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SIDETRACKED: The Santa Cruz Beach to 1903 cover

Press Release: SIDETRACKED: The Santa Cruz Beach to 1903

The second SIDETRACKED book by Derek R. Whaley reveals the history of the Santa Cruz Beach before the Boardwalk SANTA CRUZ, CA, May 17, 2024—Exactly 100 years ago, the Giant Dipper on the Santa Cruz Beach opened to an excited public. It was a groundbreaking milestone in a history that stretched 75 years into the past, to a time when California was not even a state. SIDETRACKED: The Santa Cruz Beach to 1903 explores the… Read More »Press Release: SIDETRACKED: The Santa Cruz Beach to 1903

Our Old Santa Cruz... Volume 1 cover

Press Release: Our Old Santa Cruz… By Ernest Otto

New book series Our Old Santa Cruz… by Ernest Otto unveils the captivating history of Santa Cruz in the late 1800s SANTA CRUZ, CA, November 15, 2023—Our Old Santa Cruz… is a compelling retrospective book series that gazes into the history of Santa Cruz, California, through the eyes of the late Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter Ernest F. Otto. Each book in this new series paints a vivid picture of the city’s bustling life at the… Read More »Press Release: Our Old Santa Cruz… By Ernest Otto

Full cover spread of The Shadow of Loma Prieta: Part Three of the History of Rancho Soquel Augmentation

Press Release: The Shadow of Loma Prieta

The forgotten history of The Forest of Nisene Marks is revealed at last SANTA CRUZ, CA, October 23, 2022—The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park has a long history that has been largely forgotten. But not anymore. The Shadow of Loma Prieta follows the tumultuous history of the areas now known as The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and the Soquel Demonstration State Forest from the early twentieth century to the present day. Expertly… Read More »Press Release: The Shadow of Loma Prieta

Title excerpt for The Reign of the Lumber Barons

Press Release: The Reign of the Lumber Barons

Explore mid-county history in new book on the lumber industry in the late 1800s SANTA CRUZ, CA, October 23, 2021—They came with axes. They came with oxen. They came with greed. Nearly 150 years ago, a group of venture capitalists began the clear-cutting of what became The Forest of Nisene Marks. By 1902, the decimation along Aptos Creek was complete, leaving behind nothing but broken trees and barren hills as far as the eye could… Read More »Press Release: The Reign of the Lumber Barons

castro cover

Press Release: Story of early Soquel baroness Martina Castro finally told

SANTA CRUZ, CA, October 26, 2020—The history of one of Santa Cruz County’s most famous women is finally revealed in the book The Tragedy of Martina Castro: Part One of the History of Rancho Soquel Augmentation by Ronald G. Powell, edited by Derek R. Whaley, a well-known Santa Cruz author and historian. In this historical chronicle, the Spanish property baroness Martina Castro acquires one of the largest land grants in Santa Cruz County before the annexation of… Read More »Press Release: Story of early Soquel baroness Martina Castro finally told