Book Description

"Municipal Larceny vs Steve the Barber" begins with a 170-year history of Oroville, California. This fascinating historical highlight reel covers four economic booms: the gold rush, railroad construction, building of the Oroville Dam, and the repair of a failed spillway which had triggered the evacuation of 180,000 people. Woven throughout this historical record are entertaining tales of Steve Christensen's upbringing in Oroville, from pre-school in the 40's to the Covid shutdown 75 years later. Spiced with sardonic barbershop humor, we see why it is wise to keep a close eye on the shenanigans of City Hall and how one barber battled his city to defeat proposed tax increases.