this is the link to the lotd project overview page
link to lotd project activities page
this is the link to the exhibits page
this is the link to the lotd documentary page
this is the link to the storyshare page
link to lotd community development page
this is the link to the pdf resources page
this is the link to the living on the dime links page

‘Connections to the Past, New Knowledge For the Future’

Native Americans and Xicano community activists will contribute thoughts on regional heritage and current issues of concern in their communities. These stories will examine current and traditional concepts of land stewardship, migration, settlement, economic development, and cultural changes that have altered the bonds of language, custom, and community among indigenous peoples of the region.

‘Just Another Boomtown’ Sid Sauvage, a life time resident along the ‘Dime’ whose family migrated West in 1937, was raised, lived and worked along the freeway “since before there was one.” Willie Wimberly, who migrated west from Texarkana, Texas because “…where I come from a man couldn’t make more than fifty cent a day back then!” Local small business owners of different ethnic backgrounds from the past and present in selected areas along the freeway will also be interviewed. Touching on labor, social, and cultural issues, these stories will offer views of life from a working people’s perspective.

‘You Don’t Need a Train to be on the Wrong Side of the Tracks’ Residents who were displaced and community activists whose interest in grassroots issues were directly effected by the construction of I-10. These stories will illustrate issues of ethnicity, community development, and social justice in communities along the Dime.

‘To Get To The Other Side: People, Progress, and the Freeway’ Construction workers, Cal-Trans staff, and local politicians on past, present, and future plans for the I-10. These stories will provide a general professional and organizational history of the Freeway corridor through the words of those directly involved in freeway development.

‘Stories of the Railroad, Salvation for the Barrio’ Leslie Rios, a community activist works to record the stories of railroad workers and heighten awareness of Mexican heritage in the San Gorgonio pass area. A history recovery project, this story also touches modern issues related to neighborhood preservation and attempts to revive a historic barrio in Beaumont, California.

‘Where Have All the Farmers Gone?’ Family farmers, ranchers, and rural residents adapting to changing economic times and working to preserve open space and landscape in the Live Oak and San Timoteo Canyon areas. These stories will help illuminate aspects of the conflict between rural and suburban ways of life.

‘A Different Town, A Brand New Start’ Families living in new freeway-centered housing developments in the region will be asked about their perspectives on life in the new suburbs. Stories of these residents will delve into their economic and community concerns and how they conflict or agree with traditional rural concerns.

The thoughts, observations, and stories of scientists, humanities experts, and the general public including children, will in effect ‘speak’ for the trees. What are our responsibilities to nature as residents of the shared community of plant and animal life? What can we do to be better stewards of the land? On one hand these stories will address issues of environmental degradation, habitat alteration and destruction, as well as other human- generated changes along the corridor; on the other side they will provide people a chance to speak out with their hopes and ideas that can promote better neighborhoods and communities.