Name: Fox Cities Murder & Mayhem
Brand: Gavin Schmitt
SKU: 9781467138697
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Gavin Schmitt

Fox Cities Murder & Mayhem

9781467138697

$21.99

The safe and sedate Fox Cities have seen their share of horrible crimes. A must-read for fans of true crime and Wisconsin history.

Cold Blooded murder, kidnapping, prostitution, organized crime and other misdeeds shocked and appalled not just the community known as the Fox Cities, but the entire state of Wisconsin. Murderer Porter Ross tried to commit suicide by eating bedsprings. Wenzel Kabat mutilated and burned a man in order to take over his farm. The Appleton Butcher left dismembered human remains on a playground for children to find.

In this volume, crime writer and leading expert on the Milwaukee Mafia Gavin Schmitt turns his magnifying glass on the dark underbelly of small-town America. Revisit these skeletons in suburban closets that will have you looking over your shoulder as you read.

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Timothy W. Sharp

Memphis Music

9780738544113

$24.99

Memphis means music. That relationship was solidified in 1909 when W. C. Handy wrote the song Mr. Crump and later published it as the Memphis Blues. As Handy's songs were sung and played in streets and music halls, a spotlight began to shine on a new mecca for innovation in music—Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis Music: Before the Blues surveys the people, music, and events that contributed to the rich musical life that emerged against the backdrop of the Civil War and yellow fever in the 19th century. The story is not just one of the building blocks to what has been called America's greatest export—popular music—but rather it is a story of ongoing innovation and creativity that came from a convergence of people of different cultures.

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Mary Preston Foster

Legendary Locals of Charleston

9781467100557

$24.99

Charleston was founded in 1670 by people recruited in the coffeehouses and pubs of London. They were a diverse and interesting group that created a vibrant, sophisticated city in the wilderness. This book tells the stories of people in each era of the city's history. There is a second-grade class photograph that contains a mayor, an admiral, and the grandfather of a senator; Christopher Gadsden, who is buried in an unmarked grave because he feared his enemies would defile his body; and Isaac Hayne, who was hanged by the British for being a traitor. There is Mary Moultrie, who led the strike of hospital employees that earned equal pay and fair treatment for nurses. Today, Shepard Fairey, Stephen Colbert, and Tim Scott keep Charleston's reputation for rebelliousness alive.

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Patricia Montemurri

Detroit Gesu Catholic Church and School

9781467127356

$24.99

Explore the fascinating history of Detroit’s Gesu Catholic Church and Schoolthrough the images and stories of the people who were there.

In a reconfigured farmhouse just a mile outside of the city limits of Detroit, a Jesuit priest and 25 men, women, and children gathered to celebrate Sunday mass on March 19, 1922.

The Reverend John McNichols named the Catholic mission church Gesu, the Italian word for Jesus.Gesubecame one of Detroit's landmark parishes. Its history illustrates the Motor City'sboom, bust, resilience, and resurgence. It was the home parish of four Detroit mayors, powerful members of Congress, auto industry titans, sports legends, artists, authors, and actors. At its peak in the mid-1960s, GesuSchool enrolled 1,600 students. Because of Detroit's decline and its racial and economic struggles, Gesuis one of only four Catholic elementary schools that remain in the city. But as Detroit rebounds, Gesu Schoolis growing again.

Author Patricia Montemurri is an award-winning Detroit journalist whose in-laws were the church's architects and stained-glass designers.Gesu'shistory unfolds here through vintage photographs from the parish archives, the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the University of Detroit Mercy, the Walter P. Reuther Library, the Michigan Catholic, and the albums of Gesuparishioners and graduates.

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Dan Libertino

The Sikorsky Legacy

9780738549958

$24.99

Over 200 photographs help paint the picture of the career of Igor I. Sikorsky, one of the most talented and versatile aeronautical pioneers in history.

This book traces the history of Sikorsky aviation and its founder, Igor I. Sikorsky, whose career spanned over 60 years and was highlighted by three major achievements: the creation of the world's first four-engine airliner, the record-breaking Clipper Ships, with which Pan American Airways explored transpacific and transatlantic airline service, and the development of the helicopter. Sikorsky then led his engineers out of the piston-engine era and into the jet age with the design and development of some of the most widely used turbine-powered helicopters in aviation history. Hundreds of photographs, many from the Sikorsky family archives, document the genius of Sikorsky's intuitive engineering, including his lifelong interest in the challenge of the helicopter, which many historians consider to be his crowning achievement.

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Mark A. Barnhouse

The Denver Dry Goods

9781467135368

$21.99

Over the course of eleven decades, The Denver Dry Goods and its predecessor, McNamara Dry Goods, proudly served Coloradoans, who knew they could shop with confidence for the best quality at the fairest prices. Much more than the goods it sold, the store was a major institution that touched the lives of nearly every Denverite. Comforting culinary traditions like Chicken à la King in the vast fifth-floor tearoom and breakfast with Santa delighted locals. Festive chandeliers adorned the four-hundred-foot-long main aisle during the holidays, and longtime salesclerks knew customers by name. Devoted patrons dearly missed all that charm after the doors closed in 1987. Mark Barnhouse explores the fascinating history and cherished memories of Denver's most beloved department store.

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Irene Cassis

Greeks in Houston

9781467130295

$24.99

This history of the Greeks in Houston is really the story of individuals who worked diligently to forge new lives for themselves even as they maintained their Greek identity and their Orthodox faith. The efforts of many of the founders are immortalized in the buildings that constitute the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral complex. Their names remind us of their hard work and commitment to establishing their koinonia (communion) in Houston. There are many other names that have gone unremarked over the decades but to whom we owe just as much for their tenacity and dedication. And there are the new generations who inherited this legacy and keep it vibrant through the stewardship of their faith and culture.

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J. Michael Niotta

The Los Angeles Sugar Ring

9781625859976

$21.99

In this intimate true crime biography, the author recounts his great grandfather’s journey from local grocer to Prohibition-era crime boss.

Sicilian immigrant “Big George” Niotta did exceptionally well for a grocery wholesaler. That’s because his biggest clients were bootleggers. He delivered hundreds of pounds of sugar to illegal liquor operations across California, supplying an essential ingredient and making sweet profits. But his criminal operations didn’t end there.

Niotta rose to prominence thanks to his magnetic charm, collaborating with infamous bootlegger Frank Borgia and influential gambling baron Jack Dragna. Dogged by the IRS, Niotta expanded his enterprise into ringer horses, a multimillion-dollar lottery, and a notorious gambling parlor. Through extensive research and interviews with family members, J. Michael Niotta explores three decades of L.A. crime, including a rare insider's look at the Eagle Brewing Company and other survivors of Prohibition.

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Bob Gallagher

Legendary Locals of Scituate

9781467100724

$24.99

For more than 375 years, the town of Scituate has shared the talents of its residents in a host of ways. Individuals who called Scituate home have gained acclaim in public service, the arts, and athletics. The Bates, Stewart, and Monteiro families, among others, demonstrate how the Irish, Cape Verdean, and Yankees came to share this small coastal town. Doctors like Ruth Bailey and Max Miles offered contributions to a rich quality of life that endures to the present day. The work of writers like Jacques Futrelle, Claire Cook, and Nick Flynn spans genres and generations. Businessmen like Jack Conway, Paul Young, and Alan Wheeler set standards for service and showed a dedication to their neighbors that went beyond dollars and cents. Scituate has also been home to extremely unique characters like Percy Mann and Bill Sexton—one struggled to fit into a modernizing world and the other found the humor in it. Legendary Locals of Scituate shares a small sample of this talent.

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Ann Dobie

Black Women Writers of Louisiana

9781467151719

$21.99

Louisiana has been home, by birth or adoption, to numerous literary greats. But among that talent, there’s an under-celebrated cohort: Black women. Due to lack of education and opportunity, their record is fairly brief, but over the past century they have been responsible for a flowering of literature that portrays the Black experience through poetry, fiction, plays, essays and journalism. The writers profiled here have not gone wholly unrecognized though—far from it. Some have been honored with prestigious awards and have found a readership large enough to put them at the forefront of the national literary scene. Beginning with Alice Ruth Dunbar Nelson—a fiery activist, columnist and storyteller in the late nineteenth century—the work extends to Fatima Shaik, named 2021 Louisiana Writer of the Year. Join Ann B. Dobie on this celebration of Louisiana literary talent.

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John V. Robinson

Al Zampa and the Bay Area Bridges

9780738529967

$24.99

Most of the commuters who daily cross the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge do not know much about its namesake. Yet Alfred Zampa (1905–2000) lived a remarkable life that touched not only the bridge named in his honor, but many of the other bridges around the Bay Area. An active ironworker from 1925 on, he typified a worker who was hardy and tough, but with the skill to perform extremely precise work under hazardous conditions. He often worked hundreds of feet above the San Francisco Bay with only the spindliest of support, and he fell from the Golden Gate Bridge in 1936. Caught by the safety net, he became a charter member of the ultra-exclusive Halfway to Hell club. Zampa died at the age of 95, six weeks after attending the groundbreaking of his namesake Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge, the only bridge named in honor of a building tradesman.
The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

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Ms. Sarah Langsdon Singh

Legendary Locals of Ogden

9781467100304

$24.99

Incorporated in 1850, Ogden was first settled by Mormon pioneers. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed and Ogden became known as the Junction City. With the rise and fall of the railroad as a backdrop, Ogden's legendary locals emerged in business, politics, and culture. Famous entrepreneurs, like David Eccles and the Wattis brothers, left their mark across the West, while actors like Robert Walker, Moroni Olsen, and Gedde Watanabe took on Hollywood. Richard Richards left Ogden to shape national politics as chairman of the Republican National Committee, while Fred Kiesel challenged the local majority to become Ogden's first non-Mormon mayor. Through it all, Ogden's everyday citizens have helped shape the community as well. From Willie Moore, whose barbershop has stood on Ogden's infamous 25th Street for decades, to the women of the Red Cross who served food to over a million servicemen in transit during World War II, Ogden's history is full of local legends.

