In the spring of 2021, Tehama County Librarian Todd Deck learned of a project from the Los Angeles County Library called Hidden Heroes Historic Places. He was intrigued and wondered if such an effort could take place in his home county's library system.
The Los Angeles County project resulted in an adult coloring book celebrating and amplifying unheard voices from its rich and diverse history.
“As a rural library with limited resources and staff, the thought of taking on a similar project here in Tehama County felt impossible,” Deck said.
When the American Library Association put forth the opportunity for a grant called Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, Deck decided to take a shot.
“To everyone’s delight, we’ve been generously awarded funding to make a Tehama County version of Hidden Heroes Historic Places,” Deck added. “The pages in Tehama County Hidden Heroes is our libraries' attempt to shed light on Tehama County’s beautiful diversity. We want to amplify previously unheard voices and hopefully share with you some important and inspirational stories. We are proud to do this work in response to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the urgent need to tell new and different stories.”
The Tehama County project resulted in a book featuring the selected heroes:
- Keith Lingenfelter – a family history researcher from Red Bluff who provided nearly 50,000 names of the early immigrant families and individuals who lived in or near Tehama County from before 1850 to the Special Collections Department, Meriam Library.
- Alvin Arron Coffey, Sr. - a pioneer resident of Tehama County who was instrumental in the encouragement of early schooling for Negro children in both Tehama and Shasta counties. He was the first person of African descent to joint the California Society of Pioneers.
- Godfrey Humann – was the internationally famous South Shasta Lines Model Railroad builder who lived in Gerber.
- Nomlaki Tribe – the Native Americans of Southwest Tehama County. The tribe established the Rolling Hills Casino and Rolling Hills Community Development Foundation.
- Kendall E. Catrlson – known as “Swede,” he was born in Red Bluff and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. When the U.S. established the 4th Fighter Group in England, he joined and was incremental in World War II successful aerial combat before crash landing and becoming a POW until May 1945.
- Morton Armour Kaer – was an Olympic track athlete who grew up in Red Bluff. He became an All-American football halfback nicked named “Devil May” Kaer and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
- Clair Engle – a politician known as “The Pride of Red Bluff,” he served as a U.S. Senator from 1959 until his death in 1964. He is best remembered for participating in the vote breaking the filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 while partially paralyzed and unable to speak.
- Felix Cooper – born in May 1912, was among the best African-American rodeo contenders of the 1940-50s. He rode the great bucking horse, Steamboat. He came to Red Bluff in the 1950s and operated the shoeshine stand in Peter Lassen Square.
- Barbara Jean Crowley – who in 1974 was the first woman to be elected to the Tehama County Board of Supervisors.
- Sam Lee – known as the “last Chinese in Tehama,” ran a store beside the house he owned in Vina and also a restaurant in Tehama call “Sam Lee Fung Jung”. He was the last Chinese resident in the City of Tehama's “Chinatown” which at one time had the largest Chinese section of any city in the state outside of San Francisco.
- Champions of the Western Hemisphere – before a crowd of 12,000, this Red Bluff Little League team brought victory over the San Bernardino team in the Little League Western Regionals and went on to eventually lose the World Series to Taiwan.
- Mexican Agricultural Workers – the migration of seasonal agricultural workers makes it possible for growers to get fruit out of the field and off the trees during harvest. Without these workers Tehama County's multi-million dollar ag industry would not exist.
- Trappist Monks and the Abbey of New Clairvaux – at the Abbey in Vina, the Trappist are a Roman Catholic order foundedi n 1098 with the Rule of St. Benedict as their guide. In the tradition of self-sustaining life-style, the monks run the New Clairvaux Vineyard and hundreds of acres in walnuts.
- UFO Sighting – in August 1960, two CHP officers patrolling near Corning reported seeing a flying object that performing “unbelievable aerial feats”. That evening eight officers reported seeing “flying saucers”.
- Alice Standish Mathisen – married with two sons, she earned her Master's in Library Science at U.C. Berkeley Library School, and was hired as the Tehama County Librarian in 1952 serving in the capacity until her retirement in 1977.
To learn more about each story, please visit the Tehama County Hidden Heroes webpage – www.tehamacountylibrary.org/services/hidden-heroes/.
A limited number of free copies of the coloring book will be available to the public. To pick up a free copy of Tehama County Hidden Heroes, visit the Red Bluff Library on Sept. 23 from 4:30-7p.m. during a Friends of the Library Sponsorship event.
We will also be hosting a coloring event on Sept. 30 from 4:30-7p.m. at the Red Bluff Library. During the coloring event, we will be reflecting on the question, “What makes a hero?”. A limited number of free copies will also be available at this event.
“In my nine years working at the Tehama County Library, I have had the privilege of working on some very interesting and innovative projects. I can say wholeheartedly that, out of all of them, Tehama County Hidden Heroes is the one I am most proud of. Tehama County Hidden Heroes was a collaborative project between library staff, Michelle Hickok from Zelma’s Awards and Laser Engraving, and Joe Vine of the Copy Center,” Deck said. “One person in particular really helped shape this project was Tehama County Reference Librarian Georgia Scott. She took on this project with intention and deep care in telling these stories. The result is a gift to this current community and future generations. Thank you.”
When talking about this project with the community, a fairly common response is, “they need to teach this in school,” he added.
“Our sincere hope is that, by picking up a copy of Tehama County Hidden Heroes and sharing these stories with people in your life, a conversation regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion will happen,” Deck said. “On behalf of the Tehama County Library, I would like to thank all of you for sticking with us and using our services during COVID 19. We have some wonderful books and experiences to share with you soon.”