One of Hugh Gorman’s most notable works is his 100-foot-long mural at Carmichael Park. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Many Carmichael residents are undoubtedly familiar with “The Great Wall of Carmichael,” with its colorful, 100-foot-long mural, which sits near a portion of the Fair Oaks Boulevard side of Carmichael Park.
But a far greater number of these people are unaware of many details about the wall and its artwork.

Hugh Gorman stands inside of his art studio in Fair Oaks. Photo by Lance Armstrong

In an interview with this publication last week, 71-year-old Fair Oaks resident Hugh Gorman, the artist who painted this notable mural, explained details about this wall and other highlights of his life.
In reflecting upon being hired to create the Carmichael Park mural, which was officially dedicated in 2003, Hugh said, “There was an ad in the paper, (which read): ‘Wanted: Mural design for SMAC – Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.’ I applied for it, and it was to be a retaining wall in front of Denny’s (restaurant), which is where Fair Oaks (Boulevard) T’s into Manzanita (Avenue) and Fair Oaks (Boulevard). So, I really wanted that job. I’d already done this mural here (at the Fair Oaks Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Village Park in Fair Oaks) and I’d done some other murals. I like trying to explain a community on a wall. So, I tried really hard to get (the job), and I did. And I guess there were 13 people who applied.”

Hugh Gorman relaxes with his dog behind his art studio. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Although he was excited to begin his mural project in front of Denny’s, Hugh recalled how his work at that site was suddenly halted.
Hugh said that he received a call from the locally renowned developer George Tsakopoulos (1927-2009), who told him that he did not want a mural in front of his property, which is presently owned by Carmichael Village, LLC.
Following this phone call, Tsakopoulos, Hugh noted, took further action with the matter, and the project was eventually abandoned at that site.
In the process of attempting to relocate the project, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, according to the recollections of Hugh, agreed to keep the project moving forward at a new site.
Hugh noted that, with its delays, the project took five years to complete. But he added that he was required to finish the wall in one season.
And overall, he remembers the project as being 90 to 95 percent well received by the community.
After the mural was completed at the park in 2002, a dedication for the wall was held that year. A much better attended, second dedication was held in non-rainy weather during the following spring.
After being asked to describe the details of his mural, Hugh said, “I tried to do the period of human existence, which is probably 10,000 years, more or less. And I tried to do that from the American River, because I think Carmichael has forgotten it even has the American River as one of its boundaries.”

Hugh Gorman’s painting of Ishi is one of his personal favorite paintings that he has created. Gorman refers to the painting as “My Mona Lisa.” Photo by Lance Armstrong

The largest detail of the entire mural at Carmichael Park is the word, “Carmichael,” which stretches across the upper, mid-section of this grand artwork.
This bas-relief mural, which was created with an acrylic polymer on formed concrete, is divided into five panels, with the first panel showing the flow of the river as it makes its way toward the San Francisco Bay.
In continuing his explanation of the mural, Hugh said, “It’s all about how do you paint something 100 feet long and 7 feet high and not have it look like a big old line. (Avoiding making the mural appear as a straight line) was the best part about what I did, I think, or one of the best things.”
And in speaking further about the mural, Hugh said, “This is that (pedestrian and bicycle) bridge at (River Bend) Park. And we’re going through time, and if you look at the people in the rafts, you’ll see this is earlier and this is later. And that’s me. I’m in there in an inner tube with a beer bottle tied to a string. And you’ll see that everybody (in the rafts) is white at first and then pretty soon, they start sprinkling different colors as the population changes.”
And while pointing to different areas of the mural, Hugh said, “Here’s the Indians right here, and even right here. And here’s the Gold Rush right here. Well, here’s a Jeep from 1945 that marks the end of World War II. And right here are people fishing for salmon, and the way they used to fish for salmon was they just used a pitch fork. And then here you’ll see a family sitting around and the kids playing in the water. They’ve got their little picnic out. And then you go over to the Indian times, and there they are. There are families sitting around and the kids are playing in the water. So, nothing has changed, except for the color of their skin.”
Images of animals, including fish and turtles, are also present in the mural.

Hugh Gorman enjoys one of his favorite pastimes, swinging on a rope swing in his backyard. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Although the area’s well-known Deterding family had permission to use dredgers, they never did dredge the river.
In commenting about the image of a dredger in that area of his mural, Hugh said, “I put it in anyway, because it’s such a part of our history, but from the other side of the river.”
Another feature of the mural, which Hugh spoke about was an image of a historic river vessel.
“I was reading about all these different things and I read about this boat, called the Dixie, which ran the river from Folsom and back (during the 19th century),” Hugh said. “It would go up to the Negro Bar and bring rocks and wood back.”
A feature of the wall that often goes unnoticed is a heart-shaped rock that sits on top of the wall.
Hugh said that he found the rock in his backyard while he was building his art studio.
“Phil Evans, whose a sculptor, drilled holes (in the rock) for me and put (metal) rods in there and then I just set it in the concrete (to secure it),” Hugh said.
Because the Sacramento County Historical Society thought so highly about Hugh’s mural at Carmichael Park, the organization created a new award category, called “Heritage through Art,” and awarded him the first award in that category.

One of Hugh Gorman’s many paintings is of a tree with exposed roots on the bluffs above the Fair Oaks Bridge. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit Hugh’s studio can view his variety of paintings.
One of these paintings is of Ishi, who was the last surviving member of the Yahi Native American tribe. Hugh refers to this painting as “My Mona Lisa.”
During his interview for this article, Hugh also mentioned Donor Plaza, the area near the Fair Oaks Bridge that he designed in commemoration of those who contributed to the project to purchase bluffs over the American River.
“That land was being threatened to be taken over, so I had been fighting that for a long time, this way and that way,” Hugh said. “Eventually, it turned into, ‘Let’s just buy those lots and then the deal is done. And that’s what happened. I designed a thing that included three benches, and we used bricks for steps. We had 350 bricks. So, that’s an environmental art piece that’s well worth looking at, and it’s real neat.”
He also noted that he enjoys carving artistic creations, playing a keyboard, swinging on his backyard rope swing, swimming in cold water in various places in California and collecting vintage automobiles.
Hugh, who was born in St. Helena, Calif. and was one of the five children of Clyde and Grace Gorman, said that he developed a very early interest in art.
“As a little kid, they gave me clay and building blocks and I’d make little faces out of the clay,” said Hugh, who moved to Folsom in 1945 and to the area around today’s American River College in 1946. “I sort of knew how to draw real early on. Everybody always said, ‘Oh, you’re so luck, because you know what you’re going to do. You’re going to be an artist.’ And that was implanted early on, and people hired me to do portraits at 6, 7 years old. Some people are born with different things and I was born as (an artist). My dad was a writer, so he was a creative guy.”
Hugh, who attended elementary school in Carmichael, later took art classes at the old La Sierra High School before making his way to the University of California, Berkeley.
In deciding upon a career choice, Hugh initially began studying architecture in college, then he opted to become a sculptor, and lastly, he studied landscape architecture.
Despite receiving his degree at UC Berkeley in landscape architecture in 1967, Hugh said that he still always saw himself as a painter.
He began his post-college working years as a landscape architect in Santa Barbara.
Today, Hugh resides in a century-old house in Fair Oaks with his wife, Teri.
In explaining his passion for art, Hugh said, “Basically, you’ve got a story to tell. You’ve got something that you think is going to make the world a better place or at least make some understanding or describe what’s beautiful here that maybe you don’t know about. Whatever your point is, you’re telling a story. I’m self driven pretty much. My imagination works real quick.”
And in demonstrating his sense of humor at the end of the interview, Hugh, after being asked how he would like to be remembered in the future, responded, “Well, what’s the difference?”

