Collings Foundation "Wings of Freedom" Tour on Hold Across America for 2020: Pandemic Not to Blame

At left is a photo of me with the "Witchcraft," a B-24 in which I won a ride last year.  Owned by the Collings Foundation is has been part of their "Wings of Freedom Tour" for many years.




Below, is a photo I took that same day of the "Nine-O-Nine" a B-17 that was also part of the tour. It was destroyed in a crash just a few months later.

In the spring on 2019, I won a ride in a B-24 from World War II. The iconic bomber was part of the Collings Foundation's "Wings of Freedom Tour." And though I admit I was apprehensive about flying in an aircraft that was older than I, as a reporter I felt I ought to do it.

There is more to the story, of course. I did not fly in the B-17 that day and I have no idea why, as I was told I could fly in any of the bombers and the B-17 "Flying Fortress" is arguably the most famous. Just a few months later, that same aircraft crashed in Connecticut, killing seven people and injuring seven others. The crash has left a lot of devastation in its wake. Click the link to read my column on the story:
WINGS OF FREEDOM TOUR ON HOLD: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Lost Photo of Bing Crosby Uncovered After Sixty Years

Oscar winner Big Crosby poses, circa 1961, with a plaque created for him by the 

City of Los Altos, California. The photo is signed by Bing and appears to have suffered damage (to his nose and hand) from being left on the floor of a tool closet at a local community center. 

Photo courtesy of Jim Shattock.

Los Altos, California, is a small town on the San Francisco Peninsula, between San Francisco and San Jose. Since I uncovered a connection between singer-actor Bing Crosby and Los Altos--my hometown--I've been reading a lot about this very talented man, who was one of the most famous men of the 20th century. 

My first article about him prompted a call from another Los Altos native, who had some new information. Being a historian is a lot like being a detective. Click the link, for my article in the Los Altos Town Crier for more on Bing, his philanthropy, and what the photo (above) has to do with all of this.

CLICK HERE FOR BING CROSBY LOST PHOTO STORY

The Origin of Alfred Hitchock's Classic Movie "The Birds"

Alfred Hitchcock in a vintage postcard promoting his 1963 film "The Birds."

Because of his television show (1955-1965), he became at least as famous as the stars of his movies.

Most fans of classic films love Alfred Hitchcock, and I am certainly among them. I do think he's a tad too corny at times. But I suppose corny can be a relief from the really scary things he does to us. The movie "Psycho," for example, is one of my favorite films. I don't want to like it: but each time it is on television, I can't seem to look away. 

Rediscovering a Chinese-American Success Story: The Legacy of Thomas Foon Chew of Bay Side Cannery

Bay Side canned its products under at least seven different labels, something new we've learned since publication of Historic Bay Area Visionaries last October. 

At left, a portrait of a young Thomas Foon Chew who became a millionaire with his Bay Side Canning Company

When I published Historic Bay Area Visionaries (History Press 2018) last fall, I included a chapter about Thomas Foon Chew, whose story was well known during the early 20th century in the San Francisco Bay Area, but had almost been lost by the time I published my book. Historians new about it, most of the general public did not.

Since the book's publication, I've enjoying following the trail of new information relating to this improbable Chinese-American success story. Foon came to American from China at the age of 8 in 1897. A few years later, with his father, Sai Yen Chew, he founded Bay Side Canning Company, and became a multi-millionaire.

Green Space and A Community's Story at the Heart of a Town

We gathered eighty people to celebrate Heritage Orchard's very first sign. It was a day to celebrate!

I confess that I have loved apricot trees of all sizes and shapes since I grew up surrounded by them in the small community of Los Altos, California. I left my hometown after graduate school, and spent many years away, working as a journalist.

Take a Walk Through the Historic Los Altos Apricot Orchard

Artist Cynthia Riordan spends some quiet time in the Los Altos Civic Center Apricot Orchard.  The Orchard is a City Historic Landmark. 

I thought you might enjoy taking a walk at your leisure through the Los Altos Civic Center Apricot Orchard. I researched and wrote it last summer and have led it myself half-a-dozen times. But now I've posted it here so you can call it up on your device and take it yourself. Or you can relax at home and take it as an armchair tour! 

