Betsy J. Green

Scheduled events

 

 

 

 

The Westerners

January 2, 2025

Slideshow presentation

(Private event)

 

Santa Barbara Historical Museum

January 29, 2025

Slideshow presentation

Reservations necessary

 

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

September 18, 2025

Slideshow presentation

Reservations necessary

 

 

 

Scheduled events

 

Santa Barbara celebrated the first Fiesta with parades and parties this year, and the Lobero Theater and Granada Theater appeared. The new city hall opened, and the old one came down. Students began attending classes in the new Santa Barbara High School.

Families went to the movies or stayed home and listened to music or soap operas on the radio. Partygoers danced to the Charleston and drank illegal whiskey smuggled here from Canada. A Santa Barbara pilot flew around the world.

More and more families had cars, moved out of apartments, and built their own homes. Architects and builders couldn't keep up with the demand, so catalog companies stepped up,and catalog homes appeared on our streets. Santa Barbarans were clearly enjoying the Roaring Twenties.

 

Slideshow presentation

The Westerners - Santa Barbara Corral

November 7, 2024

Private event

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes at the "Flying A"

Hundreds of highlights, hijinks, and hazards at the "Flying A" film studio made for some wild and crazy stories. Silent movie actors and film crews appeared on the streets and countryside of Santa Barbara – often without warning.

 

 

Date: Wednesday, October 16

Santa Barbara Women's Club

Private event

 

Past programs about my previous book:

 

Aug. 29, 2022 - 6 p.m. Chaucer's Bookstore

 

Sept. 10, 2022 - 1 p.m. Montecito Public Library

 

Sept. 19, 2022 - 12:30 p.m. Santa Barbara Yacht Club

 

Sept. 28, 2022 - 5:30 p.m. Santa Barbara Historical Society

 

Oct. 18, 2022 - Montecito Rotary Group

 

Nov. 3, 2022 - Mesa Presby. Seniors Group

 

Nov. 11, 2022 - PEO Women's Group

 

Nov. 16, 2022 - S.B. Women's Club

 

To arrange a free presentation for your group (in person or zoom), email me at author@betsyjgreen.com

 

In honor of Women's History Month - Women in the 19teens

 

Great changes were on the horizon for women as the second decade of the 1900s opened. The corsets and bustles of decades past gave way to the new freedoms of modern dress. The spread of electricity and of new appliances helped relieve the drudgery of housework while at the same time opportunities in the workplace multiplied. And, towards the end of the decade, women got the vote and even went to war.

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2022  5:30 PM

Location:  SB Historical Museum Courtyard

  

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Update - My "Way Back When Magical History Tour" for 1919 is now available online on the Santa Barbara Historical Museum's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HveQwzzdu2M

 

I presented my Way Back When Magical History Tour at the following venues:

 

Jan. 7 - Goleta Lions Club

 

Jan. 29 - Sunrise Rotary Club

 

Feb. 5 - Puerto Vallerta Sister City Group

 

Feb. 24 - Antique Car Club

 

Mar. 11 - Women's Club

 

Contact me at author@betsyjgreen.com if you would like to arrange a talk or slideshow for your organization.

Tuesday afternoon/evening (9-24), I'll be presenting an excerpt from my 1918 Magical History Tour in which we'll time-travel back to Santa Barbara a century ago, along with some other SB authors. Here's the announcement in the Santa Barbara Independent:Tuesday afternoon/evening, I'll be presenting an excerpt from my 1918 Magical History Tour in which we'll time-travel back to Santa Barbara a century ago, along with some other SB authors. 

 

Click on the link below for information about time and location.

 

Hope to see some of you time travelers!

Another reader finds the hidden treasure!

Last night, during First Thursday, I was part of a group of local authors who placed our books in a Tiny Library on State Street. And today, I received an email message with a photo of the lucky person who found my book. "Your book will have a good home and be well appreciated with us, I can't wait to dig in. Thank you for gifting it!"

Here's the website with information about the Tiny Libraries and a map of their locations – https://www.sbac.ca.gov/tinylibraries. Who knows what other treasures are out there waiting to be discovered!

There's nothing "yellow" about this group of local authors who braved the sun and heat on First Thursday in order to place their books in the bright yellow hashtag Tiny Library on State Street. (See photo below.)

The authors are, from left to right: John Holman (Pom's Odyssey), Gary Delanoeye (Checking in at the Crowbar Hotel), Catherine A. Weissenberg (Beyond Ever After: A Heart-to-Heart Journey Through Death and the Afterlife), Betsy J. Green (Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1918), Bruce Kirkpatrick (The Resurrection of Johnny Roe), Nate Streeper (Murder on the Express), Jeanine Kitchel (Wheels Up—A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival), Phil Mayes (How Two: Have a Successful Relationship), and Hal Price (The Adventures of Eli Benjamin Bear). Photo: Eric Kelly

THEY'RE HERE! The Tiny Libraries started to appear on State Street this morning. I found this one on State and Carrillo as it was being cleaned and stocked with books. Librarian Jace Turner was happy to place my latest book in the Tiny Library.
And no sooner had the book been placed on the shelf than an interested gentleman came along and claimed it! This was so much fun, I will definitely do it again sometime.

