The Port Chicago Books
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Port Chicago Isn't There Anymore — But We Still Call It Home
This is the story about an American town that isn't there anymore. And why it isn't. And why people still call it home.
The town is — or was — called Port Chicago. My hometown.
The tiny, quiet rural community with the unglamorous name once sat on the Suisun Bay south shore about 35 miles northeast of San Francisco, not far in distance but far in spirit from the bustle of the Bay Area urban sprawl. It was born as Bay Point in 1908 (the name changed to Port Chicago in 1931); it died in 1968. The population never got above 3,000 or so. Main Street was five blocks long.
Introduction, continued
Coming in July 2008
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Dan Colchico: In Defense of Port Chicago
Ken Rand
This is one man's recollection of a troubled time for his family and home, and a brief history of a small town that isn't there anymore.
But it's more.
It's a warning.
A few innocent Americans lost their homes — their entire hometown — to a brutal government juggernaut (prominent weapons included eminent domain, an appeal to blind patriotism, and fear, all still readily available to the government) that swept aside all pleas for logic, prudence, fair play, honesty, decency, and compassion.
It happened to Port Chicago in 1968. It can happen again, today, anywhere. That's the warning.
Media Man! Productions
1-933846-08-9
$6.95 at Ken Rand's Bookstore.
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In Their Own Words: The Port Chicago Letters
Ken Rand
Soon after the Budget Bureau approved the $19.8 million Navy buyout of Port Chicago in early 1967 and until late 1969 when the last residents were gone, many reader letters appeared on editorial pages of Bay Area newspapers remarking on the issue. Most letters came from town supporters; many were boldly engaging in public and political discourse for the first times in their lives. The letters present, in the words of those most affected, the emotional trauma of losing their community, their home. The letters are reprinted here unedited.
"...gut-wrenching...This small booklet is a firsthand account of the emotional, physical and financial loss suffered by the people of Port Chicago."— Marti Aiello
Historian, Pittsburg Historical Society Museum.
