[thechat] Donner party

Kath Kath at cyber-kat.com
Sun May 19 08:30:00 CDT 2002


>>At 11:46 AM 5/17/2002 -0700, Shirley wrote:
>Interesting to hear that at least a few people outside of California have
>heard of the Donner party. I was born and raised in California and went to
>school here, so of course I learned California history in addition to US
>history, world history, etc. But I really haven't known what parts of
>California history are also common knowledge or taught in other states
>beyond things like the Gold Rush and other "major" events that played a
>more significant role in shaping the U.S.

I'm just an information pack rat.  I seem to retain most of what I read, so
I'm not sure where I first heard about the Donner party.  It's something
I've known for a long time, so I probably picked up back in school.

I have a habit of just assuming everyone knows everything I know, and it
always catches me by surprise when people look at me with that "what is she
talking about" look. <g>

For instance, I had read that the first Harry Potter book was called "Harry
Potter and the Philosopher Stone," but when they released it in America,
they changed the title to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone," because
they thought no one in America would know what a Philosopher Stone was.

I was insulted!  How dare they think we are so uneducated and under read.
I told the story at work with all the righteous indignation I could muster.
 When I finished everyone was staring at me with puzzled looks on their
faces.  "What's a Philosopher Stone?" the bravest of the group finally
asked.  Duh - I found out that everyone does not know what a Philosopher
Stone is <g>.

One of my co-workers once said to me, I don't know how you can possibly
think with all that junk stuffed into your head.  I think she meant it as
an insult, but I took it as a compliment.  I'm an information junkie as
well as being a pack rat. <g>


>I also don't live far from Donner Pass where you'll also find the gorgeous
>mirror-like Donner Lake and the Donner Party's museum and area where
>everything happened. It's less than 2 hours from where I live and close to
>Lake Tahoe. It's a very beautiful area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I've
>stopped at the museum a few times with friends or relatives visiting and
>have found it interesting to see. Mostly, though, I just enjoy the
>breathtaking scenery and being in the mountains (especially since I live in
>the valley below them).

Sounds beautiful.  It's an area of the US, I've always wanted to visit, but
so far I've only gotten as far west as Colorado - unless you count a brief
stop over in San Francisco on the way to Hawaii.  Oh - I guess that would
be west too, since I was going there from New Jersey <g>

Kath ...
Me --> www.cyber-kat.com
work --> www.winebow.com



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