Ever since aircraft changed the scope of the First World War, flight became both a passion and business in Riverside. Early barnstormers needed places to park, refuel and service their aircraft, so airports started popping up. Alessandro Field became March Field in 1918. By World War II, seventy-five thousand troops were deployed at March. Today's March Joint Air Reserve Base has been a vital wartime training and relay installation and a sentinel of peacetime. In 1925, Roman Warren, known as the Cowboy Aviator, established Riverside Airport, which later became Flabob Airport. Take to the air with authors Marge and Tony Bitetti as they trace Greater Riverside's history of flight--from Banning, Corona and Riverside Municipal Airports to Perris Airport, Skylark Field and others.
Kerman
9781467115421
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Kerman sits in the heart of California's great San Joaquin Valley. First established in 1891 as a train stop for the Southern Pacific Railroad, the town site was originally named Collis Station for the railroad's president, Collis P. Huntington. Even in its earliest days, agriculture was the driving force behind Kerman's economy. Advances in irrigation as well as Kerman's close proximity to two of the region's largest rivers—Kings and San Joaquin—resulted in abundant access to water, attracting farmers and land investors at the start of the 20th century. As the community grew, alfalfa hay, raisins, and dairy products became mainstays in Kerman's agricultural production. By 1910, Kerman had a volunteer fire department, a library, and new businesses. Images of America: Kerman explores the first 80 years of a town that continues to grow and diversify.
Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast
9781467100137
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The Sonoma Mendocino coastline, famous for jagged cliffs, timber-filled ridges, and pounding surf, has been home to many people from varying histories and backgrounds. Pomo tribes, renowned for basketmaking, who were the first settlers and descendants, still live in the area. From early pioneers such as George Call, H.A. Richardson, Cyrus Robinson, J.A. Hamilton, and Antonio Stornetta to Pomo spiritual leader Essie Parrish and the founders of Sea Ranch (Al Boeke, and the team of designers and architects Lawrence Halprin, Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Donlyn Lyndon, and Richard Whitaker), the Sonoma Mendocino coast has many legendary locals. This area also has been home to renowned artists, musicians, writers, scientists, educators, and business leaders. Community services are especially vital to rural areas. Dedicated volunteers created Gualala Arts, services for seniors and youth, the Coast Library, theater groups, and restored historic buildings such as the famous Point Arena Lighthouse. These unsung heroes have brought new meaning to this vibrant community.
Oakland's Equestrian Heritage
9780738558103
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Throughout its history, Oakland has been a haven for horse enthusiasts. Clubs held frequent horse shows and social events, and riders were seen galloping along roads that led to the beautiful trails of Joaquin Miller, Redwood, and Anthony Chabot Parks. United by a shared passion, traditional cowboys and cowgirls continue to ride alongside English-style riders at the remaining local stables. Capture a glimpse into Oakland's rich equestrian history during the hayday of horses.
Central Coast Aviators in World War II
9781467139526
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
During World War II, thousands of volunteer combat aviators trained at places like Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Hancock Field in Santa Maria. Some air cadets and WASPs—young women pilots—lost their lives in training accidents. The graduates would go on to fight in both the Pacific and European theaters. They faced flak bursts and collisions that resulted in horrifying explosions and were sent on strafing runs that made them targets in a lethal shooting gallery. Downed airmen encountered both unexpected kindness and cruel deprivation as prisoners of war. Through interviews and official records, Jim Gregory tells the stories of heroic Central Coast veterans who fought a war that stretched from New Guinea to North Africa.
Wicked Jurupa Valley:
9781609495206
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders a horrible 1928 national news story that inspired the 2008 movie The Changeling from director Clint Eastwood are only the most infamous despicable deeds that have bloodstained the rural countryside between Riverside City and the San Bernardino County line. Jurupa Valley has been a region of dark doings and scandalous misdeeds for generations. The city of Jurupa Valley was formed in 2011 from the area's smaller communities, including Wineville (renamed Mira Loma to escape the shame), Pedley and Rubidoux. Buried in its landscape are salacious sagas of unchecked bootlegging, payday orgies and gruesome murders. Author Kim Jarrell Johnson digs deep to disinter the unsavory stories that have traditionally marked her home city as a resting place of enduring infamy.
