November 5, 1927 - The Mendocino Women’s Improvement Club held a Parcel Post Sale at the Mendocino Hat Shop on Main Street. Proceeds from the sale were donated to the effort to install water pipes throughout the town for fire-fighting purposes. Sending parcels thru the mail began in 1913, and Parcel Post Sales became quite popular as fundraisers. Improvement Club members wrote to their friends asking [...]
It used to be unsurprising to see someone carrying a piece of produce into the Mendocino Beacon office so the editor could inspect it and determine how big it was. If it was a record-setting fruit or vegetable, it made it into the next edition of the paper. Inspection of old Beacon issues reveals some of the important local records. Americans have long been fascinated with [...]
November 2, 1907 - The Mendocino Beacon reported that, “A. F. Luiz has had a new crosswalk put in from his store to the post office - a worthy enterprise.” Unidentified man sitting on the boardwalk that crossed the street to the post office on the south side of Main Street, Mendocino, 1907. This view was taken from in front of Antone F. Luiz's general [...]
Three Ships at the Shipping Point, 1913. The Barkentine ship, "W. F. Jewett,” front, anchored in Mendocino Bay at the Shipping Point. On the right is the steamer, Sea Foam, and center is the lighthouse tender, the Madrone. The Shipping Point was where the lumber from the Mendocino Lumber Mill was loaded onto outgoing ships by wire chute. Today! Sunday, October 30, 11AM-12:30PM - Take a [...]
October 28, 1928 - Janet Nystrom died of pneumonia in San Francisco at the age of 15. She was the daughter of Carl and Elizabeth Nystrom. When Janet was born, Carl worked as a machinist at the Mendocino Mill, but he developed lung trouble and moved to a sanitarium in Southern California for his health in 1922. Janet and her mother Elizabeth moved to San Francisco, [...]
In preparation for the upcoming Day of the Dead, I thought I’d discuss the language of funeral flowers. The current exhibition at the Kelley House, “Good Mourning, Mendocino: Funeral Rites and Customs,” features a number of floral arrangements that highlight some of the meanings inherent in sepulchral floral bouquets. Learning the special symbolism of flowers became a popular pastime during the Victorian era. There were guidebooks [...]
October 25, 1916 - The 1916 Apple Show parade was held in Mendocino. Constable A. L. Patton, “as grand marshal, headed the procession and was followed by the Native Sons of the Golden West band. Then came the long line of floats, automobiles, marching school children, horseback riders, etc. This year’s procession was far and away ahead of anything in that line that was ever attempted [...]
October 24, 1971 - The historic Kelley House was damaged by fire. The Beacon reported that the “fire had started at the bottom of the fireplace and presumably had been smoldering for some time in the rear of the fireplace and slowly spread upward.” Tenants Warren and Gladys Roll noticed smoke and heard a popping noise around 10 pm. Gladys “ran to the fire station and [...]
Wagon Team at Mendocino Shipping Point, c. 1909. (The William Ferrill Collection, Kelley House Photos) Photograph taken near the south end of Heeser Drive of a man driving a four-horse team and loaded wagon near the Mendocino Lumber Company's Shipping Point on the bluff above the bay. The two lead animals have bells attached to their harnesses that would signal their approach to other [...]
Schooners in Big River Harbor, 1882 - 1902. Six sailing schooners in Big River harbor. The ship on the right is being loaded with lumber by chute from the Shipping Point. The two three-masted schooners are the J. C. Ford, named for the superintendent of the Mendocino Lumber Company, and possibly the Joshua Grindle. Walking Tours of Historic Mendocino - Join our expert docents [...]