The Historic Society of Dayton Valley has been very busy these past months with all kinds of ideas being considered and acted upon. The Carson-Colorado Railroad Station is in the forefront, of course, and the old fire house is running a close second. Our docent lectures continue. We have some wonderful subjects that are on DVD and are on loan to anyone who is interested.
The Thursday evening lectures will happen all of May. However, we are having an additional lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Dayton Senior Center.
The subject is "The Evolution of Canning and Bottling" given by Loren Love. I have seen and heard a little of his lecture and I promise that you will enjoy it.
There ware a lot of folks in Dayton who remember Loren Love as the ranger at the Dayton State Park. Loren is a long-time resident of the Dayton area; Mound House to be exact.
He is an archeologist of sorts, who loves to dig up artifacts of our early emigration West. To say he digs doesn't describe his passion as he goes to any lengths to find good places to explore.
Loren and I go way back to when I lived in Susanville, Calif.
I had a restaurant in an alley and was about to cover the ground to the entrance with cement. Loren got wind of it and came and asked if he could dig before I covered the area.
I agreed, and Loren and his friend dug for several days and found a few treasures. He divided his find with me and very carefully covered up his dig leaving no trace behind. I still have my share of his find. That was about 35 years ago.
My friend Elizabeth Rassiga, who gave a lecture about Austin, asked me if I knew anyone who dug up artifacts and I recommended Loren. He dug up a lot of history over in Austin at the Leland House for Elizabeth. She was delighted and she and Loren became friends as he and I had years earlier.
Loren is very knowledgeable about the history of canning and bottling beginning in about 1870. He is interested in the lithography and contents of the packaging. I'm sure you will enjoy his lecture. He has a lot of information and brings a lot of examples to his talks.
The Dayton Museum is located on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton. The Web site is daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543, 246-8382 or 246-0441.
• Ruby McFarland has lived in Dayton since October 1987, she serves as a board member of the Dayton historical society and a docent at the museum.