1934, Mrs. Clunie donated $150,000 for the building of a community center and pool in McKinley Park, and the City of Sacramento pitched in an additional $20,000 to establish the McKinley Library at the north end of the new building. Both opened to the public in late 1936.

What: Clunie Community Center 75th anniversary celebration
Where: Clunie Community Center, McKinley Park, 601 Alhambra Blvd.
When: October 23, 1-4 p.m.
Cost: Free
For more info: http://www.valcomnews.com/?p=6051

PHOTO CREDIT: Front exterior of the Florence T. Clunie Memorial Clubhouse, Sacramento, Calif., ca. 1951. From the Sacramento Public Library Archives.

The first ever Sacramento Archives Crawl will give the general public a unique opportunity to view some very rare and interesting items during tomorrow's open house at four of the city's largest historical collections. People who visit the facilities will be treated to historic treasures from 21 Northern California institutions, as well as "behind-the-scenes" tours of archival storage and work areas.

I was privileged to attend a "media preview" of the Crawl at the Center for Sacramento History. Among the fascinating artifacts we were shown: papers of Nathaniel S. Colley, Sacramento's nationally known civil rights attorney; memorabilia documenting the 100th anniversary of the California's women's suffrage; a photographic exhibit from Sirlin Photography Studios featuring portraits of Sacramento leaders Pete Wilson, Willie Brown and Heather Fargo.

From the collections vault: an eight-inch long grasshopper dating back more than 150 years; items from the Eleanor McClatchy collection including 19th century theater posters, rare books, publishing materials and a Gold Rush-era map of the region; police evidence and prosecution displays from the Dorothea Puente murder case.

Sacramento Archives Crawl is the kickoff event for the region's observance of American Archives Month. Libraries, museums, special collections all around the state will celebrate with a variety of events.

What: Explore History: Sacramento Archives Crawl
When: October 1, 2011, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: California State Archives (1020 'O' Street), California State Library (900 'N' Street), Center for Sacramento History (551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.) and Sacramento Room, Central Library (828 'I' Street)
Cost: Free
For more info: sacarchivescrawl.blogspot.com

PHOTO CREDITS: An eight-inch long grasshopper dating back more than 150 years which originated in the Isthmus of Panama. Rubber boots and digging tools belonging to convicted mass murderer Dorothea Puente. 2011 Sacramento Bee photographs by Lezlie Sterling.

Sacramento Connect partner Jeremy Branham of the Budget Travel Adventures blog says his appreciation of history has grown since he began traveling. Every new place offers some insight into the past. That's especially true for his recent visit to Old Sacramento which is a virtual portal back to the Gold Rush and the Old West.

While strolling under Interstate 5 to get to K Street Mall, Branham was surprised to find a large mural chock-full of information on Sacramento history and the people who shaped the shaped the city.

This Historical Timeline of Sacramento was produced in 1999 by the Center for Sacramento History (then known as the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center) in collaboration with the Sacramento Downtown Development Group. According to Patricia Johnson, CSH Senior Archivist, the Center convened "a committee of men, women, local historians, and prominent members of the community representing a variety of ethnic groups to determine the individuals depicted on the wall." Mural portraits were then drawn by local artist Bob Miller.

The exhibit is intended to stand on its own, says Johnson, but people are encouraged to visit the Sacramento History Museum to further their knowledge.

PHOTO CREDIT: A portion of the Sacramento History Timeline mural underneath Interstate 5. See Budget Travel Adventures for more mural photos. Courtesy of Jeremy Branham

Two Sacramento museums will have free admission for Bank of America and Merrill Lynch cardholders on Oct. 1 and 2.

The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts and the Crocker Art Museum are the two participating local museums and are open to participants during their regular weekend hours.

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch are continuing with the 14th season of Museums on Us, a program that provides their cardholders with admission to more than 150 cultural institutions in 87 cities across the country for the full first weekend each month through Dec. 2011.

The program requires its participants to present valid photo identification and a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card and is good for one admission fee. The program excludes events like fundraisers, special exhibitions, and ticketed shows and is not intended to be combined with other offers.

For more information, visit http://museums.bankofamerica.com.

-- Whitney Mountain

Prior to passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote in 1920, California granted the same right to the state's women in the special election on Oct. 10, 2011. To celebrate that achievement, the State Capitol Museum will host a special exhibit celebrating 100 years of California suffrage.

Visitors to the Museum can gain a better understanding of the social and political struggle through interactive displays, historical photographs, period campaign materials, clothing worn during the campaign and oral histories.

What: We Won the Vote! 100 Years of Equal Suffrage in California exhibition
Where: California State Capitol Museum Rm. 105
When: Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2012. Museum hours 9 to 5 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: call 916-324-0333 or visit www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov

News release

The Placer County Museums will also commemorate California women's suffrage this Saturday with a reenactment program on the Courthouse grounds in Auburn. There will be pro-suffrage speeches by Jennifer Montgomery, District 5 Supervisor, and Bridgette Powers, Auburn City Council member. Plus an anti-suffrage oration (be prepared to boo).

What: Rally for Women's Suffrage
Where: Historic Courthouse, 101 Maple St., Auburn
When: Oct. 1, 10 to 1 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: 530-889-6500

IMAGE CREDIT: Sacramento Bee editorial cartoon.

California history buffs and archives enthusiasts alike can celebrate the first day of National Archives Month this Saturday, October 1, by participating in the first annual Sacramento Archives Crawl. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., twenty-two archives and special collections libraries from the Sacramento area and beyond will be celebrating National Archives Month by exhibiting rarely-seen historic treasures from their collections at four host locations in the downtown area (the California State Library, California State Archives, Center for Sacramento History and Sacramento Room at the Central Library).

Participants will pick up an Archives Crawl passport at their first location and then "crawl" among the others throughout the afternoon. At each location, visitors will be invited to view archival collections on display and take behind-the-scenes tours. Representatives from other archives and special collections libraries will also be on hand to discuss their archival collections - historic photographs, rare books, historic artifacts - and answer questions about how to connect with local history resources. Those who have their passports stamped by at least three of the host locations will receive a set of four limited-edition collectible coasters with images from Sacramento's former Buffalo Brewing Company.

What: Explore History: Sacramento Archives Crawl
When: October 1, 2011, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: California State Archives (1020 'O' Street), California State Library (900 'N' Street), Center for Sacramento History (551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.) and Sacramento Room, Central Library (828 'I' Street)
Cost: Free
For more info: sacarchivescrawl.blogspot.com

In the 1970s when artist Walter J. Wedlock realized that California's historic railroad stations were being demolished, he rushed to preserve them in a series of on-the-spot ink sketches. His 52 drawings depict a variety of architectural styles used in depots built mostly between 1880 and 1939.

Wedlock donated the collection to the California State Railroad Museum which today unveils 26 of the sketches in a new exhibit. Now the public can see how the artist captured the unique character of structures so central to their communities in years gone by.

