Administrator’s Notes
Ralph Gibson, Museums Administrator
We’re in the middle of summer and that means fire season. I hope all of you stay safe as the weather gets warmer and the woods around us more combustible. It seems each summer there is one historic fire after another. For good or bad, history has a way of being made in summer.
The summer of 1959 was no different. The first week of the summer of ’59, the historic Orleans Hotel was demolished to make way for a Shell Gas Station. The Orleans stood on that site (where the Valero gas station is today) since at least 1870.
Also in the summer of ’59, the Gold Country Fair revived the old Gold Rush Revival after a ten year hiatus and made it part of the fair celebration.
But there was another historic event in Auburn that summer: the 1959 Auburn All Stars Little League team was on a roll. It began with the opening game of the area tournament on July 23rd and ended on August 30th in the championship game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Though they lost that game to a team from Michigan, over 3,000 people greeted them on their return to Auburn on August 31st.
In the summer of 1959, Auburn lost a little history and gained a little history. If you’d like to learn more about the Auburn All Stars Little League team that made it all the way to Williamsport, visit the Placer County Museum in the Historic Courthouse and embrace a little bit of the magic from that historic summer.
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Auburn Little League All-Stars celebration in Central Square, Auburn. PCM, Auburn Journal Collection. |
The History of Ice Cream
Kasia Woroniecka, Curator of Collections
Ice cream is one of the world’s oldest desserts and a favorite in the United States, where according to the International Dairy Foods Association an average person consumes around twenty-three pounds of ice cream per year. The most popular ice cream flavors are vanilla and chocolate. California is the country’s leading ice cream producer, with over one hundred million gallons made annually. Yet until the early 1800s, ice cream was a rare and expensive dessert enjoyed mostly by the wealthy. This changed with the design of the insulated icehouse, the development of ice harvesting and the invention of the ice cream freezing machine. Manufacturing ice cream became an industry in America in the mid-19th century and ice cream production increased because of many technological inventions, including electric power, mechanical refrigeration and packing machines. We have a few objects in our collection that help illustrate the history of mass production of ice cream.
Before the invention of the ice cream freezer, ice cream was a flavored slushy mixture with chunks of ice. In 1843 Nancy Johnson, a homemaker from Maryland, invented the ice cream freezing machine, which revolutionized the ice cream making process. The machine is a manual device cranked by a handle. It consists of a wooden bucket that would contain crushed ice and salt and the pewter cylinder that would contain the ice cream mixture. Inside the cylinder is a dasher that would be attached to the lid, which then would be bolted on to the handle, and turned to make the ice cream. The process took about 45 minutes. The technique of adding salt to the ice surrounding the cylinder created an endothermic reaction that lowered the freezing point allowing for the mixture inside the cylinder to freeze. The machine sold quickly and was produced by many companies, including the Alaska Freezer Company.
This Alaska Freezer Company ice cream freezer, currently on display at the Bernhard Museum, was donated to our collection in 1982. The company was established in Winchendon, Massachusetts, in 1902. In 1963 the company bought the White Mountain Freezer Company and produced under that name as well. The White Mountain Freezer Company was established in 1872 and in the early days was the largest ice cream freezer maker in the world. In 1974 it was purchased by an investor group and renamed the White Mountain Freezer Inc.
Ice cream became widely available to the public in the mid-19th century. By the 1920s people consumed it mostly in drug store soda fountains, ice cream parlors, lunch counters restaurants and other public spaces. Although in the beginning ice cream flavors were mostly lemon and vanilla, the Roseville Tribune Register reported on May 5th, 1933, that “during the year 1932 the county produced a total of 5,024 gallons of ice cream – strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and every color, flavor and combination known to modern creamery. In the entire state of California more than 10,000,000 gallons of the frozen delicacy were produced. (…). Reasons for this tremendous growth include improved methods of manufacture, more efficient and wider distribution made by the electric storage cabinet, better road conditions and refrigerated transportation.”
In the early 1900s ice cream was packed onto brick molds, which were cut into smaller pieces and wrapped in parchment paper for sale. Commercially made ice cream came in large metal cans. The availability of refrigeration in the 1930s made it possible for consumers to keep store-bought ice cream at home. Automated filling machines changed the way ice cream was packaged and wax-coated cardboard boxes became popular.