Fremont Older and the 1916 San Francisco Bombing:
9781626192676
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
On Saturday, July 22, 1916, as Preparedness Day" parade units assembled south of San Francisco's Market Street, a terrorist bomb exploded, killing ten people and wounding forty. San Francisco was outraged. Instead of searching for the perpetrators, however, the district attorney used the bombing as an excuse to arrest, try and convict two obscure labor figures without evidence. Author John C. Ralston chronicles the dramatic events following the initial tragedy as newspaper editor Fremont Older discovers the case is based on blatant perjury and exposes the secondary crime to the public. What became known as the "American Dreyfus Case" led to an international outcry, finally resulting in one defendant's pardon and the other's parole--but only after both men had been imprisoned for twenty-three years.."
Frontier Days in Crescenta Valley:
9781626195080
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Modern Crescenta Valley practically defines the notion of quiet suburbia with its lovely homes and tree-lined streets. Yet the communities that lie north of Los Angeles between the Verdugo and San Gabriel Mountains once formed a vast, isolated, treeless, windstorm-swept dell. The settlers who stayed in this valley found day-to-day subsistence challenging. They farmed, hunted, tried bee ranching, gathered greasewood, cultivated vineyards and dodged rattlesnakes. As settlement in the area continued to develop, such refinements as literature and photography flourished. Join author Jo Anne Sadler as she brings the Valley's frontier days to life, recounting such quirks as a visit from a rainmaker" and the reasons behind the construction of the gaudy local landmark the Gould Castle."
San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team
9780738555768
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
In February 1958, a tragic climbing accident occurred on Big Falls, in Forest Falls, California, resulting in the death of a 13-year-old boy. Rescue attempts were futile because there were no experienced personnel or climbing equipment available. As a result of this unfortunate tragedy, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spearheaded a recruitment of volunteers, forming the county's first mountain search and rescue team. Since that time, the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team has performed thousands of searches, rescues, and body recoveries. The organization is the oldest of its kind in San Bernardino County and is proud to have second-generation team members. This book tells the story of these dedicated volunteers through photographs taken by team members and through the stories retold by those who were there.
The Picture Man: From the Collection of Bay Area Photographer E.F. Joseph 1927-1979
9781467125659
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
From 1927 until his death in 1979, E.F. Joseph documented the daily lives of African Americans in the Bay Area. His images were printed in the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender but not widely published in his home community. A graduate of the American School of Photography in Illinois, Joseph photographed the likes of such celebrities and activists as Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Thurgood Marshall. However, what is perhaps more compelling within these pages are the countless images of everyday citizens--teaching, entertaining, worshipping, working, and serving their community and their nation.
Mapleton
9781467132695
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Located south of Provo and artistic Springville, Mapleton was named in 1901 for its abundance of colorful maple trees. For centuries, American Indian tribes had regarded the bench overlooking Hobble Creek and the valley below as sacred ground and gathered there annually. Catholic explorers hiking down Spanish Fork Canyon, nestled beneath a majestic mountain, first mapped the area in 1776. These Spaniards named the peak Sierra Bonita, though nearly everyone today calls it Maple Mountain. By 1850, Mormon pioneers had settled in Springville, using the rich earth between the creek and the river as farmland. Little by little, they built homes and stayed. The continued perseverance of this community to maintain its country charm is evident throughout the city. Conservation of the foothills and open spaces is an ongoing concern to residents.
Utah Reflections
9781626193406
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Perhaps no other area of Utah reflects the state's expansive diversity as clearly as the Wasatch Front. Utah Reflections: Stories from the Wasatch Front captures the heritage and identity of this self-defining part of the state. These personal stories are grounded in the mountains, waters, deserts and cities of a distinctive geography, from Cache Valley to Salt Lake City to Provo. Contributors include Lance Larson, Katharine Coles, Phyllis Barber, Sylvia Torti, Chadd VanZanten, Pam Houston and Terry Tempest Williams, as well as other exciting established and new voices. Each piece was thoughtfully selected as part of a sweeping panorama of cultural history and the traditions of a people bound to the region to show what makes the Wasatch Front unique, prosperous and beloved.
