Columns

The following snippets of history are drawn from the pages of the Healdsburg Tribune, the Healdsburg Enterprise and the Sotoyome Scimitar, and are prepared by the volunteers at the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society. Admission is always free at the museum, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Every year comes and goes, but also leaves behind important dates that get remembered, written in newspapers and history books, and are sometimes turned into annual commemorations. (Oct. 8 is such a date for Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park Tubbs Fire survivors.) As 2020 is now running out of dates and makes way for 2021, we can begin to chronicle which dates over the last 12 months we may remember over the years to come.

Note: This week in H’burg is a new weekly column featuring photos and fun facts from local photographer Pierre Ratté. Each week we’ll feature a new photo from Ratté along with a fact about the subject matter of the photo.

It's natural to seek an escape from the disappointments of the global pandemic, and one need look no further than the library for a few ideas on how to find that escape. Of course, a visit to the library isn't the same as before, so a nostalgic experience isn't within our grasp; luckily, the pandemic can't stop library staff from dreaming up new ways of putting a good read in your hands or creating a little more joy in our lives.

This year of 2020 that is now coming to an end started when three people in Wuhan, China were found to have contracted a “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus” which became known as COVID-19 and has now infected 73 million people worldwide and has killed 300,000 U.S. citizens and 1.62 million global inhabitants with the threat of killing millions more into the new year. The rapid spread of the virus closed whole countries, stopped international air traffic, halted global commerce and changed our domestic political debate.

You’ve heard this message many times, but it bears repeating. A dollar spent at a local business ricochets around the community much more powerfully than a dollar spent online. Amazon.com does not buy tickets to your kids’ school fundraiser. Walmart.com doesn’t buy tickets to your local Kiwanis or Rotary events. Target.com doesn’t sponsor a youth soccer team. Most of them don’t donate to your community food pantry.

It goes without saying that plants are some of the most beautiful and important organisms we have on our planet. As a child I was always interested in the world of plants. A world seemingly so familiar yet so estranged from common understanding. As kids we run barefoot and play on the soft grass, take refuge under the shade a tree provides amidst a hot California day, and take a deep breath of the fresh air the leaves so selflessly gift to us. All while the plants remain sessile, unassuming and ask nothing of us. 

100 years ago – December 6, 1920

Of all years, this would be a good one for us to find, resurrect and share as many Christmas and holiday season miracles as we can. Together, we have the power to make true miracles happen. We need both faith and determination but we can brighten this holiday season with practical acts of giving, sharing, being joyful and guarding our health.

As the holiday season is upon us and the end to the rather horrible 2020 approaches, I can’t help but reflect on what we have all been through as a community. While I’m sure we agree “good riddance” to 2020 and have hope for a much better 2021, I realize there are a number of lessons we will carry with us for years to come.