Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years AgoAugust 1923– Peoples’ garage is building an additional shop for their new garage which will be run under the management.– A Heavy Fruit Crop. – Marin county soil will produce virtually every kind of fruit, and it is seldom that you find a home without its fruit trees and berry patches. This year there was a heavy yield of apricots in every section of the county, especially in and around Novato, where the fruit was a drug on the Markey. Novato today is the principal fruit and berry raising section of the county, and tons of fruit have been shipped from there to all sections of the county, says The Independent. In the early days the DeLong orchard at Novato was the largest fruit orchard in the west, and Senator DeLong shipped most of his apples and pears to the Eastern market. The orchards around Novato are producing the best Gravenstein apples sent to San Francisco market this year. Most of the Gravensteins shipped from the M.F. Cochrane orchard at Novato measured from 4 to 7 inches in diameter. 75 Years AgoAugust 1948– Baptists Buy Lot; To Build Soon – The local Baptist Church has purchased a lot in Novato and is expecting to start construction of a new church in the near future according to the Rev. Wayne Eurich, local pastor. The lot Is situated on Third street between Grant Avenue and Vallejo Street and is 75 feet by 150 feet.– Clarence “Pete” Peters announced today that he would be ready for business in his new barber shop in the Simard building on Tuesday of next week. The quarters have been newly renovated and suitable for the type of business to be established.50 Years AgoAugust 1973– Steven Castle, the 29-year-old owner of the Tijuana Taco Mexican food restaurant on Seventh Street in Novato, has announced the opening of another Tijuana Taco in San Rafael at 151 Bellam Boulevard. The franchisee operation features indoor and outdoor seating as well as a drive-through operation for patrons wanting food to go. Castle opened the Novato restaurant two years ago.– The parking lot serving the four businesses (Crow’s Frontier Shop, Pini Hardware, Tot n’ Teen and Tobies Beauty Salon) in the Pini Building on Grant Avenue has been expanded and improved. The lot now has 38 spaces, including five for sports cars according to Ben Young, president of Pini Hardware. Previously there were about 25 spaces. The expanded lot covers the property which Pini Hardware purchased about a year ago from Herbert Ormsby of Santa Cruz. The building on the property, formerly a dog grooming salon and a used car sales office, is now a storage area lor Pini Hardware.25 Years AgoAugust 1998– The city has apparently tied up enough of the loose ends in its efforts to purchase 408 acres of Navy-controlled property at Hamilton Field to make a formal offer. On July 9, Novato Mayor Carole Dillon-Knutson announced that the city and the Navy had come to a conceptual agreement regarding the purchase of the property. The Navy parcel includes 503 homes at Rafael Village, located across Highway 101 from the military base. Those homes will be torn down and replaced by market-rate housing.– North Marin For 50 years NMWD has kept Novato wet = The North Marin Water District, originally called the North Marin County Water District, was formed in April 1948 by voter approval. The new public agency purchased the private Novato Water Company, then serving 500 customers. Shortly after approving the district, voters approved two bond issues for a total of $2 million to pay for the purchase of the water district, upgrade the system* and construct Stafford Dam. The dam, completed in 1951, was built by T.E. Connolly of San Francisco and the treatment plant, which began operation in 1952 by C. Norman Peterson.
Leave a Reply