"It is important for everyone to understand that the history of Dixon began with American Natives"

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Gary Erwin, a long time Dixon resident and history buff, will be the first Director of the Dixon Historical Society Museum.

"Gary has always been reliable, is the first to volunteer, and you never have to ask him twice." said President Bill Schroeder. "The shoes fit him perfectly. He's got the personality to handle it." Erwin started volunteering with the group in 2016 and whose family has a long history in Dixon, was happy to accept the position.

"There have been opportunities in the past that I thought would bring me back home to Dixon like the horse track or the movie studio but those did not happen," Erwin said. "There is no pathway for Dixon High grads who want to be in entertainment so yes, I am excited." He has worked at the Mosconi Center in San Francisco for 30 years and has not wasted a moment putting his experience to work with planning the future exhibits of the new Dixon Museum at 125 West A Street.

"I want children from Dixon to understand like I was taught about the world: There is Dixon but there is the world! When I left Dixon, I travelled the world," he explained. "I want to bring in a program where there are active lectures and presentations. My hope is to find people--even if it's a little blue-grass show, for the community. There's all these other genres. There are many other things we can do under the guise of a museum and we should."

He envisions bringing in people who will re-enact a person in history such as Mark Twain that will help teach the history of our area and add to the impact of exhibits.

"It's a process of bringing everyone's history," he said. "It is important for everyone to understand that the history of Dixon began with American Natives. Then, we can have speakers on the Spanish era and Mexico's influence in California and also the various influences from Northern Europe and Portuguese people--many of them came form the Azores who were the early dairymen here. We can focus on the Chinese and their contributions and we've discovered a beloved community member, a Black woman who had been a slave but in her freedom, established an ice cream store here," he added.

But he can't do it without help and hopes volunteers will step up.

"I need researchers, a graphic artist, and someone who can photoshop so I need people to donate time and join the Historical Society. It's those memberships that propel us forward. We need to start preserving iconic things in our community like the giant orange and the small Milk Farm sign," he said.

He encourages the local clubs to work with them like the Boat Club, that can help construct the story of Maine Prairie, for example.

"Gary brought sound and video equipment to record our presentations at meetings which can be found on our website and he's helped with our fundraisers and other projects," said Loran Hofmann, 1st Vice President. "His greatest loves are Dixon, history, music, his farm, photography, family and friends."

"He's always willing to help," said 2nd Vice President Carol Abrams. "I think he'll be great."