Once, again, the Hoppy Hopkins Research Library on the second floor of our local "Treasure Chest" - the Petaluma Historical Museum is the primary resource of another "golden nugget" about our favorite river town's past. Most of today's information was discovered in the bound volumes of local Centennial Editions. Part [...]
Another local community historian that needs to be remembered along with Ed Fratini is Ed Mannion. His collection of books, files, and documents gathered over 40 years was originally given to the Petaluma Historical Museum; but later transferred to the Petaluma Library where there was more room. C. Edward Mannion [...]
For the past few months, we have have posted several blogs under the Petaluma History category, using theme headings like the "Petalumans of Yesteryear," the "Sages of Petaluma," and "Then & Now." We have also given credit to the Petaluma Historical Museum & Research Library for the source of most [...]
Jack Withington, Guest Blogger Throughout history Communists have been portrayed by the media, the government and certain politicians as “Boogeyman “and were accused by the late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover of orchestrating the civil rights movement. Were there communists in Petaluma and Sonoma County? Yes! 1934 voter registration rolls [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]