Picked warm from a tree, a California apricot opens into halves as easily as if it came with a dotted line down its center. The seed infuses the core with a hint of almond; the fruit carries the scent of citrus and jasmine; and it tastes, some say, like manna from heaven. In these pages, Robin Chapman recalls the season when the Santa Clara Valley was the largest apricot producer in the world and recounts the stories of Silicon Valley's now lost orchards. From the Spaniards in the eighteenth century who first planted apricots in the Mission Santa Clara gardens to the post-World War II families who built their homes among subdivided orchards, relive the long summer days ripe with bumper crops of this much-anticipated delicacy.
Patos Island Lighthouse
9781467145060
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Since 1893, a light has been shining from Patos Island, the northernmost island in Puget Sound. Built to guide ships through treacherous waters, the lighthouse was also a happy home for many, including Edward Durgan and his family in the early 1900s. Boundary waters smugglers and rumrunners once visited the island to stash their contraband, and it was a front-line guard for the nation during World War II. Manned for eighty-one years by the U.S. government, the light was automated in 1974 and is now maintained by the Coast Guard. Join authors Edrie Vinson and Terri Vinson, members of the Keepers of the Patos Light, as they explore the history of this unique Washington landmark.
San Diego Baseball Fantography
9781467131698
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
No sport provides a better opportunity to document the fan experience than baseball. Fantography: San Diego Baseball features amateur photographs taken by real fans—ballpark memories that often reach beyond the game-winning hit or strikeout pitch. Within these pages is an assortment of images that peers into the Padres' Pacific Coast League days, the early years of struggling in the National League, the 1984 World Series season, and its recent years. Featured are household names like Tony Gwynn, Jerry Coleman, and Trevor Hoffman, as well as more forgotten players, managers, broadcasters, and ballparks. These are your snapshots, and they are from your personal albums. These images are accompanied by many Padres stories—your stories—that have never before seen print.
Murder in Linn County, Oregon
9781467135221
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
On June 21, 1922, Linn County sheriff Charles Kendall and Reverend Roy Healy drove out to the town of Plainview to arrest a moonshining farmer named Dave West. By the end of the day, all three men were dead. First responders found Sheriff Kendall facedown with his pistol still holstered. The court appointed William Dunlap as the new sheriff, but within a year, someone killed him, too. Author and journalist Cory Frye delivers a riveting, detailed account of these shocking and tragic crimes that haunted Linn County for decades.
Jack London State Historic Park
9781467132626
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Famed novelist Jack London became America's highest-paid author in 1905, writing about adventures in the Klondike and the Russo-Japanese War and about sailing his self-designed boat halfway around the world. Yet perhaps one of London's finest legacies is his 1,400-acre ranch on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain in California. Sometimes called Beauty Ranch or the Ranch of Good Intentions, the land, buildings, and house museums exemplify both early-20th-century life and London's passionate pioneering efforts in agriculture and architecture. Descendants of Eliza Shepard (London's stepsister and ranch manager) operated the ranch for decades. In 1959, Irving Shepard deeded 39 acres to California to create Jack London State Historic Park. Eventually, 1,400 acres were acquired. Today, more than 80,000 visitors annually enjoy the park, hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, and attending events and touring London's home, gravesite, and farm buildings.
Mexicans in San José
9780738569307
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Since the founding of California's El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe in 1777, people of Mexican ancestry have contributed to make San José a rich cultural, political, and economic epicenter. Mexican miners who worked in the local mines helped San José become one of the top mercury producers in the world. In the 20th century, Mexicans labored in the "Valley of Heart's Delight," as the Santa Clara Valley region was called, picking, canning, drying, and packaging fruits and vegetables for America's dinner table. They paid homage to their cultural heritage as they formed ballet folklórico groups, established mariachi bands, painted murals, and wrote literature. Through grassroots organizing and collective action, countless heroines and heroes, such as labor leader Cesar Chavez, dedicated their lives to improving conditions in their neighborhoods and communities. In 1999, the City of San José acknowledged the contributions of Mexicans with the grand opening of the Mexican Heritage Plaza, a cultural center for the performing arts.
Beach Mexican
9781609496616
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
Alex Moreno Areyan's odyssey of growing up Latino in white upper-middle-class Redondo Beach in the 1950s presents a story of assimilation different from that experienced by Mexican Americans in larger barrios. His annual white lie" to classmates was that his father got a job up north and the family was moving. They moved, all right--in a 1941 Plymouth with the harvest. In Marysville, Meridian and Mendota, they lived in tents and cars, under trucks and in corrugated tin hovels while picking cotton, tomatoes, peaches, walnuts and plums. The kid once threatened with permanent expulsion from Redondo Union High for speaking Spanish on campus eventually received a plaque from the City of Redondo Beach for writing the Mexican American history of the city. "Beach Mexican" proves the journey wasn't easy."
