Shirley Manis, a Capitola resident, lived her father’s amazing discovery story, which focused her interest in archaeology and inspired her one-of-a-kind book, “In a Scoop of Dirt: How Digging a Pond Changed North America’s Prehistory.” When Emanuel Manis dug a pond for migrating birds in Sequim, Washington, he made a significant discovery that rocked the world of archaeology forever, and twice! As a teacher at the time, she preserved bones and guided visitor tours on her summer vacations, and her fifth graders raised money for the site’s operations.

Shirley graduated with a BA in Natural Science from San Jose State University. She taught at Louise Van Meter School in Los Gatos and was nominated Teacher of the Year. Her next careers as a tech writer and publications manager led her to open her employment agency. Concurrently, she established and taught in two certificate programs for technical communications professionals at the University of California, Santa Cruz Extension. Shirley continues her hobby of writing nonfiction and fiction books.

Shirley’s talk was entitled, “Digging Up the Past.”