Press Release              Event Date:  July 10, 2017

For further information contact Mary Chrastil, 260-982-0672 nmhistory@cinergymetro.net

Travel Overland on the California Trail with the NM Historical Society

The North Manchester Historical Society’s July program presents Marlin L. Heckman, from the University of La Verne, California, who will tell the story of pioneer travel through the contemporary diaries of the actual travelers.  His presentation will be held in the Assembly Room at Timbercrest Retirement Center, 2201 East Street, at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 10. 

Heckman’s book, Overland on the California Trail, 1846-1859: A Bibliography of Manuscript & Printed Travel Narratives, included the diaries of 403 travelers.  His speech at the Historical Society will focus on about thirty Indiana residents whose diaries were included in that book.

Heckman was born in Chicago, graduated from La Verne College in California, and then from Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago.  He received his PhD. From the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.  After serving as Librarian at Bethany, he became Professor and University Librarian at the University of La Verne.  His publications include a series on vintage postcards from Southern California communities. 

The program is open to the public at no cost and will be enjoyable for audiences of all ages.  Hear what cross-country travelers had to say back when it took months, not days, to travel overland to the West Coast.