The Courthouse 100 committee that formed three years ago to plan a celebration of the centennial of the county courthouse alerted the county supervisors Monday that it will not disband now that the celebration has ended.
The centennial celebration began with a brief groundbreaking commemoration Nov. 3, 2015. A commemoration of the laying of the cornerstone was held May 15, 2016, and the centennial of the dedication was held Oct. 27, 2017. Those commemorations were all held exactly 100 years to the day of the actual event. Hundreds of school children toured the building in the week prior to the dedication celebration.
Last month the Courthouse 100 committee held a celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln statue on the courthouse grounds. The statue was donated by local residents E.B. and Minnie Wilson.
As they researched, planned and executed the celebrations, committee members developed a passion for the courthouse and the grounds, Courthouse 100 chair Don Van Gilder explained. He and other members of the committee talked with the supervisors during the open forum portion of the meeting. “We hope you’ll embrace the committee, acknowledge it. We basically want people to look and embrace the courthouse and grounds locally as visitors embrace it, to see what a jewel we have here,” Van Gilder said.
The committee’s mission is the preservation and promotion of the historical integrity of the courthouse and grounds, Van Gilder said.
Chuck Offenburger, Jean Van Gilder, Mike Piepel and Mary Weaver told of their expected roles in serving the group’s mission. Weaver said she would write grant applications whenever needed to fund projects the committee might suggest.
Pat Richard said she had brought about 500 visitors from the Mahanay Memorial Bell Tower to the courthouse in the past year. She told of walking with the 67 guests from the Silicon Valley earlier this month from the future location of Pillar Technologies west of the Sierra Theatre, through the courthouse on their way to the bell tower and then RVP~1875.
“They were mesmerized… They walked in the door and they were supposed to just keep moving. They stood in the rotunda oohing and aahing, asking ‘Where are we? What is this?’. We want to preserve that. They left here knowing we’re a county that’s committed to preserving the past and also ready to move forward into the future,” Richards said.
Board chair John Muir thanked the committee for its work and said they’d listen to input in the future.
Members of the committee along with those who spoke are Dianne Piepel and Tori Riley.