Editor’s Note: This is part five in a series about the history of the Sacramento River.

Just as the indomitable Sacramento City was beginning to cope with and protect itself from the common natural disasters of flooding, man had a hand in placing new obstacles in the path of this growing city.
The Gold Rush brought population, prosperity and even the state Capitol to Sacramento, but it also resulted in new environmental challenges and a new source of flooding that ultimately led to dramatic changes in flood control.
These changes began with increasing the heights of the levees, filling in creeks and sloughs, rechanneling tributaries and expanding the breadth of the Sacramento River through the creation of weirs and bypasses.
The property and economic devastation of the flood of 1861-62 left the people of Sacramento with a feeling that nature and the rivers had done their worst. And then the unthinkable happened, as the American River rose to its highest level in 1867.
This same flood caused the Sacramento River and its many tributaries to overflow their newly created levees and destroy the hastily prepared dams and modifications that were put in by local districts and privates citizens.
These new high water marks established throughout the region called for a more coordinated flood control effort on the part of cities and agricultural areas within the Sacramento Valley.
One of the first big engineering endeavors was to take the big bend out of the west end of the American River that flowed into Sutter Lake, near the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. This is part of the current location of the Union Pacific railyard, which is located north of the California State Railroad Museum.
The rechanneling project began in 1864 and was completed four years later.
As a result of this new channel, the American River met with the Sacramento River one mile further north.
Even after raising the levees and rechanneling the American River, the city experienced another flood.
The citizenry was perplexed in how the rainfall could be less, the snowmelt could be slower, the levees could be higher and yet the river could still overflow its banks.
The answer to this conundrum was found in the very phenomenon that gave the city its existence.
Gold brought wealth, people, and then it brought floods.
As the easy to reach placer deposits of gold dried up and deep hard rock mining became expensive, the miners turned to water power to seek their fortunes.
Hydraulic mining was used in small scale ventures in the 1850s, but by the following decade and into the 1870s, huge companies used enormous water cannons known as monitors to demolish large hills and even small mountains in their quest for gold.
After the gold was removed, the rest of the detritus was sent into streams, which flowed into larger waterways that filled the channels of the Sacramento River and its tributaries.
It became apparent to the engineers and many others that it was not rising waters that were causing the floods, but it was instead rising river bottoms choking the channels, causing the flooding and impacting navigation.
According to the 1957 book, “The Geography of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California,” by John Thompson, “By 1866, debris had ended the infamous side-by-side steamboat races along the Sacramento River.”
It also had a dramatic effect upon the farmers and their land, because the mining refuge left from the floods was not the same as the rich alluvium left by the natural annual rise and fall of the river that enriched the soil and increased production.
Instead what came down from the mines were rock fragments of varying sizes and elements. These waters carried mercury, cyanide and other poisons, which could sterilize the soil, kill crops and harm animals and even people.
Despite the obvious harm from hydraulic mining, the companies refused to halt or even limit this activity.
The hydraulic monitors allowed mine owners to hire a few men to perform work that once required hundreds of workers.
The friction created by this conflict of ideas caused a rift and debate among miners, farmers, environmentalists, navigation companies and recreationalists that lasted for decades.
Not everyone was going to be able to realize their objectives, so something would have to change.
The financially powerful mining industry and its strong political lobby was able to ignore the pleas of a concerned citizenry based on the concept that California and its Sacramento Valley were a state and a region born of the Gold Rush.
But as the waterways continued to fill with debris and mining slush, and levees failed and agricultural production decreased, it became apparent that channels, overflows and drains could not solve the problems created by hydraulic mining.
The unnatural flooding of the Sacramento River and its tributaries became a national, rather than a regional problem.
The mining interests were so powerful that they were able to defeat all legislative attempts to control the pollution and destruction. But 1878 became the proverbial “last straw.”
A city that had already endured several inundations and had gone to great lengths to protect itself from more flooding, once again found itself underwater, as Sacramento experienced another major flood on Feb. 1, 1878.
The 1880 book, “History of Sacramento County, California,” presented various details about this flood.
Included in the book were the following words: “At 2 o’clock on the morning of that day, a break was reported in the levee near Lovedall’s (sic) Ranch, on the Sacramento River, the city and Sutterville. Almost immediately thereafter, a section of the levee, some twelve feet in width, washed out, having been completed honey-combed by gophers. The noise of the torrent pouring through the crevasse could be heard distinctly at a great distance. (That evening), the Sacramento (River) was twenty-five feet, 2 inches above the low water mark, higher than ever before known.”
Sacramentans were tired of floods, tired of mining – which was no longer the center of economy – and tired of politics and politicians who thwarted meaningful attempts to control these unnatural inundations.
Concerned citizens found a way to circumvent the powerful mining lobby by controlling navigation rather than extraction to stop the devastation of the hydraulic mining. But it took another six years to accomplish.
How the city finally controlled the problem and one of the most exotic solutions of how Sacramento tried to deal with the problem will be covered in the next article of this series.

The flood of 1849-50 created a Venice-like scene in Sacramento City. Photo courtesy

Editor’s Note: This is part one in a series about the history of the Sacramento River.

