Join the “1849 Monterey Gold Rush” and support the Monterey Public Library

May 11, 2012 - PRLog -- Publicity Contact: Wendy Brickman
              (831) 633-4444 or brickman@brickmanmarketing.com

Join the “1849 Monterey Gold Rush” and support the Monterey Public Library

May 1, 2012. Monterey, CA. Join the 1849 Monterey Gold Rush, an innovative new fundraising campaign of the Friends of the Monterey Public Library.  Founded in 1849 as California’s First Public Library, the Monterey Public Library has served and inspired hundreds of thousands of our local citizens and visitors over the past 163 years. The community can now support this important institution through the 1849 Monterey Gold Rush campaign generously sponsored by the Shake Family, and educator and prospector, Jack M. Signorella.

Beginning May 1, 2012, the Monterey Public Library Friends (www.mplfriends.com) , a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Federal Tax ID#91-1976593, will be selling $5 donation raffle tickets at a variety of locations in Monterey County, including the Monterey Public Library and Old Monterey Farmers Market (see list at www.mplfriends.com) through July 15, 2012. Donors who purchase these raffle tickets can support an important community organization and also have the opportunity to win one of four 2012 U.S. solid Gold Eagle Proof coins (1st prize – 1 oz; 2nd prize ½ oz; 3rd prize ¼ oz; 4th prize 1/10 oz – and gold is currently valued at over $1600 per ounce).  The drawing will be held at a special Monterey Public Library event on Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 2:45 PM at the Monterey Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA 93940 and donors need not be present to win. Every donation is a gift that will touch lives for generations to come! For more information, call (831) 646-5632 or go to www.mplfriends.com.  

The Library was founded in 1849 when a group calling itself the Monterey Library Association persuaded local citizens to purchase $40 shares in a public library which would “afford amusements, entertainment, and profit to a large class of people, who without its aid, would waste time in the frivolities and questionable pastimes so prevalent in our State.” Community leaders at the time, including Thomas Larkin, William Hartnell and John Rogers Cooper lent their money and names to their vision of leaving a legacy of literacy to our city. The first public Library in the State of California was opened.

One of the Monterey Public Library stockholders was Jack Swan, an English sailor who moved to Monterey in 1843. Swan built a small, wood-framed cabin and a one-story adobe which later became the First Theater. In 1848, during the Gold Rush, he closed the theater to seek his fortune. Three years later, he returned from the gold fields in Placerville with only 3 pounds of gold dust but, bitten by the gold bug, Swan considered himself a gold miner for the rest of his years.  

In addition to referencing 1849, the founding year of the Library, the creation of the Monterey Public Library Friends’ 1849 Gold Rush Campaign was also inspired by many fascinating local Gold Rush stories that centered around Monterey over the past 170 years. In 1870, there was a significant Manchester Gold Discovery in Big Sur and 12 saloons opened nearly overnight. In 1948, due to the common practice of people burying their gold for safekeeping, there was a discovery of a mason jar filled with solid gold coins near the Monterey Public Library on the Martin property on a site where Monterey High School was building its new music room.  Once the news got out, the high school’s hillside at night was as bright as daylight as prospectors searched for the gold coins. Many other exciting Gold Rush stories can be discovered in the California History Room at the Monterey Public Library.

The Monterey Public Library is a welcoming community, cultural and learning center for people of all ages which is more vital than ever. The library’s collections and services inspire, educate and delight, and link the community with the knowledge and cultures of the world. Helping our youth to become more successful in their lives, the Monterey Public Library supports early literacy and reading readiness, kindergarten through college-level class work, including homework support, and self-guided learning and enrichment for adults and seniors. As one of the cornerstones and key indicators of a democratic society, the Library benefits community members with the information they need to live informed lives; free to read, listen and view, and become engaged citizens with their First Amendment supported and protected.

Described as the “cultural heart” of Monterey, the Monterey Public Library brings works, ideas, memories and creativity to life through art, music, poetry, storytelling for all ages, book discussions, online and audiovisual content creation, skilled staff, expert speakers, and local and nationally performers. The Library also is seeking supporters of the Monterey Public Library 1849 Endowment Fund which enables donors to create an important legacy to ensure that the Library will be enjoyed by future generations.

For more information, call (831) 646-5632 or go to www.mplfriends.com.