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Keeping History Alive at the Sonoma Mission, Barracks, Vallejo's Home and Petaluma Adobe

DOCENT TRAINING INFORMATION

 

~ Save the Dates ~

2009 Volunteer Docent History Training
For the Sonoma/Petaluma State Historic Parks

• Come to our local history classes on 7 Saturdays at locations in and around Sonoma.
• Experience the satisfaction of sharing your knowledge with friends and visitors.
• Docents lead tours 3-4 hours a month at their choice of Park sites and times.

To download a copy of the schedule, click here.

 

Sonoma/Petaluma State Historic Parks Association

August 24, 2009
Sonoma Mission, Barracks, Vallejo Home

Docent Training Program Begins Sept. 26!

A seven session training program for prospective docents with the Sonoma-Petaluma State Parks Association begins Saturday, September 26! All community members are invited to join in this exciting venture. Sonoma’s colorful history will unfold through presentations and tours by historians, archeologists, State Park Staff, and experienced docents.

Docent volunteers escort visitors through the Sonoma Mission and Barracks, the home of Mariano Vallejo, the Toscano Hotel, and the Petaluma Adobe. After completing the training program they can interpret the history of these buildings in ways to hold the interest of a foreign visitor or appropriate for a class of fourth grade students.

The program will begin with an examination of the life and culture of the Native California Indians before the arrival of the Spanish. Following sessions will review varied topics such as the founding of the Mission system, the California Hide and Tallow trade, Mexican rule and the Vallejo family, Russian-Mexican relations, the Bear Flag Revolt and the Mexican War, the Gold Rush, and the arrival of the Americans.

Docent trainees receive a reference binder of information about the history of Sonoma to supplement what they learn from lectures and during expertly led tours of the State Park historic sites. Questions are posed and answered; “How did Vallejo’s Casa Grande in Petaluma support up to six hundred people?” Or, “Why did Sonomans sell the Mission in 1880?” “Is there really a grave inside the Mission today?” “What is the mystery of the 1829 bell hanging in front of the Mission?”

 

 

 

 

Karla Noyes, Chair of the Docent Training Committee, recently commented, “The Training Program has provided me with the confidence to meet visitors from near and far, answer questions, and share the Sonoma story.”

The training program all inclusive cost for lectures, tours and printed material is $50. The general public is invited to attend individual classes for a $10 fee. Members of the Sonoma-Petaluma State Parks Association may attend for a $5 per meeting fee. The seven sessions begin September 26 and conclude on November 14. All sessions are on Saturdays, most begin at 10 AM and end at 3 PM at a location that is appropriate to the topic being covered that day. The complete schedule of locations, topics and speakers will be announced soon. The topic and speaker also will be announced in the press before each session.

To enroll in the program send a check for $50 made out to S/PSHPA, and mail to Docent Training, c/o State Parks Association, P.O. Box 1702, Sonoma, CA. 95476.

The Docent Council works in partnership with the California State Parks and is sponsored by the Sonoma-Petaluma State Parks Historic Association. State Park Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Hanson is the Park Representative on the Committee. For information on becoming a Docent or the training program contact Karla Noyes (karla@karlanoyes.com) – 939-2608.

Please contact Karla Noyes for information.
707-939-9146

Details to be posted here at a later date.