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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.


Sandy Newman was all over the last mystery spot; she got it quickly. She had photographed the tool impressions in the sidewalk years ago, so she knew right where to look. The location is in the sidewalk in front of Café 225. If you haven’t seen them go by and take a look. Good job Sandy, and thanks to Harvey Hosman for sharing this interesting sidewalk fossil exhibit with me years ago. By the way, J. M. Nelson was known as the “original sidewalk man” in Visalia. He did many sidewalks in the early 1900s. You can find his “signed” sidewalk work in several locations in Visalia.

Here’s A New One For You
For those of you who enjoy a little detective work, here’s one. This one stands out like a sore thumb. Nothing secretive at all about this building. Obviously we know the building name, but do you know where it is? Here are some clues:
1) If you add the numbers of the address together they total 11.
2) In 1914, the Visalia Dailey Times reported, “New Apartment House is Open to the Public.”
3) It is between two eating establishments.
4) The street it is on was once known as Cottonwood.
Good luck.


Ralph Moore
On Tuesday morning I received several sad emails announcing the passing of Visalia’s beloved Ralph Moore. Even though his passing was inevitable, it is hard to imagine Visalia without this gentle man. He was a very modest man, but it is difficult to imagine anyone more justified in boasting. He had done so much in his 102 years but I think for most people his shining accomplishment was his work with roses. Known throughout the world as the father of the miniature rose, he had created hundreds of new varieties. There is so much that can and should be said about this native Tulare County resident. Ralph’s Visalia roots run deep as he was related to the Reynolds family that settled here when the town first began. He is gone from our midst, but he left us with lots of remembrances of his passion and his life.


Caldwell Ave
For many years the road that is now Caldwell Ave was just a country road between Visalia and Tulare. In 1875, George and Matilda Caldwell lived and ranched in the area that is now the intersection of Caldwell and Mooney. For years that intersection was called “Caldwell Corner” and the street was named for this early pioneering couple.



Buggy Step To Be Restored
Just a few weeks ago, Jay Belt offered up the buggy step on Court St. at NW 1st as a mystery spot. It was a tough one and only a few of you got it. This relic of an earlier time is probably the only one remaining in Visalia. It would be a shame to let this one fall into total disrepair and crumble. Jay has agreed to lead an effort to get it restored. In doing so the buggy step will continue to be enjoyed by future generations of Visalians and visitors alike. We look forward seeing this wonderful piece of our history restored and enjoyed.


Visalia May Not Be the Oldest Town in the San Joaquin Valley Between Stockton and Los Angeles
Tulare County and Visalia historians have for at least a century, probably longer proclaimed that Visalia was the oldest town between Stockton and Los Angeles. When I have used this popular claim to fame, I refined it somewhat by saying that Visalia was the oldest existing San Joaquin Valley town between Stockton and Los Angeles. Now it “appears” there may be an older town. If this is true, all of us who proudly made the statement were wrong. But before admitting the possible mistake, there are a few more facts I need to check and I will report more on it later. Have you ever heard of French Camp?


Taylor’s Hotdogs – Yum! Yum!
A few days ago Terry Akers passed along that he had discovered some reviews on the internet of the historic Taylor’s Hotdog Stand. He suggested that if we go to Google, click on Google “Images” and type Historic Visalia, we will see many comments and reviews on Taylor’s Hotdog Stand and other historic Visalia photographs. Terry remembers going there as a young boy, but the hotdog stand was on the other corner at the time. Its original location was on the northwest corner of Encina and Center where the concrete pad can still be seen. It opened there in 1952 and moved to the northeast corner in 1984 when a new building was built. The original neon sign was kept and placed on the new building. The stand is still in the Taylor family and they are known for their special recipe chili dogs. Terry, thanks for reminding us of our famous hot dog stand.


