Big, Brown, Luscious Gams

Courtesy Orange County Mexican
American Historical SocietyStart off your año nuevoby buying the 2005 calendar published by the Orange County Mexican American Historical Society. Sure, the pictures are nothing that would win a Pulitzer—just snapshots of proud families standing in front of their homes; wedding portraits; and a 1947 team photo of Los Tomboys, a championship girls' softball team from Orange with luscious gams as brown and long as their bats. But in these photos emerges the history of a much-maligned, much-ignored community—the Mexican-Americans who put this county on the map by picking the oranges that gave us our fruity name. Accompanying text gives background to the photos by naming the individuals and barrios depicted and even disclosing fascinating historical tidbits—for instance, did you know La Habra native Jessie Flores pitched for the old Philadelphia A's during the 1940s, making Flores the second Orange County native to play big-league ball after Hall of Famer Walter Johnson? The calendar's only limitation is pre-imposed: too few shots. Too bad there are only 12 months in a year—were God just, He'd expand it by a few more just so the Society could cram in another couple of rolls' worth.

—Gustavo Arellano

TO ORDER A COPY OF THE ORANGE COUNTY MEXICAN AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S 2005 CALENDAR, CALL (714) 538-8380, OR VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.OCMAHF.COM.