The Buzz: Bestselling author hits local bar, Library ‘keep out’ gate is history, and more

News and notes from around Petaluma|

Confederate monuments a topic of cocktail conversation during ‘Cold Mountain’ author’s barroom appearance in Petaluma: Last Friday, as a warm-up to a more traditional appearance at Copperfield’s, Charles Frazier - the bestselling author of “Cold Mountain” and his new novel “Varina” - chatted with fans and bookstore staff at Jamison’s Roaring Donkey, where he ordered a gin-and-tonic, then engaged in a sprawling conversation that included a discussion of whether Confederate monuments in the South should be torn down. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, the former college literature professor has written about the Civil War in “Cold Mountain,” and returns to the time period in “Varina,” a highly entertaining novel about the outspoken wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

“I knew that writing anything to do with the confederacy was going to be a difficult thing right now,” Frazier admitted, after mentioning (somewhat incredulously) that the new book has won strong critical praise, and a rave review from USA Today. “Every day, reading the news, there’s some new reminder that the Civil War has not let go of us, or we’ve not let go of it. Those issues of race and slavery are still haunting this country.”

He mentioned a controversial “obelisk” in his home town of Asheville.

“It was dedicated to the governor of North Carolina, who was in office during the Civil War,” he explained, between sips of his drink. “Probably 75% of the people who live in Asheville - and all of the people who visit Asheville - don’t have any idea who the guy was, or what that monument is about. But there’s been this brutal argument about whether to tear it down or find some way to rededicate it. I kind of think the least you could do is put a different plaque on it.”

That possibility reminded Frazier of a different monument. This one is in Russia, where similar conversations have been held about the power of history vs. the urge to topple Soviet-era monuments.

“I saw a picture of a statue in Moscow or somewhere,” he said, “a typical bronze statue of Stalin. They originally were planning to tear it down, but then somebody said, ‘What about, instead of taking it down, we put up an adjacent structure that comments on the statue in some way?’ So what they did was commission another sculpture that is a sort of column, or a pyramid, of human skulls. And that’s there now alongside Stalin. I think that’s more powerful than tearing down these markers of history. You just put something else up that puts it all in the proper context. I don’t know why we can’t do that in the South, too.”

Petaluma Library’s History Room to get expanded hours (and to lose the gate): For years, visitors to the Petaluma Regional Library have noticed a black iron gate blocking a flight of stairs leading up to the facility’s History Room. Between the room’s limited hours of operation, the ominous mystery of its out-of-the-way location, and of course that gate, the History Room has always seemed a bit “forbidden.”

Well, according to branch manager Joe Cochrane, that’s about to change.

“It’s been run by volunteer docents for years,” Cochrane says, “and the hours have had to be short. But we’ve hired Connie Williams, who used to be the librarian at Petaluma High School, and she’s currently inventorying the history collection, and soon, we’ll be expanding the hours the collection is open to the public. It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”

At the moment, the History Room still resembles a storage area - which, to a degree, it is. Cochrane points out a stack of boxes containing the complete papers of Helen Putnam, and a row of shelves holding every yearbook from all Petaluma’s middle schools and high schools, going back decades. The collection includes maps, books, boxes of records, models, charts, diaries, photographs, and plenty of other treasures just waiting for curious history-seekers.

“We don’t want it to seem forbidden anymore,” Cochrane says. “Once Connie’s hours are set, we’ll have the room open nearly every day the library is open. And then we’ll get rid of that gate. That’ll make it a lot more inviting.”

Petaluma’s Shawna Jackson and Lana Spring join fairytale cast of ‘Into the Woods’: When Santa Rosa Junior College’s TheaterWorks program opens its production of Stephen Sondheim’s darkly-comic musical “Into the Woods,” the sprawling county-wide cast of big bad wolves, angry giants, glamour-seeking witches, charming princes, plucky princesses, bakers, hungry orphans in red riding hoods, and jealous stepsisters will include two actors from Petaluma.

Lana Spring, a graduate of Petaluma High School, is one of the show’s large ensemble of singers and dancers. “I’ve grown up with the tales of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel,” says Spring, “so (being in this show) is like my childhood memories come to life!”

Shawna Jackson, a Casa Grande graduate, is finishing up her Theatre Arts transfer major at the JC, and also appears in the ensemble.

“I was inspired to audition because the stories are classic,” she says, “but they do not end with a Disney twist.”

“Into the Woods” opens April 20, and runs through May 6 at Maria Carrillo High School, 6975 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday (on April 21, there is only an evening show). $12-$22. For tickets and information visit TheatreArts.SantaRosa.edu.

Deadline nears to submit art for Rocky and Rosie exhibit: Heebe Jeebe’s small-but-mighty Backhouse Art Gallery will be hanging a new show titled “Rocky, Rosie, and Other Local Yokels,” featuring art pieces that celebrate Petaluma’s agrarian roots, with optional emphasis on Rocky and Rosie Range, the local rooster-chicken power couple. Art pieces must be delivered to the Gallery on April 24. The exhibit will officially open on the weekend of April 27-28. For information, call (707) 773-3222.

(Have an item to suggest for THE BUZZ? Write David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)

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