The following snippets of history are drawn from the pages of the Healdsburg Tribune, the Healdsburg Enterprise and the Sotoyome Scimitar, and are prepared by the volunteers at the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society. Admission is always free at the museum, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
100 years ago – July 11, 1918
To discuss labor problem
For Saturday next, at 3 p.m., a big gathering of all those who employ labor has been planned to take place in the Club House in Healdsburg. J.D. McConnell, representing the State and National Employment Bureau, will be here to address the gathering on the present and apparently serious labor problem. Upwards of 200 of Healdsburg’s young blood have left the local field of toil for the enviable duty of serving their country. Many others have sought remunerative employment in the ship yards and other large plants in the Bay region. The crops are abundant, and in the brief time of about two months, prunes, hops, grapes and tomatoes must be harvested. That this produce will be garnered from the fields and orchards is scarcely any serious doubt, but the labor question involved should be placed as nearly as possible on some systematic basis, so that the work may be prosecuted with the proper degree of confidence and facility.
50 years ago – July 11, 1968
Old Safeway new location for Healdsburg post office
After 20 years in its present location, Healdsburg’s post office will be making a move into the old Safeway store on Center Street. The move has been long-awaited by local patrons and will result in more than twice the space than the existing facility. It is hoped that the new location, located at the corner of Center and North Streets, will be remodeled and ready for use by late January. The new office will be air conditioned and will consist of 8,000 square feet of interior space and 7,000 square feet for parking and movement of postal vehicles. Postmaster Perry Austin says this is a little more than twice the space in the post office now. The extra interior room will allow for new facilities including a meeting room, locker room and ladies lounge. The department hopes to add another window.
25 years ago – July 9, 1993
EPA requires city to treat water for high copper level
Elevated levels of copper in the tap water in some Healdsburg homes will require the city to treat the entire city water supply, and will end up costing customers about $1 per month on their water bills. Recent federal regulations have required cities across the country to test levels of lead and copper in the tap water of their residents. Levels of copper in some Healdsburg homes are high enough to trigger mandatory treatment of Healdsburg’s water. The copper is not in the water in the city’s reservoirs. It leaches into the water from copper pipes when the slightly corrosive Russian River water stands in the pipes for extended periods.