When Future Star Esther Williams Eloped to a Small Town

This vintage postcard shows MGM star Esther Williams circa 1952. 

She was gorgeous and she had already had two children.

If you like movie star trivia you are in good company with me. I love learning more about film history and the interesting people who made their home in this industry. Esther Williams is certainly one of the more unusual. An award-winning swimmer, she had planned to compete in the 1940 Olympics, but the summer games were cancelled by the beginning of World War II.

Robert Louis Stevenson's First Christmas in California

Robert Louis Stevenson photographed in Boston, 1887. Courtesy of 

Historic Bay Area Visionaries and the California Historical Society.

If you've ever had a blue Christmas (and even Elvis had one of those), you have some great company in the poet and writer Robert Louis Stevenson. He came to California in 1879 from Scotland on a journey of romance and, at first, it did not appear to be going well. Here's what happened over the holidays (and be sure and read it all the way through, as there is a lesson in the story). And for more on Stevenson in California, pick up a copy of my book Historic Bay Area Visionaries (History Press 2018). Merry Christmas! 

CLICK TO READ ABOUT ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS

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American Legion Post Has Helped Veterans for Eight Decades

Col. John J. Howard was a decorated war hero who retied to a house on 

Robledo Road in Los Altos. The local American Legion post is named after him.

Our local American Legion post has made the decision to seek Historic Landmark status for its building. These things are difficult in all-volunteer organizations, because now the group needs to organize both the paperwork and the fund-raising to gain the status and to help restore the structure. That is a lot of work for volunteers.

Yet the post as done so much good in its life. 

Click the link to read more about its story:  CLICK TO READ ABOUT THE COL. HOWARD AMERICAN LEGION POST

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Upcoming Events for Robin's Historic Bay Area Visionaries

Historic Bay Area Visionaries was published October 15, 2018 by The History Press.

The book is now out and for sale on The History Press web site and on Amazon.

Historic Bay Area Visionaries (History Press 2018) has now been published and we are getting lots of requests for events. I am keeping an updated list on my Author's Page on Amazon (see below for link) and I will also keep an updated list here

Wednesday, November 14: Los Altos History Museum, "Catch the Spirit," 1:30 p.m. Writer Robin Chapman will moderate a panel of local authors and the panel will be followed by a book signing. The address is: 51 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022: 650-948-9427

Thursday, November 15: The Union Presbyterian Church and the Northern California Congregational Librarians' Luncheon, 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Author talk and book signing. 858 University Avenue, Los Altos, CA 94022. Cost: $15. For reservations contact Patty Grimm at pgrimm1@pacbell.net or call Carol Campbell at 408-859-7488. 

Thomas Foon Chew: The Man Who Made A Difference

BaySide Cannery (sometimes identified as Bayside or Bay Side) was the third largest cannery in the United States in the 1920s. It was owned by Thomas Foon Chew, a Chinese immigrant to California.

Thomas Foon Chew was born in the late 1880s in China and came to San Francisco with his mother and his father in 1897. How this was possible, following the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, we don't know.

Robert Louis Stevenson on a Train Through Santa Clara Valley

Robert Louis Stevenson in his favorite blue velvet jacket, which is now in the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in Monterey, along with his traveling desk, which is also in the photo. 

Photo courtesy of the California Historical Society and Historic Bay Area Visionaries.

Robert Louis Stevenson made an important visit to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1879. He was not yet the famous writer he would become and he was not on a literary errand. He was besotted with a California woman and determined to marry her. 

Upcoming Event Schedule for "Historic Bay Area Visionaries" (And a Few Other Things Too!)

My new book Historic Bay Area Visionaries will be published October 15, 2018 by the History Press.

I will continue to let people know about upcoming book events on Facebook--author talks and book signings--for the the release of Historic Bay Area Visionaries. But, you will always be able to find the full schedule here on my blog. Dates and events change from time to time, and I will keep this current.

Saturdays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29: Los Altos Civic Center Apricot Orchard, 11:30 a.m. "Orchard Entrepreneurs" Orchard Heritage Walks with Robin Chapman for the Los Altos History Museum. Meet behind the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, 94024. The walk will take about 30 minutes, is mostly on paved walkways, and will end at the Museum. Call the Los Altos History Museum with questions: 650-948-9427. 

