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October 2021 • ALAMO TODAY & DANVILLE TODAY NEWS • PAGE 1
& OCTOBER 2021
June 19,1921 celebration of the creation of Mount Diablo State Park. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley.
MOUNT DIABLO STATE PARK CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF PRESERVATION By Jody Morgan
On June 19th, 1921, area residents and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the creation of Mount Diablo State Park. The new park encompassed only 630 acres. Today, over 20,000 acres are included within its borders. On October 16th, 2021, Mount Diablo State Park, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association (MDIA), Save Mount Diablo (SMD), and Cal State East Bay, will hold a centennial celebration at the Cal State East Bay Concord Campus from 10AM to 4PM. Mount Diablo, sacred to native people, became important to settlers soon after California was ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 at the close of the Mexican-American War. The treaty honored existing private land ownership. But many Mexicans receiving land grants when the Mexican War of Independence ended in 1821 had occupied their ranchos without waiting for deeds to be legally processed. Boundaries had to be surveyed before settlers could document claims to parcels purchased from Mexican landholders. In July 1851, Col. Leander Ransom struggled to the top of Mount Diablo through dense brush. As General Land Office Deputy Surveyor, he was tasked by the Surveyor General for California with establishing the initial survey point as well as the north/south meridian and east/west baseline intersection to form the basis for property boundaries in Northern California. Ransom chiseled a hole in solid rock at the summit and set a flag to mark the place to be used as the sighting point. When R. D. Cutts of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey traveled to the peak of Mount Diablo the following year to set a survey marker for mapping the surrounding waterways and topography, he chose a flat ledge more suitable for setting up a tripod and survey equipment three feet southwest of Ransom's flag. William Brewer joined the staff of Josiah Whitney, California's first State
See Celebrate continued on page 8
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DANVILLE CHILDREN’S GUILD MAINTAINS ITS SUPPORT OF LOC AL CHARITIES By Fran Miller
As new moms back in the late 90’s, friends Lisa Pellegrini and Heather Ninekirk sought a project that would better connect them to their Danville/ Alamo community. Their research led them to a long-dormant nonprofit organization, Danville Children’s Guild, founded in 1977 by Mary Church and Linda Schwaderer. Further research revealed that Ninekirk’s mother had been a member of the group that raised funds for East Bay children’s charities. In 1999, Pellegrini and Ninekirk, with the hearty support of past members, revived Danville Children’s Guild. Now, more than 20 years later, the duo and their committed guild members, have raised more than a million dollars for East Bay charities focused on bettering the lives of children. “The original founding members were thrilled that a new generation picked up where they had left off in the 80’s,” said Pellegrini, who serves as president. “Our current members include many original members’ daughters and daughters-in-law.”
See Guild continued on page 14
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Volume XXI Number 10
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Volume XII Number 10
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