Cleveland National Forest
9780738558042
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
On July 1, 1908, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt created the U.S. Forest Service's Cleveland National Forest. Named for pro-forest Pres. Grover Cleveland--and currently including over 460,000 acres in the mountainous backcountry of San Diego, Orange, and southwestern Riverside Counties--the Cleveland is one of the largest and oldest land-management agencies in the three-county region. During the last century, the dedicated men and women of the Cleveland have worked to establish the administrative systems, build necessary facilities and infrastructure, manage use and users, conserve resources, and protect the forest from the endemic and sometimes large and deadly wildfires, such as the infamous and destructive 2003 Cedar Fire and the October 2007 Southern California firestorms. Today the Cleveland National Forest continues to be a major tourist and outdoor recreation destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, as well as for millions of Southern California residents.
Schafer State Park
9780738596426
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Schafer State Park, a US National Historic Site, not only represents a unique example of 1930s craftsmanship from the Works Progress Administration and other emergency programs but is also a window into the settlement of the Satsop River Valley. In the last quarter of the 19th century, this included the vast logging and lumber operations undertaken at the park and in the surrounding forest, as well as the bounty available from the river stretching far back into the history of Native Americans in the Northwest. It also memorializes an early example of philanthropy by private citizens and corporations in Washington State, an effort that has continued over the years and has been crucial to the expansion of the state park system. The authors are pleased to provide this book as the Washington State Parks System celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Woodbrook Hunt Club
9780738558639
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The Woodbrook Hunt Club, cofounded in 1926 by Maj. J. H. Mathews and Thornwood Estate superintendent Thomas Bryan, is the oldest fox-hunting club west of the Mississippi. Horses have long played an important historical role on the prairies south of Tacoma. The Nisqually Indians were the first to ride horses on the Nisqually Prairie in the early 1800s, followed by the Hudson's Bay Company and horse-race activities in the 1840s. The establishment of Fort Lewis in 1917 has protected this unique prairie ecosystem, resulting in a longstanding partnership with the Woodbrook Hunt Club. Today the club continues its rich tradition on the last remaining three percent of native prairie in the Puget Sound Corridor.
Legendary Locals of Encinitas
9781467100090
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Drawn by extravagant promises of "a beautiful village of 500 inhabitants, studded with orange trees and grapevines," the Hammond family arrived in Encinitas in 1883 only to find that advertisements had rather overstated the case. Undeterred, these 11 English settlers remained and, in doing so, doubled the town's population overnight. Subsequent pioneers brought wide-ranging talents to this fledgling California coastal town--none more so than the Ecke dynasty, whose flower fields established Encinitas as the poinsettia capital of the world. Today, the city encompasses five distinct communities, and while it boasts many famous celebrities, it is the ordinary folk whose passion and daring have made Encinitas the place their forebears long ago envisaged.
Legendary Locals of Oxnard
9781467100564
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The roots of Oxnard history begin on the fertile plain of western Ventura County. A century after the Native Chumash were interrupted by the Spanish Mission system, the rancho period that followed was slow to develop on the Oxnard Plain. By the late 19th century, groups of newcomers from Europe, Latin America, and the post-Civil War states began settling on the agricultural terrain. After experimenting with various dry crops, the introduction of the cash crop of sugar beets brought about the next wave of emigration from Asia, as well as a steady flow of emigrants from the Latin countries. As Oxnard has grown, so has its diverse population and the contributions from the many residents who have made this area their home for generations. Legendary Locals of Oxnard offers a glimpse of some of these individuals.
Sonoma Community Center
9781467132596
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
If these redbrick walls could talk, a chorus of voices from 100 years of community use would echo all that was good about Sonoma: the love of food and wine, the search for cultural enrichment, and the need to care for people. Since the day it opened as the Sonoma Grammar School, the center has promoted education, the arts, and a respect for history. Thousands of elementary-age students walked its halls until 1948, when building codes closed it as a public school. But it was reborn in 1952 as the Sonoma Community Center due to generous donors who formed a nonprofit organization to save the building they considered the heart and soul of Sonoma. Since then, thousands of others have used its classrooms, lecture halls, and auditorium to be entertained, to celebrate events, to develop creative interests, and to cultivate their sense of community.