In being a city of two rivers, Sacramento has a history that is very much tied to each of these tributaries. And, undoubtedly, the river most directly associated with the Pocket area is the Sacramento River.
The Pocket area itself is partially bordered by this river and its levee, which has received much attention lately due to the controversy surrounding a city proposal to extend public recreation access along the river.
Certainly, no event in the Pocket’s history made the area’s residents more aware of the Sacramento River’s existence than the Edward’s Break – the devastating levee break that flooded about 10,000 acres in the Riverside-Pocket area in February 1904.
The significance of the Sacramento River in the city’s history is so great that it would be impossible to present a thorough account of the city’s beginnings without referring to this river.
And by its name alone, the Sacramento River is important to the history of Sacramento, since the city took its name from this important waterway.
As the largest river in California, this 375-mile river has its source near Mount Shasta.
The river then meanders down the center of the Sacramento Valley and runs between the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento.
It continues its way into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where it is fed by other watercourses to become the Carquinez Straits and ultimately flows into the San Francisco Bay.
How the river was formed is a complex series of geological events, which include uplift and erosion of the Sierra Nevada and Coastal Mountains and the eruption and creation of Mount Shasta.
For more than 100,000 years, the Sacramento River has been cutting through deep deposits of sediment from the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada.
As previously mentioned, the city of Sacramento was named after the Sacramento River.
In 1808, the Spanish organized an expedition to go into the interior of California to explore rivers north of the Cosumnes River, which they discovered two years earlier, and to search for suitable locations for missions and pueblos.
This expedition was led by Spanish army officer Jose Gabriel Maraga, who gave names to many of the topographic features that he discovered on his journey.
At that time, the Spanish army in California was inextricably linked to the Catholic Church, thus almost all the names chosen by Maraga were taken from Catholic nomenclature.
Maraga named the largest of these tributaries El Rio de Sacramento, which translates as the River of Sacrament. The Sacramento River was thus named in honor of the “offerings of Christ.”
On Oct. 9, 1808, Maraga wrote in his diary: “Today, we broke camp and moved to the river discovered yesterday, which we named the Sacramento. They have measured this river at 169 varas (about 5,577 inches or about 465 feet) across.”
For some unknown reason, the only entry missing from Maraga’s diary, which was kept from Sept. 25 through Oct. 23, 1808, was the entry for Oct. 8 – the day that he discovered the Sacramento River.
During the following 40 years, the Sacramento River remained the quiet home of salmon, wildlife and native people of the area.
In 1848, bright, metallic flakes were found in a tributary of the Sacramento and for the river and its valley, its future changes were dramatic.

Sacramento City is shown during its early times. This image includes the Sacramento River embarcadero at the foot of J Street. Photo courtesy

It appears as if the word, “rush” from the famous Gold Rush of 1849 has much significance in the naming and location of the city.
Furthermore, little effort was given to the naming of the city’s streets, which received basic alphabetical and numerical names.
Sacramento City was built in a “rush” with little regard for expansion or flooding.
In fact, the very sands contributed to by flooding were responsible for the location of the new city, because the sand provided a low spot for large ships to beached, loaded and unloaded.
Neither Captain John Sutter nor the Indians who lived in the area before him regarded the eventual location of the city as habitable.
Sutter, guided by the local Indians, had his fort built in one of the few high ground sites in today’s city of Sacramento.
Even the city that Sutter had planned – Sutterville – was being built on the high ground in the area of today’s William Land Park.
The problem with this location was that its high banks that prevented flooding, also kept ships from landing.
As a result, Sacramento City was born almost overnight, because it was the one spot where large vessels could land and unload supplies, feeding the frenzy of the Gold Rush.
When it comes to presenting the city’s river history, it is certainly essential to include details pertaining to the topic of flooding.
While visiting Sacramento on Feb. 25, 1878, James W. Marshall, whose discovery of gold on the South Fork of the American River led to the Gold Rush of 1849, was interviewed by a Sacramento Record-Union reporter.
In speaking to the reporter regarding the topic of high water, Marshall referred to the 1845-46 flood, which covered all the Indian mounds in the Sacramento Valley.
Marshall described this flood as being so great that it came within two feet of entering Sutter’s Fort.
And in relating the 1845-46 flood to the then present times, Marshall estimated that the water of that flood would have reached at least four or five feet above the high grade of the city.
Continuing, Marshall noted that an old Hudson Bay trapper had told him about a flood, which occurred in the Sacramento Valley in the winter of 1830.
That flood, Marshall said, reached a level of five or six feet higher than the level of the 1845-46 flood.
Within a detailed account of the flood of 1849-50 in the Feb. 8, 1873 edition of The Sacramento Union, it was noted that by Jan. 12, 1850 “there was no dry land in town except at the knoll on the public square (today’s Cesar E. Chavez Plaza), between Ninth and Tenth streets.”
Another one of the great floods in the city’s history was the flood of 1852-53.
Having already recently suffered another tragedy – the great fire of Nov. 2, 1852 – Sacramento was flooded as the result of a rise in the Sacramento River from Dec. 20, 1852 to Jan. 24, 1853.

The Gold Rush days were celebrated during the Days of '49 festival, which was held in Sacramento from May 23-28, 1922. // Photo courtesy of the Lance Armstrong Collection

