How I See It — My Place
Yuba City, Sutter County
Behind the Scenes
“How We See It: Old Yuba City Through Photographs”
The teens participating in this program chose the title after learning that the focus of the program was limited to the immediate neighborhood of the Sutter County Library in Yuba City. This is one of the older areas in town with many modest homes dating back to the 1920s.
With the help of local historian Don Burtis, the teens found that their town has many stories to tell. They listened with interest as they were told about the ranch that existed where they were now sitting and about how in the past there was passenger train service one block from the library. They discovered evidence of the railroad lines that carried people to many Northern California destinations, including Oakland, Chico, and Marysville. Some questioned why many houses had fallen into disrepair. Others were amused by the ingenuity of residents who personalized their homes and landscape in unexpected ways.
A few mentioned that it was the first time they had actually walked through the neighborhood and how they enjoyed taking a closer look at what is usually seen through the window of a car. There was a lot of energy and excitement each time the teens returned from one of the excursions into the neighborhood. Many in the group had never met. Yet, increasingly they grew more interested in each other and enjoyed discussing their discoveries together. They eagerly absorbed the photography tips and were not afraid to experiment. There was noticeable pride in displaying photos of which others were unable to recognize the subject matter or its location.
Producing fliers and posters was a new experience for those involved. They worked hard to find, what they thought were, the best images to express the project to the community. Several of the teens were intrigued by the library’s collection of historic photos and they had fun comparing the old images with their new pictures.
There were only a few challenges we faced. These included the restriction of exploring only the area within a ¼ mile radius of the library which did not include the redevelopment of the downtown taking place just a couple of blocks beyond our limited perimeter. Also, our schedule did not take into account that our program wrap-up overlapped with the beginning of the school year by a couple of weeks. This meant one very active participant had to drop out due to school commitments and was unable to attend the exhibit opening.
The final program was well received by the community. The exhibit remained in the library for a month and received many positive comments. People were especially pleased to see kids involved with the library and the community in such an innovative way.
Many of the participants continue to come into the library and always make a point to find us and say hello.
— James Ochsner, Project Director
