Pages From The Past/Mark Read
100 Years Ago
August 1922
– A fire on the afternoon of the 6th wrought havoc at Old Town. D. DeNeff had been burning some rubbish and, thinking the fire was safe, left it. The wind fanned the smoldering embers into a blaze and the grass caught fire, carrying it to the chicken houses. All the outbuildings, an automobile, a large quantity of feed and numbers of chickens were burned. A large oak tree helped the fighters save the house. The loss is estimated between $7,000 and $8,000, which is a heavy blow to the old gentleman. There was no insurance. Burning shingles carried by the wind set fire to an unoccupied house on the Connell place, which was also consumed. On Monday afternoon some 20 men met and before night they had built a chicken house 20 or more feet long and fenced in the lot, leaving Mr. DeNeff in a position to take care of his remaining flock. This is the kind of sympathy that counts for something.
– The old school building was sold to the junk man and has been razed.
– The trustees have donated the school bell to the Novato fire department. May it ever be dead property, only to call the boys to drill.
75 Years Ago
August 1947
– State Public Utilities Commission authorized A.J. Cain to sell the water service in connection with his utilities company to Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Tresch for $50,000. Cain will continue to operate the community’s telephone service. Novato is probably the largest community in Marin County not within the boundaries of the Marin Municipal Water district.
– Mrs. Thelma Turner and Leo Zunino were married in the city hall at Carson City, Nevada. The benedict is the owner of the shoe store on Grant, established by his father, A. Zunino, Besides his parents, The A. Zuninos, he has three sisters. The couple are now living in Novato.
– Four-year old Harry Hale, son of the George Hales, is breathing easier since the coin he swallowed was removed from his throat by Dr. R.J. Weseman.
50 Years Ago
August 1972
– There is something strangely reassuring about the accidental destruction of a building which was going to be destroyed anyway. At any rate, this would seem to be the best way to appraise last week’s fire at Hamilton Air Force Base. The old gymnasium building was being used for controlled burns, a common practice in the training of Hamilton rookies. But when the session broke for lunch, one of the little fires was not, as Smokey Bear would have it, “dead out.” The fire quickly spread throughout the condemned wooden structure, and two units, including the snorkel, from the Novato fire department were called to assist the four Hamilton units on the scene.
– Construction is well underway on the second phase of the new administrative-professional building at the corner of Grant Avenue and Second Street. The new addition will contain 1,500 square feet of modern air conditioned office space and is separated from the Grant Avenue structure by a landscaped courtyard. The Grant Avenue structure nearing completion will contain the law offices of Trumbull and Rush and the corporate office of Novato Realty. The owners of the new buildings are Louis J. Giovine and Gordon K. Morse, both Novato residents.
– John Kenney, would-be developer of Black Point, came to town last night along with a panel of planners and poets to sing the praises of his new proposal for development of the former Sartori Ranch south of Highway 37. The two- and one-half-hour presentation all but lulled the city’s planning commissioners and councilmen into an acquiescing silence. It sounded like what God would have done with Black Point had He the money and ingenuity. “Islands In The Sun” is what affable Al Bianchi, San Rafael attorney for the project called it. That was by way of introducing a 90-minute slide show on the project which envisions 2,300 units of attached dwellings, most of them to be constructed on pilings off the shores of a 250-acre lake. The lake would be created by flooding the plains (including the site where the Renaissance Faire is to hold forth this year) with a “stable” mixture of salt and freshwater.
25 Years Ago
August 1997
– While the City of Novato works to put together a plan to revitalize Downtown, things are moving forward by individual initiative. Among the most recent to add to a continuing upgrade of Downtown is Golden Gate Gifts, located at 1118 Grant Ave. The store is located in a building that has been completely remodeled inside and out. The 1,200 square-foot building was at one time a family home. Before being taken over by Margaret Kapranos for her new store, it had been vacant for two years. “A family of skunks had moved in under the floor. It almost turned me away,” Kapranos recalls. But Kapranos could see the potential of being downtown and, with the help of her contractor husband, David, and two sons Nick, 15, and Chris, 11, set about not only reclaiming the building from the skunks, but also turning it into another Downtown treasure.
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