STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. — Two men have re-written history in Stanislaus County.
Keith Highiet and David Seymour took on the challenge of updating the history of Stanislaus County for third graders. "StaniStory" is the first update in roughly 40 years.
Seymour, executive director at the McHenry Museum, and Highiet, a volunteer at the museum, used the original history book from 1981 as a reference point, but they took it a few steps further and, even, a few steps back.
“We re-wrote the curriculum and updated it with content from the last 40 years. And we were also able to update even the history prior,” Highiet said.
This included details on how the land formed, the plants and animals that were in the area and the details about the first people who came to the area.
They added a lot of history, but even then, some was left on the cutting room floor. For the bits that did make it, there were plenty of eyes playing a role in the editing process, including the archivist for the museum and even 9-year-old Hunter, Highiet's son.
Credit goes to Hunter for making sure the language was reading level appropriate and for a clever correction.
Highiet said there's a coloring map in the history book, where the mountains were brown, the foothills were gold and the valley was green. Hunter corrected the mountain coloring to purple, in reference to purple mountain's majesty.
These details, such as keeping the book accurate, age appropriate and more, were a challenge, but one the duo sought to meet.
“It just worked out really well and we sought out experts from anthropologists to historians,” Seymour said.
Some of the inclusions reference Stanislaus County's history with water rights and even shares its history with Japanese internment during World War II.
“Many people don’t know the Turlock fairgrounds was an assembly center, and it’s in our book,” Seymour said.
Other impressive bits of history include references to the famous Dust Bowl photo, Migrant Mother, and Florence Owens Thompson's connection to the area. Outside of being known as the home of George Lucas, Stanislaus County also has a claim to fame in connection to dinosaur fossils.
“What’s great about this book is it gives kids things they can all connect to and that are a source of a sense of pride,” Highiet said.
While the book is indeed made for third graders, there's arguably something in there for everyone.
“The place where we live is built upon that history. If you know what that history is, you’re able to make better informed choices for your own life going forward,” Highiet said.
StaniStory can be found at the McHenry Museum store, Bookish in Roseburg Square and StaniStory.org.
"We think everyone should take home a copy of 'StaniStory.' If you want to learn about history, grab the children's book first," Seymour said.
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