Allendale, then and now

 I found this photo on ebay:

Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park; Part 2

If you haven't read it, start here: Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park; Part 1, the Bond Measure.

The August 29, 1922 bond measure didn't get enough votes. If it had, we might have had a 1500-acre park that stretched from Snake road to Skyline & Joaquin Miller roads:

Proposed map of Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park, from the August 10, 1922 issue of the Oakland Tribune, drawn by Howard Gilkey, city landscape engineer. See Part 1 for the article. 300 dpi version of this image here, if you want to see detail. You'll notice current street names under the northern section. (Map is rotated -45º, to represent the artwork the way it was printed.)

Tioga Pass, No Cars

On Tuesday, June 9th at 10:40AM I got this text from my friend Mike:

He sent me these two links:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1585707689

http://www.thegearcaster.com/2014/05/cycling-across-yosemite-on-tioga-road.html

I know he'd done the no-cars Tioga Pass ride before. Authorities plow Tioga Pass road and give cyclists a day or two before they open it to cars. It happens every year, with very little fanfare and the date isn't known until days beforehand. I'd gotten the word before, in years past, but had not done the ride. This time I bit. My kids are away at college, no weekend coaching is happening, my wife won't miss me if I'm gone for a weekend day. My dogs would, but they'd also forget they did. I said yes.

Fast Electric Train, "The Comet," Crossing Lake Temescal, Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway postcard

I usually like to do 'then and now' posts about these old postcards, but this one is tough, because the vantage point of the photographer is now under about 10-20' of earth, and above that earth is a PG&E electric substation that is off-limits. 

Fast Electric Train, "The Comet," Crossing Lake Temescal; O. A. & E. Ry.

The Santa Fe Improvement Club and racial segregation in Oakland, 1910 - 1917

Oakland was, and remains segregated. Read the sections below, about the Santa Fe Improvement Club, highlighted in yellow. According to Oakland Localwiki, "Santa Fe is a neighborhood of North Oakland near UCSF Benioff Oakland Children's Hospital." The headquarters of the Santa Fe Improvement Club were at 5457 Grove street. It is somewhat fitting that that address is now known as 5457 Martin Luther King Jr Way, and, according to the 2010 census, is a black community. Oakland is infamous for its history of redlining. Neighborhoods remain racially segregated. America remains racially divided. Racial hatred fuels our politics and helps keep the powerful in charge. I was motivated to research and share this following the murder of George Floyd, the protests in Minneapolis and Oakland, the response by the President to those protests, and the disproportionate number of African-American deaths due to covid19. 

Know your history.

LOG CABIN IN HILLS MADE ART STUDIO - Thomas Hal Boyd

LOG CABIN IN HILLS MADE ART STUDIO Thomas Hal Boyd Wed, Jan 6, 1926 – Page 32 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

LOG CABIN IN HILLS MADE ART STUDIO

Berkeleyan, Whose Love for Outdoors Led Him to Paint Builds Home Above City Near Joaquin Miller's

Hal Boyd loves the outdoors.

He has loved it since, as a youngster, he worked with his elder brother on a homestead in the mountains of Siskiyou.

He found that he loved it so greatly he must find some means of expressing his feeling for it.

So he determined to learn to paint.

That, in brief, is the story of Thomas Hal Boyd, former University of California man, and youthful artist. High above the city, on the Joaquin Miller road, Boyd lives in a log house of his own making. Employed by the city as a forest ranger to watch over the wooded hills of Sequoia Park, he tramps the trails by day, in correct uniform and with pistol at his side. Always, however, his eyes are drinking in the beauty of nature's settings. Meadows, woods and canyons register themselves on his mind, to be interpreted in oils on canvas when Boyd is off duty.

