A Petaluma360 Blog

Our River Town

Bill Hammerman on Petaluma's past, present and future

The WWW Celebrates it’s 20th Anniversary

Thursday, at 10:52 by

Petaluma’s first community-wide web site was called PEN (Petaluma Electronic Network), and designed 17 years ago by a high school student, Eric Silverberg (August 28, 1996.) This new information and communication application was made possible with the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, about 20 years after the first connection was established over what is known today, as the Internet. His proposal to CERN identified three technologies that made the Internet accessible and useful… Read More »

Don’t believe a word I say!

Sunday, at 8:20 by

Why would I post such a title to a blog about my personal life? Long time readers of my Argus-Courier blogs will recall that for the past several years I’ve been promising to “clean out the garage.” For example: Bill’s Blog #16 (7-29-2006) – The time has come to … “Clean Out the Garage!” #80 (5-11-2009) – Boxes or Treasure Chests? #81 (6-4-2010) – All the Things We Collect #82 (6-12-2010) – One box at a time #91 (1-17-2012) –… Read More »

The Petalumans of Yesteryear-Today (Part III)

Sunday, at 11:39 by

This post will be the last in our nine blog series devoted to volunteerism. Yesterday’s Butter & Egg Days parade was a perfect example of how Petalumans donate their time, energy and talents to strengthen the spirit of our favorite river town. Petaluma’s spirit of volunteerism continues to live on, and has become “legendary,” as demonstrated by this year’s parade theme – Legends of Petaluma. The Butter & Egg Days Parade Volunteers – There are too many to list by… Read More »

The Petalumans of Yesteryear, Today (Part II)

Wednesday, at 6:12 by

Although most of today’s Petalumans of Yesteryear moved to Petaluma from some place else in the 1990s, there is one who was born in Petaluma, moved away, but then came home. Mildred King (Addie Atwater), moved back to Petaluma in 1993. As a high school student, living in Petaluma, Millie was always in the Honor Society and helped teachers correct papers. She also played the piano in Sunday School and tended small children so their parents could attend church. During… Read More »

Petalumans of Yesteryear, Today

Monday, at 3:18 by

In my last blog, we reported the volunteer activities of the Petalumans of Yesteryear, when they were alive and active in the community affairs of our favorite River Town. As we approach the annual Butter & Eggs Day parade, this coming Saturday, when the Petalumans of Yesteryear will be the Parade Marshals, we want to document the volunteer activities of the Petalumans who have adopted the personalities of these earlier Petalumans and demonstrate that our community spirit of volunteerism is… Read More »

The Petalumans of Yesteryear

Sunday, at 1:28 by

Our last five blogs have been related to community volunteerism. We will continue this theme with a focus on one of our River Town’s favorite events – the annual Butter & Egg Days parade. It couldn’t happen without volunteers. A recent Argus-Courier article (3-21-13) – “Petalumans of Yesteryear named Grand Marshal” stated: There are Petaluma legends living among us. In the year that Butter & Egg Days honor the “legends of Petaluma” it is fitting that a group of dedicated… Read More »

Volunteers Enhance the Spirit of a Community

Thursday, at 11:46 by

As we have stated in previous blogs related to volunteerism, the upcoming Butter & Egg Days parade (April 27), wouldn’t happen without the support of local community volunteers. This annual event is a perfect example of how volunteerism enhances the spirit of a community. This event honors Petaluma’s Citizen of the Year, the Good Egg for 2013, as well as the Parade Marshal. It is but one example of how non-profit organizations contribute to the sense of community for its… Read More »

Volunteers Step up to the Plate

Wednesday, at 11:17 by

I wonder how many readers saw Bob Padecky’s Press Democrat article (3-11-13): “Petaluma steps up to the plate for a fallen son?” This blog won’t repeat his story about how a “village” (Petaluma) responded to a community need; but, I do want to highlight how countless hours of volunteer time over a two month period, obtained the funds and donated materials needed to honor the memory of one of its children who lost his life due to an accident with… Read More »

Volunteers Create PetalumaNet: 1995

Thursday, at 4:23 by

A small group of concerned citizens initiated PetalumaNet in 1995 in order to promote greater use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Petaluma area schools. As time went on, it became apparent that all sectors of the community – education, business, government, health, and non-profit organizations – needed to be included if Petaluma were to become a SMART City …. Savvy about computers, use Modern equipment, have Access to the Internet, become Responsible users and Technology literate. To… Read More »

Volunteers Who Made a Difference

Tuesday, at 2:30 by

Although our last blog featured “Friends of Lafferty Park,” as a volunteer group that has made a difference, we failed to identify a few of the volunteers who helped their cause: Bill Kortum, Larry Modell, and Matt Maguire. There are many additional non-profit organizations and individuals that have initiated projects that have also made headlines. For example: * On January 31st, the Argus-Courier headline – Honoring mentors – reported that “A crowd of about 100 turned out to celebrate Mentor… Read More »