Gaines celebrates Bodie Day
L-R: former Senator Paul J. Lunardi, Bodie Foundation President Brad Sturdivant, Sen. Ted Gaines, retired State Park Ranger Carl Chavez and State Parks Sierra District Superintendent Marilyn Linkem. (Photo: Roger W. Vargo/Explore Historic California)
The former mining camp, once home to more than 10,000 and at one time the second largest town in the state, right behind San Francisco, is now maintained by the California State Parks System, which took over in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park. “It’s now visited only by tourists, howling winds … and the occasional ghost,” Gaines quipped in his weekly news gazette. Bodie became the official gold rush ghost town of the State of California in 2002.
Gaines was joined at the celebration by Paul J. Lunardi, who served in both the Assembly and Senate and was responsible for authoring the legislation establishing Bodie as a State Historic Park. Together, the two presented a Senate resolution recognizing “the 50th anniversary, the historical character of Bodie and its role as an important state landmark.” –Press Release