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Joseph N. Luther

The Odyssey of Texas Ranger James Callahan

9781625858771

$24.99

James Callahan entered Texas armed, a quixotic young man enlisted in the Georgia Battalion for the cause of independence. He barely survived the 1836 Battle of Refugio and the Goliad Massacre. Undaunted by the perils of his adopted home, he remained in the line of fire for the next twenty-one years, fighting to protect Texas settlers from Apaches, Comanches, Seminoles, Kickapoos, outlaws, mavericks and the Mexican army. As a Texas Ranger, he rode with the legendary men of Seguin and San Antonio. In 1855, he commanded the punitive expedition into Mexico that bears his name, a fiasco that has been shrouded by mystery and shadowed by controversy ever since. In this first-ever biography, Joseph Luther traces the tragic course of the wayfarer who crossed so much of the Texas frontier and created so much of its story.

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Jerry Davich

Crooked Politics in Northwest Indiana

9781467136426

$21.99

Defined by a tangled web of deception for more than a century, Northwest Indiana's political culture involved secret handshakes, tapped phone calls, backroom deals and murder.

Found submerged in his car with a rock on the gas pedal, city official Babe Lopez's execution-style murder rocked East Chicago. Shot and killed at a political fundraiser, power broker Jay Given's murder occurred while four hundred guests mingled in a neighboring room. Former Lake Station mayor Keith Soderquist stole thousands of dollars from his reelection campaign and the city's food pantry account to gamble at local casinos. Author Jerry Davich explores the hidden political scandals and highly publicized court cases of public servants once sworn to serve and protect.

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Diane Gale Andreassi

Maltese in Detroit

9780738583372

$24.99

Most Maltese immigrants came to the United States during the first decades of the 20th century after the discharge of skilled workers from the Royal British Dockyard in 1919 following the end of World War I. More than 1,300 Maltese came to the United States in the first quarter of 1920. Many people found work in the automobile industry, and with about 5,000 residents, Detroit had the largest Maltese population in the United States. Maltese in Detroit focuses on the many people of Maltese descent who made their homes in Detroit's Corktown area. By the mid-1920s, it is believed that more than 15,000 Maltese had settled in the United States. After World War II , the Maltese government launched a program to pay passage for Maltese willing to immigrate and remain abroad for at least two years. By the mid-1990s, an estimated more than 70,000 Maltese immigrants and descendants were living in the United States, with the largest single community in Detroit and its surrounding suburbs.

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Debbie Bowman Shea

Irish Butte

9780738581781

$24.99

Summoned by the call of the copper mines in Butte, Montana, Irish immigrants left a struggling Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century in search of a better life. Around the mines peppering the hills of the mining city, these determined sons and daughters of Eire built strong Irish neighborhoods that engendered the best of Irish culture and influence. Faith, family, a strong work ethic, and a sense of humor would see these immigrants through the decades. Celebrations like St. Patrick's Day and An Ri Ra, Irish language workshops, and a new generation of Irish artisans acknowledge the contributions of this influential group.

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Jerry Longo

Connecticut State Police

9781467120210

$24.99

he Connecticut State Police Department was created in 1903 to preserve the peace, arrest convicting offenders, and stay alert to liquor and gambling violations, especially those on Sundays. The birth of the department came at time when temperance leagues began forming across the country. Connecticut State Police is an account of a department and its rise to battle, among other things, demon rum. Today, troopers cover approximately half of the towns in the state of Connecticut and all of its highways. The CSP became successful and developed a reputation among the law enforcement community as one of the best in the nation. Connecticut state police grew in their responsibilities and expectations, taking on the duties of fire marshal, motor vehicle testing, and dozens of other important and influential agency tasks. This collection of photographs covers the many people, events, and tragedies that have shaped this respected department.

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Sandy Mitchell Pavick

Cleveland's Slavic Village

9780738560694

$24.99

Slavic Village began as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, a parcel of land surveyed and populated with East Coast residents seeking adventure and fortune in the 19th century. As industry came to the Cuyahoga River valley, immigrant workers-first Irish, then Poles and Czechs-settled in the area to be near jobs in the rolling mills, chemical plants, and garment factories. They left their mark on the neighborhood's architecture, food, and culture, and many of their descendants still call the area home. Slavic Village has produced a number of interesting personalities, including Olympic sprinter Stella Walsh and former Cleveland mayor and current United States congressman Dennis Kucinich.

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Rev. Richard Philiposki

Toledo's Polonia

9780738561400

$24.99

Located on the western edge of Lake Erie and at the mouth of the Maumee River, Toledo developed rapidly as a port and industrial and transportation center in the 19th and 20th centuries. Beginning in the early 1870s, Polish immigrants were found among the German settlers. By 1882, there were two Polish parishes established in two distinct Polish neighborhoods (Lagrinka in North Toledo and Kuszwanc in South Toledo) that continued to grow and expand through the mid-20th century. Toledo's Polish community was numbered among the 10 largest in the country and was home to the Paryski Publishing Company, which printed more than three million books in the Polish language. This book illustrates how people lived, worshipped, socialized, celebrated life, and maintained their ethnic heritage while also becoming patriotic Americans.

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Suzy Berschback

Legendary Locals of Grosse Pointe

9781467100939

$24.99

Grosse Pointe is a community of many transformations. Today, it is known as an affluent suburb of Detroit, but Native Americans were the first inhabitants of this haven on the water. In the late 1600s, the fertile land, rich forests, and easy access to water attracted Europeans settlers to the region. And, as neighboring Detroit began to prosper, the allure of Grosse Pointe's lakefront drew weekend pleasure-seekers, then summer vacationers, and later permanent residents who wanted to live on the shores of Lake St. Clair. Throughout this diverse, fascinating history, one thing has remained constant: the character of the people who call Grosse Pointe home. Hardworking, civic-minded, and devoted to family and friends, these individuals embody the spirit of Grosse Pointe, a unique community where generation after generation keeps coming back to live and play.

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Lisa A. Alzo

Cleveland Slovaks

9780738552422

$24.99

Through a collection of images, Cleveland Slovaks show their neighborhoods and family life and give readers an appreciation of the community's legacy.

Cleveland's Slovaks can best be characterized as survivors. Many survived ethnic persecution and poverty so they could have a chance at something better. Beginning with a small core of immigrants seeking work above ground rather than in the coal mines of neighboring states, Cleveland's Slovak community grew through a giant chain migration. Their neighborhoods flourished close to their jobs and their churches. Many of the ancestors of today's Slovaks came to the United States classified as Hungarians. In their hearts, though, they knew what they were and what language they spoke. They held onto their native language even as they learned English and unwaveringly encouraged their children to strive for the opportunity America offered. According to the 2000 census, 93,500 northeast Ohioans claim Slovak heritage.

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Colin M. Caplan

Legendary Locals of New Haven

9781467100960

$24.99

Finding someone who is not legendary in New Haven is nearly as hard as knowing how to pronounce the local dialect. In its earliest period there appeared epic characters like John Davenport, the town's founder; Roger Sherman, the city's first mayor and only signer of the four major US papers; and Benedict Arnold, patriot and famed traitor. The growing city emerged as a place of innovation and industry with people like Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Noah Webster, author of the first American English dictionary; Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber; and William Lanson, a distinguished African American contractor in the early 19th century. As the seat of Yale University and other major institutions, New Haven's men and women continue to make a name for themselves. These legends include Yoshi and Bun Lai, mother and son restaurateurs who create sustainable sushi; Doris Townsend, historian and author; Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana, begun in 1925; and Louis Lunch, birthplace of the hamburger. Legendary Locals of New Haven opens the doors to the city's rich history and its continuing legacy as a cultural center.

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Peter N. Pero

Chicago Italians at Work

9780738561875

$24.99

For more than a century, Italian immigrants and their descendants contributed their labor and talent to building the city. Chicago Italians at Work focuses on a period from 1890 to 1970 when industry was king in this midwestern metropolis. Generations of Italians found work in companies such as U.S. Steel, Western Electric, Pullman, Crane, McCormick/Harvester, Hart Schaffner and Marx, and other large industrial corporations. Other Italians were self-employed as barbers, shoe workers, tailors, musicians, construction workers, and more. In many of these trades, Italians were predominant. A complex network of family enterprises also operated in the Chicago Italian community. Small shopkeepers generated work in food services and retail employment; some of these ma-and-pa operations grew into large, prosperous enterprises that survive today. Finally, Italians helped develop trade unions, which created long-term economic gains for all ethnic groups in Chicago. This book chronicles the labor and contributions of an urban ethnic community through historic photographs and text.

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Patricia Joan O. Horsey

Legendary Locals of Kent County

9781467102186

$24.99

Kent County, located on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is noted for its farms, outdoor recreation, architecture, and its people. Legendary Locals of Kent County recognizes only a handful of the many Kent County people who deserve to be noted. Included are Tony Award nominee Mark Bramble, who is a director, author, and producer; controversial and colorful Evelyn Harris, also known as the Barter Lady, who gained fame during the Depression when she proposed a system of swapping to overcome the shortage of money; elected official, school principal, minister, and artist Clarence Hawkins; Sheriff Bartus O. Vickers, who earned the respect of prisoners, lawyers, other law enforcement officers, and citizens; game warden Bozy Robinson, friend of both the hunter and the hunted; and writer Gilbert Byron, who detailed life on the Chesapeake Bay throughout the 20th century.

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William H. Samonides

Greeks of Stark County

9780738560786

$24.99

By the early 20th century, Stark County was one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation. The home of martyred president William McKinley had become a major industrial center, with alloy steel as the engine of growth for the booming local economy. To fill the ever-increasing demand for labor, waves of immigrants from Greece and Asia Minor settled in Canton and Massillon. Some sought economic opportunity; others were fleeing the Pontian Black Sea coast, where ethnic cleansing of Greeks accompanied the creation of the Turkish state. For the immigrant earning less than $3 a day, building a church meant making a commitment to a new life. In Canton, St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church was founded in 1913 and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in 1917. In Massillon, St. George Greek Orthodox Church was established in 1931. Churches and mutual aid organizations provided cohesiveness to the dynamic, often fractious, Greek community, which survived world wars, economic depression, and social discrimination and continues to flourish today.

