Occidental Center for the Arts (OCA) hosted a virtual book launch on April 11 for “Occidental (Images of America)”, created by Barbra Gonnella, Mary Pozzi, and Bob Dougherty.

The free event began at 4 p.m. on the OCA’s YouTube channel and remains available to anyone interested.  

“Union Hotel proprietor Barbra Gonnella and educator Mary Pozzi worked with author Bob Dougherty and local historians to create this visual history of Occidental. Many unpublished photographs are drawn from Gonnella’s and other private collections as a tribute to the pioneers of this unique community,” reads the book description.

The event began with local writer and artist Marylu Downing sharing an excerpt from her novel “Tales from the West Pole”. For the remainder of the event, owner of the Occidental Union Hotel and Sonoma State University alumni, Barbra Gonnella was joined by Sonoma County historian, Gaye LeBaron, in a discussion on the history of Occidental.   

Occidental, a small town in West Sonoma County, became home to many European settlers in 1849. The book itself mainly focuses on the first 50 formative years of the town, from around 1875 to 1925, beginning in the early 1870’s when Italian immigrants first began arriving in the town.

“Probably one of the greatest inspirations for the book, along with memories, were the fact that our ancestors had the courage to immigrate to Occidental,” said Gonnella, “I believe we are so blessed to live in this exquisite setting, to be surrounded by lovely people and wonderful cuisine.” 

Many of the images used in the book were found by Gonnella in the Union Hotel which was built in 1879 and has been in her family since 1925, “The Union is such a hub for history, I’m so grateful to have a lot of pictures and articles to honor those who have come before us,” said Gonnella in an article for the PacificSun.

Each image published in the book is accompanied with a short description of the history and significance of that image. The virtual event shared many of these images as their stories were told by Gonnela and LeBaron.

“The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today,” reads the back cover of the book. 

At least 90 viewers were in attendance for the initial release of the pre-recorded virtual book premier, with some leaving comments stating how much they enjoyed and appreciated the images being shared and the conversation between Gonnella and LeBaron.   

The book was first released in September of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there had not been a book release party, until the OCA offered to host one. Today, copies of the book can be found online or at the Union Hotel.