Inland Empire
9780738559070
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Southern California's vast Inland Empire is one of the fastest growing regions of the United States. It is a wonderland of old-growth vineyards, citrus groves, hot-water resorts, Wild West landmarks, and Native American territories. America's fabled Mother Road, Route 66, runs right through it. Its fertile valleys are encircled by mountains with famous resort areas such as Idyllwild, Big Bear Lake, and Lake Arrowhead. Those mountains are surrounded in turn by some of the world's best-known desert resort and recreational areas, including Palm Springs, the Mojave, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree National Park. Inland Empire is the first book of its kind, offering a postcard-perfect grand tour of the entire region.
Westlake
9780738559117
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The Westlake section of Daly City is the quintessential postwar suburban-modernist development, and it was the singular vision of Henry Doelger that made it so. Westlake was to the San Francisco Bay Area what Levittown was to New York after World War II, providing affordable housing for thousands of service veterans and war-industry personnel who remained in California after their tours of duty. The area abuts San Francisco's Sunset District, where Doelger built thousands of homes in the shifting sands before battling the dunes in northern San Mateo County in 1948. Doelger was lauded as the Bay Area's bestknown builder of homes, apartments, and shopping centers. Daly City increased in size almost by half when Westlake was annexed in 1948.
Ghosts of Idaho's Magic Valley
9781609496012
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Barking dogs, silent birds and a malodorous stench foretell encounters with the ghostly apparitions and strange creatures that stalk Magic Valley. Are these just fanciful notions and figments of the imagination? Not according to eyewitnesses who swear things really do go bump in the night in south central Idaho. Read about the Stricker Ranch caretaker awakened by the phantom of a pioneer woman, the piercing red eyes that frightened visitors at Albion's normal school campus, the couple whose property is haunted by ancient spirits and the woman and her grandson who encountered Bigfoot's foul stench in a local wilderness. Turn on the lights, get cozy and read on as author Andy Weeks investigates the phenomena and local lore of Idaho's Magic Valley.
Cherry Valley
9780738559520
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Nestled in one of Southern California's deep mountain passes, Cherry Valley has long been heralded for its pastoral beauty. The Cahuilla Indians were the first to inhabit the area, followed by Gold Rush settlers. In 1853, Dr. Isaac Smith built the first ranch here, which was later used by the Butterfield Overland Stage as a stop between San Bernardino and Yuma, Arizona. Smith's Station, as the ranch was known, became an important link for passenger and mail service between Southern California and the rest of the nation, slowly developing into a successful hotel and eventually a resort. The valley was named for its abundance of cherry trees, and in 1914, the community celebrated its first cherry festival, a tradition that continues today. Cherry Valley residents are particularly proud of their community and are dedicated in maintaining the rural residential and agricultural lifestyle they so dearly cherish.
Antebellum and Civil War San Francisco
9781626194274
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Spurred by the promise of gold, hungry adventurers flocked to San Francisco in search of opportunity on the eve of the Civil War. The city flourished and became a magnet for theater. Some of the first buildings constructed in San Francisco were theater houses, and John Wilkes Booth's famous acting family often graced the city's stages. In just two years, San Francisco's population skyrocketed from eight hundred to thirty thousand, making it an instant city where tensions between transplanted Northerners and Southerners built as war threatened the nation. Though seemingly isolated, San Franciscans took their part in the conflict. Some extended the Underground Railroad to their city, while others joined the Confederate-aiding Knights of the Golden Circle. Including a directory of local historic sites and streets, author Monika Trobits chronicles the dramatic and volatile antebellum and Civil War history of the City by the Bay.
Lost Lewiston, Idaho
9781626196179
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Lewiston has a proud heritage of historic preservation. Yet, as with other communities, it has neglected and thrown away once-treasured landmarks and precious memories with the passage of time. Some legacies were crafted with brick and mortar, others with flesh and blood. Nothing is permanent unless we make it so. Join award-winning historian Steven D. Branting as he takes a focused look at some of Lewiston's bygone edifices and the ambitious civic leaders and craftsmen who fashioned them. Reconnect with the city's scholars, its pious, its dreamers and one desperate teenager. They all made Lewiston what it once was, bequeathed their present to be our past and have sadly faded from our view.
