Name: Barbers Point NAS
Brand: Bradford T. Sekigawa
SKU: 9781467133296
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Barbers Point NAS

9781467133296

$24.99

Rising from the ashes of the Pearl Harbor attack, Barbers Point Naval Air Station would become a major staging point for US Navy aircraft for the war in the Pacific, culminating with the surrender of the Empire of Japan. With the end of World War II in the Pacific and throughout the Cold War, Barbers Point would be home base for the US Navy's fleet of maritime patrol aircraft that hunted the growing threat of Soviet submarines prowling the vast Pacific. From 1942 until its closing in 1999, Barbers Point was the US Navy's only naval air station in the Pacific.

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Big Sur

9780738529134

$24.99

Big Sur is a river and a region on California's Central Coast. Extending for 75 miles along the Pacific shore, from south of Carmel to north of San Simeon, the Big Sur Coast is defined by the backdrop of the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains as they abruptly descend to meet the sea. For millennia the home of native people, Americans and Europeans began to settle Big Sur country even before California became a state. This book combines outstanding photographs from 40 collections, ranging from family albums to institutional archives.

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Duarte

9780738569116

$24.99

Mexican Army veteran Andres Duarte was granted 6,595 acres along the southern foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in 1841 by the governor of Alta California. Rancho Azusa de Duarte eventually was carved into 40-acre parcels, and arriving families from the East and Midwest built schools, installed water lines, and grew crops. By 1900, two major rail lines served the area's thriving citrus industry. Duarte's beneficial climate led to the establishment in 1913 of a tuberculosis sanitarium, which became City of Hope, the world-class cancer treatment center. Bandleader Glenn Miller settled in Duarte. The city's location along old U.S. Route 66 brought many visitors to and through town. A strongly independent civic spirit led to a momentous 1987 U. S. Supreme Court decision to disallow the expulsion of the Duarte Rotary from Rotary International for admitting three women. As for Andres Duarte, he is commemorated by a 2007 bronze equestrian statue, located across Huntington Drive from the city hall that bears his name.

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Coal Camps of Sweetwater County

9780738593067

$24.99

In the early to mid-1900s, the coal camps of Reliance, Dines, Winton, and Stansbury emerged from the hillsides and desert in southwestern Wyoming due to the increased need for coal. The miners and their families who came to these coal camps were a true melting pot, bringing with them different races, religions, and customs from all over the world. They forged unique communities and worked and lived harmoniously, depending on one another for survival, entertainment, and camaraderie. Although distanced from one another, the camps were integrated by the mines and activities of the Union Pacific Coal Company, and unified by School District No. 7, which provided the educational foundation for their children. The people who lived in these camps contributed significantly to the development of southwestern Wyoming, the economy of the state, and the welfare of the United States during wartime.

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Hailey

9780738588995

$24.99

When Hailey was founded in 1881, it was one of many boomtowns that sprang up as a result of the lead-silver rush in the northwestern United States. The city was named for John Hailey, a successful entrepreneur who operated a freight hauling business before the railroad reached the Wood River Valley. The new town's strategic location—in proximity to surrounding, rich lead-silver deposits and at the junction of the Wood River and Croy and Quigley Canyons—allowed Hailey to become a bustling center of commerce and mining. Over the years, Hailey grew and changed with the rise and fall of the local mining and sheepherding industries. In recent years, Hailey has reinvented itself yet again, with tourism as the mainstay of the local economy. More than 130 years after its founding, Hailey remains a vibrant and energetic community in the heart of the Wood River Valley.

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San Francisco's Interurban to San Mateo

9780738530086

$24.99

It's strange to think that an electric commuter rail line rivaling BART in efficiency, speed, and comfort ran over 100 years ago between San Francisco and San Mateo, but run it did. The 40 Line, or San Mateo Interurban, began in 1892 with an initial segment operating between Market and Steuart Streets out to the county limits on San Jose Avenue. Three years later, the line reached Baden in present-day South San Francisco, and by 1903 service was opened all the way to downtown San Mateo. During the line's heyday, there was talk of extending it down the peninsula from San Mateo to Palo Alto to connect with the Peninsular Railway to San Jose. The 1906 earthquake put this plan on hold. Following much the same route as today's Mission Street, El Camino Real, and Caltrain, the San Mateo Interurban carried over four million passengers a year along its main and spur lines until 1949, when the system was shut down amidst much fanfare.

Cover image for San Francisco's Interurban to San Mateo, isbn: 9780738530086

San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

9780738528656

$24.99

Founded in 1850, San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, located in what was then called New Town, became the bustling anchor of commerce for the developing City of San Diego. In this new history of the area, nearly 200 striking images tell the story of the area's early boom and bust, the saloons and bordellos of infamous Stingaree Town, the urban decay of the mid-twentieth century, and the rebirth and restoration of the neighborhood over the last 30 years.

Cover image for San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, isbn: 9780738528656

Atwater Village

9780738574899

$24.99

In the shadow of Griffith Park along the Glendale Narrows section of the Los Angeles River sits Atwater Village, a charming slice of Los Angeles nestled amid Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and the city of Glendale. Atwater's beginnings date to 1868 when W. C. B. Richardson bought the 671-acre Santa Eulalia Rancho. Starting in 1904, the Pacific Electric Red Car offered a convenient commute to downtown Los Angeles, and the Art Tile Company (later Gladding McBean) and Van de Kamps Bakery became key local employers. Stylish homes and bungalows proliferated along the tree-lined streets, built in the Mediterranean, English Tudor, Spanish Colonial Revival, California Craftsman, and Fantasy architectural styles. A library, post office, schools, and churches sprang up along with more than 100 family-owned and corporate enterprises. Nearly 4 miles long and half a mile wide, Atwater evolved as a wholly contained community, prompting residents in 1987 to successfully petition the city to officially add the word Village to its name.

Cover image for Atwater Village, isbn: 9780738574899

Early Auburn

9781467132763

$24.99

Located at the junction of gold-rich ravines, Auburn was the site of the first gold discovery in Placer County. Though the superficial gold was quickly panned out, by 1850, the town had become an important trading center. Auburn became a center for goods, services, entertainment, and a place for miners to winter-over. More importantly, it became a transportation hub. As the county seat, Auburn's hotels, saloons, and merchants experienced a steady stream of customers as county residents came to town to deal with legal matters. Though plagued by numerous destructive fires, the citizens of Auburn rebuilt, and the town continued to thrive. This book will introduce the reader to some of the individuals who were instrumental in shaping Auburn as it grew into the town it is today.

Around Frederick

9781467130356

$24.99

In the 1880s, Frederick was nothing but prairieland, and its only inhabitants were prairie dogs, rabbits, coyotes, and snakes. Coal brought settlers to the area, and Frederick was incorporated in 1907 as a coalmining town. The mines needed workers, and immigrants arrived from across the globe to help fill this need for labor. Men and their families came from Italy, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Mexico, and the Slavic countries to make Frederick their home. While not considered a gold or silver boomtown, Frederick had its share of growing pains. Liquor and illegal gambling were constant sources of problems, and the town saw natural disasters such as persistent flooding as well. As its location on the Union Pacific Railroad helped the miners, farmers, and merchants build a strong community, the history of Frederick provides a classic example of growth and development on the eastern Colorado plains.

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Half Moon Bay

9780738529639

$24.99

First dubbed San Benito and then Spanishtown, Half Moon Bay is a coastside town with a long and intriguing story. Many know it for its lovely natural surroundings, quaint downtown architecture, and relaxed atmosphere, but not many people know that this town was the first to be established in San Mateo County as a result of 1840s land grants to early Spanish settlers. Isolated on the coast for a time, it became home to Mexican, Chilean, Italian, Portuguese, and other cultures after the 1850s, when roads finally reached over the mountains. During the 20th century, a wide variety of businesses thrived here, as people arrived by road, water, and even railroad. Farms, churches, schools, businesses, and homes sprang up, and the town modernized, though today's Half Moon Bay looks much like it did 100 years ago.

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Legendary Locals of the Santa Clarita Valley

9781467100274

$24.99

Cradled among chaparral-covered canyons an hour north of downtown Los Angeles is a fascinating place called the Santa Clarita Valley. The history of the valley has significantly shaped the cultural development of Southern California for centuries. But while events are often credited with creating its history, the true portrait of the valley is painted using the palette of personalities who left their indelible mark on the landscape. It is these stories of cowboys, Native Americans, outlaws, farmers, shepherds, soldiers, miners, range warriors, ranchers, saloon keepers, stagecoach drivers, railroaders, town drunks, teetotalers, engineers, land speculators, explorers, missionaries, actors, and common folk that make the history of the Santa Clarita Valley so compelling. Legendary Locals of the Santa Clarita Valley is a pictorial journey through time, telling tales of the colorful cast of characters found sprinkled throughout the region's past, and the legendary locals who still make history today.

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Oakland Police Department

9780738547268

$24.99

The California legislature granted a charter to the new community of Oakland in 1862, and a year later, the town council appointed three peace officers. When it was a dusty Western town, Oakland's major business was raising cattle to feed San Franciscans and the gold miners north of Sacramento. Year by year, as Oakland grew in size and population, the police department grew with it. The Oakland Police Department pioneered the use of call boxes, police cars, and other technical innovations. It has served the city well through good times and bad, wars, fires, and earthquakes. A large, diverse organization serving a complex multicultural city, the Oakland Police Department today accepts the challenges of policing in the 21st century.

