100 years ago – October 18, 1917
Methods for city betterment suggested
A marked get-together spirit was the keynote of the special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held in the City Hall, Thursday night of last week. Fifty or more of the business men of the town were present, and nearly everyone expressed his opinion on the methods for making Healdsburg a more wide awake business city than it is today. The preliminary step was the decision to hold a Bargain Day, set for Wednesday, October 31. AII of the territory tributary to Healdsburg will be covered with special advertising. Practically every merchant has consented to have a part in this effort to bring to this city a larger part of the patronage that belongs to the town, a great deal of which is now going to the big mail order houses of San Francisco and cities east of the Rocky Mountains. Every merchant in Healdsburg will offer some article at cost for Bargain Day. Bargain Day, however, is but the beginning of a concerted effort that will be made by the Chamber of Commerce to awaken a spirit of loyalty in this community to the home town.
50 years ago – October 19,1967
‘Scenic Tour’ signs planned
A project which has been in the mill for five years, the placing of 50 metal “Scenic Tour” signs in and around Healdsburg, is finally getting off the ground. Monday night George Barry and James Mazzoni, representing the Healdsburg Rotary Club requested, and received, from the city council, permission to place six of the 50 signs inside the city. The signs, they pointed out, would not only direct visitors on the most scenic route of the city, but would also serve as directional signs during the annual Prune Blossom Tour, which attracts thousands of visitors. The signs will be worded “Scenic Tour” and carry paintings of wine clusters, prunes and blossoms. The county, said Barry, has already given its permission to locate the signs on county roads. The signs in town will be spotted at the chamber office, Matheson Street, two on Powell Avenue and two near the Villa Chantecler. The balance will be located where prune blossom directional signs have been placed in the past.
25 years ago – October 21, 1992
Elderly, disabled can call ahead for rides in new bus
A new city bus, designed especially to serve the needs of the disabled and elderly and provide custom-tailored rides, will soon hit the streets of Healdsburg. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Healdsburg needed to provide a new bus outfitted with a wheelchair lift and other equipment to accommodate the disabled. The new bus will be in operation beginning October 27 and will run Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bus service for the disabled and frail elderly will be available on an appointment-only basis. The 1992 Turtle Top bus, which has a Ford chassis, cost about $40,000 to purchase and outfit with the wheelchair lift, a two-way radio and other equipment, according to Healdsburg City Councilman Peter Foppiano who is Sonoma County’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The bus is a point-to-point custom transportation system. There is no set route.
Flashbacks is 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, which is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