Los Angeles Wine
9781609496456
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
The renowned California wine industry, famous for northern vintages, actually was born near El Pueblo de Los Angeles. Spanish missionaries harvested the first vintage in 1782 at Mission San Juan Capistrano and then cultivated enormous vineyards at Mission San Gabriel. Their replanted vine-cuttings took root on Jose Maria Verdugo's 1784 Spanish land grant in what became Glendale. Jean Louis Vignes brought a Bordeaux winemaking experience to LA in 1831 and initiated wine trade with San Francisco. By 1848, Los Angeles contained one hundred vineyards. Author Stuart Douglass Byles traces the little-known LA wine tradition through vintners of the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, Anaheim and Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula Valley and Malibu and details the San Antonio Winery heritage, the last one standing from old Los Angeles days.
Weber State University
9781467116800
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, Weber State University has been serving the Greater Weber and Davis County communities for over 125 years. On January 7, 1889, Weber Stake Academy opened its doors for the first time to approximately 100 students. The academy continued to grow and develop through five name changes and several relocations. Throughout this time, the institution survived many financial and political struggles. Today, the university has increased in size to accommodate over 26,000 students. This pictorial history was put together in commemoration of Weber's 125th anniversary, and it provides a compelling look into the struggles and ultimate survival of a historic academic institution.
Around Aladdin
9781467115483
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Aladdin is located in northeast Crook County, in the far northeast corner of Wyoming. The town, the lowest settlement in the state at 3,749 feet, is surrounded by vast plains of waving grass, wooded mountains, and rolling hills. Coal mining brought the early families to the area and has since formed the histories and memories of the people who came and worked to build farms and ranches. Descendents of many of the original settlers still reside in the community, working and raising their families. Around Aladdin contains the stories and memories of those that came to make this part of Wyoming a place to call home for a long, long time.
Fair Oaks
9780738530888
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Fair Oaks, in the gently undulating foothills along Highway 50, has something in common with its vast neighbor, Sacramento. Early land speculators, politicians, and Chicago businessmen formed a partnership to sell off one of their "Sunset Colonies," deservedly dubbed Fair Oaks, promising water systems and a suburban railroad to help colonists grow prize citrus. The farmers came, but when the investors retreated east, a railroad and water had not appeared. A later investment group did build a bridge and railroad, encouraging more farmers until, at the height of the Great Depression, nature laid a cold hand on the land, freezing all of the citrus. But other orchard crops and vineyards flourished, while more bridges and proximity to the state capital helped transform the farm town into a charming suburb, where residents can still gather at the local cafe or brave the red bluffs and rushing waters of the American River.
Long Beach State:
9781626196018
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Long Beach State grew up right along with the sprawling Southern California suburbs. Born in 1949, it swelled to accommodate the post-world war enthusiasm for education and land. The rapid expansion brought its share of growing pains. Students took classes in a cramped converted apartment with no books and playing ring-around-the-rosie for physical education. Money was scarce, and faculty at times feuded with the administration. But the new college's "let's put on a show" spirit produced a scrappiness that endures today. Read about the personalities that grew the college from Fred Bixby's bean fields into one of the largest universities in California.
Big Horn City
9780738581569
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Big Horn City was the first town established in 1881 in what later became Sheridan County, Wyoming. Nestled in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains, it is no wonder the Crow and Sioux Indian tribes coveted the Little Goose Valley for its abundance of wild game. Sheridan County's first white resident and founder of the town of Big Horn City was Oliver Perry Hanna. Numerous immigrants soon found their way to Big Horn City along the Bozeman Trail to begin a new life. The Bozeman Trail Museum, which serves as a place for local families to share their collectibles, was a blacksmith shop on the Bozeman Trail.
Napa County Police
9780738547527
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The story of organized law enforcement in Napa County begins with the very first meeting of the board of supervisors in 1850 and the appointment of a county sheriff and marshals for each township. The foundations for progress and prosperity in place, Napa County grew from a remote agricultural outpost to the preeminent wine-growing region in the United States and a booming tourist destination--and policing has kept pace. Today, in addition to the Napa Sheriff's Department, the county is protected by the California Highway Patrol and three police departments: Napa, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Specialized police agencies have also grown out of unique needs, including the Napa State Hospital Police, Railroad Police, and Community College Police.
