Authors and Artists in Mokelumne Hill

Have you ever heard of Mokelumne Hill?  I hadn’t until my friend, Natalia, and I attended the Manzanita Writers Press book launch celebration for Manzanita: Poetry and Prose of the Mother Lode and Sierra, Volumne 6 at the Hotel Leger on Main Street.

Mokelumne Hill takes its name from the Mokelumne River, Miwok for the “people of Mokel,” likely name of an Indian village nearby.  Founded in 1848, Mokelumne Hill was one of the richest gold mining towns in California, and by 1850, it was one of the largest towns in the area, with a population reaching as high as 15,000.

When the gold started to run out in the 1860’s, the town’s population and importance diminished.  Today it is a quiet place with a population of around 1,000.

On the day of our visit, Natalia and I noticed there was no coffee shop in this small town, nor a grocery store or a shopping mall.  Instead, a book store, an antique store, a park, and several homes lined Main street, along with, of course, its main attraction, the Hotel Leger, one of the oldest continuously-operated hotels in California.

Although the current owners of the hotel are doing a fine job of renovating all 13 rooms on the second story, the downstairs courtyard and underground catacombs drew me like “siren song.”

Wooden stairs led down to an outdoor area lush with hydrangeas, Japanese maples, ferns, calla lilies, orange trees, arbors, and brick and flagstone paths.  Baskets of peonies hung from outer walls, and a cat streaked by as if for effect.

Underneath the hotel I discovered dirt and gravel-lined tunnels and catacombs with archways and walls of brick, smelling of damp earth and conjuring up ghosts and eerie stories, such as Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. Antique lamps dangled from above, offering dim lighting, comforting and eerie at the same time.  At one end of one of the catacombs, was a sealed over entrance to a tunnel that used to cross under Main Street from the hotel to the town’s bank.  Another chamber, I visited, is part of an old jail that will be used one day to serve elegant meals and hold special wine-tasting dinners.

The Hotel Leger has a reputation for being haunted.  People swear they’ve seen something out of the corner of their eyes and heard strange noises, the cat no doubt, but you never know…

Anyway, back upstairs about 40 poets and storytellers read their selections in the anthology throughout the day.  It  was not a major production and some of the artists stumbled over their words, but it was more about inflection than perfection, where the artists chose to put emphasis on words, making their work unique and passionate.  It showed me a new side to poetry, one I thoroughtly enjoyed.  If you ever have the chance to listen to a poet or author read their own work, you’re in for quite a treat..

Attendees enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and beverages and had a chance to chat with the artists who contributed to the book.  Copies of “Manzanita” were on sale, along with art, photography and many other books written by contributors.  Guitarist Jim Lanier povideded mood music.

I gathered as many autographs as I could from the artists to “personalize” my copy of the Manzanita, a beautiful book with photographs and illustrations.I’ll tell you a bit more about this book on “Book Review Friday.” Anyway, Natalia and I had a good time, and I, for one, went home inspired to continue my journey into the “Between,” writing and revising and submitting.

How good is that?