Best of
Local-History

2005

Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds and Changed America Forever


Don Haskins - 2005
    In the championship game for the NCAA title that year, Don Haskins, coach of the then little-known Texas Western College, did something that had never been done before in the history of college basketball. He started five black players, and in the now legendary game, unseated the nationally top-ranked University of Kentucky. Broadcast on television throughout the country, the Miners victory became the impetus for the desegregation of all college teams in the South during the next few years. Now, for the first time, Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins tell his story. Beginning as a small-town high school basketball coach, Haskins was known for his tough coaching methods and larger-than-life personality. As a child growing up during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, he developed a strong set of values and discipline that he would instill in his players throughout his coaching career. With recollections from his former players, including those of the 1966 team, along with Haskins's own Seven Principles for Success, Glory Road is the inspiring story of a living legend and one of the most respected coaches of all time. With a foreword by basketball legend Bobby Knight, and coinciding with the release of the film Glory Road, the story of Don Haskins and his championship team is sure to become a classic for sports fans and historians.

Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty


Annelise Orleck - 2005
    Declaring "We can do it and do it better," these women proved that poor mothers are the real experts on poverty. In 1972 they founded Operation Life, which was responsible for many firsts for the poor in Las Vegas-the first library, medical center, daycare center, job training, and senior citizen housing. By the late 1970s, Operation Life was bringing millions of dollars into the community. These women became influential in Washington, DC-respected and listened to by political heavyweights such as Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Ted Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter. Though they lost their funding with the country's move toward conservatism in the 1980s, their struggles and phenomenal triumphs still stand as a critical lesson about what can be achieved when those on welfare chart their own course.

Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Ju�rez: 1893-1923


David Dorado Romo - 2005
    In essays and archival photographs, David Romo tells the surreal stories at the roots of the greatest Latin American revolution: The sainted beauty queen Teresita inspires revolutionary fervor and is rumored to have blessed the first rifles of the revolutionaries; anarchists publish newspapers and hatch plots against the hated Porfirio Diaz regime; Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa eats ice cream cones and rides his Indian motorcycle happily through downtown; El Paso’s gringo mayor wears silk underwear because he is afraid of Mexican lice; John Reed contributes a never-before-published essay; young Mexican maids refuse to be deloused so they shut down the border and back down Pershing’s men in the process; vegetarian and spiritualist Francisco Madero institutes the Mexican revolutionary junta in El Paso before crossing into Juárez to his ill-fated presidency and assassination; and bands play Verdi while firing squads go about their deadly business. Romo’s work does what Mike Davis’ City of Quartz did for Los Angeles—it presents a subversive and contrary vision of the sister cities during this crucial time for both countries.David Dorado Romo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is an essayist, historian, musician and cultural activist. Ringside Seat to a Revolution is the result of his three-year exploration of archives detailing the cultural and political roots of the Mexican Revolution along la frontera. Romo received a degree in Judaic studies at Stanford University and has studied in Israel and Italy.

Ghosts of Old Louisville: True Tales of Hauntings in America's Largest Victorian Neighborhood


David Domine - 2005
    Given that there are more than 1,000 structures in all where generations of families have lived, loved and died, it is not surprising that there might be a ghost or two knocking about in this acclaimed National Register Historic Preservation District. So many so, in fact, that Old Louisville has also gained the reputation as being the most haunted neighborhood in the country. David Dominé found this out for himself when he purchased a lovely 1895 chateauesque mansion on Old Louisville's famed Millionaire's Row in 1999. A self-proclaimed skeptic, he dismissed rumors of a mischievous resident poltergeist named Lucy when he moved in, but he soon found himself at a loss to explain the disembodied footsteps, mysterious odors and paranormal activity that plagued the old home. Even after unnerving events caused him to flee the home in the middle of the night, Dominé tried to come up with rational explanations for the strange occurrences. Gradually, however, he came to accept the possibility of supernatural phenomena and began to dig into the past of the old home known by locals as the Moorish Palace. He eventually came up with a theory as to who or what might be haunting the property, and in the process he was able to uncover a wealth of fascinating history and ghostly tales about his historic neighborhood. Ghosts of Old Louisville: True Stories of Hauntings in America's Largest Victorian Neighborhood chronicles the harrowing events in his own home and discusses the haunted past of other significant structures in the neighborhood. Rich with interesting historical tidbits and vivid architectural descriptions that bring the opulent mansions and charming homes to life, Dominé creates an enchanting mood piece as a backdrop for his tales of the paranormal in this unique American neighborhood.