Long Beach Chronicles
9781609495480
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Incorporated in 1888, Long Beach was the nation's fastest-growing city for much of the early twentieth century. Tim Grobaty, columnist for two decades for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, looks back at the major events and compelling personalities that shaped the city's formative years. Early settlers such as William Willmore, Charles Rivers Drake and the Bixby family are brought into sharp focus as Grobaty recounts the city's defining moments. From the naming of city streets to early local newspaper wars, and culminating with the devastating earthquake of 1933, Long Beach Chronicles presents a fascinating collection of tales from the city's provocative past.
Ventura
9780738530338
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The city of Ventura traces its heritage back to the founding of Mission San Buenaventura in March 1782. The intervening eras have seen cattle drives down Main Street, revival tents in the marshy area now known as Pierpont, and the days when the Ventura trolley was the quickest way around town. The attractive images in this postcard tour through bygone times also include the stately Schiappapietra Mansion on Santa Clara Street, which was sadly torn down in the mid-1950s. The county seat of Ventura County, the city of Ventura retains a picture-postcard ambiance, and these images illustrate how that charm always has been a part of Ventura heritage.
Legendary Locals of Estes Park
9781467102308
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
In the 1870s, ranchers Abner Sprague, William James, and Alexander MacGregor raised cattle while the Earl of Dunraven bought land for a private hunting reserve. It was neither cows nor hunting that defined Estes Park, though. Visitors were attracted to its beauty and crystalline mountain air. Inspired by conservationist John Muir, Enos Mills preserved the area's splendor by spearheading the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park while F.O. Stanley welcomed guests to his regal Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King's novel The Shining. As cars replaced horses downtown, Charlie Eagle Plume entertained visitors with Indian dancing, and Casey Martin offered children rides on his Silver Streak train. In the off-season when tourists were scarce, grocer Ron Brodie extended credit to the locals, and George Hurt ran lifts for skiers at Hidden Valley. But it was adversity that tested the town and defined its character. After the 1982 Lawn Lake Flood inundated Elkhorn businesses, town officials revitalized the downtown landscape with urban renewal. When the devastating 2013 flood washed out mountain roads and isolated Estes Park, local businesses banded together and were Mountain Strong.
Pioneers of Eagle Rock
9781609498276
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
After the Rancho San Rafael was divided, Benjamin Dreyfus was awarded the hilly area north of downtown Los Angeles known as Eagle Rock Valley. By 1911, this farming community had rapidly grown into a city. The Los Angeles Railway made downtown LA a trolley ride away, and continued growth led to Eagle Rock's consolidation with the city in 1923. Today, Eagle Rock is one of LA's most distinctive neighborhoods, and a pride instilled by early settlers remains here. These inspirational settlers include soldier and ranchero Jose Maria Verdugo, diarist and historian Elena Frackelton Murdock, farmer and amateur hydrologist Mayor Cromwell Galpin and publicist Ann Hare Harrison. Join editors Eric H. Warren and Frank F. Parrello as they profile the bedrock personalities who built Eagle Rock.
Escondido Grape Day Festivals
9780738559490
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Escondido is the lilting Spanish name meaning hidden and was given to an irregular-shaped inland Southern California valley where an investment group planted 100 acres of grapes in the early 1880s.
The dry-farmed grapes grew unusually large and sweet, which prompted business leaders to envision an attraction similar to Pasadena's Tournament of Roses. The first Grape Day Festival in 1908 commemorated an auspicious occasion in Escondido's water history and celebrated the grape as a symbol of the agricultural abundance of the region. The event attracted thousands of guests who could view the valley, farm displays, a grand parade, and entertainment while eating their fill of free grapes. But by mid-century, Grape Day disappeared along with the grape in Escondido. With the memory of the grape remaining clear, the Escondido Historical Society began the revival of the celebration in the 1970s.
Monterey Peninsula's Sporting Heritage
9780738555898
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Over the first half of the 20th century, the Monterey Peninsula produced an exceptional number of outstanding athletes, a few of whom earned widespread recognition. They were the offspring of Sicilian fishermen, of contract laborers from Spain, and of Japanese abalone divers--and some were from families that had been here for generations and produced dynasties of sports figures. Behind it all lay two expanding and often conflicting peninsula industries: sardine fishing in Monterey and the recreational empire of Del Monte Properties.
