The Placer Life shares gripping, touching, humorous or interesting stories of the amazing people and places of beautiful Placer County -- California’s best kept secret. From harrowing tales of wilderness survival to fascinating oral history from Placer’s greatest generation, hear from the real people of Placer why it’s the best place on earth to live, work, play and learn - and why we are proud to enjoy what we call the Placer Life. The Placer Life is a production of Placer County, California.

The Placer Life

Futures don’t come much brighter than Zach Didier’s. At 17, Zach was a standout student at Rocklin’s Whitney High School. A star athlete and actor. A self-taught musician. He could’ve done anything. Everyone thought so. He died at Christmas - after taking a pill he didn't know was fake he bought on Snapchat. In our new podcast miniseries, "One Pill Can Kill," we talk to his parents, Chris and Laura, about their loss and what every parent needs to know to help keep their kids safe. We also talk to health, safety and law enforcement experts to better understand the fentanyl crisis and what we can all do to help. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains frank discussion of death that may be difficult for some listeners. Discretion is advised. Transcript: bit.ly/3yItAQU. For information and resources on the fentanyl crisis please visit www.1PillCanKillPlacer.com.

Introducing the "One Pill Can Kill" podcast

One morning in February, Oleysa awoke to the sound of bombing. What followed was a harrowing months-long journey that brought her to a new life in Placer County, which is home to a growing number of refugees from Ukraine. In this episode, hear how they’ve adjusted to and embraced The Placer Life. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3G9fn4C

From Ukraine to Placer: Oleysa’s refugee story

Foster youth are less likely to graduate from high school than their peers; less likely to enroll in college; more likely to be unemployed; more likely to experience mental health and substance use challenges; and more likely to become homeless. 

A renewed focus on transition age youth who are aging out of foster care aims to change that story. In our new Placer Life podcast, listen to the story of Ariel, a young woman in Placer who was able to navigate young adulthood — and even save and purchase her own home — with THP-Plus or HOPE, one of the programs now in place for these young people that offering housing support and life skills training. 

With foster care now open to young adults through age 21, and programs like HOPE lasting even longer, there’s more opportunity than ever to help our young adults get off to the right start. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3siAtck

Defying the odds: Aging out of foster care in Placer County

In this first episode of our new four-part miniseries on the experience of World War II in Placer County, Placer Museums Administrator Ralph Gibson explains what life looked like before and during the war, and the enduring consequences of the war we still experience here today.

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://rb.gy/g0y6po

Prologue: The Placer life during World War II

Maybe you've driven by the "10th Mountain Division Memorial Highway" signs on your way to the mountain resorts along state Route 89. And maybe you've wondered, why here? There's no official connection to the 10th at all here, really. 

But in fact, the Tahoe we know and love today  - and America's experience of mountain sports in general  - would look a lot different if it weren't for the 10th. In this episode of "The Placer Life," the second of our four-part miniseries about the ways World War II changed life in Placer County, we share the incredible story of the 10th's heroic efforts during World War II - and how veterans of the 10th changed the way we look at the mountains forever. 

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains historical reenactments of combat that may be difficult for some listeners. Discretion is advised. Transcript: https://shorturl.at/grM15

To learn more about the history of the 10th Mountain Division and its influence on mountain sports, check out the Ninety-Pound Rucksack podcast: https://christianbeckwith.com/

And visit the SNOW Sports Museum popup exhibit at the Boatworks building in Tahoe City to see artifacts from the 10th Mountain Division's service during World War II: https://www.thesnowmuseum.org/snow-sports-museum-at-the-boatworks/

The Placer Life during World War II - Climb to Glory

Living near Auburn is an original Rosie the Riveter, 91-year old Betty Samson. Here, Betty talks about working as a plane engine mechanic in support of the war effort in the 1940s, what life was like during that time and what Veterans Day means to her now.

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2RWJe3X

Betty Samson: Placer's Original 'Rosie the Riveter'

It was supposed to be just a quick overnight hike for Cody Michael and his dog, Bauer. But, losing his trail in the snow, Cody found himself lost in one of the most rugged areas of Placer County for four days and, he thought, possibly forever. Cody, his father, Howard, and Sgt. Ty Conners of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office share the most detailed account yet of Cody’s harrowing story, the tremendous lengths undertaken to find him and advice for how to stay safe if you are ever lost in the wilderness.

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2tmd7Rm

Lost in the Wilderness: The Story of Cody Michael

Before setting up shop in Auburn, artist Frank Ordaz helped create the iconic worlds of “Star Wars, “E.T.” and “Indiana Jones.” Hear what it was like to work on those groundbreaking movies and how living in Placer County informs his art today in our latest episode of “The Placer Life.”

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2Bzydjr

Hugging George Lucas: Placer artist Frank Ordaz’s journey from Star Wars to the Sierra

When Grace — a pseudonym — was at her lowest point, her 3-week-old son was taken away because she was breastfeeding him while using heroin and meth, in a household riddled with substance abuse and domestic violence. But that wasn’t where her story ended.

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2tkNctd

A Return to Grace: A Story of Drugs, Child Abuse and the Road to Recovery

When faced with a serious cancer diagnosis and a series of setbacks, Justin Wages, a land manager with the Placer Land Trust, found a unique connection with nature that helped him not only heal but thrive.

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2N8Kd08

Beating Cancer: Justin Wages’ Story of the Healing Power of Nature

Placer County’s Whole Person Care program launched in 2017 with a lofty goal of helping homeless people with the most severe needs. Since then it has connected the dots for those who had once fallen through the cracks. In a four-part miniseries of “The Placer Life,” we follow three clients of the program as they make the journey from homeless to home.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2seuenv

Hopeless to home - Prologue

Welcome back to The Placer Life as we continue our look at Whole Person Care, the county’s innovative pilot program to help chronically homeless people get back on their feet and off the street. This episode looks at how the program tackles medical services and challenges.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2H1E9XS

Hopeless to home - Episode 2

In the final episode of our miniseries, we explore housing and the creative ways the Whole Person Care program, and its partners, are finding solutions even when every sign in Placer County seems to say ‘no vacancy.’

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2RfUcWM

Hopeless to home - Episode 4

Learn how Whole Person Care came to be in Placer County, and meet two members whose different paths led them to homelessness.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2HbtKbU

Hopeless to home - Episode 1

Welcome back to The Placer Life as we continue our look at the Whole Person Care program, focused on moving people out of chronic homelessness. In the last two episodes we introduced you to three members of the program whose paths had been different but all had led them to homelessness. This episode takes a closer look at Whole Person Care staff, and what they do every day to ensure that these people don’t fall through the cracks.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/2RBRmKN

Hopeless to home - Episode 3

In this Halloween episode of "The Placer Life," we bring you tales of first-hand encounters with the supernatural in Placer County - at our Historic Courthouse and the Bernhard Museum. Hear how these ghost stories bring Placer's history to life and learn about more ways Placer County Museums can help you can commune with Placer's dead this Halloween season.

Read more about the people behind the stories: https://adobe.ly/2MbI9Ep 

A transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/2V7HdoK

The Placer Dead: Real-life ghost stories from Placer's museums

The Placer Dead has returned!  Would you stay the night in a house you knew to be haunted? Lois Larimore did exactly that and lived to tell the tale. She shares her experience and other creepy happenings from her youth while working at the old Butterworth's restaurant in Old Auburn. Lois also shares a celebrity ghost sighting that's not to be missed! 

Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-placer-life/id1183505610#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F701182282

Have a spooky tale tied to Placer County's past? Email us at placerghosts@gmail.com, and you could be featured in a future episode of The Placer Life.