Historian and archivist Stephanie George will present “From Colony to Community: 150 Years of St. Boniface Church, Anaheim,” at the March 9, 2017 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society (OCHS). The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange.
Often considered an intercity parish, St. Boni-face—located in down-town Anaheim—was once the only Catholic parish in all of what’s now Orange County. From its beginnings, it’s been the worship community of regional and nationally-recognized individuals, provocateurs, immigrants, the devout, and the profane.
This presentation traces the roots of the parish through modern times within the context of Orange County history, including its relationship with Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana and early city pioneers Theodore Rimpau and Augustus Langenberger, its shifting ethnic profile, the influ-ence of culture and Church tradition on its members, music, architecture, and practices, and its impact on and in the city of Anaheim and surrounding communities.
Stephanie George is Secretary of the OCHS, a local historian and author, and is the Special Collections and Archives Librarian at Chapman University’s Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. Many also know her for her fourteen years at California State University, Fullerton and the Center for Oral and Public History.
She is a member of many local, regional, and national organizations, including the Society of American Archivists, Society of California Archivists, American Association for State and Local History, American Library Association, and the Historical Society of Southern California; and serves on the board of the California Council for the Promotion of History.
By researching and writing about local history, she’s curated several award-winning exhibits, published Sowing Dreams, Cultivating Lives: Nikkei Farmers in Pre-World War II Orange County, and has written several articles about Orange County events. When she’s not involved in Orange County history, she’s a passionate genealogist and traveler.