On this day in Mendocino history… January 24, 1890 - The Mendocino Lumber Company mill began operating again after a two-month closure. The mill had been in violation of a new state law prohibiting the dumping of sawdust into rivers, as the pollution was killing fish. Sawmills had historically disposed of their waste by dumping it into the nearest stream. According to “Big River was Dammed” [...]
January 21, 1895 - Gladys Chambers was born in Albion, the daughter of John and Adaline Chambers. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Mendocino, where John worked as a blacksmith. After graduating from Mendocino High School, Gladys worked in the office of the Mendocino Lumber Company, where she “became well known and liked by the many employees who came to receive their pay checks.” [...]
Part 3 of our “dark and stormy night” series, this article continues the story from last week’s column and first appeared in the Mendocino Beacon on December 6, 2007 When we left the storm-battered little steamer Pomo, she and her rescue boat, Adeline Smith, were waiting to cross the treacherous seas at the bar to San Francisco Bay on the night of January 2, 1914 [the [...]
January 16, 1968 - The Tuesday Evening Bridge Club celebrated its 39th anniversary at the home of Kate Anderson on Pine Street. Kate, who was 85 years old, was assisted in her hostess duties by her daughter, Lucille Freathy. North elevation of the Packard-Johnson House on Pine Street looking southeast. Master carpenter J. D. Johnson began building this house in March 1891 for the Justin [...]
January 14, 1907 - The steam schooner Sequoia wrecked on the rocks near the north jetty of Humboldt Bay. With a length of 151 feet, this vessel had a capacity of 300 tons and was built near the sawmill at Fort Bragg in 1898 specifically for the lumber trade. The "Sequoia" loading lumber at Grey's Harbor, Washington, 1898-1903. (Gift of Emery Escola) The Sequoia [...]
Given our recent weather, we’re continuing the “dark and stormy night” theme from last week with this article that first appeared in the Mendocino Beacon on August 30, 2007. Captain Orlando "Ole" Lilleland was master of the wooden steam schooner Pomo, which operated along the Mendocino coast hauling redwood and farm goods south and general freight north. Pomo was of modest size, built to be handy [...]
January 10, 1909 - Joe Lenhares married Mamie Jerome at the Catholic Church in Mendocino. Mamie was the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Antone and Annie (Thomas) Jerome. She was born in her parents’ home on the northeast corner of Calpella and Williams Streets in 1887. Wedding portrait of Mamie and Joseph Lucio Lenhares, 1909 Joe was born at Santa Cruz, Island of Flores, Azores, [...]
January 8, 1973 - The results of a guessing contest were announced at the Mendocino Hotel. The contents of a jar of coffee beans that had been on display for two weeks were laboriously counted out by three judges. The total number of beans in the jar was 11,829, which included two beans which were thrown at “sitters-bye,” who offered “helpful suggestions” to the beancounters. The [...]
The dark and stormy nights we’ve been having here lately inspired us to reprint this column that ran in the Mendocino Beacon on July 31, 2008. “We left San Francisco late in the afternoon of January 9th [1903] bound for Crescent City. When off Point Reyes the wind was coming from the south with a velocity of sixty miles an hour. The sea ran high and [...]
January 4, 1946 - Abram Benjamin Snider, Westport pioneer, passed away at the Mendocino home of his daughter, Mrs. Mamie King, at the age of 92. According to the Beacon, “Mr. Snider was born in Lee County, Iowa, May 25, 1853. When a small child, he moved with his parents, the late John and Mary Snider to Missouri. At the age of 12 years the family [...]