The Selfridge Military Air Museum opens its 31st season Saturday at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. From 1917 photographs showing construction of Selfridge to an outdoors tour of retired fighter jet planes, the interactive museum is consistently one of the best military tours in Michigan.

If it's true that everyone loves a parade, then everyone is sure to love the new book "Native Sons of the Golden West'' by Richard S. Kimball and Barney Noel. It's a chronicle of the statewide fraternal organization that, since 1875, has played a prominent role in celebrating California's history. I promise you, in this book there are enough photos of parades and accounts of parades to give anyone a serious case of happy feet.

Two Crescenta Valley authors will sign copies of their book at the Montrose Harvest Market this Sunday and at Once Upon a Time bookstore next Sunday. Mike Lawler and Robert Newcombe will appear from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday with copies of "La Crescenta" at the Harvest Market and from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at Once Upon a Time. Lawler is founder of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley and a member of Crescenta Valley Heritage. Newcombe is a writer and owns the first house built on the hills east of Montrose.

Nowadays, old photographs can be worth more than 1,000 words. Computers have became household tools to change photographs and render them illustrations, so books of old photographs are to be treasured as unaltered messages about reality sent from the past.

Fort Miles represents the nation's first attempt at homeland security, said Dr. Gary Wray, co-author of "Fort Miles: Images of America" (Arcadia Publishing, 2006.) Nestled amid the rolling sand dunes of Delaware's Cape Henlopen State Park, near Lewes, Fort Miles was built to protect the Delaware River and Philadelphia from enemy attack at the onset of World War II. While the Delaware River was a major concern for defense planners during World War II, Fort Miles was just the latest in a long line of forts built to protect the important trade centers located in Wilmington and Philadelphia. Fort Miles was a critical piece of the United State's defense as the nation prepared for war.

NEEDHAM -- Boston University professor Chaim Rosenberg will give a lecture today at the Needham Historical Society about how products were advertised in Massachusetts in the 19th century.

MAYNARD - Paul Boothroyd is a lifelong Maynard resident, chairman of the Maynard Historical Commission, curator of the Maynard Historical Society, owner of Century 21 Classic Properties on Summer Street and a self-confessed deltiologist - otherwise known as a postcard collector.

HIGLAND | In the perfect Cub parallel universe, Bartman's a Sox fan, Sosa's as clean as Mister Rogers and 2005 and 1977 didn't happen. 1977? Put it this way, if 1977 didn't happen -- or just unfolded as expected -- 2005 doesn't occur. And the lyrics "Nah, nah, nah, nah ... hey, hey, hey ... goodbye" are morphed into a mocking North side chant.

SHASTA -- A just-published photographic history brings to life the colorful characters and rough-and-tumble times of this Gold Rush town. "Old Shasta," a 128-page soft-cover book from Arcadia Publishing, contains more than 200 photographs (some never-before published), sketches and newspaper ads from the period.

This is the week the hardcore college basketball fan waits for more than any other. ESPN has named it "Championship Week." Its subtitle could be "the chance to see most of the bubble teams while getting a look at the possible first-round upset winners in the NCAA tournament." ESPN and its properties will televise 80 men's games during "Championship Week," which runs through March 12. Included in that figure are 25 conference championship games, all of which decide an automatic berth to the NCAA's field of 65. Fifty of the games will be broadcast over the final four days, with the last three -- Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 on ESPN and Southland Conference on ESPN2 -- on Selection Sunday.

This is the week the hardcore college basketball fan waits for more than any other. ESPN has named it "Championship Week." Its subtitle could be "the chance to see most of the bubble teams while getting a look at the possible first-round upset winners in the NCAA tournament." ESPN and its properties will televise 80 men's games during "Championship Week," which runs through March 12. Included in that figure are 25 conference

Want to know what the old Hotel Redondo looked like? Or how about the original pier? Then pick up a copy of the Historical Commission's new book of old post cards. “Redondo Beach” features more than 100 pages of pictures taken between 1880 and 1930. In it are scenes of the bathhouse, the beaches and many of the other things that made the city a popular turn-of-the-century destination. The book is on sale at the Redondo Beach Historical Museum and its authors will be on hand this weekend to sign copies from noon to 4 p.m. It costs $20 and all proceeds go to the museum.

Soon the entire country will be able to know what area residents have known for a long time: Avon is a beautiful place to live. The much-anticipated "Images of Avon" picture book depicting the city, past and present, is now available. "Avon" is from local author Michelle Budzinski-Braunscheidel, with assistance from the French Creek Development Association (FCDA) and Avon Historical Society. Budzinski-Braunscheidel is a past-president of FCDA.