In
ancient Greece, the laurel was sacred to Apollo and as such sprigs of it were
fashioned into a crown or wreath of honor for poets and heroes. According to Wikipedia, in English the word "laureate"
has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military
glory. It is also used when referencing winners
of the Nobel Prize.
Now
Visalia has its very own "Historian Laureate" in the person of Terry
Ommen. Terry is the successor to the
wonderful Annie Mitchell who helped preserve so much of Visalia's history, and
who has a room in the local library and a school named after her. The City of Visalia and our council had been
working on this special presentation for a few months, but when it was about
ready, we learned that the Chamber of Commerce was also in the process of
naming Terry the "Man of the Year."
It didn't seem right for the City to make its presentation the week
before or the week after, as one or the other might have seemed anticlimactic. The Chamber was gracious enough to allow us
to piggyback on their June 8, 2017 awards program, and a well-deserving Mr.
Ommen was presented both the Man of the Year and Historian Laureate awards.
The
"Historian Laureate" title is not just for a year, but is a lifetime
recognition for what Terry has done for a our community and for local history. Let me extol some of Terry's accomplishments,
since he is too modest to do so himself.
He has written three books on Visalia and Tulare County history. I have personally attended some of his
frequent downtown walking tours which he gives to local groups as well as to out-of-town
tourists as he pulls his little cart with built-in PA system and microphone and
shares his insights. He speaks often to
local service clubs, churches, Leadership Visalia classes, and has volunteered
at the Annie R. Mitchell history room at the library for fifteen years. He is a resource for the Chamber and the City
with regard to information on historic buildings and seems to have a limitless
supply of historic Visalia photos. He
has written countless articles for local newspapers and magazines, and is a
past president of the Tulare County Historical Society. He currently is assisting the Convention and
Visitor's Bureau in the creation of the giant sequoia interpretive project at
the downtown post office. He assisted
the city in creating the Historic Recognition Program which places plaques on
historic buildings downtown. I always
enjoyed the Historic Visalia photo calendar he helped Visalia Community Bank
produce annually. My personal favorite was
when Terry helped my 13-year-old son Eddy complete his Eagle Scout project,
which was researching and producing the Historic Visalia Walking Trail brochure
along with bronze plaques marking each site.
Eddy awarded Terry his mentor's pin at his Eagle Court of Honor. My little scout is now a grown man in his
second year of dental school, but he will always appreciate Terry's assistance.
As far as I know, Terry has never
accepted a cent for all that he does in preserving Visalia's heritage.
For
all of these reasons, Terry Ommen is well deserving of our thanks and our
praise. We know that Terry will continue
to give freely of his time and expertise, and we look forward to his continuing
to promote Visalia's history as our Historian Laureate!
HISTORICAL
FIGURES
Speaking
of history, on May 30, 2017, we revived a Visalia tradition known as the Mayors
and City Council Dinner. We invited all
those who previously have served on the city council to dinner at Fugazzi's to
renew acquaintances, and to have a little fun.
The honorees and their guests had a delightful evening of reminiscing,
and even gave a few pointers to the current council!
Present
was David Allen who served on the city council back in the 1960's before
becoming a Tulare County Judge, and we had representatives from each of the
decades since then. Former Mayor Wally
Gregory came all the way from Arkansas to be with us that evening. As we walk down memory lane, let me list the
names of those in attendance, in no particular order, and see how many you
recognize: Berkeley Johnson, Bob Link,
Evan Long, Don Sharp, Greg Collins, Wally Gregory, Dave Allen, Basil Perch, Alan
McIntosh, Laurel Barton, Don Landers, Amy Shuklian, and Warren Gubler. Others couldn't attend, and many are no
longer with us. But to all we say a
great big "thank you" and hope to make this an annual tradition
again.
Warren
Gubler
directfromwarren.blogspot.com
