It has been almost four years since The Cabins of Wilsonia was published. This summer it occurred to me that the local libraries, both in Tulare and Fresno counties ought to have copies.

I called the Tulare Co. library not knowing who to speak with, and the one who returned my call was my old friend Carol from Redwood High School, class of ’77. We see each other occasionally, and it is great fun to have that old connection. She said to send a couple of books to the library so the review committee could decide if it would be beneficial. I was able to take them to the local branch and have the inter-library delivery service get them in the right hands.

Then. . . crickets. . . 

Two months later I called Carol and asked her who to talk to. She sent me to Jonathan, someone I would have had no way of reaching through the library’s phone tree. (See? Who You Know always matters!)

Jonathan and I had a great conversation about cabins, cabin communities and Wilsonia. His next door neighbor in his hometown had a cabin in Wilsonia! He told me the man’s last name, and I sent him to page 117. He can’t remember if this was the cabin or not, but will ask his former neighbor when he sees him next.

We also discussed cabin leases, learned that we had both worked at Hartland Camp, and he told me of a book coming out soon about Big Creek, a Southern California Edison mountain community near Shaver Lake. I have several friends who grew up there, so I am interested in that book.

Stories, connections, things in common. . . 

. . . and pretty soon, or maybe even by the date of this blog post, The Cabins of Wilsonia will be available through the Tulare County Library System.

P.S. I LOVE libraries and grew up with the Ivanhoe Library as my primary source of books. The first time I went into the Visalia Library, I was beyond thrilled!