It’s been more than 20 years since Michele Zack completed her illustrated hard-cover history book on Altadena, but the work she was commissioned to write two decades ago continues to have a big impact on a community proud to share and embrace its unique history.
The original edition of Zack’s book “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City,” which was published in 2004, sold out. Originally commissioned by the Altadena Historical Society, after the Eaton fire it became a highly sought-after piece this year.
“It’s one good thing that came out of the fire,” Zack joked about its sudden success, though she and her husband lost their own home in the disaster, along with thousands of others in the unincorporated area.
On Sunday, Dec. 14, Zack was the featured guest at the Altadena Heritage Holiday Gathering, where copies of her reprinted book were for sale.
“It’s pretty much a facsimile addition,” she said, though they’ve added both a publisher and author’s notes, as well as some additional photos of Altadena post-fire.
Like many at the gathering, Mary Landau, a longtime resident and local historian, actually lost her original copy of Zack’s book in the fire.
“That’s the book that she signed for me on my birthday in the community garden that was burned up,” Landau said. “It broke my heart. It’s got a lot of the pictures of the homes that burned.”
She was thrilled to get a new copy of the book on Sunday, also taking time to chat with Zack.
“I have really enjoyed her book,” Landau said. “I’ve gotten a lot of insights out of it. Many of the facts I know are from the book.”
Landau was one of many people who enjoyed engaging with Zack during the gathering. Many were longtime friends, as well as residents who shared in the history of Altadena, some of whom had also lost their homes, position, and their original copies of the book.
“Ours burned up,” resident Phillip Arroyo told Zack as they chatted.
Likewise, Zack said she herself had four copies of the original book, all of which were destroyed.
“They were out of print for 10 or 15 years and the demand for it never went away, but they never got around to publishing it,” Zack said. “But I would say that the fire kind of lit a fire.”
Zack wrote in her new author’s note that the most visible change to the area in the 21st century has been the economic shift remaking Altadena west of Lake Avenue.
“Lincoln crossing, millions in investment, the greening of Woodbury corridor, addition of street trees, two parks, a remodeled branch library, elimination of blight, and the negative label of ‘food desert’ — have attracted an influx of younger families,” she wrote.
“But the bulk of the book is exactly what was published,” Zack said. “I really covered everything up through the big changes that happened in Altadena in terms of convulsive racial change, through the sixties and the eighties, and brought it up to when we had our new community center, I think in 2003 or 2004. That was where it was cut off, so the last 25 years haven’t really been covered.”
Zack’s husband, Mark Goldschmidt, remembered her working on the book. Progress on finding the graphics, however, delayed its release for another six months. During that time, Goldschmidt said, Zack continued to refine the narrative, bringing deeper research and more insights to the story.
“In that six months I think the book got better,” he said. “It got richer with that extra time.”
Following that project, Zack delved deeper into history, moving from general journalism into research and recording of the past.
“It really changed my life in terms of my interest and my professional direction,” Zack said. “I became all history all of the time. I was a journalist before and I was interested in history, but as journalist I covered so many different things.”
The experience, along with the return back home after living abroad in Thailand for a number of years, also motivated Zack to get more involved with her community. A native of Canada who grew up in Pasadena, she wanted to have more civic engagement, ultimately serving on the Town Council as we as becoming active with Altadena Heritage.
“So this book changed everything for me in a very good way and I was no spring chicken, in my fifties, and it opened a new epic of my life,” Zack said.
Shé Shé Yancy, a 70-year resident of Altadena, fifth generation, whose father Isaac Walker was the city’s first black pharmacist in the area, was very excited to get a copy of Zack’s book in hand.
“I just think it’s the most wonderful thing, because we have to keep documenting the history of our beautiful, eclectic Altadena,” she said. “It’s such a unique place.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.