November 4, 1961 - The fifth Big River Bridge officially opened with a dedication ceremony. The bridge had already been in use for two weeks so that workmen could begin demolishing the old bridge which had been in service since 1924. Unlike previous Big River bridges, the new bridge was elevated with a 47-foot clearance above the water, while the approaches to the earlier bridges were [...]
Hazel Nimela by the water tank in Caspar, c. 1920. (Gift of Mae Johnson) October 29, 1899 - Hazel May Helm was born in Caspar to Thomas and Ella (Kuhn) Helm. Hazel’s mother was also a native of Caspar and lived her entire life there. Tragically, Hazel’s father, a brakeman on the Caspar logging train, was killed a month before Hazel’s first birthday while [...]
Graduation photograph of Raymond Nicholson, Class of 1941. (Gift of Linda Mechling) October 20, 1942 - Raymond Nicholson joined the U. S. Navy during World War II. Born in Mendocino in 1923 to Alfred and Anna Ellison Nicholson, Ray grew up in the Daniels-Nicholson House (today’s Nicholson House at Beaujolais) near the east end of Ukiah Street. He attended the local schools, where he [...]
October 15, 2003 - A dying Monterey Cypress tree on the Kelley House lawn was cut down. "We are very sad about it coming down, but we can't afford to endanger anyone,” local historian and long time resident Dee Lemos said. Rich and Jack Lemos estimated the tree to be 100 to 125 feet tall, making it the third-largest cypress on the Mendocino Coast. Although there’s [...]
October 8, 1920 - Eugene Brown passed away at his home on Main Street in Mendocino following a month-long illness. His death was attributed to a weak heart, and the Beacon noted that “Though old in years, he was mentally alert and vigorous almost to the last.” Born on May 1, 1835, in Oldtown, Maine, Eugene was the youngest son of Moses and Nancy Nesmith Brown. [...]
September 16, 1914 - Brickmason Isaiah Betz died in Sacramento at the age of 85, following a stroke. Born in Ohio in 1829, Isaiah and his family arrived in Mendocino County in the 1870s, first settling in Ukiah, where he manufactured bricks and constructed brick buildings. In 1891, Isaiah and his only son Fred moved to Fort Bragg and established a brickyard near Pudding Creek. The [...]
September 8, 1894 - Dr. James W. Milliken joined the Mendocino Hospital Company as a consulting physician and surgical doctor. Dr. Milliken, an 1877 graduate of the New York Medical College, had arrived in Mendocino in 1883 and started a medical practice here the following year. Mendocino Hospital Building located at 10481 Howard Street, 1887-1910. A white picket fence surrounds the yard of this corner [...]
Studio photograph of the Kenny - Boyle family, c. 1888.Seated in front, L to R: Thomas Kenny (step-father) and Mary Brien Boyle Kenny, mother of the children.Standing in back, L to R: Mary "Mayme", Charles "Charlie", Francis "Babe", Jennifer "Jennie", and Walter "Fred". (Gift of William and Marie Ferrill) August 21, 1911 - Mary Brien Boyle Kenny died at the age of 69. She [...]
August 14, 1912 - A large crowd turned out to see the Columbia Park Boys Club perform at the Odd Fellows Hall on the northeast corner of Ukiah and Kasten Streets in Mendocino. This club was founded in San Francisco in December 1895 by Major Sidney S. Peixotto to help at-risk boys in the south of Market Street tenements expand their opportunities through education, theatre, music, [...]
August 11, 1913 - John Deromeri, a Mendocino Mill worker who lived in a cabin on Big River Flat, survived being run over by an automobile at the corner of Lansing and Main Streets. Cars were still a relatively new invention, and the Beacon reported that John had little use for autos. “He don’t like their looks, he don’t like their speed, and in fact he [...]