History of Mather Field Told Through Photographs

Dec. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series is Mather Field from the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of Mather Field’s contributions to aviation.

Born from America’s need to train aviators for the Great War, Mather Field has sat sentinel to the east of Sacramento for nearly a century. Overnight, the base transformed a lonely domain of cattle and vineyards into an aerie where fledgling “man-birds” were taught to fly and kill.

Although readapted during the interwar period to concerns of fire control and mail delivery Mather still inspired, as evidenced by the 1930 Air Corps maneuvers. World War II renewed Mather, as training bomber crews and repatriating veterans of the Pacific war were primary responsibilities for what was becoming a self-sustaining city of churches, schools and burgeoning neighborhoods.

Highlights from Mather Field:
•   A portion of the profits from the sale of the book are being donated to the Sacramento Public Library.
•   A majority of America’s military navigators were trained at Mather from fall 1941 until April 1993.
•   Many images included in the book are the works of world-renowned Sacramento artist Wayne Tiebaud.
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.

# # #

With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.