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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.

Well the James Hitchcock run has been broken. This time, Art Browning was the first to get the last mystery spot correct. The little skylight structure is on top of the old Palace Hotel building on the northeast corner of Court and Main streets. It is currently owned and appreciated by William Martin. Oh, by the way and not a big surprise, William got it right, too.

The next mystery spot is much easier. Here are the clues:

1)      The building was once the home to one of the biggest, if not the biggest department store in Tulare County

2)      The family that owned the building was also connected to a famous local pioneer aviator

3)      As ____________as candy

4)      On this building site, the famous Fashion Saloon stood in the 1860s

Good luck.

Giddings Street

C.J. Giddings was born in Ohio in 1843, came to California at the age of 26 and in 1876 he arrived in Visalia. He was a businessman but is probably most well-known as a banker and eventually became President of the Bank of Visalia. He died in 1928 and is buried in the Visalia Cemetery. It is his name that is on one of Visalia’s most traveled streets.

Officer Floyd Depew – A Special Man

Recently Bea Moring passed along a story about one of  the Visalia Police Department’s most well-known and legendary officers. He  was Floyd Depew. I had the pleasure to know and work with Floyd or “Pappy” as we called him. He started fulltime with the Visalia Police Department in 1937 and in his later years worked parking enforcement. Bea fondly remembered him and said, “Some 50 years ago, I was shopping downtown with my two small children. Upon returning to my car I found that my parking meter had expired and Mr. Depew was there ready to write a ticket—until he saw I was carrying two shoe boxes with new shoes for my children. He then smiled and said, ‘You’ve just bought new shoes for your kids, you don’t need a parking ticket,’ and walked away. He must have been a special guy from all the things I’ve heard about him over the years," she added.  He retired from VPD in 1974 and has passed on.

Soldiers Head Down to the Border

Recently, I was discussing the classic photograph showing soldiers seated on the steps of the old Tulare County Courthouse. The photo is oftentimes connected to World War I, but in fact, it was taken just before Visalia’s Co. D 2^nd Infantry Regiment of the California National Guard unit was ordered to the Mexican border in 1916. The photo quality is so good that many Visalians can be identified. Really a nice old photo. Marian Shippey Cote supplied this one.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Play Visalia

 In the last HH posting, Marian Shippey Cote passed along that she had heard the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby had been at Sequoia Field during World War II. I still cannot verify this, but we can now confirm that the two were in Visalia at the Visalia Golf Club (now Visalia Country Club) on April 12, 1942 for a fundraiser. I can say this thanks to a recent contact I had with Pete Sweeney. He indicated that he actually saw them here. Hope and Crosby and others came as part of a fundraising effort for the American Red Cross. Pete was 11 years old at the time and was a big fan of the radio celebrity Bob Hope, so when he heard Bob was going to be here, he paid the 50 cent admission fee to get into the small clubhouse. He got Bob’s autograph and someone said to him, “Why don’t you get his too,” and pointed to Bing Crosby. He did, but at the time, he had no clue who Bing Crosby was. Pete is shown here with his wife Shirley, and he is holding his precious autographed keepsake. Thanks Pete for sharing your story. Now we still need to see if the celebrities paid a visit to Sequoia Field at the same time. Regarding the Hope and Crosby visit, George Reece also shared his story about the celebrities and their visit. He said, “They came [to Visalia] on a War Bond drive. Prior to the show that they put on at the airport (which I attended), they played a round of golf. I was a caddy at that time, so when they played, several of us got to tag along. Julian Phillipe was one of their caddies. Their banter on the course was as entertaining as the show. Thanks to Pete and George for sharing their remembrances, and by the way, happy 60^th wedding anniversary to George and Colleen Reece.