The Torrey Pines Gliderport
9781467131360
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
As "Air Capital of the West," San Diego boasts a rich history in aviation that began with glider flights by John J. Montgomery in the 1880s. By the 1930s, gliding experienced a renaissance as an inexpensive means to take to the skies. Gliderports dotted the West Coast with pilots testing their designs in the prevailing sea breeze. Locations such as Torrey Pines attracted pilots from all over the nation for their idyllic conditions, where humans could soar with birds over the sea. These early pioneers helped define soaring as a sport and left an indelible mark on American aviation. Of the coastal gliderports of the 1930s, only one remains today--the Torrey Pines Gliderport--an aviation landmark that has become famous around the world with aviators who share this unique resource through multiple forms of motorless flight.
Legendary Locals of Anderson Island
9781467101561
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
From explorer Peter Puget to bachelor Johnson Brothers, whose farm became a regional museum, Legendary Locals of Anderson Island chronicles the emergence of a way of life that unfailingly awakens echoes of days long past. Anderson Island, the southernmost of all islands in Washington State's Puget Sound, was settled in the late 1800s by immigrants predominantly from the Scandinavian countries. They naturally brought with them and practiced their old-country ways of navigating, farming, and building. In time, due to its remoteness and relative inaccessibility, a society of self-reliant yet closely connected residents took root. The subsistence farming, logging, and fishing practiced by the early pioneers have mostly given way to cottage industries or daily commutes to the mainland. While retirement has become the majority occupation of today's islanders, a vibrant community life continues to flourish, centered around activities sponsored by the island's numerous volunteer-staffed organizations.
Legendary Locals of Yosemite National Park and Mariposa County
9781467101646
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
In 1846, Thomas Larkin, American council general to the Mexican government in California, purchased a Mexican land grant, Las Mariposas, for Col. John C. Fremont. The grant consisted of 10 square leagues of grazing land located near the Merced River and west of the Sierra. In 1848, when California became the possession of the United States, the treaty called for the recognition of preexisting grants. Gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra that same year. Fremont floated his questionable Mexican grant into the gold discovery region. With the formation of the State of California in 1850, one of the original counties was named Mariposa, Spanish for "butterflies." Located within the county was the Fremont grant and much of the yet undiscovered Yosemite region of the Sierra. Encounters with Native Americans near the mining camps lead to the formation of the Mariposa Battalion, and a search for the natives led to the American discovery of Yosemite Valley. Thus, it was custodians and photographers such as Charles Leander Weed, Carlton E Watkins, J.J. Riley, George Fiske, Ansel Adams, and many others that interpreted and introduced Yosemite to the world.
Legendary Locals of Huntington Beach
9781467101868
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
For over 100 years, Huntington Beach, a.k.a. "Surf City, USA," has come to represent the true beach culture of Southern California. Originally called Pacific City, it was when railroad magnate Henry Huntington first ran his train line down in 1904 from Los Angeles, approximately 40 miles north, that the then-quaint beach town took on the name that made it famous around the state and around the world. In 1914, the legendary George Freeth put on a surfing exhibition the day the city's vaunted concrete pier was opened, which christened Huntington Beach as a soon-to-be surfing mecca. It became a boomtown after oil was discovered in 1920 and, several decades later, morphed once again into a cradle of aerospace engineering when companies such as Boeing arrived. Throughout its tumultuous and dramatic history, Huntington Beach has always boasted a cast of colorful and profound characters. From the first mayor, Ed Manning, to Medal of Honor-recipient Chris Carr, from the Zamboni family (who invented the ice-cleaning machine) to baseball star Jeff Kent: the list is almost endless. But it is not just professional athletes, actors, and rock stars; it is the teachers, crossing guards, merchants, and activists that give Huntington Beach its well-earned reputation as one of the most interesting and charismatic cities in the state.
Legendary Locals of the Puyallup Valley
9781467100892
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
More than 10,000 years ago, migrating tribes settled in the J-shaped Puyallup Valley lying beneath the majestic mountain known today as Mount Rainier. Tribal traders from east of the mountains called the western valley tribe generous people, a word that in English sounds like Puyallup. Pioneers found promise in clearing the land, creating the towns of Puyallup, Sumner, and Orting, and donating property for the common good. Agriculture produced hop barons, nationally renowned daffodil bulb growers, and successful berry farmers. Early entrepreneurs spawned multigenerational businesses while doctors, educators, and civic leaders more than fulfilled pioneer dreams. In 1900, a small band of men established an annual fair in Puyallup, which became the Washington State Fair. More recently, benefactors helped to build premier fitness and medical facilities. Citizens from each town continue to participate in community service clubs. Legendary Locals of the Puyallup Valley weaves a story of determined people who have left their mark on this beautiful valley.
