Pioneer Village is worth a visit

For many years on Sunday mornings, you could find Ed and Bev Tanner hosting visitors at Pioneer Village in Folsom's Historic District. They have loved being there and sharing stories about Folsom's history. Over the years, the Tanners became accustomed to local visitors to Pioneer Village saying, "This is charming! I had no idea this place was here!" Sometimes these were people who lived in Folsom for more than a decade. So, for those of you who are now curious, here is a brief history:Pioneer Village came into existence in the 1970s as the brainchild of a fellow named Jim Phillips. Everybody called him "Folsom Jim." He collected 19th-century mining and farming equipment from around the Folsom area and built a fully functional blacksmith forge, replica miner's cabin, Carriage House and gold-panning trough from salvaged barn materials. The city provided the land and support came from a number of community leaders, including Bud and Artie Davies, Claudia Cummings, Stan Gisler and Jack Kipp. Many community volunteers, including Jim's two sons, as well as prisoners from Folsom Prison helped with the construction.For a time, Jim lived upstairs in the Carriage House. I'm told that, like Ed and Bev, he also loved to entertain visitors with stories of Folsom's history. Jim was there until 1992 when he was no longer able to maintain it. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 99.During the summer of 1996, Stan Gisler, Ken Eisenberg, Bob Englehart and Ed Tanner worked to clear away weeds and haul away junk. There was again strong support from the community, including help from Folsom prison inmates. Artie Davis offered funding to keep the project going.Next, the city made an agreement with Ed and Bev to manage the museum they called the Folsom Interpretive Area. It was a place where people could get a hands-on sense of 19th-century pioneer life. The city provided $5,000 per year for coal and steel for the blacksmith forge but the Tanners ran the place as volunteers. About 10 years later, the city asked the Folsom Historical Society to take over management of the Interpretive Area. The name was changed to Folsom Pioneer Village with Ed and Bev continuing to operate the museum. They stopped managing in 2012 and their involvement has lessened in recent months but their passion for the cause has not. Today, Pioneer Village offers blacksmithing classes, school field trips and an opportunity to try your hand at gold panning. It is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. volunteer-availability and weather-permitting. There are now blacksmiths working there nearly every day and volunteer docents eager to share lots of stories about Folsom's past. We've noticed that families often come to visit in the weeks after a school field trip because their kids have told them how much fun they had and what they learned.None of this would exist without Ed and Bev along with Folsom Jim and all the others who've contributed over the years. Sadly, the Tanners are retiring from Pioneer Village after volunteering for more than 20 years. At noon on Sunday, April 26 at Pioneer Village (196 Wool St.), the museum will honor their legacy and highlight the value of volunteering in our community by naming the new porch in front of the forge the Ed and Bev Tanner Porch. I hope you can join us, drop some money in the donation box in honor of Ed and Bev, tell your friends and sign up to become a volunteer! Jeff Ferreira-Pro is the president of the Folsom Historical Society and can be reached at 916-792-9438 or jferreirapro@att.net.