TRAMPING TO REDWOOD PEAK, by Harold French, Sat, Jan 8, 1910, The San Francisco Call

TRAMPING TO REDWOOD PEAK Sat, Jan 8, 1910 – Page 2 · The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California) · Newspapers.com

[This article was on a page of the San Francisco Call meant for kids, called Junior Section, thus the language seeming to be targeted toward young people. Harold French wrote this when he was 16. He was born in 1894. Harold was a critical figure in the history of Bay Area trails, nature, hiking and conservancy. He founded the Contra Costa Hills Club ten years after this article was published, which was instrumental in the conservation of the redwoods in Oakland. (See Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park; Part 1, the Bond Measure.) He was the namesake for the French trail, in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. Joaquin Miller was a famous poet, a self-promoting celebrity of the sort very common now. He bought a bare piece of hill land that he cultivated into a forest which is now Joaquin Miller Park. There are more articles by Harold French on this blog, and more to come. He didn't ride a bike, but he made an impact on my life, it so happens. - MF]

TRAMPING TO REDWOOD PEAK

BY HAROLD FRENCH 

Knave - Early Churches, Gamblers Built It, Brides From Germany, A Marriage Lottery, An Old Donner Trail, Culbertson Grade, Literary Treasures, Frank Norris Relics, Survived Two Fires, More About Scotty, Some Richmond History, The Castro Grant, A New Discoverer

Knave Some Richmond History shellmound Sun, Sep 15, 1940 – Page 17 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

Knave - Early Churches, Gamblers Built It, Brides From Germany, A Marriage Lottery, An Old Donner Trail, Culbertson Grade, Literary Treasures, Frank Norris Relics, Survived Two Fires, More About Scotty, Some Richmond History, The Castro Grant, A New Discoverer

As you can see in the embedded, original page from the Sep 15, 1940 Oakland Tribune, this article was five print columns with headings. You could scan it left to right and pick a segment to read. In blog form, it's a top-to-bottom text, so the stuff at the top might get scanned, but the stuff below might not. This is the situation with Knave pages! I will start summarizing the headings as I have, here, so that you have a sense of what's worth skipping ahead, and in this case "Some Richmond History," "The Castro Grant," are worth skipping ahead, as is "An Old Donner Trail" and "A New Discoverer," Personally, I got to this Knave page by searching for "indian village."

More knave articles here

Knave - early history books, Calaveras Chronicle, Gay Christening, Lake County Native American History, A Matter of Fish, Versatile Dr. Semple, Letter Carriers Outing

Knave - indian villages, etc Sun, Aug 18, 1957 – 65 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

AMONG the most prized volumes in Dr. Rockwell D. Hunt's collection of Californiana are two that pertain to San Francisco, both comparatively rare now. "I think they are of special value, speaking historically," he says. "The short title of the first of these is 'The Annals of San Francisco,' published by D. Appleton & Company in 1855. The authors are Frank Soule, John H. Gihon, M.D., and James Nisbet. The wide scope of this volume is indicated by its subtitle, 'Containing a Summary of the History of the First Discovery, Settlement, Progress and Present Condition of California and a Complete History of All the Important Events Connected Therewith, It's Great City, to which are Added Biographical Memoirs of Some Prominent Citizens.' It is illustrated by 150 fine engravings. A very useful Appendix includes the story of the Great Seal of the State, the text of the California Constitution of 1849, the Act of Corporation of the City of San Francisco, and a complete roster of the Society of California Pioneers, with dates of their arrival and their places of residence. In no other single book can so much detailed information pertaining to San Francisco during early American years, chronologically arranged, be found. It may be regarded as indispensable to the researcher. My copy of this valuable book, printed well over a century ago, was acquired in early days by my father, a pioneer of 1850. On its fly-leaf appears still, in his handwriting, in pencil, his name and address: 'D. R. Hunt, Oneida Valley, Sacramento County.' On the same page appears the following, in my uncle's handwriting: 'Presented to P. J. Hunt by D. R. Hunt, Hamilton (New York) March 23, 1866.' This book has been in our family from my early childhood. My brothers and I enjoyed its pictures many a time on the floor of our 'sitting room' in the Freeport home. Bound in beautiful morocco, with full gilt edges, its present-condition, after all its handling, is remarkably good. Naturally, I'm proud to be the owner of this volume. It is of great value to the student and historian, but to me it possessed a sentimental value that cannot be told in terms of dollars.

