Program: Women’s Issues on the Overland Trail

Women’s Issues on the Overland Trail

Presented by Dr. Bob LaPerriere

The women of the Overland Trail did not only the domestic chores but they also drove the ox teams, collected “buffalo chips” to fuel the fires, helped pitch the tents, and many other routine tasks.

In addition, they were the ritual caretakers of the dying and the dead. They saw the real enemies of the road as disease and accident. The women carefully noted the cost of the westward movement in human life.

Dr. Bob LaPerriere has been involved in Sacramento Area history for over 30 years. He started a committee to restore the Historic City Cemetery over 30 years ago, and currently chairs or co-chairs several historical groups. He is an emeritus board member of the Sacramento Historical Society (30+ years). He started and chairs a consortium of over 30 historical organizations covering over 6 counties. He curates the Museum of Medical History of the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society. He also chairs the Sacramento County Cemetery Advisory Commission.

Dr. Bob is a “transplant” from the Midwest, having been born in Michigan and lived in Chicago and the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1966 and subsequently came to California, where he was a dermatologist with the Permanente (Kaiser) Medical Group from 1972 until his retirement in 1998.