Do you know your Stanislaus history? Students will have an edge thanks to new textbook

Taylor Johnson
·3 min read
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The first-ever discovery of dinosaur remains in California was in Stanislaus County in 1936, when local teenager Allan Bennison found the skeleton fossil of a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur, in Del Puerto Canyon.

The highest point in the county is Mount Stakes, 3,804 feet, in the Diablo Range on the West Side.

The county’s first public school was established in 1854 on the West Side near Orestimba Creek at a place called Newsome’s Bridge.

And the name of the ewoks in Modesto son George Lucas’ “Star Wars” saga came from “Miwok,” the Indigenous Americans living near the local Yokuts 200 years ago.

These facts and many more are in an updated textbook that is aimed at third-graders but has much to offer to anyone interested in local history.

The latest edition of the 60-page “StaniStory: Change and Continuity in Stanislaus County” was announced this month by the McHenry Museum and Historical Society. Written by Keith Highiet and David Seymour this year, it is based on the original 1941 work by Joseph Burton Vasché and is the first update in more than 40 years to a countywide history curriculum, a news release says.

“‘StaniStory’ is kind of a natural culmination born out of an interest in researching local history which geared up early on during the COVID pandemic for me,” said Highiet. “For David , it’s part of his life’s work of instilling and in interest in history for others locally.”

The statue of Chief Estanislao is pictured in February 2003 with the Stanislaus County Courthouse and offices in the background on the corner of I and 11th Streets in downtown Modesto.
The statue of Chief Estanislao is pictured in February 2003 with the Stanislaus County Courthouse and offices in the background on the corner of I and 11th Streets in downtown Modesto.

For example, the fictional swashbuckler Zorro, who made his debut in a pulp magazine in 1919, is thought by some historians to be partly inspired by Chief Estanislao, for whom Stanislaus County is named. In turn, the character Zoro of the popular anime show “One Piece” is loosely based on Zorro.

Another bit from the book: The most famous photo of the Dust Bowl era, “Migrant Mother,” has a Stanislaus connection. The woman in the shot by Dorothea Lange is Florence Owens Thompson, who eventually settled in Modesto.

Florence Thompson, the “Migrant Mother” in Dorothea Lange’s famous 1936 photo, is shown in 1978 during an interview with Modesto Bee reporter Emmett Corrigan. Acting on a tip, Corrigan knocked at the trailer in Space 24 of the Modesto Mobile Village. Thompson answered. Her face, despite the added years, was confirmation: She was the “Migrant Mother.”

Highiet and Seymour said they are working on printing the text while they gauge community response to the electronic version. They hope to eventually have physical copies available to any school district in the county that wants them.

“We want to make sure its in every third grade classroom to get them to come to McHenry Museum and give them appreciation to local history and their community,” Seymour said.

They will be taking donations from the community to offset the price of printing costs to ensure it’s available to those schools that want a physical copy. Donations may be made on their website www.McHenry Museum.org or by sending them to the museum’s physical address.

“StaniStory” is available as a free, downloadable PDF at McHenryMuseum.org/stanistory

“I gave the test questions to my Modesto Junior College students,” Seymour, a part-time history professor said. “Only one student got five right. Keith and I learned so much we didn’t know about the community. I love every single aspect of it. This is truly our calling.”

The cover of ‘StaniStory: Change and Continuity in Stanislaus County’
The cover of ‘StaniStory: Change and Continuity in Stanislaus County’