Note: Today's blog is the first one to be posted in the "Bill's Blog" category in over a year. My 5-24-2013 post was titled, "It's Time to Reorganize." Well, that never happened. Changing the number of blog categories made things more complicated; however, as of today, the number of different [...]
Guest Blog by Jack Withington In the 1950’s, the local poultry industry consisted of primarily of Mom and Pop operations. Farming was the mainstay of the local economy, with most of the supporting businesses usually locally owned and operated. Poultry sales contributed over $31,000,000 to the economy of 1950 Sonoma [...]
As many readers know, I've been spending many hours lately taking advantage of the many historical files, records and oral histories in the Hoppy Hopkins Research Library located at 4th & B Streets. One of the "golden nuggets" I've discovered in this "treasure chest" is the biographical file of native [...]
Once, again, one of our guest bloggers (Jack Withington) wishes to share a story that many Petalumans may not have heard before. "On February 19, 1945, United States Marines made an amphibious landing on the small but strategic island of Iwo Jima leading to a fierce battle between American and Japanese forces. [...]
Today's guest blog was submitted by Jack Withington, one of the participants in the "Sages of Petaluma" conversation group. Hopefully, other Sages will compose guest blogs that recall their memories of living, working, and growing up in "Our River Town." "Before Tom Yoneda reached the age of 5 years old, [...]
A few of my recent blogs have highlighted our local Historical Museum & Research Library as a "Treasure Chest" that contains many "golden nuggets" pertaining to Petaluma' past. One of my blog categories is titled, "Petalumans of Yesteryear" and has featured early Petalumans of the 1850s such as: Capt. Thomas [...]
Today's post is a guest blog submitted by Jack Withington, a participant in the "Sages of Petaluma" conversation group that meets monthly at the Petaluma Historical Museum & Library. It would be difficult to imagine life without access to the telephone in the early 1900’s. Southern Sonoma County pioneer farmers [...]
This post is a guest blog submitted by Lew Baer, a current member of the "Sages of Petaluma" and editor of the San Francisco Bat Area Post Card Newsletter. Petaluma has boasted of outstanding restaurants over the past century and a half. Some were notable for the delicious meals that were [...]
Last Saturday, John Crowley was honored by Mayor Glass with a proclamation as Petaluma's "Good Egg" for 2014. John will lead the annual Butter & Egg Days parade next Saturday, along with several former "Good Eggs." This year's theme is "Home Grown Petaluma." The first B&E Days parade was held [...]
The number of Sages in Petaluma has increased over the past 49 years. The original Sage was a make-believe Petaluman named J. Abner Peddiwell, Ph.D., a professor at Petaluma State University (which never existed). Dr. Peddiwell wrote a book titled, "The Sage of Petaluma," that was published in 1965. In [...]