The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum A Story Of Civic ... · Week with three events in one day...

Quarterly Newsletter

Preserving the Unique History of Petaluma and Providing Educational and Cultural Services to the Community

Summer/Fall 2018 VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3

The Petaluma Historical Library & MuseumA Story Of Civic Progress & Pride

A PMA ExhibitOctober 6 thru December 23, 2018

Alexander J. “Zan” Stark (1889-1967), “Public Library – Petaluma Calif.”, real photo postcard #738, March 1941

Petaluma MuseumAssociation Board

Executive Officers

President: Kathy FriesVice President: Debbie Countouriotis

Treasurer: Erica Barlas, CPARecording Secretary: Kit Schlich

Directors:Clint GilbertRob Girolo

Kate HawkerFreyda RavitzMichael Slade

Elizabeth WalterMarshall West

Parks & Recreation Dept.Drew Halter

Recreation Music and ParksCommission

Megan Cusimano, RepresentativeHistoric and Cultural Preservation

CommitteeKit Schlich, Representative

Staff:Angela Ryan, Executive DirectorLiz Cohee, Museum Coordinator

Mary Rowe, Membership &Newsletter Editor

Solange Russek, Collections Manager

The Petaluma Museum AssociationNewsletter is published quarterly and

distributed to our members. Manythanks to all our contributors and to our

proofreaders and volunteerswho help with our mailings.

If you would like to contribute any newsor item of interest to our newsletter you

can email [email protected]

Deadline for submission is Oct 1, 2018

1

Petaluma Museum Association20 Fourth St.

Petaluma, CA 94952

THE ARTIST WHO captured this image of “Petaluma’s ArchitecturalCrown Jewel” was Alexander J. “Zan” Stark (1889-1967). Zanwas born in Michigan, but, early in his adulthood, he moved to

California and established himself as a photographer and as theowner of Alta Studios. Between 1935 and 1955 he traveled widelythroughout Northern California focusing his creativity on producingreal photo postcards. Zan created postcards of several locations inPetaluma, and, those photos, along with over 3,000 additionalimages, are archived in the “Stark (Zan) Collection” at StanfordUniversity.

This real photo postcard is not only a favorite rendition of a belovedbuilding but also a strikingly masterful composition. It has beenreproduced many times, but unfortunately, it most often has appearedunattributed and cropped. Here it is reproduced as the artist intended:the sequoia tree and the bunya-bunya tree serve as parenthesesdemarcating and ennobling the building; the inclusion of the “SchoolZone” sign on the extreme left sets the provincial, urban scene; thepedestrian in the extreme right provides a human scale whichemphasizes the building’s monumental proportions; and theautomobiles both contrast with and compliment the building whilealso lending to the contemporary eye a vision of vintage nostalgia.The photographer selected an inclusive angle of view that allows theobserver to see: both the north and east façades; the acroterion, inits unbroken state, at the tip of the gable; and the roofline’s nowmissing ornamental crown and freestanding urns. Also, thephotographer has captured the light when it best defined andhighlighted the texture differences between the brick and the stone,resulting in an articulation of the architectural elements thatdramatically heightens the sense of place.

As you can see on the front cover of this newsletter, Zan’s photographhas been selected to illustrate announcements of the PetalumaMuseum Association’s upcoming exhibit, “The Petaluma HistoricalLibrary & Museum, A Story of Civic Progress & Pride”. For moreinformation about that exhibit and its accompanying events, seepages 9 & 10 of this newsletter.

Alexander J. “Zan” Stark (1889-1967)“Public Library – Petaluma Calif.”

Real photo postcard #738, March 1941

On the Cover by Paula Freund

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President’s Message

Since our last newsletter, the PMA kicked off HistoryWeek with three events in one day at the Museum. Westarted with the Butter & Egg Days Opening Ceremonyhosted by the Petaluma Downtown Association. Wefollowed with the Petalumans of Yesteryear, honoringBill Hammerman in a Bench Dedication Ceremony infront of the Museum. It seems fitting that our downtownwalking tours will begin at “Bill’s bench.” And then wecelebrated with a 40th Birthday party, which includeda proclamation by Mayor Glass,honoring and acknowledging thePMA’s past presidents, and ofcourse champagne and birthdaycake! The next day the Petalumansof Yesteryear were back on thestreets for the 3rd Annual HistoryTrail Walk. And the followingweekend our egg delivery truckwon the Helen Putnam Award inthe Annual Butter & Egg DaysParade. Take a breath!

In May, Katherine Rinehartpacked the house with her "The Homes and History ofPetaluma's D Street Neighborhood" presentation. Thiswas our final Third Wednesday Dialogues for theseason. We're in the process of planning the fall seasonof this successful series. At the end of the month weheld our annual Jura Margulis Concert to the delight ofpatrons. We are so fortunate to offer this caliber oftalent in our Museum.

At the May PMA Board Meeting we held aboard training, bringing in Marilyn Segal to facilitate.She reviewed our bylaws, policies, financials, etc., andmet with directors before bringing us suggestions onbeing a more efficient and strong board and organiza-tion. These suggestions prompted us to request a voteto clean up our bylaws and seek to add a GovernanceCommittee to our organization. In another exciting"behind the scenes" item, we received a $10,000California Revealed Phase III Grant to process andcatalog our unprocessed archival materials of Califor-nia historical significance, which include various Peta-luma family history ephemera, Bojorquez Familyhistory collection, and more. Once these collectionsare processed and cataloged, we will nominate themfor digitization and inclusion in the California Revealedcollections online. Thank you to Solange Russek andAngela Ryan for coordinating and overseeing thisexciting endeavor.

