Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 15

h-o EHDD(DMDAD Jl ATFttJ IR.E vol; cxxxiv OAKLANfe CALIFORNIA. SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 16, 1941 A NO. 47 NE. of the vexatious details facing Democratic National Committee Chairman Edward Flynn on his are some of the reasons why there is never a dull moment when the legislative mill begins grinding.

California visit is the issue of Democratic party participation in the flnnrTc nf Trinitv The name of the father was Rev. Walter Frer, not John. Also, Mfrs life in Honolulu preceded that in Oakland. He went to Honolulu, not as a missionary, but as the pastor of the old Fort Street church, which later became the Central Union Church, and js now sometimes called the Garden Church: The Second Congregational Church of Oakland was also called the Chase Street church, not the Goss Street church. A.

Chase of Kohler Chase's music store was one of the congregation." Old Camptonville Days the tyrsfcer and sliding it down the chutes. They eafned their handling the. heavy timbefwith wet gloves and in soggy clothes. The land was all cleared off in 1882 and 1883, andjset out to orchards. Some of the apple and pear trees' are still standing.

I ought to know, for I set them out. Wever will I forget how big and heavy my feet felt in that sticky ground. Above this laid is what was called the Williams orchard. Mr. Williams, a relative of John Guill lived on the Humboldt and had quite a large-sized farm, but wanted to go up- North to live.

The General bought him out. Part of this orchard had been set out this Livermoree local is due to the fact that between the yelrs of 1890 and 1904 my father, Robert E. Norman, was the baggageman and Wells Fargo Express agent on this Livermore local, which left Livermore at 7:10 in the morning and returned' at 6:50 in the evening. In passing, I might say that many well-known people now Hving in the Eastbay made this trip daily to their work in Oakland and San Francisco. I think of Mr.

Harry Mosher of the Board of Equalization; Mr. Ralph Stocker, formerly of tocker Holland Abstract Company; Mr. Charles Evans of Trumbell Beebe; the Pickerings of the San Francisco Bulletin; Mrs. Phoebe Hearsf'of "Verona; Judge Nusbaumer from Bonita; Judge T. W.

Harris from Pleasan ton; Mr. Lew Crellin of Pleasanton; Mr. Chris Buckley, the blind politician from Livermore, and many others whose names do not come to mind at this moment. In those days, a branch line ran from Niles to San Jose, and the commuters boarded the train as far down as Mil-pitas to come to their work in San Francisco and Oakland. Many of the commuters in those days enjoyed the music of Mr.

M. Cianciarulo, who entertained them on the old ferryboat that made the trip from Oakland pier to sW E. Norman. Yesterday's Celebrity Hunters Those who think that autograph hunting is a new outdoor and indoor sport are due for a ts non-partisan elections to be held in various communities this year. Considerable row has been raised in the South because members of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee are taking an active part in the forthcoming municipal election campaign.

There has been criticism within the party, and a threat to read the members out of their official party positions. It is a good guess that Flynn will frown upon the proposal to expose good Democratic material to the factional dangers of a non-partisan He had been in Los An ous geles but a few hours last week when he an- nounced that his chief purpose in visiting Cali- fornia was to bring about closer relationships among precinct workers, Central committee members and the National Committee, in preparation for the 1942 campaign. It is interesting to note that his first day's conferences were held with Governor Olson, Lieutenant Governor Patterson and District Attorney Dockweiler. All three have been mentioned as candidates for Governor in next year's campaign, and it looks as though the Democratic big chief is surveying the field. State Senator Robert Ken hey of Los Angeles was not mentioned as being included in the early conferences.

Labor Headaches When the State Legislature reconvenes two weeks hence to begin deliberation on the 4000 bills which have been introduced there are a number of headache-producing issues, not the least of which is the labor reform program. Two forces have been at work since the Legislature last met in regular session, and both have resulted in a flo6d of proposed measures. One has been the increasing importance of the National defense industries, and the other has been the recent State Supreme Court decision giving labor almost unlimited powers. A study of the scojres of bills introduced reveals a general trendy in the direction of curtailment of labor's powers, and a desire on the part of many of, the legisla--tors to call a halt on the frequent strikes which threaten to disrupt the defense program. One group of bills deals with the subject of mediation of labor disputes, and eeks to force conciliation and arbitration before the strike weapon is used.

