healdsburg community blog

2011

2010-12-31T23:36:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS,HEALDSBURG! MY HOME TOWN, AND I AM PROUD OF THAT FACT.
In 2010 we saved our beloved Memorial Bridge for all the generations to come.

I wish you all the best for a peaceful, happy 2011.

From Cabin to Craftsman - 100 Years of Healdsburg's Architechural Hertiage

2010-06-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you that have not been to the Healdsburg Museum to see the latest exhibit, it will be ending on June 18. It is well worth your effort to go before it closes. It has drawn large crowds and is one the best exhibits we have ever had at the Museum. It is for all ages. It provides us glimpses into local historical architecture leading up to 1910. It also includes pioneer furnishings of the W.W. Ferguson family brought to California with the family in 1849 by covered wagon and objects that the Sarah Hendricks family brought to Healdsburg after the California Gold Rush.

Travel back in time with pictorial displays, vintage carpentry tools, and household objects that demonstrate the architectural styles and characteristics of the era.

A unique feature of this exhibit is the interactive segment, whereby visitors walk through doors (dating from the 1860’s to 1910) into historical portals.

A few of the offerings of this exhibit include handmade quilts and furniture of the time period; an 1853 sampler made by town founder Harmon Heald’s niece; an 1869 stereopticon with 3-D stereoscopic images of 1870s Healdsburg; an 1898 washing machine; and paintings of historical homes and buildings by local artists. A special part of the exhibit focuses on “Then and Now” photographs of local 100 year old buildings, and should not be missed. Special thanks to our generous local sponsor, Dennis O'Neel, for sharing his expertise in enlarging, printing and mounting the photographs of Healdsburg architecture for the exhibit. Holly Hoods is the Curator of this exhibit, and she has done a great job. This is a MUST SEE! Don't miss it.

An Early History of the Alexander Valley

2010-03-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

I summarized this information from a fascinating original manuscript entitled: “Grapes and Wine in California’s Alexander Valley: A History, Including diverse other aspects of the valley’s history dating from 1846” by William F. Heintz, with author’s permission. The information I am focusing on is the family history of Fred and Ruby Wasson, farming pioneers in the Alexander Valley:

Renown wine researcher William F. Heintz tells us that Cyrus Alexander, the valley’s founder, was an “odd combination of trapper, mountaineer and lover of the soil.” Leaving his home in Illinois at the age of 16, Alexander ended up six years later in San Diego where he met Captain Henry Fitch and agreed to oversee the ranch Fitch wanted built on his Sotoyome land grant in northern Sonoma County. The portion of this land that Alexander received for his work came to be called Alexander Valley.

Cyrus Alexander planted the valley’s first grape vines along with fruit tree seeds and sprouts probably obtained from employee Frank Bidwell’s journey to Fort Ross in 1843. By the mid 1860s visitors began coming into the valley to view the enormous geysers, often traveling through the newly formed town of Healdsburg (founded 1857). The Geysers became a much photographed and notable tourist attraction of this time. In the late 1860s the valley was divided into plots for about 20 large landholders and the first commercial enterprise, the Alexander Valley Store, was built in 1869, probably on what is now Highway 128.

By 1873 the valley claimed to have 100,000 grapevines and its inhabitants were beginning to get excited about winemaking. Charles Alexander (Cyrus’ nephew) was particularly prosperous. In 1874 the discovery of mercury (or quicksilver) in the hills put the Pine Flat area of Alexander Valley on the map and the valley prospered further with additional roads and new businesses.

By the mid to late 1870s it had become clear that the valley’s grape production (700 tons per year) merited building local wineries. And it was at this same time that Ruby Osborn Wasson’s parental grandfather, Shadrach L. Osborn, purchased 300 acres of land near Chalk Hill Road where property averaged about $10.35 per acre for undeveloped land. By the early 1880s the local viticulture boom was exploding with a wide range of varietals--mostly Zinfandel, followed by Riesling, Golden Chasselas and Crabb’s Burgundy. Immigrants were now pouring into the area which was continuing to grow in prosperity and population.

Shadrach Osborn, who owned the Soda Rock Ranch, and whose vineyards were contenders for the largest in the valley, began selling his grapes in Calistoga for $20.00 per ton, well over the going price. For a man who had arrived in the United States from England with “only ten cents in his pocket”, Shadrach vied with R.R. Givens for the title of “Squire of Alexander Valley”, and his ranch near the post office and the Soda Rock House (hotel) was at the very center of valley activity. By 1890 Shadrach owned two large farms in the lower end of the valley and was clearly one of the valley’s largest and most influential landowners and promoters. The Healdsburg Enterprise edition of October 24, 1891 read: “Osborn has the finest vineyards in northern Sonoma County.” His farm was Lone Pine Vineyard at Soda Rock and the winery he built was named Lone Pine Cellars.

It is most interesting to note that there seems to be some debate over which of Ruby’s grandfathers was ultimately responsible for the first winery in the valley. The July 31, 1889 Healdsburg Enterprise states that Shadrach was currently building his own large winery, but it appears that the first crush in that cellar did not take place until 1895.

Meanwhile, Horace Chase of Yountville in Napa Valley, sent Broder Frellson (Ruby’s maternal grandfather) in 1892 to supervise the winery that he had just built in the Alexander Valley--Chase’s Winery, also known as Stagg’s Leap Winery or Red Winery “because of the red coat of paint applied to it and all the auxiliary buildings.” Chase was an absentee landlord while Broder was in charge, and the first crush of the Red Winery appears to have been in 1893. So the competition depends on the criteria: who built the first winery structure (Shadrach) or who actually had the first crush (Chase and Broder).

Please consider a donation for Haiti

2010-01-13T20:41:00.001-08:00

Hi all you caring Healdsburg-ers!

I want to add my voice in asking you to give a gift to a responsible organization that is helping the disaster victims in Haiti. Join me today in helping succor this poor devastated nation. For online gifts you can go to:

Doctors Without Borders

and/or the

American Red Cross International Response Fund

Thank you and blessings.

What does mountaintop mining in West Virginia and Kentucky have to do with Healdsburg?

2010-01-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

Last Friday in the Washington Post I read "Scientists say mountaintop mining should be stopped." According to the article, for the first time the scientists studying blasting off mountaintops and burying stream valleys under tons of rubble in order to mine coal are taking a political stand against issuing any new permits.

Most of the mountaintop removal is occurring in the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky, so what does this have to do with Healdsburg?

More than more many people think, including our city government. We pride ourselves on our clean energy source from the Geysers, but if you look at our Power Content Label sent with your city utility bill, you'll see that in the column "Healdsburg's System Average (projected), coal is the source of 14% of our electricity. The surrounding area, served by PG&E, has electricity generated with 2% coal.

When I talk with city council members and electricity department employees, they tell me that we don't know how much of our energy comes from coal because it's part of a "mix" and therefore not quantifiable. How can this be? Doesn't the supplier of the mix to the city know? Isn't there a cost attached to each of the energy resources purchased by the city?

Mountaintop mining is just one of the environmentally damaging aspects of using coal to produce electricity, but the photo above is enough to prompt me to ask these questions of those in charge of where Healdsburg gets its energy.

(Photo from NRDC article about mountaintop mining.)

New Year 2010

2010-01-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR, HEALDSBURG - ONE AND ALL 2010!
Wishing you all a happy, joyous, & prosperous new year in the best place in the world.

Darla Williams Budworth

My "gift" to Healdsburg - The best news photos of the decade from the Boston Globe

2009-12-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Midst all of the holiday preparations, I hope you'll take a few minutes to look at the 51 best news photos of the decade , gathered by the Boston Globe. This is the decade that's described in the introduction to the photos as "dramatic, often brutal." I confess it was painful to look at many of these photos, but I'm glad I did and hope that if you do, you too will gain something from having done so.

Each photo comes with a written description. The photo above is a prisoner of war comforting his four year old child.

CCCC Report # 7 - Tod's reflections on COP15 and what we can do

2009-12-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

Tod is en route to Healdsburg. I've linked to today's post about the Copenhagen Climate Change Convention (CCCC), or "COP15": "Reflections on Copenhagen: Activism in Dead. Long Live Activism." This is an achingly beautiful piece. I urge you to read the whole thing.

What have I gained from volunteering to be a non-roving reporter following Tod on his 8,000 mile trip to Copenhagen and back?

1. I've followed what happened at COP15 more closely. For instance, did Obama and Clinton "burst" in on a secret last-minute meeting of China, Brazil, India and South Africa? Apparently the answer is no. Does it matter whether or not they did? I'm not sure.

2. It's helped me stay aware of my inclination to create some mental ease and comfort that creeps in and subtly tells me that maybe this climate change thing isn't so bad after all. I'm referring to the our recent cold snap, that it's raining more than I thought it would, and even D.C. is experiencing a record-breaking snow storm. I wonder if Obama was subject to the same almost-subconscious mind-set when he left COP15 before the vote on the Copenhagen Accord in order to get back home before the storm broke.

3. I'm following the climate change issue more carefully now. The scientific reports seem to be getting worse. For instance, this morning I saw that the prestigious magazine Nature has an article, "Sea level rise may exceed worst expections." Staying informed helps me not be lulled into thinking that if my life is so very, very comfortable, the problem must not be that serious.

4. I'm reminded that my small efforts, from living in a very small home where I have my business, to walking or riding my bike and rarely driving, to helping organize our local 350.org event last October 24 are a miniscule part of the greater collective goal of reducing greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

5. As I juggle my commitments to helping care for my almost-three-twin grandchildren (you never see me driving them around!), my business, and my citizen activism, I need to remain mindful that if I ruin my health caring too much about too many things, I won't be there with Tod in lifting "the climate message over the fence."

Thanks, Tod, for taking time away from your family to be one of our county's official delegates ahd Healdsburg's unofficial delegate at COP15. You'll be hearing from me.

(photo provided by Tod)

CCCC Report # 6 - Well, that's that - The climate convention has concluded and Tod will return to Healdsburg in a couple of days

2009-12-19T06:15:00.001-08:00

What did I expect to be accomplished in Copenhagen? Before I started posting about fellow resident Tod Brilliant's experience there, not much. What happened as a result of Tod's reports and paying more attention to the Copenhagen Climate Change Convention (CCCC)? Somehow, I thought if I and others cared enough about what happened there, somehow our collective energy would make a difference. Weird huh?

So it's done. Tod will leave Copenhagen on the 21st. I hope to meet with him this coming week. Here's Tod's Dec. 18th post, "Obama as White Knight: Naked Ambition at COP 15." As with all his posts, I hope you read the whole thing, though this sentence captures Tod's impression of Obama's influence on the future of climate change: "Barack Obama's honeymoon with both the environmental community and greater Europe has come to an end."

On the home front. Barclay Nalley, whom I've known for 43 years, wrote an angry letter to the Healdsburg Tribune editor, "Copenhagen Hygira." Barclay even called for a grand jury to "demand a complete audit of such frivolous expenditures." What do you think? I'm sure the debate will go on. After some ambivalence, I think the money was well spent even if the result was a weak accord.

For those who aren't quite ready to change their focus from this hugely important issue to the more mundane*, here are some links to articles and videos that I found worthwhile:

1. Bill McKibben of 350.org and Naomi Klein of The Nation on their first take on the results of the convention. A fifteen minute video, worth every minute.

2. "Scramble for the atmosphere," by Tod's and my climate change hero, George Monbiot.

3. But wait! All is not lost. Guess who made sense at the convention? Check it out.

*My "mundane" activity includes cleaning house today.

(photo from Tod's post at the Post Carbon Institute blog)

CCCC Report #5 - A "special magic gift" from Tod

2009-12-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

This morning, I received an e-mail alert from Facebook that Tod had given those of us who belong to the Creative Job Agency Group a special gift. Of course, I checked it out immediately, and it was this very funny (if slightly grotesque) video titled "Lord Monckton Raps Al Gore." Watch it. You'll probably get a kick out of it.

If the full screen doesn't show up above, go to the video here.

If time allows, I'll update this post. The news looks pretty grim about the likelihood of a meaningful agreement coming out of Copenhagen. Obama is there today.

What's bothering me, which I hope to dig in to later today:
1. Recent polls show increasing skepticism about the reasons for climate change and Obama's handling of the issue slipping;
2. A leaked UN report shows cuts offered at Copenhagen would lead to a 3C rise.
3. Tiny and poor countries are being pressured to agree to a 2C cut, even though 1.5C will adversely affect millions of people in these countries. The pressure? A promise of cash to help with the problems these countries experience as a result of the increased temperatures. Naomi Klein describes the promise as "blackmail."

Sigh, at least I get to spend the day with my wonderful almost-three twin grandchildren.

Update I: Naomi Klein write a searing article in the UK Guardian, "Better to have no deal at Copenhagen than one that spells catastrophe."

CCCC Report # 4 - Climate Justice looms large - Tod stands up to a CNBC reporter

2009-12-17T04:52:00.000-08:00

What I'm gathering for the past couple of days from Tod's posts to the Post Carbon Institute, the mainstream media and the alternate press, "climate justice" is the big issue surfacing at the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. It doesn't appear that it was very high, or even on, the official agenda.

According to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! in her post to Truthdig, "Copenhagen Climate Summit: The Empire's New Clothes," "Both inside and outside the summit there is a diverse cross section of nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, from indigenous-peoples delegations to environmental and youth groups. Their separate but connected efforts have been coalescing into a new movement, a movement for climate justice."

This is how Tod described it on his wall at Facebook: "Real protests. Real anger. Real frustration....The real heart of the movement is truly peaceful but getting incredibly frustrated with the UN's effort to keep poor nations from making their points."

According to Tod, a powerful voice for climate justice is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who made the opening remarks at Oxfam's "First International Climate Hearing." Read Tod's report here.

It appears from Tod's current post, that "Most of us aren't allowed back into the Bella Centre [where the convention is taking place]...." What's up? I thought Tod and the 6 other delegates from Sonoma County were official delegates. Are they all being shut out?

Leave it to Tod to make a difference, whether he's on the the inside or outside. He took the photo below yesterday. It's of indigenous South American farmers displaying handicrafts to a small but interested audience. What did a CNBC reporter standing 15 feet away see and broadcast to millions? "And behind me we have what is called a sit-in protest...." That was too much for Tod, who got into a "wee bit of a tussle [with the CNBC cameraman] over my live on-air correction of his criminally misleading description."

Tod was so upset that he left the convention and on his way back to the flat where he was staying, he saw the Coca cola poster in the photo above. His reaction? "I was intrigued to learn that the global mega-corp is not only saving the planet, but they've somehow managed to bottle Obama."

Back here in Sonoma County, some people are upset that the county spent $23,000 to send 7 delegates to the Climate Change Convention. If none of them are being allowed in on the official meetings, I'm upset, too. Rollie Atkinson's editorial, "Carbon Neutral," in last week's Healdsburg Tribune, raised the issue. At an event for 4th district supervisor candidate Mike McGuire last Tuesday evening, Mike expressed his dismay that the county sent the incumbent 4th District Supervisor Paul Kelley and 6 others to Copenhagen while people here are suffering from loss of jobs.

So the "climate justice" in a different form is also a local issue. Does our county invest it its commitment to climate protection by sending delegates to Copenhagen at the expense of our jobless?

I admit I'm somewhat ambivalent about this. However, Healdsburg residents seem woefully unaware of the consequences of climate change on our local agriculture. In 2006, the Press Democrat published an article by Tim Tesconi, "Could Global Warming Dry Up Wine Industry? New report warns North Coast may get too hot in coming century."

This seemed like a big deal to me, so last October 24th, I,* with a lot of help from Ann Carranza and Robert and Elizabeth Seton, organized a local climate change event in conjunction with 350.org. About ten of us walked through Healdsburg with grape vines and signs on them, "Destination: Canada," and fliers explaining what will happen to our grapes if climate change continues unabated. I was amazed at the lack of awareness of this problem which will adversely affect our $5 billion regional economy.

