Thanks for visiting Historic Happenings! If you are not on the email list yet, and would like to be notified via email when a new posting of this newsletter is made, please email Terry Ommen at histerry@comcast.net. I will add you to the list. I will not share your email address with anyone without your permission.
Congratulations to Virginia Strawser who got the Mystery Spot location about 45 minutes after the last HH was posted. She was the first, and then over 30 people correctly identified the Odell-Mor apartment building, located directly across from Taylor’s Hot Dog stand on Encina. The Odell-Mor was built in 1914. No one seems to know how it got its name. Some say Mrs. Mamie Roa
ch built it and other documentation shows at least she managed it, so it’s possible she was owner and manager. Jane Higgins Nash told me her parents, Decatur “Dick” and Mabel Higgins were the first occupants of the apartments. It was considered the “nicest place in Visalia” when it opened.A
New One For YouThe photo that you see here is an old door in an old building. Where is the building? Here are the clues:
1) The building was designed to keep cold in and hot out.
2) The restoration plans for this old Visalia landmark building were a collaborative volunteer effort by architects Jay Moring, Rick Mangini and Mike Kreps.
3) The old structure was restored in 1976 and “hams” can often be found there.
4) William Shakespeare had a famous quote that went like this:
“All the world is a __________?”
Where is this building?
Become Part of the Historic 2010 Calendar and Win!
It’s that time of year again. The Visalia Community Bank, through the efforts of Kay Connley, is preparing for their 2010 historic photograph calendar. The new calendar will be released on December 8, 2009. As in the past, the bank wants to see your photographs and give you a chance to win a spot in next year’s calendar. Anyone interested can submit photos for consideration. What an honor it would be to have your photograph chosen! Not only is the historic photograph calendar useable, it is a good way to add to your local old photo collection. Any questions, call Kay at 625-8733 or email her at kconnley@vcb.com
A Birder’s Unexpected Stop in Visalia in 1906---Interesting Description of Visalia
Rob Hansen recently shared a great historic quote describing Visalia. He found it in a publication from a man named Mr. Ray who was traveling south from Northern California by auto in 1906 and had a mechanical breakdown at Goshen. He stayed in Visalia from May 14-21, and wrote about what he saw while here. Keep
in mind he was a “birdwatcher” and spent much of his time around Mill Creek and the St. Johns River. This excerpted quote gives a wonderful description of Visalia: “Visalia lies in a open forest of oaks through which glides the broad St. Johns River besides a host of minor streams. While the banks of the river and some of streams were heavily wooded, others were only fringed with a low growth of willows overhung with blackberry vines. Almost everywhere the air rang with birdsong and the longer we remain, the less we regretted our enforced stay. At 7:00 one morning, I noticed a pair of [blue grosbeaks] which were carrying the initial stems to a weed clump along Mill Creek. My favorite grounds were in the cool shades along the St. Johns River for the thermometer has an awkward habit here of running up as high 114 degrees on summer days which we found very destructive to ambition. One morning by the river I was agreeably surprised to see eyeing me over the edge of a twig structure about 40 feet up in an oak, a majestic female red-tailed hawk.” Thanks Rob for sharing this great account. If you’d like the entire quote, I’d be happy to provide it to you and give you the citation. The accompanying photo is an early photo of Mill Creek but has nothing to do with Mr. Ray’s visit here.
Steam Tractor to be Displayed
Well, the Tulare County Museum of Farm Labor and Agriculture has received a wonderful exhibit piece. The Bragg family, J. M. (left) and Peggy (not shown) along with their 2 son Mike (middle) and Greg (right) has offered, on a long-term loan basis, an antique Gaar-Scott steam tractor. This century old workhorse was delivered to the museum on September 24, 2009 and it is shown here with part of the Bragg family in front of it. The tractor is scheduled to be displayed in the main exhibit area of the new building. What a thoughtful gesture on the part of the Braggs of Visalia. I guess this gives them “Bragging” rights. OK I’ll stop now!
Rob Hansen recently shared a great historic quote describing Visalia. He found it in a publication from a man named Mr. Ray who was traveling south from Northern California by auto in 1906 and had a mechanical breakdown at Goshen. He stayed in Visalia from May 14-21, and wrote about what he saw while here. Keep
in mind he was a “birdwatcher” and spent much of his time around Mill Creek and the St. Johns River. This excerpted quote gives a wonderful description of Visalia: “Visalia lies in a open forest of oaks through which glides the broad St. Johns River besides a host of minor streams. While the banks of the river and some of streams were heavily wooded, others were only fringed with a low growth of willows overhung with blackberry vines. Almost everywhere the air rang with birdsong and the longer we remain, the less we regretted our enforced stay. At 7:00 one morning, I noticed a pair of [blue grosbeaks] which were carrying the initial stems to a weed clump along Mill Creek. My favorite grounds were in the cool shades along the St. Johns River for the thermometer has an awkward habit here of running up as high 114 degrees on summer days which we found very destructive to ambition. One morning by the river I was agreeably surprised to see eyeing me over the edge of a twig structure about 40 feet up in an oak, a majestic female red-tailed hawk.” Thanks Rob for sharing this great account. If you’d like the entire quote, I’d be happy to provide it to you and give you the citation. The accompanying photo is an early photo of Mill Creek but has nothing to do with Mr. Ray’s visit here.Steam Tractor to be Displayed
Well, the Tulare County Museum of Farm Labor and Agriculture has received a wonderful exhibit piece. The Bragg family, J. M. (left) and Peggy (not shown) along with their 2 son Mike (middle) and Greg (right) has offered, on a long-term loan basis, an antique Gaar-Scott steam tractor. This century old workhorse was delivered to the museum on September 24, 2009 and it is shown here with part of the Bragg family in front of it. The tractor is scheduled to be displayed in the main exhibit area of the new building. What a thoughtful gesture on the part of the Braggs of Visalia. I guess this gives them “Bragging” rights. OK I’ll stop now!
