The town is incredibly rich in history, including its college. California State University, Chico is the second-oldest campus in the 23 campus California State University system (1889) and strolling its grounds was pretty impressive.

On the way to campus, we stopped at Shubert's for dessert. "Shubert's began in 1938 and not only is it in the same building, but it also uses one of the original ice cream making machines, still in the same family, with the fourth generation of Pulliam's currently making ice cream, rolling out candies and dipping chocolates right on the premises. This unbroken connection to Chico's history and to traditional entrepreneurship is reflected in the family's dedication to maintaining the highest standard of quality in their products." We agreed that it was some of the creamiest ice creams we had ever had. YUM.

John Bidwell (more about him in Part 4) donated his eight-acre cherry orchard to secure the northern branch of the State Normal School for Chico in 1887. The corner boundaries of his cherry orchard are marked today by a planting of cherry trees, each with a plaque that commemorates this gift.

Construction began on Chico State Normal School, and the campus opened in 1889 with 90 students and five faculty members. The first class of teachers graduated in June 1891. To walk around in this kind of history was pretty amazing. I was thoroughly impressed and we all wished we had gone here for our undergrad degrees.



CSU, Chico's venerable Laxson Auditorium celebrated its 80th year of operation in spring of 2011. Built in approximately thirteen months, at a cost of $288,703, the auditorium has been the site of thousands of performances, debates, speeches, graduations, and ceremonies. Each year, Laxson Auditorium hosts more than 100 performances of artists from around the world in music, dance, theater and lectures.  We were there to see what it was all about.
We ventured on campus, not only to tour but also to see one of those 100 performances- the Spring Musical, “The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue,” which celebrates famed humorist and performer Will Rogers in a song and dance, glitz and glamour spectacular.  Set in the 1920s and ‘30s, within the famous Ziegfeld Follies, where Will Rogers often headlined with his homespun stories, every scene and song in this musical comedy is a lavish over-the-top production number highlighting the reminiscences of one of America’s most beloved folk heroes.
While at times it was a little over-the-top, we all enjoyed the show and learned a great deal about Will Rogers. What a great way to concluded Day #1 in Chico.