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 – August 1, 1918
Rich veins reported at Socrates
Only those who are closely connected know how much money is being distributed by the mines in this vicinity. The big Socrates mine on Pine Flat has struck such rich veins of silver, it is reported, that they cannot get tanks enough to hold it, and a party is quoted as saying the pure silver is scooped up in dippers right out of the ground. It is fortunate that this condition exists, as quicksilver plays an important part in the manufacture of war supplies. The manganese mines that are being operated near Skaggs Springs are also enjoying a run of good luck and much ore is being taken out and shipped. Several carloads a month leave the station at Geyserville, each car holding about 50 tons of the valuable metal, which has such an important part in the composition of iron and steel.
50 years ago – August 1, 1968
Dogs’ year of grace up, record far from perfect
At the end of the year’s grace ending Sept. 30, dogs are failing to prove themselves good overnight neighbors in state park campgrounds. The trial period saw in the first three months, 14,127 dogs checked in at state campgrounds. Dog miscues rolled up 1,690 warnings, 11 citations and 406 public complaints. The biggest complaint is the mess dogs create and owners do not clean up. Other complaints include dogs running loose, on leashes over six feet long, messing camp and beach areas, entering park buildings and prohibited areas, on beaches, noisy, vicious, upsetting garbage cans, left outside at night, left unattended and disturbing wildlife, especially deer — the typical list of doggy and owners’ unwittingness and carelessness. You have to love ’em to understand and accept them for all they give, the inconvenient as well as the good.
25 years ago – August 6, 1993
Downtown streets safer for pedestrians
Despite a white-hot controversy during a disruptive construction period more than two years ago and the residual grumbling that followed, the city’s downtown streetscape project, with its brick intersection “bulb outs” and mid-block “pinch points,” received a positive review from city officials this week. Designed to make the town’s central shopping region more pedestrian friendly, the project enraged downtown merchants when construction threatened to close off sidewalks and threaten the health of a number of businesses. Following the construction some complained that the bulb outs, sometimes referred to as “right turn inhibitors,” at intersections restricted traffic and made it difficult for large trucks to maneuver downtown. However, according to city officials and Police Chief Joe Palla the project has made downtown streets safer for pedestrians.
