You have your great-grandma's thimble collection. Someone else has their great-grandpa's high chair he used as a baby.  Yet another has the family bible dating back to the early 1800's.  The fancy word for these items is ephemera.  Put simply, they are your family's keepsakes, heirlooms and momentos.  Family historians in particular place a high value on these treasures because of the story they tell about the ancestor who owned, perhaps even made, them.  As moving as it is to possess such history, be sure you have a thorough inventory of your collectibles.  Help teach your descendants where they came from.  On Wednesday, February 8, 2012 bring your family keepsake or collection to Show a

Early Sunday morning, over 4,000 runners from around the world participated in the California International Marathon, a 26.2-mile race from Folsom to downtown Sacramento. As the runners scaled the greater Sacramento area into the afternoon, hundreds of supporters lined the route carrying signs of support and yelling words of encouragement. Meadow Bailey, a 34-year-old homemaker from Rancho Cordova, was one of the many who came out to show their support. She said that although this was her first time coming, she had an enjoyable experience. “Everybody is cheering, and there’s a great sense of unity,” she said. Starting near Folsom Lake, participants headed east down Oak Avenue. Passing t

The Elk Grove Force beat the Sacramento Donkey Fong, 33-23 in the final match, making Elk Grove the first champion of the annual Jumpstart 21 Hoops and Alley Oops Regional Celebrity Basketball Tournament. There were more than 250 attendants watching the game Monday afternoon at the Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation basketball arena in Elk Grove. In the final match, Former Monarch Danielle Viglione of the Sacramento Donkey Fong injured her left ankle as she went for a rebound early in the game. In the last six minutes of the game, another Sacramento Donkey Fong player was injured: Rolland Foley III, 20, a Sacramento City College student, injured his knee. "I'm sad for my teammate

The National Basketball Association might still be in a lockout, but the Sacramento region is set to have a celebrity basketball tournament Nov 14. where eight teams representing Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Elk Grove, Roseville, West Sacramento, Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Sacramento are participating for a fundraising event. The Jumpstart 21 Hoops and Alley Oops Regional Celebrity Basketball Tournament is a three-on-three half-court basketball tournament fundraising event held by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce (SACC). The proceeds will benefit Jumpstart 21, a workforce development and internship placement program by the SACC for young adults recently out of the foster care

Check Before You Burn Starts November 1 in Sacramento County and its Cities The fifth season of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District’s Check Before You Burn program starts November 1 and runs through February 29, 2012. Residential wood burning will be restricted or prohibited on days when fine particle pollution is forecast to be high. The law is in effect in Sacramento County and its cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Isleton, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. Residents are required to Check Before You Burn. The District will restrict or prohibit the use of indoor and outdoor fireplaces and wood stoves, and fire pits and chimineas that burn wood, pell

Law enforcement and correctional officers, military personnel and a firefighter went toe to toe in the boxing ring Saturday night, raising money for charity in the Battle of the Badges Fight Series: Road to the Championship. Held in the intimate courtyard setting of Liquid Nightclub in Citrus Heights, the well-attended event benefitted charities including the Armed Forces Foundation, Firefighters Burn Institute and Sacramento Sheriff's Toy Project. Battle of the Badges Fight Series events are a lead-up to the title fight at Battle of the Badges VIII. Last year's Battle of the Badges VII was held in August at Memorial Auditorium. All bouts had a three-round limit, and on the card Saturd

On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society will host Linda Johnson, Senior Archivist at the California State Archives. Linda will describe county records held there and answer audience questions. A brief membership meeting will precede the program. We welcome your questions in advance! Email them to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. Questions will also be taken at the meeting. All Root Cellar membership meetings are free so bring someone with you. 7pm-8:30pm Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse 6921 Sylvan Way Citrus Heights Contact Sandi Benward 916-412-3511 Website: http://www.rootcellar.org Blog: http://rootcellarramblings.blogspot.com October Datebook: Sat

Sacramento Cal Expo Sacramento Independence Day Celebration Monday – Gates open at 6 p.m. and fireworks begin around 9:30 p.m. 1600 Exposition Blvd. – Fireworks in the Miller Lite Grandstand Price: Free Parking: $10 in the Cal Expo parking lot Age: All ages Cal Expo will present its famed fireworks display for guests. Guests can enjoy preshow music provided by 107.9 The End and the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West. Raley Field Independence Day Weekend Celebration Saturday and Sunday. Games start at 7:05 p.m. Sat and 6:35 p.m. Sun Raley Field, 400 Ballpark Drive Price: $7-$42 Age: All ages Family and friends can enjoy Raley Field’s annual Fourth of July celebration with t

Citrus Heights, CA- June 12, 2011 at 6:18pm, Sacramento Metro firefighters responded to the 6000 block of Oak Creek Way to the report of a four-year old male child that had been pulled from a pool and was not breathing. At 6:21pm firefighter/ paramedics arrived on scene to the backyard of a residential home where they found two people performing CPR on the small child. 9-1-1 dispatchers had been able to give CPR instructions to an adult on scene. Firefighter/Paramedics immediately started advanced life support measures and transported the child to Mercy San Juan Hospital. The child did not survive. With the change in weather conditions, more children are going to be in and around the wate

A nifty mobile scanning service will be discussed at the next meeting of Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society.  If you have boxes and boxes full of treasured family history photos and documents that you want to preserve in one fell swoop, this service may be for you.  Everyone is welcome on June 8th at the Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse, 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights, 7:00pm - 8:30pm.  Blog: http://rootcellarramblings.blogspot.com Website: www.rootcellar.org Email: rootcellarsgs@gmail.com

