Descendents of the French who came for the gold rush still living in the former mining towns

Walk the back streets of Auburn and you see family names like Lefebvre and Grenier, names also found throughout France.  Descendents of the first French settlers to the region of Auburn may have little awareness of their ancestors' culture.  But they carry on the family names.

Like many pioneers, the French came for gold, in the Great Gold Rush of 1849, usually on ships around the horn, and through the port of San Francisco. Towns like French Camp and Auburn sprang up and the railroads came soon after.  The miners worked the earth and the tunnels until gold could be found no more, or until it was unprofitable to do so.

In the old town of Auburn today, the trains still run but tourists provide the new gold.  They come to savor microbrewery ales and homemade pizza in bungalow and basement restaurants evocative of the old mining days. I came to join the vendors showing wares at the Auburn Home Show.  Tourists and locals mingled in perusing the aisles and as usual, my vibrant tablecloths from Provence were aligned next to seemingly random products and services ranging from Watkins liniments (yes, the same brand name patent medicines the guys in horses and wagons hawked) and homemade soaps and beauty creams.

A cross section of America walked by, old and young in cowboy boots, wearing tatoos, and some with purple hair.  Many assumed that I sew these linens myself. I assured them no, each one has a history, with designs stretching across the centuries, and looming and printing methods equally as old.  My customers sometimes had no experience of understanding of Provence, but they enjoyed a good chicken print tablecloth when they saw one.  And fabric weaves that will last into perhaps another generation.