I am thrilled to announce that I will be giving a presentation on Southern California's forgotten French roots at San Diego Mensa's uRGe Regional Gathering at the Ivy Palm Resort in Palm Springs on Memorial Day weekend.
In addition to the topics I've already covered in this blog, I will be talking about:
- The San Diego County settlement founded by two French families (unless you've lived there, you probably don't know this)
- The French Basque family whose orange grove took up much of modern-day Fullerton
- The most important French immigrant to Southern California you've never heard of (you will be shocked you don't already know this)
- How a first-generation French American unwittingly had a hand in shaping a very famous Southern California landmark
- Where the original Frenchtown was located (yes, I'm finally going to reveal The Map)
- Southern California's forgotten Francophone newspapers
- The forgotten Frenchman of early Riverside
- The French-speaking Swiss immigrant who founded California's oldest corporation
- The inventor of the French Dip sandwich (hint: it wasn't Cole's)
- French figures of early Hollywood
- Where to find the forgotten French today
...and who knows what else? Every story I find in the course of my research leads to more stories.
My talk is scheduled for Saturday morning. I can't wait!
