History Detectives in Isleton December 3rd - 6th

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) through Oregon Public Broadcasting filmed their History Detectives episode of the Bing Kong Tong Building and its artifacts December 3rd through the 6th.

Charlene Andersson, Roger Chinn, and Lucille Searle are three of the interviewees for the episode which will be tentatively aired in June 2008. Curator Ed Concepcion assisted as gofer for History Detective Gwen Wright and producers Laura Dickson and Renato Rodriguez.

Scenes in the episode tentatively include the Bing Kong Tong Building; Lucille Searle's Hop Fat Building; the artifacts at the interim museum at 203 Second Street; the Isleton Library; and Muddy Waters Coffee House. Above is History Detective Gwen Wright preparing for a scene in Muddy Waters Coffee House.

General Meeting Election Results of November 18

The general meeting of November 18 was the election of officers and board members meeting. The officers and board members for 2008-2009 are:

Interim President: Karen Franscioni

Vice-President: Charlene Andersson

Secretary: Pamela Bulahan

Treasurer: Sharon Fong

Board members: Joani Johnson, Bill Cox, Pam Sweet, Ross Peters, and Ed Concepcion.

The previous board for 2007 were all-Isleton Grammar School-Isleton Elementary School alumni. The current board are all associated with Main Street past and present:

Karen and Charlene have Main Street buildings as do Sharon's relatives. Pamela once temporarily lived on Main Street while the primary home was being repaired due to 1972 flood damage.

The November issue of the Old Town News is here!

The November issue of Old Town News of the IBAHS has been released! Click on the link to read the newsletter: OldTownNewsIBAHSNovember2007.
Original copy of the newsletter created, edited, and is printed by board member Karen Franscioni on MS Works software. The actual copy is scanned as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file and uploaded on this site by IBAHS staff.

Class of 1957 Reunion at the Museum October 20th

The Isleton Grammar School eighth grade class of 1957 held their reunion at the museum on 203 Second Street. When this class was in eighth grade in 1957, 203 Second Street was the Gardiner Improvement Company hardware and general merchandise store. IBAHS treasurer Sharon Fong is in this class. Pictures of this event are displayed in the Gallery link on this site. Here is the class photo in 1957. Instructions for viewing pictures in the Gallery Link to view captions and descriptions: Click on the picture in the Gallery and picture will move to the left of the screen as another box with text appears next to picture. There will be a link called "view larger image." Click on the link and the picture will enlarge. The full description of the picture will be above the enlarged picture.

The September 2007 issue of the Old Town News of the IBAHS has been released.
Original copy of the newsletter created, edited, and printed by board member Karen Franscioni on MS Works and scanned to Acrobat document by IBAHS staff. You can view the newsletter by clicking this link:
OldTownNewsSep2007.PDF

Pioneer Day and General Meeting October 6th

The Pioneer Day and third general meeting for 2007 was held Saturday, October 6th during regular museum hours at 203 Second Street, this time in the upstairs meeting room. Discussing Isleton in earlier times are Carl Hennige, Nick Catanio, and Kenny Silva.
Carl Hennige's mother Alice Himebauch was the first Isleton Asparagus Queen and the museum has an exhibit noting this. Nick Catanio recently exhibited a family photo display at an Isleton gathering in August. Kenny Silva is a lifelong Isleton-area resident. Carl described being able to ride the Delta Queen as a child and his parents' and grandparents' community service in Isleton.
Nick Catanio discussed life on Sherman Island, attending school on Sherman and Twitchell Islands, and farming activities. Nick said that horses and not tractors were widely used on the farms when he was growing up.
Kenny Silva talked about activities on Isleton Main Street, attending school in town and working on the farms to help his family after his father's death. Approximately twenty attendees listened to the presentation.
Tea available at the event was provided by Victoria's Teas and Treasures of Isleton's Main Street.
The next Pioneer Day for 2007 will be scheduled soon with another set of guest speakers to discuss earlier times in Isleton and its surrounding region.

