Doug's first D-blog

My mother's father, Ray Gregory, was born in Contra Costa's Brentwood in 1883. His father was busy multi-tasking in the nineteenth century setting up post offices and serving as a Methodist minister in post gold rush California. My grandfather was a terrific storyteller and he used to regale me with tales about the California he knew as a kid. I suspect some of his stories were even true.

I was hooked by history early on. The histories of California and the West especially grabbed my imagination and have never let go. These days, I enjoy visiting places my grandfather might have known. When he was a boy, John Muir lived nearby on his ranch in Martinez. Now the Muir home and some of its grounds are protected by our national park system. I can imagine my grandfather meeting Mr. Muir in person and being inspired to visit Yosemite, which he did by wagon before the turn of the twentieth century.

I can also imagine my grandfather wandering over the hills from Brentwood into the communities that once flourished near the Black Diamond Mines, restored and interpreted beautifully today by the East Bay Regional Parks District.

If Ray Gregory, who passed away in 1966, could see the East Bay in 2008 he probably wouldn't be surprised by all the development that's occurred. After all, he hopped a freight train for southern California in 1900 and settled in the little seaside village of Santa Monica. In his lifetime, he witnessed the tsunami of growth that completely overwhelmed the southland, burying most of the landscapes and historic landmarks he once knew there. He'd be pleasantly impressed, I think, to see that the Bay Area has chosen instead to preserve quite a bit of its human and natural heritage. I suspect he'd be happy that his grandson could still find places they both might recognize and value. He'd like the fact that in our rush to the future we haven't forgotten to remember and honor the past, and that we're still game to hear the old stories true or not.

For more information about travel in the West, visit Doug McConnell's site, www.OpenRoad.tv.

Posted at 05:12 PM in Doug McConnell’s OpenRoad.TV Tips | Permalink