Why I Live in Fresno
In February of 1988, when I got a call asking me to interview for a job in the creative writing program at Fresno State, I could not have found Fresno on a
map. If pressed, I would probably have placed it somewhere north of San Francisco, maybe in Napa Valley.
My ignorance of the city and its surroundings was
almost total. Having grown up in a cotton-producing region — the Mississippi Delta — I nevertheless had no idea that Central Valley cotton growers were partly responsible for the demise of King Cotton as the Delta’s principal crop.
Fresno County
A Place for everyone, diverse in many ways
Fresno County is, in one word, diverse — in everything from its agriculture (all 350 different crops) to its population, which is one of the most culturally mixed in the state.
Old Armenian Town:
A living culture
Chaffee Zoo:
Entertains, educates
Madera County
A haven for good food, wine, artists
Madera County is what you’d expect from a place sitting in the geographic center of California — fertile crop lands (some of the richest in the world, exporting produce to more than 50 countries) and art-filled mountain communities inspired by the state’s natural beauty.
A Bass Lake Tradition:
Forks Burger
Sugar Pine Railroad:
All aboard
Tulare County
Ag, ag & the Ag Expo
Known for towering trees, a giant ag expo and thick Tule fog, Tulare County is one of the largest counties in the San Joaquin Valley, taking up more than 4,800 square miles of land.
Grant Grove:
A giant of a tale
The Sweet Spot:
In Three Rivers
Kings County
King of cows and cotton
A quick drive to Hanford, or further south, down toward Lemoore, will tell a lot about Kings County ó vast swaths of farmland, cotton, corn and dairies.
