Five scouts including myself installed the Lake Temescal Panel on June 22, 2006. It was a really hot day and the holes were really hard to dig. We finally got 18 inches down, mixed the concrete and poured it. Once we completed the job, it was so nice to sit in the shade with a cold drink, eat some Zachary’s Pizza and to look at the finished panel. I never thought I would have reached this place of dreaming up an idea and having carried it out. The parks people were great, helpful and easy to work with. An Oakland Tribune photographer and took some pictures which was also great. A box on the front page of the Metro Section appeared on June 26.
Also check out articles from the Montclarion (July 21, 2006) and Oakland Heritage Alliance News (Summer 2006). I hope you enjoy the panel in Temescal.
We installed the Shepherd Canyon panels in early September of 2006. One panel was about the Sacramento Northern and the other was about the highway that was planned for the area (see scouts installing panels in photo). We installed both panels in one day, which was a miracle.
It was a lot of fun to talk to all of the people passing by on the path as we were installing the panels. I met one guy who had a son who used to hang out on the right of way when it was just ballast. He found spikes and other artifacts all the time. His father also told some stories about the trains. Everyone was just so enthusiastic, which was really nice. Check out my railroad panel on the Shepherd Canyon bike path at the Snake Road bridge and go up a little bit farther up the path (going away from Montclair) to see my highway panel.
Check out an article about me in the Montclarion (February 23, 2007).
