Administrator’s Notes
by Ralph Gibson, Museums Administrator
It’s been an unusually mild summer and a few leaves in some trees have already begun to give us a sneak peek at the upcoming fall fashion. I love autumn and Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I have been ready for this since June. There are already Halloween lights flashing on my desk.
It’s a busy time for us because we have a lot of seasonal events. The first will be the re-installation of our exhibit, A Grave Affair, in the Treasury of the historic Courthouse. This exhibit interprets the death and mourning rituals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibit will open September 12th and run through Halloween. Next up is the Old Auburn Cemetery Tour on Sunday, October 5th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. You don’t need reservations, just show up and be prepared to meet some interesting characters from our past.
As noted in a prior issue, I am retiring this year, and my last day will be Halloween. I’ve been looking back through our files and found this nugget from the minutes of our staff meeting on September 11, 2008: “Ralph reported that he has been working with Bev Lewis from the Placer County Film office on a new exhibit in the History on the Go space in the gallery. It will be on movies that were filmed in Placer County. The four movies will be: Gold Rush (Truckee), Greed (Iowa Hill), Godfather II (Lake Tahoe), and Phenomenon (Auburn). The exhibit will be on display for approximately a year and a half.”
If I recall, that exhibit was on display for about two and a half years before being replaced with one of many subsequent exhibits on local cemeteries. Speaking of cemeteries, I hope to see you all at the Old Auburn Cemetery Tour on October 5th!
New Donation Highlight
By Kasia Woroniecka , Curator of Collections
Greetings from a Haunted Past: Highlights from a Halloween Postcard Collection
By Kasia Woroniecka, Curator of Collections
The tradition of Halloween greeting cards began in the United States in the 1890s, with postcards becoming especially popular between 1900 and 1920, a period often considered the “golden age” of Halloween postcards. Much like Christmas and birthday cards, Halloween cards grew into a cherished custom in the early 20th century, featuring colorful illustrations and familiar holiday motifs.
Early Halloween postcards commonly depicted classic imagery such as witches, black cats, and jack-o’-lanterns, with the jack-o’-lantern emerging as an especially prominent symbol. As the holiday grew in popularity, so did the demand for themed cards. By the mid-20th century, companies like Hallmark helped commercialize Halloween greetings through mass production and national marketing campaigns.
We recently accepted a large collection of postcard albums, including a few fascinating examples of early Halloween postcards that highlight this unique and whimsical aspect of American holiday history. Here are a few examples:
New Exhibit Lights Up the Placer County Museum
By Jason Adair, Exhibit Technician
Volunteer Spotlight
By Katy Bartosh, Curator of Education
This issue’s docent spotlight is Ron Grove. Ron was a high school history teacher, but when he retired, he was looking for something history-related to do. “I heard great things about how the volunteers for the museums were treated so well and went to the training in 2018 with Beth and the rest is history.” I asked him what his favorite object was at the museums: “Probably the soda machine in the Courthouse. It’s so cool and attracts a lot of attention with visitors. It’s such a great story too.” If any of you have met Ron, you might have noticed he has an endless supply of “Dad jokes” on tap. “I knew I had to do something to get students interested in history, so my "hook" was what came to be called Grove jokes. One stand by, when teaching the Constitution I mentioned that the Bill of Rights was going to be called the William of Rights, but that was too formal. Some kids rolled their eyes (ok they all did) but they did listen and learned history isn't so bad.”
Annual History Award
This year’s History Award is a very special one for the Placer County Docent Museum Docents and all those folks who love our county museums. Ralph Gibson is leaving his post at the leader of the museum program after years of expanding, improving and guiding the museums. All those who have worked with him appreciate his work ethic, (he attends every meeting and every event), his kind manner, his wise counsel and even his shirt choice!
Ralph will be missed by all of us. Please join us at the October 2, 2025 Placer County Historical Society general dinner meeting to honor Ralph.
Non-members are welcome to join us to honor Ralph. Dinner is $30.00 per person and reservations must be made before September 28th. Please RSVP to rsvp.pchs@gmail.com
We can accommodate vegetarian or gluten free requests only. You must indicate that special request when you rsvp.
In that reply, please let us know if you will be paying at the door or via Venmo at placer-historical-society.
The meeting starts at 6:00 pm. Please join us to honor Ralph!
Rocklin Historical Society Cemetery Tour
The Rocklin Historical Society will be hosting tours of the Rocklin Cemetery on Day of the Dead (Saturday, Nov. 1). We will be offering two tours of the gravesites of notable residents in the cemetery – one from 10 a.m. to noon and the second from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Each tour will be limited to 20 people (age 16 and older).
Volunteers depicting the notable residents will be stationed at select gravesites to offer a brief history of the resident as well as his/her impact on our community.
Tickets, at $20 per person (or $15 for Rocklin Historical Society members), can be purchased on Evite starting in mid-October. Watch Facebook and our website (rocklinhistorical.org) for more details.
Proceeds from this event will benefit our Secret Garden, which is being developed behind the Rocklin Library in memory of Rocklin’s first county librarian, Jennie Minkkinen.
For more information, send an email to rocklinhistorical@gmail.com.
Chinese Cemetery Memorial Plaque Unveiling
The Golden Drift Historical Society is hosting a Memorial Plaque Unveiling on Saturday, September 13, 2025. The ceremony will commence at 11 am with a Taoist Blessing Ceremony, followed by the unveiling of the Memorial Plaque honoring Dutch Flat’s Chinese Pioneers and an Incense Offering.
Dutch Flat’s Chinese Cemetery Restoration Project is a joint effort of the Golden Drift Historical Society and the Chinatown History and Culture Association, with support from the CCBA, and many other organizations and individuals.
Placer County Historical Society
Please go to www.placercountyhistoricalsociety.org for more information
