Lecture Series

Getting together to share stories is something we like to do . . . and we invite you to join us!

The Lecture Series has, over the years, been a wonderful way as a community to come together to hear first-hand accounts, listen to discussions that relate history to current issues, find out about what new historical research has uncovered, or view some extraordinary images.

Most often the Series focuses on Valley topics. Occasionally, the Series will explore the history of other regions of California. But, these lecture evenings, whatever the topic, have proved to be memorable. If you like history, if you like a good story, you’ll enjoy these special gatherings.

Upcoming Lecture Series

Information to come shortly!

Loggers and their families posed on a Shay locomotive at the bottom of the Millwood side of the Converse Hoist with lumber cars loaded for the drying yard, 1902.

2006 Sesquicentennial Series

• “Fresno of the Mind”----- with Author Gerald Haslam
  Hailed as “the quintessential California writer,” Gerald Haslam’s work spans more than four decades. His essays novels, short stories, and anthologies are rooted in his life experience in the great Central Valley. The lecture explored how artists give us a sense of place and of ourselves through their words – and Haslam shared the words of Fresno writers such as Phillip Levine, Gary Soto, Roberta Spear, Sherley Anne Williams, Archie Minasian . . . and, of course, William Saroyan. The evening was a celebration of what Haslam calls Fresno’s “quite extraordinary literary heritage.”
• No Way Out: Indian-White Relations from the Missions through the Gold Rush----- Dr. James Sandos
  Dr. Sandos examined the impact of European contact on the natives of California. From the establishment of coastal missions in the eighteenth century to the Central Valley cattle drives of the nineteenth century, California’s indigenous people witnessed their options, land, and population shrink at a rapid pace. Dr. Sandos is a Professor of History and the Farquhar Professor of the Southwest at the University of Redlands and the author of Converting California: Indians and Franciscans in the Missions. He received his M.A. from CSU, Fresno and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

2005 Book Series

• The Golden Game: The Story of California Baseball
  By Kevin Nelson
  Author Kevin Nelson explored the incredible saga of 150 years of California baseball with an illustrated presentation based on his book, highlighting how baseball in our state—from Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays to Hollywood baseball movies—shaped the national pastime.
• Courthouses of California: An Illustrated History
  This talk featured anecdotes and legends of judges, lawyers and politicians, Ray McDevitt presented an illustrated lecture profiling the dramatic story of California’s courthouses—a compelling history that highlights the evolution of California from a frontier region to the largest, most diverse state in the union.

This lecture was co-sponsored by The Fresno County Public Library, the California History and Genealogy Room.

2002 Summer Series

• “Pioneer Sierra Ranchers””They Heard it though the Grapevine”
  Dr. Vince Petrucci, Ernest Bedrosian, Kathleen Nave, Nat DiBudio and Angelo Papagni explored the early days of viticulture in the Valley – the stories of those who pioneered the raisin, table grape and wine industries.
• “The Milkman”
  Walt Harpain, Tony Mendes, Sr., Jim Gomes, Al Quist and Larry Shehadey, Valley Dairymen, reminisce about the evolution of the dairy industry – the contribution of the Danish and Portuguese communities, the history of the Danish Creamery Association, and the role of privately owned operations such as Producers and Harpain’s Dairy.
• “This was Logging”
  John Mount, Land Manager for Southern California Edison, Kirby Molen, forester and timber historian, Hank Abraham, Retired Chief Forester for American Forest Products Corporation, and Walter Fink, Timber falling contractor and past Loggers Jamboree Champion, will relive the glory days of logging in the Central Sierra Mountains.

2001 Summer Lecture Series

• “Pioneer Sierra Ranchers”
  Knox Blasingame , George Kastner, and Sally Sharer traced the history of cattle ranching in the Sierra foothills from the days of range wars to current times.
• “West Side Farming”
  Jack Woolf, Al Dingle, Jack Stone, Price Giffen and Jerry Butchert examined the West Side’s early days as well as current challenges facing this region that is known for its high yields and diversification.
• “Basque Culture in the Central Sierra”
  Dr. Jeronima Echeverria, Associate Provost and Professor of History at CSUF, discussed her oral history studies which focused on Basque sheep ranching that had its beginnings in Fresno County in the 1870’s.
  

Armenian workers picking wine grapes, Fresno County, 1903. From M. Theo Kearney’s book, Fresno, California and the Evolution of the Fruit Vale Estate.