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Health & Fitness

Gleanings: Local History by the Drop

Fascinating one or two sentence news briefs collected in 1926 for a county history book from copies of the Contra Costa Gazette back to 1858.

 

There are three or four large one-volume histories of Contra Costa County on the shelf in what we now call the Library of the Martinez Museum a.k.a the Borland Home.  Written between 1882 and 1926, one has occasion to dip into them now and then, albeit with care. At least two of them are “vanity books” set up by enterprising publishers who then solicited payment from prominent local citizens for a biography.  Occasionally a picture of the prominent one appeared with the biography, at an extra charge no doubt.  The obvious conclusion is that any local lily in the volume was gilded to say the least.  But interspersed were profiles of the towns and the various organizations which provide information that is a little more easily confirmed.

 

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My favorite is “History of Contra Costa County California with Biographical Sketeches of The leading Men and Women of the County Who have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present”  Historical Record Company, Los Angeles California 1926.  (Note: while all one sentence, the amazing title is broken into segments in varying type size and faces centered on the page rendering it not quite so overpowering.

 

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In the Forward, the publishers deny quite emphatically that any remuneration was received from any of its subjects stressing that sales of the book will be the only source of profit.  That’s probably just as well as in the previous paragraph it explains that ‘the biographies of many will be missed…..not because of the fault of the publishers of this book, but because it was impossible to impress upon many the importance of recording for posterity their life histories and family records.”   

 

What arouses one’s curiosity though is the next sentence: “in other cases the life history has been omitted out of deference to the wishes of some member of the family.”  Now that’s interesting: was modesty or cover-up the sponsor of the wish?

 

But the part of “History…” that fascinates me most is the Chapter entitled “Gleanings”.

 

Crediting a number of local newspapers in the County for their assistance with research, “History” staffers obviously spent hours paging through bound copies, apparently mainly the Contra Costa Gazette starting with its inaugural issue in September, 1858. The ‘gleaners’ were searching for interesting stories and headlines to summarize usually in one or two sentences although there is an occasional paragraph.

 

Here’s a somewhat random selection of “Gleanings”.  I can’t promise that I won’t compile another list at some future date --- going through them is like eating potato chips….you can’t read just one.  And occasionally I’ll add a bit of dip to go with it in the form of an update or explanation.

 

July 26, 1879. -- The beginning of a sewerage system for Martinez has been made in the line of an 8-inch iron-stone pipe laid through four blocks up from the bay on Las Juntas Street, with provision for constructing side drains on either side.

 

September 30, 1879. – Gen. U. S. Grant was greeted by about 300 people and the firing of a salute, when the train on which he was a passenger made a two-minute stop at Martinez.  He stood on the platform of the rear car and after three cheers had been given, courteously raised his hat in acknowledgement.

 

But six years later,

 

July 25, 1885. – The Gazette is dressed in mourning out of respect to General Grant.

 

And 16 years following that,

 

May 25, 1901. – President McKinleys’ train will pass through Martinez about noon today, but will not stop.  (Note: Bay Area News Group columnist Nilda Rego recently wrote about that trip which was curtailed because the First Lady, Ida McKinley, became quite ill from typhoid so most of the San Francisco Bay Area events were cancelled.  But the President was to appear tragically in the Contra Costa Gazette just four months later…)

 

September 7, 1901 – A dispatch from San Francisco says that President was shot twice at the Exposition Grounds at Buffalo, New York., by an assassin. (Upon his death a few days later, memorial services were held in Curry & Jones Hall, which was packed to overflowing.)

 

On a happier note,

 

July 13, 1901 – The results of the election held last Saturday to determine the question whether a high school should be maintained or not, were: Martinez: 188 for, 0 against; Vine Hill, 6 for 12 against; Alhambra (Valley), 18 for, 2 against; Franklin (Canyon), 5 for, 0 against: Briones, no election.  (Ed. Note: Alhambra High School’s founding date is 1901 because of this vote.  There is no explanation given for Vine Hill’s rejection).

 

A letter to the Editor in defense of the automobile:

 

May 25, 1901. A communication from W. H. Penniman of Walnut Creek says in part, regarding the automobile: ‘In your issue of the 11th inst. Inoticed in the column devoted to the doings of the supervisors pertaining to the running of autos on the public roads of the county that J. . Miner and John Devlin appeared before the board and asked for an ordinance to prohibit the running of autos on the public roads because they frighten horses…. It does not seem possible that in this progressive age any person or people could be found so unprogressive as to wish to retard the fulfilling of one of the greatest wishes of the past generations, to be able to glide smoothly and more swiftly over the roads with power other than the horse…  I tell you that the auto has come to stay, even more so than the bicycle…What scares one horse will not scare another, and an auto is no worse, if as bad, as many other things that could be enumerated.”

 

Apparently Mr. Penniman got it right -- “auto is here to stay” in more ways than one:

 

October 13, 1923. – Over 700 autos have registered at the auto camp since the opening on June 1.  Figuring four passengers to a car, this makes 2800 people who spent from one night to a week here.  Of this number twenty have bought homes in Martinez or have made permanent homes in the county.

 

 

 

To find out more about Martinez and Contra Costa County history:

 

Martinez Museum – 1005 Escobar Street, cnr of Court Street

Open Tues and Thurs 11:30 a.m. to 3p.m. First 4 Sundays 1-4 p.m.

925-228-8160; www.martinezhistory.org

 

Contra Costa County History Center610 Main Street, Martinez

Open Tues through Thurs, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 3rd Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

925-229-1042; www.cocohistory.com

 

 Before BART: The Electric Railway in Contra Costa County exhibit continues at the County History Center through June 28, 2012.

Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and third Saturdays of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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