Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 35

Sec i on aklattii rihuttF Sec i on RECREATION FORUM- "HOMES GARDENS it SCOUTS EDITORIAL page ''iiy'S-: V0LCLXXI OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1959 C-1 NO. 68 on a color spectacular, while the dazzling i wmmmmmmMmmmmmmmmmm xv isiiiiiii iilipiiiwlli Capitol at A 1949 Centennial The mile long wooden flume still exists on the property and carries water to this day. Hay had to be cut by long hand scythes and baled by hand, farming machinery being impractical to use. Feed and mountain apples were the surplus, salable products of the ranch, and young Tony made many a trip with his laden mules to Downieville, to Johnsville, Plumas County a long, steep, narrow 16 miles distance and to such nearby mines as Empire, Four Willoughby, and Red OakAt the turn of the: century these gold mines employed 80 to 100 men. Since the mountain trail was often blocked by snow, and winters were long, self-sufficiency at the ranch was a necessity.

Tb support the parents, five brothers and a sister, plus two hired hands, a thousand pounds each of flour and sugar were stored in the rock-walled cellar in addition to quantities of homemade sausage, cheese, butter, homecured corned beef, ham, bacon, and potatoes. Tony warmly recalls hunting expeditions to vary the winter diet, and many a time he and his brothers returned with grouse A NYONE preparing a toast for for next Wednesday's observ--AA ance of California's 109th birth--fc. JJLday anniversary can't afford to overlook San Jose, first capital of the. state following the Constitutional Convention at Monterey in 1849. It was by a vote of 23 to 14 that the Monterey convention chose San Jose as" Calif ornia's capital.

Here's the way Clyde Arbuckle, secretary of San ose's Historic Landmarks Commission tells the story: "The San Jose delegates and lobbyists had done' their work well. Now San Jose had only to provide a statehouse, which was not' easy in a town that had no funds and W3S composed of tents, shanties and one-story adobes. Fortunately, two Frenchmen Pierre Sainsevain and Zepheryn Rochon were building a two-story adobe which they intended to use as a hotel. It was 60 feet long by 40 feet wide, and located on the east side of the Plaza between San Fernando and San Antonio The San Jose authorities proposed to rent it as a capitol for $4,000 a month, but better counsel prevailed. It was bought outright for $34,000, the deal being financed by 1JT public-spirited -citizens who gave their joint note for the money.

In order, to secure their loan these citizens took a mortgage on certain public property known as pueblo lands. On Dec. 15, 1849, a little over a month after California's first general election, the first Legislature convened in this 'hotel But since the building Was yet incomplete, only the assembly could find enough room in it. The Senate had to meet for a while in the dwelling of Isaac Branham at the southwest corner of the Plaza where San Jose's civic auditorium now stands. 'The Forty Thieves "San Jose," continues Arbuckle, "soon lost favor with the state's lawmakers.

Owing to incessant rain, poor hotel accommodations and other unsatisfactory conditions, the Legislature had hardly convened when a bill was introduced to remove the capital to a more suitable location. The matter was deferred at first, but on Feb. 14, 1851, an act of removal was passed, When the Legislature adjourned on May 1 of that year San Jose surrendered the seat of government. Meanwhile, the city having experienced financial difficulties with the statehouse, sold it to Santa Clara County for $38,000. But none of the money from this transacts nwent toward paying the city's debt to the 19 civic-minded men who had financed the venture in the first place.

In order to protect their investment these men foreclosed the mortgage on the pueblo lands. The result of their action was years of expensive litigation that finally ended in victory for the city in 1871, and men who had tried to help the city were dubbed 'The Forty Thieves' by an ungrateful public. In the meantime, on April 29, 1853, the building that caused all of the trouble was destroyed by a fire which many suspected of being set by an arsonist." The only picture of our state's first Capitol building isa drawing made by Levi Goodrich, '49er and early day architect, made while he sat in the Plaza across from original statehouse. San ose's Historic Landmarks Commission and museum is housed today in a replica of the first State Capitol Building created for the Centennial celebration at San Jose in 1949. The replica stands in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds at San Jose.