 I will be speaking to the Creek Spirit Environmental Group, and at Maravilla on September 12 at 6:30 p.m. This event  is open to the public.

 

Contact me at author@betsyjgreen.com to arrange a program for your group or organization.

I am happy to have joined with more than a dozen local authors who read from their works at the very first Local Authors Read event at the Carpinteria Library on June 4. I had fun reading from my Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1918 book, and listening to some wonderful stories and poems read by fellow authors.

A big "Thank You" to everyone who came to my 1918 "Way Back When Magical History Tour" at the SB Historical Museum in May. It was especially fun to do my presentation in the Covarrubias Adobe which was a center for the arts 100 years ago. (Thanks to Gail Osherenko for the photo.)

Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a "Way Back When" Magical History Tour to SB in 1918! We'll time-travel back to the New Year's Eve party at the Potter Hotel and watch magic lantern slides of the best stories of the year.
Wednesday, May 15, 11 a.m. at the SB Historical Museum. Reservations are recommended.
RSVP to reception@sbhistorical.org
https://www.facebook.com/events/329153894459062/?active_tab=about

A Happy Ending to the Treasure Hunt!
At long last, the weather cleared in stormy Santa Barbara and the person who found the treasure (one of my books) that I left in a Little Free Library last week, has sent me a photo of herself enjoying the book. I love happy endings, don't you?

Ahoy! Good News on a Rainy Day!

The TREASURE HUNT, chapter 2. Yesterday, I put one of my books in one of the Little Free Libraries in Santa Barbara. I posted a photo of the library on Facebook, but didn't give the location. (That's what makes it a treasure hunt.) I put a note in the book asking the finder to send me a photo of himself/herself retrieving the book.
Later yesterday, someone who recognized that Little Free Library, went to get the book, but it was already gone. I kept checking my email all day, hoping for a photo from the person who had the book. Nada.
This morning in the rain, I went back to the Little Free Library, and saw that the book was, indeed, gone. So, I took a pic of the library, and figured that since it was a rainy day, whoever had the book might be curled up with the book and enjoying it.
BUT, (here's the good news part!) as I was taking the photo, a gentleman approached me and said that his wife had the book and was waiting for better weather before taking a photo. (He also said that both of them were loving the book!) So, when that photo comes my way, I will post it here. The story continues.

Ahoy, book lovers! There's another TREASURE HUNT happening today! This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Little Free Library in 2009.* To celebrate, I put my "Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1917" book in THIS Little Free Library earlier today – SOMEWHERE in Santa Barbara. I'm not saying WHERE in Santa Barbara. That's the treasure hunt part. I also put a note in the book asking the clever person who finds my book (the treasure, of course) to send me a photo of himself/herself with the book and, if that happens, I'll post it here.

The book's cover shows the California Grizzlies marching down State Street during World War I. In the background is the U.S. Post Office (now the Santa Barbara Museum of Art).

*If you're not familiar with the Little Free Library concept, check out their website. The organization's slogan is, "Take a book. Share a book."

Past Events in 2019

 

In March, I had two events:

- A talk for the Carpinteria Rotary Group about some of the interesting events in Carpinteria in the early 1900s.

- A talk for the Lions Club in Goleta about my latest book Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1918.

 

In April, I had three events scheduled:

- A program for the Santa Barbara - Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities group.

- A program for the Santa Barbara Mission Docents

- A program called "It Happened on the Mesa" for the Mesa Seniors Group.

 

Contact me at:

author@betsyjgreen.com

to schedule a program for your group

in the Santa Barbara area.

Past events

 

On January 5, 2019, I presented a slideshow at the Ventura Museum that compared the Thomas Fire of 2017 with the destructive fires in our area in 1917.

 

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On December 15, I presented a slideshow about my latest book Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1918 at the meeting of the Santa Barbara Geneaology Society.

 

On November 26, I presented a slideshow "The Great Forest Fires of 1917 in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties" - A "then & now" slideshow about the disastrous fires here a century ago compared to the Thomas Fire of 2017 at the Antique Auto Club.

 

On November 11, I presented a talk called "Countdown to Armistice" about events in Santa Barbara during the last 10 days of World War I at the Santa Barbara Central Library.

 

On November 7, I presented a talk called "Countdown to Armistice" about events in Santa Barbara during the last 10 days of World War I at the Santa Barbara Woman's Club.

 

On November 4, I presented a talk called "Countdown to Armistice" about events in Santa Barbara during the last 10 days of World War I at the Goleta Valley Historical Society. 

 

On November 1, I presented a talk called "Countdown to Armistice" about events in Santa Barbara during the last 10 days of World War I at the First Methodist Church Seniors Luncheon.

 

On October 24, I presented a slideshow "The Great Forest Fires of 1917 in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties" - A "then & now" slideshow about the disastrous fires here a century ago compared to the Thomas Fire of 2017 at the Carpinteria Rotary Club.

 

On October 3, I presented a slideshow about Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1917 at a P.E.O. group.

 

On June 24, I read a selection from MESApedia at the Out Loud event at the Breakfast Culture Club.

On June 10, I was one of the authors at the First Carpinteria Festival of books.

On April 22, I read a selection from Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1917

On April 21, I was one of the authors at the CALM Authors Luncheon.