The great California Gold Rush of 1849 drew thousands upon thousands of people to Sacramento City, as Sacramento was then known. And the allure of those days was still very strong 90 years ago this year, as is evident by an event, which was held in the capital city from Tuesday, May 23 through Sunday, May 29, 1922.
It was during that week that a well-planned festival, called Days of ’49, brought large crowds of people to various parts of Sacramento.
The event began with a Tuesday morning reenactment of the August 1839 landing of Captain John A. Sutter on the American River.
The reenactment was held on the Sacramento River at the foot of R Street and Hobart Bosworth portrayed Sutter.
Following this attraction, Bosworth, in still portraying Sutter, was escorted to Sutter’s Fort at the head of a large parade, which also included floats, bands and Native Americans portraying Indians of that time.
A 13-gun salute greeted the procession, which was also met by many spectators who had gathered together at the L Street entrance of the fort.
At the fort, Bosworth continued to portray Sutter, as he was involved in a skit, in which he made peace with the Indians near the south wall of the fort.
Playing the role of an Indian chief was Edwin B. Normington, great prophet of the Red Jacket tribe of the Improved Order of Red Man in Sacramento.
“Slim” Cole of Huntington Lake in Tulare County portrayed the guide of Sutter and his landing party.
The opening day reenactment, parade and scene at the fort marked the launching of a festival that was made possible through the dedicated planning and labor of many people and the cooperation of various communities. Other areas involved with the event included Stockton, Red Bluff, Chico, Lincoln, Roseville, Galt, Fairoaks (now Fair Oaks) and Yolo County.
In expressing San Francisco’s intended support of the event, James Rolph, Jr., mayor of that city, said, “We will be with you several hundred strong; all dressed up and raring to go, and if we do not make our presence felt, it will not be for lack of trying.”
An example of the preparation that occurred to assure a successful and memorable event was the work of hundreds of carpenters who built Mining Town, which featured a wide variety of exhibits. The entrance of Mining Town was at 3rd and I streets.
Among the features of Mining Town was a reproduction of James Marshall’s cabin and a man-made mountain.
A constant reminder and a sort of advertisement leading up to the Days of ’49 could be literally seen on the faces of many men in Sacramento.
Long before the event’s opening day, a city ordinance compelled local males to refrain from cutting their whiskers, and as a result, many men had beards and other facial hair of various lengths during the celebration.
The Sacramento Bee was not short on praise for the whisker-growing actions of the Whiskerinos, as these men were known.
In referring to these participants, the publication noted in its May 23, 1922 edition that through the Whiskerinos, “Sacramento (had) put over one of the greatest publicity campaigns in the history of the country.”
Another form of advertisement for the Days of ’49 was the wearing of sombreros – an act, which, although not typical of the actual Forty-niners, caught on quickly after Charles H. Farrell, a solicitor for The Bee, initially suggested it.
The act of dressing up for the event was quite popular, as many people of that time took the celebration’s slogan, “Be a Forty-niner,” to heart.
Everyday clothes of the time were temporarily put away in closets and replaced by such clothing as red flannel shirts and boots for men and hoop skirts and bonnets for women.
Some men wore period clothing of miners, while others wore garb-representing outfits worn by frontiersmen or aristocrats of the Gold Rush period.
Jewelry with gold nuggets and old-fashioned broaches were also often seen during the celebration week.
Even local stores participated in the celebration by placing adobe and log facades on their business structures.
Additionally, horses and stagecoaches temporarily replaced the city’s streetcars.
The Bee, in its May 23, 1922 edition, described the event as the “greatest celebration (in the city’s) history.”
At 1:30 p.m. on the event’s opening day, the famous locomotive, C.P. Huntington, No. 1, left 5th and I streets and the Mining Town entrance on its journey encircling the city.
A half hour later, Mining Town, which cost thousands of dollars to construct, was opened to the public.
The day’s attractions concluded with aerial flights and fireworks over Mining Town. The fireworks shows were also presented at the site during the remaining evenings of the Days of ’49.
Wednesday, May 24, 1922 was recognized as Pioneer and Fraternal Day in Sacramento.
Featured on this day was a reception for pioneers, a rodeo parade on J and K streets and the grand opening of the $10,000 prize round-up at the fairgrounds on Stockton Boulevard. This grand opening included an appearance by Tom Mix (1880-1940), the famous cowboy of the movies, and his entire company.
The next day was designated as California Day and included a grand parade of representatives of California communities, the Governor’s Ball at the state Capitol, Gov. William Stephens’ presentation of a medal to the winner of the longest beard contest and a Bret Harte dinner and pageant for newspaper and magazine writers.
Although few editors from the 22,000 newspaper editors from throughout the nation who had been invited to the dinner were present at the gathering, the Days of ‘49 received attention in many publications from coast to coast.
Among the notable people attending the dinner were Rolph, Sacramento Mayor Albert Elkus, members of the Sacramento City Council and Clyde L. Seavey, city manager and chief of the Whiskerinos.
Every day of the celebration featured a parade and on Friday, May 26, 1922, a parade made its way along J and K streets and out to Sutter’s Fort.
Friday’s attractions also included fancy and exhibition shooting by Captain A. H. Hardy at the fairgrounds, and rock drilling contests and presentations of awards for best costumes at Mining Town.
On Saturday, which was recognized as Tom Mix Day, many of the city’s whisker-growing men were featured in a Whiskerinos parade.
In addition to the opportunities that were presented to Days of ’49 guests to see or meet Mix, throughout the days of the festival, Godard’s Theatre at 519 J St. showed “The Fighting Streak,” a film featuring Mix.
At 7:30 a.m. on the final day of the Days of ’49, an automobile caravan left the Chamber of Commerce building on 7th Street, between I and J streets, for religious services at a historic church in Coloma. Special services were also held at churches in Sacramento.
The final day of the event was also the last day of the rodeo at the fairgrounds. The rodeo began at 1 p.m. and another shooting exhibition with Hardy was held at Mining Town at 3 p.m.
The well-received Days of ’49 celebration came to a close on that Sunday evening with a 10 p.m. fireworks show at Mining Town.
Through this event, the thrill, romance and adventure of the Gold Rush was re-created and enjoyed in Sacramento by well more than 100,000 people.
In summarizing the Days of ’49 in its May 29, 1922 edition, The Bee noted: “Sacramento in that spectacle proved conclusively that she had staged her celebration as a success of which she can well be proud.”

Lance@valcomnews.com

Union Pacific – Building America for 150 Years! Event Includes:
•     Tours of the cab of legendary steam locomotive No. 844
•     An up close look of Union Pacific’s newest experimental locomotive, UP 9900
•     Board the traveling museum car to see 150 years of Union Pacific history
•     Excursion train rides
•     Entrance into the Railroad Museum and Sacramento History Museum
ROSEVILLE, Calif., September 13, 2012 – Union Pacific Railroad will continue its year-long 150TH anniversary celebration with a huge, two-day signature event in Old Sacramento September 29-30 that will include free excursion train rides and free entrance into both the California State Railroad Museum and Sacramento History Museum. The community celebration will commemorate 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln created the original Union Pacific by signing the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862. In partnership with California State Parks, the Union Pacific – Building America for 150 Years! celebration will be the most elaborate event staged in the Western United States as part of Union Pacific’s sesquicentennial year to be held at the California State Railroad Museum.

“Union Pacific’s 150TH anniversary gives us a special chance to celebrate our historic past with the communities that are important to our future,” said Scott Moore, Union Pacific vice president, public affairs – Western Region. “We are proud to celebrate 150 years of innovation and building America with a signature event in Old Sacramento, which has a fascinating past rich in the history and heritage of the West.”

Saturday morning at 10 a.m., the public is invited to join Union Pacific Railroad, California State Parks and state and city officials to a special kick-off event outside the California State Railroad Museum. At the opening festivities, which are sure to delight railroad and history enthusiasts from near and far, Sacramento officials plan to honor Union Pacific’s 150th anniversary, and the railroad will proclaim the Sacramento community an official Train Town USA. The first 500 people to arrive at 9:30 in advance of the kick-off presentation will receive a limited-edition 150th Anniversary pin from Union Pacific.

In addition to live music, entertainment and period-appropriate performances happening in various locations throughout Old Sacramento State Historic Park, a variety of locomotives and other equipment will be on special display during the two-day Union Pacific – Building America for 150 Years! event in Old Sacramento, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Event highlights will include:

•     The chance for visitors to see the inside of the engineer’s cab of the crowd-favorite steam locomotive No. 844 known as the “Living Legend.”
•     The public’s first opportunity to see the experimental locomotive UP 9900 equipped with the very latest emissions-reducing technology that provides a glimpse into the future of railroading.
•     The popular 1960‘s vintage Promontory baggage car that has been retrofitted into a state-of-the-art traveling museum.
•     History-rich passenger cars and equipment.
•     Modern UP police and maintenance vehicles.
•     Free train rides on Union Pacific’s popular miniature train, UP 956.
•     Free weekend excursion train rides on the Sacramento Southern Railroad (based on availability). For visitors interested in a luxury train ride experience along the Sacramento River, train rides aboard the first-class El Dorado are available for $15 per person (ages five and under ride free) and can be booked online in advance at www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org.
•     Free entrance to the California State Railroad Museum, widely recognized as North America’s most popular train museum, and access to a special exhibit launching that weekend highlighting the legacy of the transcontinental railroad.
•     Free entrance to the Sacramento History Museum, a popular destination that offers visitors a chance to explore the region’s rich history from the days before the Gold Rush to the present.
More information about Union Pacific Railroad, the series of special events or the Union Pacific – Building America for 150 Years! celebration is available at www.up150.com and www.californiastaterailroadmuseum.org.

