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Register of the Snook (James) Reminiscences,
1916-1987
Mss283
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Title: Snook (James) Reminiscences,
Date (inclusive): 1916-1987
Collection number: Mss283
Creator:
Extent: 1 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], Snook (James) Reminiscences, Mss283,
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific
Library
James Snook spent most of his life in Stockton and San Joaquin County
(1916-1987). Snook's father, a biologist, taught at Stockton High School.
Snook's memoirs describe his boyhood with trenchant wit and in great detail
(1916-1930). He also describes family summers spent in La Jolla, where his
father carried out marine biological research (1916-1923), and, at Silver Lake,
where the father was camp naturalist at Stockton's Municipal Camp (1924-1930).
Later, Snook attended the University of California (1930-31) and the College of
the Pacific (1931-32) until financial pressures forced him to leave school.
After working at various jobs in Stockton, Snook joined the Army (1942)
and spent much of the War in Italy (1944-46). Following his wartime service,
Snook returned to Stockton where he sold farm properties (1946-48) before
finding a job with the gas department at Pacific Gas and Electric.
James Snook's writings describe his adult life in great detail. Snook
devotes over 250 pages to his wartime experiences alone, while his
miscellaneous vignettes, anecdotes and stories about life in northern
California (1916-1986) occupy more than 300 pages. Snook began these four
binders of writings in about 1989 and worked on them until 1994.