The Columbia Basin was dusted only with sagebrush and bunchgrass before settlers harnessed the power of the mighty Columbia River. With irrigation came the small town of Richland, and its sister towns of White Bluffs and Hanford. On the advent of U.S. involvement in the Second World War, Richland was discovered by government scientists. Breaking ground in March of 1943, through one of the fastest-built government operations ever, the first nuclear reactor went "critical" in September of that year. Most of the workers did not understand what they had produced until after Nagasaki was destroyed. The local paper announced, "Peace! Our Bomb Clinched It!" This book, the first to cover the history of the small town that played a part in one of the most earth-shattering events of United States history, captures the people and events that have shaped Richland's character, including the Flood of 1948, the Atomic Frontier Days Festival, the relocation of the town to make way for the Hanford site's construction camp, and pictures gathered from Richland Bomber alumni.
Grant County was one of the last places to be settled in Washington State. The first visitors grazed livestock on the rich bunch grasses, sharing space with the Wanapum and Sinkiuse tribes. Homesteaders planted wheat, hay, and orchards, and marketed fish around Moses Lake. After unusually wet years, weather patterns returned to normal and the area creeks dried up, forcing many families to move away. Not long after, the Great Depression bankrupted many of those who had not been ruined by the droughts. It wasn't until World War II, when military bases were built in Ephrata and Moses Lake, that people started to return to Grant County. The completion of Grand Coulee Dam in 1942 and of Priest Rapids Dam and Wanapum Dam in the 1960s brought cheap electrical power and irrigation, which lured farmers, ranchers, and orchardists back to the county.
In 1970, Kenneth Gibson was elected as Newark, New Jersey’s first African-American mayor, a position he held for an impressive sixteen years. Yet even as Gibson served as a trailblazer for black politicians, he presided over a troubled time in the city’s history, as Newark’s industries declined and its crime and unemployment rates soared. This book offers a balanced assessment of Gibson’s leadership and his legacy, from the perspectives of the people most deeply immersed in 1970s and 1980s Newark politics: city employees, politicians, activists, journalists, educators, and even fellow big-city mayors like David Dinkins. The contributors include many of Gibson’s harshest critics, as well as some of his closest supporters, friends, and family members—culminating in an exclusive interview with Gibson himself, reflecting on his time in office. Together, these accounts provide readers with a compelling inside look at a city in crisis, a city that had been rocked by riots three years before Gibson took office and one that Harper’s magazine named “America’s worst city” at the start of his second term. At its heart, it raises a question that is still relevant today: how should we evaluate a leader who faced major structural and economic challenges, but never delivered all the hope and change he promised voters?
Early clashes in the 1850s with Native American tribes led to the establishment of the Yakima Indian Reservation just south of the city limits. Soon afterward, settlers came in earnest, having heard of the potential of the valley soil. Captured here in 200 vintage images is the story of the life and times of Yakima's earliest settlers through to the 21st century. In 1884, the town attracted the attention of the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was interested in building a depot. Yakima City landowners refused to cooperate, so the railroad located its depot four miles to the north. In 1918, this new location was reincorporated as Yakima, and Yakima City was renamed Union Gap. Both attracted their share of businessmen and ideas. Frederick Mercy arrived and installed theaters in Yakima and the rest of the state. J.M. Perry, an early fruit packer and shipper, left funds to establish what would become a nationally renowned technical school. These photographs illuminate the history of Yakima's schools, businesses, churches, and agriculture. Images document the social development of the city, family photos from days gone by, the orchards that have played such a large part in the economy, and even an apple pie big enough to feed a whole crowd!
Before Europeans came to the Pendleton area, the Umatilla River Valley of eastern Oregon was populated by Native Americans. The Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Nez Perce Indians avoided conflict and befriended early white settlers. The gold rush in the Blue Mountains and the coming of the railroad brought floods of settlers to the growing town.
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