Mike Read/Pages From The Past
(Editor’s Note: Pages From The Past remembers Novato through the years via the pages of the historic Novato Advance newspaper.)
100 Years Ago
December 1922
– The Black Point cutoff highway has been Completed and opened to the public.
– Mrs. Neilsen’s barn has been moved to the front of the lot and is being converted into a dwelling house.
– F. L. Tainter, who has leased the property recently purchased by Jas. Nugent and adjoining the Shell building, has the concrete foundation laid for a new building.
75 Years Ago
December 1947
– Novato Chamber of Commerce: The president appointed Charles Boyd, Laurence Tresch, Mrs. W. Q. Wright Jr., and Miss Kity Chaplain as a committee for the annual lighting of the big Christmas tree on the school grounds and the prizes awarded for the Christmas decoration in store windows.
– Novato Endorses Reber Water Plan – Northern Marin, represented by the Novato Chamber of Commerce and Novato Community, Inc., have signified their support of the Reber Plan, calling for the construction of two great rock dams designed to create two great freshwater lakes in San Francisco Bay. The basic plan, suggested by Engineer John Reber many years ago, calls for the construction of a huge causeway from Pt. San Quentin to Pt. Richmond and a second from downtown San Francisco to downtown Oakland. Proponents of the plan declare that in addition to regulating the saltwater encroachment in upper bay regions, the causeways will solve the transportation problems in the area.
50 Years Ago
December 1972
As they say in the real estate business, “time is of the essence” and never was it more so than in the case of the 600-acre Rancho Olompali which lies on the eastern edge of Mount Burdell. Olompali, for centuries the site of a large Miwok Indian village, is now the focal point of a tug of war between conservationists and developers. In the middle is Novato archeologist Charles Slaymaker who doesn’t care who wins so long as the site of the village is preserved. The trouble is the most desirable land for developing was also the site of the village. Slaymaker estimates the village covered a minimum of 40 acres, mostly level, around the old adobe of Camilio Ynitia, the last chief of the Olompalis.
– The luminario tradition will be observed again this Christmas eve in Novato. The rows of flickering paper lanterns lining the sidewalk are a Christmas eve tradition that goes back to a centuries-old custom in Spain. The lanterns symbolize the campfires that blazed on the plains of Bethlehem, leading the shepherds to the manger where Jesus lay. The custom was introduced in Novato in 1962 by Air Force families who had seen luminarios in the Southwest, where it had spread from Mexico.
– The old two-story, clapboard house once occupied by Nonato’s first postmaster and now owned by the city will hopefully be put to use sometime before the new freeway bypass is completed. When the bypass and DeLong Avenue interchange are finished the venerable building will stand at the main entrance to the city and the city council is looking for an appropriate use for it. The city has provided a new foundation, siding and roof, but extensive interior work remains to Be done. This might necessitate volunteer labor or contributions so the city will most likely favor a community or quasi-public use for it. For that reason, it has invited all interested organizations and associations to make suggestions.
– The state department of fish and game stocked Stafford Lake with 2,500 catchable trout Thursday morning. It was the first time the lake was ever stocked with trout. Another 2,000 trout were “poured” into the lake yesterday. The plantings will continue periodically during the winter. In the past bluegill and largemouth bass were stocked in the lake. The lake is open daily for fishing and the only requirement is that a person have a state fishing license. Parking fee is 50 cents.
25 Years Ago
December 1997
– The sights and sounds of the season are apparent throughout Downtown Novato, but the tastes of the season begins at Skully’s Bakery and Cafe. Over the course of the last four years Skully’s pastries and scones have acquired a reputation that is already beginning to border on legend. But the store at 1407 Grant Ave. is much more than just a pastry shop. It is first and foremost a full-scale bakery, with breads, pies, cakes and everything else that makes eating and life special. Julia is the business end of Skully’s. Her husband, Skully Owens, is the baker, bringing to the dream of his own business the skill he has acquired from 23 years as a professional baker.
– They get up at the crack of dawn for her, spend their precious after school hours with her and do her proud on stage. They are teenagers. She is Emily Gates, their music teacher at San Marin High School. And by the time some of them graduate, she will have transformed their lives forever. For the past 18 years, Emily has taught all of San Marin’s choral students. Three years ago, she added being band teacher to her list of duties. Her jazz choir—which became an official class only last year—is famous across the country.
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