Click
on photo for larger image
Thanks for visiting Historic Happenings! If you are not on the email list, 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 never share your
email address with anyone without your permission.
Nice work Brent! Yes, Brent
Nunes was the first to correctly identify the last mystery spot. It was the nice
old Bank of Italy (Bank of America) building at the corner of Church and Main
streets.
Now for the next one. Where is this feature and what is it? Here are
the clues:
1) This stands on the sidewalk.
2) It is about time that this feature
became a mystery spot.3) It is about 100 years old.
4) It is in plain sight.
Good luck.
 |
Free Camping in the City
During the 1920s and later, some
communities opened up their towns to campers. These sites were generally called
auto camps and oftentimes the camps piped in water and added other improvements.
These free camps offered travelers convenience and hospitality and were set up
many times to encourage people to come back and relocate in the town. It was in
a way a marketing strategy. Visalia had
one and it was called the Visalia Municipal Auto Camp and it was Bridge and
Willow where the Convention Center/City Hall East complex is today. It was a
popular camping spot for those passing through to visit Sequoia Park. In 1922,
for example, 2,806 people stayed there as they traveled through town. The auto
park closed as a free camping location in 1926. Notice in the photo, thru the
trees, you can see a portion of the front of the Visalia Municipal Auditorium. 
Another End of the Trail
Dallas Pattee shared this
photograph she recently found on one of her many historical forays. At first
glance, it looks like the famous Mooney Grove Park statue sculpted by James
Earle Fraser. But a closer look quickly tells you it's clearly not that. This
one is actually a carved redwood "knock off" of the original End of
the Trail. This one stood at the entrance to a place called Trees of Mystery
which is on the Redwood Highway (Highway 101) about 36 miles from the Oregon
border. This replica just points out how popular the End of the Trail statue
really is and was. I can only imagine how many versions of this famous statue
there are in the world.
"Pappy" and His Harley
Over the months several of you
mentioned Floyd Depew, one of Visalia's veteran police officers, now deceased.
A number of you also mentioned his famous Harley Davidson motorcycle. Floyd
Depew began his law enforcement career in the 1930s and as he approached his twilight
years with Visalia PD, he took over parking enforcement duties downtown and used
this 3-wheel Harley Davidson. Floyd became a fixture downtown and many people remember him. The 3-wheel motorcycle he used was given to him when he retired in 1974. After he passed away, the family donated the motorcycle back to Visalia PD. "Pappy," as he was affectionately called, was an important, almost legendary, figure in the community for many years. There are so many Depew stories but I’d love to hear more.
The Mills of Visalia
Visalia's downtown skyline sure has
changed over the years. On the southeast corner of Santa Fe and Main streets,
now a medical office, stood a feed or grain mill. In fact, the location had
been a mill site since the beginning of the town. Obviously, the many mills that
stood there took on different forms over
the years and here you see two of them. The first shows Visalia Milling Co. in
1944. Notice on the far
Another Hospital
In 1958 three Visalia doctors,
Dr. Browning, Dr. Eckert, and Dr. Kleyn started Sierra Medical Group. The group
had their offices near the Sierra Community Hospital on Court Street between
Tulare and Walnut. Later Visalia Community Hospital was built, a complex now
owned by Kaweah Delta. I don't recall
when Kaweah Delta acquired the property on Court Street, but as I remember
there was some controversy surrounding it. The private Visalia Community
Hospital at one time was administered by Hyatt Medical Enterprises and it was
an alternative to Kaweah Delta. Does anyone remember when Kaweah Delta acquired
the property. 
***In the last HH I asked for
confirmation of a photo of what I believe to be Charlie Hammer sitting at his
desk. More than a dozen of you confirmed that in fact it was Charlie in the
photograph. Thanks to all of you for taking the time.
***If you'd like to read about
the smallest park in the world located right here in Visalia, pick up a copy of
the Lifestyle Magazine June 2014 issue and starting on page 18 the story
begins. Photos are included. Or you can read it on line at: http://issuu.com/lifestylemagazine/docs/lifestyle_june14_web
***Patricia Geiger is interested in a photo of the Denny's Restaurant that was near Noble and Chinowth (Carls Jr. there now). Can anyone help with the picture?
***Patricia Geiger is interested in a photo of the Denny's Restaurant that was near Noble and Chinowth (Carls Jr. there now). Can anyone help with the picture?
Good News for Bachelors—A short
time since a family arrived in Tulare county from Texas composed of the father,
mother, twenty-one daughters and one son. During the past week another family
from the same state arrived and took up their abode amongst us, in which were
fourteen unmarried daughters. Visalia Delta, April 14, 1860