Gist Ave
Gist Avenue is a very short street parallel with and just south of State Route 198. It is one block long and runs between Linda Vista and Verde Vista. It is in a subdivision called College Acres which was created in 1946. The property was owned by Lloyd R. Gist. Early maps called the street Gist Drive.
In 1946, the 34-acre College Acres subdivision was started and included 82 lots with the smallest being 80’ by 165’. This development fronted
Mineral King and extended east to the west boundary of Visalia Jr. College. The property was at the time in the city limits of Visalia and was owned by Lloyd R. Gist. J. J. (Phil) Philippe was the real estate agent handling the sales. Before the development, the area I believe, was mostly open ground as can be seen in this Cowper photograph. Thanks Peter for the photo, and to you too Jason, for asking the question.Help Needed: If you know the origin of a street name in Visalia, I would very much like to include it in a future edition of HH. Please call or email me if you have one.
A Reader Wants To Know!
Jason Ford, a new subscriber to HH, asked about the housing development to the west of the College of Sequoias campus. He was wondering what the area looked like befo
re the current homes were built. Peter Cowper, had a photo/slide taken, he
believes, from the 2100 block of West Tulare Ave looking in a northwesterly direction around that period of time and here is his photo.
In 1946, the 34-acre College Acres subdivision was started and included 82 lots with the smallest being 80’ by 165’. This development fronted Mineral King and extended east to the west boundary of Visalia Jr. College. The property was at the time in the city limits of Visalia and was owned by Lloyd R. Gist. J. J. (Phil) Philippe was the real estate agent handling the sales. Before the development, the area I believe, was mostly open ground as can be seen in this Cowper photograph. Thanks Peter for the photo, and to you too Jason, for asking the question.
Jason Ford, a new subscriber to HH, asked about the housing development to the west of the College of Sequoias campus. He was wondering what the area looked like befo
re the current homes were built. Peter Cowper, had a photo/slide taken, he
believes, from the 2100 block of West Tulare Ave looking in a northwesterly direction around that period of time and here is his photo.In 1946, the 34-acre College Acres subdivision was started and included 82 lots with the smallest being 80’ by 165’. This development fronted Mineral King and extended east to the west boundary of Visalia Jr. College. The property was at the time in the city limits of Visalia and was owned by Lloyd R. Gist. J. J. (Phil) Philippe was the real estate agent handling the sales. Before the development, the area I believe, was mostly open ground as can be seen in this Cowper photograph. Thanks Peter for the photo, and to you too Jason, for asking the question.
**J. C. Hickman, a reporter and later managing editor for the Visalia Times Delta in the 1960s and 1970s and now living in Washington, had a mint copy of the 1974 Visalia Times Delta Centennial Edition and wanted it back home. He also had a very complete file full of documents on the End of the Trail statue and those documents are now in Tulare County as well. J.C., we appreciate your willingness to share this material from your Visalia days.**Regarding Taylor’s Hot Dog Stand, John Slaven told me that in the early 1980s he was employed as the only architect for Quad Consultants and one of his jobs as architect was to create the new Taylor’s Hot Dog Stand. When asked the architectural style of the new stand, he indicated he didn’t think there was a name for it. He said his goal was to be “true” to the old stand.
**I will be going to French Camp in the next few days to scout it out. I need to see the community that very well may be older than Visalia, and I will report more on this hopefully in the next HH.
**Jay Belt is moving forward on the restoration of the last known buggy step in Visalia. He has talked to city officials and will be working with the city (it is on city right-of-way) to restore it back to its original glory. A presentation was made before the Visalia Historic Preservation Committee and this has all the makings of a very nice historical project for Visalia. What a great way to promote and educate all of us to our wonderful local history. Thanks again Jay for tackling this one!
**Helen Jones, the HH subscriber, who owns “The Visalian” dollhouse that was reported back in March 2009, has indicated she is still trying to get the miniature house back to Visalia. It is about 4’x4’x4’ and is somewhat fragile so we are still looking for a way to get it from Temecula to Visalia. Any ideas? We’d love to hear from you.
**Last chance to get items into the Santa Fe overcrossing time capsule. What an opportunity to show people 50 to 100 years from now, what life was like in Visalia in 2009. If you have any items, please call Nancy Loliva asap at the City of Visalia 713-4535 or email her at nloliva@ci.visalia.ca.us
**Don’t forget the big Mooney Grove Park birthday celebration on Saturday, October 17th. The park is 100 years old and to help celebrate there is free admission to the park and lots of activities planned for the entire family. It is going to be a big event. Any questions, call Mila at 624-7222.
"Officer DeVall wishes it stated that the young boys who for some time past have been carrying twenty-two rifles and shooting people’s chickens, living in the outskirts of the city, will be tolerated no longer. 'This mischief has got to be stopped,' said officer DeVall, 'and any young boys caught carrying a rifle from this [time] on will be dealt with as the marshal sees fit.'” Daily Visalia Delta, January 7, 1906.
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