2024 Speakers Series
Admission $10

Sundays 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Barbara Tejeda -Feb. 4

Patty Colman – March 10

Mara Rodriguez – April 21

Colleen Delany – May 5

Richard Foss – June 2

The First People of the Conejo Valley February 4^th

Learn about the indigenous people of the Conejo Valley, the mitsqanaqa’n (Ventureño) Chumash people. Barbara Tejada, Cultural Resource Program Manager for California State Parks, and board chair of the Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks will talk about the people and the places who first called this valley home and how they continue their traditions today.

March 10^th Adventurous Female Homesteaders of the 19^th and Early 20^th Centuries.

It’s estimated that 1,500,000 people homesteaded in the United States. Of that, approximately 15% were women. Why is this figure so low and how do our local homesteaders compare? Join Patty Colman, a professor of history at Moorpark College as we delve into a discussion of the Homestead Act and its relevance for women.

Wild Stories from Moorpark College Teaching Zoo Development Coordinator April 21^st

Join Mara Rodriguez, coordinator of Zoo Development at America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College as she shares stories of her exciting 30-year career working with wild animals and creating experiences that help educate people about the importance of wild animal conservation. She has trained and cared for over 175 species of wild animals including tigers, lions, and mountain lions. Mara was recently awarded the 2022 Community College State Employee of the Year by the California State Chancellor’s office

May 5^th Discover Hidden History of the Conejo Valley – Rancho Guadalasca

Discover the intriguing history of Rancho Guadalasca with Colleen Delaney, professor at CSU Channel Islands and author of the recently published book, Rancho Guadalasca. Delaney uses oral history, archaeology, and anthropology to tell stories of the past and present in this little-known section of the Conejo Valley.  Learn about a failed evangelical, “holy city”, champion Percheron horses, a possible WWII German agent and more.

Victorian Taste of Conejo -Discover What People Ate & How Food Was Prepared June 2nd

Entice your taste buds as you travel back in time to Victorian Southern California with Richard Foss, a culinary historian with two books in print who has been writing about food professionally since 1986.   Foss offers audiences a unique perspective on how the discovery of gold, arrival of railroads and steamships brought imported and luxury items as well as the first convenience foods.  Discover what people ate and how they cooked it during this period of extraordinary change.

Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S. Ventu Park Rd., Newbury Park

805.498.9441 www.stagecoachinnmuseum.com