We have two ice cream cartons in our collection. Wood’s Ice Cream, owned by Sherman Woods, was produced in Auburn. The company had an ice cream parlor on Lincoln Way, which also served home cooked lunches.
Holly-Maid Ice Cream was made in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Ice Cream Company, and began production in 1923.
The Betsy Ross of Horseshoe Bar
April McDonald-Loomis, Placer County Historical Society
Sarah Capson was only 15 years old when she and her mother Elizabeth made a harrowing trip via the Isthmus to join her father, sea captain Robert Capson in California in 1852. They endured an overcrowded ship with little food and water and with Panama Fever running rampant through the ship’s passengers. But they safely made it to Horseshoe Bar. Her father put together a home that was part tent and part brush on the banks of the American River.
As it was nearing the Fourth of July, Mr. Sealey, who had a boarding house on the Bar, came up with idea of erecting a flag pole so miners up and down the river could see the American flag waving from Horseshoe Bar. A committee of miners came to the house and asked if Sarah could make a flag for the occasion. They bought the material for her and she proceeded to make a large Flag with thirty-one stars. Sarah’s mother probably helped her make the large flag. Miners Charles O’Neil, who later became Chief of Police in Sacramento, and Lorenzo Coombs volunteered to make the pole, which was an astounding 100 feet tall.
News of the event became known up and down the river. On the evening of July 4th, men from Smith’s Bar, Rattlesnake Bar, Kentucky Bar, Oregon Bar, Granite Bar, Dolan’s Bar, Long Bar, and Milk Punch Bar marched with torches toward Horseshoe Bar. It was said that nearly 500 men assembled. The men of many nations gathered and as the evening wore on, they all began to sing their own national songs, in their native languages, at the same time!
The flag raising was a success and accompanied by the roar of artillery. They found a granite stone of some four feet square, buried it in the road in front of the flag pole and using an anvil and fuses, “fired salvos that could be heard for miles around.” Sarah was given the honor of “christening” the flag with a goblet of wine. As she did she gave a small speech: ”the Flag of our Union, long may it be the hope of the oppressed and home of the free.”
There was a band of eleven pieces made up by the miners and they played the Star-Spangled Banner. A large barbecue followed with alcohol flowing freely. At about 3:00 in the morning, the miners picked up their torches and those who could, began walking back to their camps. It was said that in the long line of torch light, every once in a while, one would suddenly drop from sight and burn out on the ground, the bearer evidently unable to make it any further up the trail.
Sarah married James Smyth in October 1852. They had a store near the Franklin House on the Auburn-Folsom Road. It was the site of a famous shoot-out between Sheriff John Boggs and the Tom Bell gang. Sarah and James returned to Horseshoe Bar in 1860 where James and his partners managed to turn the course of the river twenty-eight times in order to mine the riverbed.
They planted a large orchard and had ten children. Their sons would run the successful Smyth Brothers Nursery in Loomis for many years.
The above account was taken primary from an article in the Placer Herald 12 March 1921 and Gold & Schemes by Bill Wilson.
Valeria “Yay” Panlilio
Katy Bartosh, Curator of Education
With the end of the school year, the Living History program is on summer break and I’m free to return my attention to the various projects I’m forced to set aside each season. One of these is a list of interesting people from Placer County that I hope to someday integrate into an exhibit or program. On my list is a woman named Valeria “Yay” Panlilio. I only have a few newspaper articles and photos in her folder, but one day I hope to include her story in educational material for students at the DeWitt History Museum.
Born in Denver, Colorado in 1913, Panlilio’s mother was from the Philippines and her father was Irish-American. Eventually, the family moved to Auburn where Panlilio’s attended Placer Union High School. She married Eduardo Panlilio in 1929 and graduated in 1930.
After graduating, Panlilio moved to the Philippines with her husband and had three children while working as a journalist for The Philippines Herald. The couple separated prior to the war, and Panlilio stayed in Manila with her children. When the war broke out, Panlilio joined the underground resistance movement against Japanese occupation. Serving as a radio broadcaster, she passed intelligence through code to the United States military. This was soon discovered by the Japanese and she fled into the Sierra Madre.