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Legendary Locals of Mill Valley

9781467101288

$24.99

Since the 1800s, Mill Valley has attracted spirited freethinkers, entrepreneurs, nature lovers, rabble-rousers, and more than a few rock stars. Early Mill Valley booster Sidney Cushing encouraged tourism with a train up Mount Tamalpais called the Crookedest Railroad in the World. Laura White, more concerned with protecting Mill Valley's natural beauty than attracting more people, brought the town its Outdoor Art Club and a tradition of conservationism. Vera Schultz broke the glass ceiling of local politics in 1946, and in 1973, 10-year-old Jenny Fulle's letter to President Nixon changed the future of America's female athletes. When an elementary school teacher named Rita Abrams wrote a song about why she loved Mill Valley, it became a national hit; so did a song about the heart of rock and roll, written by local boy Huey Lewis, who had attended that same school. The stories of Mill Valley's legendary locals—whether from 1890 or 1980—are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspiring, often humorous, and always fascinating.

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Monterey Fire Department

9780738576237

$24.99

For more than 129 years, the firefighters of the Monterey Fire Department have provided outstanding service to the people of Monterey. The department has protected the community since 1882, when the first brigade was a handful of citizens armed with buckets and axes. In 2010, a total of 64 firefighters responded to 6,233 calls. This book is dedicated to the memory of Monterey's firefighters, who have all served valiantly.

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Daly City

9780738528670

$24.99

Nestled in the shadow of San Bruno Mountain and known as The Gateway City for its proximity to San Francisco, Daly City is much more than a typical suburb. A thriving and diverse community built along El Camino Real (The King's Highway), the road that connected all of the Spanish Missions in California, the city has evolved from a quaint agricultural town to an important business, residential, and transit center. This new collection of images, mostly vintage and rarely seen photographs, tells the city's journey from the original Spanish land grant through its 1911 incorporation and on to modern times. The town has always been cosmopolitan, developed with the help of Irish, German, and Italian settlers, and today's large numbers of Hispanic and Filipino residents. Aside from natural wonders like San Bruno Mountain and the dramatic Pacific coastline, Daly City also has man-made landmarks like the Cow Palace, which has long been host to large-scale events such as the Grand National Rodeo and political conventions. Nearby Colma is known for its cemeteries, but as readers will see in this book, shares a surprisingly rich history with Daly City.

Cover image for Daly City, isbn: 9780738528670

San Francisco's Noe Valley

9780738529059

$24.99

Named for Jose de Jesus Noe, San Francisco's last Mexican mayor, Noe Valley is undoubtedly one of San Francisco's favorite neighborhoods and certainly one of the most picturesque. Yet the area has a rich and varied history reaching far beyond the lovely buildings and lively street scenes familiar to so many citydwellers. Originally part of the Rancho de San Miguel land grant, the area was incorporated into the city and became an early example of a San Francisco enclave situated away from the noise and bustle of the downtown and waterfront areas. Noe Valley gradually became an important residential and business center known for its beautifully restored Victorian homes, as well as for the vibrant commercial corridor on Twenty-fourth Street.

Cover image for San Francisco's Noe Valley, isbn: 9780738529059

Rancho Cucamonga

9780738575001

$24.99

Located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains near the southern end of the Cajon Pass, Rancho Cucamonga has served as a natural crossroads for those traveling to and from Southern California. In 1776, while freedom was being declared on the east coast of North America, Spanish explorers were meeting native Cucamonga Indians for the first time. From that point on, Spanish missionaries, pioneers, gold miners, immigrants, settlers, and businessmen traveled through Cucamonga on the Mojave Trail, the Old Spanish Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, El Camino Real, and more recently, former U.S. Route 66. While some continued on, others stayed and built farms, vineyards, and more. Italian immigrants, attracted by stories of Cucamonga's ideal soil and climate, planted vast vineyards of Italian grape stock and produced many world-famous wines. Although Cucamonga's heyday of grapes and winemaking spanned a century, little wine is produced today. Now Rancho Cucamonga attracts people as an excellent place to live. Money magazine placed it in the top 100 in its Best Places to Live rankings in 2006.

Cover image for Rancho Cucamonga, isbn: 9780738575001

San Francisco's Excelsior District

9780738528892

$24.99

The Excelsior District traditionally has not been among San Francisco's spotlight neighborhoods, yet this area is an important residential and commercial zone that is home to some 30,000 residents. These rolling hills south of San Francisco's better-known districts are now covered with row upon row of houses, streets, and apartments. But places like the Excelsior were once sparsely populated, agrarian, and even rural. This volume of vintage photographs chronicles the Excelsior's intriguing journey from rugged swamp and farmland to the busy cosmopolitan neighborhood we know today. It is a tale of determined immigrant families putting down roots in a challenging locale and overcoming adversity to stake out a permanent enclave in this famed city. It is also a story of large-scale construction and reclamation to tame the rugged outskirts of San Francisco.

Cover image for San Francisco's Excelsior District, isbn: 9780738528892

Lake Tahoe's Rustic Architecture

9781467116541

$24.99

Lake Tahoe is the gem of the Sierra Nevada. Those who visit this beautiful Lake of the Sky may share Mark Twain's impression of the place as he camped on its shore in 1861: As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords. Twain's quote, from Roughing It, includes the trinity of Tahoe's landscape—sky, mountains, and lake—that people still find inspiring. This explains, in large part, why the man-made environment around the lake is predominantly rustic, a style of architecture noted for its compatibility with its surroundings through the use of natural materials in construction—logs, stone, and wooden shingle—along with muted shades of green and brown. Through its homes, resorts, and other assorted buildings, Lake Tahoe remains the fairest picture.

Cover image for Lake Tahoe's Rustic Architecture, isbn: 9781467116541

A History of Leadville Theater

9781609497118

$21.99

When the West was wild, the glitziest streets in Colorado ran through Leadville, where opera, variety and burlesque lit up Magic City theaters. Theatrical legends Buffalo Bill and Oscar Wilde graced the Tabor Opera House, while revolutionary Susan B. Anthony reached a rough mining audience from a stage atop a bar. Thomas Kemp spared no expense on the risque Black Crook at the Grand Central Theater, complete with a grand waterfall, a trapdoor and dragons. Follow Leadville historian Gretchen Scanlon through these theatrical glory days, from the glamorous productions and stump speeches to the offstage theft and debauchery that kept the drama going even when the curtain fell.

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Culver City

9780738528939

$24.99

Part Mayberry and part Peyton Place, Culver City has provided the backdrop for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Men In Black, Jerry Maguire, The Andy Griffith Show, Batman, Lassie, and the films of Laurel & Hardy. Gwen Verdon grew up here, and so did The Little Rascals. Gene Kelly sang in the rain. Harrison Ford commanded Air Force One. But before glitz and glamour set up shop, the open fields of Culver City were peacefully inhabited by the Gabrielino Indians. Spanish grazing grants of 1819 set the stage for development, and in 1913, Harry Culver announced his ambition to found a city. Two years later, Thomas Ince broke ground on Culver City's first major studio. A star was born. Images of America: Culver City guides you on a VIP back lot tour of a movie town's pioneering moments.

Cover image for Culver City, isbn: 9780738528939

Marin Headlands

9780738570242

$24.99

The Marin Headlands, those dramatic ridges north of the Golden Gate, were formed millions of years ago when the Pacific Ocean broke through the coastal ranges. These rugged escarpments, technically the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, are named (along with the county itself) for legendary Miwok leader Chief Marin. In the 16th century, Spanish, English, and Russian ships found refuge in the lee side of the headlands, in present-day Sausalito. Governments from Spain, Mexico, and the United States used the headlands as a military companion to the Presidio in San Francisco from the Civil War through the cold war. Forts Baker, Barry, and Cronkite held hidden batteries and housed soldiers in among verdant valleys of orchards and livestock. In 1972, the U.S. Congress transferred the Marin Headlands to the National Park Service for inclusion in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).

Cover image for Marin Headlands, isbn: 9780738570242

El Monte

9780738546520

$24.99

El Monte became an established community late in the 1850s-much earlier than most cities in what later became Los Angeles County-as the western terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. Its situation between the watersheds of the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River made it one of early California's most fertile farming areas, with English walnut trees and dairy farms dotting the countryside. The city incorporated in 1912 and, in the ensuing decades, became the home of Gay's Lion Farm, where Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer kept the various big cats that roared on a logo announcing 1,001 movies. Crawford's store became known as the largest country store in the world, and the car culture that enveloped Southern California in the postwar years went through significant developmental chapters in El Monte, home of such regionally famous stops as El Monte Drive-In Theatre, Legion Stadium, and the circular, iconic Stan's Drive-In diner.

Cover image for El Monte, isbn: 9780738546520

Ocean Beach

9781467131988

$24.99

Ocean Beach, a neighborhood of San Diego, California, is known throughout the city, county, and beyond as a unique and quirky place with the feel of a small town, despite being a stone's throw from the center of a major metropolis. Founded in 1887 in a coastal area known for its beautiful cliffs and rock formations, Ocean Beach went through growing pains in the early 1900s before establishing itself as a family-oriented, self-contained beach community by the mid-1930s. Full of mom-and-pop stores and very walkable, Ocean Beach is a favorite destination for thousands of tourists and San Diegans each year.

