What a long, dusty, fruity, steely trip it’s been, this empire-building business.
From early settlers’ efforts to make oranges a cash crop, through Henry Kaiser’s mammoth metal contribution to the war effort, and all the way up to its transformation into a service and distribution hub for Southern California, the shape of the Inland Empire has been forged by those with initiative, inspiration and ingenuity.
People like George and William Chaffey, who in the late 19th century thought it right to dedicate a portion of their land holdings to an education facility. That school – Chaffey College – educates thousands of people to this day, and is continually growing and innovating.
People like Fred Perris, a surveyor who helped design the early street layout of San Bernardino and who was the driving force in bringing the California Southern railway station to San Bernardino.
And – perhaps less famous, but no less important – people like you.
This special section, parts II and III of which will appear Friday and Sunday, pays tribute to the Inland Empire’s legacy and to its future by taking a look at where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re headed.
The third annual edition of Empire covers it all – society, commerce, education, transportation, health, growth – by keying off the annual study done by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, better known around these parts as Cal Poly.
The study focuses on the behaviors and attitudes of Inland Empire residents, and its findings are the cornerstone of Cal Poly’s annual Empire Symposium, which falls on Nov. 7 this year.Working as partners with Cal Poly’s professors and other staff, the Daily Bulletin and The Sun will in these three Empire installments reveal much of the data unearthed by the study, then take that information far beyond facts and figures.
Empire doesn’t begin and end with what’s in print, either. The newspapers’ Web sites, dailybulletin.com and sbsun.com, are rich with Empire content, including videos, podcasts, and stories and community commentaries that didn’t make the print edition.
Empire works as a kind of history book about life in our region, one of the fastest-growing areas of the country. But it’s also a primer on what’s happening now, with a dash of crystal ball thrown in to see where we’re going.
It’s about the people and institutions that have put our region on the map, and that will guide us into the future. It’s about you, your family, your neighbors, your job, your communities, and the forces at work affecting all of us.
It’s the story of building an empire.
Article by By Jeff Keating, Deputy Managing Editor, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and The Sun
jeff.keating@dailybulletin.com
Originally The Daily Bulletin