They appear to have more support 'than another groupof measures which would' set up in California a Labor Relations Board which would have all of, the authority and power to (ieal with State labor matters that the NLRB has in interstate commerce. There are also many bills introduced with the avowed purpose of regulating labor organizations. Sijme are designed to prevent collectioiv dues, while others would prohibit closed-shop agreements, and prevent picketing of business where two or more labor groups are', engaged in a jurisdictional dispute. "Hot cargo" and secondary boycott would be unlawful if another set of bills is adopted. These are but a few of the measures which will be debated by the members, but they are of sufficient importance to bring out all of the influence and pressure from both sides of the labor fence.

In Lighter Vein But there are bright spots mixed with the gloom overhanging the Capitol, and' variety Tends zest to the legislative program. For instance, one bill introduced by a Los Angeles assemblyman would require all school busses to be painted red, white and blue as a patriotic measure. He would decree that "all visible Below Camptonville, at Wilson's Log Cabin, lives Mrs. Henry Klenzendorf, who knows as much as anyone concerning the area of her long residence. Daughter of Peter Kessler, pioneer miner and rancherNnost of her life has been spent in the hills, her girlhood at Rebel Ridge, up in Yuba County.

Afew days ago Phty Buret of the Marysville Appeal-Democrat, se.cured an interview from Mrs. Mlenzendorf, some of which I am passing along: "I remember that the Camptonville stage was held up two or threX times, and the rubbers always seemed to get away with the Wells Fargo treasure box. Although there was always a shotgun guard riding on the seat with thejirtver when the stages were held up, he never did anything about it. Afraid to, I guess, because the robbers always had the drop on him. My father had a contract with a livery stable keeper at Campton ville "to deliver our hay baled.

We had the only kind of baler kpown in these days, I guess. Everyone called it the "Ran It was a girl killer, too. We would pitch-in and bale the first lbad for the wagon, then dad would start to-town with it. He expeijted us kids to have another load baled by the time he returned, so he could make a second trip the same day. Dad would hire a ma to heip7 sometimes, but they were available.

Mother was too busy in the house, the two boys were too smalt yet. The principal thing I remember about the 'man killer' is that it had a pair of long wooden poles, each attached to" a side of the box where the hay was pressed. Ik raneement We had was so me sortf lever arrangement. We had to pull down on the poles with all our strength until the hay was pressed down enough so one of us cduld attach this1 wires', first on one side, then on the other. Sometimes the wires would break, and the hay would spill out, and we, had to do it all It was hard work, "but we knew it to be done." Early Hotel Men Stories of the picturesque and, many-sided William Land of -Sacramento hotel fame have brought the Knave tajes of other-early hotel men.

Herbert this city turps to family records and gives me "In 1853 David Liberty Barton; his wife, Melissa (Miller) Barton; my aunt and uncle, and Charles Shej ard Miller, my greai-uncle, crossed the plains to Hangtown. Mr. and Mrs. Barton moved to Sacramento, prior to October 4, 1861, they bought 100 feet, on Street and 160 feet on 10th Street. TheVe the Bartons ran one of the first hotels in Sacramento.

There he remained Until the early I have the county surveyor's map of the plot made with pen and ink on ordinary blue ruled paper, jonn uonerty -was the surveyor in 1861. and John G-Blaktf. i his deputy. Talso have, threfe his tax receipts, 1863-7 and 8. Also, I have many bank receipts signed by Frank Swift, C.

Snyder and E. A. R. Hamilton. Barton, Miller jand Lucky Baldwin left lnK Mayl.853, and Baldwin" and Barton were close rtends, and reports say very gamblers of that day, In the depression of the '70's, Barton lost his money or the greater part of it, and moved to San Francisco, where he was with-Baldwin for a time.