On June 10th we celebrated the opening of our“I Do” exhibit with a reception, complete with tiered

wedding cake and champagne. It was a special after-noon with the Museum full of patrons admiring thestunning gowns and accessories. We're so pleasedthat the exhibit continues to be a big draw this summer.The next day I attended an afternoon tea reception forDebi Riddle, past PMA president, visiting from Geor-gia. Even after moving away over a dozen years ago,she still knows her Petaluma history!

The finance committee worked diligently overthe last few months to create our 2018-19 budget thatwas unanimously approved at the June board meeting.In having a realistic budget to work from, we werethrilled to be able to extend our Executive Directorcontract for another year.

We opened the Museumon July 4 with our Annual Bell-Ringing Ceremony. Thanks toHomer Johnstone and Mar-shall West for leading the pro-gram, the Petalumans ofYesteryear, Boy Scout Troop#9 for performing the flag cere-mony and pledge, MayorGlass for reading the procla-mation and his kind words, toall who brought cookies toshare and to those who attend-ed. It’s always a warm and

fuzzy, patriotic way to start the holiday. The followingday the Travel Channel's "Mysteries at the Museum"aired a segment featuring one of our Museums arti-facts. (No, I'm not telling...you'll have to watch it.) Thecrew had visited us last fall to film the artifact and theinterior of the Museum. It also shows a dramatic reen-actment of a Petaluma event in the 1950s (that's theonly hint I'll give). And tickets are now available (at theMuseum or track down a board member) for our 40thAnniversary Wine Raffle. A chance to win 40 bottles ofwine! Tickets are $40 each. (We’re still accepting winedonations.)

As July comes to an end we're busy preparingfor another active fall. Check out our upcoming eventson page 2 and mark your calendar for a Rum Pairing,our Annual Cemetery Tour in October and our Satur-day Night Fever Gala in November. And we're lookingforward to ending our 40th Anniversary year on a highnote with our next exhibit, "The Petaluma HistoricalLibrary & Museum, A Story of Civic Progress &Pride ,” curated by Paula Freund.

Thank you for supporting the Museum. Weinvite you to visit to view our fine exhibits and encour-age you to attend our presentations and events. Anda special thanks to our Board of Directors and all ourvolunteers and staff who keep us moving forward.

Kathy [email protected]

Petaluma Museum Association Newsletter-Summer/Fall 2018

l-r Solange Russek, Michael Slade, Angela Ryan, Teresa Barrett,Mayor Glass, Marie McCusker, John Crowley & Kathy Fries, ctr

3

Executive Director’s CornerEverywhere I go these days, itseems our reputation precedesus—all I have to do is mention thePetaluma Museum, and I’mstopped mid-sentence, “You havethat fantastic exhibit of vintagewedding dresses, right?!” The buzzis real, and it’s a testament to thehard work of Solange Russek, ourCollections Manager, and her

dedicated volunteers, especially Barbara Maxwell andMichael Lanham, who worked tirelessly for weeks tomount this exquisite exhibit. And if it weren’t for thedecades of careful stewardship and expert restorationat the hands of Teresa Froschl, the Petaluma Museumwould not be in possession of such an unparalleledtextile collection. A sincere thank you to them, and areminder: you have until September 15th to revel in thevery best of belle époque and early-20th centurymatrimonial fashions! I hope you’ve had a chance to visit our newlyredesigned website at PetalumaMuseum.com. We’reso impressed with the work of our SRJC team and can’t

thank them enough. This is a website that allows us topresent our programs, our events and our exhibits inan easily accessible format, and with a visual style thatbefits our mission. Take a tour and let us know whatyou think! As I write this note, I want to acknowledge thatamong our newsletter readers is a group of newmembers who joined us during our MembershipChallenge—welcome! Last October we launched achallenge to raise $10,000 in new memberships, andI’m happy to report that in May we reached that goaland our very special anonymous donor rewarded uswith a matching gift of $10,000. This is a remarkablefeat, and I want to thank all of the new members whojoined—I look forward to welcoming you all to ourmuseum. And just because the challenge has beenmet, don’t stop spreading the word about the PetalumaMuseum, we’re always welcoming new members! We have big things planned for the fall, so keep aneye on the website and check out the previews includedin this newsletter to stay informed. Thank you for doingyour part to preserve our rich history, we couldn’t doany of this without YOU!

Angela Ryan

New Website and Challenge Met!


Museum Events Schedule

May through October - Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.Historic Downtown Walking Tours

Led by costumed docents - Free

Thursday, October 4, 6-8 p.m.Rum Pairing Dinner Fundraiser

More details to come – check our website soon

Saturday, October 6, 5-8 p.m.“Petaluma Historical Library & Museum,

A Story of Civic Progress & Pride ”Exhibit Opening Reception

Please see pages 9 & 10 for details about the exhibitand events scheduled

Saturday, October 20, 10:30 a.m.Annual Cemetery Tour

Cypress Hill Cemetery – Reserve now

Saturday, November 3, 7-11 p.m.

The monthly Board of Directors meetingheld every second Monday of each month

at 6:00 PM. Location: 20 4th Street(Please enter through the back door)

Public Welcome.

