PC professor to talk ‘conspiracy,’ ‘political fear’

Peninsula College history professor Michael Casella-Blackburn will offer a lecture and reading focusing on his latest book, “Diplomatic Black Hole: Conspiracy and Political Fear in Mid-20th Century America,” at Peninsula College’s next Studium Generale, beginning at 12:35 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, at the Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.

Cassella-Blackburn will detail a powerful group, called the China Lobby, that in the 1940s and 1950s not only pushed to “save” China from Communism, but also encouraged confrontation with the Soviet Union, pushing to the brink use of nuclear war.

Cassella-Blackburn joined the Peninsula College faculty in 2003 as a history professor. He received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University, and his latest field of study is Sino-Soviet-American relations. He lives in Port Townsend with his wife Lynne.

This event is free and open to the public. It is also available via Zoom at pencol-edu.zoom.us/j/83024542567 (meeting ID 830 2454 2567).

For more information, email Dr. Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.

Petals & Pathways tickets on sale now

Tickets are now on sale for the 28th Petals & Pathways Home Garden Tour. Sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Clallam County, this year’s event will feature six magnificent Sequim Home Gardens located in the rolling hills of Happy Valley to prairie lands in Sequim.

The self-guided tour is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 24.

All the gardens will have seven to 10 Master Gardener volunteers to help with questions on plant identification. A map will be printed on the tickets for this self-guided tour.

Tickets are $15 in advance at local vendors and $20 on the day of the tour. Get them now through June 24 at: The Co-op Farm and Garden, 216 E. Washington St.; Over the Fence, 118 E. Washington St., or Sunny Farms Country Store, 261461 U.S. Highway 101.

Get tickets online through June 18 at clallammgf.org.

Proceeds from the tour help to maintain the Woodcock Demonstration Garden in Sequim and numerous Master Gardener community services, such as the Youth Enrichment Program (YEP) and educational outreach programs such as the Green Thumb and Digging Deeper presentations held at the Port Angeles Courthouse and Woodcock Demonstration Gardens.