Barton's son was given a job as bookkeeper in the hotel for a time to help outl Later he moved to Colusa, and there had a store and did well. The Bartons are interred' hfrne citv cemetery at that towm-LgrimdsojiaVew" years ago, told me tKgt that Barton Hofel was where the Land Hotel stands today. Mrs. Barton and filler were sister. Miller stayed two years in Hangtown and Sacramento and returned to his family lived.

With the money he made he invested in Wisconsin land, which made him wealthy for life Old Liverfnore Local Sir: Being greatly interested in the history of Oakland and thereabouts, I noticed In your Thursday evening edition an article to the discontinuance of the Livermore local of the of Beside the fact that Isaac Cox of Weaverville in.1857 recorded a deed for property'and, a year later, wrote some "Annals of Trinity little is known of this pioneer who realized he was living in place and moments which -later generations would consider interesting and important. The Holmes Book Company of Oakland is publishing those "Annals" which Cox put down and under a new imprint by John Henry Nash. The first edition, however, came in 1858 from The Commercial Book and Job Steam Printing' Establishment, 127 and 129 San- some Street, San Francisco. Of that edition, so iar as is, known, but six copies remain toaay. Two are in fair condition; one is, of all places, in the Harvard College Library, and one more, thanks be, is in possession of Dr.

George D. Lyman of San Francisco, whose main interests are concerned with the exploration of Western history. There is another in the State Library at Sacramento and because of the fact a reprint is The Knave is interested in knowing a little more of Cox, who seems to have, lived his big days and disappeared so far as records are concerned. I am told that, a few years DacK a granddaughter was a pupa in one of our Oakland schools and it may be a notice here will bring from family records material to establish the man in the place to which he is entitled. Mrs.

McGillvray, 420 Staten Avenue, and would appreciate any information which may come from elder memories. Virgin Soil Pioneer As for this Isaac. Cox of whom men know little, Dr. Lyman says: "He was a pioneer author on Trinity's virgin soil. There were no State histories to crib and no previously written county annals to mull over.

The Weekly Trinity Journal one of the oldest in the State, was first issued January 26, 185 so that Cox had fewjiewsDarjer files to skim throueh The author, in his introduction, tells us what a dif- ficult time he had in assembling his data. At times he despaired of seeing his book in the press." Nevertheless, Cox persevered, and the book was published in San Francisco. How long he lived to enjoy the. satisfaction of his efforts, is a mystery. "Except for its lack' of portraits," says Dr.

Lyman, "The Annals of Trinity County conform to what is expected of. any other well compiled county history. It deals with boundaries, geography," discovery, first settlements, organization of mining bars into communities, and communities into villages; It treats of resources, business enterprises, statistics, the foundations of churches, men of God and men of Mammon. There followed chapters on the law and its "failure, gambling, Indian massacres, "murders and executions. Most important of all, there are biographies galore.

Apparently no self-respecting county history ctfuld have existed, then or later, without the personal history of the prominent men within its confines." It is important to remember, however, that those vignettes of citizens famous or notorious in their time in county annals, Have been of tremendous value to the student of history and politics, by establishing the cause and effect of numberless happenings of much later days, ihe printing of Cox original work has been greatly enriched by tnV addition of material contributed by some noted Californiana experts. One of Trinity County's mosC distinguished citizens was the late Judge James Bartlett, who was born in the county and speni the greater part. of his long life-there. He.devoted much time to research work Sn the Entitled-to honors on several counts is George M. Gray of Chico.

At 93, he is one of the.oldest columnists in the country contributing his reminiscences to the weekly Sandy Gulch News 0f his cit. And he knew and worked with General John'Bidwell. As Chicx) is to celebrate the. centennial of the arrival of Bidwell to Cali- fornia. on Mav 19.

the contributions of be considerable. In passing along a bit of the, veteran columnist's reminiscences, i I ask you to bear in mind that to him Bidwell is always "The lumber flume came down from the mill, 30 miles up in the mountains, pretty steep in some-places, "pretty crooked In others. Several men wke scattered along the flume to break the Jams which occurred quite-0ften. Down at the yard men i- i woiua worn ugos ana aay, iwos, taking out Iforith trees, which, when grown', were large and i'ow branched, so that we could not get under them with teams, and had to work the ground withfshovels. The General said he would never be until he had acquired all the land to tiWilieek east of town, and at last he had his A First Grove "Nardil of theNpark was the largest peach orchara of the ranch.

