Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
April 1922
– Mrs. Grace A. Frisbie of Novato passed away recently. She was lying quietly on a couch and her little daughter of ten years was her only companion. The child thought her mother was sleeping until the next morning, when the state of the mother was discovered.
75 Years Ago
April 1947
– Novato Firemen baseball team will officially open the 1947 season here Sunday when they meet the San Francisco Cardinals at 2:30 p.m. on the new diamond at the corner of Railroad and Olive Avenue.
50 Years Ago
April 1972
– There will be no Western Weekend beard contest this year, it was decided at Monday’s general membership meeting of Western Weekend Inc. The contest was canceled because only three contestants submitted entries.
– Requiem mass was held yesterday for Giuseppe (Zep) C. Corda, a longtime Novato rancher, at Our Lady of Loretto Church. The 70-year-old Corda died Saturday after a long illness. He was born and raised in Vogorono, Switzerland, and came to Novato in 1926. He worked on the Corda family ranches until his retirement in 1967. He was a member of the Petaluma Eagles Lodge No. 333. Surviving Corda are four sisters, Angelina Corda of Novato, Assunta Corda, Sister Lucia, and Sister Angelia, all of Vogorono. Corda was buried at the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in San Rafael. Contributions may be made to any charity.
25 Years Ago
April 1997
– Mildred Houge, who made her home in Novato from 1948 to 1989, died Friday, April 11, 1997, in Fountain Valley in Orange County. She was 93. She and her husband, the late Oscar Houge, operated Oscar’s Paints on Grant Avenue in Novato from 1952 until 1977. Mrs. Houge was born in Iowa and reared in Minot, N.D. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star No. 609 in Novato and the Novato Garden Club.
– A man who believes Novato should be a place “where things work,” and a man who envisions “limited growth consistent with the environmental and social needs of the community” have been added to the Novato Planning Commission. Dan Jacoby and Edward A. Brooks Jr. replace Annette Conklin and Gerald Peters on the seven-member commission that makes land-use decisions and recommendations to the Novato City Council. Conklin, who served the last year as chair of the commission, is leaving after more than 12 years’ service. Peters decided not to apply again after one term on the board.
– Rousseau’s Gallery and Fine Art Framing is the new name for the former Frame Crafters of Novato. In business since 1982, located at 1219 Grant Ave., the business was recently purchased by Kathie Rousseau. The business has long been known for its custom framing services.
– “We ought to be proud of Novato,” says Mayor Pat Eklund. “Novato Pride Day gives the citizens a chance to pitch in and make our town even more beautiful than it is now.” Novato Pride Day grew out of budget cuts made in 1994 that impacted the city maintenance department and led to the formation of the Streetscape Coalition Committee, a group of interested business and community leaders who were concerned about the condition and appearance of the Novato landscape. Many of these leaders and community groups adopted street islands and took responsibility for their care and maintenance. Susan Stompe and Ed Schulze are co-chairs of Novato Pride Day, and both have been involved since its inception.
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