The Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society will present a free talk about Pearl Chase by local author Cheri Rae at its Annual Meeting, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave., Santa Barbara.
Rae’s talk, Pearl Chase: Santa Barbara’s Visionary Leader, will give background about the people and events that shaped Pearl Chase.
Rae will discuss how Chase was able to craft an independent life in which she could follow her heart, her interests, and her determination to make Santa Barbara a more beautiful place to live.
The event opens at 9:30 a.m. for refreshments, conversation with the Society’s Special Interest Groups about everything from beginning genealogy to writing your family history, and perusing genealogical books for sale.
Following a short business meeting at 10:30 a.m., Rae’s presentation starts at 11 a.m. She will have copies of her book “A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara” for purchase.
The business meeting and Rae’s presentation will be available via Zoom. Register at SBGen.org to attend online.
Civic activist and award-winning columnist Rae is the author of more than 300 articles and commentaries about Santa Barbara, and she is the longtime editor of “The Capital,” newsletter for the Pearl Chase Society.
Rae led efforts to preserve the city’s Bungalow Haven neighborhood, historic buildings, and trees. Equally outspoken on education issues, she spearheads community-wide literacy awareness initiatives.
The director of the Dyslexia Project, working on behalf of students with dyslexia, Rae was awarded a Resolution from the California State Assembly for her dyslexia work.
Her interest in celebrating and sharing Santa Barbara’s environment and architecture led her to write “Walk Santa Barbara.”
Rae lives with her family in a 1912 bungalow in Santa Barbara’s Bungalow Haven, the historic district she helped create through her advocacy. She is now working on a memoir called “Bungalow Life.”
For more about the Genealogical Society, visit SBGen.org.