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• Dave Mackesey - Diablo Historian and Author

  • When
    Tuesday, April 01, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Gateway Fireside Room

  Register

  

  HCC  Speaker Series -
  Dave Mackesey -
  Diablo Historian and Author
  

  Hear about the rich history of the Diablo lands from someone who knows them best - Dave Mackesey. 

  He has enjoyed membership at Diablo Country Club for more than a decade, and serves as the Club historian, Today's event stems from HCC's recent tour of the DCC.  Several dozen HCC members enjoyed this excursion hosted and presented by Dave in October 2024, but as Dave himself said that day "There's so much more to tell."

  Dave's storied career included earning a Fortune 500 Vice President role in his 20's, President of the Wine Group, Inc. in his 30s and retiring in his 40s. He then began the journey to write the book From Country Estate to Country Club, the History of the Diablo Country Club. Serving as President of the Club for several years, this book was a gift from Dave and Lynda Mackesey to the members of Diablo Country Club and will be available at our HCC Speaker Event for $40, cash or check.

  HCC members and non-members are encouraged to register for this and other upcoming Speaker Series at www.rossmoor-hcc.com. Registration, while not mandatory, allows HCC to plan seating and volunteer requirements. 

  
  

  We look forward to seeing you!
  

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• Dr. Wayne Wiegand, Historian and Author: "In Silence or Indifference: Racism and Jim Crow Segregated Public School Libraries”

  • When
    Tuesday, September 02, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Fireside Gateway Room

  Register

  HCC Speaker Series,
  Tuesday, September 2, 10am,
  Gateway Fireside Room

  

  Join Rossmoor’s own library luminary on Tuesday, September 2 at 10:00 a.m. in the Fireside Room as Dr. Wayne Wiegand returns to the History & Culture Club’s Speaker Series.

  Wiegand, often referred to as “the Dean of American Library Historians,” is the author of many articles and books and is VP Development of the Rossmoor Scholarship Fund. He was also historical consultant for the PBS documentary “Free for All: The Public Library,” which will be aired on April 29.

  At the September meeting, Wiegand will discuss his new book, In Silence or Indifference: Racism and Jim Crow Segregated Public School Libraries, where he takes an unflinching look at librarianship during the Jim Crow era of 1954−1974.

  The idealized notion of libraries, charges Wiegand, was actually one of racism in the practice and customs of public school libraries during these decades. In fact, this led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Paradoxically, during this same period, the library profession was honing an image as a defender of intellectual freedom, the freedom to read, and an opponent of censorship.

  In this inaugural interview format, Wiegand will be joined by panelists Mary Taylor and Wayne Emrich and moderator Susan Moxley. Taylor is a social and racial justice activist advocating diversity, equity, and inclusion. Formerly a corporate sales and leadership professional, Taylor is currently Second Vice President of the Democrats of Rossmoor, Chair of the Black Lives Matter Committee of African Americans and Friends, and Chair of the Diversity Consciousness Committee of the Interfaith Council. Following a Fortune 500 accounting career, Emrich became a library assistant in Contra Costa County. A Texas University student in the 1950s, Emrich felt he should do his part to overturn Jim Crow and participated in social, nonviolent activism.

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