Will Tod be able to bring home the urgent message that we need to address climate change now? That it's a local issue? That it's not just about climate change but about climate justice? I certainly hope so.

Update: Today I talked with a woman who has spent her adult life working with the disadvantaged: the mentally ill, the unemployed, the underpaid. When I told her about the county paying for 7 people from Sonoma County to attend the climate summit and that some thought this was a waste of money, she said "A pittance! These people will come back all fired up and will undoubtedly make a difference, including the number of green jobs."

*Photo of my twin grandchildren and me at the October 24th "Grapevine March."
Photos from climate convention taken by Tod.

CCCC Report # 3 - What's really going on in Copenhagen?

2009-12-15T04:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as I eagerly waited for Tod's reports to show up at the Post Carbon Institute blog, I checked the news for what is going on in Copenhagen.

Good grief! It looked like the convention was already falling apart as African nations led a walkout. I was relieved to see they only walked out for the day, not permanently.

Tod, after traveling 28 hours by plane, cars, buses, and trains, recovered from his jet lag and currently two of his posts are up at the Post Carbon website, "The Search for Conservation Part I: Lonely and Looking," and "Search for Conservation Part 2 - The Politics of Exclusion."

I urge you to read both of them. Tod is a incredible writer and there's no way I can do justice to his descriptions of the convention.

Sidebar: Several years ago Tod lent me George Monbiot's book, Heat. The most memorable chapter, "Love Miles," was on the impact of flying on global warming. George urged us to limit our flying to seeing our families and closest friends.

I know that Tod is conflicted about flying, but I see his trip to Copenhagen as using some of his love miles because he so passionately cares our incredible earth, which is at risk, and his son Justice and other children who will ultimately benefit if we adults can return to sanity and figure out how to reduce our greenhouse gases.

This morning, George Monbiot posted a thoughtful article, "This is about us." "The talks at Copenhagen are not just about climate change. They represent a battle to redefine humanity." I assume he's at the convention, and I hope he gets to meet Tod.

Update I: Just saw this on the Post Carbon Institute Facebook page: "The mood is far from pretty. NGOs are being shut out. People waiting 7 hours to get in. G77 (the poorer nations) walkout. Pretty much a disaster." Stay tuned.

(photo of Tod at the convention)

CCCC Report # 2 - Tod must have landed in Copenhagen by now

2009-12-13T03:57:00.000-08:00

Tod's been e-mailing me while en route to Copenhagen. I've been sending him "airplane reading" (long, dense articles), including "Planet Worth - Goldman Sachs bets on global warming."

First, I need to correct yesterday's post. Tod had a place to stay in Copenhagen before he left but he apparently wanted a different place. I don't want you to think he's a rash young man because...well....he isn't!

Secondly, Tod may be Healdsburg's unofficial delegate to the 15th United Nations Convention on Climate Change, but he's an official Sonoma County delegate, according to the Trib's editorial this week by Rollie Atkinson, "Carbon Neutral."

The Sonoma County Water Agency is the lead county that is sending the seven delegates to Copenhagen. At COP15, I'll be checking for updates (blog posts, videos, Twitters, etc.) on the convention from the county's attendees.

Tod is also the Communications Director for the Post Carbon Institute. He suggested I check PCI's website for his reports from Copenhagen.

As Tod landed in Copenhagen, presumably last night, he was met by a huge cheering, candle-carrying crowd (see photo above). Actually, the photo is of some of the 100,000 strong protestors in Copenhagen organized by 350.org.

CCCC Report # 1 - Tod finds a place to stay in Copenhagen

2009-12-12T05:53:00.000-08:00

As promised yesterday, I'm going to do my best to keep you informed about local resident Tod Brilliant's adventures as he heads to Copenhagen for the Climate Change Convention (hence, the "CCCC" in the title).

Two days ago via Facebook and through the group that Tod was active in setting up, the Creative Job Agency, I received an urgent request from Tod asking all of us in this group to help him find housing in Copenhagen. How many of us would head to Copenhagen in the winter and not have a place to stay? However, how many of us have the incredible network that Tod does through all of his endeavors? (Check out his website to verify.)

I immediately contacted a distant relative, a near relative, and friends that I thought might know somone who might know someone who might - you get the picture - know of a place where Tod could stay.

A few hours later Tod e-mailed me back that he had found a place in less than four hours through his Creative Job Agency contacts!

Tod is on his way to Copenhagen this morning. I expect he'll be having more adventures and my job is to them to you.

(photo: Wikimedia)

Did you know that a Healdsburger is attending the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference?

2009-12-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've seen Tod Brilliant around town. He's one of the most interesting and creative people I know. He's on his way to Copenhagen. I consider him Healdsburg's unofficial delegate to the climate change convention.

I hope to stay in touch with Tod and post his descriptions of what it's like to be there. Stay tuned!

Making more holiday memories

2009-12-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

Ah, Gail, you’ve started something here. Conor and I made this reindeer when he was here last week. I love making projects with him. Often we make things that are nature related or holiday themed.

In fact, both of my sons have asked me to do things with the boys that I did with them. I wish my grandsons were closer so we could do all those memory making activities together more often. The true joy of the holidays is creating memories that last a lifetime.

To make a reindeer:

2 corks

1 small study piece of twig for the neck. We cut all our twigs from our peach tree.

1 long twig for the four legs. Cut into four equal pieces.

2 googly eyes. But paper works, or other materials that catch your fancy

2 twigs for antlers. They can be forked, but also straight. Use what you find and trim and shape as desired.

1 small piece of brown pipe cleaner for the tail. But felt is also good, or a small paper scrap.

Pen to draw mouth and nose.

Yes! Glue. It is really a paste. It is the best project glue I’ve found for kids’ projects.

1. Poke a hole with a small straight screwdriver into the two corks where you want to join them to form the head and body. Swipe a little glue on each end of the small study twig and insert it into each cork.

2. Poke four holes in the bottom cork for the legs. Swipe the leg twigs in a little glue and insert them into the holes. Check to that the reindeer will stand alone.

3. Glue on the googly eyes

4. Poke two holes for the antlers to give that reindeer attitude. Again, swipe the twigs in the glue and insert into the holes.

5. Poke a hole for the pipe cleaner tail, swipe it in glue and insert into hole.

6. Draw on nose and mouth.

Conor is 7, and he was able to do everything, except poke the holes, himself by working side-by-side as I made one to show him the steps.

Enjoy with your favorite children!

What Christmas activity do the kids in my life remember the most?

2009-12-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Over the last 40 years or so, I've made many gingerbread houses with children, grandchildren, and friends' children. As these children grow up, they commonly tell me that what they remember most about what they did as a child when they were with me is making a gingerbread house. Above are grandchildren Jade and Casey, now several years older, who will be joining me along with my almost-three twin granchildren this year.

When is the last time you bought a water buffalo or a llama?

2009-12-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my friend Laurel (blond hair) and I (red cap) volunteered at the Heifer table at the annual arts and crafts fair at Summerfield School, an amazing Waldorf school on Willowside Road.

I love Heifer because it provides an opportunity to buy gifts in my grandchildren's name for families around the world who are in great need of help. One year I bought them a water buffalo and a llama another year. On Christmas Day, after they've opened a huge pile of presents, I present them with a card that explains how their gift can mean the difference between life and death or school or no school for children who have so much less than they do.

The other plus about yesterday is that the atmosphere at the Summerfield School was really amazing. The children were given the opportunity to make gifts for others, there were hand-crafted items for sale, and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of chili, cornbread and salad while several different groups, including children, sang for us.

Laurel and I noticed that the children who attended Summerfield School were self-confident, easy to talk to, and wore highly individual outfits that made it clear they were willing to be different than their peers.

An altogether rewarding day.

Wine Library Associates of Sonoma County Holiday Book Signing and Sale

2009-11-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

Our friend Bo Simons of the Sonoma County Wine Library writes:

Now that the effects of turkey and canberries are beginning to subside, it's time to think about perfect gifts. What do you get for someone who has everything? Why, you get him or her a personally inscribed book that reflects one of the most interesting things about the wine country: wine. All your needs can be filled in one evening while you enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres. You get to give unto others as you treat yourself. Randall Grahm, the zany proprietor of Bonny Doon and the master satirist behind such works as Born to Rhone and The Love Song of J. Alfred Rootstock, and the author of the just released Been Doon So Long (UC Press, 2009), will be there in the flesh, spewing wisdom and wicked bon mots. Steve Heimoff, West Coast Editor of Wine Enthusiast will be ready to answer your questions and sign his two books, among the best recent books on wine: A Wine Journey Along the Russian River (UC Press, 2005) and New Classic Winemakers of California (UC Press, 2008). Vivienne Sosnowski, former editor of the San Francisco Examiner, author of When the Rivers Ran Red, will be there to go into this stirring tale of struggle and overcoming adversity on the North Coast during Prohibition.

This is quite a trio of wine writers, who can personally inscribe their books to everyone on your gift list. But, wait, that's not all. There will also be hundreds of used and rare books on wine, books donated to the wine library, books that duplicate what we already have, but may be new to you. These will be on sale at bargain prices. We will be pouring wines by Bonny Doon, Foppiano, Pasterick and Seghesio, as well as a special donation of Dehlinger wines from an anonymous donor. Now this is a fund-raiser for the wine library, so we have to charge for it, but it's only $10 for members and $15 for the public, and all attendees get a coupon good for $5 off any new book purchased that evening. The food will be prepared by members of the Sonoma County Culinary Guild.

Please reserve now to assure a spot: 707-431-7663

Posted by Shonnie Brown for Bo Simons

Holiday season begins in the Plaza

2009-11-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

These photos don't begin to capture the festive spirit in the Plaza this evening at the tree lighting ceremony. What I found so special was how many children were there.

Free cider and cocoa, cookies for 25 cents, a raffle giving away a beautiful Christmas tree, children's and adult's choirs, the audience in singing Christmas carols, candles for everyone, and Christmas card making all contributed to the feeling that there's no better place to live than Healdsburg.

Globalization: Good or bad?

2009-11-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

As you probably recall, in 1999 a broad based coalition of people from all over the world, including small farmers, factory workers, and environmentalists, demonstrated against globalization at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.

My impression of what happened comes from Rebecca Solnit’s description of the event. Rebecca, who lives in San Francisco, has such an optimistic outlook and can find reasons to celebrate no matter how dire the problems are that we face, has written a book about her experience in Seattle in 1999, The Battle of the Story of the “Battle of Seattle.”

Rebecca has written a terrific article, “Learning How to Count to 350-Remembering People Power in Seattle in 1999 and Berlin in 1989.” Naomi Klein has written a book review, “Copenhagen: Seattle Grows Up” about Rebecca’s (and her co-author brother’s) book.

Rebecca won’t be at our local “Seattle + 10” event (except in spirit) from 1-5 pm on December 5th at the Sebastopol Veteran’s Memorial Building, but I hope you will be. Given the roster of speakers, this is an opportunity to learn more about the worldwide effort for ordinary people to be heard as globalization results in a loss of jobs, environmental degradation in developing countries, and other problems that affect all of us.

(Double-click on the flier to enlarge it.)

Giving thanks for Healdsburg's civic spirit

2009-11-28T05:18:00.000-08:00

It's so easy to get caught up in the holiday rush that it's easy to forget to stop, remember, and share about something that happened just a couple of days ago that speaks volumes about why Healdsburg is so special.

I'm referring to the Thanksgiving breakfast at Fitch Mountain Eddies. The breakfast was free and the customers made donations to the Alliance Medical Center in lieu of paying for breakfast. Many food merchants contributed to the breakfast.

I was the first to arrive and was greeted by two members of the Alliance Board of Directors, Roger Hull, current chair, and Tom Colbert, former chair. They made me feel very welcome and we chatted until the next customer arrived.
Then I wandered from table to table asking people why they were there. Other early arrivers were Rick Tang, a local photographer, and Vickie Norris, a local businesswoman who provides online services and is also on the professional committee for the Chamber of Commerce.

Vickie goes to the Alliance Medical Center. She used to have health care through Kaiser, but when she needed to switch, she had trouble finding a family practice doctor, where she found one she is delighted with.

Then the person with his back to this couple gestured for me to come talk with him. My gosh, it was landscape architect Ray Pelanconi, whom I hadn't seen for 35 years. I remembered him so well because I was involved in an effort to get a kids' creative play area at Fitch Mountain Elementary School, and he did the landscaping, using drought and kid resistant plants.

Ray is a genuine old-timer, who has lived here since 1954. He's with Kaiser but likes it that Alliance Medical Center is "good for people with no access [to medical care]."

The last couple I talked with before I settled down to order my breakfast was Lew and Elaine Sbrana, retired from the school system. I've known them since I arrived in 1967 because they have contributed so much to our community. Lew, as I'm sure you all know, has made musicians out of almost-tone-deaf children and even adults.

Elaine had heard about the breakfast that morning while walking with a friend, and they dropped everything to be there.

It was a wonderful way to start the day. No wonder I like to stay right here in Healdsburg for the holidays. Tomorrow I'll join my son, his wife, and my grandchildren at the annual tree lighting in the Plaza.

Back to the Land

2009-11-27T16:19:00.001-08:00

For a quite a while, I've wanted to post something at the community blog about Maira Kalman, an artist who lives in New York City. Even before today's post by her in the Opinion Section of the New York Times, I thought that she either had 1) everything to do with Healdsburg, or 2) nothing to do with Healdsburg.

Today's post, however, convinced me that everyone, including Healdsburg residents, should know about Maira and her perpspective on imporant issues. She brings humor, as well as amazing drawings and photography, to her contributions.

So enjoy Back to the Land.

Photo one of many in Kalman's post about slow food, good food.

Giorgi Park opens

2009-11-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, Giorgia Park, completely upgraded, opened. Greeting me as I stopped by are Sonja Drown, the city's Recreation and Transit Services Director, as well has heading up our Senior Center, and David Mickaelian, Parks and Recreation Director.

Yesterday, the Healdsburg Community Nursery School took a field trip to the park. Here they are on a slinky, slitherly bouncy feature.

Evocative of the old Giorgia Park are the "towers," now at the apex of a grassy hill.

This turtle is ambling through the sand at the water feature. The blue in the foreground is a raised trough with tile in the bottom and water coursing down it to an outlet to the sand. Yesterday grandson Rody did a belly flop in the sand and came up wet, sandy and happy.

Most of the nursery school kids appeared to enjoy this grassy (some kind of astroturf) hill. It's steep enough to be a challenge getting up and down, but it looks safe for toddlers.

I'm so grateful that the city voted to upgrade Giorgi Park, in spite of the need to cut its budget this year.

Help Our Alliance Medical Center by Having Breakfast at Fitch Mountain Eddie's on Thanksgiving Morning

2009-11-22T19:13:00.001-08:00

Fitch Mountain Eddie's (with food donations from other local businesses) is giving away breakfast on Thanksgiving morning from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.. Those who attend will be asked to donate $5 to $10 to the Alliance Medical Center.

I can't think of a better way to start this holiday. I hope to see you there.

Submitted by Gail Jonas and seconded by Shonnie Brown who also loves Alliance!

Russian River Rose Company (to compliment Gail's post)

2009-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

A fall rose photo taken at Jan and Mike Tolmasoff's Russian River Rose Company.

How many roses does it take to make four ounces of rose oil?

2009-11-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

This morning I started my Christmas shopping at the Healdsburg Farmers' Market. The first booth I stopped at was Mike and Jan Tolmasoff’s Russian River Rose Company.

I’ve known the Tolmasoffs for over thirty years and have watched their home on Magnolia become incredibly beautiful with roses everywhere, including climbing up trellises to the second story of their house.

