For over 100 years, Huntington Beach, a.k.a. "Surf City, USA," has come to represent the true beach culture of Southern California. Originally called Pacific City, it was when railroad magnate Henry Huntington first ran his train line down in 1904 from Los Angeles, approximately 40 miles north, that the then-quaint beach town took on the name that made it famous around the state and around the world. In 1914, the legendary George Freeth put on a surfing exhibition the day the city's vaunted concrete pier was opened, which christened Huntington Beach as a soon-to-be surfing mecca. It became a boomtown after oil was discovered in 1920 and, several decades later, morphed once again into a cradle of aerospace engineering when companies such as Boeing arrived. Throughout its tumultuous and dramatic history, Huntington Beach has always boasted a cast of colorful and profound characters. From the first mayor, Ed Manning, to Medal of Honor-recipient Chris Carr, from the Zamboni family (who invented the ice-cleaning machine) to baseball star Jeff Kent: the list is almost endless. But it is not just professional athletes, actors, and rock stars; it is the teachers, crossing guards, merchants, and activists that give Huntington Beach its well-earned reputation as one of the most interesting and charismatic cities in the state.

Drawn by extravagant promises of "a beautiful village of 500 inhabitants, studded with orange trees and grapevines," the Hammond family arrived in Encinitas in 1883 only to find that advertisements had rather overstated the case. Undeterred, these 11 English settlers remained and, in doing so, doubled the town's population overnight. Subsequent pioneers brought wide-ranging talents to this fledgling California coastal town--none more so than the Ecke dynasty, whose flower fields established Encinitas as the poinsettia capital of the world. Today, the city encompasses five distinct communities, and while it boasts many famous celebrities, it is the ordinary folk whose passion and daring have made Encinitas the place their forebears long ago envisaged.

This book delves into the history of some of the unique individuals and groups, past and present, who have made a memorable impact on their community throughout its history.

San Onofre: Memories of a Legendary Surfing Beach is a landmark achievement in the study of surfing history and culture from its origins in Polynesia, Peru, and Africa, to the role that San Onofre played in molding California surf culture.San Onofre is the story of the California surfing culture as seen through the eyes of the surfers at San Onofre Surf Beach. Pioneer surfers tell their own story of the Golden Age of Surfing and illustrate their tales with never-before-seen vintage photographs from their own family albums. Their stories offer a priceless collection of primary source data for future studies of the sport.

Since forming in 1889, Orange County, California has become famous all over the world for being home to such popular attractions as Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But there are also many other places that helped establish the county as not just a popular tourist destination, but also home to countless cultural landmarks that served the local communities for generations. Stretching across the 34 cities that comprise “The OC,” Lost Landmarks of Orange County brings back fabulous memories of music venues, restaurants, theaters, theme parks, attractions, and more. Everybody knows the aforementioned Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, but Orange County was also home to Lion Country Safari, the California Alligator farm, the Buffalo Ranch, Japanese Deer Park, Movieland Wax Museum, the Orange County International Speedway, and many other large-scale attractions. Concert venues including the Golden Bear, Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, and the Cuckoo’s Nest, which all featured some of the biggest names in rock and roll and popular music. Tiki bars, airports, drive-in movie theaters, themed restaurants . . . these were the places where generations of OC natives and visitors from around the world created memories that would last a lifetime. Today, all of these locations are gone, but utilizing firsthand accounts, rare photos, artifacts, and other resources, Lost Landmarks of Orange County keeps the colorful memories of Orange County’s past alive.

The remoteness and isolation of North Carolina's northern Outer Banks has shaped both early settlers and relative newcomers into tough and independent souls. Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists may have mysteriously disappeared from Roanoke Island, but the enterprising homesteaders who followed managed to eke out a living on the windswept and battered banks. Entrepreneur E.R. Daniels ran a line of mail and freight boats that helped connect the Outer Banks to the outside world. Former slave and Civil War hero Richard Etheridge did not shirk from an opportunity to become the first black keeper of a lifesaving station. In the mid-20th century, leaders like Bradford Fearing saw the importance of developing tourism, so that people would come see Paul Green's new outdoor drama, The Lost Colony. Outer Bankers have warmly welcomed visitors, from the time the Wright brothers arrived to today's modern tourists. The challenge now is to balance commercial growth with environmental sensibility so that oystermen, like Georgie Daniels, and fishermen, like Dewey Hemilwright, can continue to ply the waters.

Amid the tourist bustle in the biggest beach city in Orange County, hometown personalities and their stories are Chris Epting's business. As a widely published author and columnist for the "Huntington Beach Independent," Epting has covered the famous and not-so-famous, the local people, places and events of Surf City's beachscapes and street scenes with a reporter's curiosity, a historian's exactitude and an ambassador's pride. "Huntington Beach Chronicles" offers a diverse collection of stories about the everyday people and extraordinary events that have woven together a community with a charm and character unlike any other.