On my most recent trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden (formerly the Strybing Arboretum) last August I discovered a fascinating bit of history just along the southeast edge near the main gate. Tucked behind the library, there is a quiet little patio surrounded by a collection of medieval stone blocks. These stones have traveled a very long way from […]
Last Wednesday I featured an episode of California’s Gold that included a short segment on abalone diving in Northern California; it was only after I’d completed the post that I realized there was an entire half-hour episode from 1999 on the same topic, delving deeper into the history of abalone and its role in California culture. It’s packed with great […]
This post was original published as Memory Monday, Week 75, on July 16, 2018. This week, I’m starting in on the photos of my dad’s fellow servicemen — although unfortunately he didn’t record their names anywhere. And some of the prints are really tiny, like 2 x 2.75 inches. The majority though are 3.25 x 2.75 inches or 4.25 x 3 inches in size. Makes me remember how far print photography has come even during my lifetime! It’s great seeing images of the servicemen interacting with very happy local kids, especially considering that a mere 5 years earlier, our countries were at war with each other. Next week, I’ll have more posed photos like the ones below; again, I can’t identify these guys, but I’m sure they were excellent young servicemen!
This episode of California’s Gold from 2003 is a new one for me; but I just had to share it this week for a few reasons. One is that I actually remember the tail end of the glory days of abalone. In fact, I may have even been lucky enough to taste it on one of my family’s trips to […]
This post was originally posted as Memory Monday, Week 74, on July 9, 2018. This week, a series of images from 1951 showing troops and planes on review for General Hutchison (or Hutchinson), the commanding officer of Johnson Air Base (now Iruma Air Base), Japan.
The Chinese Pavilion is a fairly recent addition to Golden Gate Park, perched at the east end of Stow Lake’s island. The structure was a gift to San Francisco from her sister city of Tapei, Taiwan, in 1976. Dedicated in 1981, Golden Gate Park received the Chinese Pavilion as a gift from San Francisco’s sister city, Taipei, Taiwan. The Pavilion […]
This is a slightly edited version of a post that was originally published in July 2018 as Memory Monday, Week 73. CORRECTION: Last Monday I shared photos of a road trip from Northern California to the Oregon coast and said it was a trip my parents took. I later heard from my mom, who let me know [for the second time!] that this was actually a trip she took with her parents (my grandparents) in the summer of 1946, after she graduated from high school. Thanks yet again, Mom! I wish I had talked more with my father about the time he spent in Japan during the early 1950s; and I really wish I’d known about the existence of these photos! Many of them have no information, but a few have notes scribbled on the back — which I’ll be including as captions whenever possible. Below is an example of some images coming up next week. My dad was a mechanic and his favorite planes were the P-51 Mustangs, so he took a lot of photos of them. I’m not sure what “dragging the field” means; maybe somebody out there can clue me in? NOTE: Using Google, I’ve since found a few references to the phrase “dragging the field” which lead me to believe it refers to making one or more low passes over the runway to check that the surface is suitable for landing the plane: Don’t just land […]
When I returned to the Angels Camp Museum back in June of this year, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the three antique saddles they had on display in the Carriage House building. Yes, these saddles are rather in rough shape, and some of my photos didn’t come out too well (good excuse for another visit!) But just check […]
When I spent a week in San Francisco at the end of August, one of my original plans was to take a tour of the Maritime Museum near Hyde Street Pier. For various reasons, that plan didn’t work out; so as a sort of consolation I decided to check out this episode of Visiting from the mid 1990s in which […]