{"id":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1185"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/montana-tech/oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1185","repository":{"repo_id":"montana-tech","name":"Montana Technology","base_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"California City","abstract":"California City is the beginning of a novel. The narrator, Jane, returns to her hometown in the Mojave Desert upon the death of her close friendâ€™s child. The town was established in the 1950â€™s when a developer acquired land and built a town that he believed would become Californiaâ€™s next big metropolis. A population of 9,000 people inhabits the town now, but paved roads stretch out for 200 square miles. Land-wise, it is second in size only to Los Angeles. Jane and her friends used to believe in a brand of Christianity that emphasized miraculous healings and resurrections. Her friends are praying that the child will be raised. Jane spends time with her parents and old friends and recalls the strange stories of the people she knew in California City. Also included are three short stories: â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ and â€œMarried.â€ Each of these takes place in Montana. In â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ a 30-year-old restaurant hostess returns to the place where her family homesteaded. In â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ a young girl goes mountain lion hunting with strangers. In â€œMarried,â€ a young married woman begins to lose her mind after some pencil lead becomes lodged in the skin of her infant daughter.","abstract_html":"California City is the beginning of a novel. The narrator, Jane, returns to her hometown in the Mojave Desert upon the death of her close friendâ€™s child. The town was established in the 1950â€™s when a developer acquired land and built a town that he believed would become Californiaâ€™s next big metropolis. A population of 9,000 people inhabits the town now, but paved roads stretch out for 200 square miles. Land-wise, it is second in size only to Los Angeles. Jane and her friends used to believe in a brand of Christianity that emphasized miraculous healings and resurrections. Her friends are praying that the child will be raised. Jane spends time with her parents and old friends and recalls the strange stories of the people she knew in California City. Also included are three short stories: â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ and â€œMarried.â€ Each of these takes place in Montana. In â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ a 30-year-old restaurant hostess returns to the place where her family homesteaded. In â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ a young girl goes mountain lion hunting with strangers. In â€œMarried,â€ a young married woman begins to lose her mind after some pencil lead becomes lodged in the skin of her infant daughter.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Haggerty, Shawn Briana"],"institution":"University of Montana","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:12:42Z","subjects":["Alaska","Boron","California City","Child Protective Services","Christianity","hot springs","Mojave Desert","mountain lion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/166","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Haggerty, Shawn Briana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Montana"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Professional Paper - Campus Access Only"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Alaska","Boron","California City","Child Protective Services","Christianity","hot springs","Mojave Desert","mountain lion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/166"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["California City is the beginning of a novel. The narrator, Jane, returns to her hometown in the Mojave Desert upon the death of her close friendâ€™s child. The town was established in the 1950â€™s when a developer acquired land and built a town that he believed would become Californiaâ€™s next big metropolis. A population of 9,000 people inhabits the town now, but paved roads stretch out for 200 square miles. Land-wise, it is second in size only to Los Angeles. Jane and her friends used to believe in a brand of Christianity that emphasized miraculous healings and resurrections. Her friends are praying that the child will be raised. Jane spends time with her parents and old friends and recalls the strange stories of the people she knew in California City. Also included are three short stories: â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ and â€œMarried.â€ Each of these takes place in Montana. In â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ a 30-year-old restaurant hostess returns to the place where her family homesteaded. In â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ a young girl goes mountain lion hunting with strangers. In â€œMarried,â€ a young married woman begins to lose her mind after some pencil lead becomes lodged in the skin of her infant daughter."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["California City"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Haggerty, Shawn Briana"],"dc:description.abstract":["California City is the beginning of a novel. The narrator, Jane, returns to her hometown in the Mojave Desert upon the death of her close friendâ€™s child. The town was established in the 1950â€™s when a developer acquired land and built a town that he believed would become Californiaâ€™s next big metropolis. A population of 9,000 people inhabits the town now, but paved roads stretch out for 200 square miles. Land-wise, it is second in size only to Los Angeles. Jane and her friends used to believe in a brand of Christianity that emphasized miraculous healings and resurrections. Her friends are praying that the child will be raised. Jane spends time with her parents and old friends and recalls the strange stories of the people she knew in California City. Also included are three short stories: â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ and â€œMarried.â€ Each of these takes place in Montana. In â€œUp Birch Creek,â€ a 30-year-old restaurant hostess returns to the place where her family homesteaded. In â€œTreeâ€™d,â€ a young girl goes mountain lion hunting with strangers. In â€œMarried,â€ a young married woman begins to lose her mind after some pencil lead becomes lodged in the skin of her infant daughter."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/166"],"dc:publisher":["University of Montana"],"dc:subject":["Alaska","Boron","California City","Child Protective Services","Christianity","hot springs","Mojave Desert","mountain lion"],"dc:title":["California City"],"dc:type":["Professional Paper - Campus Access Only"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:12:42Z"}