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James Patrick Walsh

Irish Denver

9780738589077

$24.99

The very first Irish in Denver came as miners, railroad workers, soldiers, and domestic servants. These workers, cogs of an expanding American industrial empire, later gave way to 20th-century politicians, priests, and business leaders who defined Irish respectability. Denver has always been a prominent stopping point for Irish patriots and cultural icons on their way to California. Former visitors include Oscar Wilde, Michael Davitt, Eamon de Valera, and Mary McAleese. Irish cultural institutions and businesses continue to flourish across Denver, which today boasts of having the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the nation.

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Michael George Davros Ph.D.

Greeks in Chicago

9780738561714

$24.99

Greeks arrived in America with the expectation that freedom would permit their families to thrive and be successful. With hard work, belief in the Orthodox faith, and commitment to education, Greeks ascended in Chicago, and America, to positions of responsibility and success. Today Greek Americans are among the wealthiest and most successful of immigrant groups. Greeks recognized a historical imperative that they meet the challenges and aspirations of a classical Hellenic heritage. Greeks in Chicago celebrates the rich history of the Greek community through copious pictorial documentation.

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Don Rittner

Legendary Locals of Troy

9781467100076

$24.99

Troy was created from land belonging to three Dutch men who were descendants of Dirck Vanderheyden, Troy's first settler who began farming here in 1707. After incorporating as a city in 1816, Troy began its rise to become the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Utilizing the forces of two powerful streams, the Wyantskill and Poestentkill, and the mighty Hudson River, early industries sprang up in the southern and northern parts of the city. With the advent of the Erie and Champlain Canals, the city quickly became an industrial powerhouse, as ironworks produced vast quantities of products needed locally and in the expanding western part of country. With the invention of detachable collars and cuffs in the 19th century, 90 percent of American men were wearing Troy-made collars and cuffs. Troy rose to become known as The Collar City. Trojans have also made major contributions to a growing American republic in the arts, entertainment, sciences, government, military, and industry through the 21st century.

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Carrie Steinweg

Legendary Locals of Lansing

9781467100311

$24.99

Lansing was settled in the 1840s by German and Dutch immigrants. Farming, then the railroad, played major roles in the growth of the village. The brickyards left a lasting impact on the community, as did Henry Ford's airport hangar, which still stands today. The schools produced figures who have become well known outside Lansing, such as Major League Baseball outfielder Curtis Granderson, who has won a Silver Slugger award and joined baseball's elite 20-20-20-20 club. The community has been blessed with caring and dedicated educators like Hal Gronewald and Durward Shuetz, whose reach extended beyond the classroom. Lansing has also raised war heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country—men like August Olsen and Philip Martini. Many other heroes have served and protected at home, including Kenneth Novak Jr., Lansing's only police officer to die in the line of duty.

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J-Mac Productions

Fox Theatre

9780738594491

$24.99

Even beyond Atlanta, this amazing, Moorish-style icon is known by most not by its legal name, the Fox Theatre, but as the Fabulous Fox.

Constructed in the late 1920s as a temple for the Yaarab Shrine, the imposing yellow-brick building was designed to out Baghdad Baghdad in its elaborate Middle Eastern appearance. But the onion-domed exterior with its faux prayer towers is nothing compared to the elaborate interior. Movie mogul William Fox leased the auditorium from the Shriners in 1929, transforming it into a movie palace like no other. The theater became a place of spectacular premieres and world-class performances until changing times threatened its very existence in the 1970s. The campaign to Save the Fox proved more dramatic than some of the performances that graced Fox's own stage. Today, the Fabulous Fox is one of Atlanta's best-known and most cherished landmarks.

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Jo Fredell Higgins

Legendary Locals of Aurora

9781467100359

$24.99

Joseph G. Stolp settled in Aurora on June 12, 1837, when there were 33 residents in the pioneer village. Stolp's vision helped shape the city's destiny. The Aurora Electric Light and Power Company used 2,000-candlepower electric lamps for the first streetlights in 1881. Today, the City of Lights is home to 200,000 residents and a diverse population with 42 percent of Hispanic heritage. The character of her people made Aurora an enterprising city. Notable residents include Maud Powell, violin virtuoso, and Harry C. Murphy, president of the Burlington Railroad. Profiles of Greek immigrant George Andrews and Aurora-born artist Wendell Minor, as well as Polish leader Bruno Bartoszek, color these pages with biographies of greatness. Astute business leaders include Robert Bonifas, Ken Nagel, Louis Leonardi, and Frank C. Schaefer. Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, Dr. Christine Sobek, and Dick Schindel give testament to adroit educational leadership. Legendary Locals of Aurora chronicles how the city's history has been blessed with noble and innovative leaders.

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Kathleen J. Headley

Legendary Locals of Chicago Lawn and West Lawn

9781467102155

$24.99

Nestled in the middle of the southwest side of Chicago are the neighborhoods of Chicago Lawn, West Lawn, and Marquette Manor. All three border picturesque Marquette Park, which intertwines their histories. The pages of Legendary Locals of Chicago Lawn and West Lawn are filled with tales of people who make up the story, or, in some cases, add spice to the story of this section of the city of Chicago. Highlighted locals include the lady known as the Witch of Wall Street and the Roman Catholic priest who took her to court to save his parishioners from deadly disease, the gentlemen known as the Dean of 63rd Street and the Mayor of 69th Street, as well as the Polka King and the Father of Little League. Through their actions, the people featured have impacted the neighborhood. It may be due to acts of kindness or dedication to a cause; they might be builders; they might be gangsters; they might be store owners, but they are all interesting figures.

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Gregory H. Wahl

Legendary Locals of Peoria

9781467101738

$24.99

Peoria harkens back to the 1670s glory days of the French voyageurs and became the now-familiar face of Americana—its townsfolk have touched every aspect of national and international life, often significantly. In comedy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Charles Correll, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and even Bishop Sheen with his witty homilies have made Peoria the Habitat of Humor. Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique jump-started the 1960s feminist movement, while Philip José Farmer's The Lovers rocked the 1950s sci-fi universe. Dr. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Romeo Garrett, and John Gwynn Jr. held the frontline against racism. Representing the best of society's core values, Barb and Dick Hammond founded Friends of the Children of Haiti, a medical organization tending to the year-round needs of the earth's poorest. And unheralded Bill Noel has shouldered the sorrows and burdens of others who have leaned on him for decades. When it comes to all the legendary locals, they play in Peoria . . . and the world.

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Billy Yeargin

A History of Burley Tobacco in East Tennessee & Western North Carolina

9781626199606

$21.99

Burley tobacco revolutionized the industry in east Tennessee and western North Carolina. What started from two farmers planting white burley in Greeneville ignited an agricultural revolution and significantly changed crops, production and quality. Burley transformed the tobacco industry with new cultivation techniques and a shift from dark and flue-cured tobacco. By the 1990s, burley tobacco production in the region had drastically declined, and it is a tradition that few local farmers still practice. Agricultural experts Billy Yeargin and Christopher Bickers take a nostalgic look at the historic rise of burley tobacco and its gradual decline.

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Alan Skontra

Legendary Locals of Hoboken

9781467101059

$24.99

Street for street, Hoboken is as interesting as any city in America. Set just yards across the Hudson from Manhattan, the compact and dense city shelters 50,000 residents who share one square mile. Few square miles anywhere have given the world more. Hoboken's founding family helped win the Revolutionary War, designed the modern railroad, and started a top engineering college. Hoboken's Elysian Fields hosted the first recorded baseball game, its docks sent three million soldiers to Europe during World War I, and its gritty streets reared the famous Frank Sinatra. Formerly a hub of industry and international shipping, contemporary Hoboken is a lively and intimate mix of proud ethnic identities, young families escaping the suburbs, and active, attractive, and socially conscious professionals. Legendary Locals of Hoboken features residents such as Anthony Stick Romano, a retired police captain, bar owner, and county politician; Kathy Zucker, a social media wiz who won a Shorty Award for inspiring other mothers; and Jeff Kreisler, a nationally touring satirist, speechwriter, and lecturer.

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Pamela Flynt Knight

Legendary Locals of Grand Prairie

9781467102179

$24.99

Grand Prairie is a city on the edge. Citizens have been innovators with a love for family and community. Alexander Dechmann traded land to insure a railroad depot; early settlers started schools for their families; and the police department hired one of the first women. Leaders at nonprofits such as Brighter Tomorrows not only helped the local community, but also helped develop services in surrounding communities. Business owners and volunteers have strong family traditions of giving back to Grand Prairie, and civil servants have loyalties for extended years of service, such as Ruthe Jackson and her family, who provided support for both businesses and the community. From the early settlers to today's city, Grand Prairie is built upon loyalty.

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Don Rhodes

Legendary Locals of Augusta

9781467101264

$24.99

For more than 275 years, the city of Augusta and its citizens have contributed greatly not only to the business, cultural, educational, athletic, and religious lives of both Georgians and South Carolinians bordering the Savannah River but also to people throughout the nation and the world. People and businesses such as Brenda Lee, Castleberry's, Lady Antebellum, James Brown, Club Car, Ty Cobb, Georgia Pacific, E-Z Go, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bobby Jones, Emerson Boozer, Beau Jack, and Butterfly McQueen, to name a few, all have close ties to the city that once spent a decade as Georgia's capital. This book tells the stories of many people who became legendary locals through their efforts that made the Augusta area a great place to live and work.

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Anthony Slide

New York City Vaudeville

9780738545622

$24.99

New York City Vaudeville provides a unique pictorial record of America's preeminent entertainment medium in the late 1800s through the early 1930s. New York's Palace Theatre
served as the flagship for vaudeville, on which stage every
vaudevillian aspired to perform. New York City Vaudeville
features photographs of some of the greatest names from
the Palace Theatre, including Jack Benny, George Burns
and Gracie Allen, Anna Held, the Marx Brothers, and Eva Tanguay, as well as legendary African American performers such as Bill Robinson, Ethel Waters, and Bert Williams. Through the photographs and the capsule biographies, the reader is transported back to a time when vaudeville was the people's entertainment, with a new bill of fare each week and an ever-changing number of performers with ever-changing styles of presentation.

