Images of America: CALAVERAS BIG TREES

by Carol Kramer & Calaveras Big Trees Association, Arcadia Publishers

Book Review by Craig MacDonald

If you've ever been lucky enough to stand amidst the towering Calaveras Big Trees, you probably were in absolute awe of their immense size & the stillness that surrounds them. There's literally nothing like them on earth. They are the largest living trees and grow only along the western slope of California's Sierra Nevada Range.

"They're known as redwoods because of their reddish bark colors," writes Historian Carol Kramer & the Calaveras Big Trees Association in "Calaveras Big Trees." "You're able to walk the quiet trails among these giants & marvel at their immense beauty because of countless individuals, who worked tirelessly to ensure they would be here for people to enjoy for generations to come."

She details many of the people who saved the trees and created Calaveras Big Trees State Park, northeast of Stockton, 4 miles northeast of Arnold on Highway 4. More than 250,000 tourists check it out each year. If you have never been there, you should visit it. You'll see its incredible beauty in the old photos from Calaveras Big Trees State Park Archives, Oldtimers Museum (Murphys), Calaveras County Historical Society, County Archives and other sources.

There are all sorts of interesting tidbits, including a photo of Amon Tanner driving the first horse-drawn rig to the big trees on April 23, 1911, right after the Winter. In the tradition of Snowshoe Thompson, Tanner was known to sometimes deliver mail on skis. As soon as possible in the Spring, he would break a road into the Calaveras grove of big trees with horses & rig.

There's a portrait of Desire Friscot, the force behind the final push to save the mammoth trees, which can be 30 feet in diameter and as tall as the Statue of Liberty. A few of the other heroes, include The Calaveras Grove Association, Save Redwoods League.

This reviewer highly recommends the book for not only its spectacular pictures but to learn the unbelievable effort it took to save the big trees from being cut down. We indeed should THANK everyone who helped preserve them to create one of California's most memorable parks.