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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.
Back in June when the last
mystery spot location was featured, very few of you got it right. It was a
tough one. Art Browning was the first to identify the north end cap of the
building at 115 So. Locust Street. It used to be McMahan’s Furniture in the days
of old. Nice work, Art!
Okay, here is one that will
separate the rookie detectives from the seasoned veterans. Most of you go by it
every day or almost every day. Where is this building. Here are your clues:
It serves as a meeting hall.
The building had a cornerstone
put in place in 1934.
Many prominent local leaders
frequented this building.
The dedication ceremony for this
building was led building by Frank W. Mixter.
Good luck!
The Cost of Living Down Stream
Visalia has been a flood target
for many years, but the 1945 flood was a big one. In fact, it had been the
worst one for Visalia since the 1906 flood. Torrential rain in the Sierra in
late January and early February of 1945 caused the St. Johns River to overflow
its banks. Over 7” of rain fell in the Giant Forest area in one evening with
the total storm dropping more than 12” of rain over the mountain region. Chuck
Loffland remembered his father and other family members worked at the Edison
yard on Ben Maddox (near what is now the Sonic Drive-In) at the time of the
flood. He shared this photograph which appeared in the Edison News, March 1945. The flood was so news worthy the Visalia Times Delta prepared a souvenir
photograph folder (sold for 10 cents) that showed different flood scenes within
the city and area. It was designed to be mailed. Some of these early souvenir folders can still
be found. Thanks Chuck, for sharing your flood story and photograph.Naughty Marietta
Short Life of the Visalia Parking Meter
According to some experts, the
first parking meters as we know them were first installed in Oklahoma City in
about 1935. The City of Visalia approved parking meters for the downtown
district in 1947. By July of that year 529 meter posts were in place and by the
first week in August, the meters were installed and in use. A quick evaluation
of the success of these new parking control gadgets showed lots of available
parking spaces in the downtown—perhaps too much. In 1963, the community
including business owners were pushing for their removal. By May 1963, the city
began to remove the meters and time limits signs for free parking soon took
over on city streets. Richard Drath acquired one of these removed meters and
shared that his brother Jim, while in high school, worked part time for the
city, emptying the belly of these coin eating monsters. Later, Jim Drath became
a peace officer with Visalia PD. By the way, when rookie Visalia police
officer, Dale Treece, now deceased, had parking meter enforcement duty, he was
given city provided coins for the meters. When he found an expired meter, he was
instructed to put a coin in the meter and leave a card thanking the motorist
for shopping in Visalia. Thanks Richard
for sharing this relic from bygone days. This 1955 flood picture shows meters
lined up on court Street between Center and Oak streets.
We Need Some Help On This One
Nancy Wann was kind enough to
share this great old picture. On the back it says “Cousin’s Service Station and
Overnight Cabins (motel?) about 1926 near Visalia.” As you can see the picture
is packed with interesting objects like the old car, gas pumps, lots of signs,
trees and buildings. Can anyone identify this building or know where it was
located? Nancy is part of the Moore family, so could it be a business owned by
one of the Moores? Could it be Mills Grove? Help on identifying this nice old
picture would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Nancy, for providing this
beautiful mystery photo.
Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights in the Southern San
Joaquin
Dana Lubich, an artist, amateur
historian, and astronomer brought this interesting historical tidbit to my
addition and wanted me to share it. Dana said, “This year (2012) marks the 153rd
anniversary of the largest solar storm to have hit the earth (Sept 1-2). It was
so powerful that even Visalia saw an aurora in the sky. In some places, but not
in Visalia, telegraph keys sparked and when batteries were disconnected,
telegraph systems still worked from the power the sun imposed on the cables.”
Here is the article that Dana found in the September 3, 1859 edition of the Tulare County Record and Fresno Examiner
newspaper. As you might expect there were no photos of this phenomenon, but if
you go to this website http://www.wpclipart.com/space/photos/Aurora_Borealis_large.jpg.html
you can get an idea of how it might have looked in
the Visalia sky. Nice piece of history, Dana, thanks.
***Fresno State University is
working on a project to identify a list of valley “firsts” which will eventually
work into a display at the Madden Library in early 2013. They are looking for
things like first automobile in the valley, first planted crop, etc. Know of
any Visalia firsts? Know of any Tulare County firsts? Let me know and we’ll
compare them with other valley counties to see if we were the first in the
valley. The area covered is from the southern end of Kern County to San Joaquin
County on the north.
***Still hunting for a
photograph of old Nathaniel Vise. As you recall the picture of him was
misidentified, so we need a photo of the illusive Nat. A number of you,
including Marian Shippey Cote and Dana Lubich are working hard on this hunt for
a photo. We know the “bear hunter” was a nomadic man, but he is proving to be
very hard to find.
***Lynne Brumit shared her
recollection of the Visalia J.C. Penney store’s overhead pneumatic tube system. Small items
like currency or paperwork were placed in the “little capsule” at the checkout
stand the capsule was then sucked up thru the tube into the balcony office. I’m
with you, Lynne, these systems sure fascinated me. I think the tube was another
casualty of the electronic age.
***Phil Kneeland mentioned the
Navy Gas facility on E. Main Street. Anyone remember it? Anyone have a picture
of it?
***Roller skating has been a
long tradition in Visalia appearing as early as 1906. Gary Holder remembers the
skating rink near where the convention center is now in the 1950s. I remember
it was still there in the early 70s. Any stories or pictures of roller skating
in Visalia?
***Bill Allen is at it again. He
reports that he has undertaken another history writing project. This one has
three parts. In the first, he will be reviewing the details of early Visalia
Public Cemetery history up to where Annie Mitchell left off. A second part will
cover the fascinating information about early plans for a second Visalia
Cemetery outside of town. The third part deals with Dallas Pattee’s Tales From the Tomb, her unique
contribution to how history may be learned through drama with lives actors.
Good luck, Bill, on your history project. By the way “Tales” will be performed
at the Visalia Cemetery on Saturday, October 20, 2012. Let me know if you want
more details.
At Recreation Park:
Advertisement in the
Visalia Times Delta July 22, 1936