Neva Carpenter was born in El Cerrito in June 1928, in the upstairs bedroom of the house (still standing today) which her father built. Back then, the hills were bare, open fields hemmed the town, and at night, residents fell asleep to cheers from the greyhound racetrack. Her memoir about growing up in the 1930s and ‘40s offers a vivid, entertaining, and moving look at daily life in a bygone El Cerrito. The book is out of print, but you can download a copy by clicking right here.

Our book discussion at 2p.m. on March 29th will be followed on Saturday, April 5th, at 1 p.m. by a guided walk, co-hosted by the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers and the Historical Society, to some of the locations mentioned in the memoir. Stay tuned about details about where to meet on Saturday, April 5th!