The McCready Boys

by Denise Henderson - Conclusion

     In 1942 the first issue of the California Folklore Quarterly was published by the University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, in which Sydney Robertson-Cowell wrote, “. . .A second good California singer, John McCready, is a miner in Tuolumne County, the son of a Forty-Niner who returned to raise a family in Kansas. John and his brothers came to California as young men and were famous music makers around Groveland and Second Garrote for many years. One of them is gone now. However Spencer, the fiddler, is too arthritic to play anymore, though his head is full of tunes he can neither play nor sing. John, however, knows many songs his father sang and, though he is nearly seventy, he several times walked the rocky trail from his cabin to Groveland to sing to the recording machine, refusing every inducement to ride down in an automobile—a modern invention it was apparent he’d had no truck with so far. His songs are full of vigor and fun. A few are further removed than others from the stage repertory of the seventies and eighties.”

     She met with him several times at a bar called the Arizona in Groveland, which is believed to have been located across the street from the Groveland Community Hall. The recordings from those visits have been acquired by the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum from the Library of Congress. It’s an unexpected treat to be able to listen to John actually performing those old songs a cappella and also fun to listen to the goings-on in the background,
    
     Spencer died in 1941 and John died in 1945. They are buried next to their brother William at the Divide Cemetery. (Their father may also be buried with them.)
     
     Today all that is left of their cabin is the old fireplace that can be seen from Harper Road. But they left a lasting legacy through their friendships, their carvings and their music.

Listen to Sydney Robertson-Cowell's introduction to the recordings.

Listen to John McCready singing "Little Brown Jug"

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FOGL News

by Maggie Jacobson

      Soroptimists of Groveland honored FOGL President Nadine Pedron as its 2010 Woman of Distinction.

     Our library is looking very sharp these days with its new granite top at the checkout desk. In addition, a newly-formed Decorating Committee is planning decorating themes each month. May will be Asian Pacific Heritage and Teacher Appreciation month. Patriotic quilts will be displayed in July.

     The library continues to provide programs for the young readers in our community. The Union Democrat featured Groveland’s Book Leggers and Tail Waggers in an article published on February 11, stating that Groveland’s book programs create a “culture of reading.” The Book Leggers Program bringsbookstoTenayaElementarySchool. TheTail Waggers has children reading to Dogs. We are also happy to report increased attendance at the Friday morning reading circle for preschoolers. Finally, the Summer Reading Program will take place from 3:00 to 5:00 PM each Thursday beginning June 17 and running through July 29.
     
      The Spring Book Sale held on April 3 saw a big turnout with many books and raffle tickets being sold. The lucky raffle winners for the beautiful baskets were David Penning (Italian Basket), Michelle Beneda (Booklovers Basket) and Tricia Whitley (Chocolate Basket).

      2010 is the “Summer of Mark Twain” featuring “Tom Sawyer.” Many special events will be featured as part of this year’s “Big Read,” a national program promoted by the National Endowment for the Arts. The July 15 preview of Sierra Repertory Theater’s production of Big River will be sponsored by Friends of the Tuolumne County Library. Tickets will cost $18 and include a pre-performance wine and cheese reception. Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the full title of the popular musical that ran for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway in the 80s. Twenty copies of a book on Mark Twain have been donated to the library.

      Bill Manville’s writing class began on May 8 and is running for six Saturdays.

      FOGL meets every 4 Tuesday at 2:00, downstairs at the library. We welcome visitors and love new members.

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The Grant Committee

by Peggy Andrews

      As you know, STCHS acquired the historic Gamble-Wells Fargo Building from the Cobden Family with the intention of preserving and restoring the 1850 landmark to be used as a museum. Before the preservation and restoration can begin a detailed, professional, and comprehensive history must be done of the building. This history would then be used to complete a Historic Structure Report to determine the building’s era of significance and the era to which it should be restored.

     The STCHS Grant Committee, comprised of myself, Denise Henderson and Claudia Day, recently applied for a $1000 mini grant from the California Council for the Promotion of History to begin the above process. This grant application will be our first project as a team so please wish us luck.

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In Grateful Memory

Wally Anker

by Mary Kelly

       Our longtime “first citizen,” Wally Anker, is no longer with us but his presence remains in Groveland in countless ways. Along with his wife Helga he was instrumental in extending in his hometown a sense of community that began when he retired from his career as an international banker.

      Wally grew up on the ranch that overlooks the old Priest Grade. He went to Groveland Elementary School (now Yosemite Bank) and attended Sonora High. He earned his degree in economics at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, at the same time becoming a proficient brass player in a dance band that played all over the county.

       Wally’s career in international banking took him all over the world from big cities of the United States to the British Isles, Europe and the Orient. It was in Germany that he met and married his devoted wife, Helga.

