The high-tech paradise just north of San Francisco, known as the Redwood Empire, was once a land of vineyards, chicken ranches, orchards, and dairies. Using their own words and vintage photographs, here are the stories of the area's residents and their 100 years of history, from the lost glitter of the Gold Rush to end of World War II. The stories recalled here come from the reflections of the people who kept their towns and farms running on a daily basis. Among the voices heard in these chapters are Healdsburg's Ferguson family, pioneer survivors of the westward trail, and David Wharff, who brought the first chickens to Sonoma County, helping create the World's Egg Basket. Through the great Santa Rosa earthquake of 1906, to the devastating flu epidemic of World War I, to the Santa Rosa-Petaluma "Big Game" riot of 1943, these diary, interview, and newspaper accounts cover a century of rich history in the Redwood Empire.

From its humble beginnings in 1884 as a one-story frame building with one bay to house Hose Company 4 and its team of horses, Engine Company 78 has been the firefighting sentinel at the end of Waveland Avenue, sitting in the shadow of Wrigley Field. Using vintage photographs and moving stories from firefighters themselves, Karen Kruse captures the spirit and heroism of this historic Chicago landmark. Captain Robert F. Kruse served the Chicago Fire Department for 30 years, half of those at Wrigleyville's Engine 78. Growing up within the tight-knit firefighting community, Ms. Kruse records the dramatic and touching stories from her father's and his peers' experiences, and combines them in this volume exploring the unique history of Lakeview's firehouse, including a foreword by Mike Ditka and preface by Fire Commissioner James Joyce. With details about little known historic districts and a brief guide to Chicago's cemeteries and their relations to firefighters, A Chicago Firehouse: Stories of Wrigleyville's Engine 78 relays in first-hand accounts some of Chicago's most fiery tragedies, the brave men who battled them, and the diversity of the neighborhood that housed them.

These pages are filled with memories and favorite tales that capture the essence of life in the Cherokee Nation. Ms. Duvall invites the reader to follow the tribe from its pre-historic days in the southeast, to early 20th century life in the Cookson Hills of Oklahoma. Learn about Pretty Woman, who had the power over life and death, or the mystical healing springs of Tahlequah. Spend some time with U.S. Deputy Marshals as they roam the old Cherokee Nation in pursuit of Indian Territory outlaws like Zeke Proctor and Charlie Wickliffe, or wander the famous haunted places where ghost horses still travel an ancient trail and the spirits of long-dead Spaniards still search for gold.

Author and history professor Dominic Candeloro presents an intriguing narrative record of the earliest beginning of the Italian communities in Chicago.

The stories of Chicago's Italian communities are an important part of the rich and diverse mosaic of the city's history. As a rail center, an industrial center and America's fastest growing major city, Chicago offered opportunities for immigrants from all nations. Italians in Chicago explores the lives of 10 significant members of the Chicago Italian-American community going back to the 1850s.

This book is a collaborative and cumulative effort, and gives glimpses and echoes of what occurred in the Italian-American past in Chicago. Including vintage images and tales of such individuals as Father Armando Pierini, Anthony Scariano, and Joe Bruno, and groups such as the Aragona Club and the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society, this collection uncovers the challenges and triumphs of these Italian immigrants.

In Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan: Golden Memories, author Lee Griffin illustrates the importance of cultivating the memories of generations past, and looking positively toward the future as one grows older. The book contains the voices of prominent community members who reside in Kalamazoo and the surrounding areas, including Portage, Richland, Gull Lake, Galesburg, Augusta, Hickory Corners, Lawton, Allegan, and Marshall. Their contributions to the region's growth are varied, from a local mailman to a former college president. These extraordinary citizens are representative of men and women everywhere, and whose recollections span the globe. Included in these extensive interviews are first-hand accounts of the flu epidemic of 1912 and its effects on the Kalamazoo area, vivid memories of an African-American boy growing up on a plantation, and the moving story of a man's emigration from China and his test of bravery as he made his way to Kalamazoo, where he became a distinguished staff member of Kalamazoo College.