What: Wedlock's Gift: California Railroad Depot Images In Ink
Where: California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento State Historic Park
When: First set of 26 sketches, Sept. 1 thru Feb. 2012. Second set of 26 sketches, Aug. thru Dec. 2012.
Cost: $9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under
For More: 916-445-6645 or visit www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org

News Release

IMAGE CREDITS: Walter J. Wedlock ink sketches of depots at San Carlos (top) and San Juan Capistrano. Courtesy California State Railroad Museum.

On Friday the California State Railroad Museum will unveil a new international exhibit of award-winning photos from the Center for Railroad Photography & Art in Madison, Wisc.

The theme of the 2011 Creative Photography Award contest was "A Story in Three Photographs," which asked artists to submit a trio of images evoking a rail-related event, place or time period. First prize went to Misko Kranjec of Slovenia who hauntingly depicted a fueling station in winter.

This special exhibit will be available for viewing at the Railroad Museum through June of next year.

What: Special Exhibition of 2011 Award-Winning Photographs
Where: California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento State Historic Park
When: Aug. 26 thru June 2012.
Cost: $9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; free for children ages 5 and under
For More: 916-445-6645 or www.csrmf.org or www.railphoto-art.org

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Slovenian Railways refueling facility by first place winner Miško Kranjec, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Courtesy Center for Railroad Photography & Art

Now that the popular American Sabor: Latinos in Popular Music exhibit has moved on to the San Francisco Public Library, a number of local history displays are going up at the Central Library (828 I Street). 

Beginning September 1, the library will be showcasing early images of the Sacramento and American Rivers in the lobby to coincide with the launch of the library's 2011 Big Read/One Book series on Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer.  Also exhibited in the lobby is a display highlighting resources for genealogical research in anticipation of Family History Day (October 15, 2011).

Visit the second floor of the Central Library to view a display on "Yearbooks through the Years" located on the Library Galleria balcony just outside the Sacramento Room.  Inside the Sacramento Room are two new exhibits that feature historical publications by local schools, including Sacramento High School's The X-Ray, and The Blotter, a Sacramento Junior College newsletter.

All displays at the Central Library are available for viewing during the library's open hours.

The Sacramento Preservation Commission and Preservation Office, in conjunction with the Sacramento Old City Association, has won a California Preservation Foundation award for its development of the city's underground resources, i.e. the network of raised streets and hollow sidewalks constructed in the 1860s and 70s as an early means of flood control.

The CPF Preservation Design Award recognizes the important work done to survey, map and analyze the subterranean spaces, not only in Old Sacramento, but in the downtown area as well. The interest generated by that effort led to the popular underground tours conducted by the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation and the California State Parks.

CPF will formally honor the Sacramento "Hollow Sidewalks" project at the 28th Annual Preservation Design Awards event on Oct. 1 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Hammond, Museum Director Sacramento History & Railroad Sector, Heather Downey, and Marcia Eymann, History Manager Center for Sacramento History in the basement of the B. F. Hasting Building. 2010 Sacramento photograph by Paul Kitagaki Jr.

In its next "Hands on History" program, Sutter's Fort docents will explain the far-reaching impact the discovery of gold in 1848 had on California and the nation as a whole.

Visitors can try their luck at panning for gold, listen to speeches, argue in mock debates, bowl in a pioneer bowling alley, hear miner's stories, and experience the gold rush economy with its inflated prices and limited supplies.

What: Hands on History: Gold Fever!
Where: Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, 2701 L Street, Midtown, Sacramento
When: Aug. 20. Fort hours: 10 to 5 p.m. Cannon firing demonstrations: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
Cost: Special event pricing: $6.00 per adult (18 and older), $4.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 and under.
For More: Call 916-445-4422 or visit www.parks.ca.gov/suttersfort

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Sutter's Fort Militia. Courtesy Sutter's Fort State Historic Park

This weekend's Second Saturday festivities will include something exciting for local music/history buffs.

After a two year hiatus, the Sacramento Rock and Radio Museum will reopen its doors, allowing the public to once again view an impressive collection of posters and ephemeral materials dedicated to the history of music and rock and roll in Sacramento.

The museum's curator is well-known radio personality, Dennis Newhall, and many of the items on display come from collections he gathered while working at the now defunct, but still infamous, KZAP radio station.

Posters from Sacramento's 1930s radio days are part of the display, as are contemporary posters from the area's punk rock scene. Big names like the Rolling Stones and the Doors appear in the collection, as do the names of smaller local acts, like those depicted in the work of Sacramento screen print artist Laura Edmisten.

Currently, the Rock and Radio Museum is open once a month in conjunction with the Second Saturday Art Walk. Additional hours are available by appointment.

For more information visit: http://www.sacrockmuseum.org/

Sacramento's Rock and Radio Museum is now located at 907 20th Street. The grand re-opening takes place this Saturday evening, August 13.

IMAGE CREDIT: Sea of Bees Gig Poster, Courtesy Laura Edmisten.

A new exhibit is now in place in the first floor rotunda at the California State Library at 900 N Street. It highlights the old Library and Courts I Building at 914 Capitol Mall, which is now in the process of renovation and will probably be reoccupied early in 2013. The exhibit features building plans, architectural drawings, photographs, and such unique items as muralist Maynard Dixon's palette. In fact, specific attention is given to Dixon's mural Pageant of Tradition in LCI's Gillis Hall, as well as the sculpture in the old circulation room. Also of interest are the plans and photographs of the pre-1928 State Library when it was located in the circular area at the rear of the State Capitol.

This new exhibit can be viewed by the public during the State Library's regular hours, 9:30AM to 4PM Monday through Friday. 

Two Sacramento museums will have free admission for Bank of America and Merrill Lynch cardholders on Aug. 6 and 7.

The California Museum and the Crocker Art Museum are the two participating local museums and are open to participants during their regular weekend hours.

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch are continuing with the 14th season of Museums on Us, a program that provides their cardholders with admission to more than 150 cultural institutions in 87 cities across the country for the full first weekend each month through Dec. 2011.

The next Museums on Us weekends will be Sept. 3-4 and Oct. 1-2.

The program requires its participants to present valid photo identification and a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card and is good for one admission fee. The program excludes events like fundraisers, special exhibitions, and ticketed shows and is not intended to be combined with other offers.

For more information, visit http://museums.bankofamerica.com.

-- Whitney Mountain

PHOTO CREDIT: Janice Driesbach, acting director of the Crocker Art Museum, discusses "Sunday Morning in the Mines," painted by Charles Christian Nahl in 1872. 1998 Sacramento Bee photograph by Chris Crewell.

Kids of all ages will get the chance to sit behind the controls of several vintage aircraft at the Aerospace Museum during its Open Cockpit Evening this Friday.

Guests will also have the opportunity to examine close-up the many airplanes on display, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels' fighter, the A-10 Thunderbolt and the F-14 Tomcat of "Top Gun" fame.

What: Open Cockpit Evening
Where: Aerospace Museum of California, 3200 Freedom Park Drive, McClellan.
When: Aug. 5, 4 - 8 p.m.
Cost: $5 general admission. Free for children five and under.
For more info: (916) 643-3192 or http://www.aerospaceca.org.

