Originally printed in the Mendocino Art Center’s Fall 2003 Arts & Entertainment magazine Every March the annual Mendocino Coast Whale Festival celebrates the migration of the Pacific Gray Whales with their newborn calves from western Baja to the Bering Sea. But this celebration would not be possible without the 1976 Mendocino Whale Wars that helped to save the then-endangered species. The following is an excerpt spotlighting [...]
Rudy Hanson, c. 1917. March 7, 1920 - A tragic accident occurred near the Boom when twenty-year-old Rudy Hanson was killed by the accidental discharge of a shotgun. Rudy, his younger brother Arthur, and Joe Rossi had left Boyle’s camp early on a hand car heading to a point on the river below the Boom to find clams. After securing their clams, they returned to [...]
Studio portrait of William Perry Zerbone, and his son, William Perry Zerbone, Jr., c. 1902. (Gift of Marc and Maurene Catto) March 4, 1897 - William Zerbone, Jr. was born in Mendocino, the only son of William and Mary Almelda (Alves) Zerbone. William, Sr. immigrated from Flores in the Azores Islands in 1884, and Mary was a Mendocino native, the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, [...]
Starting on Thursday, March 9th , we invite you to chuckle at the humor and admire the creativity of the napkin art on display at the Kelley House Museum’s new napkin art exhibit. During the 1970s-1980s, the Sea Gull Bar & Restaurant was a community hub and the birthplace of Sunday afternoon Napkin Art gatherings. These sessions brought together local illustrators and sketchers, creating a true [...]
February 27, 1931 - The steamer Sea Foam broke into two pieces on the south reef of the harbor at Point Arena. Most of the cargo washed out to sea, and the ship was a total loss. She had wrecked six days before, while battling a heavy sea. The Wreck of the Sea Foam at Point Arena, 1931. People identified in the photograph are: Eiler [...]
February 25, 1915 - Mendocino Grammar School principal James “Jim” C. Hurley returned from a trip to San Francisco where he had taken the bar examination. The Beacon reported that, “Mr. Hurley’s friends here will be pleased to hear that he was successful in the examination and was admitted to the bar.” Jim was the second of 9 sons born to Richard and Katherine Hurley of [...]
These two images, taken about 36 years apart, show the Albert Brown House located at 45130 Little Lake Street. This house is one of four on the block sometimes referred to as “Banker’s Row,” because the residences here belonged at one time to men involved in the business and financial life of Mendocino. The Albert Brown House, c. 1987. (Kelley House Museum Archives) [...]
Helen and Anthony Lemos, from a photo album belonging to Bertha Reep Mason. (Gift of Bertha Mason) February 20, 1929 - A serious accident occurred at the grammar school just as the children were entering the school building at 9am, according to the Mendocino Beacon. Ten-year-old Helen Lemos was walking up the school steps with a friend “when she was hit on the head [...]
On this day in Mendocino history… February 18, 1972 - Lee Burleson assumed management of Gallery Fair, located on the southwest corner of Ukiah and Kasten Streets. Lee had arrived in Mendocino the year before as the bride of Postmaster Don Burleson. She had previously worked as a technical illustrator for Union Carbide in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and was also a financially successful ceramist and photographer [...]
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher riding a bike. Likely taken in Fort Bragg. The Kelley House Museum’s current exhibition, Angela Lansbury: Muse of Cabot Cove, has brought back many wonderful memories of Lansbury and her time in Mendocino. One of our docents and celebrated local historian, Katy Tahja, shares a few of her memories from Lansbury’s time filming in Mendocino: I worked as a [...]