I was driving through it on one occasion when the Chinese ranch hands were drying peaches East of this was the first almond orchard set out in this part of the State, and so far as I have been able to learn; the first in the State of any size, though there had beeij a few scattered trees around houses. TheGeneral "ws told, when he was setting out tnetrees in 186X -by some one living near the bay, that his orchard would be a failure, as almonds required a damp climate to make them bear well. We have found out that he was mistaken, $nce part of that orchard is still standing ajpjd putting out a crop nearly evlfy year. Theiiguedoc seems to stand the frost better than other variety. From 1880 to 1890 we never lost a crop, though one year we got only half the usual yield.

East of the almond orchard, and evpjything to the North, even surrounding it, asPwell as across the gulch and on gravel, were grapes of many varieties. It was a wonder how well they grew, with some places so stony iwas impossible to plow Hom in 49 A granddaughter of a pioneer who came to California on a sailing ship in 1849, Mrs. Bessie Lei Carson Gunton of Oakland, has dipped into the pioneer's diary for the sort 6f material we to' be privileged to pass along. "Grand-' father, 1n the first year of his diary (1849) speaks of celebrating Washington's birthday aboard, ship and a 'ball' they had that night. The vessel was the Jane Parker, and I have the list of names of those who came on her from Baltimore.

Also, a 25-years-after invitation to a banquet for those passengers in San Francisco. Grandfather's name was William McKendree Carson. He finally settled at Stockton. The day they landed at San Fran- 1849, he got the contract for build ing San Francisco's first postoffice. Then, when it Was built, the authorities decided to use the structure for something else.

It burned shortly after. Afters "building experience with his two brothers in Sato Francisco he mined a bit and then went to Stockton. There he settled on the first piece of land north of thp Webber Grant, on the Lower Sacramento Road. He filed his claifcriin 1854, and died there in 1905, having liveoTSll that time on the ranch; He was super- visor for many years and chairman of the board' when the present old Courthouse was erected for San Joaquin County. I would be interested to know what happened to the other men who came to, California at the same The ranch is still in the family, and grandma died there iri 1932, outliving five of her chiFdren.

My father, O. D. Carson, and my live there now." Past6YDand Governor Ha some Tittle discrepancies which appeared in the reminiscences of an old-timer concerning early days in Hawaii, and the story 'bf exjGovernor Walter F. Frear, the Knave-through the courtesy of an informant wVy nnce)ccke intimata infnrmaHrm in dKIa carry on andexpand. "It is true Walter F.

Frear was not first, Governor of Hawaii. In 1907, he was appointed to fill outf the term of the second George Carter, resigned. 1913' he resigned, declining to receive a Jhird appointment. He was made American Hawaii's first chief Justice after Hawaii became a territory of the United5tates. The.

appointment was by President McKinley in 3900. Judge Frear and his brother, Hugo P. Frear, received their college preparatory education in Honolulu, not Oakland, the former going East to Yale and the latter to Worcester Technical. Institute (now Clarke University). Hugo became one of the foremost naval architects in the United States.

The other children had only part of their education in Oakland, one of them going for her college course, surprise. I know a man who possesses a series of embroidered cloths, made by his sister back in the '80's. She used to besiege the dressing rooms of stars, ask them to write their names in pencil her square of linen and then embroider the names at her leisure Then, the other day Jane Cowl, herself a celebrity of many years standing, grew reminiscent. It seems that her mother used to collect the portraits of stage stars and one of Miss Cowl's earliest recollections is a visit to the dressing -room of Henry Dixey when he played She was so taken with the affair that subse quently she appropriated the autographed por trait of Dixey in his magnificent tights, hiec herself to a photographer's and had her. own picture taken in the same or what 'she fancied was the same pose.