4 Petaluma Museum Association Newsletter-Summer/Fall 2018

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT by Mary Rowe

Amy grew up outside ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania andspent her childhood there untilher family moved to the westcoast. After some years insouthern California, she movedto Sonoma County to studymusic at Sonoma StateUniversity. It was there that shemet her future husband, Ed, andthey settled in Petaluma in 1992where they have raised their

four children and many dogs. With her degree in musicfocusing on classical piano and vocal jazz, Amycontinues honing her craft performing solo and with herbands, writing award winning songs and teachingpiano. Additionally, with her father, Leonard Mygatt,she has a metal and woodworking business, The IronArtisan’s Daughter.

Several years ago, Amy found out that a distant relativehad come to Petaluma in 1865 to improve his health.Records show that this relative, Winfield Scott Ebey,died in Petaluma but no one knew where. This led Amyand her mother, Connie Mygatt, on a search to find out

where he lived while here and where he died. With thisresearch project, Amy delved into Petaluma history thatfascinated her. She was able to locate where herrelative lived thanks to the many resources availableat the museum, the public library and the SonomaCounty History and Genealogy Library.

With this newfound appreciation for local history, Amystarted volunteering at the Sonoma County History andGenealogy Library and then transferred to thePetaluma Historical Library & Museum in 2017. Amyalso spends volunteer time managing the Save LaCresta Ridge and Ravine Coalition.

Amy has been a great help to our collections office.One of the projects she has almost completed is thescanning of Henry P McCleave’s daily journals datingback to the mid 1800’s. He was a farmer from the TwoRock/Tomales area who conducted a lot of businessin Petaluma. Thank you to the McCleave family for thisdonation. The current project Amy is working on isscanning postcards of the Carnegie Library from thecollection of Lew Baer for the upcoming exhibit“Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, A Story CivicProgress & Pride”

Amy Hogan

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IN 1898, THE Petaluma LadiesImprovement Club started acampaign directed at Industrialist

Andrew Carnegie, asking him togive the city a monetary grantto build a new library in ourtown. Up to then, Petaluma hadonly a couple of rooms setaside in a fraternal club as alibrary, and the ladies keptnudging this issue for threeyears before Mr. Carnegieresponded in 1901. He said hewould donate the sum of$12,500 toward the libraryconstruction IF the twofollowing conditions would bemet: a site must be donatedand designated, and the City enactan ordinance insuring the supportfor the library and set aside a sumof $1,250 for its maintenance.

So, then stepped up our wonderfulAddie Atwater, President of the La-dies Improvement Club, who of-fered to sell a lot she owned to theCity, for half of its market value. Itwas a done deal, and the City hiredyoung Petaluma architect BrainerdJones to draw up the plans. It wasadvertised that the 60’ X 66’ ma-sonry structure would be totally: “upwith the times” and even bewarmed by one of those “New hot-air heating plants!” (Well, Zowie!)

It was then June of 1904, and thebig ceremony of laying thecornerstone had all of Petalumaatwitter. On Friday afternoon, June

10th, the bulky cornerstone for ourlong-awaited library would be set,to great celebration. R.W.Ravenscroft, editor of our PetalumaCourier, stated:

As the paper anticipated, a paradefrom Washington Street and MainStreet, down to B Street and thenwest a block to the future library lot,was to start at noon that day, MayorVeale was to give the first addressand present “the trowel to E.S.Lippitt” (who always had a lot to

say). A special three-coach traincame down from Santa Rosa,bearing spectators. The newPetaluma Library Board consisted

of S. Hopkins, E. Lippitt, W.DeTurk and ThomasMaclay. Our first librarianwas to be Sara Cassiday,daughter of Argus EditorSam Cassiday. All were inattendance on June 10th,1904.

With the parade finished,the big event was ready tostart, the huge crowd en-circled the lot, and THEN,as the horse-drawn wagon

bearing the stone arrived on-site, astranger jumped from the crowdand (as Ravenscroft described it)“flung his arms and jaw into the airand shouted that the whole canoo-dle of workmen were SCABS, ifthey continued to work on the li-brary building!” Well . . . what wasthat about? Who was that dude?And, what do we do now? One canjust imagine the pall that hung overthe large crowd then. Mouths wereagape.

It turned out, the guy was a visitingunion organizer from Colorado andwas complaining that the “Driver ofthe dray, bringing in the stone, wasNOT a union member!” The stonehad been cut by union men and thestone and its delivery had beendonated, and there really was nobad anti-union attitude to this other-wise union construction project.

So, here’s what happened in aspeedy fashion: A local unionrepresentative jumped on the dray,

1904: THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY CORNERSTONE

Petaluma History & Commentaryby Skip Sommer, Historian


“All the stores and placesof business will be closed.

Visitors will come fromevery town in the State. Abig time is anticipated. Mr.Carnegie’s gift to the City,will give Petaluma one of

the prettiest librarybuildings in the State.”

Addie Atwater

drove it out to the city limits andthen back to the site and all wasdeemed okay for the ceremony. Thewait in between had been filled withmusic and drink, and the dedicationproceeded just an hour or so late.The Courier commented, “Thecatastrophe of not having a stoneto lay was averted by the heroismof the Teamsters Union.” Themouthy dude from Colorado hadapparently snuck off, and I’m sureour Professor Lippitt, trowel in hand,was much relieved, and the stonewas set. (Whew).

