Missing links to the past: Griffith Griffith was more than just a funny name. "Today we call them movers and shakers," said Melanie Barton, Placer County's museums chief. "He definitely fit that description." Griffith came from Wales, founded the town of Penryn and opened a big hole in the earth – the Griffith Quarry – that provided stone for railroads and buildings, including the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. The county acquired the little museum at his quarry in the 1980s, and is now giving it the upgrade it needs. "It's definitely due," Barton said. On top of fixes that will protect and explain the collection better, the museums division is on the hunt for items that might augment what it already has. "It would be wonderful if someone came up with a personal item from Griffith Griffith," Barton said. There's nothing in particular she has in mind, but quarrying tools or records of his life might lurk in someone's basement, she said. "Who knows what people might have?" We should find out in summer, when the grand reopening takes place. …
Lost and Found Dept.: We know what gamblers lose at Thunder Valley: lots of dough. But what kind of stuff is found there? When we checked two years ago, items found by their security department included a lawn mower, a pogo stick and prosthetic arms and legs. (Yes, we know that joke.) We decided to see what had turned up in the intervening years. Nothing quite so amusing as last time, according to spokesman Doug Elmets. They collected 57 bags of clothing and 35 boxes of cameras, phone pouches, jewelry, books, umbrellas and other miscellaneous items, and donated them to the Lions Club, Elmets said. They gave the Salvation Army 184 recovered cell phones (Bet you can't hear me now); 1,070 pairs of prescription glasses (Can you see me now?); 124 "walking canes" (no, the canes don't walk on their own); and one bicycle (wheels of misfortune.) …
It doesn't love you: If there's one thing kids learn at Eco Station, it's the reality of reptiles as pets. "They learn that they're not very entertaining animals," said Ryan Donahue, director of the environmental museum for children. That's why Eco Station sometimes rescues snakes and lizards that owners no longer find appealing. An iguana just doesn't cuddle like a puppy or kitten, or even a pet rat. "The kids know that the animals don't love them," he said. But Heartbreaker, a scaly green iguana at Eco Station, got sick. The reptile had a huge bladder stone, about the size of a tangerine, said center director Donahue. Many bake sales have been held for good causes; lots of jog-a-thons too. Rarely, though, is the beneficiary of these warmhearted gestures a coldblooded creature. But there was Heartbreaker. Not a lot of affection, but a lot of need. Kids in local schools and visitors to the center chipped in and held fundraisers and paid for Heartbreaker's $1,600 operation. "We weren't pushing this to happen," Donahue said. It just did. …
"Side" issues: We just noticed the Wayside Christian Book Store in Rocklin. Apparently there's one in Auburn, too. Intentional or not, the name is similar to Bayside, the popular church in Granite Bay, and it made us think about the potential for other religious groups to go with Bayside and Wayside: Grayside, a church in Sun City; Hayside, an equestrian ministry for Penryn, Loomis and Newcastle; Clayside, near Gladding, McBean in Lincoln; Gayside, for worshippers of all sexual orientations; Playside, a Sunday school. Are there others?
Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá at (916) 773-6847. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/alcala.
