What do the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., have to do with Rancho Cucamonga, a growing suburban community seated in the foothills of Southern California’s Angeles National Forest? In a word: Nitrates.
Rancho Cucamonga was once home to dozens of orchards and vineyards whose citrus and grape crops thrived in the arid soil. But, like many suburban settings in the 1970s, this desert community, located 40 miles east of Los Angeles, experienced rapid growth. Real estate prices soared, enticing many of the old-time farmers and vintners to sell their lands and move on. The city has