Cover image for Ocean Beach, isbn: 9781467131988

Oceanside Police Department

9780738531120

$24.99

The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps's nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city's formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty. The photographs in this remarkable collection
inventory the department's past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson's brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the
Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside's top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Cover image for Oceanside Police Department, isbn: 9780738531120

Forgotten Tales of Utah

9781467137300

$21.99

Characters ranging from Mormon pioneers to Butch Cassidy all helped give the Beehive State color and tenacity. Uncover the state's hidden gems with stories like the first group of Latter-day Saints who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley days before Brigham Young proclaimed it as the right place. Meet an ancient prophet believed to have walked the arid landscape, offering his blessing on several sites long before the pioneers arrived. Learn why a former lawyer was buried without a proper headstone. Discover the state's quirky side with the strange goings-on at an obscure ranch and the alleged monsters once believed to haunt some of Utah's lakes. Author Andy Weeks offers this quirky and informative collection of little-known tales about the forty-fifth state.

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San Francisco's Fillmore District

9780738529882

$24.99

Today's Fillmore District, while one of San Francisco's most diverse neighborhoods, bears little resemblance to the cosmopolitan place it once was. This district, which has arguably changed more than any other in the city, once held a large Jewish settlement, replete with synagogues, bakeries, and kosher markets. It also had a huge Japanese community, now centered in Japantown but not as extensive as in the prewar years; amusements like the Chutes, Dreamland boxing ring, and theatres; schools, churches, and a celebrated Jazz District that hosted the top names in music for many years. And in one of the most controversial displays of civic power, this densely populated area fell to the forces of redevelopment, bisected by the ambitious plan to widen Geary Boulevard, creating a freeway-like road through the district and forcing out thousands of dwellers whose homes were either moved or demolished.

Cover image for San Francisco's Fillmore District, isbn: 9780738529882

The Sutter Buttes

9780738580135

$24.99

A small, mysterious, and isolated mountain range juts up in the center of the flat farmlands of California's sprawling Sacramento Valley. Fifty-thousand travelers pass through the valley every day along Interstate 5 and Highway 99 or overhead by air, noticing the unusual formation and wondering about it. It is the Sutter Buttes. To nearby native peoples it was, and still is, revered as Spirit Mountain. It provoked the curiosity of the first explorers and trappers who sought the promontory for its panoramic strategic value. Later researchers and educators were also drawn to the site to further their understanding of the natural world. Productive farmland around the scenic peaks brought many settlers to "Butte Mountain." Today those who live and work in and around the Buttes feel a deep connection to the landscape. Many of their family histories are featured here, revealing a ranching and farming heritage that has been handed down for generations over the past 150 years, preserving this landmark from development. Most of the Sutter Buttes remain a vestige of California's past.

Cover image for The Sutter Buttes, isbn: 9780738580135

Baseball in San Diego

9780738534121

$24.99

Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, takes the reader on a seven-decade journey from Horton Plaza, the site of San Diego's first base ball game in 1871, to lower Broadway and the future home of Lane Field. Before the Pacific Coast League, San Diego had three Class D teams. One was the Bears, whose frustrated owner Dick Cooley complained, I don't believe they'll make baseball pay here in a thousand years. With America's finest year-round climate, barnstorming and black baseball were popular attractions. Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants
practically lived in San Diego in the winter of 1913. All the while, there were constant struggles between the forces of amateur and professional baseball for players, diamonds, and sports coverage.

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Petaluma

9780738530048

$24.99

Petaluma's past is uniquely reflected in its historic architecture. The town's earliest commercial buildings tightly lined the waterfront of the Petaluma River, at one time the busiest transportation corridor in the North Bay. After the railroad arrived, an already thriving dairy and manufacturing city became the nation's largest poultry and egg producer. A vital economy brought factories like the impressive Sunset Line & Twine plant, hatcheries, vast warehouses, and grain elevators that have become defining Petaluma landmarks. Its handsome downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is noted for its Italianate cast iron–front commercial buildings, and a variety of pre–World War II residential styles surround it in charming neighborhoods. A favorite of moviemakers, its classic main streets played a
central role in the film American Graffiti.

Cover image for Petaluma, isbn: 9780738530048

Filipinos in the East Bay

9780738558325

$24.99

Filipinos are a community nearly 2.5-million strong in the United States in 2007. At the turn of the 20th century, the first wave of Filipino migration began, continuing until the start of World War II. During this time span, sponsored students, veterans of the Philippine-American War and their families, and young men recruited in the Philippines to serve in the U.S. military or work in California and Hawaii's expanding agricultural industries would all arrive in the United States. On the San Francisco Bay Area's eastern shore, Filipino presence in the labor force transitioned with the region's economic and social evolution from mainly farm and service laborers to industrial workers to professional, administrative, and service workers. Today the East Bay is a vibrant center of the Filipino community's deeply rooted and rich cultural, political, and economic life.

Cover image for Filipinos in the East Bay, isbn: 9780738558325

Yuba Feather Hills

9780738531021

$24.99

The Yuba and Feather Rivers flank a rugged portion of the Sierra Nevada as they rush south. Gold in creeks and streams here attracted thousands of treasure hunters who panned, dug, or scoured the hills with hydraulic jets of water. At the height of the rush, mule teams loaded with supplies and stagecoaches filled with miners passed through every few minutes, heading from Marysville or Oroville to the high Sierra camps. Thriving towns sprang up along the way, one boasting five hotels and seven saloons. Later others came to log the massive pine and fir or make their home in a land they valued for its beauty. Ten towns survive today: Brownsville, Challenge, Clipper Mills, Dobbins, Forbestown, La Porte, Oregon House, Rackerby, Strawberry Valley, and Woodleaf. Although siblings at birth, over the last 150 years, each has developed a unique character and charm.

Cover image for Yuba Feather Hills, isbn: 9780738531021

University of Idaho

9781467117326

$24.99

Chroniclers have deemed the University of Idaho The Beacon for Mountain and Plain and This Crested Hill—both are apt monikers for Idaho's land grant and comprehensive research university. For over 125 years, the University of Idaho has served the people of Idaho, the nation, and the world. Among the institution's more than 100,000 graduates are US senators, members of Congress, and Idaho governors; Olympic gold medalists, professional athletes, and coaches; the country's first Native American astronaut; writers, journalists, and filmmakers; educators; and business and community leaders. Extension offices in 42 of 44 counties and three regional centers bring the University of Idaho to every corner of the state; the institution's economic impact tops $1 billion per year. As the state's first university, the University of Idaho looks to a bright future of serving students and contributing to economic and social progress for Idaho and beyond. This book commemorates the proud heritage and innovative spirit of students, faculty, and staff who have shaped the history of the University of Idaho, featuring images from the library's extensive Special Collections and Archives department.

Cover image for University of Idaho, isbn: 9781467117326

Legendary Locals of Pacifica

9781467100984

$24.99

Pacifica has the nickname Scenic Pacifica because of its beautiful ocean vistas and lovely hillside views. Twelve miles south of San Francisco, the city of Pacifica grew rapidly, although not to the size that some had predicted. A haven for young families, Pacifica fostered strong leaders among housewives, environmental activists, and businesspeople. The strength of Pacifica, other than its natural beauty, has always been its people. The schools, service clubs, and athletic fields produced local celebrities, but the proximity to San Francisco helped forge more widely known legends. This combination of personalities helped make it possible to identify a broad spectrum of legendary locals, from a woman who was the first mayor of Pacifica to a successful comedian who earned national attention on Saturday Night Live and in the movies.

Cover image for Legendary Locals of Pacifica, isbn: 9781467100984

Maritime Contra Costa County

9780738599939

$24.99

San Francisco's opposite shore is showcased for its maritime role in securing the city's financial preeminence. Located minutes from San Francisco by ferry or automobile, Contra Costa County provided deepwater ports for shipping agricultural, mineral, and manufactured goods around the world. Pacific commodity traders made use of these ports to ship products, ensuring California's unique global economic role. Immense wealth was created from goods shipped from maritime Contra Costa County, securing a vibrant economy from the Gaslight Era to the days of Haight-Ashbury.

Cover image for Maritime Contra Costa County, isbn: 9780738599939

Provo

9780738584676

$24.99

Provo is one of Utah's oldest historic sites. Still a medium-sized town, it has kept its pristine antique quality, its quaint buildings, and its relaxed atmosphere, which won it the title "Most Stressless City of the Nation" according to the 2004 Sperling list. Building on faith, dedication, and hard work, early citizens faced settlement challenges to form a sensible government, establish Brigham Young University, and generate devoted intellectuals who made great strides in their fields. It is Provo people who began WordPerfect, helped invent television, and established Novell, NuSkin, and other national companies. Boasting a picturesque collection of buildings, Provo still maintains high standards, a strong work ethic, and a profound commitment toward industrial progress and technology.

Cover image for Provo, isbn: 9780738584676

Columbus and Stillwater County

9780738574622

$24.99

Stillwater County's history is anything but still. In 1875, the trading post and stage stop of Stillwater at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Stillwater Rivers enticed trade with the Crow Indians based nearby at their second Crow Agency. The Northern Pacific Railroad built a station here in 1882, renaming it Columbus in 1894. Columbus soon became an important shipping center for early cattle and sheep ranchers, as well as a starting point for many homesteaders who staked claims in the fertile valleys. Agriculture was a key component in the formation and settling of the communities Park City, Reed Point, Absarokee, and Fishtail. The nearby Beartooth Mountains beckoned miners with ore and eventually supplied the nation with chromium during World War II. A major engineering accomplishment was completed in the mid-1920s with the construction of the power plant and dam at nearby Mystic Lake.