Crescenta Valley Pioneers & Their Legacies
9781609495626
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Their names run deep through local history and lore, adorning street signs, canyons, historical buildings, homes and ranches in the swath of suburbia between Pasadena and Tujunga, where the towns of La Crescenta and La Ca ada took shape, along with the unique community of Montrose. Profiled in the pages of Crescenta Valley Pioneers and Their Legacies by author Jo Anne Sadler, a researcher and frequent writer for the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, are such singularly important local characters as Theodor Pickens, the first permanent settler; Dr. Benjamin B. Briggs, the founder of La Crescenta; Jacob L. Lanterman and Adolphus W. Williams, the original developers of Rancho La Ca ada; and the Le Mesnager family, whose historic wine barn still stands in Deukmejian Wilderness Park.
Manhattan Beach Police Department
9780738520896
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The small community of Manhattan Beach, located in the county of Los Angeles, is situated on the shore of the Santa Monica Bay. Late in the 1800s, there was little need for law enforcement: this unspoiled terrain along the ocean coastline with its shifting sands, scrub brush, and native wildflowers had yet to be cultivated. By 1912, the sparsely populated area had been incorporated and the city fathers appointed the first peace officer, Fred W. Petway, who was one of three marshals to serve the new town. In 1924, the position of police chief was created with the appointment of Fred Garvin. However, it would be many years before a first-class police department would oversee the safety and security of the growing community. This volume tracks a century of social change and dramatic episodes that challenged a long line of dedicated men and women in law enforcement. Each of these professionals raised the bar on the high standard of police department service that operates in this seaside municipality today.
Culver City Chronicles
9781609497774
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Culver City has rivaled Hollywood for nearly a century as the Heart of Screenland--a center of the movie and television trades. Here, the giant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer evolved into Sony Pictures, and the Ince and Selznick movie empires became today's Culver Studios. But the same lands along Ballona Creek had been a wilderness traversed by Native Americans and settled by hardy Spanish pioneers named Machado, Talamantes and Higuera. Union soldiers occupied the area's Civil War-era Camp Latham. By 1910, visionary Harry H. Culver saw possibilities for these ranchlands and led Culver City to incorporate in 1917. Join official city historian Julie Lugo Cerra, a descendant of early settlers, as she relates the fascinating stories of how and why Culver City grew and prospered.
Glendora
9780738558004
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Azusa Valley, before the 1850s, was a wilderness of ancient live oak trees; thick stretches of cactus, chaparral, and sagebrush; and large boulders from thousands of years of erosion. Pioneers staked claims and began to clear the land. Though many gave up and moved back East, the permanent settlers persevered, and Glendora emerged as a town around 1887. Glendora incorporated in 1911, and an immensely profitable citrus industry kept it thriving. Today it is a quaint community, proud of its citrus-trade heritage.
Los Alamos Valley
9781467133319
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Los Alamos is a small town on its way to big things. It is a growing tourist destination yet retains its pastoral charm. The history of the Los Alamos Valley can be viewed as a microcosm of the history of California, for it contains within its span Chumash Indians, mission neophytes and horse herds, Spanish land grants, cattle ranches, vaqueros, bandits, oil bonanzas, a narrow-gauge railroad, fertile soil for bountiful crops, vast vineyards, tourism, and even an element of Hollywood. Its location on the Central Coast of California means sunny skies, cool evenings, and cool, damp breezes. The character and resilience of the Los Alamos Valley inhabitants, however, is the real story. Theirs is a history of intermingling cultures and races, a steadfast preservation of traditions, and a pioneer streak of stubborn perseverance in the face of natural and economic adversity. The images in this book were gathered as the result of a community effort.
Orange County Pioneers
9781626197589
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Orange County's pioneer history is filled with harrowing tales every bit as entertaining as a western novel. These stories, culled from oral histories recorded by old-timers in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration, offer a rarely seen look into Orange County's frontier days. From bear hunts and bullfights to social gatherings at the home of the most famous Shakespearean actress of the day, these tales are a window into the earliest days of every corner of the county. Join editor Charles Epting for these wonderfully evocative portraits of the past recounted in the words of the eyewitnesses.
