Betsy J. Green - Movies & Million-Dollar Mansions, Behind the Scenes at the "Flying A," Silents on the Islands, Way Back When: SB in 1924

My newest book for 2023!

A century ago, silent movie actors and film crews appeared on the streets and countryside of Santa Barbara - often without warning.
Local papers and national movie magazines published stories of their adventures - and misadventures - gathered in this publication for the first time.

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Sit back and relax as we time-travel back to Santa Barbara a century ago with a sampling of stories from my Way Back When series of books that describe interesting and humorous aspects of life in Santa Barbara one year at a time.

Books

Local history & humor

But wait! There's more!

The best stories of 1918 include: wild storms, the Montecito Country Club opening, "Flying A" movies, the Lockheeds' flights, sauerkraut becomes "Liberty Cabbage," fire & flood worries, the circus arrives, the El Encanto Hotel opening, a solar eclipse, Life magazine cartoons, the Spanish Flu, pelicans making news, SB High School photos, victory gardens, draftees going off to war, and a special memorial page remembering the fallen of WWI. $14.95

Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1917

The fourth book in the series of fun and interesting news in Santa Barbara 100 years ago. Still only $9.95.

Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1916

The third in the series of history & humor books about Santa Barbara's history -- one year at a time. $9.95

Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1915

More tales of the wacky and weird events in SB taken from the local newspapers. $9.95

Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1914

Tales of everyday life in Santa Barbara 100 years ago, told with wit and humor. $9.95

Local history

MESApedia

MESApedia is the first comprehensive history of Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood, containing more than 400 entries and images, portraying life on the Mesa in the 1800s.

Images of America: Western Springs, Illinois

A photographic history tracing the development of a village just west of Chicago.

How-to

Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood

"Could be a runaway bestseller!"

--Old-House Journal

Quick Links

Movies & Million-Dollar Mansions, Behind the Scenes at the "Flying A," Silents on the Islands, Way Back When: SB in 1924

Way Back When in Santa Barbara -- March 8, 1918

March 24, 2018

Image: New York Public Library

Way Back When - March 8, 1918 -- 100 years ago today, a rainstorm caused a landslide on Ortega Hill that buried the train tracks there. “The track in this section was covered for over 100 feet under an immense pile of dirt,” according to the Santa Barbara Morning Press.