End of the Trail – The Story Never Gets Old

Madaline McKillip, brother to Visalia newspaper publisher John Brackett, wrote that her brother was a big advocate for getting the original End of the Trail statue to the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. He included a lot about the famous statue in the newspaper. Eventually a deal was made to get the classic original piece of Fraser art to Oklahoma City. We now have a replica as part of that deal at Mooney Grove Park. Tulare County’s End of the Trail story never gets old. For many years, Mooney Grove Park was home to this famous artist’s signature piece —the End of the Trail. And if you ever visit Oklahoma City, stop by the museum and see the original; the restored statue will take your breath away. This photograph shows the End of the Trail statue in San Francisco at the Pan Pacific Expo in 1915. This one was at Mooney Grove Park before it made it to its new home in Oklahoma City.

***On February 12, a John Muir impersonator (Frank Helling) will be at the Arts Visalia as part of the annual sofa art show. It is a free show and for more information you can contact Caroline Koontz with the Arts Consortium at 713-4324 or email her at ckoontz@ci.visalia.ca.us. By the way, John Muir came to Visalia in 1901 and talked about the Giant Sequoias.

***An HH read asked if anyone has any recollection of a bar just east of Visalia on Road 156 called “The Blood Bucket.” Get this, the story goes that “the bar had a history of someone’s head being cut off while the person was running thru the front saloon type doors and their body kept going for a little distance until they dropped dead.” Any of this sound familiar to anyone? Anybody out there ever heard of “The Blood Bucket” or can anyone add to this Tulare County version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”?

***Lots of comments came in about the 1955-56 flood story in the last HH. Duane Copley, son of Mayor John Copley at the time, recalls visiting the problem areas on Mill Creek during the blockage. He described the scene as he saw holes being dug to find the blockage.  He said the debris kept moving downstream and became a moving target. He said finally workers dug a hole at Court and Center streets, dropped iron rails into the channel to form a grate. The log eventual collected on the grate and workers were able to pull it out.

***Several of you knew Visalia soldiers killed in Vietnam. I included a website listing them in the last HH. I was told that long term Visalian Sergeant Richard Allen White was also killed, but is listed as being from Monterey. He probably was drafted or enlisted from there.

***Jan Morrison really enjoyed Mid Town Lanes when she was a youngster. Her family spent a lot of time there and she remembers the bowling leagues and climbing on the pinsetter machines when her uncle Arthur “Art” Pendola worked there. Jan has wonderful memories of the old bowling alley.

***Eleanor Bergthold was thumbing through some old Visalia newspaper files and came across some old quotes. Here’s a cute one from 1878: “Mosquitoes are holding nightly concerts to crowded houses along Mill Creek. They are so numerous that the sun’s rays never seem to reach earth.” I don’t love mosquitoes, but I sure do love the words crafted by early writers!

“The Chinese New Year commences Thursday Evening. The popping of fire crackers during the past few days is only preliminary to the pandemonium that will commence Friday in real earnest.”  Daily Morning Delta, January 23, 1895

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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.

Unbelievable! James Hitchcock has done it again. Number 5 in a row – he was the first to correctly identify the mystery spot feature as part of the old Bank of Italy (Bank of America) building which now houses the Bank of the Sierra. Does James know his architecture or what?

Are you ready for the next one? Here are the clues:

1)      It is a little skylight rooftop structure on top of a building  (sorry it is a little blurry)

2)      It sets atop probably the oldest commercial building in Visalia

3)      When the building opened, the governor of the State of California was there for the dedication

4)      The feature can only be viewed from a block or more away.

What building is this? Good luck.

Whitendale Ave

I was talking with Louis Whitendale the other day and I asked him about the street name of Whitendale. He said that Ida Whitendale owned the 80-acre parcel near what is now Whitendale and Court streets and she is the one the street was named after. By the way, the correct pronunciation of Whitendale is: White-n-dale not Whitt-n-dale. For many years I pronounced it wrong and I know others have too.

Speaking of Water—Amazing Log Jam

All the recent rains have brought back memories of Visalia’s flood history, especially the flood that occurred in 1955-56. One of the hazards of having a creek flowing under our city, is that occasionally a plumbing problem develops. This happened in January 1956, before Terminus Dam was in place. December had brought lots of rain and the waterways in and around Visalia overflowed their banks. And the following month, more rain came and Mill Creek, the waterway that flows for a third mile below downtown Visalia, overflowed again. This time, somehow a very large log about 3’ in diameter and about 12-14’ long got wedged in the Mill Creek channel at the intersection of Center and Court streets. The log clogged the below surface channel, causing water to gush up at points throughout town. Once the clog was found, a hole had to be dug through the street to the channel and a crane was used to remove the huge log. How a log of that size was able to flow that far in Mill Creek is still a mystery.