       Upon retirement and return to his home county, Wally recognized the rural community’s need for a museum, and it was he who saw to it that the need was met. He began with a small but dedicated group in Groveland that included legal expert Al Clark and longtime residents Avis Gooken and Mary Laveroni. These formed the nucleus. Soon it was enlarged as more citizens in Groveland joined with Wally leading.

       The Campaign to Build A Museum/Library building began in 1998 with a stated intent: “To celebrate the past, challenge the future, enhance the cultural life of our community, and provide for the enjoyment and education of young and old, as well as the enlightenment of visitors.”

       With Wally in the lead Groveland citizens offered their skills and talents to complete the beautifully designed building that has proved to be an asset for all of the Groveland community.

       Wally will be remembered with honor and gratitude for years to come.

In Grateful Memory

Bob Worthington

by Karen Davis

      Bob and his wife Doris moved to Pine Mountain Lake shortly after his retirement as the Medical Director of McHenry Surgery Center in 1991. They soon became Life Members of STCHS and Bob joined the Board of Directors in 1996. He served on the Board during the fundraising campaign and the construction of the Museum/Library building. He was not only generous with his time but also with financial contributions.

      Shortly after the museum opened in 2001 Bob served as its first Curator. It was his responsibility to care for the museum’s collections—to define which items were appropriate for the museum to retain, record information about each item, and determine where each item should be stored or displayed. Each of these tasks took an inordinate amount of time. He did the ‘job’ well and made a positive contribution.

      Many of us became acquainted with Bob through his work with the Museum Advisory Committee. He was always there—quiet, thoughtful, observant.

       I first met Bob when I began volunteering in the museum office in 2003 and worked with him a few hours each week until his resignation in 2005. One of the first tasks I was assigned was to make some kind of order out of the many office files. After listening to my grumblings one morning Bob chuckled and told me that it was he and Doris that had emptied all the storage boxes of STCHS paperwork and placed them in the various file drawers “willy nilly.”

       It was Bob that selected the PastPerfect museum software program to manage the museum’s collection, and then trained himself in its use. During his tenure he spent countless hours entering information about the museum’s collection into the database. He subsequently trained me in the use of the program.

       Bob was a kind, gentle teacher and his dedication to STCHS and the success of the museum was quite evident from the very beginning. He was one of the nicest men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and his absence has left a hole in the fabric of the STCHS organization.

CCPH Coming to Town
October 21-23, 2010

Courtesy of Terry Brejla,
Tuolumne County Historic Review Commissioner

       The California Council for the Promotion of History heartily invites you to its 30th annual conference. Mark your calendar. It’s happening October 21-23 in Jamestown, Sonora and Columbia.

      “What’s So Funny About History?” is the provocative and playful theme for this—the 30th annual—conference. CCPH conferences attract about 100 history lovers from every quarter of California.

       Funny means comical and clownish, but it also means humorous, witty, surprising, eccentric, satiric, ironic, farcical, absurd, quirky and, in Shakespeare's phrase, wondrous strange.

       In these broader senses, much of California history has been very funny. Funny has greased political and economic wheels, disarmed and emboldened, spoken truth to power, and earned this State a reputation for creative spontaneity and a high tolerance for oddballs. In all of this, funny has been a powerful agent of historical change.

       CCPH is a leading advocate for California's history and historical resources and is an effective networking organization for all of California's public history professionals and avocationals. CCPH members are what make this organization a diverse, dynamic, and effective advocate for California's unique heritage. CCPH provides the forum where professional historians, curators, archeologists, interpreters, archivists, preservationists, historical organizations, and advocationalists can communicate and share ideas.

       Are you interested in being part of the conference, as a presenter, a participant or simply want to find out more about CCPH? Find out more at http://www.csus.edu/org/ccph/.

Put Snoopy On Your License Plate

by Gordon Norris

     The Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum is a proud supporter of an exciting opportunity sweeping the state. What we’re trying to do is bring the world’s favorite beagle, Snoopy, to license plates in California and support our state’s museums at the same time.

      Snoopy is a singular beagle. He’s also a proud Californian. Those are two good reasons for Snoopy to be featured on his own California license plate. But to make it even more worthwhile, the proceeds from the official Snoopy license plate will support California’s museums. Each plate will feature a reproduction of an original Snoopy drawing by Charles Schultz, doing a happy dance, probably in anticipation of suppertime.

      So how do we make it happen? If we can get 7,500 registered California drivers to raise their hands for this plate, we can be the first state in the Union to feature Snoopy on an official license plate. Note that you are simply registering interest at this point. Then, once we have enough interested people, the state will collect a $50 fee from anyone who wants to get their own Snoopy plate. When we reach the magic number of 7,500 folks willing to pre-purchase a plate, they will go into production, and voila, a Snoopy license plate is yours.

