Evento

How I Became a History Detective - R. E. Jack as a Young Man -- Marilyn Darnell

Monday, July 1, 2019 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church

$5 for LLCC members, $10 for non-members

Register Soon for "How I Became a History Detective" on Brown Paper Tickets

If you have been to the Jack House you may have wondered what R. E. Jack was like as a young man before he came to California and settled on the Central Coast.

As an experienced docent at the historic Jack House, your instructor, Marilyn Darnell, is familiar with the life of R. E. Jack. As mayor in the 1890s, Jack was one of the most prominent men in San Luis Obispo county history. He was the county representative who worked hard to make San Luis Obispo a railroad stop. His accomplishments were many, but details about his young life were scant. So Marilyn set out to learn about him as a young man and unexpectedly became a history detective.

Marilyn explored the question, What was young R. E. Jack like before he came to California and settled on the Central Coast? She searched all the usual places at her immediate disposal, including Cal Poly where she spent the better part of a year painstakingly turning over pages that fill 22 of the 44 boxes of the Jack Family Papers. She questioned the descendant familiar with the Jack House as well.

Marilyn's greatest stroke of luck was finding Jack's personal letters written as a young man. They had been found a decade earlier under a bed stored in a shoe box. The owners were willing to let Marilyn be the first person to use the letters for historical study.

In this class you will also get to enjoy Marilyn's process of photo-documentation of each step of her detective process.

Marilyn will admit that becoming a history detective wasnt the only unexpected outcome of her search as she has also published her second book, a book that is based on these very letters.

Marilyn Darnell has had a number of articles and two books published. Both books predominantly feature the life of Robert Edgar Jack. She has had the honor of being guest speaker at many organizations, locally and out of town, including R. E. Jacks hometown. She holds the distinction as the first guest speaker to talk about history at Good Morning SLO for the Chamber of Commerce. Most recently her authorship was featured on C-Span and can be viewed on YouTube.