2009 - The John Muir Odyssey East Lothian 2009
One of the flagship events of Homecoming Scotland 2009, the John Muir Odyssey, will follow in the footsteps of John Muir, celebrating the life and legacy of this great Scot, regarded as "the Father of modern day conservation." From his birthplace in East Lothian, with an exciting itinerary, by land and sea, the Odyssey promises dramatic scenery, spectacular coastline and the amazing wildlife that inspired John Muir. With a programme including: the John Muir Celebrity Lecture, "Muir’s World by Land and Sea", "Our Wee Planet", a festival featuring art, music, film, walks, talks and boat trips, this event promises to be one of the highlights of Scotland’s National celebration for Scots 'coming home' in 2009. Set in the heart of John Muir country, in Dunbar and North Berwick, visitors will have the opportunity to experience at first hand what inspired John Muir’s passion for wild places, a legacy that continues across the world today. Visitors will be able to walk on the beaches and in the countryside he loved, visit his home and find out about the influences, as a boy, that would endure throughout his life. Look out for the John Muir Homecoming booklet JOHN MUIR: a Scotchman Comes Home on sale at John Muir’s Birthplace.
See Programme Schedule for more information (off-site link).
April 6, 2008 - Harold Wood, the Chair of the Sierra Club John Muir Education Committee, was a featured guest on SouthwestBlend.com's ‘Champagne Sundays’ Online Radio Show. This show was a special Eco & Environment show that aired live on April 6th, 2008. Click here to listen to the audio of the show (Shockwave Flash). Features information about the Sierra Club John Muir Education Committee.
February 7, 2008 - Couple retrace John Muir's walk from San
Francisco to Yosemite for third year in a row.
Peter and Donna Thomas are writing a guidebook that retraces the route famed
naturalist John Muir took in the spring of 1868. Read story from Union Democrat.
July 18, 2007 - Announcement of "John Muir in the New
World" Proposed
2-hour Film Documentary.
International Cultural Programming in partnership with GreatFull Productions
of Seattle are producing a two-hour biographical documentary of the extraordinary
life and influence of this man in American history. The project recently
received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) scripting grant of $80,000.
The proposed film is to be produced by Global Village Media, GreatFull Productions
and NewStory Ventures of Seattle. Director: Catherine Tatge.
See producer's
press release (July 18, 2007).
June 27, 2007 - The Holt-Atherton Special Collections department of the University of the Pacific Library, with the approval of the Muir-Hanna Trust, has begun a multi-phased digitization project to provide online access to portions of the John Muir Papers. You can view all of the photos of Muir that we have at Pacific through our digital collections site http://library.pacific.edu/ha/digital/index.asp The Library is also scanning all of the Muir journals at Pacific and hope to have them online this fall. Later phases of the Muir digitization project will involve correspondence and drawings.
September 30, 2006 - "A Tribute to John Muir,' held at the Historic Cobb Ranch, Fresno, California. Celebrating the opening of a new cornfield maze cut into the shape of the California Quarter.
September, 2006 - National Park Service establishes new Museum Collections at John Muir National Historic Site website with numerous photos, slide shows, etc.
August 26, 2006 - Ranch Days at John Muir National Historic Site & John Muir Association Annual Awards Dinner.
Spring, 2006 - Re-Walking John Muir's 1868 Trip to Yosemite - Walkers: Peter and Donna Thomas (posted 12/5/05)
April 22, 2006 - John Muir Birthday - Earth Day Celebration at John Muir National Historic Site
March 31 - April 1, 2006 - 2006
John Muir Conference - University of the Pacific's John Muir Center hosted
a conference at the Stockton campus of University of the Pacific on March
31-April 1, 2006. The focus of the 2006 California History Institute was"John
Muir in Global Perspective."
October 16, 2005 - The latest collection of presentations in University of the Pacific's ongoing John Muir Conferences was released. Collected presentations from the 2001 conference will be published in John Muir: Family Friends, and Adventures, Edited by Sally M. Miller and Daryl Morrison, Introduction by Bonnie Johanna Gisel (2005).
October 14, 2005 - The Extra Mile — Points of Light Volunteer Pathway, in Washington, D.C., was dedicated at 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 14, 2005. John Muir is among the honorees who will be recognized in an individual ceremony at a later date, after the first 20 honorees are recognized at the October 14 dedication.
