History - Regional

This is a must-read book. Learn about the history of a Latino tournament that reunited the community through the game of basketball every year. The richness of the Latino flavor doesn’t get any better.

In 1986, Victor Alvarado founded the Oregon Latino Basketball Tournament in Woodburn, Oregon. After the fifth year, the tournament paused for five years. Anthony Veliz revived this mega event and continued what Victor had started. The tournament continued for ten more years under Anthony’s leadership, then Rolando Ramirez stepped up as the director for the next thirteen years. The challenges and successes are incredible. This annual event must continue for the younger generations.

The tournament started with ten teams, then grew to thirty-six teams! Latinos and Latinas were motivated to play their best to showcase their talents. Many went on to play college basketball, and some even professionally. Inspiring Latino stories and more are inside. The resiliency is extraordinary.

The festivities, authentic Mexican food, and exciting games were so inspiring that this became like a family reunion every year in March. Relationships were built and memories were developed to where they had become life-long lasting.

The small communities located in south eastern St. Louis County began as individual communities. They are all rich in history. As the journey throughout the decades continues, businesses, schools, and churches close. Rather than give up, the communities begin merging with one another. One centrally located school was built and churches began working together as a 5-point parish. The little towns have not vanished they have simply become a part of a larger community.

A comprehensive, scholarly work. The first of its kind on the unique African American population of a major American city.

Torrential rains marked the first day of summer for the small city of Brookston, located approximately 30 miles west of Duluth, Minnesota. Families evacuated throughout the day mostly by boat after the water became too high for 4x4 pick-up trucks. The only time the city bustles with activity is on the 4th of July but the June Monsoon brought spectators, good Samaritans, and work crews. Two weeks later the city was bustling with activity again as everyone took a much needed break to celebrate the 4th of July. The rest of the long humid summer and autumn was a lot of hard work with the goal of being back into their homes before winter.

Life’s Journey is a book about small communities in Minnesota that began in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the beginning Brookston, Alborn, Burnett, Culver, and the surrounding areas were separate communities with the railroad being the main connection between them. There were Indian trails and wagon trails but travel was still difficult. Travel became easier as roads and bridges were built. Over time when the one-room schoolhouses were closed, the schools brought the communities together. The journey took the settlers through the devastating 1918 fire, the Spanish Influenza outbreak, the World Wars, and of course the Great Depression. In spite of hardships there was still time for family, friends, and neighbors. Life’s Journey takes you through years of changing lifestyles.