Event flyer

PHOTO CREDIT: A restored Grumman HU-16B Albatross rescue airplane on display at the Aerospace Museum of California. 2008 Sacramento Bee photograph by Autumn Cruz

Eighteen Placer County museums from Roseville to Tahoe City will strut their stuff during this weekend's 2011 Heritage Trail tour.

The museums are grouped in three "clusters," each close to Interstate 80: Five Valley Museums in South Placer; six Auburn Museums; and seven Mountain Museums in the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe.

Admission will be free at all museums and each will offer special activities that will appeal to visitors of all ages. Many will offer food and beverages.

See the Heritage Trail blog for the latest information on bus tours, raffles, food, souvenirs and activities.

What: The Heritage Trail: Placer County Museums Tour
Where: You can start at any of the 18 participating museums.
When: Aug. 6 & 7, 10 to 4 p.m.
Cost: Free admission at all museums. Bus tours, $10.
For more info: Heritage Trail Blog and Trail Guide Brochure. Call (530) 889-6500 to reserve a seat on the bus tours.

PHOTO CREDIT: Roseville Telephone Museum, one of 18 Placer County museums featured in the 2011 Heritage Trail. 2007 Sacramento Bee photograph by Michael A. Jones

It's that time of year again- time for summer fun at the California State Fair! This year's festivities include another round of great exhibits and California's Golden Fairs, on display in Expo Center #4, is certainly worth checking out.

According to the Fair website, the retrospective exhibition celebrates 200 years of North American fair history and places special emphasis on the history of fairs here in California. The exhibit features a wide array of ephemeral materials like banners and buttons, and includes a large collection of photographs from county fairs throughout the state.

California's Golden Fairs runs through the remainder of the California State Fair, which officially ends on Sunday, July 31.

PHOTO CREDIT: Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection, Don Horton, Photographer, 1961.

Ending this weekend: American Muscle, the California Automobile Museum's celebration of those "overweight, mid-sized cars with big engines" that tore up the roads in the 1960s. These roaring monsters vanished during the economy-conscious 1970s, but you can relive their colorful history at the CAM exhibit.

Vehicles on display include the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS350, the 1973 Dodge Charger and the 1965 Pontiac GTO.

What: American Muscle
Where: California Automobile Museum, 2200 Front St. in Old Sacramento
When: Exhibit ends July 10. Museum is open 10:00-6:00 p.m.
Cost: Adults $8, seniors $7, students (with current ID) $4, members & children (ages 0-5) free
For more info: (916) 442-6802 or the CAM web site.

A new family program aimed at helping kids explore California history in a fun, activity-driven setting launches today at The California Museum in Sacramento.

The learning series titled "Poppies, Butterflies & Bears! Oh My!" is held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday through July 28, according to a museum news release. The program is free with museum admission and for members.

The program, appropriate for children ages 3 to 12 years old, features crafts and scavenger hunts based on various themes, such as panning for gold, grizzly bears and deep sea fishing. For a complete list of themes and crafts, follow the link below.

The museum also is offering an admission special through July 31. Simply "Like" the California Museum on its Facebook page, where details on how to get the two tickets for $10 special are listed. Click here to go the museum's Facebook page.

The special is an effort to help kick off the museum's newest exhibit, "Riding Concrete: Skateboarding in California," the release states.

Here is a list of themes and activities for the new family program:

Today (July 5): Eureka! Pan for Gold - discover gold and trade nuggets for goods from the Museum's general store.

Thursday (July 7): Symbols of the Stone Age - kids will create their own Chipped Stone Bear.

July 12: Decked Out, CA Style - decorate a mini skateboard deck with state symbols. Inspired by the new exhibit "Riding Concrete: Skateboarding in California."

July 14: Deep Sea Fishing - meet the Garibaldi fish, the state's salt water fish, and decorate one to take home.

July 19: Wonderful, Whacky Weaving - children will learn about the Native art of basketry and weave with paper strips.

July 21: Historical Hats - discover the connection between history and fashion. Children also will design their own top hat or sunbonnet.

July 26: Back to the Bear - children will learn why the grizzly bear is on the state flag and design their own.

July 28: Minerva, Ships and Stars! Oh My! - learn about the state's many symbols. Children can create their own California seal.

The California Museum is located at 1020 O St., Sacramento. For more information about the museum, click here.

-- Niesha Lofing

RIDING CONCRETE: Skateboarding in California, an exhibit curated by Z-Boy Nathan Pratt, will be on display at the California Museum starting July 2, 2011.  Over 200 unique items contributed by The Sidewalk Shop, Skatelab, the Z-Boy Archive and other collectors illustrate the history of the sport of skateboarding, a California creation. Highlights include a number of firsts: the first boards sold by Val Surf in 1962, the first pro model skateboard (produced by Makaha), and the first board featuring urethane wheels. RIDING CONCRETE will be on display through March 25, 2012.

What: RIDING CONCRETE: Skateboarding in California exhibit
Where: California Museum, 1020 O Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
When: July 2, 2011, through March 25, 2012
Cost: $8.50 for Adults, $7.00 for Seniors and College Students, $6.00 for Youth (Ages 6-13), and Free for Ages 5 and Under
For more info: http://www.californiamuseum.org/ or (916) 653-7524

The California State Railroad Museum has extended its popular "Rails and Reels" exhibit which explores the important role trains have played in the making of Hollywood movies and television series. The displays feature many railroad-related artifacts, such as train models used in crash scenes of the 1939 epic Union Pacific, station signs used in High Noon and a costume from the 1979 TV movie Orphan Train. Visitors will also find sheet music, movie posters, lobby cards, original film scripts, and promotional items from films going back to the early 1900s.

And speaking of train "movie stars," the vintage steam locomotives of Railtown 1897 State Historic Park will be running all three days of the July 4th weekend. Excursion rides take passengers on a six-mile, 40-minute trip through California's Gold Country where many scenes from Hollywood movies were filmed. Visitors to Railtown can also take tours of the historic working Roundhouse where the old locomotives and cars are repaired.

What: Lights, Camera, Action! "Rails and Reels: Hollywood, Trains And the Making of Motion Pictures"
Where: California State Railroad Museum, corner of Second and Streets in Old Sacramento.
When: 10 to 5 p.m. Exhibit runs through Feb. 14, 2012.
Cost: $9 adults; $4 youths ages 6-17; children ages 5 and under are free.
For more info: 916-323-9280 or www.csrmf.org

What: Steam-Powered Excursion Train Rides Over 4th of July Weekend
Where: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Jamestown (Tuolumne County).
When: July 2-4.
Saturday & Sunday - trains depart hourly from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday only -- trains depart hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: General: $13 adults, $6 youths ages 6-17, free for children 5 and under.
For more info: 209-984-3953 or visit www.railtown1897.org

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Railtown's Sierra No. 3 locomotive dressed in red petticoat for the Petticoat Junction TV series. Courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum

If you fly this summer, you may be pleasantly surprised to see an exhibit of miniature buildings from California's Gold Rush era at the airport.

This display of 28 hand-made replicas by Tony Quattrociocchi is sponsored by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission through its Art in Public Places program.

