Since the 1800s, Mill Valley has attracted spirited freethinkers, entrepreneurs, nature lovers, rabble-rousers, and more than a few rock stars. Early Mill Valley booster Sidney Cushing encouraged tourism with a train up Mount Tamalpais called �the Crookedest Railroad in the World.� Laura White, more concerned with protecting Mill Valley�s natural beauty than attracting more people, brought the town its �Outdoor Art Club� and a tradition of conservationism. Vera Schultz broke the glass ceiling of local politics in 1946, and in 1973, 10-year-old Jenny Fulle�s letter to President Nixon changed the future of America�s female athletes. When an elementary school teacher named Rita Abrams wrote a song about why she loved Mill Valley, it became a national hit; so did a song about the heart of rock and roll, written by local boy Huey Lewis, who had attended that same school. The stories of Mill Valley�s legendary locals�whether from 1890 or 1980�are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspiring, often humorous, and always fascinating.