Seeing an actual covered wagon at Portland's Oregon Historical Society museum brings home the reality of just how little space there was to stash all the provisions necessary for the arduous overland crossing from Independence, Missouri to the West Coast. (Jackie Burrell/Bay Area News Group)
Early immigrants discussed
Robert Keahey, a docent at the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum, is set give a Feb. 16 talk on the westward migration to California in the mid-1800s. The migration was the largest in U.S. history, with over 250,000 people making the 2,000-mile journey across the Great American Desert between 1840 and 1870, including members of the Murphy family that founded Sunnyvale.
Starting with a discussion of the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, Keahey will focus on what drove people to “go west,” as well as the essential elements of a wagon train. His talk will also address the impact of these early pioneers on westward expansion.
Keahey’s talk is set for 7 p.m. at the museum, 570 E. Remington Drive. For more information, visit https://heritageparkmuseum.org.
FutureFitting homes
Responding to an increasing demand for rebates, Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) has added $3 million to its FutureFit Homes program. Customers of the Sunnyvale-based green energy aggregator have received or reserved over $2.8 million in rebates since the program launched in October 2022 to provide financial support for customers who upgrade from gas to energy-efficient electric heat pump equipment.
Through the program, 223 heat pump water heaters and 334 heat pump space heating and cooling systems have been upgraded, and 109 pre-wired circuits have been installed.
For more information on FutureFit Homes rebates, SVCE customers can visit svcleanenergy.org/home-rebates.
Originally published at Anne Gelhaus