With the arrival of 2008, many Sierra Madre folks are wondering, "Where's the book?" The answer is: it is coming. And it will be worth the wait.
Like most Sierra Madre projects, the book project relies very heavily on volunteer efforts. Researchers have been carefully reviewing newspapers on microfilm, transcribing water company minutes, and scouring California photo archives for material for the book. Needless to say, this kind of work is extremely time consuming. Once the materials are gathered (including author Michele Zack’s own research), she has to carefully review everything, glean the information most germane, and do the painstaking work of crafting each chapter into a readable, informative narrative.
Fortunately, the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society has hired some professionals to insure the book is done right. Michele Zack is an accomplished, award-winning author and it is nothing short of a miracle that we convinced her to write our history. Zack has a profound understanding of Southern California history and an incredible gift with words. Jeff Lapides of First Water Design is another professional that we rely upon for book expertise. Lapides knows how things should appear on the page and cares about things like fonts, line length, color saturation, the weight of the paper, and the binding and we are extremely fortunate to have him advising us on design matters. In addition, the Society has engaged Elizabeth Pomeroy to edit the text for the book. Pomeroy has written several books of her own and with our book she will help with refinements.
This book is unlike any previous book published by the Society. It is not a book of reminiscences, although many Sierra Madre folks have been interviewed about their experiences here. Nor is it a picture book, although it will be illustrated with photographs, maps, and ephemera from our own local history collection at the Library and from many other repositories. Michele Zack is interweaving regional, state, and national history with Sierra Madre happenings and the result is a rich tapestry of historical context with Sierra Madre at its center. While most of us agree that Sierra Madre is a unique place, it is not an island. A community is shaped by forces within the city limits but also very largely by external pushes and pulls. Any historian will tell you that it is context that makes a story meaningful.
We anticipate that the new Sierra Madre history book will make its appearance in late 2008. The text will be complete by the end of March and the design is underway, chapter by chapter. The Society has obtained a bid from a printer. But at this moment, even if the text and layout were complete, we still could not publish the book as we have not reached our fundraising goals. The Society lacks approximately $25,000 in order to print 3000 copies.
It is our hope that in Sierra Madre fashion the community will come out and support our efforts. Monetary support is most welcome and the Society offers events (Sunday Silent Movies, concerts, etc.) that are fun and educational and that directly fund the book project. The Society is also looking for historical materials about local people, organizations, and activities that will help us to tell the Sierra Madre story more fully and accurately. For instance, we are compiling a listing of community organizations and their years of operation and we cannot accomplish this without input from the community. All contributions (voluntary, monetary, or historical materials) will be acknowledged in the book.
Ultimately, Sierra Madre will have an extraordinary history book. We understand your eager anticipation. (After all, it has been over 30 years since our last book.) Rest assured, the Society is working hard to produce a definitive history of Sierra Madre, a book that is well-researched, enjoyable to read, and of the highest quality...and yes, worth the wait.
Debbie Henderson
Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society Board Member<