Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
February 1923
– The Popular Mechanic advertises what it is pleased to call the largest hen egg in the world, but that magazine failed to reckon with Novato. Last week a hen owned by Mrs. E. R. Davis laid an egg measuring 7×8 inches. This is not quite as large as the one reported from Sebastopol but is bigger than that claimed by the Popular Mechanic as being a world beater. Novato is noted for its large eggs, but modesty prevents the owners from letting the world know it.
– The Novato community council is considering carefully the question of heating the new building but has not yet reached a final decision. The ladies of the council have started a campaign of money raising for equipment. It is very desirable to have enough money now so that proper equipment may be installed to insure greatest comfort and complete use of the building from the day of its opening.
75 Years Ago
February 1948
– Frank C. Tanforan, member of a pioneer Marin County family died in Ignacio where he had spent much of his life. He was the husband of the late Edith Tanforan and father of Mrs. Evelyn Allison, Lou and Frank Tanforan Jr., b of Mrs. Julia C. Bodkin of Novato. A native of San Bruno.
– Last rites for Pietro Salvi, a resident of Novato for the past 32 years, were held at the Williams’ mortuary, San Rafael, with interment in Mt. Olivet cemetery: Father John J. Ryan, of Our Lady of Loretto, officiated. Salvi, aged 80 years, died in a San Rafael hospital. He lived on the former Pierrieia ranch at the entrance of Novato. Born in Italy, the Italian government had recognized his heroism in many instances.
50 Years Ago
February 1973
– Novato Community House must be the best used place in town. It’s getting so the planning commission and city council hardly get a crack at it, much to the annoyance of Councilman George Quesada who attended a recent commission meeting in the “Tiny Tot” room in the basement. Noting that the next meeting of the council will be held at the library, Quesada wanted to know if the parks and rec department couldn’t do better. As it turned out, the P and R department reported it has had to turn away 24 paying customers in recent weeks who wanted to rent the auditorium. Not bad for a building that some people think should be condemned.
– The prickly subject of the proposed closing of Pacheco School was handled, in exemplary fashion at last night’s school board meeting. No acrimonious outbursts from the audience. No cavalier treatment by the board. The district took time to explain the situation fully (overhead projectors were used so the audience could follow the reports) and the board made it clear that they will move slowly and give everyone a hearing. They even set up a board meeting at the school. The parents’ group got together before the board meeting and selected a spokesman who presented their views in a calm, reasonable way. As a result, the board didn’t have to listen to an endless succession of repetitive comments.
– About 17 members of the recently formed Black Point planning group heard a spokesman for the Charles Hover property around Day’s Island tell of plans for a large marina there Hover recently sold his 33 acre site although he retains a large note on it, the Black Point group was told by Brian McCarthy, attorney for the buyer. The buyer of the property, William M. Sutherland and Associates of Walnut Creek, is seeking to have the property zoned – RCR (resort recreational) and envisions a boat harbor along the waterfront with “subordinate” uses such as restaurant, cocktail lounge and personal services allowed. Development of the property has been held up because the primary access to it is through the Kenney property where a 2300-iinit townhouse and apartment development was turned down last week by the city planning commission. That plan is now on appeal before the city council. Also unresolved for the Hover property is the sewage problem.
25 Years Ago
February 1998
– Citizens of Novato will cast their ballots on the controversial Black Point Golf Links Project on Feb. 24, but the vote could accomplish little if California state courts uphold legal challenges by environmental groups and angry neighborhood residents. Following a stormy public meeting on Sept. 23, the Novato City Council unanimously approved plans to construct 53 luxury homes and a championship golf course on the former site of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. After more than seven years battling environmentalists, community activists and ex-city officials, developer Vince Mulroy proclaimed victory, envisioning a summer 1998 groundbreaking for his project.
– Partridge Knolls neighbors weathered this week’s storm, but not without anxiety over their slipping hillside. And there are what may be more signs of trouble under the Mount Burdell subdivision. The owners of five additional homes—located farther up on Nunes Drive, on Wood Hollow Drive and down the hill on Fieldstone Drive—have reported seeing signs of damage to the homes in recent weeks. These homeowners have joined the mediation effort aimed at diagnosing and fixing the slide.
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