About Union Pacific
It was 150 years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. One of America’s iconic companies, today, Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America’s infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. Union Pacific’s diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and emphasizes excellent customer service. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada’s rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.

Well-known Sacramento resident, retired dentist Dr. Herbert Yee may have recently turned 87 years old, but his age has certainly not hindered his motivation to contribute to the community.

HERBERT YEE stands in front of the soon-to-be-opened Sunflower Farmers Market on Del Rio Road, just south of the Sacramento Zoo. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

His latest contribution is bringing a unique, 30,000-square-foot grocery store to local shoppers at his South Land Park shopping center, just south of the Sacramento Zoo.

Market coming this spring

While spending a moment at the shopping center last week, Herbert enthusiastically shared details about the soon-to-be-opened Sunflower Farmers Market.

“We have been working since June 1 on the new market,” Herbert said. “They signed the lease on June 1, we hired a contractor, named Headwater, and the owners (of Headwater) are (former Sacramento vice mayor) Doug Pope and Norm Marshall. Sunflower is a market from (Boulder) Colorado. They’re based there and they have big warehouses in Phoenix, Ariz. and they’re in New Mexico and they’re now in California. They’re also in Las Vegas, Nev., where they have two stores. Right now they have about 33 stores and three more developing. They opened their first (local) one six months ago in Roseville Square and then about a month ago, they opened one in Modesto, and a third one in this area, then they have one in Fremont and one planned in Mountain View and San Jose, so they’re moving.”

Altogether, this nearly 10-year-old grocery store chain operates markets in eight states, including all of the aforementioned states, as well as in Utah, Texas and Oklahoma.

Sunflower, which is scheduled to open in Herbert’s shopping center in May, is the response to a failed attempt to complete a deal that would have brought a Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store to the same site last year.

Herbert speaks very highly about Sunflower, which is dedicated to providing its customers with natural and organic products at reasonable prices.

“I am very impressed with Sunflower,” Herbert said. “They promise that they will buy locally. They have five air conditioners upstairs. Four of them are 12 and a half tons, one is seven tons. And I said, ‘Why do you need so much air conditioning?’ They said, ‘We want to keep the vegetables fresh.’”

Sunflower’s departments include meat and seafood, bakery and deli, natural living, dairy/frozen, beer and wine and floral items. The chain purchases almost all of its products by the pallet or truckload in order to save money. Sunflower then passes part of its savings on to customers.

Furthermore, the store does not charge its vendors for shelf space and it has no membership cards or complicated discount schemes.

HUMANITARIAN. Herbert Yee provided the finances for the Kee Siu School in his hometown in China. / Photo courtesy, Herbert Yee

In its efforts to provide its customers with low prices, the store is dedicated to its motto, “Better than supermarket quality at better than supermarket prices” and its slogan, “Serious food, silly prices.”

Sunflower Farmers Market will fill the southern end of the South Land Park shopping center on Del Rio Road. The shopping center also includes La Bou Bakery and Café, Parkside Pharmacy and Macau Café.

In addition to bringing a new market to South Land Park, Herbert, who is a 1942 graduate of Sacramento High School and a World War II veteran, has kept active with many other properties and activities during his life.

Dentist to Calif. governors

Many locals remember Herbert for his success in dentistry, as he spent 54 years in this profession, including his time as the official dentist for the staff of two governors – Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan.

Community leader

Herbert’s many titles that he has held read like credits at the end of a feature film.

SO ALL MAY LEARN. This cultural center and library, which was funded by Herbert Yee, opened in China in 2007. / Photo courtesy, Herbert Yee

Among the many special positions that he has held are president of the California State Board of Dental Examiners, regent of the University of Pacific, president of the UOP Dental School Alumni Association, president of the International College of Dentists, president of the American Cancer Society for Sacramento County, counselor of the American Dental Association’s Council on Dental Education, district governor of Lion’s Club District 4 C5, president of the Sacramento Chinese Benevolent Association, president of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Association and president of the Yee Fong Toy family association.

He has served on the California State Railroad Museum Foundation board for about the past 30 years.

A presidential commendation

In 1984, Herbert was named president of the U.S. section of the International College of Dentists at the annual convention in Atlanta.

In acknowledging Herbert’s naming to this position, President Ronald Reagan sent a letter to Herbert that included the following words: “This honor reflects your commitment to your profession and to the organization paying tribute to you. By your service as a dentist and as a member of your community, you have made outstanding contributions. In every area where you work, whether as a member of your profession or as a concerned citizen, your dedication is greatly respected.”

WWII VETERAN. Herbert Yee served in the U.S. Army from January 1944 to October 1945. / Photo courtesy, Herbert Yee

Active gentleman of the community

Herbert, who also owns the buildings occupying Pizza Hut, Kamon Sushi restaurant and bar and A & A Company video, cellular phones, music, etc. at the southwest corner of 16th and V streets, the Asian Food Center at 1301 Broadway and Bud’s Buffet at 1016 10th Street. He is a longtime member of the Sutter Club, American Legion Post 692, Lion’s Club District 4 C5, the Sacramento Pioneer Association and the Del Paso Country Club.

Humanitarian

He has also contributed to his native land through his funding of the construction of China’s Kee Siu School, which opened on Sept. 28, 1981, and a cultural center and library named after himself and his father, Henry Yee. The cultural center and library opened in China in 2007.

Descendant of Sacramento pioneers

Although Herbert did not arrive in the United States at Angel Island as an immigrant from Sing Tonga, Kee Siu, Toi Shan, China until he was 6 years old on May 1, 1931, his family history in Sacramento dates back to the 19th century.

Herbert’s great-grandfather, an herbalist, named Dr. Wah Hing (born Yee Fung Cheung), arrived in California during the Gold Rush, and while practicing in Sacramento, he had his most famous patient, Jane Stanford, the wife of Gov. Leland Stanford.

FAMILY MAN. Herbert and Inez Yee have been married for 66 years. The couple is shown prior to their marriage in this photograph, which was taken in about 1944. / Photo courtesy, Herbert Yee

Herbert explained the story behind his grandfather’s work with Jane Stanford.

“As the story goes – you’re talking legend, because this was so long ago – in about 1862, (Jane Stanford) was suffering from sort of like pneumonia and the American doctor said that he could no longer do any more and that was it,” Herbert said. “The Chinese chef said, ‘Well, since you finally gave up, why don’t you try our Chinese doctor?’ So, the governor said, ‘Well, go and fetch him.’ So, (the chef) got on the horse and buggy, went down to Chinatown and they located him playing mah-jongg or gambling something at Wah Hing grocery store. So, (Dr. Wah Hing) told his helper – a young man – to go fetch a certain item of medicine and they brewed it and then brought it to the governor’s mansion. (The doctor) then gave the brew to Mrs. Stanford and told the staff that in one hour, if her fever breaks and she can breathe, then she would be fine. Interestingly, this story was related to me back in 1950 by an old man who was 100 years old. He said, ‘You know, you’re great-grandpa saved the governor’s wife.’ So, the legend has been traveling all of these years.”