Cover image for Columbus and Stillwater County, isbn: 9780738574622

Jungleland

9780738574448

$24.99

In 1926, animal attendant Louis Goebel bought five lots at $10 apiece as a home for his seven African lions along old Ventura Boulevard in a remote, sparsely populated portion of Ventura County just over the Los Angeles County line--where the city of Thousand Oaks eventually grew. Not surprisingly, the big predators became a roadside attraction. By 1929, Goebel added exotic birds and other animals. Premier woman tiger trainer Mabel Stark arrived as Goebel's Lion Farm accrued regional fame, and Capt. Frank Phillips trained Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's famous Leo the Lion after the name changed to World Jungle Compound. The park maintained Hollywood ties, renting animals and hosting scenes for dozens of movies and television shows. Jungleland became the zoo's lasting moniker after name and ownership changes. The enthusiastic opening of Disneyland in 1955 on the other side of Los Angeles inspired big plans for the Ventura County attraction, including a monorail. These plans fizzled, however, and Goebel resumed ownership in 1961. The park closed eight years later, and 1,800 animals were sold at auction. After four decades, the distinctive Conejo Valley lion roars were silenced.

Cover image for Jungleland, isbn: 9780738574448

Early Ontario

9781467132404

$24.99

George and William Chaffey, immigrants from Canada, founded a model colony in Southern California in 1882. They named their settlement Ontario, from an Iroquois term meaning beautiful water, not only to pay homage to their home province but to also draw other Canadians to their colony. Utilizing forward-thinking irrigation practices, the brothers laid out plots of land ready for colonists who wanted to farm or raise citrus groves. After just four years, the brothers left for Australia to develop more settlements and passed their model colony on to Charles Frankish and his partners of the Ontario Land and Improvement Company. From its earliest days, the colony became known for its citrus groves, Armstrong roses, Graber olives, Guasti grapes, and the Hotpoint iron. This book, which includes nearly 200 images, focuses on the colony's early development.

Cover image for Early Ontario, isbn: 9781467132404

Rancho Mirage

9780738575018

$24.99

Rancho Mirage is a beautiful residential and desert-resort community nestled along the Santa Rosa Mountains, located between the cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley. Bighorn sheep and the Agua Caliente tribe of Cahuilla Indians were the area's early inhabitants. Date farms and ranchos developed after aquifers were discovered. Guest ranches soon followed and became favorite destinations for the rich and famous in the 1940s and 1950s. By the early 1950s, residential communities designed in classic Desert Modern style were being constructed along with the valley's first two country clubs with 18-hole golf courses. Rancho Mirage soon emerged as the "golf capital of the world" and has since grown to be a premier resort and residential community with a permanent population of 16,870 and several thousand additional winter residents who enjoy the city's 10 country clubs, three world-class resorts, and scores of restaurants.

Cover image for Rancho Mirage, isbn: 9780738575018

Tustin

9780738570372

$24.99

Tustin's big early loss was in many ways its salvation. Founding father Columbus Tustin's real estate venture in 1868 found few takers, leading to his fervent campaign to make his town the southern terminus for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The depot duel was won by rival settlement Santa Ana, and Tustin City became just another backwater. Columbus Tustin died embittered, but his namesake, which dropped "City" in 1899, prospered as a pretty place with charming homes. Many early homes and downtown commercial buildings still survive, and where apricot, walnut, and orange trees once grew at mid century, comfortable tract homes and residential innovations such as Tustin Meadows and Enderle Gardens maintain the distinct small-town feel through Orange County's postwar freeway sprawl and identity loss. Tustin's past also included a wild and ramshackle quicksilver mine at Red Hill and two of the world's largest wooden structures--the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA or blimp) hangars--at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin.

Cover image for Tustin, isbn: 9780738570372

San Francisco's Aquatic Park

9780738530840

$24.99

Aquatic Park has long been the place where San Franciscans and tourists alike go to enjoy an authentic maritime experience. Along Hyde Street Pier and the sandy strip of beach near the Maritime Museum, this area was once called Black Point Cove. It now hosts a dramatic array of historic ships such as the Balclutha (formerly Star of Alaska) and a graceful curvilinear pier with a sweeping vista of the Golden Gate. For most of its history, this park has seen recreational use of every stripe. Members of the delightful Dolphin Club have braved the chilly bay waters ever since the club was founded in 1877. Then there is the South End Rowing Club, which for many decades has carried on its graceful traditions in the protected lagoon.

Cover image for San Francisco's Aquatic Park, isbn: 9780738530840

Idaho State Parks

9781467126168

$24.99

Idaho's state parks have been called the jewels of the Gem State. The story of how those jewels came to be involves political intrigue, much resistance, some philanthropy, and a touch of irony. Sen. Weldon B. Heyburn famously said that state parks were always a political embarrassment. Idaho's first state park was named after him. Today, Idaho's 30 state parks host five million people a year. Visitors come to boat, camp, bike, climb, hike, fish, and make memories in the great outdoors. This book tells the story of Idaho's diverse state parks—from Priest Lake in Idaho's panhandle to Bear Lake in the southeast corner of the state—through a wealth of historical photographs. A variety of parks are featured, including ones that were lost, found, or never came to fruition.

Cover image for Idaho State Parks, isbn: 9781467126168

Diamond Bar

9781467131964

$24.99

As with many Southern California communities, Diamond Bar's recorded history began with a Spanish land grant. One of the area's first settlers was Jose de la Luz Linares, who founded Rancho Los Nogales (Ranch of the Walnut Trees) on the 4,340 acres granted to him by Mexican governor Juan Alvarado in 1840. The grant included Brea Canyon and the eastern Walnut Valley, a portion of which became the Diamond Bar Ranch, founded by Frederick E. Lewis II in 1918. In 1956, the area looked much as it did in 1840, its golden hills peppered with green stands of oak and walnut trees and grazed by large herds of cattle. In that year, the Transamerica Corporation paid $10 million for 8,000 acres of Brea Canyon, with plans to construct Southern California's largest master-planned community and name it Diamond Bar. Incorporated on April 18, 1989, the city of Diamond Bar is home to nearly 55,000 residents and is located at the crossroads of the Orange (57) and Pomona (60) Freeways on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.

Cover image for Diamond Bar, isbn: 9781467131964

Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County

9781467132183

$24.99

California's central coast was fertile ground for hot rodding, and all motor sports in general, during the 1940s and 1950s. Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County takes the reader back in time with a collection of remarkable photographs from the earliest days of the hot rod movement. This book includes images of the first drag strips in the country, rough-and-tumble jalopy racing, early road-racing action, and lots of great hot rods and customs. Follow local hot-rodders as they take trips to El Mirage dry lake and the world-famous salt flats at Bonneville, Utah, and visit a long-lost world as seen through photographs taken from the personal albums of people who contributed to the birth of a culture that would spread across the nation.

Cover image for Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County, isbn: 9781467132183

Italians in the Santa Clara Valley

9780738555621

$24.99

Attracted by the mild climate and abundance of fertile land, Italians came to the Santa Clara Valley from all regions of Italy, including Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Tuscany, and Piedmont. Beginning in the 1880s, the Eden of the World beckoned Italian immigrants as farmers, ranchers, orchardists, vegetable growers, and winemakers. Italian men, women, and children filled the numerous canneries and packinghouses supplying the rest of the nation with fresh produce. Once the largest ethnic group in the valley, Italians' impact on the region has been profound, yet is often overlooked. The photographs in this book present a special glimpse into the lives of a people whose irrepressible optimism, kindness, and can-do spirit overcame the challenges and obstacles put before them.

Cover image for Italians in the Santa Clara Valley, isbn: 9780738555621

Los Angeles Railway Yellow Cars

9780738547916

$24.99

Local rail-borne transit in Los Angeles began with horsecars in 1874, evolving with cable-powered and later electric-powered passenger vehicles. Yellow Cars describes the principal local transit system in and around Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century. The canary-colored local streetcars formed the inner-neighborhood lines between a vast rail network of main lines known as the interurban system, primarily the Pacific Electric Railway Red Cars, which spiderwebbed throughout Los Angeles County and into Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Rail tycoon Henry Edwards Huntington consolidated several independent lines into this great interurban empire. He sold it in 1910 to the Southern Pacific Railroad, keeping the Los Angeles Railway Yellow Cars. These evocative photographs illustrate travel during decades of change, progress, economic setbacks, war, and postwar retrenchment, when streetcar service was taken over by bus lines.

Cover image for Los Angeles Railway Yellow Cars, isbn: 9780738547916

Prisons of Cañon City

9780738548456

$24.99

Cañon City sits in a geological bowl surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Historically, it has been known as the prison capital of the world, with eight-- soon to be nine--state prisons in the area and four federal facilities located 11 miles away in Florence. The first prison in Cañon City was built in 1868, before Colorado became a state, and was opened in 1871. Originally known as the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary, it is currently called the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility and holds approximately 800 male inmates. Cañon City has grown up around the prisons, and the area's colorful history is defined by daring prison breaks, infamous inmates, such as the Colorado cannibal Alferd Packard, and by the stories of the inmates and employees who have been part of the prison system.

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Hermosa Beach

9780738529745

$24.99

Hermosa Beach has been one of Los Angeles County's most eclectic summertime destinations for vacationing families, surfers, sunbathers, fishermen, volleyball players, and other beachgoers. They ranged from students in search of one crazy summer to their spiritual forefathers and mothers who came, saw, and stayed year-round. The city grew through the 20th century from a train stop into a vital mix of residential housing with businesses strung along Pacific Coast Highway. The city has been homey enough to accommodate statesman William Jennings Bryant and television's iconic Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Its nationally recognized nightclubs and other venues included the Biltmore Hotel; the Comedy & Magic Club; and the legendary Lighthouse, home of West Coast jazz.

