The reach of Carnegie libraries into even the smallest communities never ceases to amaze me. Few of the original buildings are still used as libraries, but many of them are still standing, and they are usually among the cities' chief architectural treasures. The early 20th century was a time when people cared a lot about how their public buildings looked.

As you can see from the photo, Corning's Carnegie library, a block north of its main street, was built in 1914. The photo doesn't show the roofline, but the building mirrors the mission architectural style the community favored at the time.

The city's transportation center, built in the 1990s, reflects the same style. I first visited Corning about five years ago and had lunch at a café at the center. Last month, when friend and fellow Norcal Blogs blogger Greg Fischer and I visited the town, the café had closed. The center seemed more quiet than I had remembered it. When I later tried to find out more information about it on the Web, I discovered that Greyhound bus and Amtrak train service, which once had stops at the center, had been discontinued.

As it moves into the second decade of the 21st century, Corning is both quiet and bustling, depending on where you are. The historical center of town has quite a few vacant storefronts, but five blocks to the west, next to the I-5 freeway, there's plenty of business activity. In effect, the freeway is Corning's transportation center. As in most places, the car is king here and I-5 motorists are provided with all the services they want and need just past the exits.

Another modern-day hub is Rolling Hills Casino, one exit south of Corning. After taking our usual stroll through town to admire the older buildings, we drove over to the casino and had lunch. For the first time in my life, I played a slot machine. Before losing $2, it gave me $4 worth of play. I told Greg I still feel like I'm underage whenever I pass through a gambling casino. Legally, this isn't true, but I notice that most of the gamblers belong to my parents' generation. What will casinos do when all the people now in their 80s and 90s die?

Corning continues to have strong ties to its roots. It's still surrounded by olive orchards. Bell-Carter Foods is a major olive packaging plant. Every August, Corning hosts its Olive Festival. The industry is now transitioning from producing table olives to olive oil, which has become all the rage in cooking. Olives will retain their allure for decades, maybe centuries to come.

In the last five or six years, Greg and I have toured most of the major towns of the Sacramento Valley, to learn about their history, admire their old buildings and sample their restaurant cooking. We've covered a lot of ground, but I imagine there are still places waiting for us to discover them.