Costco to Host Book Signing for Local Vancouver WA Authors

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Nov. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- Pearson Field, part of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, is one of the oldest continually operating airfields in the United States. From the first arrival of an airship in 1905 and the flying of a plane off the Multnomah Hotel in 1912, Pearson has achieved numerous aviation milestones. The first official interstate airmail landed here in 1912, and during World War I it was the site of the world’s largest spruce mill. Pearson was selected to serve as Portland’s first airmail terminal, and two of America’s most notable women pilots—Dorothy Hester and Edith Foltz—first took to the skies from the bustling Vancouver field. Pearson was also in the world spotlight when the 1937 Soviet transpolar flight landed in 1937. After 100 years, Pearson continues to serve as one of the region’s preeminent general aviation centers.

Author Bill Alley, a certified archivist and historian, retired Curator and Manager of the Pearson Air Museum and, in addition to numerous articles on aviation, also penned the script for the award-winning documentary An Air-Minded City.

The story of Mount St. Helens is that of an active volcano and human interaction with it. The mountain is culturally important to the regional native people. Its Cowlitz name, Lawetlat’la, means “Person From Whom Smoke Comes.” Early European settlers saw opportunities to make a living from the natural resources, and people fell in love with the forested valleys and slopes of the glacier-clad peak with the blue lake at its foot. Forgotten were the eruptions of the 19th century and the fact that the landscape was a product of frequent violent explosions. A report from the 1970s reminded locals that Mount St. Helens is an active volcano and could erupt again before the end of the 20th century. Only a few people at that time were aware of what the mountain was capable of, and many were surprised at the events that took place in 1980.

David A. Anderson has been photographing Mount St. Helens for many years and is a volunteer at the Mount St. Helens Institute. With photographs from public and private collections, many previously unpublished, his book illustrates what the Mount St. Helens area was like before, during, and after the eruption of May 18, 1980.

Join the Authors for a Book Signing!

Where:  Costco

6720 NE 8^th Street, Vancouver WA 98665

When: Saturday, November 16^th, 2013; 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888)-313-2665.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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Pearson Field: Pioneering Aviation in Vancouver and Portland

by Bill Alley

Images of America series

128 pages/ softcover

Published: June 5, 2006

Mount St. Helens

by David A. Anderson

Images of America Series

128 pages/ softcover

Published: October 21, 2013