Cover image for Hermosa Beach, isbn: 9780738529745

Tomales Bay

9780738596419

$24.99

Tomales Bay is a 6,800-acre estuary on the West Marin coast, 40 miles northwest of San Francisco. The bay occupies the seaward end of a rift valley that was formed by the intersection of the San Andreas Fault with the Northern California coastline. The bay is 12 miles long, one mile wide, and relatively shallow, with an average depth of 18 feet. The bay exchanges water with the Pacific Ocean, thus supporting a unique marine culture and industry begun by the Coastal Miwok Indians 5,000 years ago. American and European pioneers in the mid-19th century saw Tomales Bay as the promised land for beef cattle and dairy ranching, farming, fishing, and logging. This book celebrates these pioneer settlers and their accomplishments in the towns of Marshall and Tomales in particular. On April 18, 1906, the San Francisco Earthquake did not spare Tomales Bay. Nevertheless, West Marin citizens rebuilt their communities and have preserved pasturelands and maritime seashores to the present day. Shoreline Highway 1, from Point Reyes Station north to the Sonoma Border, encompasses the harmonic balance of environmentalism and pristine wilderness.

Cover image for Tomales Bay, isbn: 9780738596419

Ceres

9780738581019

$24.99

Fertile soil drew Ceres founder Daniel Whitmore to the flat land south of the Tuolumne River in California's San Joaquin Valley in 1867. Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres was laid out in 1875 among the stalks of grain. A devout Baptist, Whitmore offered free lots to anyone who wanted to make Ceres their home with a pledge never to use alcohol. As irrigation water and railroad tracks were later introduced, the town flourished as an agricultural community where peaches, almonds, and walnuts are grown. Today Ceres has retained its agricultural roots, and drinking is now permissible. In fact, one of the nation's largest wine producers, Bronco Winery, calls Ceres home. Residents come together as a community with the Ceres Street Faire, summer Concerts in the Park, Farmers Market and the dazzling Christmas Tree Lane.

Cover image for Ceres, isbn: 9780738581019

Wilmington

9780738556109

$24.99

The Port of Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington was included in the 1784 Spanish land grant of Rancho San Pedro and was known as New San Pedro from 1858 to 1863, when it became the city of Wilmington. It was named by "Father of the Harbor" Phineas Banning after his Delaware birthplace. The City of Los Angeles annexed Wilmington in 1909, and today it and neighboring San Pedro form the waterfront of one of the world's largest import/export centers. Wilson College, precursor to the University of Southern California, opened here in 1874 as the first coeducational college west of the Mississippi. Entrepreneur and sportsman William Wrigley built innovative housing in Wilmington that was dubbed the "Court of Nations." From the Union Army's Drum Barracks headquarters of the Southwest in the Civil War to the port's myriad maritime activities during World War II, Wilmington has long-standing ties to the U.S. military.

Cover image for Wilmington, isbn: 9780738556109

Huntington Beach Lifeguards

9780738556055

$24.99

The Surf City USA® lifeguards and marine safety officers protect and serve one of the busiest and most famous beaches in the world. World-class surfing events, volleyball tournaments, and other activities transform Huntington Beach's waterfront into a sea of humanity regularly each summer. The lifeguards patrol three and a half miles of beautiful wide, sandy Orange County shores, which can draw more than 10 million annual visitors, necessitating as many as 3,000 rescues. The ultimate lifeguard sentinel and guardian is the iconic structure on the HB Municipal Pier called Tower Zero, known as The Eye in the Sky, from which lifeguards can see for miles. These vintage photographs include shots of the pier, beach, junior lifeguard activities, competitions, and neighboring Huntington State Beach. Thousands of people and families owe gratitude to the lifeguards of Huntington Beach for nearly a century of vigilance, dedication, and service.

Cover image for Huntington Beach Lifeguards, isbn: 9780738556055

Haunted Creede

9781467144551

$21.99

Travel back in time with the spirits of the San Juans.

Brave men and women came to seek their fortunes in the rough-and-tumble boomtown of Creede. Miners, merchants, dance hall girls, gunslingers and gamblers still haunt its streets and halls. How many ghosts are thought to haunt the historic Creede Hotel? How did the baddest man in camp meet his untimely end, and what do the old-timers say is buried under the floorboards at Freemon’s Ranch? What happened the night an actress from the Creede Repertory Theatre summoned a ghost to join her on stage?

Author Kandra Payne matches fascinating historic details with spine-tingling tales to find out what made the Creede Camp one of the wildest and spookiest boomtowns in the West.

Cover image for Haunted Creede, isbn: 9781467144551

The San Jose Police Department

9781467131247

$24.99

Originally known as San Jose de Guadalupe, San Jose was ruled by Mexico until 1848, when, after the Mexican-American War, California joined the United States of America. In 1849, the newly elected government appointed a chief of police, and the San Jose Police Department was born. Its mission has been to respond to the distinctive needs of the community from the early agricultural age to today's high technology age. The San Jose Police Department has been a leader in law enforcement technology and training and is considered a model for modern police departments. Today, with a thousand sworn officers and 200 support personnel, the San Jose Police Department serves over a million citizens in the city and polices an area of over 180 square miles. The wonderful photographs compiled over the department's history illustrate the efforts of the hundreds of men and women who built the San Jose Police Department into one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Cover image for The San Jose Police Department, isbn: 9781467131247

Logging in Plumas County

9780738559292

$24.99

Located within the northern Sierra Nevada mountain range, the forests of Plumas County were once seen as a source of endless timber. Lumber was needed during the Gold Rush for water flumes, mine timbers, and an array of buildings. While timber was abundant, the abilities of the early settlers to harvest, transport, and mill the logs were often very limited. Markets remained relatively local throughout the second half of the 19th century until the completion of the Western Pacific Railroad in 1909. This sparked a new rush of industry into the region. Vast tracts of untapped Plumas County timber were bought up by speculators, and many sawmills were erected. Logging in the western United States moved from animal power to steam engines to internal combustion in the space of about 50 years. While Plumas County's lumber industry was reflective of these developments, it also found its own identity as a timber-producing region that was nearly unequaled.

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Johnstown

9780738581194

$24.99

The story of Johnstown did not begin with the founding of the town in 1902, nor did it end there. The story begins and ends with enterprising people. These people were determined to make a life for themselves despite all the hardships of living on the prairie of Colorado. These were the same people who were among the first Americans to go west. Trappers came for beaver pelts, and traders set up forts to trade for buffalo hides from the Arapaho. Gold miners whose claims went bust later settled in the Johnstown area. Cattlemen's herds found the prairie grass a natural food source, and they flourished. And, finally, the homesteaders claimed farmland that became rich and fertile with the use of irrigation. Johnstown is the story of people who established a new life in a new world.

Cover image for Johnstown, isbn: 9780738581194

Alameda County Fire Department

9781467134286

$24.99

Alameda County spans from the shores of the San Francisco Bay to the golden inland hills. Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) is comprised of multiple consolidated agencies that began joining forces and sharing resources in 1993. Protecting unincorporated county land as well as Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Dublin, Union City, Newark, Emeryville, and the National Laboratories at Livermore and Berkeley, ACFD serves over 500 square miles and 330,000 citizens. This legacy stretches back 140 years, recalling the shared experiences of bucket brigades, teams of horses pulling steam-engine pumpers down muddy roads, the advent of motorized apparatus, and the days when school boys would be pulled from class to ride tailboard to fight blazes in the hills. These agencies have sent soldiers to two world wars, survived massive earthquakes, fought catastrophic wildfires, and touched the lives of Bay Area citizens for over a century. The ACFD is the sum of its many unique parts, which together form a premier, all-risk fire department.

Cover image for Alameda County Fire Department, isbn: 9781467134286

African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County

9781467102438

$24.99

The rich history of people of African heritage in the Santa Clara Valley began as early as 1777, and in the 1800s, a lively black community took root. By the Great Migration in the 1900s, neighborhoods in San Jose, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara became home to many African Americans from Southern and Midwest states who were seeking new opportunities. By the 1960s, African Americans found jobs in the emerging technology industry, at Ford Motor Company, and in public service agencies. African Americans pursued degrees at San Jose State College (SJSC), the University of Santa Clara, Stanford University, and community colleges located in the Santa Clara Valley. SJSC's athletic programs opened the door for student athletes, while Dr. Harry Edwards, John Carlos, and Tommy Smith took on civil rights challenges. The complicated history of the black community throughout Santa Clara County has mirrored the nation's slow progress towards social and economic success. This progress is captured in the presented images chronicling individual stories of political struggle, success, and triumph.

Cover image for African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County, isbn: 9781467102438

Montclair

9780738530383

$24.99

The Montclair area began its history as a camp for a band of Native Americans known as the Serrano Indians. After Spaniards settled California in the 1700s, the territory served as a watering stop for travelers along the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail. In 1897, the Township of Marquette was established—though renamed Monte Vista in the early 1900s—and the area then developed as a farming community for the citrus industry. After World War I, a housing and population boom transformed the town into a bedroom community, which incorporated in 1956 as the City of Monte Vista. In 1958, the community changed its name to Montclair after the U.S. Postal Service imposed mail delivery restrictions because of a conflict with another town in Northern California. Today Montclair serves its residents and the region as a transportation hub, as a leader in commercial and retail development, and by its proximity to several colleges and universities.

