Tuesday, April 20, 2010

ASSIGNMENT # 3 PART B





Secondary sources!!



MT DIABLO IS NOT NAMED AFTER THE DEVIL/IS NOT A VOLCANO!!

Geologists state that Mt Diablo is not a volcano but it sure looks like one, as geologists, as the primary sources have stated that they are still trying to figure it out. We know the rocks are very old but the mountian itself is very young. Why am i talking about Mt Diablo, it stands at 3,849 feet in Danville borderlines and takes up a portion of Danville, so it has and is part of Diablo history. The view from Mt Diablo, which is the highest Mountain in the S.F Bay area, can see as far as 200 miles to the east, north and south, and to the Pacific Ocean on a clear
day.



What also makes Mt Diablo part of Danville history are the facts that Native people felt to have quite significant value to the mountain. The Juipun saw it as the center of the world for them and the birthplace of the world. Hundreds of miles away in the Sierra Nevada, some Northern Miwok saw it as a place where the supernatural beings lit the world and landscape around them, that the mountain touched the sky. The Central Miwok featured Mt Diablo as part of their most sacred ceremonies. The Wintun, their spiritual leaders prayed to the creator from the summit of the mountain. The Volvon , an early area native group, it was part of the homeland which included the summit and most of the mountain an they were a Bay Miwok speaking people. The mountain as early as 1811 was called Cerro Alto de los Bolbones(High Point of the Volvon). Mt Diablo for the 25 independent tribal groups that lived near or around the mountain, Mt Diablo is a spiritual place of worship.


So why the name Mt Diablo, the fire mountain as some call it, though it has lore that it is not a volcano or was one maybe 165 million years ago. Some California geologists say that a giant fold of rock happened some 2 million years ago,with the fault lines of both the Calaveras and the Diablo faults does support this. Sandstone and bedrock make up most of Mt Diablo as seen with Rock City, Castle Rock, Fossil Ridge and Devil's Slide. So why is the lore of giant Mt Diablo still are heard by some, of a old old volcano, when geologists say otherwise. The name El Diablo can be traced back to 1805 when Spanish military troops searched for runaway mission Indians. What is now called Buchanan fields in Concord, a group of Chupcan Indians escaped the Spanish during the night, after being surrounded, disappearing forever into the night and up on to the mountain top. The Spanish both angry and confused, called the mountain "Monte Del Diablo or the "Thicket of the Devil". The word "Monte" was later translated into Mount so to take in the real history of the Spanish and English words, though it was an linguistic accident that this occured.


The lore of Mount Diablo continues even today, though many people who speak of this being an old volcano, as really secondary knowledge brought through both myth and words of mouth and transferred through generations. People who do not know the true history of the mountain, asks when that old devil's mountain going to erupt again and it has been millions of years, or is indeed now extinct. You have to really laugh at this type of talk of the TALLEST MOUNTAIN in the Bay Area. You have to think with the double peak and the overall dimensions of the mountain, it does look very like an volcano but it is not and far from it!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does Mt Diablo have local significance to the S.F Bay Area and also California, you betttacha! Mt Diablo does not only have the history lore of the Spanish and Indigenous people to add to the history of both the S.F Bay Area and California but it is history itself. The mountain was used to stand atop of and chart areas of the S.F Bay Area and California by the Spanish and then Anglos in the 19th century, being almost 4,000 feet in altitude. You could also say that Mt Diablo is also part of history, in the Indigenous people used the mountian for both their religious and spiritual ceremonies. One of the last of the great Grizzly bears was hunted and also killed at the base of the mountain. Mt Diablo does make up a certain amount of local and California history and it still does, as thousands still flock there to view the Bay Area or California on a clear day, hike or view wildlife. (oh where oh where has my grizzly bear gone....only you..can prevent wildfires!!)

ASSIGNMENT # 3 PART A.

Here are some linkts that you might enjoy to read as they are
a mixed of sites for ya'll!


http://www.ci.danville.ca.us/enjoy_danville/historic_danville

http://www.discoverdanvilleca.com/danville-history.php

www.museumsrv.org/srvm_vh_Danville.html

www.americantowns.com/ca/danville-information

http://www.savemountdiablo.org/home.htm

http://www.eugeneoneill.org/

http://www.blackhawkmuseum.org/exhibitions.html

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

ASSIGNMENT #2 PART B



Please right click and then click again for a even bigger picture!