There, Panlilio met Marcos Agustin, the leader of the Marking’s Guerillas. Panlilio became a vital asset, planning their operations, handling administrative duties, and training members. She was named second-in-command as Colonel Yay. In her honor, a detachment of the Marking’s was named the Yay Regiment. This regiment was integral to the Battle of Ipo Dam in 1945. The Japanese were routed, and the dam was captured.
Panlilio returned to the United States in 1945, and she and her three children lived with her mother and step-father in Auburn. Here, she spoke about her experiences behind enemy lines in the Philippines. “A little occupation makes you fully realize the sweets of freedom.”
After the war, Panlilio continued her work as a journalist in the States and was awarded the Medal of Freedom. In 1950 she published her autobiography The Crucible, which detailed her experiences in the Philippines. Panlilio died in 1978, but her resistance and strength provide an interesting link for Placer County to the wider story of World War II.
News from the Placer County Historical Society
April McDonald-Loomis, President
The other good news is the Placer County Museums Docent Guild Anniversary Tea that the Society helped fund was a success. It was a lovely event, two of our own Society members were the creative team behind event. Carol Cramer as over-all coordinator and Carolynn Basque as chief caterer and all around party person! Both did a great job.
For the other news, long time member and board director Betty Samson passed recently. Betty gave untold hours to the Society. She rarely missed a meeting until the last few years. Her dedication and work for protecting and fostering the history of our area has been significant and she will be missed by many.
Placer County Historical Organizations Calendar
Please confirm all meeting times and locations which each organization
Foresthill Divide Historical Society Meeting: Monday, July 18th at 6:00pm
Golden Drift Historical Society Meeting: Monday, August 1st at 7:00pm
Historical Advisory Board Meeting: Wednesday, August 17th at 5:30pm
Historical Organizations Committee Meeting: Tuesday, August 2nd at 9:00am
Loomis Basin Historical Society Meeting: Wednesday, July 20th at 6:00pm; Wednesday, August 17th at 6:00pm
Placer County Historical Society Meeting: Thursday, July 7th at 2:00pm
Placer Sierra Railroad Heritage Society: Tuesday, July 26th at 7:00pm; August 23rd at 7:00pm
Placer Genealogical Society Meeting: Monday, June 25th at 7:00pm; Monday, August 22nd at 7:00pm
Rocklin Historical Society Meeting: Monday, July 11th at 6:00pm; Monday, August 8th at 6:00pm
Roseville Historical Society Meeting: Tuesday, July 12th at 4:00pm; Tuesday, August 9th at 4:00pm
Placer County Historical Organizations
Donner Summit Historical Society
Bill Oudegeest
(209) 606-6859
donnersummithistoricalsociety.org
Foresthill Divide Historical Society
Fruitvale School Hall Community Association
Mark Fowler
Gold Country Medical History Museum
(530) 885-1252
Golden Drift Historical Society
Sarah Fugate
(530) 389-2121
Historical Advisory Board
Glenn Vineyard
(916) 747-1961
Joss House Museum and Chinese History Center
Larry Finney
(530) 305-9380
Lincoln Area Archives Museum
Elizabeth Jansen
(916) 645-3800
laamca.org
Lincoln Highway Association
Trey Pitsenberger
Loomis Basin Historical Society
Karen Clifford
(916) 663-3871
ppgn.com/loomishistorical.html
Maidu Museum & Historic Site
Kaitlin Kincade
(916) 774-5934
roseville.ca.us/indianmuseum
Native Sons of the Golden West Parlor #59
Dave Allen
(530) 878-2878
dsallen59@sbcglobal.net
Newcastle Portuguese Hall Association
Mario Farinha
(530) 269-2412
North Lake Tahoe Historical Society
(530) 583-1762
northtahoemuseums.org
Old Town Auburn Preservation Society
Lynn Carpenter
(530) 885-1252
Placer County Genealogical Society
Diane Fishburn
pcgs.pcgenes.com
Placer County Historical Society
April McDonald-Loomis
(530) 823-2128
placercountyhistoricalsociety.org
Placer County Museums Docent Guild
Craig Norris
Placer Sierra Railroad Heritage Society
Chuck Spinks
chuck.spinks@outlook.com
Rocklin Historical Society
rocklinhistorical@gmail.com
rocklinhistory.org
Roseville Historical Society
Denise Fiddyment
(916) 773-3003