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Don "Ramblin" Rhodes

Entertainment in Augusta and the CSRA

9780738516219

$24.99

Augusta, Georgia, and the surrounding towns in the Central Savannah River Area boast more than 200 years of entertainment history, including performances by late 18th-century musicians and many of the nation's first superstars. Some of the most memorable moments in the history of the Garden City are captured in the pages of this unique volume. Entertainment in Augusta and the CSRA reveals many famous faces that have made appearances-either for a short time or for life-in the CSRA. Captured in striking vintage images, most of which were culled from the archives of The Augusta Chronicle, are unforgettable visitors ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Elvis Presley. In addition to nationally recognized celebrities-such as Amy Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Hulk Hogan, Jessye Norman, Butterfly McQueen, and The Godfather of Soul, James Brown-this collection pays tribute to local and regional talents, from singers and dancers to athletes and politicians.

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Thom Nickels

Literary Philadelphia

9781626198104

$21.99

Since Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin put type to printing press, Philadelphia has been a haven and an inspiration for writers. Local essayist Agnes Repplier once shared a glass of whiskey with Walt Whitman, who frequently strolled Market Street. Gothic writers like Edgar Allan Poe and George Lippard plumbed the city's dark streets for material. In the twentieth century, Northern Liberties native John McIntyre found a backdrop for his gritty noir in the working-class neighborhoods, while novelist Pearl S. Buck discovered a creative sanctuary in Center City. From Quaker novelist Charles Brockden Brown to 1973 U.S. poet laureate Daniel Hoffman, author Thom Nickels explores Philadelphia's literary landscape.

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Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius

Milwaukee Police Department

9780738551722

$24.99

The Milwaukee Police Department was organized in 1855 with a determined chief, seven pugnacious officers, and little money. The department grew to 21 men by the start of the Civil War in 1861. Law enforcement in the city soon earned the national reputation for honesty, integrity, and fairness it has enjoyed into the 21st century. The Milwaukee Police Department was first in the country to establish a formal officer training school, police bomb disposal vehicle, and "talking squad car." Nefarious criminals handled by the department include the foiled presidential assassin John Schrank, the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and characters with quaint nicknames like "Cat-eye Lil" and "Kelly the Choker."

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Mark A. Barnhouse

Daniels and Fisher

9781626199231

$21.99

For 129 years, Daniels and Fisher and May-D&F proudly served the Mile High City. Today, the restored Daniels and Fisher Tower adorns the Sixteenth Street Mall while the I.M. Pei–designed ice-skating rink and hyperbolic paraboloid at May-D&F survive only in memories. The story of these institutions is filled with fascinating characters, including dashing, tower-building William Cooke Daniels; his aristocratic English wife, Cicely; and flamboyant William Zeckendorf, whose city-building dreams outpaced his finances. Generations of Denverites shopped these stores and still remember white-gloved sales ladies, meals served in the D&F Tea Room and views from the observation deck. Join author Mark A. Barnhouse as he brings the spectacular Christmas displays, fantastic fortnights celebrating foreign cultures and Carl Sandell—the seven-foot, five-inch Daniels and Fisher doorman—back to life.

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Scott L. Hoffman

Theatre History of Marion, Ohio, A

9781626199507

$21.99

One of the last remaining atmospheric theatres in the nation, elegant Marion Palace Theatre holds a storied history behind its curtains. From the Wigwam, the Grand Opera House and Germania Park Pavilion to nickelodeons, vaudeville houses and movie theatres, performance has been an essential part of Marion's history, and the Palace is the city's jewel. Designed by renowned theatre architect John Eberson, the Palace opened its doors in 1928 to packed audiences of over three thousand patrons. Author Scott L. Hoffman delves into the life and work of John Eberson and the forgotten stories of the Palace that include a police gambling raid, the construction of the theatre and the stars who performed for dazzled audiences there.

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Thea Lewis

Wicked Vermont

9781467138741

$21.99

Author Thea Lewis takes a revealing ride through the unique and colorful history of the Green Mountain State.

Vermont is a picturesque landscape, but the idyllic setting hides a sometimes dark and desperate past. H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer, may have been the University of Vermont's deadliest student. A Burlington resident made an empire partly by carrying contraband goods to and from Canada. The first United States president subject to a birther movement wasn't 44, but a much lower number. A Burlington schoolboy ran away with the circus and became an international sensation under the big top.

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Gary King

Oklahoma's Bennie Owen

9781626199491

$24.99

Before Bob and Barry, even before Bud, there was Bennie, and he might have been the best of them all. He was certainly the most innovative. Best remembered as the mentor of the University of Oklahoma's football team from 1905 through 1926, Bennie Owen also coached baseball and basketball and served as the director of athletics. He retired as intramural director at the age of seventy-five. A visionary and a builder, he exerted the driving force that created the university's Memorial Stadium, one field house, Memorial Union building, men's swimming pool, baseball field and bleachers, concrete tennis courts, nine-hole golf course and intramural playing fields. A true man of all seasons, he laid the foundation for a Sooner tradition of excellence—in football and beyond.

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Anan Ameri

Arab Americans in Metro Detroit

9780738519234

$24.99

Arab Americans have been an integral part of Detroit's history since the 1880s. Early Arab immigrants worked as peddlers, grocers, and unskilled laborers, first settling downtown and later on the east side of Detroit. Their numbers increased after the First World War. They were attracted to the area by the booming automobile industry, and Ford's $5 for an 8-hour work day. This visual journey explores the history of four generations of Arab Americans in metro Detroit. It takes us to the days that preceded the automobile to modern 21st-century Arab America. Through more than 180 images, this book portrays the challenges and triumphs of Arabs as they preserve their families, and build churches, mosques, restaurants, businesses, and institutions, thus contributing to Detroit's efforts in regaining its position as a world class city.

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Mary Firestone

Dayton's Department Store

9780738550619

$24.99

Dayton's department store, grand in scope and company spirit, enjoyed a century in the limelight as one of the nation's leading retailers. Its disappearance has been a challenge to the community, but it is a sign of the times, as many other urban department stores have shared the same fate. Originally called Goodfellows, the store got its start in 1902 when real estate investor and banker George Draper Dayton became a silent partner in the business. He soon took over the company but had to learn the ropes of retail as he went along since he had never intended to become a merchant. The early years were not without struggles, but Dayton's department store was nevertheless an instant hit with its daylight-filled aisles, generous return policies, and quality merchandise. The Minneapolis store became a vibrant self-contained community with a post office, newspaper, infirmary, laundry, bakery, and even a college. Daytonians worked and played together around the clock, in baseball and bowling teams, glee clubs, and orchestras. Over time, the reach of Dayton's extended far into the upper Midwest, with stores in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, including the development of the nation's first indoor mall.

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Johnny A. Miller

Historic Theaters of New York's Capital District

9781467137461

$21.99

Experience the architecture and colorful history of the Historic Theaters of New York’s Capital District as author John A. Miller charts the entertaining history.

For generations, residents of New York's Capital District have flocked to the region's numerous theaters. The history behind the venues is often more compelling than the shows presented in them.

John Wilkes Booth brushed with death on stage while he and Abraham Lincoln were visiting Albany. The first exhibition of broadcast television was shown at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady, although the invention ironically contributed to the downfall of theaters across the nation. A fired manager of the Green Street Theatre seized control of the theater with a group of armed men, but Albany police stormed the building and the former manager regained control.

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Polish Cultural Institute

The Kashubian Polish Community of Southeastern Minnesota

9780738518855

$24.99

The Kashubian people in Southeastern Minnesota are a small yet distinct group of people; small, because in a world-view they are few in number, emigrated from a small area in Poland, and settled in a relatively small area similar to the area they left; distinctive, because of the cohesiveness of the community, and moreso, because the Kashubian language is unusual even in Poland. This book describes the culture of the Kashubian community, illustrated with over 200 vintage images. It salvages a history that has almost been amalgamated into the swirling melting pot because of the difficulty of their language, the spelling of their names, and the lack of recognition of their efforts. From the first Polish-American fighters who gave their lives to the Civil War, to the lumber mills that offered so many new residents means of survival, these photographs visually outline the experiences of the earliest Kashubian immigrants, and a history nearly lost.

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Ann Wendell

Frederick & Nelson

9780738558653

$24.99

In 1890, D. E. Frederick arrived in Seattle and, joined soon after by Nels Nelson, started what would become one of the Northwest's best-loved and well-regarded stores. For more than 100 years, Frederick & Nelson was much more than just a department store to the people of Seattle--it was an icon. F&N, as locals referred to it, established the city's retail
core, led the war-bond drive, acted as a civic booster, and pioneered a high level of benefits for its workers. But it was the customer experience that made all the difference at F&N. Whether it was a fashion show in the Tea Room, a visit to Santa, or the taste of a Frango, the memories of Frederick & Nelson still resonate today throughout the Pacific Northwest.

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Jacqueline M. Sears

Legendary Locals of Holyoke

9781467101813

$24.99

Holyoke is home to some of the most amazing and courageous individuals. In 1658, European pioneer John Riley, along with other early planters, was instrumental in establishing a community in the West Springfield area called Ireland Parish, which eventually became known as Holyoke. This tenacious man led the way for many other trailblazers, including George Ewing, who envisioned utilizing hydropower to operate factories and inspired town engineers to design one of the first planned cities in the United States. In 1898, the progressive Elizabeth Towne encouraged Holyoke residents and an international audience with her New Thought movement that advocated a healthy lifestyle. Another outstanding citizen, Timothy Alben, judiciously leads the Massachusetts State Police, while Holyoke's Henry Jennings honorably served his country in the armed forces, as a commander of the Holyoke War Memorial Building, and on the Holyoke City Council. Barbara Bernard has astutely kept residents informed about current events for the last 70 years. Legendary Locals of Holyoke chronicles the community's finest men and women who survived and prospered through harsh circumstances and against all odds.

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Jimmy Cunningham Jr.

