Neighbors Lend a Helping Hand for Missing Maggie May

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...