1904 was a busy year. The auto-mobile was becoming fairly wellestablished, with Henry Ford lead-ing the way. Teddy Roosevelt wonhis second term as President andthrough his efforts, the U.S. pur-chased the Panama Canal proper-ty for 10 million bucks. ‘04 was theyear Orville and Wilbur Wright triedout their flying machine, the Russo-Japanese war began, “Peter Pan”and “Madame Butterfly” both de-buted and the first ice cream conewas consumed. Interestingly, oneof the “names” that year, was base-ball hero “Ty” Cobb, whose grand-son, (of the same name), becameone of current President Trump’sattorneys more than a century later.

We were years from “The RoaringTwenties” in ‘04, and women werestill being constrained by some ofthe Victorian mores. Considerthese items: The Olympics wereheld in St. Louis, Missouri, thatyear and out of 100 events, onlyarchery was open to female com-

petitors. In New York City, a ladywas arrested for smoking a ciga-rette in public, and in Rome, PopePius X banned “low cut dresses,when in the company of church-men.” (Oh well . . .)

In California news, the Bank of Ita-ly, (later to become Bank of Ameri-ca), opened its doors in SanFrancisco; the electric railroad fromPetaluma to Sebastopol and SantaRosa began hauling apples, poultryand redwood; the Petaluma ElksClub was founded; the HeritageRiver West Vineyard (to becomeRodney Strong Winery) was plant-ed; and a young man named SamMelnick became our first Jewishchicken farmer when he boughtseven acres outside of Cotati. By1920, verdant southern SonomaCounty would grow to contain thelargest assemblage of Jewishfarmers in the entire country! Manyof their descendants were to be-come the leaders of our city fordecades to come.

In Petaluma, which sported a pop-ulation then of about 5,600, theWickersham Banking Company,(Thomas Maclay, president), wasboasting a capitalization of$200,000, a young lad named Den-man McNear graduated from Peta-luma High, the Bank of SonomaCounty was opened, Josie Hill hadbegun work on her Hill OperaHouse, and the new theater wouldbe faced with Stony Point stone. Itwas said: “It will be one of the bestplay houses north of S.F.!” (It’s nowthe Phoenix Theater).

(Hopefully, there were other com-munity highlights, as well). Thatyear, an average of 11,000 dozeneggs were shipped out of here dailyto SF, and we also sported a shoefactory employing 100; three tan-neries; the only silk mill on the WestCoast, employing 90; the GoldenEagle and the McNear Mills andthe Petaluma Incubator Company.Speaking of incubators, inventorLyman Byce sold his existing build-ings that year to expand to a newlarger factory on the river, but alsofronting Main Street (now Jan Ros-en’s restaurant, 256 North Main).

And, last but not least . . . dredgingof our river was an issue in ‘04.(Really?) The river just had to bestraightened out too, and that in-volved lopping off some pieces ofembankment to accomplish. Twoof our city founders, John McNearand Hiram Fairbanks, stood to losesome property footage by that, andwere “very concerned.” City Trust-ee Zartman moved that “a cut”above the Washington StreetBridge would “result in an open

canal,” and the city would offer$500 for that parcel. However,both Fairbanks and McNear vol-unteered to donate their land,and the motion was passed. Boththe dredged and straightened riv-er and the new Carnegie Library(then less than two years fromcompletion) were to make majorpositive differences in the life ofour community. Both were greatsteps forward.


Henry Ford in his 1904 automobile

Our Chamber of Commercewas boasting about Petaluma’sexcellent location, pointing-outthat we had a: “fine asset in oursewer system, the refuse beingcarried to the bay, on each tide,”

and it got there by way of ourPetaluma Creek!

Carnegie Library, just finishingconstruction 1906

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by Solange Russek & Michael Slade

We would like to acknowledge the California Digital Newspaper (CDN) Program of UC Riverside, the source of all of the items that aregoing to be presented in this column. The CDN Collection is a project of the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (CBSR) atthe University of California, Riverside. The CDN Collection is supported in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services underthe provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

HISTORICAL NEWS OF PETALUMA


Press Democrat, Number 97, Sept 8, 1900

S.F. Call, Vol. 109, Number 121, March 31, 1911

Carnegie did, of course, eventually provide thefunds which resulted in the splendid building thathouses the museum.

Not quite the quiet, contemplative atmosphere thatCarnegie no doubt had in mind for the library.

Check out these news articlesabout Petaluma’s Carnegie Library!

8

MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTSPetaluma Museum Association Newsletter-Summer/Fall 2018

“I DO” , a PMA exhibition of vintage weddingdresses dating back to the 1880’s from the PetalumaHistorical Library & Museum’s collection opened onJune 10 with a champagne and wedding cakereception. The attendance for this wonderful exhibithas been tremendous and visitors are impressedwith the historical details and preservation given tothese garments of the past. Solange Russek, Barbara Maxwell and MichaelLanham are the curators. They created a visuallyappealing display that highlighted the intricate detailsof each dress and arranged them to compliment theinterior of the museum. The exhibit is dedicated to Teresa Fröschl forher many years of diligently caring for the PHL&M’stextile collection.

Solange Russek and Barbara Maxwell dressing amannequin. Michael Lanham poses with one ofour gentleman mannequins.

