Sierra Historian and Author to Share Colorful Stories at LTCC

The Sierra Nevada, with its beautiful blue lakes, towering granite mountains, forests with trees that appear to touch the clouds, thundering rivers and waterfalls, and hidden valleys has long been the domain of dreams, attracting the good and the bad, the adventurous and the delusional.

Stories abound, and characters emerge so outlandish and outrageous that they have to be real. Could the human imagination have invented someone like Eliza Gilbert? Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, she transformed herself into Lola Montez, born in Seville, Spain, in 1823, and brought to the Gold Country the provocative “Spider Dance”—impersonating a young woman repelling a legion of angry spiders under her petticoats.

Or Otto Esche, who in 1860 imported fifteen two-humped Bactrian camels from Asia to transport goods to the mines. Or the artist Albert Bierstadt, whose paintings Mark Twain characterized as having “more the atmosphere of Kingdom-Come than of California.”

Or multimillionaire George Whittell Jr., who was frequently spotted driving around Lake Tahoe in a luxurious convertible with his pet lion in the front seat.

Stories like these will be told by historian, educator, lifelong Sierra Nevada resident and author Gary Noy when he comes to Lake Tahoe Community College on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Board Room (inside the library building). Mr. Noy will read from his new book, Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots and Rogues, answer audience questions, and sign copies of his book.

This is a free event, and all are welcome to join in the fun.

Mr. Noy taught history at Sierra College from 1987 until 2007. He is the Founder and Director of the Sierra College Center for Sierra Nevada Studies, and Coordinator of the Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum. In addition to Sierra Stories, Mr. Noy also wrote the best-selling book Distant Horizon: Documents from the 19th Century American West (University of Nebraska Press, 1999). He was named Sierra College Part-Time Instructor of the Year for 2004-2005. In 2006, the Oregon-California Trails Association, a national historical organization, named him the “Outstanding Educator of the Year.”

Regarding his latest book, which is filled with colorful historical characters and amazing stories, Noy says, “I had hundreds and hundreds of stories to choose from but I could only include a few dozen in the book. So, I set out to select tales that exemplified important themes of Sierra Nevada history. There are stories of adventure, resilience, personal reinvention, hope, heartbreak, quirkiness, courage, artistry, innovation, vision, wonderment, love of place, and, sadly, tales of hatred and prejudice.”

This literary event is sponsored by the Lake Tahoe Historical Society and the Lake Tahoe Community College Library. For more information, contact Library Director Lisa Foley at (530) 541-4660 ext. 233, or send her an email at foley@ltcc.edu. For more information about Gary Noy, visit his website at www.garynoy.com.