Civil War Veteran Photos Surface
Pat Hanson was kind enough to share a photo of his great-grandfather who lived in Visalia for some time in the early 1900s. Edwin A. Brown, born in 1846 in England, was a veteran of the Civil War and a member of the local Visalia chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. According to family lore, Edwin ran away from his home in England and traveled to Philadelphia where he used a fictitious name and enlisted in Company A, 15th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. The portrait of Edwin shows him and his wife Emma and the other photo show the local members of the Grand Army of the Republic marching in a parade in Visalia. These photos are new ones, and thanks Pat for sharing them with us.


For many years buildings have used water tanks mounted on the roofs as a way to have water available for use in the case of fire. When Visalia’s Fox Theatre was completed in 1930 it was equipped with a 5,000 gallon water tank on the roof. That tank is still up there. (It sure doesn't look like a 5,000 gallon tank to me.) The William Fox organization boasted that the gravity pressure of the water from the tank could “shoot a stream of water over the top of the county courthouse.” That building is now gone but was about the height of the old Bank of America building at Church and Main Street (now Bank of the Sierra.) That’s some pressure! By the way, if you don’t have the two Visalia’s Fabulous Fox Theatre history books, the Fox is offering them at a great price of $20.00 for both books. Call either Lance or Paul at (559) 625-1369.


** After reading about the origin of the name of Bardo Lane or Bardo Street in the last Historic Happenings, Jim Drath shared that as a 10-year old boy (in about 1954), he worked for Mrs. Wiley caring for her 15 acres of walnuts near Bardo and Walnut avenues. His job was to take care of her irrigation system. For spending an entire Saturday there he would earn $4.00.

** Remember the name L. Guggenhime? It’s the name painted on the building wall near Willis and School streets. Guggenhime apparently had a fairly deep involvement in Tulare County, as I came across his name recently on a list of investors in the Mineral King mountain road project in the 1870s.

** The Historic Visalia Postcards collection is doing well with over 150 packs already sold. If you don’t have yours yet, you’d better hurry. There are some left, but at this pace they won’t last long. Remember they are a limited edition and very fine quality. Also remember that the proceeds of the sale go towards a new series of 8 postcards. You can contact me at histerry@comcast.net if you need a set and we can arrange to get one or more to you.


"Tom Patterson, a Fresno thug lately convicted of robbery, was brought to the Visalia Jail on Monday morning last for safe keeping, the jail at Fresno being in course of repair. Patterson is the toughest looking customer ever jailed here, and to insure finding him when wanted an Oregon boot was placed on him." From Visalia’s Tulare Co. Times, February 16, 1888

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Available Now! Visalia Pictorial History Book

Well, the Visalia Then & Now history book that I have been working on for the past year or so is now available. I will be at the Visalia Costco on Saturday, March 14th from 11:00am to 3:00pm for book signing.

Arcadia, the publisher of the book, used a unique format that displays an old Visalia photograph and then a contemporary one from the same vantage point next to it. This allows readers to easily compare the old with the recent and go to the photograph site, which is a really nice way to make history relevant for today. All of my proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the Tulare County Historical Society. Hope to see you at Costco this Saturday. Not a member of Costco? Contact me at (559) 901-3227 or email me at histerry@comcast.net. If you are a member of a club or organization and would like to schedule a book signing, please let me know.

Mearles – The old icon is getting a makeover —well, maybe just a tummy tuck right now.

On Thursday, March 5, 2009, I was driving past Mearles and saw workers on the roof tearing off old roofing material. In the parking lot I also saw Sonny and Michael Kazarian, the father and son owners of the famous Visalia landmark. (Click on photo to see them. From L-R: Michael Kazarian, Skip Kachadoorian, a family friend, and Sonny Kazarian.) I stopped and had a talk with them about a number of things relating to the old drive-in including the quality of the building construction, and their desire to get a restaurant operator to take over. We also talked about restoration and I was impressed and pleased with their comments about restoring the building to its original appearance. They asked about the original awnings that circled the front area of the restaurant and they also asked about the original color of the exterior. In addition, while I was there, they were talking to a neon lighting company representative about replacing the neon lights as part of the restoration.

All in all it was a nice visit and I came away with renewed hope that the declining appearance of Mearles is coming to a halt. Now the old restaurant needs an operator that will flip burgers like Mearle used to and continue the Mearles tradition. By the way, Tads opened in September, 1940. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a September birthday party with a fully restored Mearles? OK, what about September 2010. Mearles 70th birthday has a nice sound to it!