Legendary Locals of Norco
9781467102322
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
From its beginning as a poultry powerhouse to World War II Navy town and to Horse Town USA, Norco has been known over time as a community of go-getters and dreamers with unparalleled volunteerism, stubbornly protecting a rural way of life. Founder Rex Clark wished for families to be self-sustaining with what they could grow and raise on their property; wounded Marine Johnny Winterholler, against incredible odds, led the way for other disabled veterans as the star of the famed wheelchair basketball team the Rolling Devils; and Tamara Ivie fulfilled her impossible dream to play professional baseball. And regular folks, known once as Acres of Neighbors, stepped up to create a city of elbow room, stopping cold, big-money developers wishing to cut the community into small lots. Today, Norco is an equestrian paradise with trails on most streets and plentiful open space. For decades, this small community has produced activists, ballplayers, college presidents, physicians, actors, cowboys, and lots of Norconians who give back to the community that raised them.
Mexican Americans in Redlands
9780738595221
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Redlands has long been home to a large Mexican native and immigrant population that was central to both its booming citrus industry and community life. Images of America: Mexican Americans in Redlands is a journey through this vital, vibrant, and often overlooked culture. Follow longtime residents as they tell their personal stories, share rarely seen photographs, and recall life in the self-proclaimed "City of Millionaires." Experience early Redlands through the eyes of Epimenio Guzman, a blacksmith and musician who came from Los Angeles in 1885 to pursue his trade. Imagine arriving in 1913 when a group of 12 families from Northern Mexico chose Redlands to build the first Spanish-language church in the region. Join young Mexican men and women from Redlands who, through times of war and peace, sacrificed deeply, even giving their lives at times, for the right to be both Mexican and American. These and other stories within are based on the Redlands Oral History Project, a collection of conversations with and images of Mexican Americans throughout the East San Bernardino Valley.
Legendary Locals of Chugiak-Eagle River
9781467101363
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Homesteading in Alaska was not an obvious lifestyle choice for most people in post-World War II America. In an age of gleeful consumerism, early settlers of Chugiak-Eagle River made a decision to live simply. Yet a simple life and an easy one were two different things. Many raised their own crops and a few, such as the Pippels, the Tatros, the Glenn Briggses, and the Vanovers, created larger-scale farming ventures. Other entrepreneurs, such as Paul Swanson, thrived in the frontier environment, taking on multiple enterprises to fill gaps in the area's services. Out of this can-do atmosphere sprang a number of artists, musicians, and performers. The Chugiak Belles dance group revved up audiences at the annual Spring Carnival, and the Chugiak Players staged a variety of dramas and comedies. Eagle River homesteaders Arthur and Eleanor Braendel helped found the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and performed with them for 60 years. Radio host and homesteader Ruth Briggs sang and traveled with the original Anchorage Concert Chorus. As the area matured and schools grew, athletes began to thrive, creating their own legacy. More legendary locals are being minted every day.
Legendary Locals of Vancouver
9781467100014
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Vancouver was originally laid out as Vancouver City, to distinguish it from the Hudson's Bay's Fort Vancouver. Dr. John Mcloughlin, now known as the "Father of Oregon," treated the settlers fairly, and lost his job in return. The Short family, the Hidden family, and other pioneers settled near the fort. The US Army arrived in 1849 and took over the Hudson's Bay properties. Ulysses S. Grant planted potatoes in hopes that he could bring his family here. World War II brought a host of workers to fill positions at the Kaiser Shipyards and the Alcoa plant. Legendary Locals of Vancouver shares the stories of the people, past and present, who have shaped Vancouver's landscape.
San Diego County Parks
9781467125994
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
From its earliest park in 1913, the County of San Diego has more than 100 years of serving the public with unique park and recreational experiences while preserving significant natural and cultural resources. Officially, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors established the Department of Recreation in 1946. Today, the department manages over 50,000 acres of parks, campgrounds, trails, recreation centers, sports complexes, and ecological and open-space preserves. The county covers an area that includes coastline, mountains, deserts, lakes, lagoons, and other habitats—it is the nation's most biologically diverse county—and the department's properties mirror this biodiversity. They also contain sites that reveal the county's history: Mexican-era ranchos, an overland stage station, remnants of an early gristmill, Victorian mansions, traces of flume systems, Depression-era construction projects, an 1887 boathouse, and parks that reflect the advent of early automobile tourism.
