Chapman College Event : Conference to Explore County History

The second annual Conference of Orange County History will be held at Chapman College Sept. 23 and 24, featuring discussions on traditional subjects of archeology and preservation as well as on such contemporary topics as the history of gays and ethnic groups in the county.

The conference’s highlight will be a dinner of traditional Spanish-Mexican food at the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The dinner will include tortillas, prepared by the participants, baked in the mission’s clay ovens.

Conference organizers said they expect about 750 people to attend, a 50% increase over last year’s conference at Chapman, which was the largest history conference gathering in the state.

The panel discussions will include presentations on archeology, video history, library archives, businesses, labor, historical preservation and railroads.

Gentry to Chair Panel

A panel will also be chaired by Laguna Beach Mayor Robert F. Gentry on the history of gays in Orange County. Members of the Gay and Lesbian History Project of Orange County will participate.

Other sessions will look at the history in the county of American Indians, Southeast Asians, Latinos and blacks.

Paul Apodaca, curator of folk art at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, said his panel will examine the American Indians of Orange County. Indians have often been ignored in books and articles about Orange County history, he said at a press conference Friday.

In addition, the conference will examine archeology along the path of the planned San Joaquin Hills toll road and explore the history of Laguna Beach, Mission San Juan Capistrano, the Irvine Coast, Bolsa Chica and Laguna Canyon.

Talks Cost $15

The panel discussions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23, and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 24. Cost is $15, including a sack lunch, for advance registration. Registration at the door will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will cost $20.

The conference will move to the mission at 6 p.m. Saturday, beginning with docent tours of the grounds, the church and the museum. “Living history players” will re-enact scenes of early mission life.

A dinner of tamales, carnitas, traditional beans, rice, tortillas and dessert will be served beginning at 7 p.m., with the guests helping to prepare their own food. Pamela Hallen Gibson, president of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, will speak at 8:30 on “little-known facts” about the mission.

The dinner, presented with the assistance of San Juan Capistrano restaurants, will cost $27. Preregistration and additional information about the conference can be obtained from the history department at Chapman College in Orange.