Teresa Fröschl with dresses

Thank you to the many volunteers who helped with theexhibit: Karen Bates, Daya Celia, John FitzGerald, PaulaFreund, Zoe Frothinger, Leena Michel, Emily Poehlmann,Lauren Poehlmann, Freyda Ravitz (BOD), Helene desRosier, Kit Schlich ( BOD) and Michael Slade (BOD). Alsospecial thanks to Clint Gilbert (BOD), who donated his skillsas a lighting designer to illuminate the collection.

Don’t miss it! This exhibit will be on display until September 15.

Opening reception cake made by:

Our appreciation to those who donated items: TheBiskind/Shaw Family, Janet Otis Balshaw(Otis/Balshaw Family), The Burke/Babcock Family,Sherry Brungart, Florence Murphy Carter, TheKorbel/Johnson Family, Teresa Froschl, KayHardy, Vicki McDill (Tomasini Family), the McNearFamily, Alice Rebizzo.

Special thanks to oursponsor Korbel

Champagnes Cellars

(Continued on page 12)


The PMA’s Upcoming Exhibit

As part of its 40th Anniversary Celebration, thePetaluma Museum Association has scheduled“The Petaluma Historical Library & Mu-seum, A Story of Civic Progress &Pride,” an exhibit to be on display from Octo-ber 6 through December 23. This exhibit affordsthe opportunity to highlight the history of thePMA while also imparting the remarkable storyof the building in its manifestations as the Peta-luma Carnegie Library and as the PetalumaHistorical Library & Museum.

Three themes will run throughout the exhibit. The first is the wisdom of architecturalpreservation; a goal of the exhibit is to bring to the attention of the community the need toretrofit the PHL&M. The second is the cooperation between Petaluma’s citizens and cityofficials in planning, building, repurposing and maintaining the PHL&M; an audio tournarrative will accompany the exhibit telling this story of “Civic Progress & Pride.” Thethird theme will be the essential role women and Progressive Era policy played in thebuilding’s history, and particular attention will be given to the role of early femalelibrarians.

An extensive, free Program of Public Service has been scheduled to accompany the exhibit.Please see the page opposite this page and mark your calendars! Additionally, eachweekend the curator, Paula Freund, will conduct a tour of the exhibit, and reserva-tions for private and school group tours will be taken.

Please Patronize our Exhibit’s Generous, Community-Minded Sponsors

With many thanks to Quattrocchi Kwok Architects for their generous check, to Korbel for the donation ofchampagne to be enjoyed at the exhibit’s opening reception, and to the Petaluma Woman’s Club for offeringtheir facility for our co-sponsored, October 8th event.


Events Corresponding to the PMA Exhibit,“The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum,

A Story of Civic Progress & Pride”

Opening ReceptionA Celebration of Historian Lucy Kortum

Saturday, October 6, 5:00 to 8:00

“A Candidate Conversation Moderated byCongresswoman Lynn Woolsey”

Co-sponsored with the Petaluma Woman’s Club@ Petaluma Woman’s Club, 518 B St. Petaluma

Monday, October 8, 7:00 to 8:30

Kenneth Breisch, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School ofArchitecture, University of Southern California

“Andrew Carnegie & the American Public Library Movement”Saturday, December 8, 4:00

(All events are free. For additional information visit petalumamuseum.com)

Jeff Elliott,Sonoma County Historian,

“The Making of Young Brainerd Jones”

Saturday, October 20, 2:00

Bridget Maley, Principalarchitecture + history,

San Francisco“Civic Beautiful: California’s CityBeautiful Inspired Civic Centers”Wednesday, November 7, 7:00

The Petalumans of Yesteryearconjure the world of turn-of-the-centuryPetaluma and discuss the origins ofPetaluma’s Carnegie Library.Wednesday, November 14, 7:00


Thank you to our 40/40 WineRaffle Donors:

Ellen & Barry Richter, SonomaPortworks, Clint Gilbert, AnnetteDaunell, Karah Estate, EnriquezEstate, John Ryan, Kathy Fries

and Erica Barlas


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Petaluma Historical Museum

Museum highlights….. from pg 8

Children line up to ring the Korbel Bell, which hasbeen a tradition handed down from Helen Putnamto the museum celebrating ringing of the bells offreedom across America on July 4th. HomerJohnstone and his granddaughter Kylie sing thenational anthem with Marshall West looking on.


“YOU’D BETTER GETa move on, Mr.Johnson, and turn

your automobile loose beforeit is too late.” The Petaluma CityCouncil had enough ofLJ Johnson’s auto andtasked the city attorneyto find a suitable law toprosecute as it was 1900and no ordinances hadyet been passed toaddress the emergenceof the auto. LJ, a horseshoer by trade, had builthis own three wheel autobut it would not be until1903 when Joe Steigersold the first Petalumaauto, an Oldsmobile.You may say LJ wasalso Petaluma’s first lucky hotrodder as the city neversuccessfully prosecuted him.

Nationwide auto production in-creased from over four thousand in1900, three hundred fifty thousandin 1912, to four million in 1924 andby 1928 twenty eight million.The impact was felt in largeand small communities so itwas not long before national,state, and local auto regula-tions followed, some of whichwere very necessary andothers in retrospect down-right silly. Some communitiesaddressed the issues by sim-ply banning autos on publicstreets as did Chicago in1895 but Petaluma was un-successful in 1903. Thankful-ly Massachusetts in 1905was unsuccessful with re-quiring a bell ring once foreach wheel revolution.