The airport exhibit includes models of Sutter's Fort, Fort Ross, Fourth Ward Schoolhouse, and the riverboat Young America. You can see photos accompanying the Sacramento Press story posted last week.

What: California Gold Rush Buildings Recreated in Miniature by Artist Tony Quattrociocchi
Where: Sacramento International Airport - Terminal B
When: June 20 - Sept. 3, 2011
Cost: free
For more info: Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: Sutter's Mill. Courtesy Tony Quattrociocchi.

Prior to passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote in 1920, California granted the same right to the state's women in the special election on Oct. 10, 2011. To celebrate that achievement, the Sacramento History Museum yesterday unveiled a new exhibit celebrating 100 years of California suffrage.

Visitors to the Museum can gain a better understanding of the social and political struggle through interactive displays, historical photographs, period campaign materials, clothing worn during the campaign and oral histories.

The exhibition will move to the State Capitol Museum on Oct. 1 and remain there through Sept. 30, 2012.

What: We Won the Vote! 100 Years of Equal Suffrage in California exhibition
Where: Sacramento History Museum, 101 I Street in Old Sacramento
When: June 16 thru Sept. 16. Museum open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Cost: Museum admission $5 for adults; $3 for youths ages 6-17 and free for children five and under
More info: 916-808-7059 or www.historicoldsac.org

News Release

IMAGE CREDIT: Sacramento Bee editorial cartoon.

Before there was the News and Review, Midtown Monthly, or Sacramento Press, local readers flipped through pages of a neighborhood publication called Suttertown News. Founded by Tim Holt in 1977, the small paper, which ran until 1994, focused on issues of community, activism, politics, and the city's arts and cultural scene.

This Sunday, Holt makes a return to Sacramento as guest speaker for the Sacramento Living Library. He'll chat about his time in our community, the Suttertown publication, and his current life as a writer in Dunsmuir, California.

In addition to Holt's talk, guests can view a small exhibition of images from the Center for Sacramento History's Suttertown News Collection. The display will run through the night of Holt's talk and is currently on window display at Time Tested Books.

The Sacramento Living Library takes place on the third Sunday of every month at Time Tested Books. Doors open at 6:30 pm and talks begin at 7pm. Time Tested is located at 1114 21st Street, Sacramento. The event is free and all are invited.

PHOTO CREDIT: Suttertown News Staff, c. 1986, Center for Sacramento History, Suttertown News Collection, 1995/026/0362

Today begins a new year-long exhibit at the State Capitol Museum which documents -- through letters and artifacts -- Californians' experience of World War I, both here and abroad.

The display features correspondence from Edward Bates to his family in which he vividly describes conditions on the front lines in France.

What: "Californians Over There! California's Role in the First World War"
Where: California State Capitol Museum, Attorney General's Exhibit Room, First Floor of the Capitol, 10th & L Streets, Sacramento
When: June 14, 2011 through June 1, 2012
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: Free
For More: Call 916-324-0333 or visit www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov

News release

PHOTO CREDIT: California soldiers boarded cross-country trains to New York City where they embarked on ships destined for Europe and fighting at the Western Front. Photo courtesy of the California State Capitol Museum

It cannot be denied that African-Americans have played an important role in California's history even before the Gold Rush, in fact, preceding the American conquest. Many are familiar with the fact that William A. Leidesdorff, John A. Sutter's business associate and fellow landowner, was of mixed African and Danish ancestry, but fewer know that Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California, also claimed African blood. In recognition of this heritage, the California State Library has for the last several years displayed a Juneteenth exhibit of choice California African-American items from its collection, celebrating the date in 1865 when America's last slave was freed.

This year, the library has added something new to its Juneteenth commemoration in the shape of a daily calendar for the month of June, visible on the home page of its website. Each page highlights notable California African-American personalities, achievements, and events, from the state's first printing of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation to skilled mountain scout James P. Beckwourth to the stunning, stylized art of Sargent Johnson. Included are many of California's notable Black political figures, among them Byron Rumford and Willie Brown. Also seen is heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson training in San Francisco for his bout with Al Kaufmann.

And everyone is welcome to stop by the library's rotunda at 900 N Street in Sacramento between 9:30 and 4 Monday through Friday, check out this year's Juneteenth exhibit, and marvel at the variety of items from the library's rich collection, ranging from nineteenth-century African-American school pioneer Jeremiah Burke Sanderson to the twentieth-century's Black Panther Party.

This Memorial Day the steam-powered locomotives of Railtown 1897 SHP will be running all weekend taking visitors on trips through California's scenic Gold Country. The six-mile, 40-minute excursions depart hourly starting at 10 a.m.

Come for the train ride; stay for a tour of the historic Roundhouse.

What: Steam-Powered Excursion Train Rides Over Memorial Day Weekend
Where: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Jamestown
When: May 28, 29 & 30, 2011
Cost: General: $13 adults, $6 youths ages 6-17, free for children 5 and under
For More: 209-984-3953 or visit www.railtown1897.org

News Release

PHOTO CREDIT: Sierra Railway locomotive No. 28, a vintage 1920s engine, pulls the Railtown excursion train. Courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum

The Smithson Institution's highly anticipated new traveling exhibition, American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, will debut at the Sacramento Public Library next week. The Central Library (828 I Street) was chosen as the inaugural location for the 2,500 ft. exhibit, which is currently going up and will be on display during the library's open hours from May 26, 2011, through August 7, 2011.

American Sabor highlights the musical contributions of U.S. Latinos and explores the profound influence of Latino artists and musical traditions from the 1940s to the present. Visitors will be treated to panel displays, guided listening stations, and even a fully operational juke box.  The exhibition is also complemented by an interactive website, www.americansabor.org/, which includes historical photographs, lessons plans, video oral histories, playlists, and expanded exhibition content. 

The American Sabor experience was created by the Experience Music Project (EMP), and organized for travel through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).  Funding for its national tour and related programs is provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. From Sacramento the exhibition will travel to twelve other cities throughout the country and will be on display through 2015.

To learn more about the American Sabor exhibition, visit http://americansabor.org/exhibition or www.saclibrary.org.

The historic Leland Stanford Mansion and the Governor's Mansion are among 70 state parks targeted for closure because of the state's budget crisis.

Park officials say "the closures are necessary to achieve an $11 million reduction in the next fiscal year 2011/12, and $22 million in the following fiscal year 2012/13."

See today's Capitol Alert posting for a complete list of affected parks.

PHOTO CREDIT: The exterior of the historic Governor's Mansion in downtown Sacramento in 2006. Sacramento Bee photo by Randall Benton

The California State Railroad Museum will host the debut of a fine art collection inspired by the extraordinary films produced by Pixar Animation Studios. For one day only museum visitors will see how movies like Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo are interpreted by 12 artists, several of whom will be on-hand at the event to discuss and sign their works.

The showing is co-sponsored by Stage Nine Entertainment Store, the retailer selling prints from the collection.

