An enormous gun sits on the sand at Cape Henlopen State Park. As volunteers and state officials restore Fort Miles as an interactive museum, a 12-inch artillery gun sits outside a gun battery, waiting to be installed. It’s a hulking reminder of the curious past of the windswept park known to many as a quiet, family beach. The area that is now Cape Henlopen State Park served as a coastal gun battery, whose duty was to protect the East Coast from naval attack during World War II.

Ray Hanania will discuss his recently published book, "Arabs of Chicagoland," at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Chicago Ridge Public Library, 10400 S. Oxford Ave.

To Dr. Gary Wray, Delaware is blessed. “This tiny little state, it has two of the greatest forts of the 20th century,” he said. The history professor at Wilmington College and Delaware Technical & Community College’s Owens Campus was referring to Fort Delaware near Delaware City and Fort Miles at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes.

LUMBERTON - The North Carolina Society of Historians thought fondly of articles from the Robeson Remembers series as well as two local historical books. Five local authors were awarded the society's D.T. Smithwick Newspaper and Magazine Article Award for parts of the series, which is run monthly in the Features section of The Robesonian. The newspaper was also awarded the Garland P. Stout Publishers Award for its part in running Robeson Remembers, a series of historical articles about people, places and events written from historical records and oral histories dating back to the early settlement of the area. The series is written by a group of writers sponsored by the Robeson County Museum.

Chester County is a well-documented place, but don't thank the early Quakers and their propensity for record-keeping. Part of the credit could be given to Arcadia Publishing, a Charleston, S.C., company that has found a niche market here for its pictorial histories. Since the company published its first Chester County book in 1997, (Images of America: West Chester, three years after the company was founded) it has produced 12 more that touch on the county. Arcadia's specialty - regional, pictorial histories - delves into the kind of subjects that were once the exclusive domain of local historical societies or self-published authors.

NORTH AUGUSTA — A flood engulfed the North Augusta Community Center Thursday evening — welcome news for the community’s boosters, as the deluge came in the form of hundreds of visitors taking part in “A Night to Remember,” commemorating North Augusta’s 100th anniversary.

Another great source of information about Charleston and the area is the pictorial histories that Arcadia Publishing prints. Arcadia publishes histories nationwide and has done several books on the Charleston area, including two books on Mt. Pleasant, several books on Charleston, a book on the College of Charleston, books about Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms, North Charleston, Parris Island, and many others.

EMERYVILLE preservationists are awaiting a Jan. 17 City Council meeting to learn if several condemned Victorian-era cottages on 41st Street, between San Pablo Avenue and Adeline Street, known as the Triangle District, will face the wrecking ball — clearing the way for a new townhome development. Recent news reports reveal the vacant houses are owned by John Tibbetts, long-time proprietor of the nearby Oaks Card Club. At a council meeting in December, an appeal filed by a neighbor opposing the project was heard, and city staff members were directed to evaluate how much it would cost to move the structures, or perhaps incorporate them into the new development.

Whenever Daniel Hendrick wants to play hooky from work or get away on weekends, he says, he visits Jamaica Bay. "It's a great place," says Hendrick, who, as editor in chief of the Queens Chronicle, based in Rego Park, and as a freelancer for Newsday, has covered the bay in news and feature stories.

This collection of photographs, produced by the Hamden Historical Society as part of the Images of America series, documents the history of Hamden, Connecticut, a suburb just north of New Haven, that was settled in the 17th century and incorporated in 1786. The book is organized geographically, its two hundred-odd photographs and reproductions divided among eight chapters that correspond to different sections of town: 1. Whitneyville; 2. Pine Rock, Hamden Plains, and Highwood; 3. Spring Glen; 4. State Street; 5. Dunbar Hills and Upper Dixwell Avenue; 6. West Woods; 7. Mount Carmel; 8. Centerville.

It may have been the college professor who challenged her through a class assignment to discover the history of her family. It may have been the suitcase filled with historic photographs and newspaper clippings inherited from her grandfather after his death. It may have been the bicentennial tour she took with her husband in a 1967 Volkswagen van to see the historic sites of the country. Whatever the reason, Rhea-Frances Tetley is all about history. The latest evidence of that hit bookstores Dec. 5 in the form of "Crestline," a pictorial history book on her hometown.

FOREST CITY - Fireside Bookstore releases its best seller list for 2005. Included among the 10 best sellers were two books by Rutherford County authors and one book by a former count pastor. Reno Bailey’s “Cliffside Portrait of a Carolina Mill Town” was the second best seller of the year and James Hill of Rutherfordton also made the best seller list with his first book, “I Have Been Blessed.”

A new book about Lincoln Park's history is available again after a shipping glitch left no supply to keep up with the demand. When the book, "Lincoln Park," went on sale at local stores and the city's historical museum late in November, there already were signs it would catch on. Muriel Lobb, curator of the museum, said she was so busy selling the volume of text and photos she didn't even have time to read it. The book was produced by the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance with all profits to be donated to the museum. The publisher is Arcadia Publishing of Charleston, S.C.

If you had three boys — one, an overly active first grader, whom you were home schooling — four cats, one husband, one house and one mountain of laundry, what would you do? Marsha Wight Wise answered an ad to write a book about Catonsville. “I lost,” she noted, “tons of sleep.” It all started last October, when the Hunting Ridge resident saw an article about a publishing company, Arcadia Publishing, that was seeking an author to write a book about the Catonsville area. “I sent an email off to Arcadia but didn’t hold out much hope of getting a chance at the authorship,” Wise recalled. “They replied almost immediately saying I was the first one to respond.”

Another local community has been honored with the release of a photo history book in Arcadia’s Images of America series. Jonesborough author Sonya A. Haskins, who earlier this year had her solo works on Jonesborough and Johnson City released, this time teamed up with retired Bristol Herald Courier sports editor George Stone to produce “Bristol.” Haskins has written hundreds of freelance articles for publications such as Writer’s Digest, Guidepost for Teens, Decision, Physician’s Practice Digest, College Bound, Educational Dealers and Homeschooling Today. “Bristol” will be available in local bookstores, and several signings are expected to be scheduled.

2006 Nominees