Barbara Pagni Denton

A smiling woman with short, curly hair wearing red round glasses and a black and gray striped shirt, outdoors with trees and a table with chairs in the background.

Barbara Pagni Denton is the author of Sweet Success: How Industry, Immigrants, and Working Women Shaped a Town. Barbara has lived most of her life in Crockett, California, and brings a unique perspective to the story of her hometown, where generations of immigrant families and working women built a lasting community around the C&H Sugar refinery. Drawing on her own experiences working at the refinery during summers while attending university, Barbara blends local history, personal memory, and cultural tradition into a compelling portrait of industry and identity. Sweet Success celebrates the resilience, labor, and legacy of the people who shaped Crockett’s and the East Bay’s rich history.

Close-up of a textured wall with peeling paint and rough surface in shades of blue, gray, and beige.
A woman with curly hair and red glasses stands at a table with a layered chocolate cake, holding a cake server and a piece of cake, smiling at the camera. Other people are in the background, some eating desserts, in a cozy room with wooden walls, a window, and decorative lighting.

More about Barbara

At the end of my aunt Louise’s life, we had many long conversations about her career at the C&H Sugar Refinery, and life in Crockett and Valona, Crockett’s immigrant neighborhood on the west side of town. We also talked about her friendships with her female colleagues and the unique cake recipes they shared. In retrospect, these women were a bit like a culinary gang, enjoying good food and friendships as they coped with the often-challenging work environment in the factory. 

After my aunt’s death, at the age of 93, I kept returning to the recipes that had been so valuable to her. They seemed more than a collection of cake recipes shared among women during their breaks in a factory’s women’s locker room. In the end, I wanted to investigate their significance and meaning, as well as why they had such a strong emotional connection for me. Having spent two summers working with many of my aunt’s friends at the refinery, I knew most of these women. Out of curiosity and perhaps appreciation, I wanted to learn more about my Aunt, her friends, their recipes, and their relevance and value. 

Thus, my journey began. I soon realized that virtually nothing had been written about the working women at the refinery. If I didn’t write about them, their history, and their contribution to their community, the San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay, and California, their legacy would be forgotten. Research led to a broader investigation, ultimately including not only the history of Crockett but also the contributions of industry, immigrants, and the working women at the refinery in developing Crockett as a quintessential factory town.