Docents share folklore of Steinbeck at Salinas museum - The Salinas Californian
As founding docents at the Steinbeck Center, George and Joann McKay know a lot about author John Steinbeck and his life here in the Salinas Valley. They've read most of his books thanks to their participation in the Same Page Book Club, which meets at the museum on Thursday afternoons. More volunteers like the McKays are needed, said Diane Arellano, volunteer coordinator. Near the exhibit for "The Red Pony," Steinbeck's book about a pony named Gabilan, Joann McKay said that the school groups love this part of the tour. Steinbeck had a pony named Jill while he was growing up in Salinas. Much later, when Steinbeck returned to Salinas because his mother was dying, she urged him to write this story. "We have more lore than I thought we had," Joann McKay said. He learns about responsibility and life and death, Arellano said. Another children's favorite, "The Pearl," is about an Indian boy who threw a pearl back into the sea. It's a story about the underdog which so many people around the world can relate to, Arellano said. Source: www.thecalifornian.com