Visalia’s Fallen Heroes in the Vietnam War

 Sophie Britten recently sent me an internet link that identifies the American casualties in the Vietnam conflict and many of the soldier’s named have their pictures and biographical information included. The site Virtual Wall lists these Visalians as killed during that war: SP4 Danny David Dye, SSG James Louis Keller, CWO Phillip Sherman Mohnike, SP4 Lawrence Robert Warf, PFC Reynaldo B. Florez, Sgt Lour Le Desma, CPL Michael Mallory Montgomery, SGT Floyd Daniel Wimer, Pvt Charles Denny Hight, SGT Roger Gordon Leadbetter, CWO James Mitchell Stever, SGT Alonzo Dale Woods. And you can check on soldiers killed from  other cities throughout the country as well. Go to the webpage at http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm

and first click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the city and the names will appear. Then click on their names. It should show you a picture of the person, or at minimum, their bio and medals. A very sobering site, but worth the visit. By the way, did any of you know any of the Visalia soldiers killed? Thanks, Sophie for providing this to us. 

Annie’s Rose

In the last HH, I highlighted a 1969 Visalia Times Delta article written by J. C. Hickman on Annie R. Mitchell, well-respected historian for Tulare County. After it appeared, J.C. contacted me and said he remembered the interview. He shared a comment she made when people would say to her, “those were the good old days,” she would respond back with “yes, but thank goodness they are not coming back.” A number of you responded with memories of Annie Mitchell after that posting and one came from Eleanor Moore Bergthold, the daughter of Ralph Moore. Ralph was a well-known miniature rose expert and was recognized for his amazing breeding of miniature roses. Ralph was born in 1907 and Annie was born in 1906 and they became friends. In 1996, Ralph Moore bred a special miniature rose in honor of Annie. The rose was called Annie R. Mitchell and was a soft creamy yellow colored miniature. It was featured in one of his catalogs. In 1996, he had a ceremony at his Sequoia Nursery and honored Annie with that special rose. Annie died in 2007 and Ralph in 2009. Thanks Eleanor for reminding us of your father’s tribute to Annie. By the way, Mary Hill was honored with a specially developed rose as well.

Visalia Electric Featured at the Tulare County Museum

Recently, a scale model replica of the Visalia Electric Railroad was set up at the Tulare County Museum complete with working model train, buildings and land features. The train travels the route of the Visalia Electric Railroad on a track which passes by a number of landmarks and cities on its journey. Several railroad model historians worked on this for a long time and just recently got it set up at the museum for people to enjoy. You may have read about it in the Valley Voice newspaper. Louis Whitendale, shown here, and Doc Humason and others were responsible for this labor of love. It’s well worth a trip out to the museum to see.

***The request I made for information on the Happy Go Lucky Dance Hall brought in many responses. It was quite a social spot in Tulare and was located near what is now Mooney Blvd and Tulare. Building is gone now. Thanks to all of you who shared on this one.

***The inquiry from Monty Sands on the metal tower west of town brought in lots of possible answers, but no luck on identification.

**Marian Shippey Cote corrected one thing I said in the last HH about the bowling alley. Mid-Town Lanes on Acequia continued to operate for a short time along with  the bowling alley on Mooney Blvd. (where the Goodwill store is now.) Mid-Town Lanes was later demolished to make a parking lot behind what is now Midtown News on Acequia.

***James Hughes describes himself as “historic retail [architecture] junky.” He is very interested in how the retail buildings have changed over the years, especially the Sweet building (where Links Clothing store is now.) Quite a change there over the years.

