Names of Note: Novelist sets new book during heyday of Modesto-area peach canneries
The Riverbank Historical Society will host the May 17 release of a novel set in the heyday of the area’s fruit canning industry.
“The Peach Rebellion” is the latest work by Wendelin Van Draanen and is aimed at readers 12 and older. She will be on hand at the society’s museum, 3237 Santa Fe St., from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Book sale proceeds that evening will go to the group.
Van Draanen has written more than 30 novels and is perhaps best known for “Flipped,” made into a 2010 movie by Rob Reiner.
“The Peach Rebellion” is about three girlhood friends in 1947. One is the child of a peach farmer, another the daughter of a banker. The third is one of the Dust Bowl migrants who found fruit-picking work in the area. They face challenges as men return from World War II to resume their jobs in the canneries.
“With ‘The Peach Rebellion,’ I wanted to create a compelling story that would have the reader walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” the author said in a society news release. “My hope for this book is that it will bridge divides.”
Van Draanen previously taught high school in Santa Maria and lives on the Central Coast. Her husband, writer Mark Hundley Parsons, was born in Modesto.
“The Peach Rebellion” is published by Penguin Random House and will be sold at $18.99 through Barnes & Noble and other retailers. Riverbank is the start of a Northern California book tour for Van Draanen.
Canning of peaches, apricots and pears was once a leading industry in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Riverbank had a plant next to the railroad tracks downtown from 1922 to 2006, under various owners.
Now, fruit canning is reduced to the Del Monte Foods plant on Yosemite Boulevard in Modesto and Pacific Coast Producers in Lodi. Tomato canneries remain strong in the area, employing several thousand people during harvest.
The Riverbank museum occupies a building erected in 1921 as a public library. The society has been working for years on an expansion. The town was founded as Burneyville in the 1850s and is marking the centennial of its incorporation as a city this year.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