Juana de la Briones: A Self-Invented California Pioneer

Most of the land owned by Juana Briones--more than 4,000 acres--became the town of Los Altos Hills. But the house she built about 1845 ended up in the city limits of Palo Alto. It was finally razed in 2011. Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Historical Association Archives.

I've recently written a new book called Historic Bay Area Visionaries, which includes the stories of six people from California history I know you will want to meet. They include an Ohlone Indian named Lope Inigo, California pioneer Juana Briones, poet Robert Louis Stevenson, heiress Sarah Winchester, immigrant millionaire Thomas Foon Chew, and silent film star Charlie Chaplin.

When Families Worked Together and Life Was Very Different

Frank White was about eleven years old when his father took this photo of him in front of the family's old car and new home--which came with an apricot orchard--on Covington Road in Los Altos. World War II had just ended and the Whites were making a new start in the Santa Clara Valley.

People will think this story is about apricots. That's because I've written a book about the agricultural history of the Santa Clara Valley and its title is California Apricots: The Lost Orchards of Silicon Valley. The book is partly about apricots, and partly about a time worth remembering.

The Other Winchester House: Landmark Legend and Luxury

The Winchester-Merriman House is the oldest house in Los Altos, California, and was once owned by Sarah Winchester of Winchester Mystery House fame. 

Mrs. Sarah Winchester was a native of New Haven, but left New England after the death of her husband, who was the heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune. She moved to the Santa Clara Valley in California, hoping the mild, sunny climate would be good for her arthritis and gained fame for her fantastic house, now a big tourist attraction in San Jose. It has, however inaccurately, become associated with gossip about Mrs. Winchester's involvement with the occult, something that has never been confirmed by even one bit of verifiable research.

Sarah Winchester is one of six profiles in my upcoming book, Historic Bay Area Visionaries, coming this October from the History Press.

The Story of A Silicon Valley Landmark and its Pioneer History

Halsey House at Redwood Grove Nature Preserve is owned by the City of Los Altos and has been shuttered and unused in the middle of a public park for a decade. The people in this 1920s photo are Theodore and Emma Halsey, among the earliest residents of Los Altos.

What happens when we don't take care of our history? In the case of a local public landmark in my hometown, Halsey House, it has meant a deteriorating building in the middle of a public park, never a good thing.

Apricots in Paradise: Tracing the Roots of a Garden Legacy

It is snowy and cold in many parts of America this time of year. But March, in the San Francisco Bay Area is the time of year our many fruit trees begin to bloom.

I had not intended to spend the rest of my career, after the publication of California Apricots: The Lost Orchards of Silicon Valley (History Press 2013), writing about apricots. It is just that people can't seem get enough information about them. I can certainly understand that.

In fact, I'm working on a new book about six exceptional people who made a difference in California history, from 1769 to 1931. I'm wrapping that manuscript up now and that book should be out this fall, again from History Press.

California's Juana Briones and the Mystery of a Photograph

Descendants of Santa Clara Valley pioneer Juana Briones believe this photograph to be Juana.

Only available through the Point Reyes National Seashore Archive, it may not be used without their permission.

I am working on research for a new book about some exceptional people in California. There have been so many who have lived and worked in the region of the San Francisco Bay Area, long before Silicon Valley. While researching this group, I've uncovered lots of interesting stories.

One of them, Juana Briones, had family who came with the first Spanish-speaking civilians to settle in the San Francisco Bay Area. Juana's mother came to California as a four year old, with Juan Bautista de Anza, settling with her parents in the first pueblo of California, the pueblo of San Jose.

Remembering Rod McKuen (And a Tale Not Yet Told)

Rod McKuen, seen here in a 1960s photo taken for Life Magazine, died this week at the age of 81.

More than a year ago, I came across a copy, on one of my bookshelves, of Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows, a very successful book of poems by Rod McKuen. Curious about this once-famous man, I started nosing about on the Internet to find out what had happened to him. It appeared he was living in quiet retirement in Southern California in a home he shared with his brother. I thought it would be an absolutely delightful thing to find him and interview him again with the idea that his life story would make a fascinating book. 

As often happens with creative impulses we don't pursue, the moment has passed. Rod McKuen died this week at the age of 81.