Cover image for Montclair, isbn: 9780738530383

Around Murphys

9780738529943

$24.99

Murphys is a bustling little town in the foothills—a town so popular that it won't be little for long. It's a favorite for weekend jaunts, and home to an eclectic group of people attracted by the natural surroundings, laid-back lifestyle, and, increasingly, world-class wineries. Originally named for the trading camp of John and Daniel Murphy, the area became a boomtown during the Gold Rush, and later hosted such notables as Mark Twain, Black Bart, Ulysses S. Grant, and Horatio Alger. Nearby, the majestic stands of redwood at Calaveras Big Trees State Park stand sentinel over the gullies and ranches of this area, which has changed much since the 1800s but still retains its compelling forested beauty.

Cover image for Around Murphys, isbn: 9780738529943

Roxborough

9781467116367

$24.99

Paleo-Indians hunted Ice Age mammoths and ancestral bison in what is now Roxborough, Colorado. In 1820, Stephen A. Long's expedition traveled west across the plains into America's western frontier and camped along the South Platte River where water rushed into the Platte Valley from Rocky Mountain peaks. They discovered an area described by their geologist as a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks . . . resembling a vast wall, parallel to the base of the mountain . . . the whole scenery truly picturesque and romantic. During the next 200 years, Roxborough has been home to Native Americans, mountain men, homesteaders, farmers, miners, dam builders, ranchers, railroad men, cowboys, and rocket scientists. Families live in sight of hogback formations, soaring red rocks, foothills, and mountains. Thousands arrive each year to hike trails in Roxborough State Park, Waterton Canyon, Colorado Trail, and Highline Canal. Roxborough's history, geologic wonders, and wilderness is a story of those whose eyes reached toward the stars.

Cover image for Roxborough, isbn: 9781467116367

Vons Grocery Company

9781467130905

$24.99

In 1906, the downtown area of Los Angeles was fundamentally a small town when Charles Von der Ahe opened his little Groceteria on the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets using $1,200 in savings. It was a neighborhood store that catered to the needs of local families, where Von der Ahe pioneered cash and carry, replacing the charge and delivery way of thinking. Its expansion and innovation over the next 90 years was legendary, growing to more than 325 stores and 30,000 employees. This book focuses on the legacy of this great company, its visionary leaders, and its dedicated employees who made it the number one grocery retailer in Southern California.

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Nevada's Lost City

9780738593272

$24.99

Nevada's Lost City was buried under the sands of the Mojave Desert until its existence was reported to Gov. James Scrugham by brothers John and Fay Perkins from Overton, Nevada. Excavations of the archaeological ruins began in 1924, when archaeologist Mark Raymond Harrington identified the ruins as Ancestral Puebloan (more commonly known as Anasazi), a significant archaeological discovery in Southwestern archaeology. Harrington named the world-famous sites Pueblo Grande de Nevada, but the media dubbed them the Lost City, and the name stuck. Excavation continued into the 1930s, when the National Park Service took over the excavation of the sites using young men employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC boys not only helped to excavate but they also built the Lost City Museum, an institution devoted to highlighting the archaeological wonders of the Lost City.

Cover image for Nevada's Lost City, isbn: 9780738593272

Historic Tales of Whoop-Up Country

9781467146449

$23.99

Withdrawal of the mighty Hudson Bay Company from present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan created a lawless environment with new economic opportunities. A cross-border trading bond arose with growing steamboat mercantile center Fort Benton in Montana Territory. In 1870, Montana traders Johnny Healy and Al Hamilton moved across the Medicine Line and built Fort Whoop-Up. It established the two-hundred-mile Whoop-Up Trail from Fort Benton, through Blackfoot lands, to the Belly River near today’s Lethbridge. Over the next decade, the buffalo robe trade flourished with the Blackfoot, as did violence. The turmoil forced the creation of Canada’s North West Mounted Police, tasked with closing down the whiskey trade and evicting the Montana traders. Award-winning historian Ken Robison brings to life this dramatic story.

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California's Deadliest Earthquakes

9781467136020

$23.99

A detailed look at the state’s most terrifying and destructive disasters.

Home to hundreds of faults, California leads the nation in frequency of earthquakes every year. And despite enduring their share of the natural disasters, residents still speculate over the inevitable “big one.”

More than three thousand people lost their lives during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Long Beach’s 1933 earthquake caused nearly $50 million in damages. And the Northridge earthquake injured thousands and left a $550 million economic hit.

Historian Abraham Hoffman explores the personal accounts and aftermath of California’s most destructive tremors.

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Napa Valley Wine Country

9780738528762

$24.99

California's upper Napa Valley is regarded by many as the premier wine-growing region in America. Producing vintages since the 1850s, the mountain-ringed valley studded with ancient oaks is the setting for several wineries that have been active for more than a century, overcoming a variety of challenges from insect invasions to Prohibition. But Napa's Up Valley also has a rich pioneer heritage that extends beyond its famous vineyards and cellars. Home to some of California's earliest settlers and the staging and recruiting area for the Bear Flag Revolt, the region was also home to California's first resort spas and a silver and cinnabar mining industry that brought wealth to some investors but disappointment to many others.

Cover image for Napa Valley Wine Country, isbn: 9780738528762

University of Northern Colorado

9780738580616

$24.99

The University of Northern Colorado began in 1889 as the Colorado State Normal School, an institution dedicated to training the state's teachers. Over the next century the institution grew from a relatively small normal school into an acclaimed state university with several nationally recognized graduate and undergraduate programs. During this period of transformation, the Greeley school experienced several name changes. It was renamed the State Teachers College of Colorado in 1911, followed by the Colorado State College of Education in 1935, then simply the Colorado State College in 1957, and finally, the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in 1970, in recognition of the institution's broadened mission. UNC's first 100 years saw dramatic changes to the physical and academic environments on campus, including advancements in the fields of education, health, music, theater arts, and human sciences.

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Around Gunnison and Crested Butte

9780738548289

$24.99

The Western Slope towns of Gunnison and Crested Butte are defined by their placement in the Colorado Rockies. Both are located in alpine valleys surrounded by 14,000-foot-high peaks with sparkling mountain-fed streams, and both dominate the Gunnison country, a unique wilderness covering over 4,000 square miles. Beginning over 400 years ago, Native Americans, fur traders, explorers, miners, railroaders, and cattlemen all made a place for themselves in the area. Today Gunnison, Crested Butte, and the Gunnison country remain isolated and tranquil. Recreation, tourism, and cattle ranching now reign supreme as Gunnison and Crested Butte attempt to preserve their distinctly Western heritage.

Cover image for Around Gunnison and Crested Butte, isbn: 9780738548289

San Bernardino

9780738555812

$24.99

Located 60 miles east of Los Angeles in the heart of Southern California and nestled at the base of the San Bernardino National Forest is the city of San Bernardino. Originally incorporated in 1854, it is the oldest anchor city of the Inland Empire and is the seat of the largest county in the United States. The rich history of the valley includes visits from Spanish missionaries, pioneers Jedediah Smith and Kit Carson, and Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Wyatt Earp was just a teenager when his family arrived here in 1864. Home to the National Orange Show and the famous natural landmark Arrowhead, the city also boasts a stretch of the popular Route 66.

Cover image for San Bernardino, isbn: 9780738555812

The South Bay

9780738569055

$24.99

Los Angeles County's South Bay is referenced by the lower arc of Santa Monica Bay and includes the communities between El Segundo on the north and Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south, eastward to the Long Beach border. Roughly defined over the years as the coverage area of the Daily Breeze newspaper, as well as the confines of the South Bay Council of Governments, the South Bay always has been much more than the beautiful coastlines of Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beaches, as seen in these vintage postcards. It was, as it is today, also the residential and workaday worlds of Torrance, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Gardena, Lomita, Carson, and the Los Angeles Harbor communities.

Cover image for The South Bay, isbn: 9780738569055

Eureka and Sequoia Park

9780738555737

$24.99

The cry of Eureka! in 1848 brought over 200,000 men to what would soon become the state of California. Some went north to the narrow strip of land along California's north coast and there they found red gold—that is, redwood timber. As miners became lumbermen, the city of Eureka became the bustling urban center of the region, hewn street by street out of the vast forest that once reached all the way to the Humboldt Bay. Today most ancient redwoods are located in protected state and federal park lands. However, Eureka set aside a small patch of primeval redwood forest for future generations to enjoy. Established in 1894 from an uncut logging claim of former gold miner Bartlin Glatt, it was inaugurated as Sequoia Park in 1907. For over a century, this unique city park—with its paths through ancient redwood groves, abundant ferns, Douglas iris, and rhododendrons; its waterfalls; and its duck pond—has provided residents with a place of unrivaled natural beauty.

Cover image for Eureka and Sequoia Park, isbn: 9780738555737

Italians of the Gold Country

9780738555584

$24.99

California's gold country has been profoundly influenced by Italian culture for the last 160 years. Immigrants from Italy's northern provinces were drawn here by the lure of gold, but it was the allure of the California foothills, where they found the terrain and Mediterranean climate similar to that of Italy, that convinced them to stay. California's fledgling economy provided unparalleled opportunities for Italian businessmen, and unclaimed land was available for agriculturalists. Settlement soon brought women and children, and within a decade, Italians represented a significant portion of the population in the region, numbering among the gold country's leading farmers, merchants, and tradesmen. The Mother Lode also offered women unique advantages, and Italian women proved wonderfully resourceful when necessity demanded. The 1870s saw a second wave of immigration, as Italian laborers arrived to work in the large, corporate-owned gold mines. Descendents of many of these Italian pioneers remain in the gold country to this day.