A tour of Fernandez Ranch singletrack, from my door

The full photo album, with full-sized photos and videos is here: A tour of Fernandez Ranch singletrack, from my door. Most are also below, at lower resolution.

To Wildcat Beach in Point Reyes, from our doors in the Oakland hills; a weekend bikepacking trip with Joe and Mark

On Saturday, March 14th and Sunday, March 15th, 2014 my friends Mark (father) and Joe (son) and I rode our bikes from our (well, Mark's and my) doors in the Oakland hills to Wildcat Beach in Point Reyes, spent the night on the beach at the campground, and then back home. Mark and Joe were originally part of an Oakland boy scout troop that laid aside some of the traditional norms, and had proper adventures in the mountains. Ever since, the dads continued to meet up for a big weekend trip. We organized our bikepack to coincide with their backpack, and met them at the beach. Admittedly, we traveled light. I carried some baguettes, meat and cheese I picked up in San Francisco, but we mostly relied on the largesse these fine gentlemen packed in from their cars. It was a very nice dinner, fire, bonding experience, breakfast and goodbye, with them! I wish I'd been part of that scout troop. (I got an email, later, when I shared these photos, "Hey, that's my CEO!") We took BART to and from the city, rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, and did dirt, mostly the same route, both days. I finished with a St. Patrick's Day dinner at my friend Mike's house, Lauren was there, and some other friends. Dinner was soda bread, corned beef, cabbage and Guiness. It was a wonderful finish! It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do another trip like this again. It's been six years! I am hopeful I might someday do a trip like this with my kids.

OLD TIME SPANISH PICNIC - Alisal, the Sycamores - Frank Bernal - Rancho el Valle de San Jose

I found an article titled OLD TIME SPANISH PICNIC in the September 23, 1878 edition of the Oakland Tribune, about a family picnic in Pleasanton, among members of the Bernal, Amador, Alviso and other Californio families. It fired my imagination. Imagine the stories, music, food, dancing. That led me down a little bit of a rabbit hole. Here's some interesting history for you.

OLD TIME SPANISH PICNIC Mon, Sep 23, 1878 – Page 3 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

The Anti-Mask League of San Francisco in 1919, during the third wave of the Spanish Influenza pandemic

Right now, with the covid19 pandemic we are seeing resistance to wearing masks, enduring quarantine. Here in the USA we have possibly the highest rates of infection and death, with the least amount of testing, and our federal leadership is uring people to return to work, and our president is supporting armed protestors who want to end restrictions on their ability to congregate, work, send their children to school. They protest against wearing masks. This is not the first time we've had protests agaist masks, during a pandemic. It happened in 1919, right here in the Bay Area, in San Francisco to be specific during the third wave of the Spanish Influenza pandemic. Peter Lawrence Kane wrote a great article about this subject, The Anti-Mask League: lockdown protests draw parallels to 1918 pandemic.

MEDAU'S TRACT. Seems to Have Been Designed by Nature for a Park Site. Nov 22, 1897, Oakland Tribune

MEDAU'S TRACT. Seems to Have Been Designed by Nature for a Park Site. Hays Canyon Chain of parks Mon, Nov 22, 1897 – Page 5 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

MEDAU'S TRACT.

Seems to Have Been Designed by Nature for a Park Site.

SCENIC VIEWS UNSURPASSED.

Abundance of Water for Lake, de Irrigation and Other Purposes.

ROCK AND GRAVEL IN PLENTY.

Accessibility, Price, Location and Environment in its Favor.

While nearly all residents of Oakland are devoting considerable attention to the question of public park sites not a few are strongly, though quietly, advocating the acceptance of Mr. Medau's offer of his tract of 476 acres of on the very reasonable terms proposed.

