John C. Schubert
A guiding force in the Russian River Historical Society’s modern era was John C. Schubert (1938–2022), a widely loved local historian, author, and longtime community advocate. Schubert served as vice president and as editor of the RRHS newsletter, Yesterday & Yesteryear.
John C. Schubert
Marine / Deputy / Historian / Author / Father / Grandfather / Friend
August 9, 1938 – June 6, 2022
John was born in 1938 in San Francisco. He grew up in various Northern and Southern California communities and spent his summers in Guernewood Park on the property that his grandfather acquired in 1914.
In his early days he was a Merchant Mariner with the Pacific Far East Lines/ San Francisco as Assistant Purser. He received a B.A. degree in Anthropology in 1973 from Sonoma State University and served in the Marine Corps as a Sergeant from 1961-1967 and then again from 1978-1983.
John had a long career as a Deputy Sheriff assigned to the Sonoma County Courts for 40 years. The downtime between hearings afforded him the opportunity to research and write about Russian River history and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) along the Russian River area. He had a regular column “Stumptown Stories” which was carried by “The Paper” published in Guerneville, and the “Sebastopol Times and News.” His twice monthly column ran for more than two years and earned him several literary awards.
John was a resident of Guerneville and Sonoma County for 67 years. He was featured in episodes of Bay Area Backroads and Eye on the Bay. He has written and published five books on local history – “Guerneville Early Days,” “Tales of the Russian River,” “Russian River Then and Now,” “Hidden History of Sonoma County” “Red Slide Magnesite Mine and Railroad” and editor of the Russian River Historical Society’s newsletter, “Yesterday & Yesteryear.” John also gave annual cemetery tours, dressed in top hat and tails engaging tour attendees with stories of the founders of Guerneville and other characters who are buried in the Pioneer Section of the Redwood Memorial Gardens cemetery in Guerneville. Beyond serving as the local river historian, John contributed as much or more to the rest of Sonoma County. John is past president of the Sonoma County Historical Society, Vice President of the Russian River Historical Society, president of the Friends of the Guerneville library, member of the Russian River Jaycees, local civic organization and a member of the Board of Directors of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Society. John is also credited with helping save the 1885 Marshall House now located at the Russian River Senior Center on Armstrong Woods Road and was a key advocate for saving the historic Guerneville Bridge, built in 1922. It was these accomplishments for which John received the Spirit of Sonoma Award in May of 2021, honored by the State of California for his many contributions to the county and community of Guerneville and was awarded the Jeannie Thurlow Miller award by the Sonoma County Historical Society in March of 2022. He will be remembered for his superb sense of humor, bountiful jokes, positive attitude and “Dancing Girls.”