Notorious San Juans:
9781609492601
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
From the shooting of a Secret Service agent in the wilds near Hesperus to the grave misfortune"? of Kid Adams, a not-so-successful highwayman, these tales from the lofty heights of the San Juans are packed with mystery, pathos and fascinating historical details. Mined from the frontier newspapers of Ouray, San Juan and La Plata Counties, these stories tell of range wars, desperadoes and cattle rustlers, lynchings, ill-tempered ranchers with trigger fingers and women fed up with their husbands. There are famous and infamous newsmen, wild stagecoach rides, scapegoats and stolen lands. Carol Turner's Notorious San Juansoffers a rowdy ride through the region's not-so-quiet history."
Running Springs
9780738546797
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
For centuries, the mountains and valleys that became the Running Springs area have swelled with natural resources, supplying the hunting and gathering needs of Native Americans who harvested acorns and herbs and hunted deer and other wildlife to sustain themselves through the winters in the valleys below. Nineteenthcentury gold prospectors passed through the Running Springs vicinity on their way to the Holcomb Valley. Lumbermen came to harvest the virgin timber, supplying the construction requirements of the booming population of Southern California as well as the need for "shook," the thin-shaved boards used to make packing and shipping boxes for the fast-growing citrus industries. The early days of Running Springs are detailed in this winding trip through San Bernardino County's namesake mountains in vintage photographs, which also profile the nearby settlements of Arrowbear Lake and Green Valley Lake.
On these Promising Shores of the Pacific:
9781626192768
Regular price
$23.99
Sale price
$17.99
Save 25%
The original fog-soaked Saint Mary's College campus in San Francisco enrolled both boys and young men and was born in 1863 from the educational vision of Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany. In 1889, the campus moved to Oakland and was affectionately dubbed the Old Brickpile." Through fires, earthquakes, two world wars and bankruptcy, the college persevered and matured, eventually moving to its present location in Moraga Valley. From United States Navy cadets and "Slip" Madigan's Galloping Gaels to the Latin Question and iconic phone booth stuffing, historian and retired Saint Mary's College professor Ronald Eugene Isetti offers a detailed look at the college's legacy. Join Isetti as he chronicles the academic vision, institutional challenges and student traditions of one of California's oldest establishments of higher learning."
Sacramento
9780738594804
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Of the state of California and its resources, much of late years has been written and printed for dissemination among people of the eastern states. Particularly has such information been published concerning the resources of the southern section of the state. As yet but little has been written of the central section—a vast, rich, but comparatively undeveloped territory—which in the very near future will as much astonish the world by the demonstration of its agricultural wealth, as did the state in 1849 by the richness of its gold mines. In the pages following, nothing but facts, capable of absolute and satisfactory demonstration, are presented. Of the section of which this work treats, the facts furnish an ample and convincing argument of its resources and capabilities. It has been the endeavor of the writers—and they are gentlemen of state-wide reputation—to present but the actual facts.
Orem
9780738578828
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
In 1861, a group of hardy pioneers ascended the "Provo Bench" that overlooks Utah Lake. With dreams of fruit orchards and vegetable fields, they uprooted the sagebrush, dug irrigation canals, and planted crops. These farms were successful, and they helped transform Orem into a dynamic community by the time the railroad arrived. The produce was boxed and shipped across Utah on the Orem Line, and the Provo/Orem area earned the nickname "Garden City of Utah." Incorporated in 1919, Orem was transformed again during World War II when the U.S. government constructed Geneva Steel Mill on the shores of Utah Lake. Blue collar workers joined farmers and ranchers in building a city. Orem supports higher education and is home to Utah Valley University. Although malls and subdivisions have replaced many of the orchards and the steel mill has closed, Orem remains rooted in its past while growing towards its future.
Eagle County Characters
9781609496975
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Long before the first ski runs were ever carved into the mountains of Vail and Beaver Creek, Eagle County drew adventurous settlers and pioneers who brought life to the mines and the Eagle River Valley. Allow local journalist and historian Kathy Heicher to introduce you to the Doll brothers as they establish their ranching and business legacy. Ride a stagecoach with Sarah Doherty, Cattle Queen of the Badlands. Follow Jake Borah through bear country with President Theodore Roosevelt and his hunting cabinet. Trail cattle alongside Ellis Bearcat Bearden and his ranching family. Meet a cast of characters whose stories arc across decades and reach the very roots of this beautiful mountain valley.