News release

What: Disney Fine Art by Collectors Editions Presents The Pixar Collection Worldwide Debut
Where: California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento State Historic Park
When: Sunday, May 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Cost: Complimentary with Museum admission
Museum admission -- $9 adults, $4 youths ages 6-17, free for children ages 5 and under
For more info: 916-445-6645 or www.csrmf.org

May 15 is the next Hands on History day at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. Docents in period clothing will be on hand to demonstrate blacksmithing, gold panning, cooking with dutch ovens over an open fire and rope making. There will also be music and singing, children's games, tours of historic homes and talks about the Sutter sawmill and mining techniques.

The mission of the park is to preserve the site where the 1848 discovery of gold prompted the migration of thousands into California. At the nearby museum you can see artifacts from the Gold Rush, watch a film about Coloma and the 49ers, see a basket weaving demonstration and browse the hand-crafted gold jewelry, clothing, hats and books in the Mercantile store.

What: Hands on History
Where: Marshal Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Coloma (map)
When: Second Saturday of the month, 10-2 p.m.
For more information: call 530-295-2163 or www.marshallgold.org

Park brochure

PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Veal of Cool, sits in the tent encampment during the annual 49er Family Day at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. 2004 Sacramento Bee photo by Brian Baer.

The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento reached a milestone today. On May 2, 1981 it opened its doors for the first time. Gov. Jerry Brown, dignitaries and a enthusiastic crowds were on hand to mark the occasion and see the vintage trains.

Historian Lance Armstrong of Valley Community Newspapers observed that the museum is celebrating two anniversaries this Spring: its groundbreaking on April 21, 1978, as well as its grand opening. He notes the continuing success of this massive three story, 100,000 square-foot facility which attracts some half million visitors every year. But this brick building is only part of a complex of historical attractions which also includes the Central Pacific passenger station and freight depot, the "Big Four Building," the Dingley Spice Mill Building and the 1849 Eagle Theatre.

Attached is a microfilm copy of The Bee's coverage of Opening Day festivities.

PHOTO CREDIT: (top) Locomotive No. 8 of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad arrives at the grand opening of the California State Railroad Museum. (middle) Gov. Jerry Brown addresses the crowd. (bottom) Rail fans view a working replica of England's historic Rocket locomotive. May 1981 Sacramento Bee photos by Morgan Ong.

A Leap of Imagination, the newest exhibit at the Placer County Museums, boasts a zoo full of beautifully painted antique carousel animals. In addition to a herd of horses, there swans, bears, rabbits, tigers, camels and other critters. Check out the photos in the Museum's blog.

What: A Leap of Imagination
Where: Placer County Museum (Historic Courthouse), 101 Maple St., Auburn
When: Open everyday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm; closed Holidays
Cost: Free
For more information: (530) 889-6500
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The latest edition of The Placer, the Placer County Museums' newsletter, contains an interesting article describing travel along the Auburn-Sacramento Road in the 1850s. According to historian Ralph Gibson, it took ten hours for the average wagon to make the 45-mile trip. The road started out as a miners trail used to bring supplies to the upper foothills. It evolved into a dirt thoroughfare that became a muddy mess in the rainy season.

In early November 2010, The California Museum introduced the exhibit The Central Valley Turns On: Psychedelic Art, 1965-1975. Since Sac History Happenings got its start nearly two months later, contributing bloggers missed the chance to inform readers about this music and arts-related display. Now is our opportunity.

In just over two weeks, on May 8, 2011, The Central Valley Turns On will come to a close and for the time being, this series of colorful, mind-bending rock-and-roll posters will leave the public eye. As the California Museum website states, "the exhibit features promotional posters and handbills that originated from the dance and concert venues of the Central Valley, many of which have not been publicly displayed since they were made in the 1960s and 1970s."

You still have time to experience The Central Valley Turns On and to see wild depictions of Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's sure to be a great trip back to the Central Valley's musical and cultural past.

The California Museum is located at 1020 O Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814. They are open Monday through Saturday, 10am-5pm, and Sundays, 12pm-5pm. Admission ranges from $8.50 to $6.00 per person; children under five are free.

IMAGE CREDIT: "Country Joe and the Dead", from the collection of Paul Getchell, Courtesy of the California Museum.

Last night the Old Sacramento State Historic Park unveiled its long-term development plan. As The Bee's Cathy Locke reported today, this "Draft Preferred Alternative" emphasizes the Gold Rush Era when thousands of fortune-seekers descended on the city.

This ambitious proposal includes a two-tiered exhibit displaying buried buildings of the 1840s-50s below ground, as well as structures of the 1870s at street level. In addition it envisions an excursion train running 17 miles to Hood.

A copy of the Draft Preferred Alternative -- PowerPoint Presentation and Graphics -- has just been posted on the OSSHP website. The public may submit comments about the plan in writing by May 6. These may be mailed to California State Parks, Capital District, 111 I St., Sacramento, CA 95814, or emailed to osshp@parks.ca.gov. Please use the online Comment Card form.

A draft general plan and environmental impact report will be prepared and released next spring for a 45-day comment period. The general plan and environmental report will then be submitted to the California Park and Recreation Commission for approval.

PHOTO CREDIT: The open space next to the California State Railroad Museum would be the site of the two-tiered historic street display. 2011 Sacramento Bee photo by Randy Pench.

Looking for something to do with the family for free on Saturday?

Head to Woodland, where 11 historical sites and museums are hosting the community's first annual Free Museum Day.

Participating venues include the Hedrick Ag History Museum, Hays Antique Truck Museum, Spring Lake School House, Historic Woodland Railroad Depot, Christian Church Museum, Woodland Museum of Biblical Archeology and Reiff's Gas Station and Woodland Fire Museum.

The historic Gibson House, which houses the Yolo County Historical Museum, also is part of the tour, as is the Woodland Opera House, which was established in 1885 and was the first opera house to serve the Sacramento valley, according to a news release from the Yolo County Visitors Bureau.

Maps and brochures will be available at each site.

Free Museum Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call the Woodland Historical Museum at (530) 666-1045.

-- Niesha Lofing

The Ione Band of Miwok Indians and the Elk Grove Historical Society have collaborated on a special exhibit currently running at the Elk Grove Hotel and Stage Stop Museum. The history of these Native Americans is told with photographs, baskets, arrowheads, necklaces, native plants and other artifacts. Visitors will get an intimate view of how the Miwok lived and how they coped with American western expansion.

In addition to the indoor exhibit, there are also ambitious plans to build in nearby Regional Park a replica of a Miwok village, complete with "a roundhouse, an acorn storage, a fire pit, a barkhouse, and a grinding rock used to grind acorns and other seeds for food," according to an Elk Grove Citizen story.

In response to the new exhibit, Citizen columnist Elizabeth Pinkerton began a series of articles on the history and legacy of the Miwok. In Part 1 she describes the geography, customs, culture and lifestyle of the Cosumnes River Indians before they encountered Europeans. In Part 2 Pinkerton explains what happened when settlers first came to the area that would become Elk Grove.

