100 years ago – July 30, 1925
Plans Perfected for Big Swim Event;
Great Interest Shown in Forthcoming Contest
Arrangements for the proposed annual one-mile swim on the Russian river at Healdsburg, beginning August 30th,1925, were completed by Secretary George Sanborn with Olympic Club officials in San Francisco. The directors of the chamber of commerce have provided a very beautiful sterling silver trophy, which will be officially known as the “Healdsburg One-Mile Swimming Trophy.” This trophy is in the hands of the manufacturers now being engraved. The cup will be on display in the Olympic Club for a time and will subsequently be shown in various places in San Francisco.
There will probably be in the neighborhood of 50 to 75 entrants for this event. In addition to the one-mile swim, there will be an exhibition of fancy and high diving by internationally known men, among them the world’s champion, Al White. It is hoped that this annual event will make it known to the world that the Russian river at Healdsburg affords an excellent place for swimming and boating. Interest in the meet is very keen in San Francisco, and it is supposed that there will be a large crowd of the followers of this sport here to witness their favorites perform.
75 years ago – July 27, 1950
Is Healdsburg Hoarding?
“Are people hoarding? Yes, but they don’t know they’re doing it,” said Herbert B. Linthwaite, speaking of the national buying spree that has sent prices spiraling upward. A check of a number of food and merchandise stores in the city revealed that sheets and nylon stockings are just about bought out in the stores here. “We had to withdraw an ad on sheets,” the manager of J. C. Penney Company, Mr. Henderson, said. ‘‘We were sold out in a week.’’
“You can’t call it hoarding,” he continued. “People have held off buying until prices came down. Now, remembering the shortages of the last war, they figure that they’d better buy the things they’ve needed for some time.”
Mr. Rosenberg, manager of Rosenberg and Bush, had the same thing to say. There was heavier than normal buying in some lines, but it wasn’t hoarding—just deciding that prices weren’t coming down after all and that if they waited much longer to buy necessary items, there wouldn’t be any stock to buy. Several merchants said that they had received letters from manufacturers telling them that deliveries of merchandise would be considerably slower than they had been, but there was no indication whatsoever of shortages of any kind developing.
50 years ago – July 24, 1975
Migrant children get an ‘extended day’
The children of migrant workers in the Healdsburg area are getting a taste of varied educational and cultural experiences this summer. A five-week program called “Extended Day” is in progress at Fitch Mountain Elementary School. Teachers Paula Cassady, Melinda Melendez and a flock of helpers are providing 100 children with reading, math, arts and crafts, field trips, cooking, dancing and English lessons. The afternoon program, for grades one through six, follows the regular summer school classes offered by the Healdsburg city schools. Salaries come from the federally funded Migrant Education Program.
‘Flashbacks’ is compiled by docents of the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society. The Museum is open 11am to 4pm Wednesday through Sunday, at 221 Matheson St.