To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico


Stanley M. Hordes - 2005
    Hordes began to hear stories of Hispanos who lit candles on Friday night and abstained from eating pork. Puzzling over the matter, Hordes realized that these practices might very well have been passed down through the centuries from early crypto-Jewish settlers in New Spain. After extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Hordes concluded that there was, in New Mexico and the Southwest, a Sephardic legacy derived from the "converso" community of Spanish Jews.In "To the End of the Earth," Hordes explores the remarkable story of crypto-Jews and the tenuous preservation of Jewish rituals and traditions in Mexico and New Mexico over the past five hundred years. He follows the crypto-Jews from their Jewish origins in medieval Spain and Portugal to their efforts to escape persecution by migrating to the New World and settling in the far reaches of the northern Mexican frontier.Drawing on individual biographies (including those of colonial officials accused of secretly practicing Judaism), family histories, Inquisition records, letters, and other primary sources, Hordes provides a richly detailed account of the economic, social and religious lives of crypto-Jews during the colonial period and after the annexation of New Mexico by the United States in 1846. While the American government offered more religious freedom than had the Spanish colonial rulers, cultural assimilation into Anglo-American society weakened many elements of the crypto-Jewish tradition.Hordes concludes with a discussion of the reemergence of crypto-Jewish culture and the reclamation of Jewish ancestry within the Hispano community in the late twentieth century. He examines the publicity surrounding the rediscovery of the crypto-Jewish community and explores the challenges inherent in a study that attempts to reconstruct the history of a people who tried to leave no documentary record.

Sir Walter: The Flamboyant Life Of Walter Hagen


Tom Clavin - 2005
    The first professional golfer to make his living playing the game rather than teaching it, Hagen won eleven major professional tournaments over his long career -- two U.S. Opens, four British Opens, and five PGA Championships (including an amazing streak of four consecutive PGA wins) -- a record surpassed only by Jack Nicklaus. Hagen was also influential in helping to found the Ryder Cup and was the first American golfer to top $1 million in career earnings -- a figure equivalent to over $40 million today. Award-winning sportswriter Tom Clavin has penned a thrilling biography that vividly recalls Hagen's dazzling achievements and the qualities that made him a star. Energetic, witty, and one of the best putters ever to walk the green, Hagen was a man who loved to party, was extraordinarily generous to his friends, and golfed the world over, giving exhibitions. He preferred to travel by limousine, and if he intended to stay awhile he'd bring a second limo just to transport his clothes, which were nothing but the finest. On his many trips across the Atlantic to compete in the Ryder Cup or British Open, Hagen was known to throw parties that lasted days, ending only when the ship reached the shore. He was also the first professional golfer to admit to playing not only for the love of the game, but also for the love of the winner's purse. Walter Hagen, forerunner of today's sports superstars, is as dynamic a character as can be found in American sports history. Bringing Hagen to life with incredible detail and countless anecdotes, Sir Walter is the authoritative biography of the man who helped create professional golf as it's known today.

The Southern Past: A Clash of Race and Memory


W. Fitzhugh Brundage - 2005
    Indeed, today's controversies over flying the Confederate flag, renaming schools and streets, and commemorating the Civil War and the civil rights movement are only the latest examples of this ongoing divisive contest over issues of regional identity and heritage. The Southern Past argues that these battles are ultimately about who has the power to determine what we remember of the past, and whether that remembrance will honour all Southerners or only select groups. For more than a century after the Civil War, elite white Southerners systematically refined a version of the past that sanctioned their racial privilege and power. In the process, they filled public spaces with museums and monuments that made their version of the past sacrosanct. Yet, even as segregation and racial discrimination worsened, blacks contested the white version of Southern history and demanded inclusion.

Blood Bath


Susan D. Mustafa - 2005
    He watched his victims and chose carefully. Then he struck—each attack more brutal than the last. By the time detectives arrived, all they found were gruesome crime scenes of bloodied, brutalized bodies.They Knew He Would Strike AgainFor more than ten years in south Louisiana the killings went on. Task forces were formed. The killer even spent time in jail. But that wouldn't stop the bloodshed. One victim was stabbed with a screwdriver 83 times.But They Couldn't Stop Him—Until Was Too LateHe was a father. A husband. A co-worker. And a killer. Derrick Todd Lee was ultimately convicted of two savage murders and tied to at least seven more. From the slender trace of DNA that finally nabbed him to the courageous prosecutors who took him down in court, this is the shocking story of a homicidal maniac hiding in plain sight—and an evil that could never be washed away.Includes 16 pages of shocking photographs. Previously published as I've Been Watching You.

Ironclad: The Epic Battle, Calamitous Loss, and Historic Recovery of the USS Monitor


Paul Clancy - 2005
    It is intended for those interested in Civil War and naval history, diving, and underwater salvage.

The Common Stream: Two Thousand Years of the English Village


Rowland Parker - 2005
    The author studied archaeological excavations, oral tradition, manor court rolls, land tax returns, wills, bishops' registers and many other records, in order to build up a picture of the life, work, clothes, food and pastimes of the villagers, from the first traces of human settlement two thousand years ago, to the present day.

