Venue head reminder

We will be having a venue head debrief meeting tomorrow, Saturday, July 25. Please meet at the Eagle Cotage at 2:00 PM.

Diggins Picture

I hope everyone has recovered from Diggins by now. Just to let you know, the Will Dunniway photo that we took with the stage coach is now available for purchase at the Columbia Museum. There are three different sizes available. So stop by to say hi and get your photo!

3 more days...

We are still in need of a couple more school tour leaders. We are trying our best to give everyone adequate breaks this year, so that means we could really use a couple more people. So if you haven't signed up for something to do and are looking for a place, please let Danielle know that you are interested in being a school tour leader.

Don't forget..
-- move-in day is Tuesday
-- set up day is Wednesday
-- interpretative meeting at the Diggins theater at 6 PM on Wednesday
-- DIGGINS!!!! Thursday - Sunday

Our Mission

"The mission of Columbia State Historic Park's Diggins program is to provide visitors and school children an enjoyable, educationally and historically rich reenactment of a California Gold Rush tent town circa 1852."

GOAL: To provide an experience as close to the living conditions of a California Gold Rush boom town at the start of June 1852.
GOAL: That Diggins will be a fundraiser for the Friends of Columbia.
GOAL: That staff, Docents, Friends of Columbia, and all visiting volunteers are treated equally and with courtesy before, during, and after the event.

Gator Crew

If you are looking for a behind the scenes job during Diggins, think about joining the Gator Crew. We would still like to have some more help on Friday definitely. If you are available for other days, that would be great too. The Gator Crew is the group who drives back and forth from Diggins to the Eagle Cotage basement and brings orders of food and supplies to the different venues. You must be able to lift possible heavy objects (cases of water, sarsaparilla, peanuts, etc.).

Training

If you have signed up to give a school tour or a Diggins town tour or you are a venue head and need an interpretative training... training will be on Wednesday, May 27th at 6:00 PM. Please meet at the theater at the Diggins site.

A word from our Green Room...

This year lunch will be served from 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM. There will be NO bag lunches this year. It gives you an excuse to get out of the hot sun and cool off with something good to eat and something refreshing to drink.

Also, everyone loves baked goods. The Green Room staff is asking for donations of baked goods to be brought between May 26 - May 31 to the Eagle Cotage.

18 days and counting

As requested, here is a list of all the venues for this year's Diggins in no particular order:
Portals
American Hotel
Bakery
Tomlinson House
The Mines
Laundry
Blacksmith
Tinsmith
Artist
Dunniway photography
Mexican Merchant
Browns Store
Star Spangled Banner Saloon
Tobacconist
Coffee Saloon and Reading Room
Express Office
Dr. Logan
Chinese Merchant
Seamstress
Hardware Store
Water Company
Theater Troupe
Gun Smith
Baker
Justice of the Peace
Egg lady
Bowling Alley
Gambling at both saloons
We also, have school tour leaders and town tour leaders, as well as, several different residences will be set up

Home Stretch...

Just in case you haven't gotten your newsletter, here are a few important dates.
May 2-3, 7-8: Construction days- there are some things that still need finishing up before Diggins
May 9-10: Canvas up- Larry will be out there putting up all the canvas on each building. The canvas is heavy and Larry needs help.
May 26: Move in day- We will be moving all of the basement of the Eagle over to the Diggins site. Also, the Wilson Store will be packed and brought over to become the Brown's Store. There is a lot of stuff to move, so the more hands the better!
May 27:Set up- This is your opportunity to help put all the venues together. Again, there is a lot of stuff and many venues that need to be decorated.
Also, we will be hosting an interpretative and school tour meeting. The time is still to be determined.

Want to help out in a venue but don't know where...

American Hotel: Prep work, dishwashers, and servers are still needed (especially Thursday and Friday)
Theatre: A fee collector for performances
Browns: Looking for an easy job selling goods, this is the place
Portals: Help with exchanging modern money to Eagles
Star Spangled Saloon: Need someone to help set up on Wednesday and also need help on Thursday and Friday especially for gambling and selling sarsaspirilla
Coffee Saloon and Reading Room: Still in need for one person to help out selling coffee
Bakery: Still in need of a couple of people to do shifts on Thursday and Friday to help sell baked goods and lemonade
Gator Crew: Anyone with a good back and legs, we need help lifting items to bring to each venue
Green Room: If you don't do well in the heat or you don't have a costume yet, please help out in the green room doing food prep.
Laundry: Still in need of laundresses on Thursday and Friday afternoons

April Construction Days

If swinging a hammer is your sort of thing or you don't mind a little dirt on your hands and pants, then come join Larry and his construction crew down at the Diggins site. The dates for April are 4th, 5th, 10th, 24th, 25th, and 26th.

Housing Update

Park staff have spoken with the owner of the Marble Quarry Campground. The owner has agreed to give a 20% discount to those Diggins volunteers who decide to camp there over Diggins week. Just let the owner know when you are making your reservation that you are a Columbia Diggins volunteer.

Need housing?

If you are traveling from afar to volunteer at Columbia and you do not have a period correct tent, there are a few options for you. We do have some limited space here at the park that will be available by lottery. Please let Mac (jmacnaughton@parks.ca.gov) know if you are interested in a spot. Your name will be put on a list and drawn by lottery. There are also two rv parks within one mile of Columbia. The 49er RV Ranch, located on Italian Bar Road, may be contacted at 209-532-4978. The Marble Quarry RV Restort, which has rv hookups, tent camping, and cabins, is located on Jackson Street and can be contacted at 209-532-9539. If you need other ideas of places to stay, please contact the park staff at 209-588-9128.

Diggins planning Meeting

We will be focusing on Diggins for the entire docent meeting on March 14th. There has been some concern about the upcoming Diggins and we wanted to let all of you voice your thoughts and concerns. We will begin the meeting at 9:30 AM, this way we have plenty of time to discuss Diggins.

DIGGINS WORK CREW

The Diggins construction work crew are gearing up for Diggins and have a lot of scheduled work days. If you know how to swing a hammer, can use a skill saw, or just want to come out and help in some way, then put on your work pants and join in the fun! All work days will begin at 9 AM. They are as follows for March: 6, 7, 8, 15, 16, 28, 29, and 30. If those dates don't work for you, there will be more to come in April and May!

Minute notes from January 10th

If you are a venue head, please start thinking about different items that you could sell in your venue and what you need for your venue this year. Park staff will be contacting all venue heads in February to go over these ideas. No new ideas will be accpeted after April 1 (this allows for two months for purchasing materials, checking suppliers, etc).

The next Diggins Construction meeting will be on February 14th at 9 AM (before the docent meeting).

The next Diggins Planning meeting will be on March 14th at 9 AM (before the docent meeting). Please come with new ideas or any suggestions to make this year's Diggins even better!