Fanny Bixby Spencer
9781609498757
Regular price
$23.99
Sale price
$17.99
Save 25%
The last daughter born to Jotham Bixby, the Father of Long Beach, Fanny Bixby Spencer (1879-1930) carved her own singular and eccentric path across California history. Born to wealth and power, she chose a boldly independent, egalitarian lifestyle in an age when women's lives were largely confined to domesticity. Fanny served with the Long Beach Police Department as America's first policewoman. She was a founder of the city of Costa Mesa in Orange County. Her humanitarian efforts reached across ethnicities and social standing. Yet beyond her civic accomplishments, Fanny was provocative as a poet, artist, pacifist, suffragist, child advocate, foster mother and humanitarian. Marcia Lee Harris captures this fascinating woman's remarkable life, enhanced by Fanny's own poetry and soulful reflections.
Football in Long Beach
9781609495459
Regular price
$23.99
Sale price
$17.99
Save 25%
The roots of football run deep in Long Beach, where Long Beach Polytechnic High School has produced more players who have played in the National Football League than any other high school in the United States. Poly's storied program has fed the NFL a wide variety of top players, including such receivers as Johnny Morris, Gene Washington, Tony Hill, Stephone Paige, Marcedes Lewis and DeSean Jackson. This authoritative citywide pigskin history by Mike Guardabascio includes the football sagas of other area high schools, as well as the legacies of Long Beach State and Long Beach City College, which have enjoyed their own brands of national recognition.
Football in the South Bay
9781626193086
Regular price
$23.99
Sale price
$17.99
Save 25%
Hardly a season passes in which one or more South Bay football stars don't shine in major college or NFL play. Vince Ferragamo led the Rams to a Super Bowl, but in Wilmington, he's the pride of Banning High School. Before he was television's Hunter" or an NFL All-Pro, Fred Dryer was an El Camino College and Lawndale High star. Wesley Walker snagged deep passes for the New York Jets but honed his skills under legendary coach Gene Vollnogle for the Carson High Colts, historically the top prep team in the South Bay. From the inspirational coaches like Mira Costa's Don Morrow and San Pedro's Mike Walsh to the greatest players raised here, author Don Lechman presents the full story of South Bay gridiron glory."
The New Deal in Orange County, California
9781626194885
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Unpredictably harsh elements wreaked havoc in Orange County during the Great Depression. The 1933 Long Beach earthquake claimed 115 lives, shattering lands eastward across the Los Angeles County line into the Orange County cities. Then 60 people perished in the devastating 1938 Santa Ana River flood, which washed out roads and buildings and much of the county's namesake citrus industry. Orange County's 130,000 people received a greater density of federal public aid than LA County's 2.2 million and San Diego County's 210,000. Join Charles Epting on this tour of the buildings, bridges, harbors, trails, libraries, highways and other infrastructure gains--many still in use--that were revitalized by the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps and other agencies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal.
Murder and Mayhem in the Napa Valley
9781609495442
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
The picturesque vineyards of California's Napa Valley, one of the world's premier tourist destinations, disguise a tangled history of lawlessness, depravity and frontier justice. Some crimes were committed over debts, some for retribution and others in the name of love. Famed photographer Eadweard Muybridge killed a man for seducing his wife but was acquitted. Other criminals were not so lucky and met the gallows, like murderer William Roe, the state's final public execution. From the Pomo massacre--the first criminal case heard by the California Supreme Court--to the cold cases that continue to haunt the region, Napa Police Detective Todd Shulman decants the crimes of the Napa Valley, memorializing the victims and honoring the efforts of local law enforcement.
Montana Beer
9781626190214
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Montana's brewing history stretches back more than 150 years to the state's days as a territory. But the art of brewing in Montana has come a long way since the frontier era. Today, nearly forty craft breweries span the Treasure State, and the quality of their output rivals the best craft beer produced anywhere in the country. Maybe it's because there's also a little piece of Montana in every glass, as the state's brewers pride themselves on using cold mountain water and locally sourced barley harvested from Montana's ample fields. From grain to glass, Montana Beer: A Guide to Breweries in Big Sky Country tells the story of the brewers and breweries that make the Treasure State's brew so special.
