Old Time Notes from The Beacon

130 Years Ago July 12, 1890

• The tapping of the fire bell on the afternoon of the fourth was to give warning that a fire was discovered on the porch of J. H. Stauer’s house. The fire originated presumably from the explosion of some fireworks, and was speedily extinguished before any damage was done.

• Through our enthusiasm over the Fourth of July celebration we omitted last week to mention the wedding of Henry T. Gordon and Miss Lupy B. Feliz, which took place a week ago last Saturday.

• The steamer Noyo, with a raft of piles in tow, arrived at San Francisco on Wednesday of last week from Noyo. The trip was a most successful one, and has given Noyo Lumber Company much encouragement in their new departure in freighting lumber.

• The steamer Navarro steamed into port on Friday of last week with a large number of people from down the coast who came up to participate in the celebration.

105 Years Ago July 10, 1915

• All persons traveling by night in vehicles must hang out head and tail lights when the act passed by the last legislature providing for such measures goes into effect next month. Under the new law, all horsedrawn wagons, carts, buggies, etc., are subject to the same regulation as automobiles and motorcycles. Lantern manufacturers expect to be flooded with orders from the farming sections of the state, shortly.

• The Fort Bragg Garage and Machine Company reports the delivery last Thursday of two new Ford cars, one to J. P. Strauss of Comptche and one to William and Robert Gorrell of this place.

• Grindle Park is now open for the pleasure and recreation of the people of Mendocino and all visitors to our town. The park is provided with tables, running water and other facilities that make it an ideal place for family parties to spend Sunday.

• Patrick Roach, a wellknown pioneer resident of this coast, passed away last Tuesday at Westport, of which town he had been a resident for over fifty years. At the time of his death, Mr. Roach was 91 years of age.

• Fred Halling passed away at Fort Bragg last Thursday afternoon, and by his death the community lost one of its best citizens — a good neighbor, a true friend and an honest man.

75 Years Ago July 21, 1945

• Point Arena, July 14 — Once again Point Arena has been visited by a disastrous fire that destroyed the four remaining buildings on the east side of Main street that were built in the early days of the town in 1880. The fire started Sunday at 1 o’clock in the old Phil Lobree home where some pea pickers were living. Fire started from a kerosene stove; we’ve been told. It spread quickly to the adjoining buildings, the vacant groceria on the north between the Lobree building and Ralph Mcmillen’s store, to his warehouse in back of the store; to the firehouse and city hall; the Presbyterian church and Masonic hall; then to Civic club hall which was in back of the Lobree building and the church facing on Mill street. Only the combined efforts of the townspeople, the Coast Guard and the soldiers kept it from spreading to other parts of town. The last big fire to strike Point Arena was in June, 1927, when all the business houses on the east side of Main Street were destroyed down as far as the Lobree property. Now this completes the destruction of all of the old landmarks.

55 Years Ago July 9, 1965

• New Caspar Highway bridge 862 feet long and

161 ft. high; to be an outstanding structure.

• Elva May Meek,

71, daughter of a pioneer Mendocino family, the John Petersons, was found dead Wednesday by a neighbor, Louise Lanze, sitting in a rocking chair, evidently the victim of a heart attack. Mrs. Meek had been a resident of Mendocino for some years past. She was born here, and grew up just south of Big River where her father had purchased the acreage and home of the late Mr. Schultz, which he greatly improved.

• Mr. and Mrs. Carl Sauer were feted on their golden wedding anniversary last Saturday at a reception with more than 200 friends and relatives attending. The affair, hosted by their children, was held at the Sauer home on Winifred Way, where the goldenweds have lived for 38 years. Grace Wooddell and Carl W. Sauer were married June 23, 1915, in Tucson, Ariz., and moved immediately to Albion, where Carl was employed in the office of the lumber company there.

• The tidal wave scare last weekend created much activity at Albion Flat, with mass evacuation ordered. At 5:15, official warning came from the Civil Defense office at Ukiah that the tidal wave was expected as an aftermath of the powerful quake in the Aleutians. It never materialized.