What: Miwok Exhibit
Where: Elk Grove Hotel and Stage Stop Museum, 9941 East Stockton Blvd.
When: Museum is open the first Saturday of the month from 12 to 4 p.m. (runs through October)
For more info: call (916) 685-8115 or e-mail eghs@ElkGroveHistoricalSociety.com

PHOTO CREDIT: Francisco Ruiz performs a traditional dance with members of the Miwok Dance and Culture Group at Pavilions in Elk Grove Regional Park in 2007. Sacramento Bee photo by Kevin German

California State Parks and the California State Indian Museum today issued a call for artists to participate in the second annual Plein Air Day on May 14.

The open-air painting event will take place on the shared grounds of Sutter's Fort State Historic Park and the Indian Museum.

Artists can register by calling (916) 324-0971 by May 6. The first 25 who sign up will receive a gift from the Indian Museum.

The general public is welcome to watch the artists at work outdoors between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The California State Indian Museum is at 2618 K St., Sacramento. For more information on museum exhibits and events: (916) 324-0971, www.parks.ca.gov/indianmuseum

-- Dixie Reid

News release

As every WWII history buff knows, the USS Hornet aircraft carrier (CV-8) is famous for its role in a daring bombing raid on Tokyo lead by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle early in the war. But did you know that 22 of the B-25 "Mitchell" bombers spent time at the Sacramento Air Depot being modified for the April 1942 mission? Now there's recently uncovered evidence that some of the planes were flown to Willows for further practice after their overhaul in Sacramento.

According to Bob Fish, a Trustee at the USS Hornet Museum, a May 1942 report by Navy Lt. Henry L. Miller clearly states that he trained Army flight crews in "short-field take-off technique" at the airfield in Willows. Attached is a copy of Miller's declassified report and Fish's background memo.

This year is the 69th anniversary of the Doolittle raid. There are only five Raiders still alive. The annual Doolittle Raider's reunion will be held in Omaha, April 14-17. The USS Hornet Museum in Alameda will commemorate the Doolittle Raid on April 16 (press release).

Incidentally, the USS Hornet (CV-12) berthed in Alameda is the successor to the carrier that launched the Tokyo bombing run. The latter warship was sunk at the Battle of Santa Cruz in Oct. 1942. The former is famous not only for distinguished service during WWII, but also for recovering the Apollo 11 space crew that made the first landing on the Moon in 1969.

This Hornet now serves as a museum at the former naval station in Alameda. The ship is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Visitors are welcome to explore parts of the ship on their own or with a guided tour.

PHOTO CREDIT: USS Hornet (CV-8) launches a B-25 bomber (top). A B-25 practices a short-field takeoff (bottom). Photos courtesy of Bob Fish.

California Indians: Making a Difference is a new permanent exhibit at the California Museum. It celebrates the history and contributions of the more than 150 tribes which populated the state before the arrival of Europeans. Through display of art, photographs, documents and interactive presentations, the story of Indian cultural adaption and survival will be told.

Notable among the items to be exhibited are examples of the finest Indian baskets crafted in California; a buckskin jacket worn by Captain Jack, last of the Modoc warrior chiefs; and a Channel Islands pygmy mammoth reproduction. According to a recent Sacramento Press story, a private collector is loaning the museum a cloak worn by Ishi, the last of the Yahi clan who lived isolated from American society until 1911.

The exhibit officially opens on March 31. Museum members will get a sneak peek at the evening opening reception on March 30.

The California Museum
1020 O St., Sacramento
Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Saturday and noon - 5 p.m. Sundays.
Admission: $8.50 for adults, $6 for youths and free for children 5 and under.

PHOTO CREDIT: Captain Jack, aka Keiutpoos, who lead the Modoc in the California-Oregon Indian war of 1872-73. 1873 photograph by Louis Heller, National Archives.

The reclamation of the Sacramento Delta through dredging and levee construction is a remarkable engineering feat in the history of California.

For more than 100 years the Dutra Group has been working to maintain the levees that protect thousands of aces of Delta farmland. The company operates the Dutra Museum of Dredging in Rio Vista to celebrate their contributions. Exhibits include scale models of dredging equipment used to scour the rivers and sloughs of the Delta over the years.

The Sacramento River Delta Historical Society will hold its next general meeting at the Dutra Museum. March 15, 7 p.m., 345 St. Gertrude's Ave., Rio Vista (across from the high school). For more information contact Tom Herzog at (916) 871-4060 or email srdhs@riverdeltawirless.com.

Press release

The Sacramento Public Library joined Flickr this week with a fun selection of photographs spanning eight decades of the Library's history. The featured images capture library life from 1908 through 1988, and include views of early reading rooms, card catalogs, librarians, library programs and community events. Visitors to the Library's Flickr photostream can revisit library branches no longer in operation and see a few examples of obsolete library technology.

All of the images featured on the Sacramento Public Library Flickr page were selected from the Sacramento Public Library records, which is comprised blueprints, clippings, reports, minutes, scrapbooks, newsletters, photographs, and more - about 150 linear ft. of material covering past and present library branches and dating back to the founding of the Sacramento Library Association in 1857.

PHOTO CREDIT: Girls in Japanese dress celebrate the Japanese Feast of Girls in the Children's Room at the Main Library, 1929 (Top right); Irma Grimshaw mans the Information Desk at the Main Library, 1964 (Bottom right).  Both photographs are courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library.

The California State Railroad Museum will debut a new exhibit this Friday, March 4, entitled "Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art and the California Dream." More than 80 visually stunning crate labels dating from the 1880s through the 1950s will be on display.  

After the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, colorful labels graced the sides of crates carrying California products destined for the East.  Through their striking design and vibrant colors, the labels communicated images of the California Dream. The "Pick Me!" exhibit will not only feature crate art, but also the mechanics of refrigerated shipping.  Children and adults will also have the opportunity to design their own label art.

"Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art and the California Dream" will be on exhibit March 4, 2011 - March 30, 2012.  For more information, visit the California State Railroad Museum website at www.csrmf.org or call (916) 445-6645.

Press Release

One of the oldest surviving buildings in Auburn is the main house of what is known as the Bernhard Museum Complex. Built in 1851 as the Traveler's Rest Hotel, it became home to the Bernhard family in 1868, who later added a vineyard and winery on the grounds. The 2.3-acre complex opened to the public in 1982. It now consists of a residence, wine storage building, wine processing building, and a barn.

Bernhard is part of the Placer County Museums Division. To give interested people more access to permanent and temporary collections of the six museums administered by the agency, the Division created a blog for online exhibits. Last month it featured photographs showcasing the five upstairs bedrooms of the Bernhard home. Aside from the rooms themselves, you'll get a closeup look at vintage clothing, furniture, toys and other antique items.

Bernhard Museum Complex
Location: 291 Auburn-Folsom Rd., Auburn                                                                     
Hours: Tuesdays through Sundays, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm; closed Holidays
Admission: Free
To Schedule a group tour: Call (530) 889-6500

PHOTO CREDIT: Kasia Woroniecka, Curator of Collections at the Bernhard Museum Complex in Auburn, looks over a child's bedroom in the House Museum. 2009 Sacramento Bee photo by Lezlie Sterling

During the month of March, museums and libraries throughout Sacramento will offer up a series of educational exhibits and on-line tools in honor of Women's History Month.