The speed of autos wasthe grave concern sovarious attempts to ef-fectively regulate it

evolved. England’s Red Flag Act of1865 which lasted to 1896 stifledEngland’s advancement of the au-tomobile. It limited speed to 4 mphin the country and 2 mph in townand required a man carrying a red

flag to walk ahead of such a ma-chine. Sonoma County Board ofSupervisors in 1903 was consider-ing regulating the speed on countyroads because of concern withthose San Francisco drivers someof whom were operating at speeds

approaching thirty-five miles perhour!

Petaluma in compliance with 1907law erect signs “Slow down to 10miles per hour” in town California

finally passed the fol-lowing speed law in1919; not to exceed 35miles per hour in day-light hours on straightroads with no cars topass; 15 miles per hourin business sections; 20miles per hour in resi-dential districts; and 15miles per hour on blindcurves. Driving underthe influence of alcoholbecomes a felony. In1899 Jacob German, aNew York taxi driver,

going 12 mph in a 8 mph zone isthe first recorded United Statesspeeding infraction. The first paperspeeding ticket issued was not until1904 in Dayton,Ohio.

There was much local joy in 1905when the California Legislature

overturned a Marincounty ordinance pro-hibiting driving an autoafter sundown. Also atthis time Novato be-came known as a speedtrap to generate localrevenue from un-ex-pecting non local driverspassing through down-town.

By 1909 the AutomobileClub of America raisedfunds to defend their ar-rested members, ap-pealed cases to highercourts, and wrote angryarticles. They chargedpolicemen were discrim-inating against car own-ers of expensive cars asthey would allow smaller

Consternat ion and Regulat ionby Terry Park

Petaluma in compliance with 1907 state lawerects signs “Slow down to 10 miles

per hour” in town.

14and cheaper cars to pass throughthe speed traps unmolested. Themagazine offered maps identifyingspeed traps.

Karl Benz, inventor of the first pro-duction auto in 1886, had to receivewritten permission from the GrandDucal authorities to operate his au-to on public roads in 1888 afterresidents complained about thenoise and smell of his auto. This isconsidered to be the world’s firstdriver’s license.

In 1903 New York becomes the firststate to require an operator’scertificate costing $1 to operate avehicle on the road and 2,382 areissued. In 1910 New York alsorequires a first time road test and20,000 licenses are issued.California first required a driver’slicense in 1916. In 1954 SouthDakota becomes the last state torequire a driver’s license andCalifornia licenses begin to includephotographs.

Along with an auto’s registrationcame the license plate as a veryvisible indicator of compliancewhich had its origin in early 1660sEngland. England experienced asurge of horse drawn coaches andcarriages for hire with irregular driv-er behavior so an ordinance waspassed requiring a license. Thesevehicles were referred to as Hack-ney carriages and later shortenedto “hacks.”

France in 1893 became the firstcountry to issue numbered platesfor autos. In 1901 New York be-came the first state to mandateplates for vehicles which the ownerhad to fabricate usually out of leath-er. Massachusetts became the firststate in 1903 to provide state is-sued license plates. It was notunusual for cities and counties toalso require their own additionalregistration so the motorist had topay additional fees and also carryadditional plates.

California first required residents toregister their motor vehicles in1905. By 1909 California had18,000 registered autos which av-eraged one auto per 132 peopleand the Sonoma County averagewas 104 people. The first vehicleregistered in California belonged toJohn Spreckels (sugar refining)and members of his family alsoreceived early plates numbered 2,3, and 4. Registrants would receive

their numbers and had to maketheir own plate and hang it some-where on the machine. Californiabegan issuing permanent licenseplates in 1914 which were metalcovered in brick red porcelain withwhite letters. From 1920 to 1941,California annually issued newplates that displayed the registra-tion year but was discontinued in1942 because of the war.

California vanity license plateshave been allowed since 1972 butone may think the precursor is the1928 Idaho plate which was thefirst to contain a slogan “Idaho Po-tatoes”. California now offers digitalcustom message plates which willmake vanity plates seem so passé.

The very early auto dealers taughtbuyers how to drive and formaldriver training began as a businessin the United Kingdom in 1909.Amos Neyhart included driver’straining as part of the high schoolcurriculum in 1934 at College,Pennsylvania. In 1948 Californiaincluded mandatory driver trainingin the high school curriculum asteenage drivers were ten percent ofthe driving population but responsi-ble for thirty percent of the acci-dents. Murphy Chevrolet donatedthe first driver’s training car for Pet-aluma High in 1948 and the pro-gram continued until a legislative

change in 1981 ended the require-ment.

Increased city traffic congestionushered in the first electric trafficsignal in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio.Petaluma acquired traffic signals in1951 at Main and Washington andThird and D Street and in 1953 atMain and Western. What a won-derful starting mechanism for dragracing on the street!

The auto was just like any newemerging industry which begins tohave a profound impact on peopleresulting in regulations so it is notsurprising to witness the consterna-tion and resulting regulation withthe emergence of Uber, Lyft, andrecently electric motor scooters.


Petaluma acquired traffic signals in 1951at Main and Washington and Third and DStreet and in 1953 at Main and Western.What a wonderful starting mechanism for

drag racing on the street!

Top license is red background with whitelettering. Bottom is yellow background

with black lettering.

