Authors create local histories

Arcadia Publishing is best known for its familiar series of "Images of America" books, with their sepia-toned covers and collections of historical photos preserving civic pride in our country. Three local authors were on hand Saturday evening at Paulina Springs Books to share pictures and anecdotes on this area's treasured past in support of the two newest books in Arcadia's catalog -"Bend" and "Redmond."

Les Joslin, president of the Deschutes County Historical Society, was contacted by Arcadia on the strength of his book, "Bend: 100 Years Of History," published to commemorate Bend's centennial in 2005. The book benefitted from the massive collection of historical photos housed by the Des Chutes Historical Museum.

"They called and asked if we'd like to turn this into one of their books. It sounded like a good thing."

Arcadia has strict formatting guidelines necessary to ensure consistency and uniformity.

Joslin's task was condensing his 144-page book down to a 128-page format, the exact length of every "Images of America" book.

Authors Trish Pinkerton and Leslie Pugmire Hole, longtime journalists with the Redmond Spokesman newspaper, spent years compiling material for the "Redmond" book from newspapers, personal family collections, and dusty files of local historical societies.

Both books are filled with dramatic time-capsules of Central Oregon, with images of loggers, forestry rangers, fur trappers, rodeo stars and timber barons. Festive boulevards and dry sage trails populated with pioneers compete for attention beside intimate holiday moments and remembrances of fire and tragedy common to us all.

"There is talk of possibly a Sisters book for the Images of America series," says Joslin, who also teaches Forestry and Wilderness Management through the OSU Cascade Campus in Bend. "I think there's a need for it. It would take a comprehensive photo collection and a group of people to accurately interpret and identify each photograph, then get it formatted correctly. It's a lot of work and takes patience, but careful preservation of our history is vital."

Images of America: "Bend" and "Redmond" are available online or at local bookstores.