Southern California usually gets all the attention, but it’s Northern California that produced the tallest trees in the world, the creator of the most-viewed science fiction movies ever, one of the PGA tour’s most popular golfers, a Major League baseball icon, one of the world’s most successful investors and a Nobel Prize winning author. 3 Birds Demo thinks Northern California has more to boast about than you might think.
The California Redwoods
California Redwood trees are some of the largest and oldest living things on the planet and they can be found mostly in Northern California. The Redwood National Forest and surrounding state parks contain about 135 trees measuring over 300 feet high. The Redwoods’ Avenue of the Giants is the most popular part of the forest and welcomes thousands of visitors annually. It was included in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die.
George Lucas
It’s hard to create something to rival the magnitude of the California Redwoods, but that’s just what Modesto native George Lucas did. In fact, he did it twice-- first with Star Wars and again with Indiana Jones. The Star Wars movies have brought in over $5.5 billion dollars and spawned the creation of numerous video games, puzzles, books, action figures, and Lego sets. The Indiana Jones movies led to a TV show and numerous other trademarked endeavors. The American Film Institute even named Indiana Jones the second greatest movie hero of all time.
John Daly
Carmichael native John Daly fits right in with Northern California’s propensity for producing larger-than-life figures. Daly remains one of golf’s most popular athletes despite off-course troubles involving alcohol, drugs and unhealthy eating habits. He remains one of the PGA tour’s longest drivers and won the PGA Championship in 1991 and the U.S. Open Championship in 1995.
Joe DiMaggio
The Yankee Clipper is more known for his days in New York City as a New York Yankee, but Joe DiMaggio was born in Northern California. DiMaggio’s career with the New York Yankees included nine World Series appearances, three American League MVPs, 13 All-Star game appearances and a Major League record 56-game hitting streak. Off the baseball diamond, DiMaggio served in the United States military during World War II and married Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.
Charles Schwab
Sacramento native Charles Schwab appeared on the Fortune 400’s list as the 50th wealthiest individual in the United States in 2009. After graduating from Stanford University in Palo Alto, Schwab began an investment newsletter with nearly 3,000 subscribers. He then opened a brokerage firm in Sacramento, a decision that would eventually lead to the establishment of the Charles Schwab Corporation based in San Francisco. Although Schwab has made enough money to live anywhere in the world, he chooses to remain in Northern California.
John Steinbeck
Salinas native John Steinbeck wrote some of American literature’s most famous and critically acclaimed novels. They include East of Eden, Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. Many of Steinbeck’s novels take place in the Salinas area. The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas is the only museum in the United States dedicated to a single author.
