Mike Reed/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
September 1921
— A.McDonald, architect, who is building the Clarkson home on the Home Ranch, has bought the property adjoining Mr. Dunlap.
— Messrs. Larsen and Kokyer, who bought the Burnham ranch, are building a large new brooder house.
— Mr. and Mrs. A. Hiribarren made a business trip to Petaluma last week. Mr. Hiribarren expects to have his new concrete cheese factory in operation very shortly.
— Mr. Edsberg, proprietor of the New Marin Market, wishes to thank the residents of Novato for their patronage since he has taken over the business, and states he will do all in his power to give satisfaction and service.
— IGNACIO – Our school is flourishing, under the able management of Miss Bradley. She is living in the district, having been so fortunate as to secure a most desirable board and residence with Mrs. Mercedes Boeken, nee Pacheco, at her delightful home just below town.
— IGNACIO – Thomas Jarvis, was a recent visitor in our village. It will be remembered that he is the architect and builder who transformed the plain – looking old schoolhouse into the picturesque cottage, amid the trees, at “Los Robles,” in the northern part of town: the property of Salvadore Pacheco. Mr. Pacheco, with some of his friends, occasionally occupies this place as a hunting lodge.
— Mr. and Mrs. Gates went East two months ago. They have passed the time since then in New York and Washington and at Virginia Hot Springs. They will occupy “El Novato” their home on Ortega Hill, when they return and during the coming winter. “El Novato” has been occupied this summer by Mr. and Mrs. Irving Smith of Kansas City, Mo.
75 Years Ago
September 1946
— Foundation was laid Saturday for the workshop of James S. Roberts, owner of the North Bay Service Co., fronting on the Redwood highway. The smaller building is already being used for repairing farm machinery.
— The W.W. Malone family, Mr. and Mrs. Heashkler and daughter with other members of the local Baptist church, spent Labor Day on the church grounds. The men assembled the lumber purchased as surplus war material in readiness for the erection of the First Baptist Church of Novato.
— NEAR NOVATO – 5 acres, 14 room home. On old Petaluma Road. This is known as “Old Catholic Place.” Some fruit trees. Home divided into 4 renting units – Annual income $1,800. Price $12,000.
— Al Braz of Novato and Miss Evelyn Sharkey of Petaluma were married. Since selling his Novato garage, Braz has engaged in the trucking business, which he has a fleet of trucks operating from Stockton to Auburn. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts after his parents came to the United States from their native Lisbon, Portugal, he was aged two years when they came to Novato. In his boyhood days he and his accordion furnished entertainment for many local organizations. He is a prominent member of the local I.D.E.S.I.
— The Flowers by Madge shop of Mrs. Lee Wells has stated the erection of a new shop at Second Street and Grant Avenue. The present location of the shop is in the basement of the Myers apartment house.
50 Years Ago
September 1971
— Oldtown will make its formal debut this weekend at the first annual Oldtown Festival and Art Show. Oldtown is the part of town east of the highway, with East Grant Avenue as its heart. For over a year there has been a movement afoot to capitalize on the old-fashioned atmosphere in the area and make it an area for unusual shops and a place where craftsmen can sell their wares. Recently merchants formed their own association. The Oldtown Festival is the first major event that will focus attention on the area. Saturday and Sunday two blocks on East Grant Avenue— from Machin Avenue to Reichert Avenue—will be closed to traffic to clear the area for a street fair.
— The Renaissance Faire, now in the escrow process of acquiring an estimated 980 acres for a permanent Faire site and “Old English Village” on Lucas Valley Road north of San Rafael, is doing very okay in Black Point. Fair weather is Faire weather and the drop in temperatures from the previous weekend’s record heat boosted attendance last Saturday to above 10,000 for the day and Sunday’s crowds totaled close to 13,000
25 Years Ago
September 1996
— The Novato Theatre restoration project, the local grass-roots campaign to refurbish and open the 1945 Grant Avenue movie house, has reached a critical juncture. Novato City Councilmembers will decide next Tuesday night, Sept. 24, whether or not to negotiate a contract with the theater’s owners, Al and Clara Bowman. The outcome of Tuesday’s meeting is critical because the Bowmans have indicated they will grant the Novato Theatre Restoration Committee (NTRC) no more extensions in coming to an agreement. “This is the decisive moment,” says Jean Price Lewis, the Novato attorney who has headed the committee and spearheaded the campaign.
— For more than 20 years, Mark Bailey and Wayne Keegan have been selling quality power garden equipment at Buck’s Saw Service, 707 Grant Ave. in Old Town Novato. Buck’s Saw Service sells and repairs a wide variety of name power garden equipment — chain saws, lawnmowers, weed trimmers, blowers, and chipper/shredders. For more than two decades, homeowners and commercial yard maintenance companies have come to rely on Buck’s Saw Service to meet their power-tool needs. The partners purchased the business from Mark’s father, Buck, in 1973. Wayne has been in the business for 30 years, doing everything from sales to service and, for the last 23 years, ownership. Mark learned from his father and put his knowledge to good use when he bought the company.
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