Sierra Gold Rush History
By popular request, I have led several tours of "Debbie Whitney Country" in Sierra County, CA in recent years.
The tours have been car-caravans along the North Yuba drainage, between Downieville and on up into the Lakes Basin -- the terrain featured in my books about the pioneer Whitney family. Frequent stops are made at such places as Shady Flat (of course!, home of the Whitneys), Breyfogel Flat (scene of the May Day shooting) New York Ravine (home of the Bernhardt family's wayside inn), O'Donnel Flat /Secret Ravine(where the McCartys ranched and Major Downie first slid down into the Yuba canyon), China Flat (Frederick Junot's store and saloon), and the former Scott's Hotel in Sierra City, where Debbie and her relatives stayed before climbing the Buttes (still a gathering place for residents and visitors.) While no climb of the Sierra Buttes have yet been attempted on the tours, we drive up into the upper elevations to a scenic overlook not far from where Whitney's Upper Mill once operated. Resident geologists, mining experts and biologists can be available to increase your (and my) knowledge of what we are looking at and what happened there.
If you would be interested in being part of such a tour, please indicate soon by emailing: greengal2@charter.net
I have made numerous presentations about, and readings of, my writings and related fields of interest, to gatherings such as historical societies, libraries, writers groups, bookclubs, retirement communities, genealogical and social organizations. I have also been author-in-the-schools at grammar schools in Wisconsin and California, and soon to be in Indiana, speaking to children from K-8 and high school history classes. One special study unit for 6th graders, concerned with building tolerance and eradicating violence and bullying in school, required multiple appearances over two months.
If you wish me appear for some type of program, it is relevant to note that I now live in beauteous Southwest Wisconsin. I do make periodic trips to California, however, and would travel almost anywhere for a price. (Well, maybe not Iraq, Pakinstan, Las Vegas or Darfur, but you can always ask.)
P.S. I will no longer give talks after huge, gourmandizing boozy banquets plus a lengthy business meeting before my part of the program takes place. I have found those events to be a hopeless endeavor, a waste of everyone's time.
I can be reached at: greengal2@charter.net or 608.588-3650