Lautner, 1911-1994: Disappearing Space


Barbara-Ann Campbell-Lange - 2005
    The residences he designed in the Los Angeles area, including the Chemosphere House and the Silvertop, are synonymous with the hopes and dreams of an entire era. Characterized by sweeping rooflines, glass-paneled walls, and steel beams, his buildings displayed a combination of fantasy and minimalism, often integrating water and incorporating surrounding landscapes. Lautner always placed great importance on the relationship between humans, space, and nature. 96 Pages About the Author Barbara-Ann Campbell-Lange studied architecture in London, New York, and Cambridge. She is a director of the Campbell-Lange Workshop and lectures at the Royal College of Art.

Bread and Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream


Bruce Watson - 2005
    Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving thousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Roses is indispensable reading.

Doin' the Charleston: Black Roots of American Popular Music & the Jenkins Orphanage Legacy


Mark R. Jones - 2005
    From slavery to freedom, follow the inspirational rags-to-riches story of some of America’s greatest jazz musicians brought together by the determination of one man, a freed black slave named Rev. Daniel Jenkins. His Jazz Nursery revolutionized the music world! One cold December day in 1891, Rev. Jenkins discovered four black children huddled together in a railroad car. He had more than 500 children in his care. To support the Orphanage, Jenkins organized a brass band which performed on the Charleston streets for hand-outs. Ten years later, the Jenkins Band appeared in London, played for President Teddy Roosevelt and premiered on Broadway. Members of the Jenkins Band played with Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong. Then, tragically in 1919, one of the Jenkins’ musicians committed a brutal murder which shocked America! During the next decade, the Roaring 20s, America underwent a tumultuous change in which everybody was soon DOIN’ THE CHARLESTON! ILLUSTRATED WITH MORE THAN 70 PHOTOS!

Frankford


Brian H. Harris - 2005
    At one time, Frankford was considered one of the most thriving manufacturing areas in the state. Built along the banks of Frankford Creek, which flows into the Delaware River, Frankford grew for centuries and witnessed many of America's historical events and people. In 1854, it became a part of the city of Philadelphia. Frankford was home to the Frankford Yellow Jackets, one of the first NFL teams in America. Now a vital connection in Philadelphia's Market-Frankford elevated system, Frankford continues to be one of the city's best-known neighborhoods.

Vanishing British Columbia


Michael Kluckner - 2005
    More than a decade ago, Michael Kluckner began painting these dots on his personal map of the province in a watercolor sketchbook. With small towns declining and old rural properties changing, so little of the history of these places has been recorded in museums or archives, and so much of it may disappear "within a heartbeat" as families disperse and memories dim.After he put a few of the sketches onto his web site, a network of correspondents emerged that eventually led him to the family letters, photo albums, and memories from a disappearing era. Vanishing British Columbia is a record of these places and the stories they tell, and an argument for stewardship of regional history in the face of urbanization and globalization.

Palmetto - Symbol of Courage


Kate Salley Palmer - 2005
    Book by Palmer, Kate Salley

The Cocoanut Grove Fire


Stephanie Schorow - 2005
    A gripping narrative of the worst nightclub fire in American history, which killed 492 people in World War II Boston.

Lower Northeast Philadelphia


Louis M. Iatarola - 2005
    Development of Roosevelt Boulevard, the Market-Frankford Elevated Railway, and the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge facilitated access to large swaths of undeveloped land. Lower Northeast Philadelphia focuses on the area following the path of the Delaware River north to the city limits at the Poquessing Creek and also along and between the Frankford and Pennypack Creeks. Most of Northeast Philadelphia developed much later than the rest of the city, but the area now possesses the same “town of neighborhoods” feel each with a unique character and history.

Anglesey: The Concise History


David A. Pretty - 2005
    It has inspired poets, writers and historians through the centuries and it has enriched our appreciation and understanding of the colourful diversity of our local and regional culture and heritage.The author has an intimate knowledge of the region and has the ability to interpret and communicate that knowledge in a lively and concise style to students, scholars and tourists alike.