When I expressed interest in the attractively bottled rose water, Mike told me that they picked 1,980 pounds of roses and that there are 120 roses in each pound. From this huge endeavor they were able to extract four ounces of rose oil.

I’ll do the math: 1,980 pounds X 120 roses per pound = 237,600 roses! I’d describe this as a labor of love.

Reminder: Next Saturday, December 5th, is the last Farmers’ Market this year. I hope you’ll do your Christmas shopping there, too, and come home with great gifts, including the Tolmasoff’s Rose Water.

Written by Gail Jonas. Posted by Shonnie Brown for Gail Jonas.

A community treasure - Healdsburg Community Nursery School

2009-11-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months, I 've been participating in the Healdsburg Community Nursery School(HCNS) with my 33 month old twin grandchildren, Rody and Sophia. It’s been an amazing experience.

Here they are, out on the school’s field trip to the Pumpkin Farm in October.

This past Saturday, I attended the “Giving Thanks” celebration at the school. In the front yard, kids were squealing and laughing in a “jumpy house,” and adults were conversing in the warm fall sun. There I met Emily McGrath and her HCNS alumni son, Finnegan, 5 ½, photo below. His younger brother, Aidan, is in the same class as Rody and Sophia. She organized the celebration with the help of the other school board members.

Inside the school, I smelled cookies, which were just coming out of the oven. Standing back by the kitchen, I met Nora Bulloch, whose friend from Burlingame was shoveling the cookies in and out of the oven. I asked Nora why she liked HCNS, and she responded that it helps parents “act appropriately went they participate in their kids’ education in the upper grades,” and “it helped me learn how to be as a parent.”

Well! I have to admit that Teacher Lisa, who is there in the morning when the twins and I attend, is helping me learn how to be a grandparent. Here’s an example: The kids wait in line on a bench in order to play on the swing that’s suspended from the ceiling in the front of the schoolroom. My grandson Rody took his first twirl on it, then got back on the bench to wait for another turn. When he decided to do something else, I jumped into his place on the bench and said “I’ll save your place, Rody.” Lisa gently reminded me that I had missed a teachable moment. I think you get the idea.

One of the most wonderful things about HCNS is how it encourages kids to use their imaginations. Here’s the kids’ kitchen.

I had no idea who important it is to create an environment that enhances a child’s ability to imagine until I read Can The Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control?. Now, if I can just let the kids develop their own imaginations. That means I need to exercise some self-control and just watch what they are doing instead of plunging in and acting like a three year old myself.

From Healdsburg Tribune Letters to the Editor

2009-11-16T23:45:00.000-08:00

This letter from a community member appeared in last week's Healdsburg Tribune. I thought it was very touching. I count myself as one of those who shoots a look at that bridge whenever I return to Healdsburg. And I give thanks for the town and it's history.

Destruction of our soul

Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:01 PM PST

Editor: Ray Holley’s column in the Nov. 5 Tribune suggested that city officials are predisposed to destruction of Memorial Bridge.

Let me see if I have this right: We are going to tear down a magnificent community symbol and replace it with a concrete lump that only Caltrans could love? Unthinkable.

Other communities that have been down this road would agree. Did San Francisco rip out the Joseph Strauss-designed Lefty O’Doul Bridge when construction of AT&T park threatened it? Certainly not. And what was Guerneville’s answer when its wonderful old span faced the wrecking ball? Save it.

It’s time to end defeatist thinking about Memorial Bridge. There are many rescue efforts that should be aggressively explored, including creation of a community improvement district that would not just save the bridge but beautify the surrounding area.

Memorial Bridge is as much the fabric of Healdsburg as our beloved Plaza. Who among us hasn’t shot the bridge a glimpse from northbound 101 as we returned to town from a trip and thought, “Hey, I’m home!”

Tearing down that bridge is destruction of the community’s soul. Don’t let it happen.

David S. Dietz

Healdsburg

Come on out to support Community First and Community Impact Reports!

2009-11-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Monday, November 30, at 6:00 p.m., the City of Healdsburg is going to hold a workshop where staff members will present information to the city council and planning commission regarding Healdsburg's current development information gathering system and the information covered by the system. The city council is trying to determine if the various reports already include the information covered by a Community Impact Report (CIR).

This is not a hearing, where public input will be sought, but an informational meeting answering the questions Councilman Tom Chambers requested at the meeting held on November 2. Our intent is to listen actively and to gather more information available to community members.

Community First wants to show the city council we have broad community support for CIRs, so please come out to join us at this important meeting!

Below are links to an article in the Healdsburg Tribune and two articles in the Press Democrat concerning CIRs:

Healdsburg Tribune article:

Press Democrat: November 11

Press Democrat: November 15

Christmas shopping at the Farmers Market

2009-11-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, after I ordered my flowers (mums, one of which you see above) from Steve Hilker at the Healdsburg Farmers Market, I wandered about and looked at what was being sold in the other booths.

I decided that I would do my Christmas shopping at the market. Hand-made brooms, jewelry, warm caps and scarves __ the variety of items offered is amazing.

Since the market closes at the end of November, I’ll have to shop early. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the holiday season.

Calling all lovers of language in Healdsburg

2009-11-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

If you’re a language lover, possibly you formed that love when you took Latin in high school and/or college. I'm passing this request on in order to help Healdsburg resident, Janice Sinclaire, keep Latin classes at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Janice does so much for our community. Her husband, Tom Brand, is Executive Director of our local non-profit Raven Performing Arts Theater.

Below is Janice’s request:

Santa Rosa Junior College Latin Program

Historically, the Latin program at Santa Rosa Junior College has offered four semesters of Latin, plus an additional 2 or 3 units of "special study." In the last year, the Latin program has been cut back to Latin I only. At the end of October, 2009, SRJC felt compelled to eliminate the program altogether, not because of a lack of interest on the part of students, but because Latin does not lead to a major at SRJC.

I have been able to convince the dean of the department, a linguist who understands the value of Latin, to reinstate Latin II for the spring, 2010, semester, and Latin I and III for fall, 2010. In exchange for that commitment, I have agreed to help raise $2500 by January 30, 2010, and an additional $2500 by June 15, 2010.

Through my involvement with the program over the last 6 or 7 years, I have come to see the value of Latin study for the students at SRJC. It is not uncommon for first year students to enter the program with little or no English grammar skills. I have often heard students express their astonishment that they finally understand English grammar, thanks to their Latin study.

Because of the nature of the language (not only do verbs conjugate, but nouns decline), students become better writers and speakers of English, not just Latin. These improved skills make it much more likely that they will succeed as college students - much more likely not only to graduate from SRJC, but to continue to a four-year university.

In addition, in my experience, the study of Latin through SRJC has led most of the students to the study of French, Spanish or Italian: several I know have gone on to study classical Greek and even Arabic.Several classical leagues have come on board to help me research grants for the future of the program. However, these are long term projects due to the nature of grant writing and the formal grant mechanism at SRJC.

In addition, I will be exploring the possibility of a joint program with Sonoma State University; SSU currently has 4 graduate students in theprogram who need Latin II this spring in order to graduate in May. It only makes sense that SSU contribute to the program, as they are relying upon it for their own students. Because the funding mechanisms differ at the two schools, this too is a long term project.

Your tax-deductible contribution to this effort will save the Latin program at SRJC. In a way, this crisis has been a good thing for many of the students in the current Latin I class. They realized that they'd better get involved and are therefore writing letters and organizing a Latin Club to have more visibility on campus and off. I truly believe that we can not only save the program, but make it stronger. Thank you very much for your interest, and if you have any additional questions, please contact me:

Janice Sinclaire: 950 Canyon Road Geyserville, CA 95441 (707) 857.3031 Jansin@sonic.net. Make the check out Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation, indicate on the memo line that it's for Latin II and mail to me at P.O. Box 1170, Healdsburg, CA 95448 (c/o Janice Sinclaire)

Photo: From U. of Michigan archives: A Latin documentary text, actually an acknowledgment of debt. 2nd Century AD. Caesarea, Mauretania.

Healdsburg Literary Cafe

2009-11-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended Healdsburg’s Literary Café at the Senior Center. Featured readers were Sher Christian, performance poet from Bodega, reading poems from her book Star Kissed Shadows, and accompanied on the piano by her husband, John; and Lian Gouw, first time novelist who read excerpts from her book, Only a Girl. Both of these delightful women writers are charming and approachable.

In the lowered lights of Healdsburg Senior Center’s large room, attendees seated themselves at tables for four transformed by tablecloths and real-looking candles into a charming cafe. A spread of fruit, cookies, cakes, and tea was offered to attendees. Books and CDs were available for purchase.

The evening started with an open mic session, where writers read from their own short works or poetry, or read poetry by another author. About twelve people read and a variety of local talent was represented, from a young boy reading from his newly begun short story, to Vilma Ginsberg, Healdsburg’s Literary Laureate 2008/2009 reading from several works. From a rollicking yodeling poem/song, to the Chicken Diaries, written and read by our host, it was an enjoyable evening.

Lian Gouw wrote Only a Girl out of her experiences growing up in Indonesia. She found a gap in the writing set in that country—the voice of the Chinese experience. Set in the great world events from 1930 to 1952—the Great Depression, World War II, and the Indonesian Revolution—Gouw offers an enlightening exploration of those events seen through the eyes of four women.

I hadn’t attended a Literary Café evening before, and once again I found it’s easy to spend a delightful evening in Healdsburg.

*An apology and disclaimer—I didn’t get the names of all the writers and readers last night, and I’m sorry for not being able to attach everyone’s name with the work they read last night. But I appreciate everyone who contributed to such a delicious evening and I hope to learn your names, faces, and voices the next time we meet.

**Interested in Only a Girl? Lian Gouw’s website is www.liangouw.com

**Interested in Star Kissed Shadows? Sher Lianne Christian’s website is http://lusciouspoetry.typepad.com/

Come One, Come All to the Healdsburg Farmers' Market

2009-11-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Have you been shopping the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market all season? From May through November, we can support our local farmers, and as well as those who offer other locally produced goods, such as cheese and butter, wine vinegars, olive oils, ceramics, honey and more. In addition, during November, we have the opportunity to see, support, and celebrate local artists and artisans. The Healdsburg Farmers’ Market is currently holding its annual arts and crafts fair in addition to the regular market.

What better way to practice sustainability and to spend our hard-earned money than by supporting our local producers? By buying locally, we lessen the greenhouse gas emission created when driving a car, support our local economy, sustain responsibly grown local produce, and create community. Most of the artists, crafters, farmers and other producers are local residents.

Warm sunshine helped to cut the cool brisk breezes at the market this morning. The variety offered is amazing. From tote bags and jewelry created from recycled plastic bags (offered by Eco Chic a group of local teenaged girl entrepreneurs) to granite cheeseboards, from knitted hats to baby blankets, locally created goods offer us an opportunity to do our holiday shopping while getting to know more members of our community. Easy camaraderie among the producers makes the market a pleasant venue on Saturday mornings.

The market opens at 9 a.m. with the ringing of the bell, and closes at noon on Saturdays. The last market is on Saturday, November 28. I hope to see everyone there next Saturday--and remember to bring your reusable tote bags!

Please come to city hall Monday, Nov. 2nd at 6 pm

2009-10-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

Community First, a group of Healdsburg residents, has been meeting since January to study a tool, a Community Impact Report (CIR), that we think will help Healdsburg maintain its high quality of life in the future.

A Community Impact Report is an informational report that covers the economic and social impacts of any new significant development. Community First is especially concerned about the impact of a new large development, say a hotel that will employ 300 people, on our hospital, the Alliance Medical Center, and our schools.* The impact on these services needs to be disclosed early on in the application process.

There are other impacts, such as the costs and benefits to public agencies and how a new large development will affect local businesses, that we ought to know about.

On Monday, November 2nd at 6 pm, we're on the agenda to ask the city to appoint a committee to study and hopefully recommend the city staff draft a Community Impact Report ordinance. We need just one more vote. Two city council members already support this effort. We need about 70 people to fill the city council chambers.

Here is our one-page talking points (slightly revised from this version but essentially the same). We would appreciate it if you'd also sign the letter of support, and fax it to me, 433.8314, or scan/send it to Ann Carranza, positivelyann@sbcglobal.net. Or you can mail it or drop it off at 521 Brown Street.

I hope you’ll join us.

Gail Jonas, Chair of Community First, 707.431.8451

*Photo of Healdsburg students

Healdsburg's Climate Change event

2009-10-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great time yesterday afternoon. It was uplifting to join thousands around the world – 5,200 actions in 181 countries. The photos at 350.org are inspiring.

Kid photo: Grandma Gail Jonas

Group photo: Ann Carranza

Healdsburg Community Blog Calendar of Events

2009-10-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 24: We’ve organized a “Grapevine March” right here in Healdsburg. As of today, there are 3,550 actions in 161 countries. In Sonoma County, there are 11 actions. Grandson Casey (photo) will be joining us. Climate change is a local issue. Click here to sign up. You can meet us at Gail Jonas' home at 521 Brown Street at 1 pm or downtown in the Plaza at 2 pm.

Sunday, October 25: Geyserville Fall Colors Festival and Vintage Car Show. Fun family activities all day 10-3 p.m. on Geyserville's main street. Shonnie Brown will be selling her bottle cap earrings (see photo).

Monday, November 2: Community First is on the agenda to ask the city to appoint a committee to study and hopefully recommend the city staff draft a Community Impact Report ordinance. Please show up at city hall on Monday, November 2 at 6 pm. We need just one more vote. Two city council members already support this effort. We need about 70 people to fill the city council chambers.

Saturday, November 7: Holiday Church Boutique 10-2 p.m. at Healdsburg Communnity Church.

Yikes, it is a lot of work to post a bulletin with links! Hopefully folks will read it.

On October 24, join people all over the world to take a stand for a safe climate future…right here in Healdsburg.

2009-10-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

As of today, there are 3,550 actions in 161 countries. In Sonoma County, there are 11 actions. We’ve organized a “Grapevine March” right here in Healdsburg. Grandson Casey (photo) will be joining us.

Huh? Why a grapevine march? Why do the signs say “Destination: Canada”?

Because climate change is a local issue. In July of 2006, the Press Democrat reporter Tim Tesconi wrote an article about a new report that warns that the North Coast may get too hot in the coming century for our crops, especially premium grapes. If you’re interested in this issue you can read more here.

If you:
1. Like the idea of staying local
2. Think this action is worthwhile
and
3. Sounds kinda fun, click here and sign up. You can meet us at my home at 521 Brown Street at 1 pm or downtown in the Plaza at 2 pm.

Join a local action from 1 to 3 on October 24th to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on local agriculture

2009-10-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

In July of 2006, the Press Democrat reporter Tim Tesconi wrote an article about a new report that warns that the North Coast may get too hot in the coming century for our crops, especially premium grapes.

If you’re interested in this issue you can read a scholarly treatise here.

If you are convinced that climate change is a local issue and want to do something about it, join hundreds and thousands of people across the world who will be making a visible and vocal call for reducing our greenhouse gases on October 24.

I signed up with 350.org to sponsor a local event from 1 to 3 pm on October 24th. My plan is to do a “grapevine march,” carrying grape branches with signs stating: “Destination: Canada”. Learn more about it and if this sounds worthwhile and kinda fun, click here and sign up.

Sunday mornings in my kitchen

2009-10-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday morning when I’m home I bake bread in the form of sourdough buns. As you can see, they are golden-brown and appear to be quite delectable.

I’ve been baking them on and off for around 40 years, using a recipe I created.

You can make your own sourdough starter or purchase it here.

If you use your sourdough starter every week, you don’t have to be concerned about it going bad. If you miss a week, throw some of the starter out and replenish it with equal parts milk and water and let it sit at room temperature until it’s bubbly. Some people use water instead of milk.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me: gejonas@sonic.net.