Delta Music and Film

9781467113953

$24.99

The Delta Lowlands, a place of stunning innovation and creativity in music and film, has laid an incredible foundation for American entertainment. Talented singers, producers, and musicians from a narrow stretch of Arkansas Delta land—traversing U.S. Highway 65 south near England down to Pine Bluff and on through Lake Village/Eudora—have garnered every conceivable distinction, including Grammys as well as Country Music Association (CMA), Gospel Music Association (GMA), Stellar, Dove, Soul Train, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and other music awards. The mosaic of cotton blossoms, catfish farms, blues juke joints, foot-stomping churches, and rich Delta dirt has also served as the training ground for legends in blues, R&B/soul, country music, jazz, and gospel. In film and television, the Delta Lowlands has birthed the invention of sound in movies, the development of slow-motion footage, the creation of television's Neilson's ratings, the first western-genre movie star, a cadre of Emmy and Oscar award–winning personalities, and a television tower that was once the second tallest man-made structure in the world.

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Gail Spector

Legendary Locals of Newton

9781467101462

$24.99

Newton has more than enough legendary locals to fill volumes of books. Endless are the stories about men, women, and young people who dedicated, or still dedicate, countless hours of their lives in order to make Newton and the world a better place. Newton has been a launching ground for award-winning authors, Nobel Prize winners, Olympic medalists, and Hollywood stars. Some of Boston's best athletes have chosen to make the Garden City their home. In the pages of this book, readers will learn about Newton's first mayor, James Hyde, who never lost an election in more than 50 times on the ballot; Rev. Edmond Kelley, the first pastor at Myrtle Baptist Church and a former slave; Leonard Zakim, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice and civil rights violations; Louise Bruyn, who walked from Newton to Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War; Shirley Lewis, known as the regal queen of the blues; and Ted Williams, regarded as baseball's greatest hitter, who lived in Newton Upper Falls.

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Cleveland Police Historical Society Museum

Cleveland Police

9780738533704

$24.99

When Cleveland, Ohio, was incorporated as a city on March 5, 1836, the population numbered less than 6,000. In its heyday, the city was touted as the Sixth City when the population soared to 560,663. Today, the Cleveland Division of Police serves and protects 478,403 souls. Over the years, the division has been a pioneer in many aspects of policing, including criminal identification, scientific investigation, and communications. In the 1920s and 1930s, Cleveland had one of the most progressive and efficient departments in the country. The first use of a surveillance camera to identify bank robbers, which led to their quick arrest, occurred in Cleveland on April 12, 1957. However, the job of protecting and serving the people has never been easy—to date, 107 Cleveland police officers have died in the line of duty.

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Sheri Stodghill Fowler

Legendary Locals of Rockwall

9781467101899

$24.99

Since its founding in 1854, Rockwall has been home to dedicated public servants, pioneer personalities, hometown heroes, successful business owners, devoted educators, and hardworking farmers. Containing more than 100 profiles of Rockwall's interesting and influential citizens, Legendary Locals of Rockwall includes the stories of Confederate veteran John Summerfield Griffith, who rode on horseback to Austin to gain the original charter for Rockwall County; long-tenured office holders such as Lannie Stimpson, who served 53 years in office, and Derwood Wimpee, who served 35 years; a long list of educators, including Maurine Cain, Dorothy Smith Pullen, Ouida Springer, and Doris Cullins, who influenced generations of Rockwall students; and business professionals such as newspaper publishers P.J. and Jane Bounds, local developer and philanthropist Raymond Cameron, and Texas's first formally trained female dentist, Dr. Jessie Castle LaMoreaux. In addition, Rockwall has long honored its agricultural heritage by naming roads after farming families who influenced the region. The names Bourn, Rochell, Cornelius, Clem, and Smirl, among others, will be familiar to those who travel the roads of Rockwall County.

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Tim Sharp

Nashville Music before Country

9780738553986

$24.99

Nashville is a name synonymous with music. Years before the first radio broadcast of country music from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, music and publishing were central to Nashville's self-identity. Thousands of songs flooded into the Cumberland and Tennessee River valleys from Southern Appalachia, sung by folk performers. These songs became the foundation for the folk-hymn traditions that grew throughout Tennessee. Into this stream flowed a body of African American spirituals, gospel, and minstrel songs. The arrival of trained German musicians brought classical styles to this gathering stream of musical confluences. These musicians found a home in the academies and businesses of Nashville. Nashville Music before Country is the story of how music merged with education, publication, entertainment, and distribution to set the stage for a unique musical metropolis. The images for Nashville Music before Country come from private collections as well as public libraries and archives.

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Virginia Schafer

Legendary Locals of Fairfield County

9781467100380

$24.99

Local legend says that Marquis Charles Cornwallis, Revolutionary War hero, rode into this area and declared, How fair are these hills and thus, Fairfield County was born.

Fairfield County is a unique blend of tradition, culture, and history. Freedom-seekers, farmers, and religious folks came from the northern trails, while many aristocrats and plantation owners traveled from the coast. These citizens bred a unique and proud folk ranging from sturdy military men who protected their land during the American Revolution and the Civil War to educators who started well-known educational institutions and produced prominent military men and politicians who forever changed the world. Fairfield County is also known for its culture and music. Many recognized beauty queens, artists, musicians, and sports figures hail from this midland region of South Carolina.

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Sydney Stevens

Legendary Locals of the Long Beach Peninsula

9781467100595

$24.99

Geographic isolation, abundant natural resources, and the challenging climate of Washington's Long Beach Peninsula have shaped the strong character, individuality, and creativity of those who live there—from the First Peoples of the Chinook Nation to the eclectic, ever-growing population of the 21st century. Along the Columbia River, the salmon industry has spawned leaders such as P.J. McGowan, John Kola, and Jessie Marchand. On Willapa Bay, oyster workers and cranberry growers like Meinert Wachsmuth, Ira Murakami, Charles Nelson, Jim Crowley, and Malcolm McPhail have struggled to understand and protect their fragile environment. Entrepreneurs like John Morehead, Mary Lou Mandel, Keleigh Schwartz; legislator Sid Snyder; surf rescuer Doug Knutzen; and artist Eric Wiegardt have each played a role in shaping this unique area. Legendary Locals of the Long Beach Peninsula chronicles the generations of inhabitants who have celebrated the distinctiveness of their communities even as they have endeavored to cooperate in sculpting their future.

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Megan Flautt

The Portuguese in San Jose

9780738547817

$24.99

For hundreds of years, Portuguese explorers have swept across the globe, many of them landing in California in the 1840s as whalers, ship jumpers, and Gold Rush immigrants. Gold was the lure, but land was the anchor. San Jose became home to
Portuguese immigrants who overcame prejudice to contribute to the area politically, socially, and economically. They worked hard, transplanting farming, family, and festa traditions while working in orchards and dairies. Many came from the Azores Islands, 800 miles out to sea from mainland Portugal. For over 160 years, the Portuguese have
enriched San Jose with colorful figures, including radio star Joaquim Esteves; jeweler and filmmaker Antonio Furtado; the charismatic and controversial Fr. Lionel Noia; educator Goretti Silveira; and community leaders Vicki and Joe Machado.

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Medea Isphording Bern

San Francisco Jazz

9781467132879

$24.99

San Francisco is probably best known for its hills, ubiquitous fog, dungeness crab and the Golden Gate Bridge. But jazz music's threads are similarly woven into the fabric of the city and its environs. Whether performed in renowned clubs like So Different, Jimbo's Bop City, Black Hawk, and the Jazz Workshop or in halls like the Primalon Ballroom and Great American Music Hall, jazz has infused the city from the Barbary Coast to the Fillmore, thrilling audiences for over a century. San Franciscans have grooved to and incubated scores of jazz acts, hot and cool, raucous and contemplative.

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Kevin Grace

Irish Cincinnati

9780738594354

$24.99

Just one year after a settlement was established on the Ohio River in 1788 and one year before its name was changed from Losantiville to Cincinnati, an Irish immigrant brought his family to the cabins located there. Shortly thereafter, Francis Kennedy established a ferry service to support his wife and children, and more Irishmen followed over the next few decades. It was a diverse group that included Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, and Catholics who were manufacturers, stevedores, and merchants. The Irish in Cincinnati have always contributed to the culture, politics, and business life of the city. Their traditional strengths are found in churches, schools, and fraternal organizations like the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. There is also richness in their ethnic heritage that includes art, dance, music, literature, and festivals involving everything from the annual mock theft of the St. Patrick statue in Mt. Adams, the St. Patrick's Day parade, and the various ceili throughout the year to the events at the Cincinnati Irish Heritage Center. Using rare and evocative images, Irish Cincinnati embraces 200 years of their lives in the Queen City.

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Russel Tanner

Rock Springs

9780738556420

$24.99

An ancient inland sea, surrounded by lush vegetation and inhabited by dinosaurs, helped create the mineral-rich landscape where Rock Springs, Wyoming, now sits. French trappers first encountered American Indians who were traveling via a natural corridor that traverses the region, and eventually pioneer trails used this same route in the great westward expansion. The First Transcontinental Railroad arrived in 1868, and the national demand for energy in the form of fossil fuels turned everyone's attention to the vast coal deposits. Thus the frontier outpost of Rock Springs became an important energy center, and immigrants from around the world came to work in the mines and make this land their home. As local businessman Leonard Hay used to say, All wealth comes from the earth. Today other minerals have joined coal as new sources of wealth for Rock Springs, and plans are being made to harness the wind that carved out this unique landscape.

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James T. Lucas

Greeks in San Francisco

9781467116886

$24.99

The history of San Francisco's Greek community is linked to the history of San Francisco. The first Greeks to arrive were sailors, miners, and laborers. By the 1880s, they had formed benevolent, civic, and fraternal organizations. In 1904, the first Greek Orthodox Church west of Chicago was established, and Third Street became the heart of the Greek community. The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of their new community, but undaunted, the Greeks of San Francisco rebuilt their lives to become business leaders and politicians, contributing their entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit to the city's rich heritage.

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Bryan Ogg

Naperville

9781467139168

$21.99

Since Naperville sprang from the northern Illinois prairie, it has maintained an unmistakably fascinating heritage.