The Sacramento History Museum will host the traveling exhibition, California Woman Suffrage. Developed by the International Museum of Women, the ten panel show celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the California woman's right to vote. The small exhibit is designed to introduce visitors to the monumental victory that the women of this state achieved when they won the right to vote after over forty years of intense struggle. This exhibition runs from March 3, 2011 through May 2011.

In addition, the California Gallery at the Sacramento History Museum, which currently hosts exhibits related to Sacramento's role in the California Gold Rush, will emphasize women's experiences during this period. Through images and artifacts, the display will highlight the arduous journey that gold-seekers, settlers, and their families embarked upon in hopes of making a new life in California. This exhibition runs from March 3, 2011 through May 26, 2011.

Along with these two exhibits, the website for the California State Library will feature an informative page-a-day calendar dedicated to the history of women in California. According to the California State Library site, their click-able calendar will allow web visitors to "find out about some of the California women and events that have transformed our state." The useful interactive tool utilizes images and ephemera from State Library collection.

PHOTO CREDIT: An image used in the Sacramento History Museum's "California Gallery" exhibit which depicts an early Sacramento woman's role as business owner and entrepreneur. Courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, from the 1861 Sacramento City Directory.

The California State Library will have materials displayed in two upcoming exhibits. One is the California State Railroad Museum's "Pick Me! Fruit Crate Art & the American Dream," which opens March 4th. These striking labels not only reflect a slice of California history but also bring one back to an early twentieth century pre-computer golden age of graphic art, when commercial advertising presented visually appealing designs containing a distinctly human element. 

Another exhibit of interest will be presented at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from February 26 to June 7: "Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change." Muybridge was an English photographer who settled in California during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and is often considered the father of the motion picture due to his series of sequential photos which proved that, indeed, horses often have all four feet off the ground while running. The State Library has lent the exhibit an album of Muybridge's "mammoth plates" of California scenes along with several such loose prints, as well as an album of Guatemalan views containing a letter from Muybridge to the attorney who helped get him acquitted of shooting his wife's lover. 

This Tuesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. the Sacramento County Historical Society will host James Scott and Steve Abbott as they present the colorful history of early Sacramento saloons. James Scott, a Sacramento Room librarian and local historian, will explore the history of Sacramento's antebellum-era saloons through a PowerPoint presentation with period images, music and stories. He'll discuss how these houses of drinking and gambling served many other uses for the community, from bathhouse to polling place. Collector Steve Abbott will be on hand to display his impressive collection of antique whiskey memorabilia.

When: Tuesday, February 22, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society (SSVMS) building - 5380 Elvas Ave., Sacramento

For more information: (916) 443-6265.

As part of an ambitious general plan to expand and upgrade the Old Sacramento State Historic Park, officials are considering an excavation site where Gold Rush era artifacts will be unearthed and put on display.

As today's Bee story explains, the existing historic area reflects life in Sacramento after 1850. There's precious little illustrating what the town was like when the discovery of gold brought thousands to the region. So one idea is "to build a split-level display with 1870-era structures at current ground level and sub-grade access to artifacts and displays from 1849."

Three alternative upgrade plans were presented to the public on Jan. 19. These include expansion of the historic area into the railyard, as well extension of the excursion train to Land Park and beyond. You can view illustrated summaries of each design online. There's also a PowerPoint presentation. Even if you didn't attend that meeting, the OSSHP Planning Team wants your feedback on the alternatives. You can fill out the online comment form, or email them directly at osshp@parks.ca.gov.

PHOTO CREDIT: Elementary school students from Oakland play on the grassy slope across from the Railroad Museum. Officials are mulling using the open area built over buried buildings and artifacts to highlight different eras in the city's history. Randy Pench / Sacramento Bee

While winter is the off-season for many snow-covered parks, this might be the best time of year to learn about the treacherous overland journey experience at Donner Memorial State Park.  The Emigrant Trail Museum is open daily from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. year-round.  In addition, the park will be offering the last of three Donner Party snowshoe hikes this Saturday, February 19.  Hikers will gather at flagpole in front of the Emigrant Trail Museum for the 1-hour tour, which begins at 11 a.m. There is a mandatory $8.00 per vehicle parking fee.

For more information about the hike and other interpretive programs, contact the Park office at (530) 582-7892.

Nathan Smith, who became the new curator of the California Automobile Museum last October, comes from a long line of car buffs going back to his great-great-grandfather, an early car dealer, and his grandfather, a past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. "We joke that it's genetic in my family and it skips a generation," he observed in an interview in the latest issue of Inside the City (p. 45).

Smith brings to his job a passion for vehicles and an impressive set of credentials: a bachelors in historic preservation and a masters in museum studies. He sees himself as primarily an educator and believes that "through the prism of automotive history, we can explore the cultural, social, technological, aesthetic, economic, and industrial history of our city, state, nation, and world over the last two hundred years."

Currently, the California Automobile Museum is offering three exhibits that ought to interest the car enthusiast and non-enthusiast alike:

Automobilia: November 13, 2010 through Summer 2011. This exhibit is "dedicated to the artistry and influence of Italian auto manufacturing on the world's auto industry and will house a rare and rotating collection of memorable and exotic cars with an Italian pedigree."

Going Green: It's Good for the Planet: Ongoing. "An exhibit displaying and telling the story of clean fuel alternatives." It features a number of electric and fuel cell vehicles.

Dropped and Chopped: Jan. 27 through March 27. "Explore the classic years of traditional [hot] rods and customs between 1946 and 1960, including Sacramento's notable cars and legends such as Dick Bertolucci, George Barris, Harry Westergard and Don Tognotti."

PHOTO CREDIT: 1913 Rauch Lang Electric Vehicle, part of the "Going Green" exhibit. Courtesy California Automobile Museum.

Staring today and running through May 29 is a new California Museum exhibit recounting the lesser-known "freedom ride" that departed Los Angeles for Houston in August 1961.

The Freedom Rides involved groups of civil rights activists -- young and old, black and white -- traveling by bus, train and plane to the South to challenge segregation and Jim Crow laws. They were often met with angry mobs, arrests and beatings. The eleven Californians who boarded the train in Los Angeles were arrested while staging a sit-in at Houston's Union Station coffee shop. Police jailed the protesters and segregated them by race and gender. All the white men were beaten by other prisoners who were egged on by guards, according to a recent interview with one of the Riders. You can see historic photos at the Freedom Riders Foundation web site.

"Get on Board" exhibit features newspaper clips, photographs, political buttons, manuscripts and oral histories. It's presented in partnership with the California Legislative Black Caucus and the Mayme Clayton Library and Museum.

The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-7524

PHOTO CREDIT: Freedom Riders from California are held at Harris County jail in Houston after refusing to post $500 bonds. Photo by the Associated Press.

Okay history fans: where in Northern California can see a 19th century train that's appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, such as Petticoat Junction, Wild Wild West, Back to the Future Part III and Unforgiven?