A Grain of Corn: "Random Beauty Strikes Healdsburg"

2009-10-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Along with the daily news of all that is tragic and scary in this world, I can imagine a headline in our local newspaper saying "Random Beauty Strikes Hard in Healdsburg 365 Days Per Year". Let's admit it: we are so blessed here or so lucky (depending on your view of the relative randomness of it all).

Many of us have been watching Ken Burns' documentary on the National Parks acknowledging the extraordinary beauty of our homeland. But don't we also have an extraordinary share of that beauty right here in Healdsburg?

For me, the "Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Beauty" bumper sticker is just too corny. But, it's also true. Everywhere we go in Healdsburg and it's surrounds, we encounter beauty. Walking down our own streets, we see beauty in the blossoms, the trees changing color, the attention put into our dwellings and the greetings from our neighbors. Tuesdays have become my gratitude day because I begin them with a beautiful drive into the Alexander Valley to visit with my oldtimer friends, Fred and Ruby Wasson. How can that kind of beginning not make one feel happy and at peace? There is sure enough in life to bring us down, but there's also plenty to feel good about 365 days per year in Healdsburg.

Thank you to Mother Nature, our town founders and the generations before us who worked so hard to make and keep this beautiful space on planet Earth. Thanks to all of you out there who give of your time and effort to restore and rebuild the beauty that we have so taken for granted.

Local action to halt global warming: October 24, 1-3 pm

2009-10-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

Interested in joining with the hundreds and thousands of people across the world who, on October 24, will be making a visible and vocal call for reducing our greenhouse gases?

Want to stay right here in Healdsburg to do it? Click here and sign up.

The Healdsburg Food Pantry annual Square Dance: Have fun and help members of our community at the same time

2009-10-03T17:51:00.001-07:00

On November 7, I’ll be attending my third BBQ and Square Dance at the Villa Chanticleer sponsored by the Healdsburg Food Pantry.

It is so much fun! Plus it provides almost all of the Pantry’s yearly budget. In 2008-2009 a total of 11,690,000 pounds of food was purchased from the Redwood Empire Food Bank, which amounts to 9 million meals, a 31% increase over previous years. Many Healdsburg residents count on this food for themselves and their families.

I hope to see you there. I hope to see Councilmember Gary Plass and his wife Lorraine there again this year. I hope you'll dance with me!

For online tickets, go to Brown Paper Tickets.

For more information, contact:
Mimi Enright
1083 Vine St. #121
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-484-2264
mimi@sanssouciservice.com

(photo courtesy of the Dance Heritage Coalition)

Internationally famous global warming activist coming to Santa Rosa on Oct. 2

2009-09-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Scientific evidence reveals that our premium grapes, indeed all of our food crops, will be adversely affected by global warming. Sooner, rather than later.

We’re fortunate that Bill McGibbon is appearing in Sonoma County this Friday evening at the Sonoma Country Day School. McGibbon, founder of 350.org, is worth listening to. You can sign up in advance here for $10 or pay $15 at the door.

In a future post, I’ll present the evidence that our premium grapes are likely to be heading to Canada.

Attention Healdsburg History Buffs: Help Needed

2009-09-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

I need help with interesting facts or information about the following Healdsburg stores and

shopkeepers (such as dates stores were in service, owners names, what was purchased there, etc.). If you have something to share, please post a comment or e-mail me at shonnie@sonic.net. (Please excuse and correct any misspellings):

Rosenberg and Bush Department Store

Emery and McClellan Grocery

Johnny Gromo

Cummings Butcher Shop

Ed Jenkins

Shelford's Dress Shop--owners?

Skaggs

old Purity Market

Penney's

Rhimes and Hassett

Jay Hassett

other stores of the 1930s

Trees Matter, Part III

2009-09-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Check out National Geographic's The Tallest Trees, the cover story in the October, 2009 issue. I consider myself very blessed to live right in the middle of redwood country.

(Photo of one of our revered redwood trees, same tree in my first post on the subject, "Trees Matter" because I'm careful about copyright laws. The photos of redwood trees in the article are incredible.)

Trees Do Matter (Gail's right, of course)

2009-09-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

(Photos: persimmon canopy, grapefruit canopy, trees shading Alley 1)

As I took Maggie May on our little walk around the block this a.m. I was reflecting on Gail Jonas' recent post entitled Trees Matter. I was contemplating the value of trees for beauty, peace and emotional comfort as well as for the many scientific and ecological reasons. And most of all, I was appreciating the number and range of trees just on my block (and all throughout town) that grow over our sidewalks providing not only a lovely canopy of shade, but a presence, as if to say, "This is my home and I take up space. I deserve the respect of other living creatures because I am a big part of the whole of planet earth."

I like that our trees demand our respect and that our city mainly supports this. Gail gave the example of redwoods in town that have been given precedence over sidewalks. There have been times when community members have fought to keep a beloved neighborhood tree and mourned its loss. We couldn't exist without the oxygen generated from trees. Trees clean the air, the soil and muffle noise pollution. And trees greatly increase property value.

It feels good to walk consciously at times and pay homage to our trees. They, like so much on this beautiful, fragile planet, are taken for granted by most of us most of the time.

A Geyserville Hero Finds Lost Men in Yukon Territory in 1930

2009-09-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

(This original news article was loaned to me by Alexander Valley native and old timer, Fred Wasson. It is a long story, but a fascinating account of his brother Everett's adventures as a bush pilot in 1930s Yukon Territory)

Geyserville pilot rescues lost Yukon airmen in 1930

By Lester M. Herring and Ray Anderson

Cloverdale Reveille, October 11, 2000

Young Everett Wasson who grew up on the family ranch in AlexanderValley near the Sonoma County village of Geyserville, left the family home at the age of 20 to become a pilot. A few days later on February 1, 1928 he was issued student pilot's identification card #556 at the Oakland Airport. This was the beginning of a career that brought him fame as an early day bush pilot in the Yukon Territory of Canada.

By August13,1928 his flight log shows a total of 341.20 hours. On August 29 of the same month, he was on his way to Seattle as a passenger on a Fairchild airplane, then on to Whitehorse where he was employed as a pilot for the Treadwell Yukon Mining Company.

For the next two years Wasson was kept busy flying men and equipment for the company. Then on November 3,1930, he was assigned to conduct a search for a pilot with two passengers who were long overdue on a flight in the desolate, winter-time wilds of the Yukon.

Paddie Burke, piloting a pontoon equipped Junkers aircraft, with Robert Martin, prospector,and Emil Kaden, mining engineer, as passengers, had taken off from the town of Atlin on October 10, 1930 on a flight to the Hudson Bay Company post on the Liard River, about 150 miles to the east of Whitehorse, YukonTerritory.

On their retum flight of October11, 1930 they encountered a severe snow storm which forced them to land on the Liard River where theyspent the night. The next day they took off again but were forced back a second time by heavy snow. But this time, their pontoons were damaged beyond any possibility of repair by rocks and ice while taxing to the side of the river.

After six days ofwaiting without rescue, the three struck out cross country for a lake where a food supply had previously been cached. Unsure of their location and with only a meager supply of food, an axe, a rifle with only 12

bullets and inadequate clothing, they braved the earlyYukon winter snowstorm. They trudged for seven days before exhaustion and malnutrition forced them to camp. It was sixteen more days before a Caribou wandered within shooting

range which they were able to kill, providing needed nourishment.

About a week after leaving At1in, the trio were finally reported overdue by Pilot Paddie Burke's wife, and then time was lost before a search was started. Three search parties failed to locate the missing men or the airplane. The third party themselves were lost and never found. Finally Burke's company contacted Wasson's employer to search for the missing flyers. On November 3, 1930, on a flight from Whitehorse to Atlin, Everett Wasson noted in his pilot's log, "PREPARING TO SEARCH FOR BURKE".

Many search flights followed with no results. Finally, after three weeks of searching, and with the

help of Joe Walsh--a long time prospector and one of the most experienced guides in the northwest, Everett Wasson noted in his logbook on Nov. 24th, "FOUND BURKE'S PLANE". But there was no sign of the three men. Finally, after five more flights, he noted, "BURKE'S PARTY FOUND, BURKE DEAD." He had died of hunger and exposure in the harsh Yukon winter.

The survivors were flown by Wasson to Whitehorse. Ten days later he returned to Wolf Lake and brought out the body of Paddy Burke. As a result of Everett Wasson's tenacity, his extreme effort against great odds and his final success, he was accorded much praise and honor not only in the newspapers and magazines of the day, but by the government as well. The dominion government awarded him $1500 and Walsh $500. There were many press reports as the search was in progress, both in this country and in Canada.

On Saturday, January 17,1931, a full page spreading the Vancouver Star newspaper declared "Vancouver Welcomes Pilot Wasson". The following Monday he was scheduled to make a speech before the Canadian Club, entitled "Some aspects of flying in the Yukon."

Dated January17,1931,a letter of congratulations was sent to Wasson signed by Hugo Junkers of the Junkers Aircraft Company, builders of the ill-fated plane. (Fortunately for us, the letter written in German, was translated to English on the back.)

Finally, on the 6th of May, 1935, Everett Louis Wasson was awarded a medal from the Buckingham Palace by his Majesty the King, in appreciation and recognition of his services to the Yukon Territory.

In February 1936, a small lake on the southside of the Simpson range near the headwaters of the Liard River was named "Wasson Lake" in recognition of the first bush pilot in the Yukon and his efforts in the first air-search and rescue mission in Yukon history.

After several more years of doing what he loved best, Everett Wasson retired from flying. He returned to farming in Alexander Valley and died of a heart attack in December 1958 at the young age of 51.

Healdsburg City Council Kudos

2009-09-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Monday evening, September 21, 2009, two Community First members, Gail Jonas and Brad Drexler, appeared before the Healdsburg City Council to ask that a discussion of Community Impact Reports (CIR) be agendized. They were the second item placed that evening on the public comment portion of the agenda, following the supporters of the Healdsburg Swim Center.

The Healdsburg Swim Center supporters were there with another community benefit request—that the city council reconsider closing of the swim center for the winter. They filled more than half the city council chambers with supporters of all ages—from tiny tot swimmers, to water aerobics representatives, from masters’ swim teams, Neptune Swimming, and both Healdsburg and Windsor High School swim coaches. Their request is reasonable, albeit late in the process, and they are all willing to band together to raise the funds to close the gap between city financing and actual revenues. I hope they win the hearts and minds of the council members and their request prevails.

The CIR group was well-supported with around twenty people in attendance. Brad spoke in a low-key, positive manner and was very persuasive. Gail’s energy and enthusiasm cannot be topped. Former council member Jason Liles also spoke in favor of a CIR ordinance. Gail respectfully submitted 44 letters of support for the CIR, containing the signatures of 49 individuals. She delivered a crowning “gotcha” moment when asked if those 49 supporters would come out to the meeting if requested, she turned and asked for a show of hands of CIR supporters. We all had a hearty laugh at her, “See?!”

But what I most want to remark upon is the attitude and general beneficence of the Healdsburg City Council members. They listened attentively and respectfully, and were considerate, though they were forbidden by the Brown Act to make any comments beyond the very general. I went away with the feeling that—though I might disagree with an individual council member over specific issues—we were heard by compassionate individuals who genuinely care about Healdsburg, the future of Healdsburg and its residents, from the eldest to the youngest.

So, I wish to thank them publicly for their active listening and their willingness to understand the differing views held by Healdsburg residents. And to thank them for being open to discussion, and perhaps to change their minds, over the tough challenges that face us now and in the future.

(The CIR discussion was agendized for November 2—City Hall, 6:00 p.m. See you there!)

Community values and Healdsburg Animal Shelter

2009-09-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Community consists, not just the human residents of an area, but the pets and wildlife that reside in our homes and yards, or traverse our neighborhoods. With delight I read of Rodney and Charlotte Strong’s generous bequeathal of $2.4 million to the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.

Like many residents, I have a long association with the shelter. My son, Damien, worked as a volunteer for HAS during 1993-1994, as I homeschooled him. Instead of being a dog walker or spending time socializing the animals, Damien’s schedule allowed for him to be a kennel cleaner (a dirty job, but someone has to do it). There he met our beloved Snoopy. He kept trying to get me to come to the shelter to meet Snoopy (aka Snoop Doggy Dog, at the time).

Daily he would plead, “Mom, there’s this dog….”

I would cut him off by saying I couldn’t meet the dog because I would then want the dog. However, Damien prevailed and Snoopy came home with us.

Damien went off to college, moved out, got married, but Snoopy stayed home with us, of course, where he belonged. He wasn’t the brightest dog in the room—he was a beagle/border collie mix, and his scent-hound nose got him into a lot of trouble. But love—oh how Snoopy wrote the book on love—with his chocolate-brown eyes that melted the hardest heart, Snoopy ruled our family. He had his own recliner, his own outside loveseat, treats (especially carrots), and when we lost him a couple of years ago, it was nearly more than we could bear. We still miss him daily.

A few months back, small dog got run over on the corner of March and Tulip, and while my husband put the tiny body into a bag, I called the shelter. Ryan came to pick up the small pooch and I got to meet him for the first time. While meeting him under sad circumstances, I was heartened by his kindness and empathy.

My latest jaunt to the animal shelter was to take in a stray cat that had nearly gotten hit on March and darted into our garage. I’ve been watching on the website, and I believe he’s been adopted—a happy ending to a potentially deadly beginning.

Having a “no-kill” shelter in our community enriches us and represents our values of caring for the animals that are part of our lives. Having a new state-of-the-art shelter will allow the staff to extend their reach even further. I offer a posthumous thank you to the Strong’s for their generous gift that will allow HAS to do even more for the pets in our community. I would also like to thank the staff and volunteers who selflessly work with our furry community members every day.

I urge everyone to contribute to the shelter to help further their new plans.

A California Home Is Powerful in White

2009-09-19T00:04:00.001-07:00

Jack's house at 226 North was featured in House Beautiful, January 2009. Fabulous restoration work and was on the Healdsburg Historic Home tour this last year. Pottery Barn will be doing a photoshoot upcoming in the next few weeks so not to worry with all the trucks, etc. Myra Hoffer is his decorator and is interviewed in the article.

A California Home Is Powerful in White

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Fences Between Neighbors

2009-09-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about fences as I begin my biannual painting of the white picket fences that separate my house from my neighbors on both sides.

Yesterday I heard a talk radio conversation about borders. One woman suggested just eliminating the borders between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. completely. And the host asked her, "What would then delineate us as a nation?" The woman didn't seem to care--rather thought that we might eventually become one nation. The talk show host thought this was a foolish notion considering the problem with illegal aliens invading our country and stealing our jobs.

Given this theme, I thought about borders between neighbors' homes. It seems that the only time I squabble with a neighbor--except over barking dogs, human screams, music blaring or motorcycles revving--is over a fence. Whose fence is it? Who's responsible for the upkeep? Should I paint your side or just mine? What do I do when it falls and I don't have the money to put it back in place? What does a fence tell me about my neighbor?

There are all kinds of fences in Healdsburg. I observe that the old fences are usually wire with large spaces between so that neighbors can easily converse or even shake hands between property lines. Then fences became mostly short picket ones. And now they are often walls. The property lines on the alleys in particular are often high adobe walls which you'd need a ladder to see over. In the hills they are expensive Tuscan iron fences with gigantic, fancy locked gates with security codes. In the old days and in many countries today fences virtually didn't exist. Why do we need so much privacy and protection? Why do we need to keep each other at such a distance?

What will Healdsburg be like in the future?

2009-09-16T16:36:00.001-07:00

Most of us know that there are several large parcels within the city limits that are likely to be developed. What will be proposed for these parcels? A high-end resort complex including restaurants and homes for the wealthy? A big box store?

Of course, we have no idea what will be proposed until a developer comes forward with a project.

However, there’s a tool available, used in other communities across the country, that will allow the residents of Healdsburg to assess the economic and social impacts of a project when it’s initially proposed and before there is too much momentum behind it.

