Book Reviews
Elsie
Hamburger
by
Lois
Halliday
McDonald
Biography
of
the
typified
"new
woman"
in
an
economic
climate
hostile
to
single
parents,
later
becoming
Butte
County's
"Mrs.
Republican."
"That one person can make a difference is something which is no more true today than it was yesterday.
"Lois Halliday McDonald's recently published book ... is such a work. In telling the story of one of Paradise's notorious citizens of the past, McDonald gives insight into the town itself. And especially, the time.
" 'Tangible evidence of two steps toward becoming the modern-day Elsie Hamburger, business woman, was in her wallet by early 1924, and she carried them until her death,' writes McDonald of the recently widowed Elsie Hamburger's launch into a profession.
"One was her California Driver's License, issued February 26, 1924, to a woman aged 46 ... The second card she carried was the one confirming the receipt of a California Real Estate Broker's License, March 3, 1924.
"... Hamburger's entrance into the real estate business was a lonely experience, according to the author. ...
"Making a place for herself in an even more male-dominated business -- politics -- was something which would give Elsie Hamburger a name, not only of the ridge, but at state and national levels.
" 'Earl Warren she considered a gentleman and a friend,' writes McDonald. And she was to have a longstanding correspondence with former president Richard Nixon. ...
"... The author describes Hamburger's political drive as her 'invasion of Republican politics' on the ridge, and says by the late 1940s, 'no one cared to challenge her presence on the central committees or to question her effectiveness.'
"Concern for their son Lewis's education would lead Elsie and Isaac Hamburger to circulate a petition asking that the high school classes in Paradise be abandoned in 1923 and transportation provided to Chico, 'where all the students would have superior advantages over the limited curriculum offered in Paradise by the economy-minded Chico District. ...' " --Beth Miller, Paradise Post
"... this ... historical background is most certainly of interest ... it's a publication that's overloaded with the lore relative to the book's principal subject and the ridge area of northern Butte County. ..." --Eddie Booth, Booth Banter
"The life of Elsie Hamburger is closely identified with Paradise since she came to the isolated ranch community in 1919 and lived here until her death in 1967. Since she was so entirely devoted to the promotion, growth and cultural development of Paradise, her story closely parallels some of our major achievements.
"Elsie Hamburger was an early real estate agent; she went into selling Paradise home site when no bank would finance the purchase of 'worthless' Paradise land. Her personal story is one of courage and adventure, including her goal of making Butte County a stronghold of the Republican party. The Board of Paradise Fact and Folklore decided that Lois McDonald's book filled the requirements for its first independent book-size publication." --Jack Griffin, Tales of the Paradise Ridge
