Mike Lawler first became fascinated with local history when, as a child, he dug holes in the dirt of his backyard looking for remnants of the past. That fascination for local history has led him to authoring several works on the history of his community, along with a popular newspaper column on the same subject. He was the president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley for over a decade. In his community, he is considered the authority on local history. And he still can't pass by a hole in the ground without at least taking a glance.