The settlers who followed the Napers to the DuPage River had to endure the hardships of felling trees and plowing prairies to make a place to call home. The campuses of the Research and Technology corridor might seem far removed from the travails of those early years, but both are part of the same community. That shared tradition holds surprises such as the location of the Stenger Brewery or the legacy of Peter Kroehler, furniture tycoon, mayor and philanthropist. Bryan Ogg takes stock of the people and events that shaped Naperville from its founding through its current state.

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Falmouth Historical Society

Legendary Locals of Falmouth

9781467100434

$24.99

The settling of Falmouth is a proud and powerful story with unexpected heroes, remarkable achievers, and unforgettable characters. The faces and stories of Falmouth range from the town's rebellious founding father, Jonathan Hatch, to the much-loved journalist Kitty Baker. Falmouth's past and present have always been marked by exceptional creativity and genius in the arts, sciences, and business. Falmouth, it can be said, is a town with a talent for allowing individuals to follow their unique paths. Witness Rachel Carson pursuing her lost birds and marine life at Woods Hole, Gus Canty pursuing his dreams through town sports, and James Miskell Sr. beginning the 100-year family legacy of Wood Lumber Company. This cavalcade of residents is presented in chapters on Falmouth founders, maritime folk, newcomers, and creative entrepreneurs, and it appeals to all who ever wished to be a part of small-town living.

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Verlyne Meck

Legendary Locals of Buckeye

9781467102001

$24.99

In 1884, Malie Monroe Jackson began and named a canal Buckeye in honor of his native state, Ohio, the Buckeye state. In 1886, Thomas Newton Clanton added 10 miles to the canal. The following year, he applied for a post office, and on March 10, 1888, the post office, named Buckeye, was established. Clanton platted a townsite and named the town Sidney, though why he chose that name remains a mystery. Beginning in 1910, advances in transportation put the community on the map, and Sidney became Buckeye. Hugh Watson, founder of the Buckeye Valley Bank, became the town's first mayor in 1929. On January 1, 2014, Buckeye became the newest city in Arizona. This newest volume also celebrates today's Buckeye settlers, such as Levi Beard, Tony Youngker, Clemie Arnold, and Bob Doster, DVM, updating Buckeye's colorful history of notable residents.

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Debbie Sargent Sullivan

Legendary Locals of Weymouth

9781467100342

$24.99

At first glance, Weymouth would seem to be a typical South Shore town of average size and seemingly average people. However, after interviewing longtime locals, hearing their stories, and understanding their past, one would discover
that Weymouth and its people are anything but average. This community has been home to Abigail Adams, wife of one president and mother of another; Maria Weston Chapman, famous abolistionist; and Harry Arlanson, the father of Weymouth football. Other notables include actor Hal Holbrook, hockey player Tim Sweeney, and Olympian Kathy Corrigan. The second oldest town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Weymouth has had quite some time to muster up some extraordinary residents: young, old, famous, infamous, heroic,
and scandalous, each with their own unique stories that have contributed to the character of the community. Legendary Locals of Weymouth brings these legendary tales together to chronicle the great history of this unique town.

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Jeffrey L. Stein

The Floppy Show

9781467126045

$24.99

In 1957, WHO-TV asked staff performer Duane Ellett to come up with an idea to help teach children how to better care for their pets. Ellett created Floppy, a high-voiced beagle dog puppet that became his sidekick for the next 30 years. Together, the iconic duo made 200 personal appearances every year at community festivals and events. The Floppy Show aired weekday afternoons in part of four decades, featuring a live studio audience of children telling Floppy riddles, beeping his nose for luck, and watching cartoons. On weekends, the duo appeared in a variety of programs over time, from the S.S. Popeye in earlier years to The Floppytown Gazette in the 1980s, featuring Floppy and other puppets Ellett created. Thousands of Iowans outside of Des Moines discovered the duo from their performances at the Iowa State Fair. Even now, 30 years after their last television appearance, Duane and Floppy still hold a warm place in the hearts of baby boomers across America.

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Tom Zaniello

California's Lamson Murder Mystery

9781467136532

$21.99

On Memorial Day 1933, Stanford executive David Lamson found his wife, Allene, dead in their Palo Alto home. The only suspect, he became the face of California's most sensational murder trial of the century. After a judge sentenced him to hang at San Quentin, a team of Stanford colleagues stepped in to form the Lamson Defense Committee. The group included poets Yvor Winters and Janet Lewis, as well as the Sherlock Holmes of Berkeley, criminologist E.O. Heinrich. They managed to overturn the verdict and incite a series of heated retrials that gripped and divided the community. Was Lamson the victim of aggressive prosecutors, or was he a master of deception whose connections helped him get away with murder? Author and Stanford alum Tom Zaniello meticulously examines the details of a notorious case with a lingering legacy.

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Latah County Historical Society

Legendary Locals of Moscow

9781467102070

$24.99

The rich and fertile land upon which Moscow sits has sustained a vibrant community of hard working thinkers, creators, and activists for more than 125 years. Just as the area's first inhabitants returned to camas fields in Paradise Valley year after year, pioneers settled in Hog Heaven because they found ready access to life's necessities. Businessmen like Nathaniel Williamson and Frank David tied their fortunes to the local farming economy to the same degree as seed pioneer Willis Crites or sustainability advocate Mary Jane Butters. While the bounty that surrounds Moscow feeds its growth, the town's cultural lifeblood is pumped by the University of Idaho. The university has provided Moscow with inventors such as Malcolm Renfrew, talented athletes like Olympian Dan O'Brien, and colorful characters, perhaps best embodied by Dean of Women Permeal French. The picturesque hills of the Palouse roll through the history of this unique town, rooting tomorrow's leaders in the work of yesterday's groundbreakers.

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Keith Roysdon

Wicked Muncie

9781467136655

$21.99

Explore the notorious and unusual side of Muncie's history.

Muncie is the classic small American city. But for much of the past two centuries, the city fell victim to murder, corruption and the bizarre. Mayor Rollin Bunch went to prison for mail fraud, while his police commissioner faced a murder rap. Viola Babe Swartz ran a brothel out of a truck stop that was raided by police at least a dozen times but ran for sheriff in the 1974 primary election. June Holland, of the locally famous Holland triplets, killed her neighbor for refusing to sell her house.

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Randolph L. Harter

Legendary Locals of Fort Wayne

9781467102100

$24.99

Fort Wayne sits astride the confluence where the St. Joseph and St. Mary's Rivers form the Maumee River. Though occupied for over 10,000 years, its modern history begins just over 200 years ago with Gen. Anthony Wayne and his Miami nemesis, Chief Little Turtle. The pageant of Fort Wayne's history includes traders, industrialists, politicians, athletes, and movie stars. Included here are such notables as Hollywood's Carole Lombard and Shelley Long, Ian Rolland of Lincoln Life, Big Boy's Alex Azar, gangster Homer Van Meter, football's Rod Woodson, inventor Philo Farnsworth, and over 150 more.

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Tarn T. Granucci

Legendary Locals of Wallingford

9781467102049

$24.99

Legendary Locals of Wallingford is about fabric—the fabric of community that is made up of an amazing variety of threads, yarns, and whole panels of every color, design, and origin. These represent the people of the community. Wallingford's story goes back over 350 years and encompasses an enormous range of people with every kind of motivation for being part of this town. The people of this community love where they live and give back to the townspeople who have supported their businesses, educated their children, and protected them in so many ways. Wallingford has produced a number of people of celebrity, including Morton Downey, the famous singer and songwriter of the 1920s and 1930s, and also his son Morton Downey Jr., who earned a name for himself in the TV talk show world; Beverly Donofrio authored Riding in Cars With Boys; Maureen Moore acts on Broadway; sculptor Robert Gober recently completed a major show at MOMA in New York; and Maj. Raoul Lufbery was a renowned World War I Flying Ace. These and more are celebrated here.

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Roger S. Durham

Fort McAllister

9780738516851

$24.99

Many earthen fortifications defended the city of Savannah and its numerous water approaches after the Civil War broke out. One of these defenses, Fort McAllister, protected the entrance to the Ogeechee River and the strategic railroad and highway bridges upstream. From November 1862 to March 1863 the U.S. Navy bombarded the fort seven different times without success. The fort finally fell to General Sherman in December 1864; ironically, the final threat the fort faced was not from an enemy trying to get up the river, but from one trying to get down the river to the sea. In the 1920s auto magnate Henry Ford renovated the fort and focused new attention on its history. In 1960 the State of Georgia built on Ford's work and opened the fort as a State Historic Site to mark the centennial of the Civil War. Today visitors can quietly wander the massive, earthen walls and gun positions, gaze across the wide river and expansive marshes, and ponder the thundering, blazing reality that once played on this ground.

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Thomas G. Hays

Los Angeles Police Department

9780738530253

$24.99

No police force in history has gained as much fame and notoriety as the Los Angeles Police Department. The acronym LAPD is practically synonymous with the idea of professional law enforcement. The men in blue who patrol Hollywood and the sprawling metropolis of L.A. have been investigated by screenwriters more times than vice versa. With more than 9,300 sworn officers today, the LAPD endures seemingly endless controversies and media circuses. But then there's the other side of L.A.'s protective shield—the story of the force's evolution alongside the spectacular growth of its unique melting-pot city. This book's rare and often never-before-published photographs focus on that side: the excitement, danger, tragedy, and comedy of everyday beat cops and workaday detectives—with concessions to their limelight representations, including Jack Webb's Dragnet and Adam-12.

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Mark A. Nobles

Fort Worth's Rock and Roll Roots

9780738584997

$24.99

On the evening of February 9, 1964, Ed Sullivan introduced the Beatles to America. Across the country, teens were glued to their TV sets and witnessed a turning point in rock and roll history. Vibrant and creative teen scenes sprang up all across the country. The scene in Fort Worth, Texas, produced an exceptional burst of creativity in songwriting and musicianship. Weekend concerts and battles of the bands drew thousands of fans. Primitive teen recordings were pressed into 45s and received radio airplay in rotation with national acts. Local television shows featured live bands; fashions changed with go-go girls' skirts growing shorter; long hair became the style for women and men; and the seeds of the counterculture were planted and flourished. The music of this generation birthed every rock subgenre for the next 40 years (acid rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, grunge), and today's musicians still reach back to these recordings for inspiration.

