When thinking of working in a saw mill, many of us who have never done so have a tendency to focus solely on the space where logs were sawn into lumber; but there were other functioning spaces at “the mill” that were needed in order to arrive at that task. In short, it was all about getting the logs to the saws and then the lumber [...]
When John F. Wheeler came to Mendocino in 1878, few would have suspected his checkered past. He was married, though we don’t know anything of his wife. He had been trained in dentistry somewhere along the way. Born about 1843, his place of birth was variously recorded as either Arkansas or the Cherokee Nation. His father was born in Tennessee and his mother in Indian Territory. [...]
Two families whose histories are nothing short of remarkable recently met in Mendocino. The Look family held a reunion here during the last week of July and the Hee family gathered in Mendocino the second weekend of August. Both families are descendants of people who sailed to California because of the Gold Rush. Their families contributed to the building of the town of Mendocino; their stories [...]
by Sarah Nathe, Kelley House Museum Board Member and Docent As we come to the end of Dog Days 2017, it seems fitting to recognize the significant canines in Mendocino’s past. Wee Doggies!—were there ever lots of them. A search of the Kelley House Museum’s online collections database turned up 90 photographs of people with their dogs, some in studio portraits and others in informal outdoor [...]
Along with baseball teams and volunteer hose brigades, brass bands were a symbol of a town’s spirit and pride across America around the turn of the twentieth century. The towns of the Mendocino Coast were no exception. Groups of new immigrants, such as those from Italy and Finland, often showed their patriotic devotion and pride by forming a band. There were competitions and, of course, parades. [...]
Miles Paoli, born in Mendocino in 1906, was instrumental in bringing radio to the Mendocino Coast. As a young man, Miles was not drawn to school particularly. Miles’ parents, Raffaelo and Emelia, were hard working immigrants who had found opportunity in the logging industry. Later, the Paoli family purchased the hotel on Mendocino’s Ukiah Street, which had belonged to the Borgnas, and had been known as [...]
Forty-seven years ago today the cast of the Jennifer O’Neill film Summer of ’42 arrived on the Mendocino Coast to begin work locally on the bittersweet coming of age classic. According to the Shooting Schedule in the Kelley House Museum’s archives, the first day of filming involved the exterior of character Hermie’s house, at present day 45300 Ukiah Street in Mendocino. The schedule noted that the [...]
by Katy Tahja, Kelley House Museum Volunteer I wish I could have gone to the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. At a recent book sale I picked up the official guide book, priced 25 cents, and was fascinated by the attractions offered, even if they happened 78 years ago. Called a World’s Fair, it lasted from February 18 to December 2, 1939, and featured nations on [...]
Seeing Mendocino as it is today, it may be difficult to think of the town as a mill town, but it certainly was. The mill was central to the existence of the town, and to the presence of the other towns which came into being as a result of the lumber industry. The mill’s beginning is well-documented, with the players named and the chronology established. The [...]
The Kelley House recently received a bound booklet containing a handwritten collection of recipes given to Elise A. Drexler by San Francisco friends in 1898. Elise was born into the William and Eliza Kelley family in 1866, Daisy’s younger sister. It is hard to imagine her with so much as a pin curl out of place or a bead of sweat on her brow, but she [...]