Rare Currents: A Thematic Summary of Historical Marine Life Clippings from the Monterey Peninsula Herald (1938-1986)

Abstract: This project examines historical newspaper articles from the Monterey Peninsula Herald, dating from the 1930s-1980s, that documented phenomena such as rare marine species appearances and unusual strandings, along with community reactions to these situations. Altogether, the articles reveal how cultural memory, emotional tone, and the form of storytelling all shaped public understandings of ecological disruption before phrases such as "climate change" were significant in common vocabulary.