Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
October 1922
– Novato has now a Parent-Teachers Association, which will no doubt be a live wire in promoting the best interests in school matters and the good of the community in general. The following officers were elected: President—Mrs. W. E. Cole. Vice President—Mrs. A. DeBorba. Secretary—Mrs. J. J. Merryman. Corresponding Secretary—Mrs. R. M. Cantwell. Treasurer—Mrs. Kokjer. Auditor—Miss Elenor Nisson. Historian—Mrs. W. H. Busher. This association was organized with 58 members, and this fact will be recorded in the yearbook.
– In another column appears an item stating that Dr. Edgar B. Lewman had closed his office in Novato. He did, but as he was about to pack his effects a number of new patients called and prevailed upon him to remain. Dr. Lewman is encouraged with his growing practice in Novato and will be at his office in the Shell building on the dates mentioned in his card in this paper.
– A.D. White and H. B. Hatfield has opened a real estate and insurance office in the old butcher shop building on Grant Avenue. They will also conduct a sales room, where ladies can take their preserved fruits to be sold.
– A fire meeting was recently held in the Community House. It was decided to accept the offer of H. Pini & Co. for the use of the old printing office building as a fire house, the same to be moved onto some place convenient for ready access. The officers were instructed to take charge of moving the building and placing the fire equipment.
75 Years Ago
October 1947
– Miss Theda Bugeaie made her last trip September 30th and retired as Novato’s first and only rural mail delivery carrier after 30 years of service. Her first delivery trips were made in her horse-drawn buggy to 125 boxes. Five additional miles have been added to the route with 465 boxes to receive the mails brought to them by automobile. “Theda” with her ready smile and friendly ways, is known to old and young. Mrs. Jack Chambers is on the route until a permanent appointment is made in Washington, D.C.
– Novato – 5 ½ acres, secluded parklike grounds amid large oak and laurel trees. 6 rm. Modern home, 3 bedrooms, 3 room guest house, out-bldgs., beautiful, wooded creek, fine well. Wonderful place for horses, next to one of Marin’s finest riding trails. Fine view. Price $20,000
– Members of the board of supervisors voted today to establish a sheriff’s substation at Novato, as result of repeated requests from that area. The new station, to be set up in the near future, will be staffed by regular members of Sheriff Walter B. Sellmer’s staff, and will have two-way radio contact with the main office in San Rafael and with patrol cars operating throughout the county. Many requests for the substation have been filed with the supervisors and with Sheriff Sellmer in recent months due to increase in population of the county and ever-increasing travel in the Novato region.
50 Years Ago
October 1972
– “We’ve decided to try to put it all back together,” said Acting President Bud Mitchell after a meeting last night that was to decide the future of Western Weekend, Inc. The organization was in danger of going under because of lack of participation. The board, elected In July, had five vacant seats due to resignations. About 25 people showed up at last night’s meeting to urge that “WW” be kept going. They agreed with Mitchell that the membership should have a greater role in planning the western country fair and that participation will be a requirement for membership. Organizations cannot have a booth at the Fair unless they are members of “WW”, Inc.
– More than 300 youngsters and adults took part in the National 4-H Week Parade held Sunday in Novato. The grand prize for 4-H entries was captured by the Novato Miwok club with a float entitled, “A New Day, A New Way.” It contrasted old fashioned and new methods of sewing and sawing.
25 Years Ago
October 1997
– The Marin Church of the Nazarene will celebrate its 50th year of ministry this Sunday, Oct. 12. The celebration begins at 2 p.m. at the church, 5400 Nave Drive in Novato, just south of the main gate to Hamilton Field. The church had its beginning in the war years. In 1944, a group of nine people—military personnel, most of them far from home—gathered in a small cottage in San Rafael. There they studied the Bible, sang gospel hymns and prayed for their community. In 1948, the congregation had outgrown its small meeting place and bought some land on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Anselmo. By 1979, the minimal parking space at the church caused the church leaders to look for more commodious accommodations. They found it in a surplus grade school building near the San Anselmo-Fairfax town limits. Meanwhile, another Nazarene congregation was in the making. In 1972, a group of prospective Nazarenes had decided to establish a church in Novato. They bought land and erected an ample building at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Center Road. The building now houses Miss Sandie’s School. The year 1986 was a pivotal year for the Nazarenes in Marin. The church in San Anselmo needed to relocate; the church in Novato was declared “inactive” and closed. But under the leadership of the Rev. James Southard, the two Nazarene congregations relocated to one more central building in southern Novato, where it remains.
– The North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) will host its eighth annual fall fundraiser on Monday, Oct. 13. A Night in Tuscany, presented by Jordon Shields Insurance Agency and the Law Offices of Richard Loudnerback, will take place at the classic Italian restaurant Ristorante Orsi.
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