She still possesses the two portraits. "I'm an incorrigible romanticist," Miss Cowl was telling the reporters in New York in this connection. "I suppose I have a great deal in common with the man I met at the beginning of my career who drove 15 miles in a rickety buggy just to get a glimpse of David Warfield. We were waiting for train one morning at the station of a New England town, where we had played a one-night stand. War-field was tossing a bear bag around with some of the other actors and I was idly looking on.

Suddenly a little old man with a nutcracker face, dashed up in a dilapidated one-horse shay, Where's he wheezed breathlessly as he'umped to the platform. I pointed him out, and the old fellow walked down to within a foot of where the star was standing. For almost a minute he stoodthere, silently contemplating the frock-coated frolicker. Then he turned, without a word, and came back to me. 'Druv fifteen miles to see he rasped as he got back into his buggy.

'Saw Ada Rehan once, iC added proudiy as he picked up the reins and i headed homeward. Times may change, but peo ple remain essentially the same." Titled Oaklanders It is not 'generally known, and old-timer reminds me, that-more of Oakland's fair daughters have married into the xEuf opean aristco-racy than any other city on theTacifit Coast, -First was Marie Sourdry, whose family property was that where the Kahn building is now standing on Broadway, who married the French7 Count de Begon de Larzourie. On the banks of the Estuary at Oak and Eighth Streets, stood the mansion of General and Mrs. Kirkham, whose iRlllloi TPrifflicVi A-tllMiral mintK- Maud -Burke, niece of Horace the founders of the city whose home waVon Adeline near 10th Street. She became Lady Bache-Cunard.

While on atour of the world, Lord Sholto-Douglas took a xancy to Oakland, married one of our girls and settled down here for several years. Down in West Oakland at the Point there lived a family by the name of Dermott, whose daughter made a great success on the stage under the name of Maxine her sister, Gertrude Elliott, became Lady Forbes-Robertson, italy furnished three titles in Lillian Remillard, who became Countess Dondini; Alia Henshaw, the Countess Zona, and Adele Chevalier, the Countess Cipollina. Austrian Count Von Prager, a graduate of eral foreign universities with landscape re' tecture as a hobby, lived here, and we indebted to him for the beautiful plans I aide. Park. Til- parts of the chassis and two-fifths of the body Annate.

Painstakingly he annotated the history shall be painted red, the middle fifth of the with several hundred notes, facts and corn-body painted white, and the upper two-fifths ments that clarify much that, viewed from a of the body blue." Somebody is sure to propose distance of 82 years would be otherwise only an 'amendment providing that-the upper understood, if not actually unintel-lower $pors be reversed, and the fight will liible. He has written, Joo, the on. One of the new senators would like to Foreword." decree a new State holiday on January 30 to be designated as "Good Health Day" when aUbusi- 0rm IJiess houses, including drug stores, would be IVneW ine General ciosea Anomer neann nend in the Assembly would require antiseptic mouthpieces be in- stalled on telephones. Regulation of rooster crowing withm 100 feet of any house insidejity nun. Fvmcu in wie dui, out any iarmer member of the Legislature coulditestify that 100 feet means nothing to a lusty ioqster about 4 a.m.

One friend of wild life woiild prohibit hunters from climbing trees to hypt, deer, al- though noneof the representatives from the icwu anyone ever nay- ing treed a deer. Another measure would set up a new State Board to supervise the mending 3Jf women's It provides a board of 'five -members appointed by the Governor, a license fee of $10 for the hosiery menders, and a satis- Ty to determine the fitness. or the lirprvw fnr trim nmf no, -TUl. Southern Pacific Company. I noticecUthat Mr.

The Russian Count and Countess Von der Ropp Ellsworth of Niles stated that the "first train resided on Webster Street, opposite the con-ran through the canyon in 1867, and that his vent, and, for some 10 years entered into the relative took the train in 1868 from Vallejo social activities of the city at the same time the Niles, to go East, If my history serves me- correctly, the first overland train arrived here November 1, 1869, so I can ftot understand how it was possible for the trip to be made by train the year before. My interest in.