Mike Read/Pages From The Past
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by the Novato Historical Society from the pages of the Novato Advance. You can read the Novato Advance online at NovatoAdvance-ca.newsmemory.com)
100 Years Ago
June 1923
– Indications are favorable for Novato having a band. Earl C. Campbell, a former bandmaster in the U. S. Navy and an instructor of experience, has the matter in charge, and two dozen or more of our young men have expressed their willingness to join. A band would be a valuable acquisition to our town besides being profitable time spent by the players. By all means organize a band.
– September New Laws – Gov. Richardson has signed the gasoline tax bill, which authorizes a tax of 2 cents on every gallon of gasoline used for transportation purposes on California highways. It is estimated the State will derive a benefit by this means of $11,000,000 annually. The Governor also signed the bill for a flat registration fee of $3 on all automobile vehicles, abolishing the horse-power tax system.
– Gasoline is 17 ½ cents a gallon at Samuels’.
– For some time, the California Packing Corporation has been busy harvesting 512 acres of peas. The crop averages about two tons to the acre. The green peas are threshed and taken by trucks to the cannery at Santa Rosa. H. Pini & Co. purchase the vines and deliver them to the different silos in Marin County and southern Sonoma. The peavines make excellent ensilage, and being an early crop give way in the fall to corn. Next year it is expected that a thousand acres of Marin Meadows will be put in peas, which is a leading industry of that great ranch. (California Packing Corp. is the site of Hamilton Air Force Base)
75 Years Ago
– June 1948
His Highness the Horse will be king in Novato June 30th, when the Novato Horsemen Inc. hold their fourth annual horse show with a big parade in the morning and ten arena events in the afternoon. Twenty-five trophies and $750 in cash awards have been offered participants in the morning parade The classes will include best silver mounted riding horse outfit, best western group, best novelty entry, best sheriff’s posse group, most outstanding group of horsemen and western riders, best parade horses ridden by man, woman, girl or boy, best hitch of four or more horses and best horse-drawn vehicle.
– Novato – Foothill, 5-acre ranch; 5-room modern home; all utilities; plenty of shade; $17,500; additional land adjacent can be had if desired.
– The Coupler’s Club of the Presbyterian church enjoyed a weenie roast at McNear’s beach attended by 16 couples.
50 Years Ago
June 1973
– This year’s Chamber dinner is the 57th for the local body, although last year’s dinner was billed as the 40th. Margaret Coady, city historian and wife of the outgoing Chamber president. Phil Coady. did a bit of research and discovered the Chamber has been in business since Aug. 5, 1915. A newspaper clipping dated Aug. 12, 1915, notes that the officers of the new Chamber were E.R. Samuels, president; F.S. Hamilton, vice president, G.D. Morrison, Secretary and Herman Rudolff, treasurer. The first order of business that group accomplished was to oppose the route then proposed for the Black Point cut-off. The Chamber was of the opinion a “proper road could not be built over the marsh and tule lands without enormous expense.” Now 57 years later, the matter of circulation and routing of roads is still a major concern of the Chamber.
– The Oldtown Festival, which this year was held at the same time as Western Weekend, was the best part of the town’s annual celebration. Congratulations and thanks to Barbara Murphy who has put so much time and effort into organizing and staging this street show. The parade this year was a disappointment, according to the remarks from viewers. There was a lack of bands and interesting units. The parade winners have yet to be announced. In past years the parade became too big; now it’s too small. There must be a happy medium. Western Weekend Inc. reported that it fared fairly well financially. The rodeo on Sunday as usual attracted its loyal customers.
– Despite winds so high that they swept several booths into the midway, the Western Weekend Country Fair did pretty well financially. According to Bob Wright, publicity chairman, Western Weekend will receive $3,500 from the carnival operators, who took in close to $17,500, about $200 less than last year. He said the booths manned by clubs grossed a total of about $11,200, with receipts from six booths still to be reported. Western Weekend’s 20 per cent cut will be over $2,200.
25 Years Ago
June 1998
– Harry W. Locke, a native San Franciscan and a plumbing contractor who took part in the residential and commercial development of Novato over the years, died peacefully of heart failure at his home in Novato on Monday, June 1, 1998. He was 76. Mr. Locke established Locke Plumbing in 1960 and was very active in the growth and development of Novato. He worked on the construction of Novato High School and Sinaloa Middle School as well as many commercial buildings and a number of housing developments.
He was instrumental in establishing and building the Novato Boys Club, now known as the Novato Youth Center. He was a life member of the Druids, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the 97th Bomb Group Reunion Association.
– There is new capital, new management, a new board and now a new name. On Thursday, June 18 New West Thrift and Loan became Novato Community Bank (NCB). Bank officials will mark the change with a ribbon cutting. Novato Community Bank has recently converted to a full-service banking institution. The conversion has allowed NCB to broaden the scope of its services to provide a variety of lending and deposit activities to small business relationships to help business owners and their families reach their financial goals. “The conversion to full-service banking is a positive change for the company and our customers,” said Kimberly Petrini, the bank’s president and CEO.
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