Our Notable Past

Historical Perspectives on Agriculture 

In San Luis Obispo County, 1900 - 2000

A Community Forum

This event was held at the Cuesta Community College Conference Center on November 3, 2001. Visit our companion piece, the Virtual By-Ways: Living on the Land pages for more information.

Dr. Marie Rossenwasser, President, Cuesta Community College; Robert Pavlik, President, Heritage Shared

Richard Orsi: Professor of History Emeritus, CSU Hayward, Editor Emeritus, California History, journal of the California Historical Society, author of numerous books and scholarly articles on California history and agricultural history. Presentations: "The Endlessly Intriguing Examination of Ourselves," "Reflections: Living on the Land"

Victor Hanson: Professor of Classics and part-time farmer; 11 books in print, author of numerous articles; interviewee, NPR and PBS; author of several reflections on agriculture, including the prize-winning 1995 volume, Fields Without Dreams. Presentation: "The Land Was Everything"

David Vaught: Author, Cultivating California: Growers, Specialty Crops, and Labor, 1875-1920 (1999), and numerous articles. Presentation: "Cultivating California"

Keith & Rusty McNeil: Researchers, performers and publishers of historical American music, including American History Through Folksong (15 CDs), and California History Through Folksong (4 CDs with a companion songbook), California Songbook with Historical Commentary (2001). Presentation: "Oh, The Farmer Is The Man Who Feeds Them All"

Michael Magliari: Author, John Bidwell and California (forthcoming), numerous articles, and the first major study of SLO agriculture California Populism, a Case Study: The Farmer's Alliance and People's Party in San Luis Obispo County, 1885-1903. Presentation: "Butter, Beans, Bonanza Wheat, and Beyond: The Origins of Commercial Agriculture on the Central Coast"

Discussion Leaders: Joseph Ballasteros, David Baroglio, Steve Beck, Ray Belknap, Shirley Bianchi, William Bianchi, Sam Blakeslee, Jim Brabeck, Marilyn Britton, Manual Echavarria, Joy Fitzhugh, Kazuo Ikeda, Daniel Krieger, Tim LaSalle, Robert Lilley, Irv & Coralie McMillan, Harold Miossi, Pat Mollnar, Asela Patague, Charles Porter, Richard Sauret, Robert Soto, Norma Wightman. 

Panelists: Joy Fitzhugh, Cattlewoman, Legislative Analyst, SLO County Farm Bureau; Robert Lilley, Asst. Agricultural Commissioner, SLO County; Manuel Echavarria, United Farm Workers organizer and Documentary Photographer.

Agricultural History Forum
Chinese San Luis Obispo
Heritage Home Tour
San Simeon Point