**Marian Shippey Cote recently learned that Bob Hope and Bing Crosby visited Sequoia Field during World War II. I don’t believe I’d ever heard that before and I would be interested to know if anyone else had any knowledge of these two great entertainers coming to this area?

“Uncut wood and old clothing is now a pressing need of the Central Welfare Council, and the officers are making an appeal to the public to furnish the supplies. Uncut wood is needed to reestablish the woodpile in the yard at the city hall, where transients and others may work a few hours chopping wood in return for meals, food or clothing.”  Visalia Times Delta, November 16, 1933.

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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.

Wow, it’s four in a row for James Hitchcock. He sure knows his architecture. Congratulations again James! The last mystery spot he identified was the Jordan Building built by John F. Jordan in about 1888.  Thanks for all of you who gave it that good ole college try.

Now for the new one. Where is this building? Here are your clues:

1)      The building officially opened in 1923

2)      Building was built for $300,000

3)      The numbers in the address add up to 11

4)      It sets on a corner

Good luck.

Houston Ave

Houston Ave was named for the pioneer Houston family. James Houston came to Visalia about 1860. While here, he and his wife, Frances, had 11 children and reportedly, James was a second cousin to Sam Houston of the “lone star state.”

Annie R. Mitchell – A Nice Reminder

Recently Russ Dahler shared a portion of an old Visalia Times Delta newspaper dated April 15, 1969 in which the reporter at the time, J. C. Hickman (who by the way is a follower of HH), wrote a full page article about local history with an emphasis on Annie R. Mitchell and her contributions. Annie did so much to help us understand and appreciate Visalia's past. Born in 1906 in the now Tulare County ghost town of Tailholt or White River, Annie gave her first local history presentation in 1933. So many people knew her and respected her. In 2000 this Tulare County native, who generously shared so much with us, passed away. J.C. do you remember this full page story and your interview with her? It must have been a memorable conversation.  Thanks for doing it and thanks also to Russ for this old reminder of a great lady.

Mid Town Lanes – Bowling on Acequia

Recently, Marian Shippey Cote received some old slides from former Visalian Lloyd Ellis. In the group of slides was a series of Mid Town Lanes bowling alley photographs. Mid Town Lanes was here in 1950s and was located on Acequia just west of where Mid Town News is now. (The corner of Church and Acequia.) This 1959 photo shows what appears to be a remodel/upgrade project  in progress. On the forklift is what I believe to be a new pin setter. The bowling alley/building is gone today; it moved from here to Mooney Blvd. By the way, notice the green parking meter just to the rear of the forklift. Thanks, Lloyd and Marian for sharing.

Fort Visalia, Can You Dig It?

Well, the Fort Visalia story is really out there now. Lots of buzz! The city now owns the site of the birthplace of Visalia. What will happen at this site? What ideas do you have? A fully re-created fort? Only a segment of the fort re-created? A kiosk with an artist rendering of the fort in a courtyard area? Let's hear your ideas and let the creative juices flow. By the way, I think some serious archeology might be in order for the site. This would help us understand how the earlier settlers lived their lives. Are there any archeologists out there? Any of you know an archeologist?

San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railroad Arrives – Souvenir Survives

In 1897 Visalia cheered at the arrival of a new railroad that came into town; a railroad that was going to provide competition to the oftentimes hated Southern Pacific.  With a competitive RR, lower rates for both travel and for freight were in store. When the train arrived for the first time in 1897, the biggest crowd ever assembled in Visalia’s history was there to greet it. Many of those in attendance were wearing souvenir pins like this one. Recently, a man found this one while going through his grandfather’s belongings. It’s a great old example of how important this event was to Visalia. By the way, the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad soon became the Santa Fe Railroad. As a result, East Street was later changed to Santa Fe Avenue.

Good Old Days  -- Willie Greenlaw

Dana Lubich shared this want ad that he found in the current issue (Nov-Dec 2010) of Good Old Days magazine, a magazine with national circulation. Anyone know anything about this baseball player named William “Willie” K. Greenlaw? According to the ad he played minor league baseball in Visalia in 1958. Good eye Dana, now let's see if we can solve this one.