The photo on today's Knave page is that of an earlier replica made for the 50-year Jubilee celebrated in 1900. The earlier replica stood on the north lawn of San Jose's old 1887 city hall, and is seen in today's photo sandwiched between the city hall and a giant Phoenix palm tree. Mayor of Downieville "Downieville, nestled in a green Sierra canyon at the confluence of two forks of the Yuba River, has a population of 325 and is the seat of government for Sierra County," reports Edward T. Planer, instructor at Oakland City College, in way of an introduction to one of Sierra ty's most interesting personalities. "Despite its unprepossessing size," he continues, "the town has an unofficial but honored mayor in the person of Tony Lavezzolanow in his 79th year, and a lifetime resident of the area, Tony's office, easily available to everyone, is a wood bench under the locust trees on Downieville's main street, In this pleasant headquarters Tony relates engrbssingly interesting tales of pioneer days days after great mining rush of the 1850s, to be sure, but days within his remark- white of winter's snowy silence ended the cycle of the seasons.

Occasionally the Rev. Fathers Clair, Dermody andMcGaTy would reach the ranch by horseback erect a portable altar in the Lavezzola parlor and conduct Massif or the house- hold. Baptisms, if required, were also performed by these circuit-riding priests, and then they would push on to Johnsville to continue their ministrations. On their return they were put up at the ranch and Mother Lavezzola's choicest foods and finest napery recognized the occasion. In 1904 -Tony bought the St.

Charles Hotel in Downieville, a widely known Northern Mine's establishment since its founding in 1853, and which he was to operate for 40 years ending in 1944. Here board and lodging cost $1 per day, and Tony's charming wife, who was in charge of the kitchen, made sura, guests got their money's worth at the well-laden family style table. Often 100 guests and transients would be served at a single meal. In addition county prisoners were fed from the hotel kitchen, food being transported in baskets to the nearby jail. Those Good Old Days "Tony acted as bartender, and despite the fact that he has been a total abstainer since 1900, he never missed a drink when invited to share one with his patrons.

He would pour his own special libation from a container under the bar cold tea! On a July midnight in 1947, three years after he had sold the three-story, frame hotel, Tony saw the St. Charles go up in flames, never to be rebuilt. 'One man and one cigaret did itf.be observed. Now the site is a parking area for the convenience of another generation. A small sign on the property suggests some California history; 'Site of the St.

Charles Hotel; built 1852-53; headquarters for stage lines and Wells Fargo; destroyed by firejuly 28, Mayor Tony, when quiszed about the old days, emphatically endorses them as being far superior to the present. His eyes sparkling behind gold-rimmed glasses, his gestures anl-" mated, His Honor says, 'The old days were the best. People were basically honest and could be trusted. Gold Pockets The Knave: Gold pockets in the Mother Lode were numerous in the gold days of California. These occurred where disux; tegrating gold-bearing rock released the', gold nuggets and gold dust in quantity Sometimes the pockets held thousands of dollars in pure gold.

A Sonora writer in the mid 1850s told of two such finds along Woods Creek. One such pocket was found by a sailor who took out $40,000 of gold in two days. He deposited his gold in a local bank, drew out several thou-" sand dollars in coin and went on a wild debauch. In a short time his money was spent on liquor and gamblers. He sobered up enough to draw out all the rest of his account and went to a faro gambling place and began betting against the faro bank, both winning and much more losing.

He bet his last $28,000 on a single card and lost. Then he went back to his. cabin, slept off his drunkenness, bor-: rowed money to get to San Francisco, and there shipped as a sailor on board a vessel bound for Shanghai. He said he had enjoyed a real jolly time at the mines" Another rough fellow named Bill Ford who spent most of his time drinking, gambling and deer hunting sallied forth with his rifle one day to hunt deer. He found no game but sat down at noon under the shade of a small tree.

In an idle, sort of way he began digging into some loose quartz rock with his hunting knife. Soon he had uncovered nuggets of gold by the handful He covered his digging and hastened to town where he secured a large iron bucket, then he hurried back to his diggings. He took out buckets of gold which like the sailor's find amounted to about $40,000. Then it petered out; not another bit of gold could be found there, though many men searched the area carefully. Bill began celebrating his good fortune by going on a wild spree of whisky drinking, gam- bling and fighting.

He was an ugly, quar- relsoma fellow and a few- days later in -i a fight at the City Hotel was shot dead. Most of his gold remained unspent Often, in those lawless days of early California legal heirs got little of such an estate. -John W. Winkley. 1 -the knavel llllillllil y- mmmm Vi 0 i V- This is the 1900 Jubilee replica of first State able memory spanning more than 70 years.

