For those who don't know, Joan and her husband, Dick, were our first friends in Tahoe. She has introduced us to so many interesting things and intriguing people of Tahoe.

Since Joan was going to be in town, one of the people she really wanted to connect with was Betty Mitchell. Betty is a living legend in here in Tahoe and I was on the edge of my seat, learning more about her.

She was born June 4, 1922, in Yosemite National Park, where her father and mother worked for the company that became the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., a concession business within the park.

She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1944 with a bachelor’s degree in social welfare and worked for Merced, San Joaquin and El Dorado counties and the state of California.


She and Tom Mitchell were married Dec. 5, 1943 and always wanted to wanted to live in the mountains. Fortunately, Tom was offered a job as a teacher, with the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, so they relocated to the area in 1958.

She was very involved with everything in her new hometown and I became acquainted with her from my volunteerism for the Lake Tahoe Historical Society. What a neat Tahoe Treasure Betty is.

The history lesson, also known as lunch, just wasn't long enough. What a treat to spend so much time in the company of two amazing and inspiring women.