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Marta M. Deyrup

Wallington's Polish Community

9780738599014

$24.99

The years after World War I heralded a large influx of Polish immigrants fleeing war-torn homelands in search of a better life. Drawn by the opportunity to work in the textile and manufacturing mills, Polish immigrants moved to Wallington, New Jersey, a newly incorporated borough in Bergen County. The Polish community of Wallington established themselves as local store owners and businessmen. They constructed churches and social club buildings; established restaurants, pubs, and grocery stores; and participated in the social life of their community. By the 1920s, Polish Americans began to dominate local politics; in 1929, the first Polish American mayor, Leo Strzelecki, was elected. Polish Americans became the majority in Wallington between 1935 and 1945, representing about 70 percent of the population. In 2012, Polish Americans comprise over 50 percent of Wallington's population. Through vintage photographs that capture the spiritual life of these people and the struggles they overcame, Wallington's Polish Community honors the Polish immigrants of the past while educating new generations.

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Annette Blaugrund

Dispensing Beauty in New York and Beyond

9781609492793

$24.99

Harriet Hubbard Ayer moved to New York City by 1883 and established Recamier Preparations, Inc., the earliest cosmetic company owned and operated by a woman. First with her creams and balms and then with her words about women's health and beauty, she influenced several generations of women to look and feel good about themselves. The jealous and vindictive men in her life punished her for her ambition, accomplishments and independence by attempting to steal her lucrative business and seize her children. After she successfully sued them, they had her committed to an insane asylum. Indomitable, this former Chicago socialite reinvented herself as the highest paid newspaperwoman in the United States, editing the women's pages of Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Her incredible story is presented here as never before.

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Joe A. Mobley

Confederate Generals of North Carolina

9781609490485

$21.99

Confederate Generals of North Carolina provides a brief but compelling biography of each of the forty-eight Confederate Generals who served from North Carolina during the Civil War. Each biography includes in addition to the war service a summary of a general's prewar and postwar careers. Author Joe Mobley (editor of the North Carolina Historical Review) also discusses the generals collectively: how many were killed or wounded, who attended West Point before the war, who achieved the highest levels of success both on and off the battlefield, and more.

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Dorothy K. Fletcher

Historic Jacksonville Theatre Palaces, Drive-ins and Movie Houses

9781626197701

$21.99

Jacksonville's theatre and performance history is rich with flair and drama. The theatres, drive-ins and movie houses that brought entertainment to its citizens have their own exciting stories. Some have passed into memory. The Dixie Theatre, originally part of Dixieland Park, began to fade in 1909. The Palace Theatre, home to vaudeville acts, was torn down in the '50s. The Alhambra has been everyone's favorite dinner theatre since 1967's debut of Come Blow Your Horn. Local author Dorothy K. Fletcher revives the history of Jacksonville's theatres. Lights, camera, action!

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Josh Bernstein

Legendary Locals of Willingboro

9781467100908

$24.99

Founded by associates of William Penn, Willingboro has been a vibrant community for more than 300 years. As it evolved from fertile farmland to the finest example of post–World War II suburban planning and hailed by the Westinghouse Corporation as the picture of everyday American life, Willingboro has cultivated individuals whose innovations, athleticism, musical talents, and service have transcended the township's seven square miles, from civil rights activist Willie James to Olympian Carl Lewis to music producer Adam Blackstone to Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Gammage. Just as important are the civic leaders, volunteers, teachers, physicians, and citizens who form the soul of Willingboro, like Lizzie Morris, the town matriarch who for decades delivered home-cooked meals to emergency personnel and the needy; Kelly Logan, a former football player who turned the tragic shooting death of his teenage daughter into an antiviolence campaign; and AnnMarie Stephenson, a candy striper who returned home to practice medicine in Willingboro. This book celebrates these legendary locals.

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Robin J. Richards

The University of Georgia Redcoat Band: 1905-2005

9780738516844

$24.99

The University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band has grown from 20 military cadets in 1905 to more than 350 musicians and auxiliary members performing complex and entertaining halftime shows all over the Southeast today. Throughout the past century the Redcoats have been invited to participate in every major bowl game in the country and in the inaugural parade of Jimmy Carter in 1977. The University of Georgia Redcoat Band: 1905-2005 covers the first 100 years of one of the finest musical organizations in America.

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David J. Ginzl

Barnett Bank

9780738505534

$24.99

Banking in the sparsely settled, frontier Florida of the nineteenth century was not for the timid or the easily discouraged. Being neither of these, the indomitable William Boyd Barnett opened a private bank in Jacksonville in 1877 that would later bear his name. Barnett and his two sons built a successful family business, and by the early 1880s, their bank had become the largest in Florida. During the next several decades, the bank played a part in a number of historically significant events, from the financing of the Disston land purchase that solidified the state's finances in the 1880s to the rebuilding of Jacksonville after the destructive 1901 fire. Over the course of its 120-year history, Barnett maintained a significant presence in Florida's economic development and in the evolution of the American banking industry. The Barnett name became synonymous with sound, conservative, well-managed banking, and at the time of its sale in 1998, Barnett was the oldest and largest banking organization in Florida. The story of this company, however, is more than just a series of strong leaders or the annual recap of asset growth and profitability. It is the story of the thousands of people, both employees and customers, who played a vital part in the bank's success. Showcasing vintage photographs and a detailed historical narrative,

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Kathy Catrambone

Taylor Street

9780738551074

$24.99

Take a tour of Taylor Street, the heart of Chicago’s Little Italy, with local historian and journalist Kathy Catrambone. A must-have for fans of Italian-American history.

Chicago's Near West Side was and is the city's most famous Italian enclave, earning it the title of Little Italy. Italian immigrants came to Chicago as early as the 1850s, before the massive waves of immigration from 1874 to 1920. They settled in small pockets throughout the city, but ultimately the heaviest concentration was on or near Taylor Street. At one point a third of all Chicago's Italian immigrants lived in the neighborhood. Some of their descendants remain, and although many have moved to the suburbs, their familial and emotional ties to the neighborhood cannot be broken.

Taylor Street: Chicago's Little Italy is a pictorial history from the late 19th century and early 20th century, from when Jane Addams and Mother Cabrini guided the Italians on the road to Americanization, through the area's vibrant decades, and to its sad story of urban renewal in the 1960s and its rebirth 25 years later.

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Rob Hubbard

Brave New Workshop

9781626196865

$21.99

In 1958, former circus aerialist Dudley Riggs opened a Minneapolis coffeehouse with a stage for performers and created an American comedic institution. What started as a way to draw customers on slow nights became the Brave New Workshop, a comedy theater sinking its satirical talons deep into the culture of Minneapolis–St. Paul for over half a century. This theater helped launch the careers of many talented performers, including satirist-turned-senator Al Franken and his Saturday Night Live partner in comedy, Tom Davis, as well as comedian Louie Anderson, Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, screenwriter Pat Proft of the Naked Gun films and many others. Author Rob Hubbard tells the story of the hilarity, irreverence and imagination of the Brave New Workshop—a funhouse mirror to the world around it. If you've lived in Chicago, you know what Second City is. If you've lived in the Twin Cities, you know what the Brave New Workshop is. Founder Dudley Riggs and the Brave New Workshop played a big part in my comedy career. Read the real history of this company and the actors and writers from it who have influenced comedy on television and the big screen for over 50 years. – Louie Anderson

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C. Robert Ullrich

Germans in Louisville

9781626196544

$24.99

The first German immigrants arrived in Louisville nearly two hundred years ago. By 1850, they represented nearly 20 percent of the population, and they influenced every aspect of daily life, from politics to fine art. In 1861, Moses Levy opened the famed Levy Brothers department store. Kunz's The Dutchman Restaurant was established as a wholesale liquor establishment in 1892 and then became a delicatessen and, finally, a restaurant in 1941. Carl Christian Brenner, an emigrant from Lauterecken, Bavaria, gained notoriety as the most important Kentucky landscape artist of the nineteenth century. C. Robert and Victoria A. Ullrich edit a collection of historical essays about German immigrants and their fascinating past in the Derby City.

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Alison Burns

Legendary Locals of Encinitas

9781467100090

$24.99

Drawn by extravagant promises of a beautiful village of 500 inhabitants, studded with orange trees and grapevines, the Hammond family arrived in Encinitas in 1883 only to find that advertisements had rather overstated the case. Undeterred, these 11 English settlers remained and, in doing so, doubled the town's population overnight. Subsequent pioneers brought wide-ranging talents to this fledgling California coastal town—none more so than the Ecke dynasty, whose flower fields established Encinitas as the poinsettia capital of the world. Today, the city encompasses five distinct communities, and while it boasts many famous celebrities, it is the ordinary folk whose passion and daring have made Encinitas the place their forebears long ago envisaged.

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Norma Lewis

Dutch Heritage in Kent and Ottawa Counties

9780738560281

$24.99

On February 9, 1847, Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte chose a site on Michigan's Black River and founded what became Holland. Motivated in part by a potato famine and crop failures, the settlers also sought religious freedom. Other countrymen followed, leaving an indelible mark on the character of southwest Michigan. Jan Douma and Matteus Notier, Union soldiers from Graafschap, guarded the bier of slain president Abraham Lincoln. Newbery Medal–winning children's author Meindert DeJong came from Grand Rapids, as did Caldecott Medalist Chris Van Allsburg. The legacy includes Hope, Calvin, and Kuyper Colleges, the world-class Fredrik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, the Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center at Spectrum Hospital, DeVos Performance Hall, Van Andel Arena, the DeGraaf Nature Center, Windmill Island, Dutch Village, and Veldheer's Tulip Gardens. The Dutch forefathers passed their values on to their progeny to make the area what it is today.