Today, Herbert resides in South Land Park with his wife, Inez, whom he married in 1945. The couple has four sons, four daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Traders’ Faire guests can purchase replica 19th century cultural items and curiosities, Native American goods and other items sold by vendors from throughout the western United States. / Photo courtesy, Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park

Visitors of the fort during this particular weekend will be able to step back in time to observe and participate in a Traders’ Faire through free, hands-on activities led by costumed docents. The free activities of this all-ages event include making bead necklaces, corn husk dolls and hanks of rope and hammering square nails.

Guests will also have the opportunity to observe musket demonstrations and purchase a wide variety of replica 19th century cultural items and curiosities sold by vendors from throughout the western United States. The items for sale include clothing, toys, Native American goods, house wares and beads.

The Traders’ Faire has become an anticipated annual event at the fort, since Sutter’s Fort docents Yvonne and Ken Falletti founded the faire in 1992 for the purpose of introducing people in the Sacramento area to the type of craftsmen usually only seen at esoteric events such as at mountain men rendezvous.

Steve Beck, historic guide and lead to hands-on activities at Sutter’s Fort, emphasized that one of the things that makes the Traders’ Faire so interesting is that it highlights the fort’s past as “California’s first mall.”

“While most of us know that Sutter’s Fort was the beginning of Sacramento, few of us know of the importance the fort served as a commercial center in the early days of the Gold Rush,” Beck said. “It was the only trading center on the way to the goldfields and thousands of Argonauts passed through the fort to purchase supplies from a variety of vendors hawking a plethora of goods, thus making the fort California’s first shopping mall.”

The central building at Sutter’s Fort once housed a hotel and a 24 hours per day bar and gambling parlor. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Beck’s description of Sutter’s Fort is undoubtedly accurate, as the Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defines a mall as a “complex of buildings containing various shops, businesses and restaurants usually accessible by common passageways.”

Originally, the fort was filled with Captain John A. Sutter’s manufactories, which churned out the implements of his agricultural empire and supplied the bare essentials of the community of New Helvetia (New Switzerland), which was what Sutter named his Mexican land grant.

But with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill at Coloma by James Marshall on Jan. 24, 1848, Sutter’s world was turned upside down.

As documented in James Peter Zollinger’s book, “Sutter: The Man and His Empire,” the beginning of this “mall” in July 1848 was “dramatic and radical.”

Zollinger wrote: “First, all hands struck for higher wages, but soon no wages were enough to tie a man to his post….The hatters, coopers, carpenters, the blacksmiths and gunsmiths, the clerks and cartwrights, saddlers and shoemakers, the ship builders and supervisors – all were gone like water through a sieve.”

Zollinger added that the fort “degenerated into a wayside station for transient miners and a trading post for miners’ supplies.”

Further describing this “mall,” which was in operation for about one year, as Sutter’s Fort’s shifted from a center of bustling commercial activity to a footnote on the frontier, Zollinger wrote: “A score of merchants operated at the fort, paying $100 rent a month for a single room. (The two-story central building) was turned into a hotel with a monthly rent of $500 for the entire hotel paid to Sutter.”

In his 1872 narrative, William Grimshaw, who worked as a clerk in one of the stores at the fort, reported that staying in the hotel cost an individual $40 per week and meals were $2 each.

Merchants at the fort included: Brannan and Co. general store, Hensley, Reading and Co. hardware store, Priest, Lee and Co. mining equipment, Peter Burnett, lawyer and real estate firm, Joseph Wadleigh, tinsmith, restaurants, drinking establishments and even a newspaper, the Placer Times.

The basement of the central building was turned into a bar and gambling parlor. And Grimshaw reported in his narrative that “this bar was crowded with customers, night and day, and never closed from one month’s end to the other.”

In addition to its high prices for boarding and meals, the fort was also a place where one could purchase many items and services at inflated Gold Rush era prices.

The 19th annual Traders’ Fair will be held at Sutter’s Fort on April 15-17. The event also includes a crafts fair at the neighboring California State Indian Museum. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Included among these prices were: 20 pounds of saleratus (baking soda) for $400, Boston crackers for $16 per tin, a pick or a shovel for $16 and $64 for a horse or mule to be “shod all around” or in other words, have horseshoes placed on all four hooves of a horse or mule.

In addition to commenting about the inflated prices for merchandise and services at the fort during this era, Grimshaw noted that a blacksmith’s assistant at the fort was earning $16 per day – compared to a wage of $10 per month for labor performed in the same position prior to the Gold Rush.

For those who decide to attend any of the three days of the Traders’ Faire at Sutter’s Fort, Beck will be available to answer history-related questions and he said that he promises “prices will be less than what Gold Rush patrons paid.”

Daily admission for this event, which will be held each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be $7/adults, $5/ages 6-17 and free/children, 5 years old and younger. Admission prices for the event include entry to both Sutter’s Fort at 2701 L St. and the California State Indian Museum at 2618 K St.

For more information regarding this event, visit the Web site www.parks.ca.gov/suttersfort or call Sutter’s Fort at (916) 445-4422 or the Indian Museum at (916) 324-0971.

lance@valcomnews.com

Reichmuth Park, which was the site of Munger’s Lake, is shown in its flooded state in this photograph that was taken last week. / Photo courtesy, Dolores (Silva) Greenslate

Long before the days of the Gold Rush, a lake was located at this site, which was home to the Miwok Indians.

And the water of the lake continued to exist on a regular basis until the lake bed was partially filled in at the time of the creation of the 22-acre park, which has the address of 6135 Gloria Drive. This process occurred during the dry season when the lake’s level was low.

Since the lake was not filled in to the point that the ground was leveled off to provide adequate drainage, during prolonged, heavy rains, water accumulates, resulting in the partial rebirth of the site’s historic lake.

Evidence of a former Indian campground around the lake was discovered by Portuguese settlers, who farmed in the Riverside-Pocket area.

Among the items discovered after the farmers tilled the ground were: arrowheads, grinding rocks and various tools.

Furthermore, several Indian burial grounds existed in the area, including one that was located within a quarter mile from the lake. This burial ground was discovered

Canada geese enjoy a swim at Reichmuth Park following a recent storm. / Photo courtesy, Dolores (Silva) Greenslate

during the construction of Interstate 5, near the end of the Seamas Avenue exit.

Another burial ground is located on Pocket Road, a short distance from Garcia Bend Park, and is presently protected from development.

The lake, which was originally a rainfall lake that was surrounded by a wilderness of tall trees and brush, bears the name of the Munger family, who arrived in the Sacramento area during Gold Rush times.

According to the 1890 book, “An Illustrated History of Sacramento County,” Carl Munger, whose father, Calvin, was a native of New York and whose mother was born in Massachusetts, resided on property near Oak Hall, a speakeasy, where businessmen from downtown Sacramento would venture to spend leisure evenings.