Lavezzola was born on a Sierra County ranch on Nov. 25, 1881, and was baptized Antone. His father, a Genovese, had acquired 400 upland acres six miles north of Downieville in 1867. The next yeaf he returned to Italy, and came back with a 21-year-old bride who was to spend the ensuing 70 years on the mountain bearing and raising six children and doing a man's work in the fields, orchard, and potato patch. In 1869 a substantial two-story frame house was erected on an excavated cellar whose walls were retained With 'dry masonry rock work without benefit of cement or mortarand which stands today, although the house was destroyed by fire in 1940.

Long, Hard Winters "In 1870 Father Lavezzola set out 275 apple trees on his rolling acreage. All cultivation had to be done by hand due to the steepness of the terrain, and water was flumed in from a branch of the North Yuba to irrigate the young orchard. 4 This September-6 1522 Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Port of San Lucas (Baja California), on the Victoria, and completed first voyage around the globe. 1791 Alejandro Malaspina sighted Cape Mendocino, continued to San Francisco, anchored at Monterey on the 13th. 1847 Record of the first brick building in San Francisco appears in the Annals of San Francisco corner of Montgomery and Clay Streets.

1871 State election, resulting in choice of Newton Booth (Republican), for Governor over Henry Haight (Democrat). 1876 At Lane Sta- tion (10 miles east of Sau-gus), last spike driven Southern Pacific Railroad, ending isolation of Los Angelesf Stanford and Huntington officiated. September 7 1850 California Bill passed House of Representatives, a i already passed U.S. Senate. 1854 Basket of fine peaches from Sacra-.

mento (one measuring 10 inches in circumference), exhibited in San 1 Francisco. 1855 Weaverville mining center (Trinity County), almost totally destroyed by fire. Was California it replica is now San Jose's museum. and a deer or two. We killed just what we needed for immediate consumption, he said emphatically, 'not just for the sport of Mayor Tony clearly recalls the winter of 1890-91 when 12 feet of snow and drifts 14 feet obliterated the trail to Downieville and civilization.

One of his brothers made him a pair of skis 10 feet long, and with these he reached sources of supply during that memorable winter. The skis are still in his possession, a memento when Sierra Nevada winters were long and hard. So demanding was work on the ranch that Tony's schooling didn't begin until he was 17 The St. Charles "Life was simple, happy and healthy in pthe Sierra uplands in the 1880s and 1890s," continues Planer. "It was uneventful except for the changing seasons, characterized by fragrant white apple blossoms and vivid meadow green in the spring; new-mown hay and buff-colored hillsides in the summer; flaming forests in the fall as dogwood, oak and maple put September 10 1812 Fort Ross completed and dedicated near Bodega Bay by Ivan Kuskof, Russian explorer.

1849 Shannon resolution against slavery and involuntary servitude unanimously passed Monterey Constitutional Convention a "pivot point of slavery question in the United States." September 11 1886 Native Daughters of the Golden West founded at Jackson (Amador County) by Mrs. Frank Dyer (Lilly Reichling). 1894 Death of Don PioPico, last Mexican Governor of California; well-re-1 spected citizen, aged 93. September 12 1539 Francisco de UUoa began voyage that proved that the "Isle of California" was really a peninsula and not an island. 1851 Electric telegraph of Messrs.

Sweeny and Baugh of Merchants Exchange in San Francisco a success- luu operation. I jn 1860-Execution of William Wal-k a man of 'destiny," filibuster, after failure of his fourth expedition. 1877 Organization of Workingmen's Party of California under leadership of Denis Kearney. By B0CKWELL D. HUNT, September 8 1771 Mission San Gabriel Archangel founded by Padres Angel Somere and Pedro Benito Combon, on direct overland route, Mexico to Monterey.

1797- -Mission San Fernando (17th Mission), founded by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. -First Industrial Fair at San Fran 1857- cisco's Mechanics Institute. 1859 Judge David S. Terry's letter, dated at Oakland, to Hon. David C.

Brod- erick, demanding retraction of remarks "offensive in their nature. The Terry-Broderick duel resulted. 1862 San Francisco Stock Exchange founded. September 9 1805 Birth of William Gwin in Summer County, Tennessee. 1849 First California Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, instituted' in S--i Francisco.

1850 Admission of California into the American Union as the Slst state 16th free state. 1854 Elaborate Admission Day celebration in San Francisco headed by Gen. J. E. Wool and Capt.

John A. Sutter. Grand marshal was A. Bar-tol; orator, E. J.

C. Kewen. 1893 "California Day" at Columbia International Exposition in Chicago. 1928 Tablet dedicated to Joaquin Miller dedicated by Native Sons of the Golden West near "The Abby." The Hights later purchased by the City of Oakland. i.