Jekyll Island's Early Years: From Prehistory through Reconstruction


June Hall McCash - 2005
    Much of what defines our view of the place dates from the Jekyll Island Club era. Founded in 1886, the Club was the private resort of America’s moneyed elite, including the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Pulitzers. In her new book that ranges from pre-Columbian times through the Civil War and its aftermath, June Hall McCash shows how the environment, human conflict, and a desire for refuge shaped the island long before the Club’s founding.Jekyll’s earliest identifiable inhabitants were the Timucua, a flourishing group of Native Americans who became extinct within two hundred years after their first contact with Europeans. Caught up in the New World contests among France, Spain, and England, the island eventually became part of a thriving English colony. In subsequent stories of Jekyll and its residents, the drama of our nation plays out in microcosm. The American Revolution, the War of 1812, the slavery era, and the Civil War brought change to the island, as did hurricanes and cotton farming. Personality conflicts and unsanctioned love affairs also had an impact, and McCash’s narrative is filled with the names of Jekyll’s powerful and often colorful families, including Horton, Martin, Leake, and du Bignon.Bringing insight and detail to a largely untold chapter of Jekyll’s past, June Hall McCash breathes life into a small part of Georgia that looms large in the state’s history.

A Liberal In City Government : My Experiences As Mayor Of Milwaukee


Frank P. Zeidler - 2005
    

Veneklasen Brick: A Family, a Company, and a Unique Nineteenth-Century Dutch Architectural Movement in Michigan


Michael J. Douma - 2005
    From humble beginnings that included digging barefoot in the clay, the company created by Dutch immigrant Jan Hendrik Veneklasen and his son Berend flourished for more than seventy-five years and contributed to a unique architectural legacy. While Veneklasen Brick Co. (later Zeeland Brick Co.) remained in the family, success demanded that it expand beyond the Zeeland area. Strengthened by the purchase of clay pits elsewhere in West Michigan and benefiting from the arrival of railroad lines, Veneklasen eventually became one of the largest brick companies in the state. Veneklasen's bricks were used in commercial, industrial, and public settings, but their residential application has drawn the most attention. Mixing traditional Dutch patterns and constantly changing American housing styles, local brick masons left behind a prime example of nineteenth-century Dutch-American material culture. Drawing from untapped primary sources, Michael Douma's work traces the history of the Veneklasen family, the development of the Veneklasen company, and the impact of its products on local construction. The first-ever book-length analysis of West Michigan Dutch contributions to architecture, Veneklasen Brick also addresses issues of conservation and preservation. The volume contains numerous illustrations, graphs, maps, and a comprehensive listing of nineteenth-century brick houses in southern Ottawa and northern Allegan counties.

Best of the Midwest: Rediscovering America's Heartland


Dan Kaercher - 2005
    Beautiful photographs and an engaging text are supplemented by practical information, allowing readers to turn their armchairs' reading into a memorable vacation of their own.

Quebec 1850-1950


Lionel Koffler - 2005
    During that century Quebec became a province, rose to prominence in Canada, settled the wilderness, and developed a unique cultural and linguistic identity. It is fortunate that so many high-quality photographs, some taken by celebrated photographers such as William Notman, have survived to give us a glimpse into life over the changing decades.The images, carefully selected from the Quebec Archives, capture the wonder and hardship of early settlers and city dwellers who farmed the land, harvested the sea and forest, and built homes out of the wilderness. The coming of the railway is shown, along with the transition from sail to steam, the arrival of the automobile and the growth of cities. There are scenes of celebrations and struggles, country and village life, and everyday activities and diversions. All photos are captioned to provide specific and often insightful information.These archival photographs have preserved a remarkable culture and a vanished way of life. Together, the images capture a place where traditions have changed, though the essence of the people and the land remain.Anyone with an interest in Quebec life and history will be fascinated by this wonderful collection of images and the history it represents.

Chicopee (MA) (Postcard History Series)


Stephen R. Jendrysik - 2005
    Five years later, the textile mill had fourteen thousand spindles and nearly five hundred looms, making it the second-largest operation in Massachusetts. By 1831, there were two giant dams, two waterpower canals, and two manufacturing communities on the Chicopee River. During the next one-hundred years, eight Chicopee River companies gained product recognition around the globe: Ames, Belcher, Lamb, Dwight, Stevens, Spalding, Fisk, and Duryea. These vintage postcards illustrate the significant role that manufacturing played in the day-to-day life of this blue-collar community.

Birmingham's Theater and Retail District


Tim Hollis - 2005
    Before the age of the shopping mall, the downtown was the center of retail and entertainment in Birmingham. Along these streets, entrepreneurial immigrants built department stores including Pizitz and Loveman, Joseph, and Loeb while the marquees of the Alabama, Ritz, and Lyric theaters, among others, shined over the busy downtown sidewalks.

Rochester's South Wedge


Rose O'Keefe - 2005
    Immediate neighbors include Mount Hope Cemetery, the nation's first municipal cemetery and final resting place for the Frederick Douglass family and Susan B. Anthony; and Highland Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Close by are the University of Rochester and Colgate Divinity School. With its northern boundary on the original Erie Canal, the South Wedge became home to laborers, craftsmen, and shopkeepers who contributed to the boatbuilding industry in the 1800s. The worldfamous Ellwanger and Barry Nurseries covered parts of the South Wedge and surrounding area.