That tool is a Community Impact Report (CIR). A group of residents have been meeting since January, studying CIRs, CIR ordinances, and coming up with talking points, a one page description of a CIRs and why requiring them for large-scale projects would benefit Healdsburg.

Take a few minutes to read our talking points and if you, too, think having a CIR ordinance is a good idea, please:

1. Show up at Healdsburg City Council Chambers (corner of Vine and North Streets) at 6 pm this coming Monday, September 21st. Jason Liles and I will be making a brief presentation to the city council within the first half hour asking it to agendize our request that the city council appoint a committee to study CIRs and hopefully draft, with the help of city staff and the city attorney, a CIR ordinance.

2. Sign and send the Letter of support for CIRs to me via fax, 433.8314, or scan and send to Ann Carranza, Positivelyann@sbcglobal.net or mail it to her: 1330 Tulip Court, Healdsburg, CA 95448.

A 14 page report, "The Case for the Community Impact Report" describes the positive role of community involvement in proposed projects.

Drawing of Healdsburg, circa 1876, courtesy of World Maps Online.

A Hooker House: Posted by Gary Goss

2009-09-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

A HOOKER HOUSE

Yesterday we took two Ohio visitors to Healdsburg on a tour of the county, which I enjoy, and in the town of Sonoma we stumbled on an attraction that was new to us: The Hooker House. At one point or another before the Civil War, generals-to-be Grant, Sherman and Hooker were stationed in Sonoma and stayed in the Hooker house, a small wooden residence down an alley on the east side of the Sonoma zocalo (plaza). It was one of several houses Hooker owned.

The house is open to the public and contains some interesting photographs and charts (and nice docents). Hooker's military career had ups and downs, and he is probably most famous for the camp followers his army attracted, which came to be known as "hookers" in his honor. That is how the term originated.

Neighbors Lend a Helping Hand for Missing Maggie May

2009-09-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

My poodle Maggie May had a full out panic attack last night after that first huge roll of thunder. Though prone to panic, I'd never seen her so terrified. She kept me up till 4:00 a.m. standing on top of me panting and shaking. Finally, I fell asleep. When I woke at 6:00, Maggie was gone--I assumed under the deck where she goes when she's afraid. When I finally arose, I went outside to get her. No response. My biggest fear was that my little Maggie May was lying literally scared to death under my deck which is impossible to access without unscrewing several boards.

I called my neighbors down the street: Theresa Burke and Brian Geagan. And they dropped what they were doing to come immediately (Brian was helping on the river clean up, but Theresa ran downtown to get him). Brian unscrewed several boards so that we could look underneath with flashlights. It was very, very tense. Meanwhile, Theresa searched every nook and cranny in the house and the yard, both of them concluding that Maggie had vanished.

I knew that my yard was completely sealed, but I called the Healdsburg Police anyway because Theresa, using good logic, reminded me that when dogs are scared enough they can escape through even the smallest crack. As she went out to the street to begin canvassing the area, a policeman whose badge read "S. Eland" approached us with a huge smile and a shivering, dirty and sticker-covered Maggie May who he'd found downtown on the corner of East and Matheson, scared to death. Maggie must have been out wandering the streets for up to six hours.

Thank you so much Officer Eland, Brian and Theresa from Maggie and me. We are so grateful to live in a town where neighbors are there for each other. Keep hope alive!

North Street in restoration and under ground

2009-09-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

This week has been quite a week for restoration of old buildings and including our 100yr old water system and pipes being replaced at East and North street. They were so kind to give a mini lesson in water systems to my son! Thank you Victor!

I think Mark at 227 has kicked up some action in raising his house but.....

Jerry at 207 has been working to the bones on restoring his "old lady" mostly inside and creating an orchard in the back lot. He has now moved to the front of the house with draped plastic to make it apparent I think he is working too. Jerry is "off the grid" as you might say with no computer so stop by and say HI physically...wonderful knowledge of buildings, restorations, and recycling of old house parts.

Ann is supervising some completion of upgrades at 340 East and Everett next door is working on his boat wishing he was probably out on the water somewhere.

The corner house at the NE corner of East and North has been undergoing major restoration the last year and the family is now living in the house with outside work continuing to be completed. They are part of the family of the previous long time owners of the property....

Hoping things will be finishing up on the East street property that has been in the works for quite a few years now and will change that face of the street a bit...hmmm.

WOW....take a stroll down our street and slow down driving....yes we are a great walkable city and treasures you will find looking all around you.

Healdsburg's Own Smith Robinson

2009-09-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is a article I wrote for Chris Smith's Column(SRPD)in 2004. So as you read my article, remember it is 2004.

My father attended HHS with Smitty, and Smitty was a visitor in our house on Fitch St, all my growing up years. Smitty often said that he saw me before my father did when I was born, because he happened to be in the delivery room fixing something when I arrived. In the late 40's and 50's Smitty directed the Federated Church Chancel Choir. I was a member of that choir from the time I was 10 until I graduated from high school in 1954. He taught us all so much. Our choir with Smitty as our director, sang all over the Bay Area. The choir was made up of all white kids, and Smitty. We thought nothing of it. Every year he would take us to San Francisco to sing for the Spring Tea that was held at the Baptist Church near Divisadero St. His brother-in-law was the Pastor there. The first year I went there with Smitty, I was 12. As I looked down on an audience of 250 black people, I was so scared, I couldn't sing. I had never been in that place before. After our concert was over, we were all invited to have refreshments with the Baptist congregation. I stayed back stage, then all of the sudden there was Smitty. He took my hand, and I followed him, from that time on I was never afraid to go there. In 1952 when Ebony Magazine did a feature article on Smitty, they came and took pictures of our Choir with Smitty directing. It was published with his article in Ebony Magazine. Just 50 years ago this month, "This Is you Life". picked Smitty to honor on their TV show. I remember how we all knew in advance, but we had to keep it a secret from him. As his "Choir Cherubs" (as he called us) we were so proud of him. We sent him a telegram to let him know how proud we all were. I have a video copy of that old TV show. All his "Choir Cherubs" gathered together in Healdsburg that night to watch the show on a small black/white TV. I remember it like it was yesterday. Smitty continued to be my friend, attending our wedding in 1957, and coming to Santa Rosa to have dinner with us after we were married and always keeping in touch.
In 1963, the whole town of Healdsburg gathered together at the Villa and raised funds for Smitty so that he could have open heart surgery. The funds were raised, but Smitty never had the surgery. I went to the Memorial hospital one night in June 1963, I hadn't plan on going that night to visit him, but something just told me that I had to go see him. When I got there, he told me that he was not going to have the surgery, and he mentioned all the things he was going to miss in life, including his mother's biscuits, and of course his choir cherubs. At 26, I didn't want to hear that or even think about it. I tried to tell him that he was going to be fine, and that he would have his mother's biscuits another day, then I left. A few minutes after I left, a nurse came in and he was gone. Once again, in his gentle way, he know better than I did.
Francis Passalacqua, a longtime Healdsburg residence, once said, "The Robinsons made Healdsburg a better place, and us better people." In my mind, that statement is so true, and that is really the way it was. In the years since Smitty's death, the Robinson family have donated all Smitty's scrap books, pictures, tapes etc. to the Healdsburg Museum. It is there for everyone to see. Two years ago, Holly Hoods, from the Healdsburg Museum and myself were invited to have lunch in San Francisco with Smitty's younger sister, Effie Robinson. The two of us had a delightful afternoon visit and lunch with Effie and her niece. Effie died last May.
Smith Robinson was much more than I am telling you to Healdsburg, and the people of Healdsburg, but for now this is enough. If you ever need more info, Holly Hoods at the Healdsburg Museum can help you, and of course I will always be glad to share with you what I know. I just want to say that I have often heard it said that the Robinsons were the only black family in Healdsburg, that is not true. The other family lived at the s/e corner of East St & Plaza. I will always miss Smitty, but I was lucky to have had him in my life for 26 years.

Darla Williams Budworth

Smith Robinson's 1951 Chancel Choir photo from Darla Williams Budworth

2009-09-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Darla Williams Budworth knew Smitty very well. She has a story behind this photo and she also wrote a published article about Smitty. I'll let her tell it in her own words...

Trees matter

2009-09-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

Do you walk or bike in Healdsburg? If so, do you ever look up? We have a wonderful treescape. Those who hike the ridge trails report that Healdsburg appears to be densely populated with trees.

Do trees matter? You bet! I’m glad Healdsburg’s decision makers agree with me. We even have a full time arborist, Matthew Thompson.

How do I know trees matter here in Healdsburg?

A. Because there are several redwood trees that have been given precedence over straight sidewalks. The redwood tree in the photo above was taken in the one hundred block of First Street, right across from where I used to live.

B. We have a heritage tree ordinance. More information is available here.

C. The Healdsburg Community Service Department has a small pamphlet, “Tree Walk of Healdsburg,” available at the museum and at the department office. It allows you to take a self-guided tour of some of Healdsburg’s wonderful trees.

Finally, trees matter because they not only make Healdsburg a more attractive town, but they do lots of wonderful things for our earth. Check out Ten top reasons why trees are important.

North Street Neighbors

2009-09-09T00:39:00.001-07:00

What great fun I am having these days with "authoring" a few blogs and being "administrator" for a few FaceBook pages. The comfort of my home office is in the old front room of g.grandma "Grace" Myrthena Freshour Perry's house on north street. The traffic on our "racetrack" street has slowed nicely as folks check out the site at 227 North Street and very blessed our corner has not been a casualty of another road accident. When Jack moved in to the SW corner of Fitch and North, I reminded him that he has the neighborhood job of calling in the accidents to the police department being in his house as I was relinquishing that duty which I covered after Rick and Kathy moved out. Jack thought I was kidding! I broke him in on the next accident which included phoning it in to local pd quickly assessing what emergency vehicles to dispatch ie. injury, non operating motor vehicle in roadway, fights, liquid leaks now called hazardous spill. Get to know the responders that show up as you never know when you might need help yourself. With phone in hand (make sure your house phone and not cell phone), grab bottle of water for the crash victim for drinking, etc. and direct traffic to avoid a secondary accident. Response time is pretty good unless another emergency at the same time whereas you will probably get another neighbor out to help you as the corner crashes do resonate into our old houses pretty well. Jack I think was a bit put off by this as "not disclosed" in his purchase of the home...but then again it is all good neighbors supporting each other in time of need.

We need not try to remember the arson fires a few years back that rocked our neighborhood and many lost sleep at night hearing the fire trucks patrolling our streets at night with the search lights searching for the arsonist. Not before he set many of our old structures on fire and a few more than once because our neighbors noticed the first ones before they did serious damage.

Our neighbors come and go like the tennants at the apartment house, work out of town as professional jobs are limited here, have lived their lives in their house and have passed on to our dear lord, moved on so that they can sell house to pay for kids college tuitition (these old ladies do hold value and also increase in value based on restoration), attempt to restore an old house but change opinion with pressures from building department that better to "tear the old thing down as not worth it and too expensive to restore - tear the place down, build new and go for the stars" forgetting you have neighbors. I feel blessed to be "new" to the neighborhood since 1988 and to have great neighbors around us. My parents loved town so much they moved here also and blessed they are our neighbors too.

I love the story from Ann Carranza (her son is a great sports couch to my son too) about sharing your plentiful fruit with neighbors and what a great way to get to know them better. Say "Hi", give a wave....especially during Farmer's Market or walking to/from with your bountiful of local harvest.

Neighbors and Neighborhoods

2009-09-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am thinking about neighbors and neighborhoods here in our community. My two friends, Robert and Heidi, just knocked on my door to come say "Hi" because they were taking a late evening walk around town. And as my pal Sue Yavorsky says, "I love that we can just walk to each other's house. Where else can you do that?"

Haydon Street, where I live in the southeast corner of old Healdsburg, has changed many times over in the 11 years that I have lived here. I used to know many more of my neighbors than I do today. Actually, four of the homes on my block are second homes that rarely have people inside. I find that rather sad.

I know a little about Barb Tuscany's neighborhood because she is vitally interested in her neighbors and has shared with me about them, especially about the big goings-on at 227 North Street. When I interviewed Gina Riner for Neighbors, she invited me to a neighborhood party and I still see some of the people I met that night. I know some of my neighbors on both Tucker and Mason Streets, because these are the streets that border mine. But generally, I don't know much of anything about the little micro-communities in town. And I am curious.

One of the things we could talk about on our community blog is about our neighborhoods. Please tell me more about yours...

More on the Community First Committee as written by Gary Goss

2009-09-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Community First Committee, chaired by Gail Jonas, will ask the members of the city council to set up an official committee to look into a requirement that community impact reports be filed for large developments. Community impact reports differ from town to town (San Diego, San Jose, Petaluma, for example), so that they can meet local needs. That's why we are asking our council members to shape the requirement.

If we had had a community impact report on Saggio Hills, we might have had a more focused and quicker discussion.

Note that CIRs are much shorter and less expensive than Environmental Impact Reports. They look at whether change will help or hurt a town. I'll give one example. Let's say that Home Depot decides it would like to build a megastore in Healdsburg. Will the sales and taxes generated by Home Depot add to the taxes provided by the existing stores in town, or will the sales and taxes at Home Depot come at the expense of the older stores, adding no new income to the town?

If you are free, come to the meeting of the City Council at 6 on Monday, September 21. Our presentation will have to be brief (those are the rules), and you should be able to leave by 6:30.

Community First and Community Impact Reports

2009-09-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Healdsburg is a wonderful community—vibrant, perfect location, wonderful people. And then we had Saggio Hills, and whether one came down for the project or against, most who were involved do believe the process was painful and a, to be hoped, once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, out of the painful, and yet to be resolved Saggio Hills affair, arose a new community organization—Community First.

Self-described as, “A diverse group of community members committed to smart, sustainable, equitable development,” the committee is striving toward a Community Impact Report (CIR) ordinance for the city of Healdsburg. Leading communities already adopting CIRs are such diverse places as Bennington, Vermont, and San Diego, California. Locally, Petaluma has already adopted a CIR ordinance and Sebastopol, as well as Healdsburg, are in the process of exploring this option.

A CIR is an informational report that provides an early, transparent look at large developments within a community. They typically cover a fiscal assessment (costs and benefits to public agencies and the impact on current businesses); an employment assessment (number, type, wages/benefits of both temporary and permanent jobs created by a development); an affordable housing assessment; a neighborhood needs assessment (child care, parks, impacts on schools and medical facilities); and a smart growth assessment (pedestrian friendly, green spaces, and mass transit availability).

Community Impact Reports are not required of existing businesses and they will not apply to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Certain “triggers” would provide impetus to start the process. Those triggers would be set by the City of Healdsburg, should they adopt a CIR ordinance, and could be such things as the special study areas, a certain amount of Planning Department hours, square footage, as well as other possible conditions.

A CIR is a short “balance sheet” by which to weigh the benefits and costs of a particular project, in order to build consensus, cooperation, and compromise, and a manner by which to avoid costly litigation. A CIR does not mandate changes to proposed projects and is performed by an independent consultant, chosen by the city, and paid for by the developer.

Prepared at the beginning the development process, and only about thirty pages long, it uncovers questions and concerns early enough for valuable and timely input by the community, thereby saving the developer time and money. In addition, when the community is satisfied with a project, they can become goodwill ambassadors for a development company by “selling” it to the community at large.

Community Impact Reports are proving beneficial to developers by promoting constructive public input in a timely manner and avoids confrontation by disgruntled opposition. CIRs provide complete information regarding jobs and the economic base, as well as impact on infrastructure to policy-makers. For active community members, they encourage a discussion on broader benefits, including jobs, housing, and the impact on education. For all residents, a CIR reveals information regarding wages and number of employment opportunities. Well-planned projects can provide significant public benefits and good paying jobs that will help reduce poverty and its associated public costs, such as health care and social-service programs. Existing businesses will have questions answered early on whether or how a proposed project will affect them.

