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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The next Lake County Historical Roundtable will explore the life of Benito Mussolini.
The presentation will be at the Tallman Hotel in historic downtown Upper Lake on Monday, Dec. 5, starting at 6:15 p.m.
Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling Italy as prime minister from 1922 to 1943.
He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship.
Known as Il Duce (The Leader), Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism, a major ally of Adolf Hitler and attempted to reconquer the territory of the former Roman Empire.
In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape but was captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian Communists. His body was then taken to Milan, where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise.
Or so that is what the history books tell us. But what is the real story? Local author and historian Gene Paleno will look into the life and times of an amazing and tragic historical figure, one who once had the love and admiration of his country, but later became the most hated man in Italy.
The Lake County Historical Roundtable is an informal group of local history buffs that meet monthly to hear presentations on historical topics. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
The Blue Wing Saloon (next door) is offering a 10-percent discount all Italian food for roundtable attendees.
Contact Phil Smoley at 707-264-4905 or Zane Jensen at 707-349-6390 for more information.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Librarian Christopher Veach announced that new books have been made available for the library’s business and technology section with money donated by the Friends of the Lake County Library.
“The library works hard to make sure the library collection stays relevant and useful to the community despite low funding levels for new library materials,” said Veach. “Quality information on business and technology is needed in our county to help support local small business.”
The library looks at community needs when deciding what to buy for the collection.
According to the Lake County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, the self-employed make up the single largest group of the total workforce of Lake County.
The new purchases include books on writing business plans, improving customer service, marketing your business using social media and more.
People can look at the list of new business titles purchased on the library Web site and request books for pick up at their local branch.
The list is available online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Lake_County_CA__Library/Catalog/NewNoteworthyBusTech.htm .
The library depends on monetary donations from The Friends of the Library and other donors to add new books to the system.
Visit www.friendsofthelakecountylibrary.org to learn more about the Friends of the Lake County Library and how it supports the library.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .
Jan Cook works for the Lake County Library.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – St. John's Episcopal Church and the Soper Reese Theatre are presenting advent concerts this month.
The concerts are free and open to the public.
At noon on Wednesday, Dec. 7, organist Mel Taylor will give a one-hour performance.
He will play selections from the “California Wine Suite Opus 40” by Hans Uwe Hielscher as well as “Variations on New Britain (Amazing Grace)” by David P. Dahl. Admission is free.
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, a Capella group My Divas will perform.
This a Capella group, which includes six talented Lake County women, will sing madrigals (parts songs) and intricately interwoven melodies in three- and four-part harmonies.
The series is presented by with generous support from Anne Barquist.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 1190 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake kicked off the Christmas holiday on Saturday night with its annual parade and Christmas celebration.
The parade – shown in the video above – wound its way from Redbud Park to Austin Park, with the roadway lined with parents, children and dogs, some of them decked out in holiday costume.
Clearlake Police, Lake County Fire, Lower Lake High School, and many local organizations and groups participated in the parade.
Once at Austin Park, children could meet with Santa Claus, high schoolers performed Christmas songs and led carol singing, and the big Christmas tree was lit up for the season.
“It was during my enchanted days of travel that the idea came to me, which, through the years, has come into my thoughts again and again and always happily – the idea that geology is the music of the earth.” – Hans Cloos
“The earth is large and old enough to teach us modesty.” – Hans Cloos
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Our natural physical environment changes in increments on a daily basis.
Landforms like streams are constantly changing our valleys. The work of wind, freezing, thawing and erosion from weathering are all factors in the lay of the land.
Geologists compare time and space with 1 millimeter in measurement equaling about one year in terms of geology, and around 3 feet in any direction is equal to about 1,000 years.
UC Davis geologist Eldridge Moores is quoted in an online SF Gate news article: “If you compare the distance across the country it wouldn’t be until you hit the East Coast – around Boston – that you’d reach four and a half billion years, the birth of our planet, and the very start of the geologic forces that we are still studying today.”
Lake County is rich in geologic features created by forces that are hard to fathom.
Here, we have the largest geothermal field in the world at The Geysers; a volcano, Mt. Konocti, that is about 4,000 feet in elevation; and the oldest lake in North America, our own Clear Lake, with its 44,000 acres of surface waters.
To elucidate the geology of Lake County, Dr. Harry Lyons explained in a statement for the Lake County Library's “Know Lake County" series, “We live in a clutter of marine rocks, delivered from the Pacific by forces beautifully described by a theory called plate tectonics. The position and composition of the rocks, for millions of years, have formed and subsidized the ecosystem of the Clear Lake Basin. Our dynamic landscape, powered by the San Andreas Fault System, has led to the development of our famous eutrophic lake, a favorite of biologists worldwide.”
Lake County's hills and streams house an abundance of shiny serpentine, California's state rock.
Serpentine's color ranges from green to black, and is speckled with both dark and light features. It is also abundant in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the Klamath Mountains.
According to the California Geologic Survey publications, serpentine can be metamorphic as well as igneous, containing peridotite straight from earth's mantle, which is below earth's crust.
Many other unique and beautiful rock specimens can be seen in our hills and valleys, and also in our local museums. Fluorite, scratching in at a 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a soft mineral which is located around the world. It has been used for jewelry, glass lenses and industrially as a flux.
Mica is a lovely gem and is found in the areas of all of the three main rock types: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.
Because of Mica's cleavage, it contains a crystalline structure that can be split into sheets, which has made it useful as insulation.
Harking back to our classrooms and the study of rock's properties, we can recall that cleavage is the ability of a mineral to split on its planes. Magnesite veins are often found with serpentinite, and measures between 3 and 4 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
Magnesite has been identified in both meteorites and on Mars through the special instruments such as infra-red spectroscopy.
Magnesite has been used in kilns and industrial furnaces. In our county's past Pomo Indians wore and traded beautiful beads made of magnesite.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has another varied group of canines for adoption this week.
The available dogs include mixes of Australian Cattle Dog, beagle, dachshund, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, shepherd, terrier and Viszla.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Shepherd-beagle mix
This female shepherd-beagle mix has a short tricolor coat.
She's in kennel No. 9, ID No. 6517.
Terrier mix
This male terrier mix has a short black coat with white markings and floppy ears.
He's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 6505.
Labrador Retriever
This male Labrador Retriever has a short black coat and brown eyes.
He's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 6463.
Australian Cattle Dog
This female Australian Cattle Dog has a short blue and tan coat.
She's in kennel No. 17, ID No. 6511.
Vizsla mix
This female Vizsla mix has a short black and brown coat.
She's in kennel No. 6537, ID No. 22a.
Vizsla mix
This male Vizsla mix has a short black coat with white markings.
He's in kennel No. 22b, ID No. 6538.
Pit bull terrier mix
This female pit bull terrier has a short black and brown coat.
Staff said she is very scared in the shelter and needs some tender loving care.
She's in kennel No. 24, ID No. 6506.
Shar Pei-pit bull mix
This male Shar Pei-pit bull mix has a short black and white coat.
Shelter staff said he already has been neutered, and would do well in a home with no livestock.
He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 6629.
'Kali'
“Kali” is a female pit bull terrier mix.
She has a short blue and white coat, brown eyes and cropped ears.
She's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6424.
Dachshund-terrier mix
This female dachshund-terrier mix has a short red and white coat.
Shelter staff said she already has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 29, ID No. 6531.
Husky mix
This male husky mix has a medium-length tricolor coat.
He's in kennel No. 31, ID no. 6582.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at