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A Brief History of the NCHS Bulletin (Circa 2003-2018) (2 pages)
The Nevada County Historical Society, conceived in 1944, was born with the adoption of a constitution and by-laws at the Bret Harte Inn in January 1945 (Doris Foley, Nevada Historical Society Bulletin, October 1978, Volume 32, Number 4, page 1). However, the society would not have a periodical organ until the publication in March 1948 of Volume 1, Number 1 of Nevada County Historical Society. Informally called a "bulletin" by Doris Foley (1910-1982), it's first editor, it officially became Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin from the April 1978 issue (Volume 32, Number 2).
For several years the Bulletin, which also served as a newsletter, consisted of a single sheet of letter-sized paper printed on both sizes and folded to make 4 pages. At first a bit irregular and then bi-monthly, it became a quarterly (in principle though not always in practice) from 1953.
The Bulletin's godfather was Holland-born Peter W. van der Pas (1915-2003), who would edit the quarterly for 20 years -- the longest of any editor. He tells his story, including his attempt to make the Bulletin "scientific" -- meaning more evidence-based historiography as opposed to good-ol'-days nostalgia -- in the April 1998 issue (Volume 52, Number 2, page 16).
Be sure to read David A. Comstock's 2-page critical overview of the growth of the Bulletin at the top of the gallery of Bulletin issues on this website. Comstock's chronology of editors ends with "Maria E. Brower 2003 to present". Brower edited the Bulletin for 16 years, from its January 2003 through October 2018 issues -- the second longest incumbency after van der Pas. Katy Hight became the "Publisher" of the January 2019 issue, for which the "Editor" position was open. Linda Jack became the editor from the April 2019 issue while Hight continued to be responsible for the design and layout. As of this writing (October 2024), Jack and Hight continue to co-produce the Bulletin.
Comstock's appraisal of the historical quality of contributions to the Bulletin over the decades is frank and fair. The quality of its articles considerably varies, which is par for all periodicals, including the best academic journals.
Histories don't fall out of skies but are fabricated by and for the living in the names of the dead. As stories, they are tapestries made by interlacing the warp of imagination, interpretation, and ideology with the woof of true, false, and equivocal evidence. Oral traditions, artifacts excavated from the earth, and original documents from archives, however authentic, are not necessarily factual, much less the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Even if a researcher has discovered, gathered, and evaluated all or most available evidence, its analysis and interpretation leave room for creativity and opinion within the limits of reason and plausibility.
Not all Bulletin reports are equally thorough, cautious, or worth remembering. But reading every issue from their start in 1948, with an open and suitably skeptical mind, remains the best introduction to the history of Nevada County. At the rate of one a day, it will take the better part of a year to reach the current issue. But as vicarious travel through the past, the accumulated bulletins are peerless.
For several years the Bulletin, which also served as a newsletter, consisted of a single sheet of letter-sized paper printed on both sizes and folded to make 4 pages. At first a bit irregular and then bi-monthly, it became a quarterly (in principle though not always in practice) from 1953.
The Bulletin's godfather was Holland-born Peter W. van der Pas (1915-2003), who would edit the quarterly for 20 years -- the longest of any editor. He tells his story, including his attempt to make the Bulletin "scientific" -- meaning more evidence-based historiography as opposed to good-ol'-days nostalgia -- in the April 1998 issue (Volume 52, Number 2, page 16).
Be sure to read David A. Comstock's 2-page critical overview of the growth of the Bulletin at the top of the gallery of Bulletin issues on this website. Comstock's chronology of editors ends with "Maria E. Brower 2003 to present". Brower edited the Bulletin for 16 years, from its January 2003 through October 2018 issues -- the second longest incumbency after van der Pas. Katy Hight became the "Publisher" of the January 2019 issue, for which the "Editor" position was open. Linda Jack became the editor from the April 2019 issue while Hight continued to be responsible for the design and layout. As of this writing (October 2024), Jack and Hight continue to co-produce the Bulletin.
Comstock's appraisal of the historical quality of contributions to the Bulletin over the decades is frank and fair. The quality of its articles considerably varies, which is par for all periodicals, including the best academic journals.
Histories don't fall out of skies but are fabricated by and for the living in the names of the dead. As stories, they are tapestries made by interlacing the warp of imagination, interpretation, and ideology with the woof of true, false, and equivocal evidence. Oral traditions, artifacts excavated from the earth, and original documents from archives, however authentic, are not necessarily factual, much less the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Even if a researcher has discovered, gathered, and evaluated all or most available evidence, its analysis and interpretation leave room for creativity and opinion within the limits of reason and plausibility.
Not all Bulletin reports are equally thorough, cautious, or worth remembering. But reading every issue from their start in 1948, with an open and suitably skeptical mind, remains the best introduction to the history of Nevada County. At the rate of one a day, it will take the better part of a year to reach the current issue. But as vicarious travel through the past, the accumulated bulletins are peerless.
Author: David A. Comstock
Publisher: Nevada County Historical Society
Published: Circa 2003-2018
Subjects: Nevada County Historical Society, Bulletins, 1948 To 2024
Original Held At:
Publisher: Nevada County Historical Society
Published: Circa 2003-2018
Subjects: Nevada County Historical Society, Bulletins, 1948 To 2024
Original Held At:
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