San Diego Rising is the definitive biography of a man whose character was as unyielding as the stone he quarried. Henry G. Fenton's story began on the windswept Iowa prairie with a dying father's mandate to his six-year-old son: "Take care of your mother and sisters." That single promise propelled Fenton through a brief stay in a San Francisco orphanage to the rugged San Pasqual Valley, where he herded hogs while barefoot and learned survival from Kumeyaay mentors.
From mule skinner to industrial titan, Fenton outworked his rivals to supply the rock, sand, and gravel that paved modern San Diego. Yet, his legacy transcends the concrete foundations of the city. He was a preservationist ahead of his time, whose insight and deep historical convictions led him to quietly reserve key acreages for future generations of Californians. Some of those locations included Mission Bay, the San Pasqual Valley, and the land that would become the Safari Park.
Drawing from a treasure trove of century-old artifacts in a privately held archive, Sandra E. Bonura uncovers a visionary who turned personal grief into public joy through his legendary "Old-Timers" picnics.
San Diego Rising is more than a rags-to-riches tale. It is the portrait of a boy who never broke his word and a man who built a city with his heart.
Nebraska
978-1-4962-5054-4