Life in Burbank during the '60s and '70s was an unparalleled experience. From biking Lucky Busters trail to enjoying movies at the Cornell Theater and shopping at The Akron, Burbankers' choices of entertainment seemed endless. Relive fond memories of dining out at Genio's, the Dip or Santoro's. Recall visits to the Golden Mall before heading home to watch Dark Shadows on television. While some of the local icons may have changed, the spirit has remained the same--and it's waiting to be rediscovered. Authors Wes Clark and Mike McDaniel guide you through their hometown and remember the fads, the hijinks and the places that made Burbank the place it is today.
"Life in Burbank during the '60s and '70s was an unparalleled experience. From biking Lucky Busters trail to enjoying movies at the Cornell Theater and shopping at The Akron, Burbankers' choices of entertainment seemed endless. Relive fond memories of dining out at Genio's, the Dip or Santoro's. Recall visits to the Golden Mall before heading home to watch Dark Shadows on television. While some of the local icons may have changed, the spirit has remained the same--and it's waiting to be rediscovered. Authors Wes Clark and Mike McDaniel guide you through their hometown and remember the fads, the hijinks and the places that made Burbank the place it is today."--Page 4 of cover.
A magic nostalgia ride awaits. Life in Fairfield in the decades after World War II was an unparalleled experience. From cruising down Texas Street on weekends to catching a carnival in the Wonder World parking lot, fond memories of long-lost times haven't been forgotten. People flocked to vintage eateries like Joe's Buffet and Smorga Bob's, and played on the rocket ship slide at Allan Witt Park. Roller Rinks like the M&M Skateway hosted not just skaters, but dances featuring Fats Domino and Roy Orbison. Commuters hopped aboard the FART bus to save on gas, and frequenting Dave's Giant Hamburgers was a rite of passage. Longtime Daily Republic journalist and accidental historian Tony Wade takes a deep dive into the Fairfield of yesteryear.
A tribute to the enduring courage and spirit of children of Baltimore from the mid 1800s-early 1900s. In a city that has been, at once, blessed with a rich port and torn apart by war, filled with pristine parks and scarred by the ravages of industrial life, childhood has reflected the ever-changing times and culture in American life. From baseball games and trips to the zoo to schoolyard pals and amusement park rides, children explored the world around them. The nostalgia and innocence of well-born youth, however, mingled with the harsher realities that many boys and girls knew as their daily lives - laboring in the mills and factories, the haphazard destruction of fires and storms, the segregation of public places and the cold and hunger so keenly felt during the Great Depression.
Greg Hoard's beguiling new biography following on the heels of the bestselling "Joe, Rounding Third and Heading for Home" is the story of the most fortunate man alive. Born Billy Purser in Memphis, this most fortunate man had only one job his entire life---entertaining. He began with the small audience of his perplexed family, expanded through his schoolyard, the army, and then torched a round of undermanned radio outposts in the Deep South. In time, the funniest man in America nobody knows about became Gary Burbank, captivating one of the largest radio audiences in America. The Mouth That Ate America, he was called. The Gary Burbank Story lays out Burbank's beginnings in the blues and honky-tonk culture of mid-century Memphis, moving on to a rousing cast of characters including (but not limited to) Elvis Presley, Luis Aparicio, Whispering Bill Anderson, a monkey named Phyllis Chapman, various musicians and gospel singers, J.R. Ewing, and a crowd of the most happily deranged DJs in radio history. What emerges is a hilarious, fantastical behind-the-scenes picture of a world that has all but disappeared an airwave universe in which Burbank created a cast of characters so vivid and gleefully real, they populated their own deranged country. For nearly a quarter of a century, these characters spilled out of Burbank s imagination (and that of his zany stable of writers) until they became household words all over the powerful WLW bandwidth: perpetually befuddled Gilbert Gnarley, bombastic Reverend Deuteronomy Skaggs, irascible Earl Pitts, transvestite anchorman Dan Buckles, Ranger Bob, and all their unholy offspring. All of it bears joyful testimony to Burbank's talent as an American original.