August 3- 7, 2005 - The John Muir's Mountain Days musical
was performed again this summer: Aug 3-7, 2005 outdoors again at the Muir
Amphitheatre in Martinez, California. The Ampitheatre has new windscreens,
fencing, box office, concessions building, picnic tables and a great show.
For more information: www.willowstheatre.org
April 17 - 2005 - Unpublished
Letters of John Muir Go Online
More than 100 pages of original letters by John Muir, America's most celebrated
environmentalist, went online this week on the Wisconsin Historical Society's
Web site. The
30 letters — believed to be the first important collection of original
Muir manuscripts to be made available on the Web — were written between
1861 and 1914 to several friends from his childhood and youth in Wisconsin. "Because
they're intimate personal letters spanning his entire adult life," says
Society librarian Michael Edmonds, "they document all the major turning
points in his career." Although typed transcripts of some of the letters
have been quoted by scholars, all but six are published in their entirety for
the first time on the Society's Turning Points in Wisconsin History Web site.
They can be found in the online collection along with other letters and manuscripts
relating to Muir, including his brother David's description of their childhood.
April - May 2005 - Clan
Currie Society to Celebrate "The Life and Legacy of John Muir" on
Ellis Island
Annual Tartan Day Celebration to Focus on the Scots-Born "Father of
the American National Parks"
View: Image of Announcement Poster
April 23, 2005 - Earth Day/ John Muir Birthay Celebration at John Muir National Historic Site
January 16, 2005 through April 24, 2005 - John Muir and Joseph LeConte's great-grandsons honor Sierra Club and conservation movement origins at Keith Gallery, St. Mary's College, Moraga, California
January 31, 2005 - U.S. Mint and Governor Launch California Quarter in Sacramento
"John Muir has been a role model to generations of Californians and to conservationists around the world. He taught us to be active and to enjoy -- but at the same time protect -- our parks, our beaches, and our mountains."
- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he announced selection of the John Muir-Yosemite Design for the California State Quarter (March 29, 2004)
The new California State Quarter featuring John Muir was
released on January 31, 2005.
July 2, 2004:
Photos of Indiana Historical Marker Celebration - John Muir in Indianapolis
John Muir in Indiana Historical Marker Dedication (press release)
April 21, 2004: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the annual proclamation designating John Muir Day on the anniversary of John Muir's birthday, stating: "Nearly 90 years after his death, the evocative reflections of conservationist John Muir continue to inspire citizens of our state and nation to appreciate and protect our natural heritage." In recognizing Muir's achievements, Governor Schwarzenegger said, "John Muir Day is an opportunity to recognize and respect the role of humankind in nature, and to promote conservation for our fulfillment and the benefit of future generations."
March 29, 2004: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the selection of the John Muir-Yosemite design for the California State Quarter
December 11, 2003 - In 2003, Michael Muir, a great-grandson of John Muir, and the President of United States Driving for the Disabled, Inc., ended a 1,000 mile journey in a horse drawn cart, following the route taken by John Muir in his first great wilderness adventure, The Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. Starting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 22, 2003, the Journey went through Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida to arrive at Cedar Keys on the Gulf of Mexico on December 11, 2003.
November 24, 2003 - The U.S. Mint's Citizens Coin Advisory Committee recommends "Waves and Sun" and "Yosemite and John Muir" for the California Quarter: California Sun Wins Favor
November, 2003: The Indiana Historical Bureau has unanimously approved
the application for a state historical marker commemorating John Muir's time
in Indiana. A marker will be designed for the site and a suitable dedication
ceremony will be performed. For more information, see:
John Muir Marker to Be Erected in Indianapolis - The Indiana Sierran, Spring, 2004.
John Muir in Indiana (PDF) by Harold W. Wood, Jr. - research paper submitted to Indiana Historical Bureau in support of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter request for a commemortive historical plaque in Indianapolis.
"Muir Historical Marker in Indy May Be a Reality ", The Indiana Sierran, Fall, 2001. (off-site link)
Indiana State Historical Marker Program (off-site link)
Places Important to John Muir - Indiana
John Muir National Historic Site is located in Martinez, California, at 4202 Alhambra Avenue.
Honoree on THE EXTRA MILE - Points of Light Volunteer Pathway (Washington, D.C.)
Muir-Hanna Vineyards - Family Wine label from John Muir's descendents released in March, 2002.
California Official Tartan Honors John Muir
John Muir Tribute CD released by John Muir Memorial Association!
Fundraising Campaign for John Muir National Historic Site Visitor and Education Center
Wild Production's (Lee Stetson) "John Muir" Touring Schedule
.