Libraries around SLO County put on special events for Local History Month
This month, libraries throughout all of San Luis Obispo County will be observing Local History Month in a series of short programs starting this Thursday. Three special programs are in the North County.
In a news release I received recently, Pam DeTilla, reference and adult services coordinator for the San Luis Obispo County library system, said that, “Because San Luis Obispo County is one of the oldest communities in California with a strong influence of native and immigrant cultures, it boasts a rich history.”
In this Thursday’s talk at the Santa Margarita Library, Baxter Trautman, local biologist, and Cherie Roe, head of the Santa Margarita Historical Society, will join in a conversation led by local personality Guy Rathburn on the subject of the flora, fauna and cultural landmarks of Santa Margarita.
That program, “Knowing the Lay of Our Land,” will begin at 6 p.m. On the same night, right here in the Atascadero Library located on the historic Hotel Park hillside, Atascadero Historical Society President Jim Wilkins will give a presentation about the society’s proposed Colony Heritage Center Project. The program will begin at 7 p.m.
Another program will be held at the Atascadero Library on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m., when I will give a talk and show photos about the Atascadero doll and toy industry.
At the Nipomo Library, you can hear a talk on the life of Henry Tefft on Sept. 5 at 10:30 a.m., and on Sept. 19 you can learn about the “mystics, misfits and more who inhabited the Coastal Dunes in the early 1900s.” That program begins at 10:30 a.m. The library will also host a local history book fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Other programs on Sept. 19 include “Morro Bay History for Kids” from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Morro Bay Library, and, at the Arroyo Grande Library, “The Lost City of Demille,” where Will Meyst from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center will share photos and information about the excavation in the Guadalupe Dunes of the 1923 set of the film “The Ten Commandments.” That program begins at 2 p.m.
On Sept. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m., the San Luis Obispo City-County Library presents a series of “SLO Stories,” where you can chat with costumed characters from the past, view historical items and photographs, and talk with local historians about this county.
If you need more information, you can visit the San Luis Obispo Library’s website at www.slolibrary.org.
This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Libraries around SLO County put on special events for Local History Month."