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Janet Burton entertains at Secession Days in Rough and Ready on Sunday.
They paid tribute to the quirky bit of history that makes Rough and Ready famously independent Sunday, with the 53rd annual Secession Days.
The festive event commemorates the small town west of Grass Valley's secession from the Union for three months and the formation of the Great Republic of Rough and Ready.
The republic started in early April 1850, when miners protested taxes, but fizzled out by July 4 and the tiny town returned to the U.S.A.
Dressed in period costume area Sunday, residents performed “The Saga of Rough and Ready”, pulling off a much-improvised version when one of the leading characters came down sick at the last minute.
“We practice for months at a time and people have the same lines but we seem to always forget them, but we pull through,” said Carole Morris, who played Lola Montez.
“We have a lot of fun doing this,” said Ann Driver, who also acted in the saga. “The play is so stupid and crazy and we make it more so every year.”
“I love it,” said Frank Harpold of Nevada City. “I come down here every weekend to hear the Fruit Jar Pickers play and my favorite thing is history.”
With the saga, Harpold got his history lesson and got to hear the Fruit Jar Pickers play to accompany the saga. They later played bluegrass tunes for the crowd of 200.
There was also a large number of antique cars on display
A pancake breakfast served earlier in the morning brought in proceeds for the Rough and Ready Fire Protection District.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com.
The festive event commemorates the small town west of Grass Valley's secession from the Union for three months and the formation of the Great Republic of Rough and Ready.
The republic started in early April 1850, when miners protested taxes, but fizzled out by July 4 and the tiny town returned to the U.S.A.
Dressed in period costume area Sunday, residents performed “The Saga of Rough and Ready”, pulling off a much-improvised version when one of the leading characters came down sick at the last minute.
“We practice for months at a time and people have the same lines but we seem to always forget them, but we pull through,” said Carole Morris, who played Lola Montez.
“We have a lot of fun doing this,” said Ann Driver, who also acted in the saga. “The play is so stupid and crazy and we make it more so every year.”
“I love it,” said Frank Harpold of Nevada City. “I come down here every weekend to hear the Fruit Jar Pickers play and my favorite thing is history.”
With the saga, Harpold got his history lesson and got to hear the Fruit Jar Pickers play to accompany the saga. They later played bluegrass tunes for the crowd of 200.
There was also a large number of antique cars on display
A pancake breakfast served earlier in the morning brought in proceeds for the Rough and Ready Fire Protection District.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com.
