“I’ve wanted to do a book on the history of
the valley,” said Chris Bashforth, executive director
for the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society Museum.
“We
really anticipate that this is going to be a sought after book and will include
many photographs that people haven’t seen in years.”
The
book will feature photographs from all five towns in the valley, including
Santa Ynez, Ballard, Los Olivos, Solvang and
Buellton. Captions also will accompany the photographs.
The
book will feature the work of Curt Cragg, a local
archivist, and Tom Moore. Cragg has created a
pictorial book about the City of Buellton and Moore has also authored similar
projects about Carpinteria and Ojai. He also
co-authored “Cattle on a 1,000 Hills,” a photographic book depicting the early
ranching days in the valley.
“I
think this project is going to be great. I think people will really enjoy
seeing pictures of all the different towns,” Cragg
said. “It will be an interesting story about how all these towns sprouted up.”
Moore
shares Cragg’s sentiment about the project.
“I’m
real enthusiastic about it … I’ve done a couple of these books already and I’ve
had a real good time doing them,” he said. “They are a lot of fun.”
The
idea of the book was derived from the historical society’s desire to present a
pictorial historical book about the various towns that make up the valley and Cragg’s and Moore’s previous projects.
The
historical society contracted with Arcadia Publishing Company in December to
design and publish the book. It will be featured as part of Arcadia’s “Images
of America” series.
Although
the historical society will be using photos from its archived collection, it is
seeking the community’s help in compiling other authentic pictures that show
what valley life used to be like. It is asking residents to scour their
shoeboxes, albums and any photos tucked away in files and bring it to the
historical society for inclusion in the book.
“We
want to share the valley’s photographic collection housed by the SYVHS and
we’re looking for the community to be part of this process,” Bashforth said.
The
historical society will be holding a Community Photo Weekend to jump-start
collecting photos. The event will provide community members with an opportunity
to have their photos included in the book. Staff members will scan selected
photos and will also offer to make a digital copy of the selected photos.
People
who wish to donate their originals to the museum’s archive are encouraged to do
so. The event will take place Feb. 9 and 10, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., at the
historical society museum, 3596 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez.
“I
suspect that there’s a ton of stuff in people’s personal collections and I hope
that the museum is able to get to add some of the digitized pictures to its
collection,” Moore said.
“I
know that photos fade and deteriorate over time, and I think they’re an
irreplaceable resource. I just hope people will participate in preserving them
and making then available for the future.”