EBMUD Refuses Canyon Road Aid, Dec 23, 1953, Oakland Tribune

EBMUD Refuses Canyon Road Aid Wed, Dec 23, 1953 – 17 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

EBMUD Refuses Canyon Road Aid

CANYON, Dec. 23. - Residents of this rustic community today reported "no success" in efforts to have East Bay Municipal Utility District contribute to upkeep of the privately maintained Redwood highway, a circuitous 3335 foot road that serves homesites perched on one wall of the wooded canyon.

The First Fifty Years After the Discovery of San Francisco Bay - from the report of F. W. Beechey, British Navy, 1825, San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 1909

I knew about F. W. Beechey because I live in the Oakland hills, and he is quoted as having described the two tall trees on our ridgeline as being a navigation aid for sailors entering the Golden Gate in his book Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait To Co-operate with the Polar Expeditions: Performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom, Under the Command of Captain F.W. Beechey ... in the Years 1825, 26, 27, 28 .... I haven't read his book yet, but when I found this 1909 summary titled "The First Fifty Years after the Discovery of San Francisco Bay," I knew I wanted to share it.

Second Wave of Spanish Influenza in California, January 1, 1919 to March 1, 1919 newspaper clippings

These newspaper clippings are from a search on newspapers.com for:

influenza "second wave"

...in California newspapers published between January 1, 1919 and March 1, 1919. I find this interesting, as our leaders and citizens talk about easing restrictions on society, during this covid19 / coronavirus pandemic. Some of these are really worth reading, but I'm leaving them in chronological order, not worth-reading order. Definitely read "FIGURES SHOW HOW MASKS HAVE CUT DOWN INFLUENZA." I transcribed it.

See also: The Anti-Mask League of San Francisco in 1919, during the third wave of the Spanish Influenza pandemic

Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park; Part 1, the Bond Measure

Pour yourself a beverage and block out a bit of time to learn about the history of Oakland Sequoia Mountain Park, the effort by Oaklanders to save the redwoods.

Ebay: Sequoia Park ~ Oakland California ~ c1910 PNC postcard 

Knave - History in the Making, Changing Scene, Shady Harrison St., Contra Costa Hills, Orchards and Pasture, Fascinating Steam, Soldiers and Indians, Bull and Bear Fights, Monterey Celebration, By No Means Gentle

W. R. Fletcher reminisces, Oakland Hills Fred Boehmer Leona Redwood Canyon Laundry Farm BLOG Sun, Apr 6, 1958 – 49 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

[These usually lead with current politics. Fifty two years later, I'm not interested in the current politics of 1958, so I leave it out. There are some good nuggets below, definitely don't judge this on the first paragraph. More knave articles - that have subjects which interest me - here:  The Knave - Oakland Tribune - MF]

KNAVE

History in the Making

Historic Site Now City Park - Ancient Indian Camp Given to Oakland By Robin McCrea

Indians once sat in this circle of rocks and cooked their meals before the fire-hollowed stones in the center. This camp is included in the property off Redwood Road which has been presented to the City of Oakland as a park. It will be left as an exhibit.

A BICYCLE BABEL - Hostile Demonstration to Be Made by Oakland Wheelmen - bicycle advocacy - Oakland Tribune, 27 Sep 1895

A BICYCLE BABEL. Hostile Demonstration to Be Made by Oakland Wheelmen. advocacy Fri, Sep 27, 1895 – Page 2 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

A BICYCLE BABEL.

Hostile Demonstration to Be Made by Oakland Wheelmen.

A BIG PARADE ORDERED.

Cowbells and Whistles to Be Used by 2500 Riders.

Crab Nebula

[I wrote this about twenty years ago, it was on the antique version of my blog. You can still find it here. - MF]

One winter when I was in high school, I wanted a job (i.e. money). A friend's mom's brother-in-law, Lindsay Ridge, needed someone to work around his farm, and she hooked me up with him. He wanted me to do two things, help run the sugarbush and clean out a barn.

