The Tower (an amateur history)
After settling into my cabin at Jack London Village I began to learn about its history, and about the people who had been there before me. By clicking on the following titles you may find various articles I have written as my exploration deepened. They are taken from interviews and research that have helped me to understand that history is much more than stories about dead people— it is an on-going discussion of the dynamic relationship that we have always had, and continue to have, with the world in which we live.
Our dreams, it seems, are changed as they become realized, and so is reality changed by the realization of our dreams.
The Presence of the Past
“Moving northward from the inlets, and from the lagoons and the estuaries of the bay, a gentle mountain range had long ago risen itself to rest along the western edge of the savanna...”
Touring JLV’s History
“A half-mile south of Glen Ellen on Arnold Drive you will find Jack London Village...”
In My Cabin at Jack London Village
“My office is an old cabin built into the base of a tall bin at Jack London Village, an historic set of buildings just south of Glen Ellen here in the wine country of Northern California...”
Our Tower Out Back
“Behind the Olive Press and across from Opalesce can be found one of the most interesting buildings of Jack London Village...”
Joshua Chauvet, Pioneer Entrepreneur
“When he first rode into the Valley of the Moon in 1856, Joshua Chauvet took one look at the played out sawmill Vallejo had built...”
Back When Wines Were Still Made Here
“Just about the time that Joshua Chauvet converted his grist mill to a winery, and brought a state-of-the-art brandy still around the Horn from his native France...”
Machinery from a Distant Past Nearby
“As we walk about the grounds of our village, the presence of the past is easily felt and seen, especially in the equipment...”
The Collapse
“It must have been a terrifying sound in the quiet of that afternoon, a horrifying groan and rumbling across the way, below the hill where the architect stood...”
Remembering the Invention of JLV
“When Charles Beardsley first purchased the old Pagani Winery in 1969 or thereabouts, it had been vacant and neglected for more than a decade...”
The Museums of the Past (and How We Got Our Name)
“Back in 1968 the Jack London Square MerchantsŐ Association down in Oakland hired Russ Kingman to be their Executive Director...”
History and Community at JLV
“A dear friend recently drew my attention to how closely I have associated history with community in this newsletter— frankly a very personal publication. I can believe it...”
Historic Display Returns to JLV
“The historic archives and artifacts that had graced the front rooms of our big building towards the end of the 20th Century have been returned...”