09-30-2021, 03:53 PM
Shirley Sargent: Yosemite Historian by Fernando Peñalosa
Ms. Sargent wrote a lot of books about Yosemite and I have read several of them. I was curious about her so I picked up this biography of her. I almost stopped reading it because it is written in a very simplistic style (akin to Ms. Sargent's own writing style) and I didn't think I was going to get get anything of use out of it. But I stuck with it and did get a couple of really good nuggets of information and some places to look for further information.
The most astounding thing about Ms. Sargent is that she suffered all her life from Dystonia which is a neuromuscular disease that made it hard for her to use her arms and legs. Misdiagnosed for quite some time as a child, she eventually gained some mobility through the use of exercises. But it wasn't a complete cure. She struggled all her life. Not withstanding that, she covered most of the ground in Yosemite and it's environs. She wrote a lot of definitive books about Yosemite. The saddest part of the story might be that her house in Foresta burned down in the Arch Fire in 1990. Her entire collection of Yosemite memorabilia was lost. Despite the fact the head of the Yosemite Park & Curry company had trucks standing by to pack up everything she owned and move her out. She waited until her car was on fire before fleeing.
I did complain that her book Yosemite Innkeepers focused too much on Curry Family and Curry village. Turns out the Curry family put up the money for her to tell the story of the Curry Family and Curry Village which led to the book. I've since learned she has written other books that have the information I want.
Ms. Sargent wrote a lot of books about Yosemite and I have read several of them. I was curious about her so I picked up this biography of her. I almost stopped reading it because it is written in a very simplistic style (akin to Ms. Sargent's own writing style) and I didn't think I was going to get get anything of use out of it. But I stuck with it and did get a couple of really good nuggets of information and some places to look for further information.
The most astounding thing about Ms. Sargent is that she suffered all her life from Dystonia which is a neuromuscular disease that made it hard for her to use her arms and legs. Misdiagnosed for quite some time as a child, she eventually gained some mobility through the use of exercises. But it wasn't a complete cure. She struggled all her life. Not withstanding that, she covered most of the ground in Yosemite and it's environs. She wrote a lot of definitive books about Yosemite. The saddest part of the story might be that her house in Foresta burned down in the Arch Fire in 1990. Her entire collection of Yosemite memorabilia was lost. Despite the fact the head of the Yosemite Park & Curry company had trucks standing by to pack up everything she owned and move her out. She waited until her car was on fire before fleeing.
I did complain that her book Yosemite Innkeepers focused too much on Curry Family and Curry village. Turns out the Curry family put up the money for her to tell the story of the Curry Family and Curry Village which led to the book. I've since learned she has written other books that have the information I want.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm