The Plumas County Museum announces “Find Out Friday,” its lecture series for 2025. Beginning in August and running through October, this series invites the public to “Find Out” about several exciting aspects of northern California history. These educational and thought-provoking presentations will feature the latest work of local authors, scholars and educators.
Friday, Aug. 15, author Steve Schoonover will discuss his new book, Before Ishi: The Life and Times of the Yahi. Schoonover not only reconstructs the history of the Yahi Indians of northern California, but also attempts to unravel and separate facts from the myths that have surrounded their story. Although much has been written about Ishi, the last Yahi, this work turns the spotlight onto the Yahi tribe itself and explores the tribes’ remarkable adaptation to a hostile environment and their ultimately fatal destruction.
Friday, Sept. 19, scholar Vanessa Stevens introduces the life and legacy of Mary Pulsifer-Ames, a leading botanist, botany collector, and meteorological observer during the 1870s and 1890s. Credited with helping establish “the foundation to our knowledge of the vegetation “ of northeastern California, she spent much of her life living near Taylorsville in Plumas County.
Friday, Oct. 24, educator and historian Richard Burrill presents his latest book, Ishi is Given a Second Life. This is the third volume in his “Ishi’s Time in San Francisco” trilogy. Covering the years 1915–1916, this is the story of Ishi and his activities in San Francisco during the twilight of his life, when he lived with the Waterman family, visited world fairs, and worked with Edward Sapir in preserving and salvaging the Yahi language. It is also the time that Ishi was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a sickness that would ultimately end his life on March 25, 1916.
The Plumas County Museum Association invites the public to join them this summer as they explore and “Find Out” more about local area history. All presentations run from 6–7 p.m. at the Plumas County Library, 445 Jackson Street in Quincy. They are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the museum at 500 Jackson Street in Quincy, CA. Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or contact the museum at 530-283-6320.
Information provided by Plumas County Museum Association
