Over 80 poems from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works about love and war, ships and the sea, farms and family, life and death, heaven and hell.

Reginald--better known as "Dutch"--Thompson is a multi-faceted storyteller with unforgettable voices--those of Roy from Murray Harbour North, Adelaide from Bunbury, Gus from Chepstow, and countless others--to tell the stories of the Bygone days in Prince Edward Island [sometimes NS, too]. Stories that, without Dutch's talent and care, might be remembered only by family and close friends or lost altogether. Remember when the train ran from tip to tip and along all the small branches, taking goods, people, and baseball teams to other parts of the Island? How about when ice cream and two pieces of cakes cost 10 cents at White's Ice Cream Parlour on Kent Street? When lobster was not the gourmet's delight it is now and the backs were used to fertilize the crops? That butchering the pig before a full moon will mean less fat on the meat? Or that it was bad luck to cut your nails on Sundays. From CBC Radio to the pages of this book, you'll hear Dutch's voice encouraging these informative, illuminating, poignant, and hilarious stories from the minds and hearts of Maritimers born between 1895 and 1925, almost as if they were all still here and telling them to you.

The world in which I was born was so different, that if somebody were to be transported through time into that bygone epoque, that person would think that had arrived on another planet.

The manuscript is a collection of short stories that were originally prepared as part of a radio program that began in the early 1980's as a summer informational and educational program for Tahoe area residents and tourists. Between 1982 and 1985 the author presented more than one hundred radio tales about Tahoe’s history and the environment over Tahoe radio station KTHO AM-590. Lane returned to the radio airways in 1995, this time with radio station KOWL AM-1490, and has since broadcast more than two thousand tales (“Don Lane’s Tales of Tahoe”). The manuscript is a distinctive mixture of stories about the events, large and small, that shaped and changed the region, and simple stories about the people that once lived in our region during the past 150-years. Stories about pioneer men and women, gold-seekers and adventurers. Tales about the unique characters; the famous like the Donner’s, Mark Twain, John Sutter and James Marshall, and John Fremont, along with the powerful and the forgotten. The manuscript weaves serious history with light-hearted tales with a minimum of editorializing, as the emphasis has been on maintaining historical integrity and authenticity. The stories, gathered from old journals, archives and historical records are both entertaining, and educational. And hopefully too, this manuscript will contribute to an increased awareness of our regional history and a greater appreciation for those people that have been lost inside the pages of history.

Though a relatively young city, San Ramon has history stretching back to California's founding. Ohlone Indians first inhabited the area before rancheros grazed the land more than a century ago. Drawn by the Gold Rush, pioneers and prospectors settled the place promoters labeled a "Garden of Eden." Diversified farming of the valley, full of orchards and plentiful fields, sustained the rural population. Sitting in the shadow of historic Mount Diablo, San Ramon is a growing city recognized for its extraordinary parks, schools and active citizenry. Local author Beverly Lane brings to life San Ramon's vibrant past.