April 22nd, 2010

Whenever I was writing about a something that took place in Nevada County I always made a trip to Searls Library in Nevada City to do the research. Ed Tyson, the kind, elderly librarian would welcome me into the small, two-room building that was once a law office back in the day, and clear a place for me to sit down and start to work. I was struck by his ability to know just where a particular document was located. He had been at Searls for years and could quickly put his finger on the very item that was needed. He knew off the top of his head what photographs were on file and what book he needed to pull off the shelf to help get the job done well. He was always gracious and genuinely interested in whatever topic I was exploring. Ed passed away a few weeks ago. He was in his 90s and still working at the library. I’ve got to make another run to Searls Library in the not too distant future and I know the memory of Ed will be all around the historic location. I’ll miss his eagerness to assist and his generous smile. He always had a story or two to share about notorious western characters like Black Bart or Jesse James. And speaking of Jesse James?on this day more than 135 years ago he was getting ready to marry Zee Mimms. The couple had four children. Jesse became a devout Christian, but he was still a thief and a ruthless killer and had no intention of ever supporting his family in an honest fashion. I guess he wasn’t that devout. Two of his children grew to adulthood. His son, Jesse Jr., became a lawyer. I could make a humorous comment here, but some jokes are just too obvious to be funny. Jesse James had twins that died at an early age. I’m not sure from what. I bet Ed Tyson would have known.