Members of the committee are the first to point out that the city will actually write the ordinance, with input from members of the committee, as well as local business leaders. Community First will present their proposal to the city council on September 21, and ask for the city council to agendize it for further consideration.

For further information on the committee, including membership, please contact Gail Jonas, gail@GailJonas.com, or Ann Carranza, positivelyann@sbcglobal.net

Remembering Smith Robinson: Part Two (Photos)

2009-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Smith Robinson is as close to a hero as I have. I have been lucky to borrow from Clarence Ruonavaara (my not so secret source for all things past) several original newspaper articles about Smitty that I will be posting in the next day or so. But meanwhile, here is a brief mention from the July 18, 1963 edition of the Healdsburg Tribune entitled "City to Pay Homage to Smith Robinson":

"No other person in Sonoma County of this era can compare in fame to this man who had been written up in Time and Reader's Digest, and was on Ralph Edward's 'This is Your Life'... in addition to a myriad of articles in local newspapers and magazines.

"Though succumbing at a premature 55 years, Mr. Robinson had lived a fuller life than most, finding that doing for others can be life's richest reward."

Healdsburg's First Volunteer Fire Department

2009-09-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

photo: Members of the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company in front of the New Healdsburg City Hall Circa 1887. Photo courtesy Bob Taylor, former Healdsburg Fire Chief

The Healdsburg Fire Department had its incipience in the year 1858 in the shape of a Hook and Ladder Company, which was established, with Henry D. Lee as Foreman, by a subscription raised among the members. (History of Sonoma County, 1880) The hand pulled Hook and Ladder Company under the direction of Henry Lee was similar to the one shown in the picture. It carried ladders, water buckets hooks for pulling down burning walls and ceilings. The apparatus shown was purchased in 1882 for $325 and was housed in the City Hall on the Matheson St. side where 2 large doors appear on the left side of the picture. The City hall contained two stalls for fire equipment and there was space on the second floor for an office and crews quarters. It was the only Healdsburg Fire Department Station to have a fire pole.

Instructions for Fire Bell: Paste this in Your Hat or Some Other Conspicuous Place

The following fire alarm and signals for meetings have been established by the department

District No. 1 - One tap after rapid ringing. Bounded on the north by North street, east by East street south and west by railway track. District No. 2 - Two slow taps after rapid ringing. Bounded on the north by city limits, south by North street, east by Johnson and East street, west by railway track. District No. 3 – Three slow taps after rapid ringing. Bounded on the north by city limits, south by North street, east by city limits, west by East and Johnson streets. District No. 4 - Four slow taps after rapid ringing. Bounded on the north by North street, south by railway track, east by city limits, and west by East Street

Signals for fireman’s meetings are as follows:

Alert Hose company, two taps of the fire bell.

Rescue Hook and Ladder company, three taps

Alert Chemical Engine, four taps

Department meeting, five taps

(Healdsburg Tribune January 18, 1900)

The fire bell in front of the fire station was used to alert the fireman of a fire or meeting. The above signals were used so that the hand drawn equipment could be brought to the vicinity of the alarm. Either smoke or residents then directed the companies to the scene. The current bell is the second one purchased by the city. The first bell was destroyed in 1881 when the building adjacent to the bell tower caught fire and the fire exposed the tower. The original bell shattered when the tower collapsed and a new bell was purchased in 1882. The second bell served as the fire alarm until 1925 when it was replaced by a siren. (Healdsburg Enterprise August 21, 1925)

Healdsburg and Health Care History

2009-09-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I’m reminded how tight a community Healdsburg is when I witness a gathering as part of a U.S. “hot button issue.” We’re making history happen though public action and caring—that warmth and compassionate consideration are apparent when we just show up.

A diverse group of about fifty people, including me, attended a vigil on the Healdsburg Plaza, Wednesday evening September 2, 2009. I was only able to attend for the first half-hour as I had another commitment, but I got a chance to walk and talk to, and record on tape, these friendly, benevolent individuals. The most striking part of this small gathering is that as many people attended to support health care reform and the public option for others—children, grandchildren, spouses, and neighbors—as were there because they were without health care themselves, losing their health care, or were underinsured or “uninsurable.”

Carrying placards that read, “We can’t afford to wait,” “Health Care for All,” and “Americans Deserve Affordable Health Care Now,” the peaceful assembly received mostly positive and enthusiastic support from passing motorists. Some individuals shared their stories, thoughts, and desires for health care reform, reminding me that while there’s suffering among us, we all suffer.

Arlene Dalton has lived in Healdsburg since 1985, and was carrying a sign saying “My grandchildren don’t have health care.” She said, “I’ve been for universal health care for as long as I can remember as a voter and as a citizen, and I’m hoping this time we’ll finally get it right. It should include everybody.

Cynthia Branson’s poignant words spoke to the heart of health care reform and a public option. “I was 19 years old when my mother died of colon cancer because of lack of adequate health care coverage. My brother-in-law has had to put up with extreme pain because he couldn’t afford a hip replacement. It took him two years to save enough money due to lack of health care [coverage].”

The selfless thoughts went on: “I’m concerned with all the young people who have lost their jobs and who can’t get insurance now. My daughter has been laid off and she’s paying for COBRA now. My son has been laid off and he’s paying for COBRA.”

Andres Rialle from Windsor shared these words, “I was bought out—got early retirement—we lost our health care with the company; we tried to get health care for ourselves, but she’s [his wife] a breast cancer survivor. I went to the doctor once, and they said I had a preexisting condition. I got part time work and through that I got insurance for a little while, but it is going to run out.”

Healdsburg Senior citizen, Maureen Gradek stated “Two out of [my] three grown children cannot afford insurance. They are uninsured.”

Maurice Blout, retired with PERS, “I’ve been a member of Kaiser since 1972. My co-pays are $10.00 a pop, none of my medicines is more than $15.00, though some of them are worth hundreds of dollars. I’ve had numerous operations, a double bypass, it cost me nothing.” Standing vigil was his way to support those who don’t share his fortune. Blout’s final words to me were, “Everybody should have this kind of health care.”

He’s right—and as a community, we do care about what’s right, and we’re making Healdsburg history when we stand up to be counted.

Looking for New Bloggers

2009-09-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Town Plat, August 10, 1857

The original March, 1857 version of the map did not have purchasers names in the lots. The 85 lots originally sold for $15 each. West Street is now called Healdsburg Avenue, South Street is now Matheson Street. -- image from Healdsburg Museum

We are looking for more bloggers for the Healdsburg History Blog.

Our goal is to build a real community blog for networking and sharing interesting information. I have a fair sized e-mail list, but I don't know if you are following the blog unless you actually enroll as a "follower" on the blog. I welcome anyone who wants to become an "author" and post relevant material on the blog. You just need to let me know if you wish to author or send me your blog to post.

What is relevant?

• historical anecdotes/information/photos

• current all-Healdsburg volunteer efforts that need promotion

• links and information about other interesting/relevant Healdsburg websites

• information/updates/photos on historic homes

• stories on past/present Healdsburg people of interest

• memories of the "good old days"

• community/environmental issues in Healdsburg

• personal experiences of Healdsburg

• book reviews/links related to Healdsburg

• links to your own fiction/non-fiction written about Healdsburg

What is not relevant?

• self-promotion of your personal cause, business or politics

• linking to your business unless you run it by the blog Administrator (me)

• political commentary that is not relevant to Healdsburg

• bad mouthing anyone in any manner

Remembering Smith Robinson: Part One

2009-09-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

From Gaye LeBaron's Notebook (Jan. 1995):

Once upon a time there was

a most remarkable man

The video is black and white and a little jumpy,

made from a brittle 16mm film. The audio is

scratchy. Crew-cut Bob Warren's commercials

for Hazel Bishop lipstick seem unbelievably primitive

in the eyes of the '90s. Host Ralph Edwards works on

suspense-building as the camera scans the studio

audience.

"It could be you," says Edwards. "Or it could be

YOU!" The camera comes to rest on a handsome black

man in horn-rimmed glasses seated on the aisle. "But, it

is YOU Smith Robinson of Healdsburg, California.

This is YOUR life!"

• • •

THE YEAR was 1954. And when Edwards suggested,

a few minutes into the program, that there were "about

50 people to a television set in the town of Healdsburg

that night, his estimate was probably low. Healdsburg

had 3,500 souls in those days. And not one of them

didn't know "Smitty."

Smitty's story seems almost like a fairy tale today.

Too good to be true. When you mention his name to

people who have been around a while, there's an

immediate smile and a heartfelt, "What a great guy he

was!"

Robinson's role in the community life of mid-century

Healdsburg had almost nothing to do with the fact that

he was black, or that he and his family were the only

blacks in town. Or, if it was a factor, it was more in his

eagerness to be a credit to his community because of

his race, not in spite of it. People didn't expiate their

guilt by loving Smitty. Rather, he earned the

admiration and, yes, love of an entire town with his

deeds.

There were so many stars in Smitty's crown it's hard

to know where to begin...

Men who were in the military in World War II

remember "Smitty's Scoops," a hometown newsletter

he wrote for all the Healdsburg men who were in the

armed forces. This project began as a personal

letter-writing campaign. Kept out of the service by a

heart condition, Robinson determined that his part in

the war effort would be to write letters to those who

served. He was up to 300 letters a month when he

realized he had taken on more than he could do alone.

When his fellow Rotarians learned of "Smitty's

Scoops," the club became the newsletter sponsor.

"Scoops" endured for almost 20 years - as long as

Smitty wrote them - keeping servicemen in touch with

home.

(Thanks to Clarence Ruonavaara for lending me this

original article. Many thanks to Lillian Reid, my Production

Assistant for help turning scanned material to blog

material!)

Healdsburg's Trees by June Maher Smith

2009-08-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

Frank Robertson’s recent article in the Tribune about street trees reminded me of the abundance of locust trees planted along the streets of Healdsburg years ago. They surrounded the old school yard at Tucker and East Streets and were also planted along the south side of Tucker Street and many other streets. The school yard trees survived until the 1940s, but those on the south side of Tucker were gone long before that.

The only original survivors I know of are the three trees planted on East Street just south of Tucker Street. Those trees were there when I was a child (I’m now an octogenarian) and they still produce their graceful blooms every year.

"The Flag of Peace and Other Poems" by Julius Myron Alexander

2009-08-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

We thank our friend Lillian Reid of the Healdsburg Peace Project for sending a link to this book by native son Julius Myron Alexander, descendant of pioneer Cyrus Alexander.

All images and poems will view larger when clicked on.

We credit the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society's book Healdsburg for this information about Julius Myron Alexander: Julius Myron

Alexander designed a banner to promote world peace, prior to the outbreak of World War I. In September 1914, the Healdsburg Tribune described 'a monster peace gathering' in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at which his Peace Flag was first unfurled. Sixteen young ladies, in costumes of different nations, marched behind Miss Liberty bearing the Peace Flag. At the peak of the ceremony, they each released a single white dove, while the Peace Flag was waved in front of a crowd of 100,000 people singing 'The Star Spangled Banner.'"

"I Remember" by Cecil Petray as submitted by Holly Hoods

2009-08-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Alva "Bill" Petray and Cecil, 1906, pictured with some of their mother's taxidermy. Photo courtesy of Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society.

Photo 2: Cecil and Alice Petray, c. 1966. Photo courtesy of Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society.

Healdsburg Museum Research Curator Holly Hoods sent us this article, saying: "This is a short reminiscence that I found in the 'Petray' file at the Museum. It was written by the late Cecil Petray in 1986 and typed for the Healdsburg History blog by Bryan Cook, HHS student volunteer."

I Remember

1906 I remember the terrible rumble of the 1906 earthquake as the tremor came and went by the house. The noise sounded like a high-speed train passing.

1908 My mother received her diploma from a Correspondence School. She had passed tests in Taxidermy. As far as I know she was the first woman taxidermist in Sonoma County. She developed a profitable business in stuffed deer heads mounted on plaques, making buckskin from deer hides, tanning large hides with the hair for floor rugs, and stuffing small animals and one quite large sturgeon. We lived on a ranch in the country. My father worked for the County Road Commission part time. He would leave before daylight in the morning and arrive home after dark at night. For the use of two horses, one wagon, and his labor, he received $2.50 per day.

1910 In the northeast part of Healdsburg, at the home of a family named “World,” I was swinging in the apple tree when I saw this crippled old man walk out to the outhouse.

He was Wyatt Earp’s brother. They had wanted my father to take care of him while Wyatt had a small job to do. Dad could not do it, so the World family kept him. In a few days Wyatt came back, with two bodies tied on a horse. He picked up his brother and left town.

1911 I remember Halley’s Comet showing clearly in the night sky. I remember going into Healdsburg, in the bed of the wagon, always seeing people at Kuck’s Corner where the road goes into Alexander Valley. I remember stopping at the Cerri and Maggenti Store, across the street from the old Safeway store, to buy imported Swiss cheese. I remember Lincoln Beachey flying the first plane to the Cloverdale Citrus Fair.

My father tells of the last grizzly bear killed in this area. Dogs bayed at the bear in the roots of an oak tree in front of the Oriental School house. A Mr. Smith came with a loaded rifle and waited until the bear growled at the dogs. He shot the bear in the mouth, killing him with one shot.

Geyserville was quite a rough town in the early days: three hotels, five saloons, one pool hall, two blacksmith shops, one butcher shop, and two combination grocery and hardware stores.

The story goes that on Sunday most of the men gathered in town for drinking, horse play, and swapping stories. This Sunday a dog fight started, and one man kicked another man’s dog. Then the shooting started. When it was over, there were five men lying in the street with gunshot wounds.

Healdsburg’s street-cleaning department. One man, one pushcart, one push broom, and one shovel, and he kept the streets clean all over town.

The Fourth of July celebrations. One celebration made the front page of the San Francisco Examiner.

by Cecil Petray, 1986

Thank you Holly Hoods, Bryan Cook and Cecil Petray!

See how easy it is to post? You just have to e-mail me something interesting.

Walkability

2009-08-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

When I purchased a home in Healdsburg in 1977, a major factor was being within walking distance of downtown. I walk or ride my bike to do almost all of my local errands.

A couple of days ago, I came across a post titled "Walkability." The focus was on homes maintaining their value, and the conclusion is that walkable neighborhoods are worth more.

I e-mailed the link to a friend who also loves living in Healdsburg, and she responded: “…[T]here’s been no question in my mind for some time that Healdsburg’s home values and the desirability of homes within walking distance to the Plaza are completely correlated. I am always surprised by the sale price of a home that is just blocks off the Plaza compared to home prices farther out….all this in a town that is only 3.74 square miles!!!

I decided to check my Walk Score, and here’s what I found.

I’m glad that my house has maintained most of its value, but above and beyond that, I have a better quality of life by being able to live most of my life without getting into my car.

Photo: Matheson Street in the spring.

Healdsburg as Perfection

2009-08-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

There are serendipitous glimpses of perfection in an imperfect world. Days in mid-summer when the slightest shift in the air is a harbinger of change. I felt that today on a short walk just to the end of my street. And in those brief moments, I drew within and felt a sublime peace. As if all the memories from my life bathed me in a beneficent way... And in that moment, Healdsburg was perfection--unblemished by greed and fights over control and unchanged in spirit from its grandest moments of connectedness and immense generosity.

Perhaps it was the sweet scent of evergreens. Or my childhood memories of Reno at my grandmother's... Or the oral history I'm writing on Clarence Ruonavaara remembering Smitty's First Battalion...

But it is still and all is right. And this moment shall pass just like all the others. We do have a lot to be grateful for right here in such an imperfect world...

Baby let's cruise...

