Local authors and historians David & Gayle Woodruff in a Chautauqua performance of the Donner Party’s, James & Margret Reed. Of the 87 members of the infamous Donner Party that attempted a crossing of the Sierra Nevada during that frightful winter of 1846, over half survived. The heroism, courage and sheer determination of a few can be credited with the survival of many. Against all odds, James and Margret Reed, brought all four of their children alive through the terrible ordeal, and rescued dozens of their fellow pioneers in their fight to remain alive.