Are you starting to plan your summer vacation? Despite spring weather trying to take hold in the Sacramento area, it's not too early to think about summer-time travel. For many family history researchers, travel will involve going to their ancestor's place of origin, visiting with newly discovered relatives and delving into courthouses, libraries and other record repositories. What research documents and equipment should you take with you? What should you leave home? What should you wear? Get answers to these questions and more at Glenda Lloyd's presentation "Planning a Research Trip" at the next meeting of Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society. All meetings are free and open to th

The Sacramento Fire Department expects to hire 27 firefighters and end its “brownouts” soon, thanks to a $5.6 million grant from the federal government. The grant to the city fire department and a $5.4 million grant to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District were discussed at a Thursday morning press conference held by Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) and local fire officials. The Metropolitan Fire District, which covers Sacramento and Placer counties and the cities of Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova, will hire 24 or more firefighters with its funding, said Metro Fire Chief Bill Sponable. The city fire department has two rolling brownouts in effect, which means that certain

A local group that addresses homelessness is already preparing to count the county’s homeless population in January. Sacramento Steps Forward, a group formed by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to combat homelessness locally, is organizing the 2011 Homeless Street Count. While Johnson’s group is running the event, the information from the Jan. 27 count will be used by Sacramento County. The county is required by the federal Housing and Urban Development agency to provide information from a count every other year, said Michele Watts, program manager for Sacramento Steps Forward. The federal housing agency provides millions of dollars to Sacramento County’s homeless programs, Watts said. At

Word is growing about free weekly skate jams at Surf & Skate's Sacramento headquarters. At least 20 skateboarders have been showing up each week since the Citrus Heights shop's custom-built Skatelite bowl and street course opened a year and a half ago. The skate sessions changed this week from Wednesday to Thursday nights. Most skaters are locals. But up to 60 people from as far as San Francisco and Truckee have dropped in to carve the bowl, practice tricks and learn from each other on any given evening, said Surf & Skate owner Bob Mitchell. "You'll see some of the best skateboarders in the country show up here," he said. "(These) nights are pretty off the hook." Mitchell was a record-

 Looking for an explosive way to spend your Fourth of July? Well, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Fourth of July events in the Sacramento area. Sacramento Cal Expo will once again host an Independence Day Celebration sponsored by Coca-Cola and Miller Lite at the Miller Lite Grandstand near the East Gate entrance. The festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a performance from Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers. State Fair mascot Poppy will also be there to entertain the crowds. Cal Expo’s media partner, radio station 107.9 The End, will provide music to the spectacular fireworks show, starting at 9:30 p.m. Parking for the event is $10, and general admission to

The 4th of July is next weekend but the celebratory parades have already begun. In Citrus Heights the 11th Annual Red, White, and Blue Parade took place on Saturday. This was the first time I’ve attended this parade mainly due to an email I received. Since it was held in the morning the weather was very pleasant and hundreds of families began staking out viewing spots on Sunrise Avenue from just north of Madison to the end near Greenback Avenue. A skydiving display kicked off the parade after the second diver landed and moved his gear off the street. Marching bands, floats, and several classic cars made their way down the parade route. Children happily waved at parade participants and mor

By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager www.hpiparanormal.net I have to give this article a theme song. Since most of my investigators are women and since they are from California. The theme song for this article is: California Girls by Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg, hear the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_hLBY1bVQ Now that I am pumped up with my Monster energy drink and a good song while I was driving to the residence in question..let's get on with the story. JUST IN! OUR HPI RESEARCHER LAURIE RUTLEDGE SAYS THIS: Laurie Mztaken commented on your link: "Paul, just read about the vinegar scent. It was commonly used to tenderize rougher cuts of meat, especially back in the o

The Fire Escape Bar & Grill played host to four local bands Sunday evening. The first band, Purgatory, is from Elk Grove. Their last show was at The Distillery in Midtown on May 14. Their consistently hard-hitting sound is a more matured form of metal that blends everything from Nine Inch Nails to Johnny Cash. "I was really inspired playing with the other bands and being a part of something I dream of doing," said Gary Gruwell, one of the band's guitarists. "When I play, I have adrenaline and beer running through my veins." Gruwell Continued, "It felt unreal being up there on stage. It always does. I always dreamed of playing in front of a crowd. Every time is like the first time all

I was sad to leave nearly all my friends behind when I left the Bay Area, but the good news is that I have relatives coming out of the woodwork here in Citrus Heights, all within a few miles’ radius of my house. They have been leading busy lives here for decades and lifetimes. They are some of the smartest and funniest people I know, too. They probably wouldn’t take too kindly to my grousing about their neck of the woods, but then they’re the ones I stole the best lines from, so they have only themselves to blame! In contrast to people in the Bay Area, who tend to either be very kind or very opinionated, I have found that folks here tend to be both kind and opinionated. They generally wil

 For his friends he was a tenacious fighter known for his fairness, and remembered for his love of the games. Former A-1 Comics Store Manager, Joe Guardalibene passed away but his strong example of the importance of knowing right from wrong lives on. Many of the kids who played in his game tournaments, including the popular Magic games, discovered a role model who inspired them beyond the game board. Joe was an important part of the Sacramento gaming community for over 8 years. He made many friends managing a local comic book and gaming store where he took great pride in keeping up to date on the latest popular games, comics, anime and was an expert on the market for older comic collectib