Here are some pictures of Old Danville and these are from the walls of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley and deal with mostly, the Danville line of the Southern Pacific Railroad which came to the valley in 1891....I just wanted you to get a feel of how it looked like in Danville in the 1800's.Thanks again to the Museum of the San Ramon Museum located at now 205 Railroad Ave, Danville, Ca 94526; for letting me take pictures inside the museum and letting me explore a bit for this Danville History blog.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
History significance:the Southern Pacific linked most of the citrus, walnut and other fruit and vegetables fields of the Sam Ramon Valley to California and the outside world. This is also important for a industry that would become quite known in California, the Vineyeard and wine business.This line which stopped in Danville, went onto one of the Bay Area's premiere grape growing areas, Livermore Valley. I will be using the the San Ramon Valley Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad as a primary source, as this pretty much changed Danville and made the San Ramon Valley, the way it is, along with the 680 freeway which i will also discuss in Blog #4.












Danville History Part 1

ASSIGNMENT #2 PART A


1.old salon/2. bakery/3. more bakery 4. foward motion sports
Danville today as we drive through the town



For over 130 years, Danville has been a place of change and growth, as it is referred often as the "Heart of the San Ramon Valley". Danville was first inhabited by Bay Miwok Indians, living in the valleys by the creek's banks and then living up on Mt Diablo during the summer months.It was later part of the huge Mission San Jose grazing land and even later a Mexican land grant called Rancho San Ramon.



Danville was settled and named after Americans drawn here by the California Gold Rush. Daniel and Andrew Inman bought 400 acres of Old Town with their mining earnings in 1854,after living in the area for the summer, two years earlier. By 1858, the community had a blacksmith, a hotel, a wheelwright and a general store and the townspeople wanted a post office.





The name for this new town was debated and several names were thrown in, as Dan Inman had stated and Imnanville was suggested but they decided against that and just named it
Danville, after Dan Inman and close enough to the last name of the Inman's. It was considered
though that the name could of come from Andrew's mother-in-law, who was born and raised near Danville, Kentucky. But many think it was named after the energenic young Dan who was later an Alameda County Assemblyman and Supervisor.




The Danville Post Office opened in 1860 with hotel owner Henry W. Harris as the first postmaster. Harris reported in 1862, that there were 200 people living within the city limits, with 200 ballots casted in the last general election.Hearing the stories of prosperity to be found in California, people from the mid-west and east coast began to settle in Danville and also in the surrounding valleys. Most new residents had been farmers and observed that the valley was fertile and the weather was good and overall a great place to settle. The 1869 census counted
nearly 1,800 people in the combined Danville and Lafayette area. Most squatted on land or purchased land, from the Mexican and other owners and established ranches, farms and also
businesses.


Settlers raised cattle and sheep and grew wheat, barley and onions. Later the farms produced hay, a wide variety of fruit crops like apples, plums, pears, walnuts and almonds etc. In the mid 1800's, horses and wagons hauled these products north to the dockss at Pachecho and Martinez, following Road #2, which wound by San Ramon Creek and was almost impassable during the rainy season, because of flooding.

____________________________________________________
Please go to Blog #3 for information why Danville is historically significant and there will be even more information on Blog #4 on the Southern Pacific Railroad-San Ramon Valley line which brought agriculture, beef and alot more from the San Ramon Valley to the world.


*Information on Danville History is donated by the Museum of San Ramon Valley located at 205 Railroad Ave., Danville Ca 94526 925-837-3750



**Please go and check out the Abraham Lincoln exhibit at the Museum of San Ramon Valley as it has some very nice Civil War pieces and exhibits that all will enjoy, about the Civil War and also President Lincoln.


