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Healdsburg
August 25, 2026

Flashbacks: Water, fire and wine in Healdsburg history

Historic fire trucks
With reactions akin to those of Mahomet watching the mountain come to him, the Healdsburg Fire Department tumbled out on Center street to quench a furiously blazing lumber truck that, spouting flame and smoke, rolled up to the firehouse for a spot of fire suppression Monday afternoon. 

1901: Rosenberg evicted from Healdsburg store

West street in Healdsburg 1908
Those in need of clothing, shoes, hats, etc., should call on the Great Eastern Clothing House at once, as they are selling out regardless of cost and must vacate their store by April 1st, 1901, as the following notice will show:

Matheson Street, from 1901 to 1976

The fine Kruse building, which is located on the south side of the Plaza, is about completed, and those who have rented stores and offices have moved or are moving in. The building is a substantial ornament to the town, being modern and up-to-date, constructed of the best brick to be obtained in this State.

Flashbacks: Leaks in boys’ school lab

HHS graduating class, 1906.
Feb. 1901: "The window casing did not prove efficient in keeping out the water, so two copper beakers and a glass dish were placed upon the sill to catch the frequent streams. From the ceiling, in about the center of the room, a quantity of water fell. A pan was placed upon a chair to catch the drops, while two pails and a pan upon the floor served the same purpose. ..."

Flashbacks: Youth takes part in city business

Student athletes, 1901
"The Tribune of the issues of February 14th and 21st, 1901, will demonstrate what the bright boys and girls of the Healdsburg High School are capable of in this line...." and other news from days gone by.

Flashback: Cornerstone laid at First Presbyterian

Presbyterian Church, Healdsburg
125 Years Ago: The laying of the corner-stone of the Presbyterian Church on Friday afternoon took place with great eclat. The weather was fine and the attendance large. There were representatives from every denomination and the addresses were excellent.

Flashbacks: Giant steps into the past

Civil Defense drill
In 1901, the Ladies’ Improvement Club of the City of Healdsburg went to "great expense and labor to improve said club," while in 1951 the local Civil Defense Council announced a practice alert...

Twist in slaying of Healdsburg’s sheriff leads to lynching

1925 news photo
One of the girls who was a principal in the gangster assault case in San Francisco just five years ago has written a letter which has been turned over to the state board of prison directors, in which she admits that she falsely testified in a 1920 assault trial that led to lynching of three men...

Snapshot: 50 shades of coastal grey

Sonoma coast on a gray day
Down by Bodega Bay, sea meets sand on a foggy day. Fifty shades of coastal gray emerge between white foam and black rock cliffs. One might easily mistake this scene for a classic Ansel Adams nature picture taken on black-and-white film with a Hasselblad but it is, in fact, a color photo taken with an iPhone.

Flashbacks: Offal times at Healdsburg slaughter house

Staff of Jay Hassert's fruit and vegetable market, house, 1930s.
The first robbery occurred in April, just after a big slaughtering had been completed. The hearts, lights, lungs, and other meat taken from carcasses, considered in butcher parlance as “offal” together with one or two tools, disappeared. A few weeks later, immediately after another butchering, the same thing was repeated.
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Arts & Entertainment

Return to the Russian River

When Jake Messing stood in front of the mural he had just completed for Russian Riverkeeper on the north side of the nonprofit’s headquarters at 139 Healdsburg Ave., he had finished more than another mural. He had made a return to the source from the sea himself, like the salmon he portrayed.