Carl operated Oak Hall, which served beer, fine wines, lemonade, cold lunches and chicken dinners and also sold cigars, from about 1880 to 1897.

Reichmuth Park at 6135 Gloria Drive was named after the Reichmuth family, who resided on property east of Munger’s Lake. / Photo courtesy, Dolores (Silva) Greenslate

Also located in the vicinity of Oak Hall was Munger’s Lake.

Pocket historian Dolores (Silva) Greenslate speculates that the house where both she and her mother, Maria Gloria “Mamie” (Machado) Silva, were born was also the former residence of the Munger family.

She has come to this conclusion based on the fact that her childhood home, which was located on the present day Riverside Boulevard, was located near Munger’s Lake and was present during the beginning of the settlement of the Portuguese farms in the early 1850s.

Considering that Calvin was born in 1822 and the aforementioned 1890 history book refers to him dying “in the residence of his son Carl, four miles from Sacramento on the river road” in 1872, it is uncertain if any member of the Munger family would have resided in the home as early as the early 1850s.

One of the features of Munger’s Lake is that it attracted waterfowl such as ducks, geese and mud hens and contained small turtles and fish, as is evident by a story, which appeared in the Dec. 3, 1856 edition of The Sacramento Union.

Shown in this 1923 photograph, Maria Gloria “Mamie” (Machado) Silva and her husband, Victor Dias Silva, stand next to the house that is speculated to have previously been the home of Carl Munger. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

According to The Union, Carl was fined $10 for selling fish that he had caught in Munger’s Lake without a license.

Unaware of the city ordinance that required him to have a license to sell the fish in Sacramento, Carl brought a wagon load of fish to the city and sold the entire lot to one man.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the property on the east side of the lake was owned by the Reichmuth family, thus leading to the name of the park. The family had a dairy and sold their milk in town and also to others who visited the dairy with their own bottles to be filled.

Visitors accessed the dairy via a gravel road off Freeport Boulevard, across from today’s Sacramento Executive Airport.

In 1900, John Joseph Machado and Joseph Azevedo, Sr., who were both born on the island of Pico in the Azores Islands of Portugal, immigrated to America and eventually settled in the Pocket area to make their homes.

John and Joseph married into the Anton Rodrigues Pereira (later Perry) pioneering family, as John married Clara Perry and Joseph married Fatima “Minnie” Filomina Perry.

Being close friends from their childhood, Joseph and John decided to pool their money and purchase about a 53-acre ranch, which included part of Munger’s Lake and the old, existing two-level house, which was possibly the former house of Carl Munger.

This house became the home of John and Clara, who raised four children in the house.

Joseph and Minnie had their home constructed a short distance south of John and Clara’s house, and together they raised two children in the house.

The John Joseph Machado family – left to right, Albert, Clara (mother), John (father), Rosaline and Joe – stand in the inside yard of their property. To the right of this 1927 photograph is a large, horse barn, and barely shown to the left of this image is a stairway leading to the Machado home that may previously have been the home of Carl Munger. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

This partnership of the property continued until 1917, when John bought out Joseph’s share of the property, and Joseph and Minnie had a mansion home constructed on 546 acres in Natomas. This mansion, which has since been remodeled, moved a very short distance and repositioned, later became the home of Heather Fargo, who served as Sacramento’s mayor from 2000 to 2008.

Upon the departure of Joseph and his family, John and his family moved into Joseph’s former home.

At a later time, when John’s sons were old enough to help him with heavy labor, John and his sons cleared away the heavy wooded and bushy area on his portion of land along Munger’s Lake in order to begin farming pink beans to be sold at market and a variety of squash and melons that were grown on the sandy banks of the lake.

During especially rainy years, the lake would overflow its bank and water would spread over the fields.

These times were very devastating for John and his family, since this flooding caused them to lose their entire income for the year.

The old John Machado house and the newer Joseph Azevedo house existed on the property until the local construction of Interstate 5 necessitated the removal of these homes.

Greenslate, who was raised in the house that was possibly Carl Munger’s former house, said that she is very nostalgic when it comes to remembering Munger’s Lake.

The Joseph Azevedo, Sr. house is shown in this c. 1917 photograph. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

“I remember running back through the fields with neighborhood children to play on the banks of the lake,” Greenslate said. “It was fun looking for arrowheads that we often found when the soil was disked for new plantings. I also remember fondly watching my adored grandfather (John Machado) while he worked on the thresher as he sacked the beans, which were grown in the lake. Presently, I enjoy driving by (Reichmuth) Park and looking at it and visualizing the old lake and how it used to be. And when I see the water build in the park after heavy storms, I get a kick out of it and I say, ‘Good for you, you still want to be a lake.’”

lance@valcomnews.com

This tunnel beneath Folsom’s famous Sutter Street is the source of many tales of yore, including stories of smuggled alcohol during the Prohibition Era of the early 20th century. Video footage of the tunnel will be on display at the Folsom History Museum’s “Secrets of Sutter Street,” Feb. 19 to March 20. / Photo courtesy

As a writer and news editor for “Folsom Life” newspaper many years ago, I had the unique privilege of learning many of Folsom’s secrets. Literally, where some of the bodies are – or were – buried. Years before the restoration on Sutter Street, I got to visit the tunnels and other secret places of Folsom.

Most are off limits to the public – and with good reason. These places are seriously dangerous. And if you are fearful of spiders, snakes, close places, subterranean water, ghosts or simply bumping your head…well, you get the picture.

Recent restoration work on Sutter Street revealed the existence of one of Folsom’s subterranean tunnels to the public, as well as other artifacts of the city’s pioneering inhabitants.

On Feb. 19, the Folsom History Museum will share much of this history, when it unveils “Sutter Street Secrets.”

“What did they find under Folsom’s Sutter Street? What secrets were revealed? Come to this wonderful new exhibit at the Folsom History Museum and find out,” said Melissa Pedroza, spokeswoman for the Folsom History Museum. “Last year, the City of Folsom began the Sutter Street Revitalization Project. The project had two purposes: the practical – to replace the crumbling 100 year old water/sewer infrastructure; and the cosmetic – to pretty up the street and make it more appealing.”

According to Pedroza, the exhibit will display many of the artifacts uncovered during the restoration, including bottles, coins, horse shoes and tools found during the digging.

“The Museum will also play a video of the tunnel discovered under Sutter Street,” Pedroza said. “This will be the closest most of us will ever get to seeing the tunnel. It’s not something to be missed.”

Also included in the exhibit is a description of the whole restoration process (sans the many, many Historic District Restoration Committee meetings that were held at Landmark Baptist Church). From the removal of the dying magnolia trees (plopped right on top of the pavement of old Highway 50) to the planting of over 100 trees along new sidewalks that incorporate Folsom’s history, visitors will have an opportunity to see how much work went into this project.

