Robin Michael Roberts

Continuing from the earlier book on Hanford, California, this one features my hometown's past century. This is mostly done in photographs showing everything from agricultural innovations to the visiting Amelia Earhart to centennial celebrations in 1991. Alas, no pictures of my family are included, but it's still a delightful read. It makes me wish that as a kid, we took more photographs of the common things like the streets we drove on and the old buildings in disrepair. Things have changed an awful lot just in my lifetime, and it's easier to see the changes now that I've lived away for a decade.

I love how Roberts and Arcadia Publishing did these books. They are a wonderful asset for anyone interested in their hometown's history.… (altro)

In this volume from Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, the focus is on my hometown of Hanford, California. With heavy use of photographs and artwork, Roberts gathered together material on Hanford's earliest years with information on the Yokut Indians, exploration of the Central Valley, and early settlement. There's a great deal on other nearby settlements such as Kingston, which has since died to nothing, and the infamous Mussel Slough Tragedy with its shoot-out between settlers and representatives of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This volume ends on 1900.

The pictures are fascinating, especially those of downtown Hanford where I can recognize many buildings. My own family isn't relevant to this book--my grandparents' families didn't come to the area until the 1920s--but I love seeing the area as it once was. Arcadia Publishing has done an invaluable service in creating these books on small town America.… (altro)