Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
February 1922
– Snow came Saturday night and covered fully half of Marin County in a deep blanket of white. Mount Tamalpais lay beneath a coating that near the peak reached a depth of three feet. By a queer freak of atmospheric influence, the snow fell heaviest in the area from Novato south to Sausalito and from the Northwestern Pacific railroad to the coast. San Rafael hill was covered to a depth of from 3 to 6 inches.
– The people of Ignacio were given a real treat Sunday morning, when they waked up to find it snowing. Everything was white with about six inches of snow on the ground. One was not safe to go out because soon as you did someone, was ready to hit you with a nice big snowball. The flakes fell from four A. M. until about 9:30 A. M., when it started to rain.
75 Years Ago
February 1947
– Albert W. Bunt, former resident of Novato, died at the home of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Helen Myers in San Rafael. Born in California, he was aged 53 years. At the age of 15 years, he arrived in Marin County and 23 years ago located in Novato where he managed the dairy ranch for the late Dr. Ritter who was the founder of the Ross General Hospital. The dairy was located at Grant Avenue. He at one time owned a ranch at Black Point which he sold through the agency of the late A.D. White.
– Seventy-five members and their guests of the Novato Chamber of Commerce breakfasted at the Maison Marin Sunday morning. Introduced were Jack Sparrow, new owner of the town’s weekly newspaper; Mr. Shoemaker, owner of the town’s newest dry goods store; Dal Emparan, grandson of the late General Vallejo, of Sonoma, who owns a cabin at Black Point.
– The Marin County planning commission took under advisement the application of Mr. Heffelfinger to build a service station, restaurant and auto cabins on his property at the corner of Atherton Avenue and the Redwood Highway.
– Death came suddenly to Mrs. Clara Belle Carlile at her home from a heart attack. When her husband, C.E. Carlile, closed his hardware store and left for home, he observed his wife apparently sleeping on a couch. Investigating he found that she had been dead for several hours, having passed away while she slept. She had prepared and had lunch with her husband at noon and did not complain of being ill. A native of California, had she lived until Feb. 5, would have reached her 68th birthday. She went to Novato with her late parents, the Riddles, 54 years ago, where the family bought a place on DeLong Avenue at the end of Scott Avenue. At the age of 18 years, she became the bride of Carlile, who at the time was the N.W.P. Railroad Co.’s agent at Novato, and the couple resided in their home on Reichert and DeLong Avenue ever since. Carlile resigned the position with the railroad and established the first hardware store in Novato, which he has since conducted.
50 Years Ago
February 1972
– Fred Ruegg was the latest to file his papers for Novato council. He and his wife, Connie, moved to Novato in 1968 after his retirement as vice president of the CBS radio division in New York City, where he was responsible for the operations of 14 radio stations and supporting sales organizations. Born in Gresham, Oregon, Ruegg has spent most of his life in California. He was with KCBS in Los Angeles from 1938 to 1953, was transferred to New York City for four years, then returned to Los Angeles to manage KNX radio for another four years. He was last with CBS in New York City for six years. The Rueggs have two daughters and five grandchildren. One of the two daughters is Shari (Mrs. Donald A.) Leaf. The other daughter is Mrs. Michele Brown of San Rafael.
– A city public works department experiment in creating “bike paths” on Virginia Avenue that aren’t true bike paths, simply by drawing white lines on both sides of the car traffic lanes, is working out fine.
– The building of a Boys Club, a project that has caught the imaginations of many Novato youngsters, their parents, and concerned citizens, will take a giant step toward reality with the early sale of a 5-bedroom residence now under construction at 3 Christopher Court, above Center Road in St. Francis Heights in the West Novato area. The unique aspect of this house is that all labor and craftsmanship going into its construction, the cost of building materials, the contractor’s “know how,” and all sales costs are being underwritten almost entirely as contributions or on an actual cost basis. The house has a “price tag” of $45,900 with realtor William A Timmer in charge of its sale, which is expected to realize a minimum profit of $20,000 to help cover construction costs of the Novato Boys Club The project began as a dream of Reuben W. Kaehler, Novato contractor, who sold the scheme to his fellow directors on the board of the Novato Boys Club
25 Years Ago
February 1997
– A hearing on an appeal by the Black Point Partners to a decision against their development at the Renaissance Faire site will be heard. A Marin County Judge ruled in 1995 that an environmental impact report for the project was deficient and set aside city approval of the report. The Black Point Partners plan to build a luxury golf course and 53 luxury homes on a 238-acre site. As part of the development, the partners have already donated a 64-acre site for a wildlife reserve.
– More than 17,000 yards of concrete have already been poured into the foundations for the first two Buck Center for Research in Aging buildings now under construction on the sides of Mount Burdell. The’1 first phase of construction will cost an estimated $47.5 million. When completed, the project will carry a $100 million price tag.
– Construction on Chambers Cable’s rebuild program in Novato will begin this spring. The rebuild includes installation of state-of-the-art technology called Interdiction. Chambers Cable plans to more than double the channel capacity of the cable system and add additional services such as digital music, several channels of full-time pay-per-view, and other technologies. The rebuild will also provide for improved cable television reception and increased system reliability.
– Plans are underway for the 15th annual Novato Chamber of Commerce Art, Wine and Music Festival with an emphasis on a “Made in Marin” theme. The Chamber is currently seeking applications from Marin residents who are interested in being arts and crafts exhibitors for the June 21-22 event which draws as many as 50,000 people. Local residents will be given priority in the selection process.
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