Report on the Fifty-Fifth Annual Meeting Chico, California September 19–23, 1990

Abstract

248 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 53 • 1991 REPORT ON THE FIFTY-FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING Chico, California September 19-23,1990 Twenty-three years after a prior meeting in June 1967, the Association of Pacific Coast Geographersreturned to California StateUniversity, Chicoand again set a record attendance. CSUC had the difficult task of following the highly successful fifty-fourth meeting at Fairbanks. Bruce Bechtol and Dave Lantis, co­ chairs of local arrangements, enjoyed the support of the twenty faculty (including part-timers), especially department chair Don Holtgrieve. A number of students likewise contributed. An important factor was organizational skills exhibited by Frank Seawall, honed by two annual AAG meetings and assisted by Gail Coensgen. CSUC geographysecretaryJenniferRobisonhelpedinsureorderlyregistration,distribution of convention materials, and directions. As anticipated, parking problems around a diminutive central city campus were a bit difficult. The conference began on Wednesday evening with an APCGwomen’sretreat in the conifer-set home of Susan Hardwick in the Cascade Range east of Chico; thirty attended. Resident Don Holtgrieve graciously relocated to Chico for the evening. Thursday, September 20th, was devoted primarily to three all-day field trips. DickHaiman andGuy Kingwithmorethan adozenparticipantsfilleda vanandtwo cars and drove northeast to Lassen Volcanic National Park, where they ascended Mt.Lassen. Theyalsodescendedsafely. SusanPlaceandagronomistMarianBaldy led a tour of nearby farms where organic farming was emphasized. Despite a tardy start due to bus troubles, Dave Lantis took a group through almond and rice areas and then into the Sierra-Cascade border country. Scheduling was thrown to the wind and all returned six hours later, tired and happy. A successful evening open house was held at the mountain home of Don Holtgrieve and Susan Hardwick. Dick Haiman and Jerry Williams handled the program effectively. Four adjacentclassrooms were used for concurrent sessions and conferenceparticipants deserve commendation for keeping foyer noise at a minimum. A record seventy papers were presented; in addition there were several special sessions. Paper presentations began on Friday afternoon, following a morning field trip aboutChico,ledby BillCollins, which concludedwith lunch atalocalbrewerypub. Annual Meeting Report 249 Jim Claflin, Jim Monaco, and four other part-time faculty were responsible for a very successful evening barbeque, held in the heart of the campus in beauteous Alumni Glen under large valley oaks. The official opening session was held in the university auditorium on Friday evening with Don Holtgrieve presiding. A review of“Backto theFuture in Chico” was made by Susan Hardwick, followed by a presentation on Chico’s 2,400-acre Bidwell Park by botanist Wes Dempsey. The day ended with a second open house at the home of Ladd Johnson. Saturdaywasabusy day,beginningwith aWomen’sNetworkbreakfastat7:00 a.m. Concurrent paper sessions were held from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. An innovation was the availability ofrefreshments throughout the day, thanks to Gene Martin. The APCG business meeting, presided over by the APCG president Terry Kramer, was followed by a social hour beside Chico Creek and the banquet in Selvester’s Cafe by the Creek. In attendance were CSUC president Robin Wilson as well as Association of American Geographers president Susan Hanson, both of whom made remarks, and AAG executive secretary Ron Abler and his wife, geographer Barbara Bailey. A special plaque was presented to Dave Lantis for his “many years of service to geography at CSUC” and for his work as co-chair of arrangements at the 1951,1967, and 1990 annual meetings of the APCG. After the banquet Terry Kramer presented his presidential address on Great Basin National Park in the university auditorium. Another innovation was a Sunday farewell breakfast hosted by Bechtol and Lantis at the latter’s home on Chico Creek; forty persons attended. The faculty, staff, and students at CSUC enjoyed hosting their friends in geography and invite any and all to visit again under less bustling conditions. Bruce Bechtol, Don Holtgrieve, and Dave Lantis California State University, Chico ...