Hitting a few more sites on the way home... - 1/5/2014

On the way home we decided to grab a few more historic sites-- never-mind the fact that it adds hours to the drive home. We are adventurers, so a little extra time on the road is just fine for us!

Our first stop was in Snelling to see the first courthouse in Merced County, Snelling Courthouse (CHL 409). Snelling is a tiny, tiny town to the east of Highway 99.

From the CA Parks website: "This, the first courthouse in Merced County, was erected in 1857. This monument commemorates the 75th anniversary of the organization of Merced County and is dedicated to the memory of our pioneers by Yosemite Parlor No. 24, N.S.G.W., Merced, May 20, 1930."

We lost all internet here so a nice young lady at the gas station helped guide us to Merced.

We saw yet another 934 in Merced. Sadly there are 11 assembly centers in Calfornia-- that is 11 too many!

This assembly center was again located on the County Fairgrounds. Information from the California Parks website states, "NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-MERCED ASSEMBLY CENTER - This was one of 15 temporary detention camps established during World War II to incarcerate persons of Japanese ancestry, a majority of whom were American citizens, without specific charges or trial. From May to September 1942, 4,669 residents of Northern California were detained until permanent relocation camps were built. May the injustices and humiliation suffered here as a result of hysteria, racism, and economic exploitation never recur."

Each of the 934 sites we have visited have different descriptions-- we were struck by the language in the final sentence, it is much, much stronger than any we have read thus far.

With these two sites we have now completed our second county-- we are finished with Merced County!!!

We now drove down to Fresno County to catch three that looked so simple on the map. Sadly, the map never tells the whole truth.

This site is NO. 803 Site of the first Junior College in California. "Constructed in 1895, the school was known as Fresno High School from 1895-1921. Established as the first junior college of California in 1910, in 1911 it became a normal school, forerunner to Fresno State College. From 1921 to 1948 it was called Fresno Technical High School, and Fresno Junior College from 1948 to 1959. Plaque placed by the Fresno Tech Alumni Association."

The complex where the plaque was, sadly wasn't opened on Sunday, so this was as close as we got to it.

Next we headed to our second IWW site in our adventures thus far CHL 873 Site of the Fresno Free Speech Fidht of the Industrial Workers of the World. While I sat in the car with Bella, Ron and Libi went in search of the plaque that was supposed to be located in a planter. Sadly there was an ice rink in the middle of the plaza, so they never got to the actual plaque, but they came close. Strike two for easy things in Fresno.

Near this site from October 1910 to March 1911, the Industrial Workers of the World fought for the right of free speech in their efforts to organize Fresno's unskilled labor force. According to the California website, "This was the first fight for free speech in California, and the first attempt to organize the valley's unskilled workers."

Next was our final 934 of this trip--Temporary Detention Camps for Japanese Americans-- Fresno Assembly Center (CHL 934). This plaque was located inside the Fresno District Fairgrounds, so we could only get close with my zoom lens! Strike three Fresno!!!

The California Parks website description reads: "This memorial is dedicated to over 5,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined at the Fresno Fairgrounds from May to October 1942. This was an early phase of the mass incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II pursuant to Executive Order 9066. They were detained without charges, trial or establishment of guilt. May such injustice and suffering never recur."

Our final scheduled stop was probably the coolest of the day... Site of the Flight of the Gossamer Condor (CHL 923). Shafter airport where the flight took place is a short drive to the west of Highway 99.

In 1959 a competition was set up by Henry Kramer to find the first group that could fly a human-powered aircraft over a one mile course. The prize was 50,000 pounds if you could fly the aircraft over a 1.6 km figure-eight course which had a ten-foot pole to fly over at the start and end of the course.

Dr. Paul MacCready, Jr. and his partners set to work on their design. After testing the Pasadena and Mojave versions of the plane, he felt they were ready to try for the prize. On August 23, 1977 at Shafter Airport Bryan Allen, a hang gliding pilot and amateur bicyclist flew the Gossamer Condor. The flight took six minutes and twenty-two seconds and won the cash prize.

The plane is now on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum-- so we will absolutely have to check it out next time we are there!

There was also a documentary made about the flight, which won an Academy Award. You can see an excerpt here where you can see the Gossamer Condor cross the 10-foot pole at the end of the Kramer Course.

Our final stop for the day was a bit of a fluke-- we pass Fort Tejon (CHL 129) on every drive to my folks house, but we always have Bella with us. I checked the website to see if it was dog friendly, but couldn't find anything about animals on the site.

Today we decided to stop and get a plaque photo-- even though we didn't get to go on the grounds. Note: they do allow dogs on leash, so if you want to stop with your pooch you can!

From the California parks website: "This military post was established by the United States Army on June 24, 1854, to suppress stock rustling and protect the Indians in the San Joaquin Valley. Camels for transportation were introduced here in 1858. As regimental headquarters of the First Dragoons, Fort Tejón was an important military, social, and political center - it was abandoned September 11, 1864."

This is the second site that has involved camels-- the first being the Drum Barracks-- I guess in the 1850s camels were thought to be the transportation of the future :)