The city of Los Alamitos and the contiguous, unincorporated community of Rossmoor exemplify small-town America amid the populous western Orange County sprawl. Their tree-lined streets, well-kept homes and first-rate schools are reflected in Rossmoor’s selection as the No. 1 suburb in California (and No. 9 nationwide) in a 2012 study by Coldwell Banker Realty. The evolution of Los Alamitos from cattle ranches and sugar beet factory town to World War II military town and ultimately into residential neighborhoods took a century. Meanwhile, the planned “walled ‘city’ of Rossmoor” was created between 1955 and 1961. Despite annexation talk, Rossmoor and “Los Al” coexist apart together, so to speak, on Long Beach’s outskirts. Author Larry Strawther traces the histories of these interdependent sister communities, which epitomize the reality in the legend of the Orange County lifestyle.