2009-08-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

From around 1969, and into the early seventies, we drove from Geyserville to Healdsburg for fun and entertainment in a 60s-era black Ford Galaxy. There wasn’t much for older teens to do around the area, so cruising the Plaza was a way of seeing and being seen—gas was CHEAP, motors were huge, mileage was low, fossil fuel concerns weren’t on our radar. Cruising Fourth Street in Santa Rosa was big-time cruising, but we liked Healdsburg better.

We’d wave and honk (or not) at the young men who cruised by in cars, such as the completely restored and raked fabulous canary yellow ’57 Chevy driven by a craggily handsome young Latino. Our Plaza “courtship” rituals mimicked, albeit with wheels, the ones Hannah Clayborn writes about on her website. “This whimsical Victorian bandstand soon became a favorite gathering place, especially for young single men and women who would assemble on warm evenings after chores were done.” While we didn’t gather around a bandstand, the streets surrounding the Plaza were the place we assembled on warm evenings.

(Click on the photo under “The Plaza in 1872” on the right side of the screen to link to Clayborn’s site.)

Later on, cruising became problematic because of gang activity, and it was banned; but before that our early cruises would take us through the old Lonnie’s Restaurant and Witke’s Truck Stop parking lot (where McDonald’s is today) around the Plaza, and through town. On the north, our turn around point was Martinez’s Mexican Restaurant and the carwash (now Silveira’s). Oftentimes there’d be a long line of cars all cruising the same direction, until someone made a pit stop and then broke the rhythm and began to circle the other way.

Martinez’s had wonderful authentic Mexican food and their tacos beat anything else around. Arctic Circle located at the corner of North Street and Healdsburg Avenue and A & W out near Memorial Beach were our busy fast food outlets. Ned’s Café and Lonnie’s Patio (same Lonnie as the café) were longtime Healdsburg hamburger eateries.

In the evenings and on Sundays, the Plaza was a hub of youthful activity. If we were on foot, we’d hang out, talking and laughing and check out the “guys” who were hanging out, talking, laughing, and checking out the girls.

While some of us tried to cling to the vestiges of innocence, the tendrils of societal change—Vietnam War protests, the drug culture, environmental awareness and action, and domestic terrorism—were inexorably twining into our consciousness tearing the remnants away.

Serendipity finds me in Healdsburg

2009-08-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

Serendipity. It’s one of my favorite concepts and it blesses me regularly. Perhaps it’s expectation—the knowledge that something exciting is waiting to be discovered just around the corner. What am I going to encounter in our garden this morning? Will I find a newly transformed damselfly or dragonfly sunning itself dry? Have more tomatoes ripened? What are the birds up to?

Healdsburg is steeped in serendipity…who am I going to see at the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market on Tuesday afternoon or Saturday morning? How many conversations will I have—short or long—at Big John’s this afternoon? I’m sure to find people who make me smile and laugh, encounter a friend I haven’t seen in years, or strike up a conversation with a new vendor at the market with exciting local products.

Recently I ran into Alicia after music in the plaza. I hadn’t seen her in too many years. As we hugged, chattered and caught up, I was immersed in the feeling of being home. Forty-six years in the area (Geyserville and Healdsburg) leave an indelible stamp. Some might say this is a characteristic of small town living but I suspect it’s also a result of expectant wandering.

This morning serendipity struck my muse (see, I don’t even have to go out looking). The first e-mail I opened (from the Sierra Club’s Daily Ray of Hope) quoted Thoreau, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” That’s it! The expectation of seeing friends and neighbors, community and critters, and joy each time I step out my door helps serendipity find me in Healdsburg.

Welcome Healdsburg Museum Members

2009-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sue Ross, Holly Hoods and Al Loebel for making it possible for me to share this blog with the greater Museum membership. The Healdsburg History Blog has been in operation for about six weeks now but our visibility thus far has been limited by the size of my personal e-mail list and generous announcements by community members.

The purpose of the Healdsburg History Blog is to create connection between those of us who love Healdsburg history and wish to share historical stories, links, memories, photos and community building ideas. I hope that the Musuem members will be interested in either posting on the blog ("authors") or commenting on posts by becoming blog "followers". It is easy to see the types of things we have been posting about by simply viewing the blog archives.

Blogging may seem intimidating, but it's very easy once you get the swing of it. I will help set up anyone who would like to join but is unsure of the process. Please feel free to contact me at shonnie@sonic.net and please join the google group to become a blog "follower". I look forward from hearing from you!

1915 Pamphlet: HEALDSBURG AND VICINITY

2009-08-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

Our friend Clarence Ruonavaara has loaned me a 1915 brochure entitled "Healdsburg and Vicinity". The brochure, a whopping 3 1/4" wide and 6" high is 28 pages long and contains many old photos in green tinted ink. I will post the contents of the brochure a few pages at a time.

Shopping in the Sixties

2009-07-31T08:04:00.001-07:00

When I came to Healdsburg in 1966, Garrett's Hardware was on the south side of the Plaza. It was a tall narrow store with sliding ladders on the east and west walls. The floors were made of wood. I think it was some kind of soft wood, like pine, darkened with age and foot traffic.

I recall going to Garrett's to buy some rope. At the rear of the store there were holes in the floor, and poking out of the holes were rope ends. I picked the diameter and how many feet I wanted, and the salesperson started pulling on the rope until until the desired length appeared.

I have no idea why this is such a significant memory to me. Maybe it's because it is symbolic of a simpler, slower time. Or I'm more attracted to stores that sell basics and are located in the heart of a town. Possibly it's because I didn't have to throw away packaging when I got back home.

The photo obviously isn't the old Garrett's. I couldn't find one, so I went looking online for an old fashioned hardware store. When I found the photo of Carpenter's Paint and Hardware, I called and asked the owner if I could use it. The store, which looks like this today, is located in upstate New York. I had a wonderful time talking with the owner.

Can Healdsburg Remain a Buckle on the Farm Belt?

2009-07-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Back in the 60’s, Healdsburg was known as the buckle on the prune belt. All those beautiful white blossoms in the spring and the smell of prunes drying in the fall are no longer with us.

Are we still a “hub” for agricultural activities? In my opinion, catering to wine-tasting tourists isn’t exactly what I have in mind, though the wine industry is an important contribution to our agricultural base.

In order to shine our buckle, I hope there will be more focus on community, neighborhood, and individual gardens. The community garden (see photo) near Badger Park is a great example. How about “urban gardens” in neighborhoods on vacant lots? Or neighbors collectively gardening the best patch on the block?

Thinking about this reminded me of a video of urban gardening in Havana, Cuba. Although we don’t have the Havanan’s problem not having enough to eat, I found their efforts inspiring.

Update: Last night I read The Agrarian Standard, a wonderful essay by Wendell Berry. His closing comments: "The agrarian population among us is growing, and by no means is it made up of merely some farmers and some country people. It includes urban gardeners, urban consumers who are buying food from local farmers, consumers who have grown doubtful of the healthfulness, the trustworthiness, and the dependability of the corporate food system...."

Then and Now: How do we preserve Healdsburg’s small town character?

2009-07-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, there are five large chunks of undeveloped property within Healdsburg’s urban growth boundary. It’s likely that there will be proposals to develop these properties when the economy improves. Currently the city has a commitment to the hospitality industry, so we’re more likely to get more high-end resorts. like the recently approved Saggio Hills. rather than big box stores.

What will happen to our small town character if most, if not all, of these properties are blanketed with hotels, restaurants, stores?

For several months now, I’ve been involved with the Healdsburg Visioning Project, which has been working to involve more residents in the decision-making process involving future development.

In my 43 years in Healdsburg, I have seen many changes that I’m not all that happy about. As new developments are proposed, would I like to share with the city council and planning commission what I remember about Healdsburg that made it so special? You bet! Would you? If so, please stay tuned in to what the Healdsburg Visioning Project is doing. For starters, here’s a 14 page draft of the Project Manual. Or read the whole thing here.

Photo: Taken by me in our local cemetery on our city's 150 anniversary .

My Favorite Neighbors Series: The Flakey Cream Regulars

2009-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when folks gathered ‘round the old wood stove to trade stories and feel our human connection. Many of us now feel isolated because belonging doesn't come easy anymore. A few small tables casually shoved together may bring enormous comfort and meaning to our busy lives.

What people in town tell me they miss most is still happening at Flakey Cream Coffee Shop. The tables are waiting. Bob Nelson and the staff thrive on connection. So I visit Flakey Cream four more times in search of “The Regulars"...

Please visit the Sonoma LifeStories Facebook page for the rest of the story...

My Favorite Neighbors Series: The Flakey Cream Gang

2009-07-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I will link to the My Favorite Neighbors Series on my Sonoma LifeStories Facebook page. In these stories I will write about some of Healdsburg's institutions, beginning with the Flakey Cream Bakery. Hope you enjoy...

Why I love Healdsburg

2009-07-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

That's my vegetable garden in better, drought-less days. It's smaller this year, but better than no garden at all.

I love Healdsburg because I'm a "dirt person." Not a mountain, ocean, or desert person. I like living on flat dirt that grows stuff.

I chose Healdsburg as the place I wanted to live 43 years ago, and there's still no other place I'd rather live.

I have lots of memories that I hope to share with those who love Healdsburg as much as I do.

I Heard it on the Grapevine

2009-07-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Confession time. I’m not a “wine person”. The Sonoma County Wine Library has only been an abstract concept in my mind. Truthfully, I had no idea what or where it was. Until tonight, when I literally walked into it quite by accident while searching for new and interesting reads.

Most of you are way ahead of me on this one; the fact that the entire back portion (which I hadn’t even noticed before, sorry to say) of our Healdsburg library is the Sonoma County Wine Library-- a collection of 5,000 books on wine and related subjects including a wonderful assemblage of oral histories on well known local vintners, many of whom are still living. The Wine Librarian, Bo Simons, is apparently well known to just about everyone but me. The Wine Library contains four specific collection areas: the science and technology of winemaking, the economics of the wine industry, the worldwide history of wine, and local wine history. There are also old and rare books dating back to 1512 which are understandably kept under lock and key. It’s a vast and comprehensive resource which we are lucky to have within walking distance right down the street!

What was fun for me was to peruse the oral history section and see the names of several of the folks I have mentioned here on the blog or in my Neighbors column. Names such as Alyce Cadd, Susan Sheehy, Rose Demostene, Fred and Ruby Wasson and Norma Rafanelli Cousins. It hits me yet again--we live in a rare and wonderful place. A place where many of our neighbors are actual living history.

Check out the Wine Library as well as the Sonoma County Wine Oral Histories. Most certainly, you will find someone you know among them!

Oh, Glorious Summer: More Yard Art and Sunflowers

2009-07-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I do the blog is purely to have fun by trying different approaches that may spark or inspire others. Following Marie's recent post about yard art, I have noticed it in abundance--some pure whimsy, some political, some creative. But each piece an extended expression of the unique diversity of folks who live on our streets and in our houses.

Today I laughed at Karen Klimak's mischievous "found object tin men" on Haydon Street. I enjoyed an extravagantly creative twirling sculpture hanging in front of Cheryl's peace sign on Tucker. At times the sculpture seemed to be waving to the two playful pigs sharing a picnic lunch and a bottle of wine across the street.

And then sunflowers... This seems to be a banner year for sunflowers of all sorts. Once again, I held my breath as I strolled through the imposing wall of sunflowers surrounding the house on Tucker. Then I nosed out another group--spectacular brown headed ones--at Nancy Morgan's house on First Street. I ended up standing at the southeast corner of Fitch and Tucker, looking straight down at my feet rather than up at the imperious flower heads--at multi-colored sidewalk chalk art celebrating the "40th Man on the Moon" anniversary. Oh, glorious summer!

Old is Good in Healdsburg, Pt. 2

2009-07-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

Fearless Immigrants: Born in 1929, Joe Bucher (of Bucher Farms) came from a family of dairy farmers and grew up during World War II in Europe. Many of his teachers enlisted in the Swiss Army to protect Switzerland’s border with Germany after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.

“I was in the fourth grade. Our teachers left immediately and we grew up with substitutes--mostly untrained. Our farm helpers also left. Even our horses were drafted to pull cannons, etc., so we had to train bulls and oxen to do the farm work.”

“Our families were friends in Inwil,” Annemarie adds. “My dad, the town postmaster, also went to guard the border. We only rode bikes in Inwil and went everywhere on them. I recall helping Dad deliver the express mail at night.”

Joe’s older brother took over the family dairy farm after the war. So Joe felt there would be more opportunity to have his own farm in the United States. He immigrated to San Jose in 1951 and worked on a dairy farm in Santa Clara until he was drafted during the Korean War.

Another Brave Immigrant: “After the war, I came to the states alone as the widow of a U.S. citizen...” Gala Norton, Sr. tells me.

“With only $40.00 in my pocket and wearing Army clothes, I stood alone on the deck of the USS Monterey as we passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at 3:00 a.m. one morning in 1945. My heart still always clicks when I see the bridge or hear the fog horn.

“I was told how to find the Red Cross on Bush Street and I bought my first clothes. Because I had organized some tea dances on board the ship, the officers took me to the Palace Hotel on my very first night in San Francisco. I got my hotel room on Turk Street for $4.00 per night by saying I was the wife of one of the officers.”

A Long Friendship: The (Fred) Wasson and (Ruby) Osborn families played a significant role in the history of the Alexander Valley. Fred’s dad, Louis Logan Wasson from Iowa, landed in Guerneville in 1906 when he ran out of money en route to the Alaskan gold mines. He met Helen Nellie Drake, a Guerneville native, and pursued her instead. In 1907 they moved to the Alexander Valley where, in 1920, he built a seven bedroom house at the corner of Geysers Road and Hwy. 128.

Ruby (Osborn) was born at the place where Highway 128 and Chalk Hill Road intersect. Her grandfather, Broder Frellson, came from Napa Valley in 1892 to operate the Red Winery near Pine Flat Road. His wife Anna got paid for boarding the winery workers, thus helping earn enough to buy their own farm...

Growing up, Ruby lived across the creek from Fred. Her parents grew prunes and grapes and the Wassons raised prunes.

“We met when Ruby got a flat tire on her bike at Guilford Grammar School,” Fred laughs. “I offered to pump it up and we’ve been friends ever since.”

227 North Street Preview prior to restoration

2009-07-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

Pictures: 227 North Street, Phillip and Mark describing their project to neighbors.
The new owners of 227 North Street, The Marshall House(corner of North and Fitch), welcomed the neighborhood for a viewing of the old lady prior to them starting on the restoration. We praise Mark and Phillip, the new owners, for taking on this challenge and to support them in this endeavor. The evening event required bringing your own lighting as darkness fell and the spirits got rolling...great appetizers to go with lots of spirits in liquid form. The spirits of old were present in the attic according to Rich Pembromke who hustled down the stairs with a relief in his face when he hit the bottom stair....sure there was a story from long past to be shared on what the source may be??

Mark and Phillip graciously described their plans in detail as shown on the computer drawings displayed around the front parlor and many neighbors of other historic homes embraced them for this project and offered assistance, counsel, etc.
Say hi as you walk by.....
Barb Tuscany

Old is Good in Healdsburg

2009-07-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

An endearing thing about the ‘Burg is our abiding love of things old--whether they be people, houses or trees. We like our history, take pride in it. Barbara Tuscany blogs about interesting old houses, dubbed Healdsburg’s “old ladies.” I prefer to write about interesting old people, dubbed Healdsburg’s “old timers.” Through Neighbors I have met some of Healdsburg’s grandest and finest. Here are a few memories (in my voice, unless otherwise noted)...

A Strange Introduction: After I first saw him burst through the door of John and Zeke’s, I began having Bill Wendt sightings all over town: Bill crossing Healdsburg Avenue on his three wheeler, Sparky. The tricycle parked in the doorway of Cosmic Copies. Then a sighting of the trike unattended in the Raven lobby. I swing into action, scribbling a note asking for an interview. I place the torn sheet of paper prominently over the John Kerry bumper sticker, fastening it down with one of the many bungee cords in Sparky’s full basket. He can’t miss it.