      Registration proceeds from the plate will help our state’s great museums, such as the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum. As you know, museums are truly special places, community forums where families, friends and neighbors can meet, learn and discover together. We’re lucky in California, because our state has an incredible variety of great museums that serve a truly diverse range of interests and specialties.

      So, don’t hesitate! Go to www.calmuseums.org and click on “put a Beagle on your license plate” today to sign up for your Snoopy license plate. And, tell your friends and family to help us achieve our goal.

STCHS 2 Annual
Labor Day Country BBQ

      On Sunday, September 5, Pine Mountain Lake Stables will once again be the site for STCHS’ Annual Labor Day Country BBQ Fundraiser.

      This significant community occasion includes something for everybody! Dance to live music by local favorite - Chains Required. Witness an awesome color guard on horseback, and enjoy the fun and antics of horse soccer. Children can enjoy numerous games and activities for free! There will be classic restored cars and hot rods proudly displayed. Pilots will perform a wonderful airplane flyover. Marvel over the historical photo exhibit of our local area. Live and silent auctions with great items to bid on will be conducted throughout the day. Relish a bake sale like no other. And don’t forget the Food! A humdinger of a country barbecue will be prepared by our local grill masters with BBQ steak, chicken, and all the fixings! The price can’t be beat--$12 for adults and $7 for children under 12!

       Three levels of corporate sponsorship are available:
         

       All sponsorship levels include name/logo displayed at the event (your banner supplied by you) and business name mentioned throughout the day’s events and on all promotional literature.
       
        Take this opportunity to help STCHS (Southern Tuolumne County Historical Society) protect, preserve and present our historic treasures by participating in this popular community event. For more information contact Claudia Day, Event Chairperson, at (209) 962-7106. This event is the biggest PML party of the year and was attended by over 800 people last year. So don’t wait to get your tickets! Get them now at our website: http://www.grovelandmuseum.org/events1.html.

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April STCHS Program
How Groveland Got Hetchy Water
and Mary Laveroni Park

On Saturday, April 24th, STCHS had the honor of welcoming Mr. Oral Moore as its guest speaker.

Oral Moore worked for the City & County of San Francisco from 1948 to 1983. He was the Project Engineer on the Cherry Valley Dam project. He became General Manager of both Hetch Hetchy Water & Power AND the Public Utilities Commission in 1961, an unusual position indeed.

Oral was the General Manager in a period when Cherry Powerhouse (now known as Holm Powerhouse) and Canyon Powerhouse (now called Kirkwood Powerhouse) came on line. The Canyon Power Tunnel and the new Moccasin Powerhouse were also built and the system transitioned over to the new powerhouse. It was a golden era for HHWP and Oral was at the helm. Holm and Kirkwood are the two most important powerhouses on the project. He is also fondly called the father of the 230kv line – the transmission line which takes the power generated by Holm & Kirkwood to the outside world.

Oral shared the story of how Mary Laveroni was instrumental in talking Mayor Alioti into selling Wayside Park (now Mary Laveroni Park) from the City & County of SF. He also shared how he and Mary (first President of Groveland Community Services District) were instrumental in getting Hetchy water to Groveland to replace the existing poor water quality which the area endured for so long.

Oral was highly respected and loved by all employees. Nobody in his position since has been held in such high esteem or accomplished as much as he did in his time spent on the Hetchy project. He remembered everybody’s name and job, and never hesitated in getting down in the ditches and digging with the laborers. If an employee or his mate or child got sick and needed help, Oral was the first one to hand over a $50 dollar bill and suggest a benefit. When one employee got sick with cancer, a benefit was held in Moccasin in 1973, and raised over $4,000 – orchestrated by Oral.

Oral was clearly touched by the attendance of several retirees and active employees from Hetch Hetchy at his program. At the conclusion of his talk at the community center, he was presented with the 2x4’ hand-painted poster which honored his retirement in 1983, signed by many of his co-workers.

At Cherry Valley a large granite monument with a brass plaque was dedicated in 1996 to replace the one that had been stolen. Oral’s name appears on that plaque at the dam. He was an iconic figure in the history of this historical engineering marvel and won’t soon be forgotten.

