As part of the Tuolumne County Historical Society free lecture series, KAAD radio host David Allen Simerley will present a lecture on “Dr. Snell’s Cabinet of Curiosities” on Wednesday, October 9 at 6 pm at the Tuolumne County Library on Greenley Road in Sonora.

During the Gold Rush, miners were not only digging up gold, but digging up other items of interest as well. Pioneer scientist and physician Dr. Perez Snell was often the first to see these discoveries as they were brought to his Sonora assay office to be identified.

With help from these miners, Dr. Snell’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” grew until it became known as the largest and most complete collection of natural history on the Pacific Coast. Among the rocks, minerals, and fossils were relics from an ancient past, which spurred a debate over the arrival of the first people in California. The debate still continues today.

Simerley hosts KAAD’s Thursday Morning Show from 7 to 9am and Traffic Jam from 12:30 to 5pm on Fridays under the moniker Dave Allen and co-hosts The Enigma Hour with Olav Phillips at 10pm on Thursday nights.

The Enigma Hour will also play a part in hosting NYMZACON 2024, a three-day celebration of of the society, to be held in Sonora October 11th through 13th.

In case you don’t know, NYMZACON was a shadowy secret society that allegedly experimented with exotic technologies here in Tuolumne County during the Gold Rush.

Headlining the conference will be Walter Bosley. He has spent 20 years in national security as a USAF officer and former Federal agent. He currently is a professional investigator of historical occult mysteries, author of pulp fiction novels and founder of the Lost Continent Library publishing company.

NYMZACON 2024 brings together well known authors and experts in the paranormal field, many of whom have been featured on The Enigma Hour, including Walter Bosley, Joseph P Farrell, T Allen Greenfield, Sesh Heri, Daniel Liszt, Hans Dietrich, Todd Wood, Olav Phillips and Dave Allen.

Presentations and lectures will be held at the Sonora Oaks Best Western Hotel and Conference Center on Hess Avenue in Sonora.

Topics will include the Sonora Aero Club, the Great Airship Mystery, strange geophysical phenomena, occult knowledge, and other fascinating weirdness found in Tuolumne County.

There will be a tour of local sites mentioned in the mysterious Books of Dellschau, a celebration of the 1857 flight of the flying machine Aero Goose, music by the Starship Tuna String Band, and a ghost hunt with Paranormal Investigatior Maliah Grimm.

The authors in attendance will have their books on hand for sale and signing, and there will be event merchandise available as well.

Tickets for the weekend can be purchased online at WalterBosley.com.