NEW MEMBERSBarbara Finley Badham, Antonia Baskin, Mary Cohn, Sara & John Donnelly, Elizabeth Falk, Kathy Ferrando, JuddGans, Linda Gibson, Rebecca Kaykas-Wolff, Diane Judd & Ron Krempetz, Kathleen Kneelander, Carol Larson,Kathryn Mathieu, Dr. L. Martin & Joyce Griffin, Kathryn McGeorge, Ralph Metzner, Gwen Petro, Caitlin Quinn,Dorothy Skinner,Theresa Toombs, Karen Weeks, Karen Weissberg

RENEWALSDave Alden, Kim Arfsten, Bonnie Bard, Erica & Elliot Barlas, Oralee Bean, Katherine Billings, Michel Braud, RuthBrowning & Karl Scheurmann, Karl Bundesen, , Irene Carnazola, Bonnie Carpenter, Kaye Chandler & DonLounibos, Don Chaps, Karen Chambliss-Abraham, Andy & Helga Christiansen Steve & Debbie Countouriotis, Gail& Gordon Cox, Charles Craig, Megan Cusimano, Kerry Davison, Maria do Ceu, Dan Dougherty, Dick & RitaDunbar, Deborah Fox Fitch, James & Beth Eckenrod, Diana & Mike Ellis, Kathleen Favot-Blanquie, Ted Feldman,Lilyan Frank, Marilyn Garmbonini, Karen Gjording, Mike & Kate Glose, Richard Grabstein, Pam & Jim Granger,Helen Hagopian, Ray & Pat Handyside, Mike Harris, Raymond Hendess Vernon & Marge Hodapp, DonaldHofvendahl, Barb Holleran, Carol Isaak, Charlotte Johnson, Ruth Iversen, Vasanti Jayaswal, Stephan Jensen,Muriel Sutcher Knapp,Lucy Kortum, Michael Lanham, Catherine Lehmann, Kit Lofroos, Chuck Lucas, ConstanceMadrid, Dolores Frey McCloud, Nita Miller, Gary & Mo Miner, Connie Mygatt, Bente Niles, Paul North, Judy Nunes,Julianne O’Keefe, Diane & Christopher Olson, Harlan Osborne, Lois Pasini, Tonya Parnak, Freyda Ravitz, HarrietRedlich, Maureen Friedrichsen-Reed, Gerald Reinartz & Nancy Walker, Solange Russek, Patricia Sabatini, GayleSarlatte, Jack & Joyce Schipper, Don & Charlotte Siemens, Richard Silva, Gayle Smalley, Betty Soldate, LaverneStout, Marybeth Thayer, Marilyn Thompson, Pamela Torliatt, Bill & Carolyn Tennyson, Mary Tilbury, Joy Waite, JillWhite, Dick & Dorothy Wilcox

DONATIONSHaroldine HansenDonald HofvendahlRuth IversenAlice Rebizzo

Membership16

LIFETIME MEMBERS

Linda Adams & Ken Larson, Mr. & Mrs. Marv Ashman, Bacchus Real Estate, Garth Bixler & Steven Barclay, Ron Bausman& Art Wagner, Sherri Brungart, Jim Becker, David Best & Margaret Roth, Ann & Gordon Blumenfeld, Walter & MarilynBragdon, Tom & Kathy Brandal, Virginia Breedlove, Sherri Brungart, Arthur & Selma Cader, Paul Canorro & Kelly Collins,Joseph & Carol Castillo, Susan Morvay Chappell, Codding Foundation, Clark & Susan Coolidge, James and Liz Cohee,Steve & Judy Collins, Jim & Lori Cornaggia, John Cota & Teresa Barrett, Judy Curtis, Angela E. De Carli, Daniel & ElissaDeCaro & Family, Dennis & Charlene Deen, Marvin & Shirley Dolowitz, Karen & James Ely, June Ferguson, Bonna &George Flynn, C. Michael Forrest, Alice & Donald Forsyth, Jim & Kris Foster, Terry Fraser, Paula Freund & PaulHeavenridge, Kathy & Richard Fries & Family, George & Margaret Gambonini & Family, Marvel Gardner, Cheryl & DerlinGerman, Marie Isabel Girolo, Robert Girolo, Alexa Glockner, Ken & Annette Goltermann Family, Margaret Gossett, KathyGreene, Alice Guglielmetti, Connie Hammerman, Matt & Ginny Hautau, Mike & Beth Healy, Toby & Pat Herfindal, AnnHobrecht, Miriam Hodge,Timothy & Marianne Hurley, Gary & Lynn Imm, Carol Isaak, Helen Issel, Toby Kaehler, William& Denise Kane, Roanne & Davis Kaplow, Steve & Karen Kemmerle, Lucy Kortum, Terry Kosewic, Daniel Krieg, Jack &Verna Krout, Kathleen LaRusso, David & Mary Lee, Rollie & Shirley Leeburg, Catherine Lehmann, Michael Lennon, Paul& Marlene Lewis, Blanch Lieb, Sid & Gerry Lipton, Connie Brandner Loughary, Colleen Mahoney, Theresa & PeterMahoney,Constance Mahoney, Amy Malaise & Gary Fusco, Peter Masi/Master Cleaners, Charles & Evelyn Matteri,Elizabeth McBride & Don Shaw, Shirley B. McDonald, Mc Dowell Drug Task Force, James & Sue Mc Isaac, Keith &Debbie McNeil, Robert & Virginia Merwin, Max Mickelsen, Flora Mickles, Pierre & Sonja Miremont, Montoya & Associates,Ann Moreno, Tim & Lori Nelson, Tammara Norman & Edwin Hamilton, Dustin O’Brien, Mike O’Brien, Michael Orton, RossParkerson, John & Karen Perlis, Edward Peterson, Ray & Ettamarie Peterson, Charles & Mary Pheil, Russel Pleech,Shep Porter, James Power Millwork, Lawrence Reed, Dan & Ann Reed, Ed & Bernadette Ricci, Tim & Deborah Riddle,Katherine & William Rinehart, Walter & Emily Roeder, Rotary Club of Petaluma, Jerry & Mary-dee Roy, Gloria Salick,Warren & Susie Salmons, Nancy Sasser, Kit & Steve Schlich, Richard & Lucille Sharke, Jeff Smith & Alicia Wallace,Nicole & Dave Snider, Skip Sommer, Springfield Place, Kaye Stack, Clarice Stasz, Thomas & Mary Stelzner, Elaine &Christopher Stevick, Barbara Tornberg, Evan Williams & Elizabeth Tyree, UBS Financial Services, Gene & Lenore Urbain,Larry & Jan Vannucci, Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 563, Susan Villa & Family, Volpi’s Italian Market, Michael& Elaine Von der Porten, Mary Renner & Linda Vourlogianes, Marcie Waldron, Ruth Walker, Olga Walker, Judy Walters,Jan Widdowson, Lauren Williams, Sarah Young, Scott & Meredith Young, Nick Zaillian, Ruth Zveinieks