Saving Oakland's Sequoias - Eastbay Residents to Have Grounds at Their Disposal for Camps and Picnics - Oakland Tribune 24 Feb 1924

Saving Oakland's Sequoia's by Louis Allen Sun, Feb 24, 1924 – Page 72 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

Saving Oakland's Sequoias

Eastbay Residents to Have Grounds at Their Disposal for Camps and Picnics

Authorities of City Plan to Establish Facilities for the Public Convenience

JOAQUIN MILLER. A Visit to the Old Poet of the Sierras. Hartford Courant, 02 Nov 1911

JOAQUIN MILLER A Visit to the Old Poet of the Sierras. (Omer Holman in Indianapolis News.) Thu, Nov 2, 1911 – 18 · Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

JOAQUIN MILLER.

A Visit to the Old Poet of the Sierras. 

(Omer Holman in Indianapolis News.)

"Tell the folks back in the good old Hoosier state that I am glad they are alive. Tell them that it depends upon God whether I ever get back to Indiana. I'd love to go back for a while."

So said Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, as I left him in the doorway of his simple little cottage which nestles beneath a cluster of Japanese cypress and eucalyptus trees, towering high on the Heights, at Fruitvale, Cal. To his left arm clung his wife, while at his right stood gazing lovingly into his handsome face, his daughter, Juanita. It was a picture of happiness and contentment.

Knave: Potter Elk Horn, Redwood Canyon, Redwood Regional Park, Mariano Vallejo

Sherwood D. Burgess Elk Horn Knave Part 1 TO BLOG Sun, Jan 31, 1965 – 121 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

1869 – White picket fence of George Potter's garden dominates Telegraph Avenue and Broadway

OAKLAND was only a few days old back in May of 1852 when a neighboring post office called Elk Horn was established. Oakland's own post office was still known as Contra Costa at the time and would continue under that name for two more years - until March 2, 1855 - before it would be known officially as Oakland.

MANY DUSTY ROADS LED OUT OF CITY - Oakland road histories

MANY DUSTY ROADS LED OUT OF CITY Thorn Prince redwoods Thu, May 1, 1952 – Page 136 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

MANY DUSTY ROADS LED OUT OF CITY

Commerce Dictated Routes Of Old Highways

LUMBER TO MARKET

The story of many of Oakland's main arterials is the story of a lusty, expanding city which grew not only because it offered so much to Americans flooding into the area after the Gold Rush but because from the start it supported a thriving industry.

The Knave - Angels Camp, John Muir, scorching, San Leandro Triangle, bicycle history

Knave Scorching Prohibited Excuse Our Dust San Leandro Triangle Sun, Jan 17, 1960 – 76 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Alameda, California, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

If you've come here to read bike stuff, scroll down to the last two paragraphs, titled "Scorching Prohibited" and "Excuse Our Dust." I've documented the course described in the "Excuse Our Dust" in my earlier post, "San Leandro Triangle." This whole edition of The Knave is worth your time. They usually are. - MF

Mid-Winter Wheeling in California. - The Wheelmen's Gazette - January 15, 1888

Mid-Winter Wheeling in California.

By Joseph J. Bliss.

On January 15, 1888, I took a ride on my wheel (54-inch New Mail), around the Bay of San Francisco, distance about ninety miles, and have thought that perhaps some of the readers of the Gazette might like to see an account of it.

If Your Children Cry for Bread, Will Ye Give Them a Stone? - The Wheelmen's gazette April, 1886

Go to page 54 of The Wheelmen's gazette, 1886, or follow this link to the page. I can't embed it at the right page.

"If Your Children Cry for Bread, Will Ye Give Them a Stone?"

H. W. BURMESTER and J. J. Bliss, two California wheelmen, made a century run around the Bay of San Francisco on the 25th of March, starting from San Francisco shortly after midnight, Sunday morning. The first portion of the run was by moonlight, but neither had a fall or mishap of any kind on the trip.