“The exhibit features hundreds of photos taken during the actual process of the day and night construction,” Pedroza said. “Big trucks, backhoes, and cranes and building facades tumbling down and being built back up.”

“Sutter Street Secrets” opens Feb. 19 and runs through March 20. The Folsom History Museum is located at 828 Sutter Street in Old Town Folsom. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for youth and free for kids under the age of 12. Folsom Historical Society Members receive free admission. Call (916) 985-2707 or visit www.folsomhistorymuseum.org for more information.

susan@valcomnews.com

For more than a half a century, Congregation B’nai Israel has had a temple in Land Park that has been a very important place for the local Jewish community. The site, however, is only part of the rich history of the congregation’s presence in Sacramento.

The roots of Congregation B’nai Israel, in fact, date back to the great Gold Rush of California.

During this time in history, Jewish immigrants arrived in Sacramento mainly from Germany and Poland. Others arrived from Russia, England and France.

Of these early Jewish immigrants, Moses Hyman, who resided at 56 Front St., is recognized as the first Jewish leader in Sacramento.

Congregation B’nai Israel was established in 1852 as an outgrowth from the Hebrew Benevolent Society, which was founded by Jewish pioneers during the later months of 1850.

Services of the congregation were held in private homes in the capital city until June 1852, when a building was purchased from the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

The prefabricated building, which was located at 7th and L streets, was shipped around Cape Horn from Baltimore to San Francisco in 1849.

The building, which was then brought to Sacramento and consecrated in September 1852, became the first synagogue west of the Mississippi.

From left to right, President Dalton Feldstein, Rabbi Phineas Smoller of Los Angeles, Rabbi Irving Hausman of Congregation B’nai Israel and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath, president of the UAHC (now Union for Reform Judaism) participate in the temple’s 100th anniversary service on Jan. 18, 1952. / Photo courtesy of Congregation B’nai Israel

Unfortunately for the congregation, the original synagogue was burned down during a great fire, which also destroyed many other buildings in the area.

Following the fire, under Rabbi Z. Newstadter, a congregation met at a temporary temple on 5th Street.

By 1864, a new temple on 6th Street, between J and K streets, was consecrated and used for services and other gatherings for the following 40 years.

In about 1880, the congregation shifted from Orthodox Judaism to Reform Judaism.

A new, two-story synagogue with an upstairs sanctuary, a social hall, stage and kitchen, was constructed and opened on 15th Street, between N and O streets, in about 1904.

The history of the Jewish synagogue in the capital city includes many notable Sacramentans.

Among the more notable people who were members of the congregation were David Lubin and Harris Weinstock.

Many present day Sacramentans are familiar with the names Weinstock and Lubin due to the longtime existence of the department store, Weinstock-Lubin and Co., which was located at 11th and K streets. Other locations of the store, which was later known as Weinstock’s, were located in the greater Sacramento area.

The name David Lubin has also been memorialized through the David Lubin Elementary School at 3535 M St. in East Sacramento. The school, which had the previous address 3700 K St., opened in about the mid-1920s.

In addition to his connection to the Weinstock-Lubin store, Lubin is also recognized as the founder of the International Institute of Agriculture.

Weinstock, who was Lubin’s half-brother, was the co-founder of the Sutter Club, the Unitarian and Economic clubs of San Francisco and the Commonwealth Club of California.

Additionally, the temple’s records show that Weinstock, who occupied the temple’s pulpit when no rabbi was present, was responsible for bringing Rabbi Joseph L. Levy to Sacramento.

Children and others attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Riverside synagogue. / Photo courtesy of Congregation B’nai Israel

Levy was recognized as the “bright light of Judaism” and was invited to speak at a variety of temple and civic functions.

Other notable people who were members of the congregation were Isador Cohen, August Heilbron, Albert Elkus and Lewis Gerstle.

Following World War II, the Jewish community of Sacramento expanded immensely.

It was also during this time that the 15th Street synagogue was showing its age.

A joke about the building at the time was that the structure was held together with baling wire.

During the late 1940s, property was purchased for a $250,000 synagogue at the site of the old Riverside Baths, a public swimming pool on Riverside Boulevard and 11th Avenue.

Heading the drive to collect funds for the new temple was the congregation’s president, Dalton Feldstein.

So important was Feldstein’s assistance with the project to have the synagogue constructed that the structure became known as “the house that Dalton built.”

The cornerstone for the Riverside synagogue was laid on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1953 at 11 a.m.

Attending the event were representatives of Gov. Goodwin J. Knight and Congressman John E. Moss, Jr., who placed items in the cornerstone.

Following the cornerstone laying ceremony, public tours of the new building were led by leaders of the congregation.

On Friday, April 2, 1954, the then-recently completed synagogue was dedicated, as more than 1,000 Sacramento Jews, as well as Christians and others, gathered for the event.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the dedication ceremony presented “a spirit of brotherhood among all faiths and all men.”

During the dedication ceremony, Rabbi Irving I. Hausman read a prayer and introduced Feldstein, who he described as the “propelling force” behind the new synagogue.

In his dedicatory address, Feldstein said, “This is the first time in my life that I have had the honor and pleasure of dedicating a house of worship. The problems and the trials that went into bringing (the synagogue) into being are as nothing tonight.”

In the early 1960s, a religious school building, which was later named in memory of Bennett “Buddy” Kandel, was added to the temple grounds.

The synagogue’s records show that from about the mid-1940s until 1985, membership in the congregation grew from about 200 individuals to about 700 families.

It was also in 1985 that a groundbreaking was held for a chapel, a library and an office building.

Another feature of the temple site is the Opper Courtyard, an outdoor sanctuary named after Sy and Estelle Opper and dedicated in April 1998 to Sophia Dubowsky for her devotion to her family and the Jewish community.

On June 18, 1998, a firebomb destroyed the temple’s library, but through much support, funds were raised for the reconstruction of the building.

The trauma and destruction caused by the incident aroused the sympathies of many Jewish and non-Jewish people in the community.

The Opper Courtyard, an outdoor sanctuary named after Sy and Estelle Opper, was dedicated in April 1998. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Following the bombing, Rabbi Mona Alfi commented about this tragedy.

“Ironically, I think that much more will come out of the bombing than any harm that was inflicted upon us,” Alfi said. “I think we’re going to come across as a stronger congregation (and) a more involved congregation.”

The congregation’s ability to persevere and overcome this dark incident in the synagogue’s history is a fine example of the outlook of its members.

In a 1999 documentary about the history of the synagogue, it was mentioned that the true spirit of Congregation B’nai Israel is not in its buildings, but instead in the soul of its members.

Working to serve the spiritual needs of its members and guests, weekly services are led by Rabbi Alfi on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Today, Congregation B’nai Israel, which is recognized as the city’s oldest Jewish congregation, continues to honor its traditions of heritage while “creating a Jewish experience that is relevant to today’s society.”

For additional information regarding Congregation B’nai Israel, call (916) 446-4861 or visit www.bnais.com.