Thursday, February 21 | 6pm, Global Leadership Center The History of Water in Santa Barbara: A Lecture by Neal Graffy
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Thursday, February 21 | 6pm, Global Leadership Center (doors will open at 5:40pm)
The Search for Water
Since the Spanish arrived in 1782, Santa Barbara has been in a never-ending search for water, and this program highlights how the community has continually – at least so far - figured out a way to resolve its water woes. Neal Graffy’s tour of our water history takes us to the padres at the mission with their brilliant water system that served the City of Santa Barbara for well over 100 years, introduces us to clever schemers and water companies with no water; and to a period where all the water was controlled by one company. And, despite the scarcity of H2O in these parts there was a time when Santa Barbarans shipped our horrible tasting water all over the world!
In addition to the rare photos and maps, there will be photos from Neals’s once-in-a-lifetime four -mile hike under the Santa Ynez Mountains from the Gibraltar Dam to Mission Canyon via the hundred-year old Mission Tunnel.
The presentation will begin at 6pm in the Global Leadership Center at Westmont College.
Neal Graffy Bio:
“Delightfully unfettered by convention” pretty much sums up Neal Graffy’s approach to history. Whether it be in print, radio, television, documentary or live, his audiences always find his presentations to be entertaining and fun, yet educational.
Neal first gave voice to history in 1989 when he premiered a slide show talk on Santa Barbara History. Encouraged by the response, more talks were developed; and currently there are twenty-five different topics that have been presented in well over 300 shows.
Expanding from solo presentations, Graffy has had numerous appearances on local, state and national radio and TV including Huell Howser's California Gold, KCET TV's Life and Times, PBS's City Walk, and nationally on This Old House and C-SPAN's City Tours. He has been featured in several documentaries including the Emmy Award winning Impressions in Time.
He has authored numerous monographs for historical organizations, as well as articles in regional and national publications. He has written three books, Historic Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Street Names and Santa Barbara Then & Now and co-authored two books in a series of "Santa Barbara History Mysteries: "A Murder at the Potter Hotel" and "An Unfortunate Incident at Castle Rock." He is currently working on "The Great Santa Barbara Earthquake of 1925 – The Disaster That Built a City".
Neal has served as a Board Member of the Historical Museum, a member (and chairman) of the Santa Barbara County Landmarks Commission, board member of the Mission Canyon Association, Registrar of Marks and Brands and Sheriff of the Santa Barbara Corral of Westerner's and is a founding member of de la Guerra y Pacheco Chapter One point Five of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.
For fun, he collects Santa Barbara memorabilia, postcards, photographs, guitars, and enjoys cruising around town in an unrestored 1941 Packard 180 limousine while continuing the never-ending search for the perfect bacon burger.
Parking:
There will be spots reserved in Parking Lot 1, near the Kerr Student Center. Please see the campus map for directions to Parking Lot 1. Go past the Cold Springs Westmont entrance, and turn left at the next entrance. Take your first left into Parking Lot 1. After you have parked, walk past the Kerr Student Center, taking the sidewalk right below it, keeping left. You will reach a bridge, and after you have crossed the bridge, the Global Leadership Center will be on your right. There will be signs guiding you to the parking lot as well as the GLC.
We will reserve 3 handicapped spots in front of the Global Leadership Center. To park there, you will turn left at the Cold Springs Westmont entrance, take an immediate right, and follow the signs to the Global Leadership Center.