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Early Denver

9780738588858

$24.99

The city of Denver was born out of a small mining camp established in the late 1850s. The lure of gold brought countless men and their families to the foot of the great Rocky Mountains, where the Platte River and Cherry Creek flow together. Along with the miners came the merchants—wagon makers, horse traders, blacksmiths, and clothiers. By 1900, Denver was a thriving community and had greatly expanded with the establishment of hardware stores, saloons, liveries, theaters, restaurants, and residential neighborhoods. Postcards did not come into general use until well after Denver was settled. The images herein range from about 1900 to 1925.

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Montana State University, Bozeman

9781467128254

$23.99

Montana State University (MSU) was founded in 1893 in Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman is in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, near Yellowstone National Park, and surrounded by blue-ribbon trout waters, world-class skiing, and unspoiled wilderness in every direction. MSU is the state's land-grant university, with a mission to educate students, create knowledge and art, and serve communities by integrating learning, discovery, and engagement. Over its 125-year history, the university has grown from its original class of eight students to today's more than 16,000 from across the United States and over 70 nations. Sports, MSU's annual American Indian Council Pow Wow, and outdoor recreation facilitate avenues for education, exercise, and entertainment for faculty, staff, and students, creating invaluable experiences that last a lifetime.

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The Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games

9781467130370

$24.99

The Games of the XXIII Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984, reimagined the Olympic Games and reinvigorated a troubled Olympic movement. Its innovations included the following: a nationwide torch relay that yielded millions for children's charities; an arts festival that surpassed any prior efforts; the first Opening Ceremony featuring a professional theatrical extravaganza; new sports disciplines, such as distance races for women, windsurfing, synchronized swimming, heptathlon, and rhythmic gymnastics; an army of volunteers; vast increases in sponsorship and television revenue while avoiding commercialization and keeping expenses low using existing facilities; and a financial surplus of over $232 million, which has endowed sports for youngsters in the Los Angeles area to this day—all through a privately financed organizing committee without government contributions.

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University of Denver

9781467128537

$23.99

The University of Denver (DU) was founded as the Colorado Seminary, in 1864, twelve years before Colorado became a state. For over 150 years, DU has been a part of the Denver community, providing educational opportunities for men, women, professionals, and the working community. The original campus in frontier Denver eventually moved to a treeless prairie donated by Rufus Potato Clark. The move was partially motivated by the fear that the saloons and other distractions of Denver were not conducive to study. In 1982, the institution incorporated Colorado Women's College, and the site became the Park Hill Campus with the law and music schools. DU's concerted efforts to provide its students, and the wider region, with a first-class education are made evident by the tales of resiliency told by faculty, staff, and students as the school overcame brushes with bankruptcy and countless other internal and external threats.

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Depression-Era Sculpture of the Bay Area

9781467125741

$24.99

The Great Depression was a terrible blow for the Bay Area's thriving art community. A few private art projects kept a small number of sculptors working, but for the majority, prospects of finding new commissions were grim. By the mid-1930s, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program had gathered steam, and assistance was provided to the nation's art community. Salvation came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which employed thousands of artists to produce sculpture for public venues. The Bay Area art community subsequently benefitted from the need to fill the then-forthcoming Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) with sculpture of all shapes and sizes. As bad as the Depression was, its legacy more than 80 years on is one of beauty. The Bay Area is dotted with sculpture from this era, the majority of it on public display. Depression-Era Sculpture of the Bay Area is a visual tour of this artistic bounty.

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The Santa Clarita Valley

9781467131537

$24.99

Born in 1987 as the nation's first new city with a population greater than 100,000, Santa Clarita, California, has a fascinating history that stretches back to the rugged Wild West era. Hollywood recreates this history in Santa Clarita and its surrounding valley, to the delight of movie fans worldwide.

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San Diego's Kensington

9781467126724

$24.99

The mid-city San Diego neighborhood of Kensington was conceived as a streetcar suburb. Composed of several subdivisions, the first was Kensington Park, mapped on April 8, 1910. The principals involved in developing Kensington were also involved in creating the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park, and it was hoped that the throngs attracted to the exhibition would find Kensington to be a perfect place to build a home. The development of Kensington Manor, Kensington Heights, Talmadge Park, and adjacent subdivisions would bring Spanish-style houses, tree-lined streets, and a commercial core. Prominent people such as Judge Joseph Rutherford, Sarah Fitzpatrick Harden, G. Aubrey Davidson, two former Mexican presidents, and numerous politicians made Kensington their home. Ideal location, well-preserved architecture, and the small-town sensibilities of longtime residents combine to make Kensington a unique and desirable place.

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El Sobrante

9780738588766

$24.99

El Sobrante is a semirural community in Contra Costa County situated between the towns of Richmond, Pinole, and Orinda. In Spanish, el sobrante means the surplus, but is more commonly translated as the leftovers. The name is derived from the Rancho El Sobrante, which was carved from land surrounded by Mexican land grants. Unlike many of its neighbors, El Sobrante never attracted any large company or business interest that would have determined its pattern of growth. As a result, the town was free to develop in a way that reflects the wishes and hopes of its residents. Its people take pride that their community is a quiet place with small businesses, unpretentious homes, and open space where people can walk, ride horses, or simply enjoy nature.

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Rockhaven Sanitarium

9781467138796

$23.99

For decades, the mild climate of the Crescenta Valley served as a haven for those seeking mental health rest and relief from lung ailments. In 1923, registered nurse Agnes Richards decided it was the perfect place to open a sanitarium, one that would set itself apart from the rest. Rockhaven Sanitarium catered to female residents only and, with few exceptions, exclusively employed women. It was a progressive treatment center that prided itself on treating residents with dignity and respect. The center's high ideals and proximity to early Hollywood attracted residents like Billie Burke; Marilyn Monroe's mother, Gladys; and Clark Gable's first wife, Josephine Dillon. Join author Elisa Jordan as she explores Rockhaven's illustrious past.

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San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

9780738546636

$24.99

The largest county in the continental United States has seen its share of colorful pursuits of suspects and fugitives, including the search for the last Native American in the United States to be tracked to his tragic end by a lawman's posse: Willie Boy at Ruby Mountain. San Bernardino County also was the setting for the shoot-outs at Baldy Mesa and Lytle Creek. Yet gunplay lore is only one aspect of the epic of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Today the department deploys nearly 5,000 salaried and volunteer employees to protect and serve its 20,186 square miles of deserts, mountains, forests, and increasingly urban areas. This original cow-county sheriff's office went through many developments that are detailed in these vintage photographs–sheriffs' administrations, equipment, investigations, and other exploits–all culled from the department's archives, private collections, the California Room of the San Bernardino Public Library, and the San Bernardino Pioneer Historical Society.

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Laguna Beach of Early Days

9781625859129

$24.99

The family of Laguna Beach founding father Joseph S. Thurston claimed a shack in Aliso Canyon in 1871, when he was just three years old. Thurston's personal account of growing up in Laguna presents an intimate look at the settler's hardships, relationships and perseverance. Recalling these struggles, he paints a graphic picture of early citizens and their contributions to the growth and development of this community. Originally published in 1947, this historical narrative serves as a marvelous, unique glimpse of a bygone era. Thurston's grandson, Kelly H. Boyd, offers this revised edition for a new generation.

On This Day in California History

9781467137133

$23.99

California has a rich history of cultural innovation and colorful characters. On May 26, 1853, Lola Montez premiered her famous Spider Dance routine in San Francisco. On February 21, 1937, San Diego's Waldo Waterman created one of the first operational flying cars. Emeryville's Wham-O sold the first Frisbee, earlier called a Flyin' Cake Pan, on January 13, 1957. Entrepreneurs Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne established Apple Inc. on April 1, 1976. With a historical account for each day of the year, Jim Silverman highlights the unforgettable stories that have defined California.

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Balboa Park and the 1915 Exposition

9781626193451

$24.99

The Panama-California Exposition of 1915 established San Diego as a focal point of cultural activity in California. The Spanish Colonial Revival exposition buildings, along with those from a second exposition in Balboa, house several of the great museums of San Diego. This 1,200-acre park in the central portion of the city contains the world-famous San Diego Zoo, fifteen museums, the Old Globe Theatre, sports and recreation facilities, hiking trails and some of America's most elaborate gardens. The late Richard W. Amero, longtime Balboa Park historian, wrote extensively about the park and its two expositions. His chapters on the creation of the first exposition have been edited into this essential volume on city history by Michael Kelly, president of the Committee of One Hundred. .

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Lathrop

9780738580173

$24.99

First home to Yokut Indians, then trappers, hunters, and fishermen, Lathrop was founded by Leland Stanford in 1869 as a railroad town and an answer to Stanford's frustration with his railroad attempts in Stockton. Lathrop's rich history includes the railroad, its Delta waterways, manufacturing and distributing industries, and the fascinating tale of California Supreme Court justice David S. Terry's murder (Terry had previously fought and won the last legal duel in California with U.S. senator David C. Broderick just outside of San Francisco). Reportedly named in honor of a relative of Leland Stanford Jr., today's Lathrop evolved from rugged railroad beginnings to a growing and vibrant community of close to 20,000 residents.

