Library offers local history program as village’s sesquicentennial celebration draws near.

Christine Turple, Helen Turple, Retta Turple, Ruth Kolbe and Mary Kolbe wearing their centennial dresses.

HESPERIA — Former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neal once said, “All politics are local.” What he meant was that the things most important to us as individuals take place where we live, work, and play. The same can be said of history.

On Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the Hesperia library’s community room, Christine Turple will discuss the significance of local history on small communities, with a focus on Hesperia. Turple will provide a glimpse of what it was like to grow up with a museum as a playhouse and what role that museum played in raising the community’s awareness of its history.

Over the course of her 45-minute presentation, she will talk about Hesperia’s Centennial – what it was all about, how it was celebrated, and why. She will look at how that celebration now influences expectations and treatment of the upcoming Sesquicentennial celebration, which is planned for this summer. In addition, she will speculate on how the Sesquicentennial celebration of 2016 might influence future generations of Hesperians and their possible plans for the village’s Bicentennial of 2066.

Turple, a Hesperia native, is a direct descendent of Daniel Weaver, founder of both Hesperia and Fremont. Her parents, Donald and Helen Turple, owned and operated a museum in the basement of Husband and Turple Hardware from 1959 to 1978. Turple is currently serving as co-chair of Hesperia’s Sesquicentennial committee and is writing the Sesquicentennial sequel to the Centennial book, authored in part by her mother, Helen.

For more information, call the Hesperia Community Library at 231-854-5125.