The wide-ranging and delightful history of celebrated plant breeder Luther Burbank and the business of farm and garden in early twentieth- century America At no other time in history has there been more curiosity or concern about the food we eat-and genetically modified foods, in particular, have become both pervasive and suspect. A century ago, however, Luther Burbank's blight-resistant potatoes, white blackberries, and plumcots-a plum-apricot hybrid-were celebrated as triumphs in the best tradition of American ingenuity and perseverance. In his experimental grounds in Santa Rosa, California, Burbank bred and cross-bred edible and ornamental plants-for both home gardens and commercial farms-until they were bigger, hardier, more beautiful, and more productive than ever before. A fascinating portrait of an American original, The Garden of Invention is also a colorful and engrossing tale of the intersection of gardening, science and business in the years between the Civil War and the Great Depression.
"When we completed our previous two books about Burbank, Lost Burbank ... and Growing Up in Burbank ..., we realized that we weren't really done telling the story of the place. Thanks to fourteen years of collecting material for our Burbankia website (www.wesclark.com), we knew we still had a lot of material left. What's more, we knew we could approach it from another angle. The first book was a sort of historical account of Burbank, highlighting history, people, lore and cultural attractions. The second book examined growing up there. This book is a collection of interesting Burbank tales arranged chronologically. The only criteria for inclusion here is that the stories contain human interest and some humor and give readers an idea of what Burbank was like prior to the 1980s."--Preface, page 9.
All parents want their children to read well and to succeed–and experts agree that improving literacy begins at birth. Reading aloud to your child, sharing simple games and wordplay, and developing letter knowledge start your child off on the right foot for school and life. Now the esteemed Lee Pesky Learning Center has created this easy, accessible reference for parents to help foster better literacy skills in children. Topics are individually tailored for three age ranges–infant, toddler, and preschool–and include • the best read-aloud books to develop sound awareness • the perfect picture books for encouraging letter knowledge • ways to promote verbal language and build vocabulary • the benefits of symbolic play • fun (and educational) games for car trips • helping youngsters “write” at home • great gift ideas for kids • warning signs of a learning disability The fundamentals of reading start at home. Every Child Ready to Read helps parents motivate their children to learn, and to become confident readers who will always enjoy reading.
Founded by Mormon pioneers seeking a place to practice their religion, Salt Lake City became a center of regional commerce, fueled by mining and the completion of the Union Pacific and local railroads. It ultimately attracted residents from all parts of Europe, as well as Mexico, China, and Japan. Historic Photos of Salt Lake City captures the story of this unique community through still photography selected from the finest collections, a visual record of the city's history presented in striking black-and-white photographs. From the building of the magnificent Mormon Temple and Tabernacle to the establishment of America's first department store; from muddy streets to wide boulevards with park-like medians; from Greek grocery stores to Japanese-American baseball teams, Historic Photos of Salt Lake City tells a visual story of a unique American city.
“Classic horror buffs will race through this novel that blends historical fiction with uncanny elements of the gothic. A perfect read for Halloween.” —BookPage With Lon Cheney and Boris Karloff among its characters, this sweeping and stylish love letter to the golden age of horror cinema tells the wonderful, tragic story of Maddy Ulm. It takes readers through her rise from the complicated shadows of Berlin’s first experiments with expressionist cinema to the glamorous deserts of Hollywood. For Maddy has a secret. A secret that has given her incredible insight into the soul of horror. A secret that has a terrible price as well. A young girl awakens in a hastily dug grave—vague memories of blood and fever, her mother performing a mysterious ceremony before the world went away. Germany has lost the first great war and Europe has lost millions more to the Spanish Flu epidemic. But Maddy has not only survived, she has changed. No longer does she eat, sleep, or age. No longer can she die. After taking up with a pair of street performers, she shocks and fascinates the crowds with her ability to survive outrageous traumas. But at a studio in Berlin, Maddy discovers her true calling: film. With her intimate knowledge of fear, death, and realms beyond the living, she practically invents the modern horror genre on the spot. Before long, she travels to California and insinuates herself in Hollywood as the genius secretly behind The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, and Frankenstein. And yet she must remain in the shadows—a chilling apparition suspended eternally between worlds. Clever, tragic, and thoroughly entertaining, Only the Dead Know Burbank introduces readers to one of the most unique, unforgettable characters in fiction.
