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Carrizo Plain Oral History Collection
MS0185
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Table of contents
Title: Carrizo Plain Oral History Collection
Dates: 1990 - 2013
Collection Number: MS0185
Creator/Collector:
Jacqueline (Jackie) Czapla
Craig Deutsche
Nancy Warner
Carrizo Plain National Monument
Extent: 2LF, 4 boxes, 114GB
Repository:
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Special Collections and Archives
San Luis Obispo, California 93407
Abstract: Oral history audio recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted with residents of the Carrizo Plain region. Interviews
conducted by Jacqueline Czapla and Craig Deutsche between 2008 – 2013. Collection also includes interviews conducted by Nancy
Warner between 1990 - 1995, and copies of supplementary materials donated by Czapla and Deutsche interviewees.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open to researchers by appointment. For more information on visiting, access policies, and reproduction requests,
please visit our Reference Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/search-and-find/collections-and-archives/reference-services/.
Digital copies are provided to researchers for the purpose of study, research, and personal use only, unless otherwise specified
in writing. Materials that are the property of Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives require written permission prior
to publication. No complete collection may be reproduced.
For print and online publication, please visit our Reproduction Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/support/sca-policies/reproduction/.
Special Collections and Archives reserves the right to review all reproduction requests and to withhold permission if scanning
would endanger the material, would violate copyright law, or would violate institutional restrictions.
Carrizo Plain Oral History Collection. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Special Collections and
Archives
Donated 2013.
Biography/Administrative History
Jacqueline (Jackie) Czapla and Craig Deutsche conducted oral history interviews with residents in the Carrizo Plain region
between 2008 and 2013. The interviews include current and former ranchers, seasonal workers, descendants of early settlers,
members of Chumash tribes, and area residents. Interview subjects include local family history, sheepherding, ranching methods,
land and animal management, local community relations, Basque and European immigration, and the Chumash culture and lands.
Jackie Czapla is originally from the Sacramento area and moved to Washburn Ranch in 1995 when her husband, a Bureau of Land
Management employee, transferred to the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Jackie is an artist and horse trainer, and has worked
with the Bureau of Land Management in different capacities. She is a board member with the Friends of the Carrizo Plain, a
nonprofit, volunteer organization that supports the three managing partners of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Encouraged
by locals and colleagues, she originally planned to conduct an oral history project in 2002 with her own equipment and funding,
but the project was delayed until 2008.
Craig Deutsche is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a desert conservation advocate and member of both the Sierra
Club and the Friends of the Carrizo Plain. He taught chemistry and physics in the Los Angeles area for over 15 years. Since
retirement he has led backpacking trips and service outings with several environmental organizations and has authored two
books about the Carrizo region. He began working as a volunteer with the monument in 2003.
Jackie and Craig met at the Carrizo Plain National Monument visitor’s center in 2007 while Jackie was working in education
and Craig was working on a fence project. Intrigued with the history of the people and the plain, they recognized the need
to record and preserve the stories of local residents. In late 2007 they agreed to pursue Jackie’s oral history project and
began contacting potential interviewees. The interviews were conducted between 2008 and 2013 at homes and ranches, at local
churches and businesses, and at public events. The recordings were later transcribed by Jackie and Craig.
Nancy Warner, a biologist and consultant, worked in the San Luis Obispo area for over ten years. Her work included projects
with Guadalupe-Dunes Preserve, the Pecho Coast Trail, and The Nature Conservancy of California. She worked with the Carrizo
Plain National Monument from 1988 – 1991 as an Education/Volunteer Coordinator and as a biological consultant for a habitat
restoration program. She conducted oral history interviews between 1990 – 1991 and later contributed her records to Jackie
and Craig to be included in the oral history project.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains digital audio recordings of oral histories and typewritten transcripts of interviews conducted with
residents of the Carrizo Plain region. Interviews were conducted by Craig Deutsche and Jacqueline Czapla between 2008 – 2013.
The collection also includes interviews conducted by Nancy Warner in 1990 and 1991, copies of photographs, and materials provided
by the interviewees.
Carrizo Plain
Carrisa Plains
Oral History
California Ranching
Homesteading
Land Conservation
Chumash
Van Matre
Diefenderfer
Garcia
Cooper
Loucks
Ruskovich
Werling
Kuhnle
Twisselman
Wildharber
Traver
Rolfe
McCart
Carrizo Plain
Pozo
Santa Margarita
Digital Audio Files
Documents