It's the Railtown 1897 Historic State Park in Jamestown (Tuolumne County), home to the preserved trains, repair shops and roundhouse of the Sierra Railway. It's a great attraction for railroad buffs. You can even take a short ride behind a vintage steam-powered locomotive.

On Feb. 8 Railtown is offering a special behind-the-scenes shop tour. This is a good opportunity to see ongoing restoration projects, as well as the recently restored Sierra No. 3, the "Movie Star" engine. The tour will go from 10 to 12 p.m. and the cost is included with park admission: $5 for adults, $3 for youths ages 6-17, children under five, free.

Railtown is also recruiting volunteers to serve as Car Hosts, Ticket Agents, Tour Guides, Public Greeters, and Fire Patrol Operators (entry level engine crew). No previous experience is required, but you must submit an application by Feb. 20 to be considered for volunteer training beginning in March. Interested people are invited to a Volunteer Open House (Feb. 12 at 10 a.m.) where you can learn more about the park and its activities.

For more information about the Railtown Shop Tour and volunteering, call 209-984-3953 or visit www.railtown1897.org.

Press releases

PHOTO CREDIT: The restored Sierra No 3 steam engine emerges from the roundhouse at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, Calif., July 2010. AP Photo by Rich Pedroncelli.

Decisions, decisions. How to spend the once-a-year Sacramento Museum Day this Saturday, February 5th? With free admission to 26 local museums, there's a lot to choose from.

Here's a good opportunity for the whole family to experience the "Capital City's incredible wealth of art, history, science and wildlife." For the history-minded, consider the California Museum, California State Capitol Museum, California State Railroad Museum, Governor's Mansion, Museum of Medical History, Sacramento History Museum, Sutter's Fort among others.

Participating facilities will offer free admittance between 10 and 4 p.m., with every museum closing at 5 p.m. There's a free shuttle bus and parking is available at most sites.

PHOTO CREDIT: Crowds line up in Old Sacramento near the Railroad Museum to get into the Discovery Museum during Museum Day 2000. Sacramento Bee photo by Chris Crewell.

The recently discovered 100-oz. "Washington Nugget," believed to be the largest remaining gold nugget in the West, will be on display at a Sacramento County Historical Society meeting on Tuesday, January 25, at the Sacramento El Dorado Medical Society building (5380 Elvas Avenue).  The nugget will be on exhibit beginning at 6 p.m.  At 7 p.m., the Historical Society hosts Jody and Ric Hornor, who will present their series of California local history books.  Come early as seating is limited. 

The Jerry Brown exhibit mentioned in this blog on January 7th is up and running. It contains books, photos, posters, campaign materials, and other ephemera from not only Jerry but other members of the Brown Family. In addition, this exhibit displays inaugural items from previous California governors, among them Hiram Johnson and George C. Pardee. This exhibit can be viewed in the first floor rotunda of the California State Library at 900 N Street from 9:30 to 4:00 Monday through Friday.

A California of the Past video on California artist Maynard Dixon, narrated by Dixon biographer Don Hagerty, is now available on YouTube and can be viewed via a link on the State Library's home page. Among other features, this video shows Dixon's murals on the Gillis Reading Room wall in the old Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building at 914 Capitol Mall. Since the structure is closed for renovation until early 2013, this video gives an opportunity to see these murals in the meantime. 

There are scores of smaller privately-run museums in the Sacramento area that preserve and exhibit collections dedicated to unique Sacramento communities.  The Grant Union High School Alumni Association operates such a museum on the campus of Grant Union High School, and it is one worth visiting. 

The museum is housed in an adobe building built by Grant students under the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1939. Exhibited are six displays celebrating the history of the school since its founding in 1932.  Visitors can view "In the Beginning 1932-1942 / Purple and Gold Years" from outside the museum along with a display honoring the 2008 State Champion Pacers football team and portraits of Alumni Scholarship recipients and Top Ten GPA achievers of the last 20 years; inside are displays on the history of the school's Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, aircraft mechanic training on campus during WWII, and a history of Grant Technical College (1942-1955).

In addition to the more formal exhibits, the museum features trophies, class pictures, and school memorabilia.  They also maintain a full run of school yearbooks, and offer duplicate copies and scans of past yearbooks for sale.

The GUHS Alumni Association Museum is located to the west of the school auditorium at 1400 Grand Avenue. It is operated by an all-volunteer staff of GUHS alumni and is open to the public on Mondays from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

The California State Military Museum is hosting two upcoming events this month. An exhibit titled Strike Up the Band!: The History of Military Music in California opens on January 22nd. On January 30, the museum will host a book signing for Gene T. Boyer's Reflections of a White House Senior Pilot.

In other California State Military Museum news, the Concord Police Department will be transferring two Japanese World War II heavy machine guns to the museum. Also, the Sacramento Police Department has donated an 1895 Colt Navy Model .38 caliber double action revolver, inscribed "John Paul Miller, USN, 12 Company USNA, February 12, 1906." According to the museum's monthly e-newsletter:

Miller was involved in a notorious Naval Academy hazing event that got him and several other Midshipmen a courts-martial in February 1906.  It made the papers and was widely known at the time.  The hazing incident attracted the attention of Roosevelt at the White House - and the charges were dismissed under Presidential pressure.  It created such a stir, a Congressional hearing was convened over this case. Mr. Miller was commissioned and this pistol was a gift of support and fraternity from his classmates at the time of his commissioning as an ensign. 

The California State Military Museum is located at 1119 Second Street in Old Sacramento.

More volunteer opportunities for those interested in learning and sharing Sacramento's rich history:

The California State Railroad Museum and Old Sacramento State Historic Park are looking for volunteers to become docents, tour guides or provide other assistance at various Old Sac venues. Volunteer training begins Feb. 19, but interested persons must apply and be interviewed in advance. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 21.

You don't have to be a history expert to become a volunteer. Just a commitment to participate in training and to a minimum of 84 hours of volunteer work a year. Perks include free parking while on duty, the annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet and complimentary Museum membership.

Consult the museum's web site for more information, or contact the Museum's Volunteer Training Coordinator at (916) 324-7593.

Sutter's Fort is also recruiting adult volunteers to become docents or to work behind-the-scenes at the museum. Training begins Feb. 19 and interested persons are asked to submit applications by Jan. 21. Download an application form at the State Historic Parks web site. Call (916) 324-0040 for more information.

Press releases

PHOTO CREDIT: A California State Railroad Museum docent speaking with school children. Capital District Museums.

An exhibit featuring our newly inaugurated governor Jerry Brown will soon be installed in the California State Library's first floor rotunda. It will include campaign and inaugural materials, books, and items pertaining to illustrious members of his family, most notably his father, former governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and his sister Kathleen Brown.

These are also the final days of the State Library's "California Calls You" exhibit in the second floor rotunda, which features books, pamphlets and brochures, postcards, posters, and other graphically striking materials used to lure residents and businesses to the Golden State. "California Calls You" will soon be replaced by a new exhibit (the details of which will be announced in this blog), so if you haven't seen it yet you might want to drop by 900 N Street between 9:30 and 4, Monday through Friday.