Bolt’s museum re-starting informational program
Steve Christensen to lead first talk discussing book ‘Municipal Larceny vs. Steve the Barber’
OROVILLE » Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum is bringing back its Saturday informational program which will be held at 10 a.m. the third Saturday of each month.
A press release from the city of Oroville said the talks will range from local enthusiasts to specific informative talks about traits. The goal of the program is to bring more people from outside Oroville and children to the museums in Oroville.
Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum is located at 1650 Broderick St. in Oroville and the cost of entrance is $3.
The first speaker for the informational program beginning Saturday will be Oroville barber and author Steve Christensen who will discuss his book “Municipal Larceny versus Steve the Barber.”
Christensen arrived in Oroville in 1947 at the age of four when there was no traffic signals and no Oroville Dam built. One year out of high school Christensen became Oroville’s youngest licensed barber, and 60 years later is Oroville’s oldest barber. At the start of the pandemic Christensen spent eight weeks writing his book and spent the next six months editing it before its release on June 14, 2021.
A self-proclaimed history buff, Christensen has always been against city taxes because of his belief of wasteful spending by the local government. He said his book touches on that, as well as informative and funny stories he has learned working as a barber in Oroville for 60 years.
Christensen’s book was recently reviewed by the Butte County Historical Society and was accepted into its library. To him, having it be a part of the Oroville history forever is extremely important. He said it has been well thought of around Oroville which was the reason he was invited to speak at Bolt’s and speak about his book.
Christensen said that working in a barbershop he has had the unique opportunity to have one-on-one conversation with a variety of individuals around Oroville, ranging from prosecuting attorneys to people just out of rehabilitation who the attorneys have prosecuted. He said he believes his book is a great education in human nature.
“When you go to barber school you have some wise old instructors that tell you, ‘if you want to build up a business you have to listen and agree with your customer whichever one is in the chair at the time,’” Christensen said. “You do get a lot of different opinions and you kind of understand the middle ground and you understand both sides of the argument rather than people who get so biased about their side of the political spectrum and they rule out what the other side really thinks.”
Christensen said after 60 years of customers he has learned there are two sides and can understand the reasoning of both sides of most issues. He said he has had World War II veterans tell him stories and experiences they had never shared with their own kids.
“A lot of time people are introverts and eventually they open up a little in the chair,” he said. “It’s kind of a real good one-on-one close knit conversation with all segments of people of society. I mix it in with the battles of city hall and the history.”
Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum, which opened in 2006, features over 12,000 tools used in the United States as well as tools thought to be made by Egyptians and Romans as far back as 400 B.C. Tools at the museum include a barbed-wire collection, old gas pumps, blacksmith tools and tools representing 51 different railroads.
The museum, owned by the Bolt family of Oroville, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Additional information about the museum can be found by visiting www. boltsantiquetools.com or by calling the museum at 5382528.