Visalia Olive Oil Company—Processing Plant Building Found!

About a week ago Mary Alice Johnson contacted me and offered to give me a few sheets of old Visalia letterhead stationery with the name Visalia Olive Oil Company on them. The old stationery had been given to her by Catherine Schomer who had given them to Jean Kirkbride as scrap paper for her grandchildren. Anyway, the vintage sheets of paper traveled through many hands, but were saved. None of the ladies knew anything about the Visalia Olive Oil Company, but I was referred to Frances Cutler, a long time Visalian, now living in Portland, Oregon, who was the original owner of the letterhead. Frances, who is 91 years old, told me her husband Frank Cutler had worked for his brother-in-law, Angelo Turano at the company in the 1940s. The stationery gave the address as 421 E. Willow, and guess what? The building is still being used today. Not as an olive oil processing plant, but an auto repair shop. I talked with Angelo’s son, Tony, who lives in Fresno, and he provided history on the old building including the construction date of 1939. Also the letterhead as you can see shows an image of an olive oil can labeled “Perfetto,” which in Italian means “perfect” or “perfection.” Thanks to all involved in this long successful historical journey. Is this what they mean when they say “follow the paper trail?” If it is, it was “perfetto.”

Mystery Marker at Oval Identified

Mary Beatie, Vice President and Senior Planner for TPG Consulting here in Visalia, is working on the current plan with the community to revitalize the Lincoln Oval area, and has asked about a granite marker that was placed near the Service Center building. The marker identifies 6 memorial trees planted in honor of 6 historical figures—national (Abraham Lincoln ) and local. The marker contains the years each tree was planted and the general location of the planting within the park. The marker says it was placed there in honor of Annie R. Mitchell, but does not credit any individual or organization for placing the marker there or give the date the marker was placed. Mary recently discovered that it was placed there by Pat Finger, long time Oval advocate and Doug Copley, former owner of Copley’s Bakery. Thanks for solving that mystery. It has also been said that the Abraham Lincoln tree located in the Oval, that is decorated every Christmas, has been recognized as the tallest tree of that type to be used as a Christmas tree. We will try and verify that and also the year the marker was placed in the Oval.

Assorted

{{}} In 1952 as part of the Visalia Centennial Celebration, the Visalia Times Delta published the entire collection of Annie R. Mitchell’s Golden Memories she had written throughout the year. The Delta put them all together in a publication called “Golden Memories” and it includes 52 stories of early Visalia pioneers. Thanks to my good friend and valuable historian, Alan George, who provided me with a copy of this very useful publication.

{{}} Recently, Donna Klein sent me a history of the Visalia Garden Clubs written by Annie R. Mitchell in 1998. It is very complete and is packed with documented history of many local garden club activities including various tree and garden plantings in Visalia. Thanks Donna for maintaining and sharing this special history.

{{}} It was sure nice to hear that the beautiful Fox Theatre has received a $500,000 donation from the Lyles-Porter family. I hear this is the family of Tom Porter, former mayor of Visalia (1973-1977), who also authored a book called The Silver Rush at Mineral King published in 1965. If anyone who can confirm this family connection to the donation, it would be nice to hear from you.

{{}} One Historic Happenings subscriber sent me this link. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgenweb/special/ppcs/ppcs.html By clicking on it, you can see some old “penny postcards” of Visalia and Tulare County. Just follow the prompts. In fact, there are postcards from all over the country, so you can historically explore other states and cities via old postcards. Some nice old images here.

“The land in this vicinity generally contains a growth of oak timber, and has to be cleared before it can be devoted to orchards. The acreage would have been much larger this season had it not have been for this fact. Wood choppers have been hard to find, and several gentlemen who had intended to put out orchards failed to do so because they could not get their land cleared.” This excerpt was taken from the April 30, 1891 Tulare County Times (It helps us understand why many Valley Oak trees in and around Visalia have disappeared).