East 23rd Avenue & 12th Street, Oakland - Then and Now

Then:

23rd Ave. OAKLAND CALIFORNIA Photo Post Card 1905-15 ALAMEDA County STREET SCENE (Ebay)

Now:

Lake Merritt in 1907, and in 2020

1907

2020

Acme Reunion, Six-Day Bicycle Racing - Oakland Tribune, 07 Jun 1935, Fri, Page 38

In The Spotlight of Sports Ralph Bell Acme reunion Six-day race TO BLOG Wed, Jun 5, 1935 – Page 15 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

IN THE SPOTLIGHT OF SPORTS

By RALPH BELL

THE Acme boys are planning another one. What? Why a reunion of course, of members of the Oakland Sports Club organized in 1883 and abandoned before the end of that century, in 1899. This year's reunion is set for Saturday night at the Oakland Elks Club, at Broadway And Twentieth, according to a letter from Jimmy Shanly, who, with John Kitchen Jr. and F. Willis Sharpe, is on the committee in charge. The dinner will start at 6 o'clock.

Windy, solo bay lap over Tam, the story in pictures

I was feeling good, I had a day to ride. I tried to interest people in coming with me, but no takers. It was cold & windy! I wanted to do another lap of the Bay, over Tam, this time up Railroad Grade, along Ridgecrest, down to Alpine Dam and then to Fairfax on the Fairfax-Bolinas road, and return. So I did.

Here's the story, in pictures:

A Few Hints - San Jose weekly Mercury, Volume XVI, Number 46, 8 April 1869

Clipped from San Jose weekly Mercury,
Volume XVI, Number 46,
8 April 1869
at cdnc.ucr.edu

A Few Hints

A writer in the New York Evening Post suggests a few cautions to be observed by those intending to buy a bicycle:

Up to the present time the velocipede in this country has been used almost entirely in cities, and but very few have given them a trial on our country roads, though there is no longer any doubt of their utility in rure.

EARLY DAYS OF OAKLAND - Oakland Tribune, 04 Dec 1875, Sat, Page 3

EARLY DAYS OF OAKLAND. The Pioneers of Alameda County. THE SAN ANTONIO RANCHO AND ITS OWNER. Sat, Dec 4, 1875 – Page 3 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

EARLY DAYS OF OAKLAND.

The Pioneers of Alameda County,

THE SAN ANTONIO RANCHO AND ITS OWNER.

How Carpentier, Moon and Adams Got the Better of Peralta.

The Division of Contra Costa and the Formation of Alameda County.

CATTLE THIEVES AND VIGILANTES.

How Horace W. Came Near Hanging.

Varney's Biclorama - The Referee & cycle trade journal Vol. 16, No. 15, February 6, 1896

The Referee & cycle trade journal -  v. 16 Nov. 1895-Apr. 1896 - page 916

HUGE AND COMPLETE. 

Varney's Biclorama at San Francisco Is Unique in Its Size and Equipment. 

Thomas H. B. Varney's Rambler bicyclorarna at San Francisco combines all the different departments of a fully equipped bicycle store. It is on the corner of Market, Tenth, and Stevenson streets, and has an entrance on each street.

Riding from my door to the top of Mt. Tamalpais, then completing a lap of the Bay

The Ride

When the San Rafael - Richmond bridge opened its bike lane, I was very excited to ride across it. But busy weekends and a body that isn't always ready for big rides kept me from doing it, until this past Sunday.



More on that ride, below. But first, a little personal and bike history.

Boundary Line Between Alameda and Contra Costa - Daily Alta California, Volume 29, Number 10060, 24 October 1877

New May 2, 2020, just added, these two articles:

Castro's Party. Redwood Park Prince and Brown mills survey of Alameda and Contra Costa counties Fri, Oct 12, 1877 – Page 3 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com