eBook

Traci Bliss is an emerita professor of education with a BA, MA and PhD from Stanford. She also holds an MPA from the LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin. Continuing the theme of historically significant public land in California, her most recent book is Big Basin Redwood Forest—California! Oldest State Park.

Randall Brown, a Santa Cruz County Distinguished Historian, co-authored with Traci Bliss the best-selling Santa Cruz’s Seabright. Brown, a graduate of Wesleyan University, serves as a featured history columnist for the San Lorenzo Valley Post. He is the author of The San Lorenzo Valley Water District: A History.

THE RESTORATION OF EVERGREEN CEMETERY 5 MINUTE VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRw2wc5b1qw WON THE SPIRIT OF ACTION AWARD FROM THE 2022 SANTA CRUZ FILM FESTIVAL

Created in 1858, the Evergreen Cemetery is designated as a place of historical interest in California. The land was a gift from the Imus family, the author’s ancestors, and open to everyone regardless of race or religion. Among the adventurers and entrepreneurs buried at Evergreen is London Nelson, an emancipated slave turned farmer who bequeathed his land to the local schools, women who defied Victorian-era stereotypes, Chinese residents who held fast to their cherished traditions and Mattias Lorenzana from one of Santa Cruz’s oldest families. Professor Emerita Traci Bliss, with historian Randall Brown, brings to life these and many other individuals interred at Evergreen. She also chronicles the cemetery’s continuing restoration by unrelenting volunteers.

“Traci Bliss with Randall Brown Examines an Extraordinary History and Restoration in the Relaunch of the Book “Evergreen Cemetery of Santa Cruz”

To the motivational speaker, author, and preacher, Miles Munroe: “The wealthiest place in the world is not the gold mines of South America or the oil fields of Iraq or Iran. They are not the diamond mines of South Africa or the banks of the world. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery. There lie buried companies that were never started, inventions that were never made, bestselling books that were never written, and masterpieces that were never painted. In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”

Traci Bliss with Randall Brown speak on the reality of this passage as they highlight one of the most storied and beloved landmarks. In the book “Evergreen Cemetery of Santa Cruz,” the authors bring to life the tragedies and triumphs of diverse individuals who helped shape the city and its values that endure today.

The Evergreen Cemetery, founded in 1858, served as the last resting place for many of the region’s earliest settlers, entrepreneurs, and artists. The property was given by the Imus family of cattle ranchers who had narrowly avoided the tragedy of the Donner Party more than a decade before. Along with these pre-gold rush California pioneers, the community buried several notables including London Nelson, an emancipated slave who became a farmer and donated his property to the city schools. Also interred at the Cemetery is journalist Belle Dormer, who wrote about President Benjamin Harrison’s visit to Santa Cruz and its world-famous redwoods and businessman Wong Kee, a tireless leader of the town’s Chinese community.

Traci Bliss, Ph.D., who serves on Santa Cruz’s Historic Preservation Commission, and Randall Brown, a Santa Cruz County Distinguished Historian unfold an epic saga. With Evergreen Cemetery as the background, they celebrate the theme of commitment to community from 1858 to the present. The educational and entertaining book, called a page turner by local media, deserves the high praises it has incurred before its relaunch.

Casey Tefertiller, author of “Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend” (A New York Times Notable Book of the Year) has this to say about the book:

“This wonderful slice of western history is more than the story of a cemetery; it tells the adventure of the American frontier. Immigrants from around the world made their journey West and author Traci Bliss weaves their unique stories together giving life to the past that is a treat to read.”

Learn more than just the history of a landmark. Get your copy.”

https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=284038