***Recently I received the biography on Florence Faria, the lady who owned the Visalia sweater that was mentioned in the previous HH posting. She was a long term Visalia area resident and I have a fairly complete history on her.  If you’re at all interested in knowing more about her, let me know.

***Recently I heard from an old friend, Tony Cornett, who shared many of his early Visalia memories with me. One that especially caught my attention was  about Visalia police officer Floyd Depew. Tony first met Floyd as a small child and sadly was on the ambulance that took Floyd to the hospital before he died. Thanks Tony for sharing.

***I recently received an email from Monty Sands who asked about a metal tower that he remembers in the 1940s or early 1950s on Hwy 198. He said in part, “I was just a young boy. The metal tower was east of the airport on the same side of the road.” He said it was there for years. He was just curious if anyone new anything about the tower; he thinks it could have had an advertisement for the gas company on it. Any help would be appreciated.

***In the last HH issue, an old segment of the old freeway 99 was shown and one of readers inquired about the pipe that seemed to stand out near the old roadway. What could that pipe have been used for? Any ideas? A little bit of a mystery here.

***Virginia Strawser is the current chair of the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee for the City of Visalia. They have several vacancies on the committee so anyone interested in historic preservation issues should contact the City of Visalia via their website or contact me and I will connect you with Virginia so she can answer any questions. Looks like a good opportunity here.

***Recently I was contacted by someone who found HH on the internet and she asked about a stable involving her father William Bowen. I was able to find the stable he owned. It was the Palace Stable across the street from where the Fox Theatre is now. The stable would have been there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She was thrilled to get the information and a photo.

***A few issues ago, I mentioned the Happy Go Lucky Dance Hall in connection with other dance halls in the Visalia area. I have since received an inquiry specifically about the Happy Go Lucky, so if anyone knows anything about it, like location or anything else pertaining to it, I would appreciate the information.  

“The Visalia Silver Cornet Band gave the town a serenade on Friday , much to the pleasure of citizens in general. The band has made marked improvement in the few short months it has been organized, and is deserving of much praise. The several pieces played were mastered thoroughly and would be a credit to any band. We congratulate the boys upon their success." Visalia’s Tulare Times, April 14, 1877. 

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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.

Wow, James Hitchcock has done it again. For the 3^rd time in a row he has been the first one to identify the Mystery Spot. This time he correctly identified the Dudley House on the northwest corner of Main and Giddings. This beautifully restored home is now a business office. Benjamin and Helen Dudley built this beautiful structure in about 1915.  Amazing house and amazing work, James—congratulations!

Now for the new one. Where is this building? Here are your clues:

1. The building was built in or before  1888
2. It was built to be an “abstract” company
3. Originally it was called the Jordan Building
4. The vault in this building has been converted to a wine cellar

Good luck.

Burke Street

James M. Burke, born in Placer County, California in 1879, came to Tulare County and served as a Tulare County Deputy District Attorney from 1911 through 1919.  He was also in  private practice and was on the Visalia City Council for a number of years. Burke was well respected and was involved in many civic activities and   played a leading role in the creation of Central Valley [Water] Project. He died in 1940 and a Visalia street is named in his honor.

The Habit Moves Forward with Mearle’s
Things seem to be moving along with The Habit’s plan to open their restaurant in the 1940s Mearles’ building. A meeting was held recently with “The Habit” executives and they seem excited. They chose the site because of its amazing history and plan to incorporate and honor as much of it as they can. It’s just another great example of how historic buildings attract positive attention and become the reason businesses are attracted to them. Enlightened businesses recognize that history sells! The new restaurant will not be Mearle’s but it will be a new chapter in the life of this 70-year landmark building.

Remnants of the Golden State Highway Found

Sometime back, Dana Lubich shared a discovery he made. After looking at an old airport photograph showing part of Hwy 99, Dana got an itch to go exploring. He looked at satellite images of the area and walked the airport/Hwy 99 area and guess what, he found remnants of the old Golden State Highway or what we now call Freeway 99. Shown here is a fairly recent satellite image of the Caldwell overpass at Hwy 99 and it was near there he found small sections of the old concrete roadway. By the way, I don’t recommend exploring freeway areas as they can be dangerous. Dana is a a very talented history detective and his discovery is very interesting. Exactly how far back these old concrete remnants date is unclear, but we know that pavement, not concrete was used on the roadways in the 1920s thru at least the 1930s. Thanks for sharing, Dana.  

