Carol Kammen is a retired Senior Lecturer in History at Cornell University who works as an editorial writer for History News, the journal of the American Association for State and Local History. She is the historian for Tompkins County as well as the Ithaca Journal. She has previously published numerous books including: The African American Experience at Cornell (forthcoming in 2008); Cornell: Glorious to View (2003); On Doing Local History (1986; revised 2003); Plain as a Pipestem (1989); The Peopling of Tompkins County (1984); and Simeon DeWitt: Founder of Ithaca (1969). She has also been the editor for works such as Encyclopedia of Local History and Pursuit of Local History. She was awarded the New York State Historian of the Year award for 2005-2006, as well as the Award of Distinction by the American Association for State and Local History in 2007, an award which has only been given two times previously in 60 years.