Voices of the Golden West

About the Book

This California Story Project began by asking Huntington Beach college students to tell the story of how they or a family member first came to live in California. The project grew to include story writers from the communities of coastal Orange County. The stories are arranged chronologically, and they tell the tale of a changing state throughout the twentieth century to the present day.

This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities as part of the Council's statewide California Stories Initiative. The Council is an independent non-profit organization and a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information on the Council and the California Stories Initiative, visit www.californiastories.org.

About the Author

The writers are residents of Orange County, California, who participated in a California Story Initiative grant funded by the California Council on the Humanities. This particular project was based at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. Sylvia Worden, project leader and editor, asked college students and residents of the communities surrounding Golden West College to write the story of how they came to California. Writers who were California natives told the story of the first person in their family to come to California. The writers ranged from college students to senior citizens, and from English language learners to retired professional editors. A group of blind writers from the Braille Center of Anaheim were among the most enthusiastic participants.