A few days later I’m awakened by the ringing of my phone at 7:15 a.m. 7:15! I’m rarely up before 8:30 or 9:00, so it has to be an emergency! I rush to answer it.

“Hi, Shonnie. This is Bill Wendt. Can you meet me at Starbuck’s at 10:00?”

Remembering a Grandmother: Mary Lou (Eddinger) now shows me a photo of her mother Rose (Pavoni) teaching grandsons, Nick and Joe, how to cook. “Rose made these aprons for them,” Mary Lou tells me. “Nancy had to look all over to get the chef caps.” She hands me a crayon drawing of a heart within a heart bearing the signature of third grader Joey Madarus (Nancy’s son). A school assignment about his grandmother--Rose Palmieri Cattalini Pavoni. It reads, “She had to make me happy everyday.... That was her goal!”

A Secret Revealed: “During Prohibition we were allowed to make 200 gallons of wine for personal consumption,” Ernie Palmieri recalls. “But the government officials were always coming around looking for illegal booze and there were some stills up in those hills. The officials parked their 1930 Chevy sedan down in front and walked up to the door with suits on. They checked the hay loft and the basement. While they were looking around, my dad poured water in their gas tank. The next morning I went by on the school bus and saw their car pulled over and deserted down the road. I never said a word to anybody.”

Still a Character at 100 and Counting: “I sold squirrels for spending money during the Great Depression,” Mary Barry tells me. “People’d say, ‘Mary, you climb a tree and act like a nut. You are some kind of nut!’ My family lived in Washington state and had a jerky little hotel on the coast. I was the fourth child of six... Shortly after my birth in 1907, we moved to Warrenton, Oregon... Daddy nightwatched at a mill, and, after Mother died of double pneumonia in 1916 at age 38, Daddy raised us five kids single-handedly.”

Who Grew the Smithsonian Grapes?

2009-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Eighty Percent Alexander Valley

Some of us are familiar with the story of the 1976 Paris Tasting, and more people have become aware of the historic event through the movie “Bottle Shock”. It was interesting to see how film makers treated the story of the blind tasting, where a panel of French wine experts compared California Chardonnays with white Burgundies, and California Cabernets with red Bordeaux. The world was shocked when the winners were announced; they were two relatively unknown, small California wineries. It really is quite remarkable to think that it took centuries for France to build its reputation as the wine making leader of the world, but then this one blind tasting changed everything.

The story was retold in George Taber’s book Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine (Scribner 2005.) The Hollywood version of the story, Bottle Shock, now on DVD, focuses on the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Apparently the film embellishes the Paris Tasting to attract a wider audience.

If you know any of the real life characters of the event, then you realize that the story is remarkable in its simplicity and nothing about it needed to be embellished. If I were writing the script for a movie, it would begin with my neighbor Jeanette Brizee. On a warm Indian Summer afternoon of 2006, she was hosting one of her “wienie roasts” at the confluence of Sausal Creek and the Russian River in Alexander Valley. Jeanette was pouring a Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay for us on a sandy beach below her family’s Belle Terre vineyards, which her father Henry Dick and brother Ron Dick first planted in 1966. As mergansers floated by and kingfishers rattled, we whittled our roasting sticks and lit our little fire. It was just about the most unpretentious setting one could imagine, so I wondered why Jeanette generously shared such a grand chardonnay at such a simple occasion.

To be continued

"Yard Art"

2009-07-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

Shonnie’s latest blog talks about the profusion of sunflowers on Tucker Street and veggie garden sightings.

Have you also noticed the “yard art” that appears in our neighborhood front yards? Sure, patios, courtyards and fence-lines still sport sassy bougainvillea, neatly trimmed junipers and prize roses. And, more and more yards are blooming with California drought-resistant native plants and succulents.

But, ’Burg residents seem to express themselves with various pieces of “yard art,” too. Tucked between the posies and boulders, the pieces range from the traditional (concrete birdbaths), to whimsical (the occasional summer, pink flamingo), to mystical (a tree sprite on University Street). Recently, I’ve been seeing some great contemporary sculptures placed in front yards. A purple and teal metal spiral at a Fitch Street residence is a good example.

Once upon a time, just civic and public buildings (or mansions) displayed works of art. Aren’t we lucky that we can stop and smell the roses…and enjoy local art on our walks, too!

A House Surrounded by Sunflowers

2009-07-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

On this exquisite Healdsburg summer morning I took a walk around town noticing the interesting things that people are doing to beautify that little plot of soil along their curb.

The last two blocks of Tucker Street provide some particularly good examples of how folks have extended their creativity all the way to the curb. My most favorite is a house on the last block of Tucker whose front is completely lined in tall, stretching sunflowers, a few of which are just beginning to blossom. There are sunflowers along the curb as well as behind and in front of the white picket fence, and it is a joyous experience to walk between them.

The curb of Nancy Morgan (our talented ceramic artist) on First Street also has sunflowers--along with other interesting looking veggies. In this neighborhood at least there seems to be a trend of growing your garden right up to the street. What a wonderful idea and what fun to see as we walk by.

I'd like to invite people to use this blog to tell us about these little surprises that are all around our beautiful town.

Does anyone know who lives in the house surrounded by sunflowers? It remains a mystery to me.

Keeping Our July 4 Tradition Alive

2009-07-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Healdsburgers owe a debt of gratitude to our local American Legion and the donors who somehow find the money to continue our tradition of the best small town fireworks show on the face of the earth. Last night I took friends who have seen the fireworks at the Washington Mall in D.C. and they were simply blown away by our grand finale-which just gets bigger and better each year. Wow! Can we scream any louder??

In 2008 I interviewed Lorraine Plass, our local Post Commander. And she told me:

“This will be the 18th year that the American Legion has sponsored the fireworks in Healdsburg... Dave Abbott, Bud Simmons and I are the Fireworks Committee with the support of about 30 other Legion members... But since last year, we are coming up short financially.

“We’ve funded the fireworks ever since the city banned home fireworks in 1990. The American Legion went to the City Council in 1991, saying, ‘The 4th of July isn’t the 4th without fireworks!’ So we volunteered to set up safe fireworks. It’s always been handled by a small group of us with other organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the Kiwanis and Rotarians helping on the day of the event.

"Last year (2007) the Fireworks Committee was short $6,000 and this year (2008) they’ve had to transfer money from other Legion funds (usually spent on helping veterans) to make certain that the exquisite show that we anticipate will go on. Traditionally the Legion has relied on contributions from local citizens and businesses to actually make this thing happen. Now, the contributions just aren’t coming. Many people think the show is free. They don’t realize that the money must come from somewhere."

Shonnie: So if this was true in 2007 and 2008, just where do we get the money to create the best small town fireworks show anywhere? I think we must consider this well before July 4, 2010.

Rollin' on the River

2009-06-26T21:10:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to each of you who have e-mailed or Facebooked me with words of support for the blog. And thanks to you who are signing up to follow and author. That encourages me to keep bloggin'....

One of my most favorite things to do in Healdsburg is to walk right into the river, flop onto my back and let the current just float me effortlessly downstream. A friend and I do that as often as we can. Today we floated for about a mile. Since the river is low, we walked and swam slowly back the way we came. I won't reveal where or how we gained access because some folks might not like it, but I will share my other favorite river stories:

On a hot day in late June 1997 I came to explore Healdsburg thinking I might want to live here. The hotter it got, the more determined my sister Beverly and I were to get into that river, no matter what. Driving along Bailhache, we took a random left on Brandt Road, ignoring all the “No Trespassing” signs. We drove straight down to the beach, pulled off everything but our underwear and jumped in, splashing about until a woman came and shooed us off. About seven years later when I met Mary Brandt at the HHS Class of 1940 reunion on her property, I recognized her as the woman who’d chased us off her beach. She actually remembered and thankfully didn’t chase me away a second time.

Last year, my friend Lillian Reid and I discovered that we could walk our poodles from my house, short cut to Badger Park off Second Street and take the long path to the river. I felt so empowered that I could actually have river access from my very own home. I let the current take me away that day and Lillian filmed me! It was a wonderful day. A Tom Sawyer type of day. The kind of day I moved to Healdsburg for!

Let's Go to the Movies: Old Plaza Theatre

2009-06-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is a 1932 Plaza Theater schedule from the Healdsburg Museum website (January 2008). http://www.healdsburgmuseum.org/ The Plaza Theater was located at 335 West Street (now Healdsburg Avenue) on the west side, near the Plaza Hotel. The newly-refurbished Plaza Theater opened in May 1930, boasting that it would be booking “some of the best Talkies that the cinema world affords!”

Dad (Art McCaffrey) talked about everything. He’d tell this story about the 1925 silent film "Phantom of the Opera" playing in town. The night of the movie, after all the other kids had reached their homes, Dad had to walk the last three blocks of Johnson Street completely alone. He was so terrified that he began whistling really loud to keep anyone away! --Maureen McCaffrey Gradek

My brother left for the Marine Corps and said, “I want you to stay away from (Milt) Brandt and (Lee) Engelke”. So I said, “Yeah, sure”. Milt and I went to the Plaza Theater on our first date. Two of the strictest teachers--Mrs. Long and Miss Destruel--were sitting right behind us! I scrunched way, way down in the seat!

--Mary Brandt on meeting husband-to-be Milt

The Healdsburg Avenue block around the Plaza seems to have been Dee Gagliardo's favorite. Shelford’s dress shop. Ben Franklin. The Plaza Hotel and old Plaza Theatre. Tomasco Drugs where she jumped in Benny’s red convertible. Rosenberg and Bush which was “exciting and glamorous” with its grand staircase! I ask her what she misses most and she has two answers for me: “I loved growing up when I did and where I did. Our school years were the best; so much of what we had has been lost today... And I miss being young again. I never use the word old. I just say were still growing up.” --from Neighbors column with Dee Gagliardo

Let's Go to the Movies!

2009-06-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

I will be writing a series of posts on Healdsburg theaters. And I want to hear stories from you Healdsburgers about your experiences at the old Plaza Theatre, the Aven or the Raven. If you don't feel comfortable blogging, please e-mail your favorite memory to me at shonnie@sonic.net and I will post it for you and sign your name. I will soon be starting off with a little history of our theaters but mostly I will be writing your vignettes of favorite memories.

Do you remember?

My dad owned the old Plaza Theatre and my friends and I loved the balcony seats. Medico Drugs on Healdsburg Avenue had a fountain where Mary Brandt, Gloria Selze and I would get ‘hickeys’--three scoops of sherbet with flavoring and whipped cream on top.

--Norma Rafanelli Cousins

Then there was the time Dad (Art McCaffrey) went to the big premiere for one of Janet Gaynor’s movies in the 1930s. Janet Gaynor’s cousin lived in the Warnecke Mansion. After the premiere at the old Plaza Theatre, the entire audience followed Miss Gaynor and her cousin as they walked home--down West Street and up Matheson, trailing discreetly behind until Janet Gaynor disappeared inside the house.

-- Kathleen McCaffrey

The Aven was built in the 50's sometime when we were kids. It was very exciting to have the modern theater... The Aven had a nice little hamburger fountain accessed from outside on North Street, or inside the theater which sold good hamburgers for 20 cents, milk shakes for 20 cents, and cokes and flavored (cherry, vanilla,chocolate) cokes for 10 cents. It was open so you could see from the fountain to the candy counter in the theater and visa versa.--Maureen McCaffrey Gradek

They used to run triple horror films at the Aven every Saturday night. My summer friend, Dana Johnson, and I would go. Her brother would drive us back to the Del Rio Woods store afterwards, but then he’d stay there and visit with friends. We’d have to run home alone in total darkness from the store to the cabin! --Marie Butler

Alley One

2009-06-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

As I was walking Alley One today behind Haydon Street, I noticed a few things from the past that have remained during this age of renovation and constant change. Our alleys with their overgrown blackberry bushes (a few berries

just starting to redden), beautiful orange trumpet vines cascading overhead, the oh, so sweet smell of jasmine and the birds which sing all day long (sometimes all night too) provide glimpses into Healdsburg's olden days. And I am taken back to my childhood at these moments. To the house of my grandparents in Reno which backed up to an alley where we kids played hide and seek and kick the can on warm summer eves.

There is a house on Fitch Street which used to look just like my grandparents' house. And the house next door to it so closely resembled my grandmother's next door neighbor's home in Reno. My heart would warm as I passed these homes walking back from the Plaza. Now they are both remodeled--though nicely. Time marches on. Everything changes. But I love seeing reminders of the past.

Where are all you folks in town who have your own stories to share? And who know much, much more about Healdsburg than I do. I would love to hear the story behind my own Alley One. Is there someone out there who will tell it?

Reflections on Our Plaza: Now and Then

2009-06-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

This evening some friends chose to bring their musical instruments and play Celtic folk music on the Plaza. People just appeared out of nowhere and gathered 'round. Children and dogs played. A couple of men lay down on their backs relaxing on a warm evening. As I was taking all this in, I found myself trying to picture the Plaza in the olden days. Found this blurb once again from Hannah Clayborn's OurHealdsburg:

Almost as soon as a town band became well established in the 1880's the Healdsburg Plaza became its unofficial headquarters. The Plaza was a perfect location for regular seasonal Saturday night band concerts drawing people from far and wide. The Healdsburg concerts were economical. They cost next to nothing and admission was free. They brought trade for local business because shops stayed open until 9 p.m. on those nights. The concerts also provided much needed entertainment and social opportunities.

Requests for a permanent bandstand, to replace a temporary one constructed annually next to the bell tower, had been made for years. But in 1895 a concerted movement for civic improvement began in Healdsburg. This movement, which in other spheres resulted in a municipally-owned water and electric plant, had a drastic effect on the Plaza, and pushed the question of the band concerts to the forefront.

It all started with agitation by the local newspaper and citizens beginning in April 1895, resulting in the destruction of old "Miss Bell Tower" in 1896. Barely 15 years old, she was now considered an "eyesore" and was accused of causing false fire alarms with her rickety frame in high winds.

A new circular bandstand appeared in her place, a gazebo-like structure with a conical roof built upon the old bell tower legs. Following the elaborate styles of that era, it included open banister work, fancy brackets and cornices, and a "swaying" staircase”. This whimsical Victorian bandstand soon became a favorite gathering place, especially for young single men and women who would assemble on warm evenings after chores were done. http://www.ourhealdsburg.com/history/healdsburg_plaza.htm

Happy Birthday, Clarence!

2009-06-18T11:02:00.001-07:00

Let's all remember to wish our dear Clarence Ruonavaara a Happy 90th Birthday today!

The old house on North Street

2009-06-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

That is what I always heard of it when I was younger when I met Tim. Tim always bragged his grandmother owned a house in Healdsburg but upon visiting it the first time with my parents we were all pretty shocked at the condemned state it was in! Myrthena Grace (Freshour) Perry and Charlie Perry were tim's g.grandparents and we have been restoring the house for years along with the family doing the "infrastructure" ie. basic services of plumbing, etc. prior to us purchasing it. Grace was known as the "cat" lady raising siamese cats, driving her Willy's around town which our friend Ken Scharer (when he was a teen working at the gas station) remembers putting new tires on frequently as she would bald the tires driving down our narrow driveway! Her husband (number 4 I think) was Charlie Perry and had the insurance business in town. Many folks remember him with his top hat and dressing up during patriotic holidays. Our "old lady" house has great energy in it which many folks comment upon entering it and feels like Grace has blessed our presence. We love our neighborhood and since I married into the family when we moved in in 1988 I was Grace Perry's g.grandson's wife. A few of the neighbors have moved... some have returned moving into their parents houses which is great fun and welcoming new neighbors who are passionate at restoring the other "old ladies" in our block. more stories later...my mother in law and her cousin could blog for days on the Freshours, Fitch and Carrillo families