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

      As I write this, the final preparations are wrapping up for the sixth annual Wine Tasting Cruise on Pine Mountain Lake. Nancy Jones and Jane Dees have done an excellent job in organizing and coordinating the event. All systems are go and the event promises to be another wonderful day and outstanding success.
      Our grant writing committee, comprised of board directors Peggy Andrews, Denise Henderson and Claudia Day, has recently submitted an application for a grant that will fund the cost of the required Historic Assessment report on the Gamble Block, aka Wells Fargo Building property we own in Big Oak Flat. This report will be the first step in the formal process of the restoration of the stone building and yellow house on the property. The grant is a beautifully prepared document and of the highest professional quality. We are very fortunate to have such people helping us with these critical jobs. I am very confident that our request will be approved (as a matter of fact, I told the grant writing committee if the grant request is declined, “I’ll eat a bug!”). Once the Historic Assessment is completed we will submit for a permit to dismantle the Miner’s Bean Kettle before it collapses on its own.   
      Included in this quarterly newsletter, as required by our by-laws, is our financial report for the fiscal year-end 12-31-2009. Treasurer Harold Wesley prepared the statements in accordance with financial accounting standard practices. The year-end balance sheet warrants a couple items of note; 1) our strong cash position and 2) our impressive equity position. At first glance the reader may get the impression we are too “cash rich”. Upon closer examination the reader will see that of the $179,639 in cash that we have on hand, $78,471 are restricted funds for maintenance, repairs/replacements for our museum/library building, and $13,330 are funds raised/donated specifically for the Gamble Block project. The remaining $87,837 are contingency funds for unforeseen expenses and special projects. The equity position or “tangible net-worth” of our organization is just over $750,000! This figure does not include the value of the California Gold Rush Dioramas (which cost over $500,000 when built in the ‘90s, nor does our net-worth include the $45,404 we placed with the Sonora Area Foundation. The Sonora Area Foundation funds are available to us for any worthy use that fits our purpose. The bottom line is we are a very formidable non-profit organization. When reviewing our Profit and Loss statement for 2009 we see we made a net contribution to the organization of $22,698. When one adds up the fund raisers we conducted, we see that they pretty much represent our year-end net contribution. Our fund raisers are extremely important to our growth, and I sincerely thank all those who help put them on and I thank all of you that attend and support them. The Southern Tuolumne County Historical Society continues to grow with vigor and purpose. We are meeting our goals and objectives and you should be proud to be a member of STCHS. I am extremely proud to serve as your board president and thank you all, for your support.

Marc Fossum
Board President
Southern Tuolumne County Historical Society
S.T.C.H.S. Say “stitches”, think “History, NOT stitchery!

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Tom Frost

by Dodie Harte

     Tom Frost’s name conjures for us that spirit of the golden age of Yosemite rock climbing when adventure was in the air and the style of the ascent was what counted.  In the early 1960s Frost made ascents of the Nose, the Salathè Wall, and the North America Wall of El Cap with pioneers Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt, and Yvon Chouinard.  Frost and Chouinard designed much of the climbing hardware that is still in use today, including RURPS, Knifeblades, Lost Arrows, Angles, Bongs, Crack-N-Ups, Stoppers, and Hexentric Nuts.  In 1997 Frost ventured back onto El Capitan granite and also opened FROSTWORKS to once again produce environmentally applicable climbing hardware.
      Join us for an inspiring evening with Tom Frost on Saturday, June 19, starting at 7:00 PM at the Groveland Community Hall.  Donations at the door accepted.

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Craig Mineweaser

by Dodie Harte

     Do you have an old house or commercial building to rehabilitate or restore, but you don’t know where to begin?  Come to the July 17 meeting of STCHS at 7:00 PM at the Groveland Community Hall and find out how Craig Mineweaser, a professional preservation architect and building conservator, approaches this and other problems.  Learn about the process he uses called “Forensic Building Investigation” to discover the hidden story in your old building.  Learn how the pros find this information and how they use it to proceed to renew, rehabilitate, restore, preserve, remodel repair, or improve an old house or commercial building.  Craig is helping STCHS with the forensic building investigation on the Gamble building.

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Sylvia Alden Roberts

     Blacks In The Gold Rush

by Dodie Harte

    The Gold Rush is commonly presented as an era of high excitement and grand adventure, populated with colorful characters—but precious few people of color.  In truth, in a single decade the California Gold Rush affected the lives of thousands of blacks from extremely diverse backgrounds.  They met the challenge of slavery and discrimination in the new, “free” state of California with dignity and determination and, in turn, their stories impacted Gold Rush history, California state history, American history and the history of women.  These unsung pioneers left behind a proud legacy that has languished for a century and a half behind the shadowy curtains of time.
     
     Sylvia Alden Roberts, author of Mining for Freedom:  Black History Meets the California Gold Rush, will discuss her book and The Sugg-McDonald Project at the STCHS program on August 21 at 7:00 PM at the Groveland Community Hall.
     
     In 1857 William Sugg, a slave who was allowed to purchase his freedom for the sum of one dollar, built a home that would become one of Sonora’s bedrock pioneer landmarks.  The Sugg family occupied that home in the heart of the Mother Lode for one hundred and twenty-five years and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
     
     The contents of the home, including documents, photos and personal effects representing over a century, remain intact.  The Mother Lode Black Heritage Foundation is currently working on a project to catalog and archive this remarkable collection of African American Gold Rush history.

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