March 16 (Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.) Dr. Charles E. Herdendorf offers a new program based on the travel log and letters of his great-great-uncle, Henry Garfield, of Sheffield, Ohio. The Gold Rush of 1849: Adventures of Lorain County's Buckeye Company on the California Trail brings to life the trek made by a company of Northeastern Ohio men (including Garfield) who embarked on a six-month overland adventure to the gold fields of California. Professor Herdendorf and his wife, Ricki, repeated Uncle Henry's journey in 2007. Join them in re-living the '49-ers venture which included steamboat explosions on the Missouri River, Native American encounters in Nebraska, buffalo hunts, rattlesnake dinners, tortuous deserts and rugged mountains to cross, and for some -- the ultimate reward of finding gold! Location: Kendal at Oberlin's Hesier Auditorium.
This program is free and open to the public.