A page from the book, “Benicia Friends and Classmates 1956 through 1970,” available for viewing at the Benicia Public Library. Images include the original library, the famed fight between Corbett and Choynski former Herald editor Kenneth Knight Jr. (Courtesy photo)

A 2016 yearbook of Benicia High School alums that started out as an accessory for reunion attendees grew to become such a well laid out book, telling a story in pictures of Benicia history alongside life snippets from the more than 100 members of the graduating classes of 1956 through 1979, that it has now been memorialized in the form of a hardcover book. “Benicia Friends and Classmates 1956 through 1979” is now available for viewing at the Benicia Public Library.
The book contains archival photos of people and places in Benicia from the time of its founding in 1847. Although the photos are not captioned, they do correspond to text on their accompanying pages. For example, an event poster is featured beside text describing the legendary prize fight between James J. Corbett and Joe Choynski, which took place on a barge off the coast of Benicia on June 5, 1889; and a pair of photos of the Majestic Theatre from its “talking pictures” era and the current marquee style that was created around 1940.
Many familiar landmarks appear in the pages of the book, including the Benicia Capitol, the Benicia Herald office and former sites of Benicia High School.
Longtime Benicians will recognize a slew of names from the pages of the book, which was a joint effort by founders and creators Cecilia Mitchell Synhorst and Brenda Lanier Ojeda, Chairpersons Synhorst, Ojeda and David Batchelor, and dozens of volunteers.
For more information, contact co-creator David Batchelor at (916) 803-2223.

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