Collectibles & White Elephant Sale Has Been Moved to October 13, 2007

Joani Johnson of My Favorite Things at 15 Main Street is the chair for the Collectibles and White Elephant Sale now rescheduled for a third time for Saturday, October 13, 2007 due to wet conditions at the sale venue on the 22nd and short notice for the 29th. This is a community-wide yard sale. For those residents that want to host their own yard sale, please notify us of the address of the sale and the times which the sale is held. The main venue for the sale has also been changed. It is now at the Isleton Community Center on Jackson Boulevard.
Please visit Joani at her store or contact Charlene at (916) 777-5186, Ed at (916) 777-4426, or email at info@isletonhistory.org.

Pioneer Day July 28th

The second Pioneer Day and general meeting for 2007 were held on Saturday, July 28 from 12PM to 4PM at the Museum on 203 Second Street, also known over the years as the Gardiner Improvement Building, The Big Red Building, and the Isleton. Scheduled guest speakers for the afternoon were Betty Fujimoto Kashiwagi and Bea Rogers Morgan discussing earlier times in Isleton. Rogers Morgan, who is part of the Valine family in Isleton, talked about the Del Rio Hotel when her father Manuel and brother Bob built the 1949 structure. Fujimoto Kashiwagi talked about life in Isleton up until she was fourteen and her family was sent to internment camps at Walerga in North Highlands and later on to Arkansas. The next Pioneer Day will be announced later this fall. If you are a former or present long-time resident and want to participate please call Curator at (916) 777-4426, President at (916) 777-5186 or email info@isletonhistory.org.

Reminder of regularly scheduled meetings

Board meetings are now held on the the third Thursday monthly effective June 21, 2007. The time of 6PM and location of Delta Daze Inn on 20 Main Street remain the same. Any questions concerning this please email info@isletonhistory.org.

Board Meeting Day changed

Board meeting days have now been changed to the Third Thursday monthly instead of the Third Wednesday. Workshops, which were originally the first Wednesday monthly, will now be scheduled as needed. This is effective starting with the June 21 meeting. Meeting time of 6PM and location of Delta Daze Inn at 20 Main Street remain the same.

Isleton Pioneer Day and General Meeting

The next Pioneer Day and general meeting will be held on Saturday, July 28, 2007 during regular Museum operating hours. Another set of area residents will talk about life in Isleton and surrounding region. Please email info@isletonhistory.org for more information.

Isleton School Reunion

The 1957 eighth grade class of Isleton Union Grammar School is in the initial stages of planning for their fiftieth class reunion this year. Tentative date is Saturday, October 20th, 2007. Place and time for the reunion to be announced shortly. Please contact Sharon at fongsrae@yahoo.com for more information.

Author to speak at Museum Saturday, April 21st

Author Peter Jamero will be the guest speaker during regular Museum hours, 1 to 4 PM, on Saturday, April 21st at the Isleton Brannan Andrus Museum, 203 Second Street. Peter's wife, the former Teresa Romero, is an alumna of Isleton Grammar School and Rio Vista High School. Peter, currently an Atwater resident, will be discussing his 2006 autobiography published by the University of Washington Press.

Old Town News of the IBAHS Newsletter is available!

The latest issue of the Old Town News of the IBAHS is out! You can see it here:
C%3A%5CDocuments%20and%20Settings%5Cbulmap%5CMy%20Documents%5COldTown.pdf
Original copy of the newsletter created and printed by board member Karen Franscioni on MS Works and scanned to Acrobat document by IBAHS staff.

General Meeting Sunday, March 4th

The first general meeting for 2007 has been timed to coincide with the Museum resuming opening hours after the winter break. The Museum will be open from 1PM to 4PM weekends starting March 3rd.

The general meeting will be on Sunday, March 4 at 1PM. Scheduled guest speaker is architect Roger Chinn, who grew up on Main Street Isleton. Museum is located in "The Isleton" also known to oldtimers as the Gardiner Improvement or Big Red Building on 203 Second Street.

For more information please email info@isletonhistory.org or call the Curator at (916) 777-4426.