All of these recordings of past programs are available free to the public. Please consider making a contribution towards our virtual programming and local history programs.
Recorded Presentations
may 11, 2024
76th Annual Meeting: Early Napa Resorts with Don Winter
Don Winter, local resort and lodging historian, speaks at the Napa County Historical Society’s 76th Annual Members Meeting on May 11, 2024, in conjunction with NCHS’s exhibit “Destination Napa: Philosophies of Wellness.” He is joined by Liz Alessio as moderator. Video and Music by Ralph DeAmicis.
November 16, 2023
“Behind the Curtain: Creating Exhibits” with Dr. Sheli Smith and Kelly O’Connor
A discussion focused on the creative process behind our Napa County Historical Society exhibits. Executive Director Sheli Smith has five decades of exhibit curation experience and has put forward Napa County Historical Society’s seven most-recent exhibits, since 2020. Joined by NCHS Research Librarian Kelly O’Connor, this presentation highlights the unique challenges and rewards of creating engaging, relevant, and unique exhibits focused on Napa’s rich heritage.
may 13, 2023
75th Annual Members Meeting: Panel Discussion
Following Napa County Historical Society’s 75th Annual Meeting on May 13, 2023, Shannon Kuleto moderated a panel discussion with local historians Nancy Brennan, Diane Dillon, and Scott Sedgley on the future of history and heritage. The discussion was held at the historic Napa Opera House in downtown Napa, now home to the JaM Cellars Ballroom.
April 20, 2023
“Shipyard Acres: Napa’s Lost Suburb” with Jennifer Huffman
Jennifer Huffman, reporter for the Napa Register, shares her research findings on Shipyard Acres, a project spurred by her curiosity about the wartime neighborhood once south of Napa, now the Napa Memorial Cemetery.
february 16, 2023
“Mary Ellen Pleasant” with Cris Eli Blak
Playwright Cris Eli Blak discusses with Dr. Patricia Moonsammy his full-length play about the life of Mary Ellen Pleasant, called the Mother of Civil Rights in California. She came to San Francisco in the 19th century and became a millionaire while advocating for legal and social changes in the city. Despite her financial and social successes, as a Black woman she was in her later years the subject of rumors and defamation. She is buried at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.
October 20, 2022
“Napa Valley Case Files” with Ray Guadagni
Retired Napa Superior Court Judge Raymond “Ray” Guadagni talks about his book, Napa Valley Case Files: Justice in Wine Country. The book provides an expert look at eight murder cases that shook Napa County from 1850 to present day.
January 19, 2023
“Chinese in Napa Valley” with John McCormick
John McCormick, author of the book “Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community that Built Wine Country,” speaks with Jack Jue, Jr. for a Napa County Historical Society guest lecture at the Native Sons Hall on January 19th, 2023. Jack Jue, Jr. is a family historian and author of the blog “Jue Joe Clan History.”
may 15, 2021
George Altamura at the Uptown Theater
George Altamura was our keynote speaker for the 73rd Annual Members Meeting on May 15, 2021. Members and their guests gathered at the historic Uptown Theater in downtown Napa to hear Altamura’s stories about his life in Napa, in conversation with Mayor Scott Sedgley.
March 17, 2022
Dr. Paul Gee at Bouchaine Vineyards
Dr. Paul Gee and Mayor Jack Ding of Sonoma met at Bouchaine Winery in March of 2022 to discuss the similarities and differences in their journeys from China to California. Paul Gee, winemaker and owner of Gee Vineyard, was first a radiation physicist before planting his family’s vineyard in 1981.
January 8, 2021
The Napa Murder of Anita Fagiani Andrews: a Cold Case that Caught a Serial Killer
Ray Guadagni, a former Napa Judge, will release his newest book on January 18, 2021. With the success of his self-published memoir in 2016, Adventures of the Squeezebox Kid: a memoir of growing up in Napa in the ’50s and early ’60s. The release of his third book by The History Press/Arcadia Publishing will recount and give detail to The Napa Murder of Anita Fagiani Andrews: A Cold Case that Caught a Serial Killer.
February 25, 2021
Lost Napa Valley
Lauren Coodley is the author of three books of Napa history, a textbook of California history and a biography of Upton Sinclair. Beginning her career at Napa’s junior college in the late ’70s, she created and taught “American Women’s History,” “California History,” and “Napa-Vallejo History.” She received the McPherson Distinguished Teaching Award and was the elected president of the faculty.