Discover Photos of the Pass

View of Banning, CA, downtown, 1901

(looking north on San Gorgonio Avenue from railroad tracks)

Courtesy of Banning Public Library District

Photos from the rich past of San Gorgonio Pass tell many stories.

On Monday, Bill Bell will share some.

From cowboys to apricot groves and other community commerce, from a World War I armistice parade to more modern Stagecoach Days events, Banning Public Library's photos comprise a wide range of the Pass past.

SCANNING HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS

Bell has been working on a state library grant project to digitize old photos in the library district archives.

He’ll share some of his discoveries at Monday’s Dragonfly Lecture at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center — and tell how he’s on the lookout for more.

The public is invited to the lecture starting at 6 p.m. at the Center at 17 W. Hays, Banning, CA. Donations at the door help the small nonprofit save and share Southern California’s Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.

The Center celebrates a theme each year, and this year, it’s Shadowcatchers: Photographs. The Center is spotlighting work in documenting and preserving Native American-related historic photos. These photos are often not in major historic collections.