If you prefer, you can join online at petalumamuseum.com, or call 707-778-4398

FAMILY / DUAL $70All Basic Benefits, PLUS:

•Extension of Basic Benefits to an additional adult& children in the same household up to age 17

•Two personalized membership cards

RECIPROCAL MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES - “Museum Goer” BenefitIf you join the PMA at the Supporter level ($125) or higher, you will receive free or discounted

admission to more than 600 museums in the U.S. Some of the top Bay Area participating museums are:Asian Art Museum • Walt Disney Family Museum • de Young Museum • Legion of Honor

CA Historical Society Museum • Charles M. Schulz Museum • Sonoma County Museum

SUPPORTER $125All Family / Dual Benefits, PLUS:•Reciprocal Museum Membership Privileges

BUSINESS SPONSOR $150All Supporter Benefits, PLUS:•Your business card in the PMA newsletter

CORPORATE SPONSOR $1,000 +All Benefactor Benefits, PLUS:•Your corporation’s logo in the PMA newsletter

COMPANY SPONSOR $500All Patron Benefits, PLUS:•Your company logo in the PMA newsletter

INDIVIDUAL $35All Basic Benefits($20 memberships are available in this categoryto: Seniors, Educators, Students. Military is free)

PATRON $400All Supporter Benefits, PLUS:•Personalized exhibit tour for you and 10 guests•Listing of your name on the Museum’s Donor Wall

BENEFACTOR $750 +All Patron Benefits, PLUS:•Opportunity to be named the benefactor of a

temporary exhibit or annual program

BASIC BENEFITS OF ALL MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES:•Discounted admission to temporary exhibits •Personalized membership card(admission to the library & permanent exhibits is free to all) •10% off Museum store merchandise•Reserved seating at the Butter & Egg Parade •10% off gift memberships•Subscription to and acknowledgement in the PMA newsletter •Invitations to previews & receptions

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS & CATEGORIES

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Email: ____________________________________ Petaluma Museum AssociationPetaluma Historical Library & Museum

20 Fourth StreetPetaluma, CA 94952-3004

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Museum Collection Updateby Solange Russek

Museum Collections Manager

THANK YOU TO Kim and Julie Jamieson fromGranbury Texas! The Jamiesons donated a postcard collection that belonged to Kim’s great

Grandmother Thora Mueller. Thora married DanielJamison who was Foreman at the Egg Filler Factory,then in 1917 he worked for E.F. Adams. In 1921 he thenworked at the pattern cabinet shop at 307 EWashington. Their residence was 410 3rd; nowPetaluma Blvd.

Two rare beauties that are in the collection arepostcards. The one pictured above is a postcard ofWalnut Park with the Hebe Fountain with the watertower in the background.This donation is a vital part of an intriguing puzzleconcerning this very important example of PetalumaPublic Art.This has created an exciting buzz with our historians;the statue was removed and has never been heardfrom since! (Watch this space for more info to come)

The second postcard is of a woman sitting in thedriver’s seat of a 1908 Maxwell delivery truck with F.AMorrow’s Cornucopia 5 cent Candies, Ice Cream andPeanuts written on the side. There are three womenstanding at the doorway of Morrow. The business on144 Kentucky Street was found in the 1917 City Direc-tory. It does not show up in 1914 or after 1917: Itappears they all lived there too!

Per the 1917 City Directory:Morrow Mrs. Annie, mgr. F. A. Morrow, res. 144 Ken-tucky.Morrow F. A., confections and ice cream, 144 Ken-tucky, res. same.Morrow Miss Nettie E B, clerk FA Morrow, r 144Kentucky.Next door to the Economy is the doorway into the ElksHall on 140 Kentucky Street.

The third item from Thora’s collection is an enamel traysalvaged from the 1914 Steamer Petaluma’s burntremains. The note is Thora’s writing from 1914.

Non Profit Org

U.S. Postage

PAID

Petaluma, CA

Permit No. 301

Petaluma Museum AssociationPetaluma Historical Library & Museum20 Fourth St.Petaluma, CA 94952www.petalumamuseum.com

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