Flowing through the heart of Cincinnati to the Ohio River, the Mill Creek is one of the most severely polluted & physically degraded urban streams in the United States. The book is a valuable case study on how human activity & land use impact water resources over time. It chronicles the stream's environmental history, beginning with a description of the creek's geological past & its pristine ecosystem in the early 1700s. The author examines the environmental impacts of forest clearcutting by early settlers, of industrialization & of channelization of the creek by the Army Corps of Engineers. The book ends with a summary of present day environmental problems & outlines a restoration strategy for repairing the damage. "This book will become the foundation for restoration work ahead & provides a model for people working to reclaim other streams in cities in crisis across the United States," said Paul Labovitz, Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program, National Park Service. "This volume will be useful to students in a variety of disciplines, including history, environmental & urban history, political science, regional & city planning, biology & to general readers concerned with environmental issues," said Zane L. Miller, Professor of History & Director, Center for Neighborhood & Community Studies, University of Cincinnati. Order from RUMCRP, Two Centennial Plaza #610, 805 Central Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45202; (513) 352-1588.

Vivian Gibson grew up in Mill Creek, a neighborhood of St. Louis razed in 1955 to build a highway. Her family, friends, church community, and neighbors were all displaced by urban renewal. In this moving memoir, Gibson recreates the every day lived experiences of her family, including her college-educated mother, who moved to St. Louis as part of the Great Migration, her friends, shop owners, teachers, and others who made Mill Creek into a warm, tight-knit, African-American community, and reflects upon what it means that Mill Creek was destroyed by racism and "urban renewal."

Sim Moak (b. 1845) left Albany, New York, to join his older brothers in California in 1863 and settled in the town of Chico. The last of the Mill Creeks (1923) offers Moak's anecdotes of California during the Civil War around Chico, with special attention to hostile relations with Native Americans, the status of Chinese immigrants, and incidents of crime and hangings through the 1870s.

The sensational New York Times bestseller The Mill River Recluse reminds us that friendship, family, and love can come from the most unexpected places. Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy. From the outside, Mill River looks like any sleepy little Vermont town where everyone knows everyone and people never need to lock their doors. There are newcomers for whom this appeals, from police officer Kyle Hansen and his daughter Rowen, who are starting over after heartache, to Claudia Simon, the schoolteacher who is determined to reinvent herself. But on closer inspection, there are those in Mill River—including a stealthy arsonist, a covetous nurse, and a pilfering priest—who have things they wish to hide. None more than the widow Mary McAllister, who for the past sixty years has secluded herself in her marble mansion overlooking the town. Most of the residents have never even seen the peculiar woman. Only the priest, Father O’Brien, knows the deep secrets that keep Mary isolated—and that, once revealed, will forever change the community. Praise for The Mill River Recluse “[Darcie] Chan’s sweet novel displays her talent. . . . A comforting book about the random acts of kindness that hold communities together.”—Kirkus Reviews “A heartwarming story.”—Examiner “A real page-turner.”—IndieReader

The Great River Adventure Tom Austin, Paul Ford and Vera Smith are looking for an adventure. A story told by Gramps inspires them to build a raft and float it down the river; in search of buried treasure. Finding stolen money and being held captive by bank robbers was the last thing they were looking for. When they're forced at gunpoint to take the bank robbers downriver, things get real exciting. Knowing there's a water fall not to far beyond Waterville, Tom tries to convince the two bank robbers their idea is a bad one. The bank robbers think he's trying to pull a trick on them and force him to continue downriver right towards the falls and certain death. Join the Mill Creek kids in The Great River Adventure and find out how they learn to trust God with their lives. Tom resides in upstate New York with his wife Vera. They have worked together in children's ministries for the last twenty-four years. Tom has written several Mill Creek Kids short stories for the children he and Vera teach in their children's church class. The children have enjoyed the short stories so much that Tom decided to write a collection of full-length Mill Creek kids stories.