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August 2016 The Spirit of the Old West: Honoring Our Past, Educating Our Future By Jody Morgan
Serving Danville
The Spirit of the Old West at the Blackhawk Museums is a powerful tribute to two vastly different civilizations that collided across the American West – one losing an ancestral homeland, the other claiming an intractable wilderness. Each side of the exhibition immerses visitors in the culture presented. A 140-foot long topographic table recreates events that marked the westward expansion of the United States. Artifacts used by Plains Indians and American settlers are displayed against a backdrop of colorful murals. Animals indigenous to the mountains, plains, and valleys enhance the sense of entering an earlier time and wilder place. Intrigued by a friend’s suggestion that a remarkable collection of antiques from the American West was available to a single individual purchasing it in its entirety, Ken Behring traveled to Cody, Wyoming to see it. He immediately recognized the educational value of the collection Jerry Fick had spent his life discovering and preserving. Del Amigo member and activities chair, Peta Wansbrough, with her children Kai and Jana, event co-chair, Gigi McClaskey, with daughters Makenna and Lily, American Cancer Society’s Loren Behr, Cancer survivor and Del Amigo member Julie Bryant, and her children Blake and Brooke.
Community Pool Gets Behind its Members in Fight Against Cancer
Recently local Del Amigo Pool Association Members came together to “lap cancer” at the Del Amigo pool. “Del” Members donned custom Lapping Cancer swim caps and hit the lap-lanes from sunrise to sunset, swimming laps in support of friends, neighbors, and loved ones touched by cancer, and writing donation checks to the American Cancer Society Children walked coast to coast beside the family wagon, which carried supplies for the long journey. and San Francisco Firefighter’s Cancer Prevention Foundation (SFFCPF). Photo by Jody Morgan The idea for the event was the brainchild of DAPA President Peter Fick, whose grandmother was a full-blooded Delaware Indian, grew up hearing Back and DAPA member Gigi McClaskey, after Gigi lost her beloved stories of his ancestors. One day while he was pumping water on the family farm, he See Fight continued on page 4 spotted a pristine jasper arrowhead on the ground. His mother fostered his interest in collecting. When she sold produce at local farmers’ markets, she gave Jerry 50 Urgent Need cents or a dollar to buy artifacts. She saved money from selling homemade baked goods so Jerry could bid on pieces at auctions. Westerns playing regularly at the for Volunteers Many have found local cinema inspired him to study the lives of cowboys and cavalrymen as well as great personal satisNative Americans. Thousands of people traveling to nearby Yellowstone National Park were stopping faction in volunteerto admire Fick’s collection. But maintaining the museum was costly. Although sad- ing with White Pony dened by parting with objects whose stories are close to his heart, Jerry is delighted E x p r e s s ( W P E ) , a by the Blackhawk Museum’s exhibition. “What they did,” he exclaims, “is what I nonprofit group dedialways dreamed of doing. They fulfilled my dreams.” cated to helping to end David Behring, Jeff Behring, and Joel Hodge made several trips to Cody to inventory hunger and poverty in and catalogue. Jerry Fick and his family provided background information on each the Contra Costa County. White Pony Express volunteer Peter Brooks shows his 2,000 or more artifacts. Curators from the Buffalo Bill Cody Center supplied additional The program has been delight in picking up fresh, nutritious produce from the historical insight and aided in cleaning and packing the collection. so well received that Moraga Farmers’ Market The 80’x40’ topographic table occupying the center of Fick’s museum was additional volunteers are urgently needed photographed several times from above before the Ficks packed each of the 9,000 to help keep up with its rapid growth. The plus miniature figures. The original layout’s storyline ran chronologically counter- need in our community remains very great. Volume VII - Number 10 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, clockwise, beginning in the 1700s and ending with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Seven days a week, WPE Food Rescue Alamo, CA 94507 Show. Fick, son Michael, and daughter-in-law Sue traveled to Danville to oversee volunteers take trucks to supermarkets, res(925) 405-6397 the installation of the new layout. Fax (925) 406-0547 taurants, and farmers markets where they David organized the American settlers’ section adding loaned and donated artifacts pick up thousands of pounds of surplus Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher See West continued on page 18 food—high quality, nourishing food (fresh editor@ yourmonthlypaper.com meats, dairy, eggs, deli, baked goods). Most PRSRT STD U.S. Postage all of this food is distributed to those in need The opinions expressed herein belong PAID Local within two hours of the donation. In its first to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Danville Today News. Permit 263 two and half years, WPE delivered more Postal Customer Danville Today News is not Alamo CA for the content of any of than 3,000,000 pounds of food (equivalent responsible the advertising herein, nor does ECRWSS publication imply endorsement.
See Volunteer continued on page 5