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St. Helena

9780738580098

$24.99

The town of St. Helena lies in the heart of Napa Valley, America's celebrated wine-producing region located 63 miles north of San Francisco. In 1854, Henry Still and a Mr. Walters purchased 126 acres from the Mexican land grant of Dr. Edward Bale. They offered free lots to anyone who would start a business there, having the foresight to predict a flourishing town in this verdant agricultural area. Premium wine grapes were planted here by the 1870s, and a thriving wine industry began. There are two theories about how the town got its name: either from the local division of the Sons of Temperance or from Mount St. Helena at the northern end of the valley. As the town developed, its residents, along with those from nearby Oakville, Rutherford, Angwin, and Pope Valley, shopped at its stores, attended its churches and schools, tended its fields, and made merry at numerous gatherings. This book captures these activities in photographs dating from 1880 to 1960.

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Highlands Ranch

9781467116145

$34.99

Highlands Ranch, part of Douglas County, is known as one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. Highlands Ranch grew from the Colorado plains through a series of settlements starting in 1859, with most homesteaders arriving in the 1880s. The homesteads were eventually unified into one grand ranch and mansion. The 1980s began the transformation from a ranch to a community when Mission Viejo started building a master planned community. Today, Shea Homes has almost completed the build out of the area. The people, businesses, and organizations of Highlands Ranch have come together to create an enjoyable community and lifestyle that around 100,000 people call home.

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Along Wyoming's Historic Highway 20

9781467115988

$24.99

Highway 20 was designated a federal highway in 1926, and until the arrival of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s it was a primary route across northern Wyoming. From the Great Plains in the east to the mountains in the west, Highway 20 passed though cities and towns that retain their frontier visages and such wonders as Hell's Half Acre, the Wind River Canyon, Natural Hot Springs, Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway, and spectacular Yellowstone National Park. Fortunately, historic Highway 20 remains almost completely intact and can be driven much as travelers did in years past. Postcard History Series: Along Wyoming's Historic Highway 20 celebrates this trip, illustrated by more than 200 vintage postcards showing the personality of the road. Not to be forgotten are the tourist courts, hotels, diners, and gas stations that made automobile travel possible.

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Cemeteries of Santa Clara

9780738530130

$24.99

Strolling through Santa Clara's historic cemeteries, you will find architectural treasures, thoughtful or cryptic verses carved in stone, and monuments everywhere that resist and challenge the ceaseless waves of time and change. Santa Clara Mission Cemetery and Mission City Memorial Park were both founded before the city itself. Santa Clara Mission Cemetery was established by the Jesuit fathers along with Santa Clara College in 1851. Many pioneers are interred
here, and beneath the Varsi Chapel floor lies what may be the oldest mausoleum in the valley. Mission City Memorial Park, known simply as the graveyard when it was founded in 1850, once doubled as a dump and a refuge for stray farm animals. It is now a beautifully landscaped, 30-acre cemetery memorializing valley residents of the past 150 years.

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Legendary Locals of San Francisco's Richmond, Sunset, and Golden Gate Park

9781467101776

$24.99

While San Francisco was thriving in the 1800s, the areas that are now the Richmond District, the Sunset District, and Golden Gate Park were primarily made up of sand dunes and considered uninhabitable. This book introduces readers to some of the advocates, educators, performers, builders, and others who contributed to the growth of these areas and to the city of San Francisco. Featured notables include William Hammond Hall and John McLaren, major forces in Golden Gate Park; well-known personalities like actress Barbara Eden, musician Vince Guaraldi, and photographer Ansel Adams; Amy Meyer and Philip Burton, who helped create the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; journalists Sarah Bacon and Paul Kozakiewicz, who write about neighborhoods in western San Francisco; William Gee, who founded On-Lok, a resource for the elderly; and many more famous and unsung heroes.

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The Salton Sea

9780738574554

$24.99

The Salton Sea was an accident of man created when heavy rainfall caused the Rio Colorado to swell and breach an Imperial Valley dike in 1905. For two years, water flowed into the Salton Sink and ancient Lake Cahuilla. Today, the sea is 227 feet below sea level, covers approximately 376 square miles, and is California's largest lake. During the early 1900s, it became an important bird and waterfowl refuge. When many species of fish were introduced, the Salton Sea also became popular for boating, fishing, hunting, and camping activities. Motels, yacht clubs, and marinas developed around Salton City and North Shore. During recent decades, the sea has become polluted from agricultural runoff, creating a doubtful future for the Salton Sea. However, it remains a sanctuary for anyone who enjoys bird watching, desert landscapes, or beautiful farmlands.

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Desert Hot Springs

9781467132176

$24.99

Cabot Yerxa's discovery of natural hot and cold mineral water in 1914 was the impetus for the establishment of Desert Hot Springs. His eccentric pueblo-style home, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is a unique tourist attraction. L.W. Coffee also recognized the value of the hot water, so he drilled wells and opened his famous bathhouse in 1941. The development of more than 200 spas followed. Angel View Children's Hospital, established in the 1950s, uses the therapeutic water to treat disabled children. The city's extraordinary, pure cold water wins awards such as best tasting in the world. Desert Hot Springs is the location of architect John Lautner's first desert commission, and Mary Pickford's house still stands at the famous B-Bar-H Ranch that was frequented by movie stars during the 1940s and 1950s. The historic Two Bunch Palms Resort and Spa is known as an exclusive celebrity hideaway. The city, believed to have an unusually strong vortex, is located just south of Joshua Tree National Park. An elevation of 1,200 feet affords most residents magnificent views of both Mount San Jacinto and Mount San Gorgonio.

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California's Pioneering Punjabis

9781467148870

$39.95

“…evocative vignettes and inspiring stories from many of California’s South Asian American citizens…” Paul Michael Taylor, Director, Asian Cultural History Program, Smithsonian Institution.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, adventurous travelers left the Punjab in India to seek their fortune in California and beyond. Laboring in farms, fields and orchards for low wages while enduring racial discrimination, they strove to put down roots in their new home. Bhagat Singh Thind, an immigrant who served in the United States Army, had his citizenship granted and revoked twice before a 1936 law expanded naturalization to all World War I veterans, regardless of race. Dalip Singh Saund obtained a master’s degree and doctorate in mathematics from UC Berkeley only to return to farming when no one would hire him. In 1956, Saund went on to become the first Asian elected to the U.S. Congress. Ethnic South Asians are now found in every trade and profession in the United States, including the Office of the Vice President. Descendants of the first Punjabi immigrants from Yuba City to the Imperial Valley still farm, adding to the rich tapestry of the Central Valley.

Author Lea Terhune recounts the risks, setbacks and persistence of the people who achieved their American dreams.

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Haunted Salt Lake City

9781467138246

$23.99

“Haunted mansions, phantom nuns and a poltergeist wedding crasher . . . The book’s pages are filled with accounts of ghostly sightings.” —Deseret News

Uncovering ghost stories in Salt Lake City leads to a spooky mixture of legend, lore and local history.

A young female apparition likes to surprise guests of the McCune Mansion by leaping from a mirror. Believed to be stationed at Fort Douglas, a Civil War vet named Clem still teases female visitors. Staff at the historic Devereaux Mansion, once a major social center, relented in their vain nightly attempts to keep the lights off and let the spirits continue their eternal party. Nuns of the Sisters of the Holy Cross still visit patients in the hospital they established.

The guides of Story Tours’ Salt Lake City Ghost Tour reveal characters who just can’t seem to leave the valley.

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Mira Mesa

9780738582030

$24.99

Mira Mesa is a suburban community in the northern part of the city of San Diego with many qualities of a small town. Mira Mesa is San Diego's largest suburb, with over 75,000 residents, stretching from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on the south to Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve on the north, and from I-15 on the east to I-805 on the west. When rapid growth in the early 1970s transformed the mesa from rocks and rattlesnakes to tract homes, there were no schools, parks, or other facilities, not even a grocery store. Residents held rallies and marches, and the first schools in Mira Mesa were created inside houses leased from developers. Mira Mesa today is a happily multiethnic community that includes schools, parks, a library, industrial and retail centers, and several supermarkets.

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Kings Mountain

9780738558295

$24.99

Rising 2,000 feet above the rural San Mateo County countryside, Kings Mountain rests atop the redwood-ribbed backbone of the California Coastal Mountain Range. Despite inhospitable terrain, its forests lured Spanish padres who envisioned a chain of missions along the California coast. The community grew as its stately Sequoia sempervirens toppled before the influx of sawmills that sprang up in the 1850s. Named for early entrepreneurs Frank and Honora King, the mountain's story features rough-and-tumble sawyers, genteel dairy farmers, ghost towns, subdivisions, summer cabins, schools, and storied hermits. The celebrated annual art fair began in 1963 to raise funds for fire protection and grew into a nationally respected event that draws thousands.

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The Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula

9780738574974

$24.99

From fishermen to farmers to business leaders, the Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula have played a vitally important role in making Monterey what it is today. After the United States imposed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the number of Japanese immigrants to the West Coast increased in large numbers. In 1895, one of those immigrants, Otosaburo Noda, noticed the incredible variety of fish and red abalone in the bay. He developed the first Japanese colony on what is now Cannery Row. At the end of salmon season in August 1909, the Monterey Daily Cypress reported that there were 185 salmon boats fishing the bay, of which 145 were Japanese-owned. By 1920, there were nine Japanese abalone companies diving for this tasty mollusk, supplying restaurants and markets throughout California and across the country. Prior to World War II, 80 percent of the businesses on the Monterey Wharf were Japanese-owned.