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Richard Heppner

Legendary Locals of Woodstock

9781467100670

$24.99

Located at the foot of Overlook Mountain and at the gateway to the Catskill Mountains, Woodstock has long been both a place and an idea calling to the individual spirit within those seeking a better life. That call was answered in the 18th and 19th centuries by settlers unafraid of hard work and sacrifice striving to carve a community and a living from the challenges of a rugged countryside. The same call was heard in the 20th century by artists, musicians, and free-thinking individuals who, drawing inspiration from Woodstock's natural landscape, fashioned a cultural climate unique in the history of small-town America. From political leaders such as Elias Hasbrouck, Albert Cashdollar, and Val Cadden to cultural visionaries such as Ralph Whitehead, Hervey White, and Albert Grossman to men and women like Mescal Hornbeck, John Pike, Dr. Norman Burg, and Sam Mercer, who worked to sustain Woodstock's spirit of community, Legendary Locals of Woodstock offers a unique reflection on the road Woodstock has traveled.

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Leslie Nicole Thomas

Legendary Locals of Huntsville

9781467102025

$24.99

First they came for the land, later they came for the stars and the moon; all found themselves against the glorious backdrop of the Tennessee Valley. Legendary Locals of Huntsville chronicles the story of Rocket City, a sleepy, Southern cotton town that weathered the Great Depression with its mill villages, gained national attention with Redstone Arsenal, blossomed into the center of aerospace development, and became the home of the largest arts center in the Southeast. Notables include pioneer John Hunt and founding father LeRoy Pope; aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun; world-renowned portrait artist and poet Howard Weeden and cobweb artist Anne Clopton; internationally known soprano Susanna Phillips; Professional Football Hall of Fame member John Stallworth; performing arts pioneers Helen Herriott and Loyd Tygett; and entrepreneur and philanthropist Mark C. Smith. The stories herein celebrate just a handful of the many people who have made a memorable impact on this community and who continue to propel Huntsville forward through leadership by example.

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Marilyn Bond

The Birth of the Detroit Sound

9780738520339

$24.99

From the 1940s through the early 1960s, a new form of popular music was born in the United States-one that would take the world by storm. Detroit disc jockey Alan Freed, among the very first to play and promote new music, christened it "Rock 'n Roll" from an old blues lyric. Detroit, like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Memphis, contributed its own distinctive regional character to the music and became a hub of industry activity. An epicenter of American music by the mid-1950s, Detroit built its reputation upon a wealth of talented singers and musicians, the vast amount of clubs and theaters available to them, and a multitude of enthusiastic industry professionals who helped bring their unique sound to the world. Many record labels, including Fortune and Fox, also thrived in the metro Detroit area in the days before Berry Gordy's Motown Records gained international recognition. This book documents the extraordinary style of music that took shape in Detroit well before Motown was a gleam in Gordy's eye. The Birth of the Detroit Sound chronicles great talents like John Lee Hooker, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Jackie Wilson, Jack Scott, Andre Williams, and Nolan Strong. Featuring a rare collection of vintage photographs, the book also spotlights record industry personalities, deejays, and long-forgotten venues where the giants of Detroit music once performed.

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Michael C. Gabriele

New Jersey Folk Revival Music

9781626198241

$21.99

New Jersey shaped folk revival music into an art form. The saga began with the bawdy tunes sung in colonial-era taverns and continued with the folk songs that echoed through the Pine Barrens. Guitar Mania became a phenomenon in the 1800s, and twentieth-century studio recordings in Camden were monumental. Performances by legendary artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan spotlighted the state's folk revival movement and led to a flourishing community of folk organizations, festivals and open-mic nights at village coffeehouses. Author Michael Gabriele traces the evolution and living history of folk revival music in the Garden State and how it has changed the lives of people on stage and in the audience.

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Mr. Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt

Legendary Locals of Oxnard

9781467100564

$24.99

The roots of Oxnard history begin on the fertile plain of western Ventura County. A century after the Native Chumash were interrupted by the Spanish Mission system, the rancho period that followed was slow to develop on the Oxnard Plain. By the late 19th century, groups of newcomers from Europe, Latin America, and the post–Civil War states began settling on the agricultural terrain. After experimenting with various dry crops, the introduction of the cash crop of sugar beets brought about the next wave of emigration from Asia, as well as a steady flow of emigrants from the Latin countries. As Oxnard has grown, so has its diverse population and the contributions from the many residents who have made this area their home for generations. Legendary Locals of Oxnard offers a glimpse of some of these individuals.

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Joshua M. Ruff

New York City Police

9780738576367

$24.99

New York City, one of the world's premier urban centers, is also home to the world's most famous and storied municipal law enforcement service: the NYPD.

Policing in New York is as old as the city itself, although much has changed since the first Dutch rattle watch patrolled streets in the 1620s. Technological improvements, advancing professional standards, and historical moments like the 1898 consolidation of New York City and the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, have each profoundly changed the way New York City police officers do their jobs. Still, as New York City Police emphasizes, certain elements of the job remain true through the decades and centuries. Being a police officer in New York City has always involved a certain amount of danger, sacrifice, and public coordination.

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Dr. Jack S. Ballard

Colorado's Daring Ivy Baldwin

9781467146333

$21.99

At the beginning of the twentieth century, aerialist Ivy Baldwin had achieved celebrity status as a premier tightrope walker, aeronaut and aviation pioneer. He executed astonishing and perilous performances across America and internationally, including Mexico and the Far East. First by flying balloons, he went on to pilot dirigibles and, finally, aircraft. In his later years in Colorado, he became famous for crossing canyons on a tightrope. Historian Jack Stokes Ballard deftly captures Baldwin’s colorful and hazardous life from childhood runaway to aviation record holder.

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Dr. Margaret Murray Thorell

Swedes of the Delaware Valley

9780738573939

$24.99

The first Swedish settlers in America embarked from Gothenburg, Sweden, and sailed into Delaware Bay, arriving at what is now Wilmington. The fearless Swedish and Finnish settlers left their mark in the Delaware Valley and on many sites in the area, particularly its churches and famous log cabins. The photographs in Images of America: Swedes of the Delaware Valley depict the depth of Swedish American influence on the area, from early log cabins to John Morton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, to IKEA and the American Swedish Historical Museum. The museum, located in the heart of the Delaware Valley, is dedicated to preserving and promoting Swedish American culture, heritage, and traditions.

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Eileen Moon

Legendary Locals of Red Bank

9781467100953

$24.99

In its early years, Red Bank was a place where Sigmund Eisner, a Jewish emigrant from Austria, could arrive with empty hands and build a manufacturing empire that served the nation. It is a place where families like the Irwins could make a home for generations: Capt. Edward Irwin started his marine business by the side of Red Bank's Navesink River in 1884, and his great-grandson Channing still runs the family marina by the water. It is the place where Thomas Edison experimented with sonar and where the Dorn family launched a photographic dynasty that has chronicled the life of the community for more than a century. It is a place where the Drs. Parker, a family of black physicians, earned an enduring place in the hearts of Red Bankers by caring for its citizens, both black and white, with skill and kindness. Red Bank is a place where Bruce Springsteen could start off playing at high school dances and end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These are only a few of the legendary locals of Red Bank.

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Paul Menser

Legendary Locals of Idaho Falls

9781467101684

$24.99

In 1864, a stage line driver named Matt Taylor and two associates decided Black Rock Canyon was the place for a toll bridge to handle traffic to and from Montana. The following year, their bridge opened and a town called Eagle Rock took shape. With the coming of the railroad, trains brought everyone from saloon keeper Dick Chamberlain to temperance crusader Rebecca Mitchell. To project a more genteel air, Eagle Rock became Idaho Falls in 1891. Joseph Clark, the first mayor, and newspaper publisher William Wheeler were just two of the people who helped pave the streets and turn on the lights. After assiduous wooing by boosters such as Bill Holden, D.V. Groberg, and E.F. McDermott, the Atomic Energy Commission in 1949 chose Idaho Falls for the headquarters of its National Reactor Testing Station. Today, Idaho Falls is a vital trading and service center with two hospitals, a professional baseball team, symphony orchestra, and world-class museum. It is also the hometown of some remarkable people who have gone out in the world to make names for themselves.

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Michael Eury

Legendary Locals of Cabarrus County

9781467102193

$24.99

In calling for the region's separation from Mecklenburg County in 1792, John Pioneer Paul Barringer set a high-spirited standard for future legendary locals of the nascent Cabarrus County. New communities flourished on the former homesteads of Robert Harris and Paul M. Dayvault, and the county was subsequently transformed by devoted civic leaders such as John Washington Carriker, Jonas Cook, A.L. Brown, J. Carlyle Rutledge, Martha Melvin, and Allen T. and Ella Mae Small. Cabarrus County citizens, like Glenn McDuffie, the famous kissing soldier of World War II; Corine Cannon, the first African American woman to work in the textile mills; and Margaret Hagerty, the Guinness World Records–holding senior citizen marathon runner, often tread where others recoil. Kannapolis-born Ralph Earnhardt started a racing dynasty here, while other natives found their fortunes elsewhere, including record producer Marshall Sehorn, NFL superstar Natrone Means, and broadcaster Beth Troutman. Cabarrus County's people have always been its most valuable resource, and their inspirational and exhilarating stories are collected in this keepsake edition.

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Kevin Grace

Cincinnati on Field and Court

9780738520346

$24.99

Sports are a key expression of civic identity along the Ohio River and are a large part of any discussion of Cincinnati's heritage. Their significance helps us interpret the broader issues of economic and social classes, gender differences, race and ethnicity matters, politics, and community values-in short, sports help us understand ourselves.

Covering the time period from the 19th century when German immigrants formed the first American Tuner societies for athletic training, and professional baseball developed to the current age of new ballparks and sports celebrities, Cincinnati on Field and Court takes a look at the place of sports in the cultural life of the Queen City. Included are professional teams like the Reds, Bengals, and Royals; legendary figures like Pete Rose, Oscar Robertson, and Ezzard Charles; dramatic moments like the 1919 World Series, the courageous story of Maurice Stokes, and the Olympic achievements of DeHart Hubbard; and social issues like the impact of women's sports and racial segregation and integration. The good, the bad, the foolish, the innovative, the tragic, and the inspiring are all covered.