Legendary Locals of Ukiah
9781467101820
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
Mountains. Trees. A lake. What makes a city, town, or village come to life are the people--those who have gone before and those who are there today. They are what shape and build the community of Ukiah. With their personalities, foibles, compassion, and humor, some of these influential men and women stand out by design and some quietly exist on the sidelines. Utah Haley, a disabled veteran, drives other veterans to doctors' appointments. Rick Paige is always the first on-scene to help in a disaster. Spencer Brewer started the "Sundays in the Park" free concerts more than two decades ago. Ukiah is a town that supports its businesses, and those same local businesses give back to the community in many ways. Shannon Riley of Shoefly and Sox holds an annual shoe drive. Jan Hoyman and Doug Browe of Hoyman Browe Studios donate countless pieces of their work to charitable auctions. Ann Kilkenny of Mendocino Book Company gives time and assistance to local organizations. Marty Lombardi, who spent 40 years with Savings Bank of Mendocino, was always lending a helping hand to local nonprofits.
Ghosts of Leavenworth and the Cascade Foothills
9781625858542
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
The spirits of the early pioneers still roam the streets of Leavenworth and lurk in the lengthening shadows of the surrounding hills. Chas Gordon's murder sits unsolved after a century of mystery, as does the location of the lost Ingalls gold. Muffled sobs mark out the Thorp Cemetery, while a ghostly hand coaxes a soft tune from the piano in the lobby of the Tumwater Inn. Saloon shootings and railroad tragedies left their own legacy of restless souls. Author Deborah Cuyle reveals the fascinating history behind the ghost stories from this corner of the Cascade Mountains.
Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast
9781467100137
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
The Sonoma Mendocino coastline, famous for jagged cliffs, timber-filled ridges, and pounding surf, has been home to many people from varying histories and backgrounds. Pomo tribes, renowned for basketmaking, who were the first settlers and descendants, still live in the area. From early pioneers such as George Call, H.A. Richardson, Cyrus Robinson, J.A. Hamilton, and Antonio Stornetta to Pomo spiritual leader Essie Parrish and the founders of Sea Ranch (Al Boeke, and the team of designers and architects Lawrence Halprin, Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Donlyn Lyndon, and Richard Whitaker), the Sonoma Mendocino coast has many legendary locals. This area also has been home to renowned artists, musicians, writers, scientists, educators, and business leaders. Community services are especially vital to rural areas. Dedicated volunteers created Gualala Arts, services for seniors and youth, the Coast Library, theater groups, and restored historic buildings such as the famous Point Arena Lighthouse. These unsung heroes have brought new meaning to this vibrant community.
A History of Pacific Northwest Cuisine
9781609496166
Regular price
$23.99
Sale price
$17.99
Save 25%
With a dash of humor and a sprinkling of recipes, culinarian Marc Hinton chronicles the bounty of the Pacific Northwest from the mastodon meals of the earliest inhabitants to the gastronomic revolution of today. In this lively narrative, learn how Oregon's and Washington's chefs have used the region's natural abundance to create a sumptuous cuisine that is stylish yet simple and how winemakers and brewers have crafted their own rich beverage traditions. From potlatches to Prohibition, seafood to sustainability and Lewis and Clark to James Beard, Hinton traces the events and influences that have shaped the Pacific Northwest's edible past and created a delectable fare that has foodies and enophiles from around the world clamoring for a taste.
Exploring Camano Island
9781626193642
Regular price
$21.99
Sale price
$16.49
Save 25%
The beaches, forests and wildlife of Washington's Camano Island offer a treasure-trove of natural beauty and endless recreational possibilities. English Boom Historical Park was once a bustling center for logging and is now a peaceful spot with its uplands, salt marsh, shoreline and tidelands. Davis Slough is named after Reuben Davis, who lived on Camano Island before 1880 and was the oldest settler in the area. The island has historically been used by Native Americans, loggers, farmers and fishermen alike but today is enjoyed by Camano Islanders, who have worked hard to protect and preserve the island's cherished nature sites. Discover Camano Island with author Val Schroeder as she takes readers on a trek around the location's best-preserved features while uncovering the unique history behind them.
Tacoma's Parks
9780738548968
Regular price
$24.99
Sale price
$18.74
Save 25%
When civic benefactor Clinton P. Ferry donated a graceful, elliptically shaped plot of land in 1883 for the first park in Tacoma, he hoped his adopted hometown would do him proud and become a veritable city of parks. The young community did not disappoint. Landmarks such as Wright Park, Lincoln Park, and Point Defiance Park graced the landscape by 1900, a testament to Tacoma's appreciation for beauty, conservation, and recreation, which continues to this day. In 1907, residents voted to establish the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma, Washington's first independent parks municipality, to act as steward of these civic treasures. A century later, Metro Parks Tacoma embraces some 57 parks covering 2,700 acres, as well as swimming pools, sports complexes, community centers, and recreational programs for all ages.