Have you ever wondered why the railroad tracks coming into Visalia from the west have a dramatic curve near Recreation Park/Rawhide Stadium? They didn’t always. When the first train depot was established in Visalia in the 1870s near the stadium, the tracks were straight and ended at the depot. When the depot moved to Oak and Church streets (Depot Restaurant site) in the 1890s, the tracks had to be extended. In order to lay the tracks to the new depot, with an Oak Street alignment, an “S” curve was necessary. This photograph, looking west, shows a part of that curve at Oak and Johnson streets.

69-Year Old Visalia Sweater Surfaces

Recently, I was contacted by a man who lives in Fresno and he shared an interesting piece of Visalia history. It is a dark green Visalia High School girl’s sweater with a “V41” patch on it. It is absolutely gorgeous in design and condition. It belonged to Florence Faria, who was a relative of the Fresno man’s wife and Florence attended school here. Anyone out there know her? According to the label it was sold at Schwabs in Visalia, but I can’t find any information on Schwabs. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Notice also the little metal pin on the pocket that says “Fight Infantile Paralysis” which is more commonly called Polio. Really amazing piece of Visalia history!

Ideas Needed for Fort Visalia Block

As was mentioned in a previous HH, the City is in escrow on the old site of Fort Visalia—a place recognized really as the beginning of the town. Ideas have been circulating about how best to commemorate the landmark site. Should we re-create the fort, re-create part of the fort, or do something else to recognize the birthplace of the city. If you have any ideas please share those with me and I will make sure they get to the appropriate people. Susan Mangini, and architect Michael Kreps are working on some ideas as well. No pictures exist of the old 1852-53 fort, but we have a word description and based on that, here is a rendering of the fort prepared by Dave Smith. We have a real opportunity here so let the ideas flow!

***Bill Allen asked recently about 2 black lava rock houses (both in the shape of a conical beehive) that reportedly were on the outskirts of Visalia. Someone mentioned them to him, but we don’t know anything about them, including location. Anyone ever heard of them?

***Claudia Allred Ward is on the hunt for the builder of the “McSwain Mansion”---the beautiful house on the southwest corner of Court and Tulare avenues. The house is now a dentist’s office but was made famous by Dr. Thomas O. McSwain an early occupant. Dr. McSwain is the grandfather of Claudia and any help in trying to pin down builder or date of construction would be appreciated.

***More famous Visalia visitors are being added to the list. Karen Kirkpatrick recently added Bob Feller (famous baseball hall of famer). She also added Buddy Epson (actor). But clearly her favorites are Mike Lookinland and Christopher Knight. Both of these gentlemen are better known as Bobby and Peter Brady, stars of the old tv show “The Brady Bunch.”

***Some of you continue to try to identify the old Acme Beer delivery truck that was posted a few HH issues ago. I think Jay Belt has found the answer—a 1936 C-1 International.

***A number of you have visited San Antonio, Texas and have enjoyed their river walk. Couldn’t a segment of Visalia’s Mill Creek become a river walk? Jennifer Allen Gomez wonders about pedestrian and recreational trails along the exposed waterway!

“Tuesday morning, after a most refreshing rain during Monday night, clearing the atmosphere and washing the leaves of our majestic oaks, afforded a most beautiful view from the dome of our courthouse. We observed for several hours citizens gazing, stretching their optics towards the lofty peaks eastward, and level plain westward, toward Tulare Lake. The view that morning was grand and Professor Bienstadt would find it a profitable occupation to devote a morning and evening to observation, as it will realize him a rich scene of Tulare valley, not to be excelled anywhere in the state. The dome of our courthouse has become a favorite place of observation.” Visalia’s Tulare Times, June 2, 1887