** Now availiable is a nice book on Vintage Danville: 150 years of Memories..which is a coffee table book which commemorate's Danville's 150th anniversity. The book chronicles Danville's roots, people and the achievements of the Danville community. Local Danville residents, Beverly Lane and Laura Grinstead, put all their effort into this great book with illustations, photographs and experiences, which capture the sprit of the people, places and culture of Danville. The book costs just $35.00 and you can pick up your copy at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, as they got plenty of copies to buy there.

Friday, April 9, 2010

some pics to show you who i am







SOME PICS OF THE TAO HOUSE..EUGENE ONEILL HOUSE..THE PLAYWRIGHT
AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR LITERATURE!!








Why i am putting the pictures of the Tao House up is because i too write books as explain
lower in this blog and Eugene Oneill, like me was a Danville resident and i just wanted to
show you this national Pak and you can visit it by calling the Eugene Oneill Society.The
number is on the Linkt that i have posted below. Here is some quick facts on Eugene Oneill and
the Tao House

-Eugene Oneill and his wife Carlotta built the Tao House and lived there from 1937-1944.
-He wrote 6 plays there including "A Moon for the Misbegotten", "The Iceman Cometh"
and "A Long Day's Journey Into Night" among others.
-Many scholars believe that Eugene Oneill along with Shakespeare and Shaw, was one of the three greatest playwrights in the English-speaking world.

-Eugene Oneill recieved 4 pullisers prizes for his writing and still the only American Playwright
to recieve the Nobel Prize for literature!
-Eugene Oneill and Carlotta purchased land in the San Ramon valley, above what is now Danville in 1937. They put down $15,000.00 deposit for 158 acres which was part of an old Spanish Land
Grant.



Here is my house-------------->>>>>>





Casa de Bonita en Danville Californias





Norte de Alta California








LA CASA DE BONITA ...MAS PICTORIAS O FOTO!












more shots of The Casa De Bonita














my kitties..tiggra and Tabitha..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh



Above are the pics of Casa De Bonita, the name of my house since i am a book writer and then hopefully like my fellow Danville writer Eugene O'Neil. I will have my books published one day and then be able to name my house, like he did with his, in the Tao house! Dream on huh!




I moved into Casa De Bonita in 1997 and have done several extra additions including planting a whole different garden in, with all tropical plants including Banana trees, Caladuims, 3 types of
canna's, Alocasia(2 types), Philodendrons, Cyathea, Heliconias, Musa, Strelitzia (The Bird of Paradise),Sword Ferns, Boston Ferns, Silver Lady Ferns, 4 types of Lilies, Royal Palms, Queen Palms, Mexican Fan Palms, Bamboo(2 types), Australian Tree Ferns, New Zealand Tree Ferns
and alot more....I am planning on planting even more tropical plants later on in the spring and take out the last non tropical bush from my backyard and put my wood bench and more Queen palms, Tree Ferns and Alocasias(Elephant Ears) there where the bush was, maybe a small fountain also.


I have also put new wooden floors in the kitchen and dining area and added some extra security lights in the backyard. My next big project after getting the big bush in the back out and then
replaced with what i want there, will be my Attrium job. I am planning on getting rid of two walls and opening the living room area with an open wall library on just two sides with book shelves to the wall on those two sides, a desk/chair and a lounge chair for reading. You can tell by the pictures of part of my library, i need more space for my books and i am always getting new books to read and keep in my library. I will be closing off my Attruim with an sundome , so the sunlight can still get in while it is sunny out. The outside backyard job and the Attruim job will be the last two things i will need to do for awhile on the house!



My library includes literature from authors such as Shakespeare, Kipling, Frost, Steinbeck, Hemingway, London, Twain, Hawthorne, Austen, Dickens, Forster, Jules, H.G Wells, Mr Poe, Muhlbach, Voltaire, Plato, Socrates, Carroll, Milton, Dumas, Thoreau, Sinclair, Hobbes, Humes,
Locke, Longfellow, Hugo, Milton, Scott, just to name just a few of the many pieces of literatures
i have in books!
I also have quite a collection of history books and nature/fauna/flora and Amazon/tropical rainforest books along with books on mammals, reptiles and pretty much any type of things to do with nature including several of Darwin and Mr Spencer! I ADORE a good sci-fi book so i
have alot of those in both paperback and hard back books!