Legendary Locals

The Legendary Locals American history book series spotlights the unique individuals and groups that wrote our local communities' past and present. Get to know the people who shaped iconic towns like Daytona Beach, Oakland, Bel Air, and more. Meet expert cattle herder and autism rights activist Dr. Temple Grandin from Fort Collins, visit the high school of Simon and Garfunkel, and discover how Edwin Binney invented Crayola crayons. Through vintage images and historical vignettes, the Legendary Locals series assures these names will go down in American history. [View all Legendary Locals books]
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Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast
Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast
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Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale
Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale
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Legendary Locals of Metairie
Legendary Locals of Metairie
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Legendary Locals of Estes Park
Legendary Locals of Estes Park
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Legendary Locals of Tippecanoe to Tipp City
Legendary Locals of Tippecanoe to Tipp City
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Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill
Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill
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Legendary Locals of Alamogordo
Legendary Locals of Alamogordo
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Legendary Locals of Detroit
Legendary Locals of Detroit
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Legendary Locals of Portsmouth
Legendary Locals of Portsmouth
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Legendary Locals of Coppell
Legendary Locals of Coppell
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Legendary Locals of New Britain
Legendary Locals of New Britain
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Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast

9781467100137

$24.99 $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.
Legendary Locals of the Mendonoma Coast

Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale

9781467102209

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From the first settlers, the Lewis family in the 1790s, to the New River Settlement led by William Cooley in the 1830s, to the arrival of Frank Stranahan in 1893, Fort Lauderdale is an "old" young town. Named for the Second Seminole War fort commanded by Major Lauderdale, the town incorporated in 1911. The land boom of the 1910s-1920s brought an influx of people including publicist Commodore Brook, architect Francis Abreu, developer Charles Rodes, and businessmen Moe and Mack Katz. Following the economic downturn after the 1926 hurricane, the postwar boom transformed the sleepy town into the tropical paradise and tourist destination that it is today. Hotelier Bob Gill, developer James Hunt, "Crazy Gregg" Newell, and entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga led that charge. Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale also tells the story of groundbreaking civil servants such as Easter Lily Gates and Andrew DeGraffenreidt, civil rights activists Eula Johnson and Dean Trantalis, educators Mae McMillan and Sister Marie Schramko, and sports stars Katherine Rawls, Chris Evert, and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale

Legendary Locals of Metairie

9781467100601

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Metairie is often considered the dull stepchild of New Orleans--a concrete "Anywhere, USA" lined with shopping malls frequented by fast-food eating, drive-up-daiquiri-drinking, cultureless suburbanites. Despite stereotypical misconceptions, sons and daughters of New Orleans who call Metairie home are every bit as colorful, talented, devious, and gracious as their relatives in the city. Johnny Wiggs kept New Orleans jazz alive. Verne Tripp invented
"perma-press" and pioneered use of the electron microscope. On Atherton Drive, David Ferrie plotted a Cuban coup. Peter Gennaro left his father's bar to become a Broadway star. Shirley Ann Grau raised her children here while writing novels. Al Scramuzza built a crawfish empire and coached Metairie children. Ellen Degeneres found national fame, while Becky Allen won our hearts at home. Those who may not be widely known but have impacted lives in the community and afar are also included in this book, which is a tribute to the people of Metairie.
Legendary Locals of Metairie

Legendary Locals of Estes Park

9781467102308

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In the 1870s, ranchers Abner Sprague, William James, and Alexander MacGregor raised cattle while the Earl of Dunraven bought land for a private hunting reserve. It was neither cows nor hunting that defined Estes Park, though. Visitors were attracted to its beauty and crystalline mountain air. Inspired by conservationist John Muir, Enos Mills preserved the area's splendor by spearheading the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park while F.O. Stanley welcomed guests to his regal Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King's novel The Shining. As cars replaced horses downtown, Charlie Eagle Plume entertained visitors with Indian dancing, and "Casey" Martin offered children rides on his Silver Streak train. In the off-season when tourists were scarce, grocer Ron Brodie extended credit to the locals, and George Hurt ran lifts for skiers at Hidden Valley. But it was adversity that tested the town and defined its character. After the 1982 Lawn Lake Flood inundated Elkhorn businesses, town officials revitalized the downtown landscape with urban renewal. When the devastating 2013 flood washed out mountain roads and isolated Estes Park, local businesses banded together and were "Mountain Strong."
Legendary Locals of Estes Park

Legendary Locals of Tippecanoe to Tipp City

9781467101592

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Lock No. 15 on the Miami and Erie Canal ensured the development of Tippecanoe, Ohio, but the village would not have grown into the busy Tipp City of today without people determined to build futures for themselves and their families. John Clark established the town, and prosperity came with men and women like Joshua Horton and his newspaper, John Garver and his furniture factory, James Scheip of Tipp Novelty, Peter Bohlender of SpringHill Nursery, and the Timmers of TipTop Canning. The strong school system evolved thanks to innovative leaders like James Bartmess and L.T. Ball. The entire community benefited from the vision of Sidney Chaffee and his opera house, and it benefits still today with the visions of volunteers like Bob and Jackie Wahl and Peg Hadden, who, along with so many others, give their time, talent, and love to Tippecanoe and Tipp City.
Legendary Locals of Tippecanoe to Tipp City

Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill

9781467101493

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In the 1600s, William Blaxton set up his farmstead on Beacon Hill because it was far from the bustle of the city. John Hancock's uncle Thomas Hancock built his mansion on the hill in the 1700s so he could enjoy a rural lifestyle. In the early 1800s, future mayor of Boston Harrison Gray Otis moved to Beacon Hill because it was the new and fashionable neighborhood he was helping create. Louisa May Alcott, in the 19th century, and Robert Frost, in the 20th, lived on the hill because the literary set loved the neighborhood's picturesque streets and close quarters that made it easy to get together for conversation. The 9,000 residents who live in this small, urban neighborhood of Boston today appreciate its walkability, convenience, quirkiness, and neighborliness. The historic architecture, ever-burning gas lamps, rugged bricks, and one-of-a-kind shops prove that the best of the past can live comfortably with the novelty of the present.
Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill

Legendary Locals of Alamogordo

9781467102117

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By the time Alamogordo's founders platted the town in the late 1800s, bestowing it with the Spanish name for Fat Cottonwood, the region's lush grasses were luring cowboys such as Oliver Lee. Then, in 1941, an event more than 3,000 miles away changed the quiet community. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, chamber president Mose Cauthen quickly spearheaded bringing the Army's mission to train bomber pilots to the Tularosa Basin. During the Space Race, Dr. John Stapp oversaw the programs at Holloman Air Force Base that sent Joe Kittinger, Dave Simons, and "Demi" McClure floating heavenward underneath balloons. Soon after, Ed Dittmer was training chimpanzees to rocket out of Earth's atmosphere and prove man could survive in that hostile environment. Alamogordo is where the Old West melds with ever-evolving technology, along with a rich artistic and literary legacy championed by such women as Linnie Townsend, Maude Rathgeber, and Margaret Flickinger.
Legendary Locals of Alamogordo

Legendary Locals of Detroit

9781467100427

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Detroit sports a very uneven background. The city dates from 1701, when Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac planted the flag of New France, some 75 years before America became a nation. Almost two-thirds of Detroit's history was spent as little more than a frontier military outpost--home to French farmers and fur traders who shared the quarters with the soldiers. But as the 20th century arrived, the impact of the automobile roused the city from its slumber. Within a century's time, the industry set in motion by Henry Ford produced a skyrocketing population, a diverse mosaic of ethnic groups, and levels of culture and affluence rivaled by few other places. The literature of Joyce Carol Oates, the architecture of Albert Kahn, and the music fostered by Berry Gordy enriched life and created the "Paris of the Midwest." But growing pains were inevitable: growing racial instability culminated in the insurrection of 1967, inflicting deep wounds yet creating new opportunities for harmony and justice that were capitalized on by Rev. William Cunningham. Today, efforts continue to remove the tarnish from this corner of the "Rust Belt."
Legendary Locals of Detroit

Legendary Locals of Portsmouth

9781467100762

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From its beginnings as an English settlement to its evolution into a postwar tourist destination filled with restaurants, shops, and historic infrastructures, Portsmouth has seen its fair share of famous residents and local legends. The prominent people of Portsmouth range from the infamous Frank Jones, a merchant who became a world-famous brewer and eventual political playboy, to the lesser-known but equally influential Constance Bean, an administrative assistant in the city's recreation department who changed the lives of countless children through her care and compassion. While mindful of the past, Legendary Locals of Portsmouth focuses heavily on the city's contemporaries. Today's legendary locals include the likes of Frank Catalino, a local businessman whose love for pizza and people earned him a slice of his success on State Street; and Jim Splaine, a lifelong local politician who led the charge to legalize same-sex marriage and solidify New Hampshire's lead role in the presidential primaries. The story of Portsmouth could not be told without these people and other such notable names as "Sal the Barber," Evelyn Marconi, Celia Thaxter, Joe Shanley, Valerie Cunningham, and Macy Morse.
Legendary Locals of Portsmouth

Legendary Locals of Coppell

9781467102216

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Coppell has produced a wealth of personalities that could have leapt from the pages of a novel. The town's early days brought John and Sarah Stringfellow, who helped found the town's oldest church, and Josiah and John Record, a father-and-son duo who were victims of lynching. The coming of the Cottonbelt Railroad created the mystery of town namesake George Coppell. The town was home to farmers like domino-loving Buren Ledbetter and sharecropper W.A. Ottinger. It had its own "Floyd the Barber" (Floyd Harwell), as well as Jo Jackson, the librarian known to most as the "Bird Lady of Coppell." The town has produced a wealth of heroes like Carroll Kirkland, who was killed in World War II, and Jacob Schick, a decorated veteran of the Iraq War. It is also a town that has turned tragedy into triumph through stories like Todd and Tara Storch, who transformed the pain of their daughter Taylor's death into the life-giving charity Taylor's Gift. Together their stories tell the story of Coppell, a place that at its heart will always be a small town.
Legendary Locals of Coppell

Legendary Locals of New Britain

9781467101134

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New Britain began in 1754 as an ecclesiastical society and farming village, and with few natural resources, was transformed into a modern industrial city by the time of its incorporation in 1871. Attracting waves of immigrant workers and entrepreneurs, this became a diverse but unified community in which people of all ethnicities worked together, served together in times of war, and even played together on the baseball fields. Legendary Locals of New Britain includes remarkable residents among the early inhabitants and settlers; the people and institutions that brought New Britain to cityhood; artists and entertainers; famous or leading immigrants; sports legends; and men and women who have otherwise made their mark on New Britain, the nation, or the world.
Legendary Locals of New Britain