Prepared by Dan Carrion, Historian, E. Clampus Vitas Grub Gulch 41-49 Chapter While driving on Highway 41 about three miles above Coarsegold Village, there is a curve in the highway with turnouts on either side of the road. On the north side of the road, there is a flat spot about a half-acre in size, nestled in front of a ...
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How Art Shapes Our Lives: Thomas Hill
By Sal Maccarone Artists have been rendering their surroundings ever since they began to walk the earth. For instance, primitive cave paintings and pre-historic petroglyphs bear witness to the way things were. Landscape paintings are the only record that we have about where, and how these ancient groups lived. Bodies of water, forests, mountains, valleys, animals and people are just ...
Read More »History Mystery #91: The Case of the Cold-Blooded Cavalry
Article submitted by Lynn Northrop, Raymond Museum This letter (see below) was sent to me by ex-Raymondites Bob and Trina Quinn via a friend of theirs. We are hoping someone knows this Ducker name in our area and may have a family history or story about what happened to the cavalry soldiers that perpetrated this crime. In Raymond’s history we ...
Read More »How Art Shapes Our Lives: The Palace of Fine Arts
By Sal Maccarone It is fascinating once realized how the discovery of gold here in California had such a profound impact worldwide. For instance, as a direct result of the 1849 gold rush, leaders in this country began thinking more seriously about connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This of course was to facilitate commerce by moving goods, (and people), ...
Read More »Virtual Yosemite: Soda Springs
For the interactive 360° VR experience, go to: www.virtualyosemite.org/virtual-tour/#node220. Yosemite today announced that the park will reopen again this coming Friday morning at 9 a.m. The smoky conditions and unhealthy air from the nearby Creek Fire have diminished somewhat – at least temporarily. Note that day-use and/or overnight reservations are still required for entry to the park from the www.recreation.gov ...
Read More »How Art Shapes Our Lives: The Oscar
By Sal Maccarone The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences was the idea of Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957), head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM.) Mr. Mayer felt that the organization would lend respectability and status to the movie industry, the reputation of which had been tarnished during the Roaring Twenties. So on May 4, 1927, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts ...
Read More »History Mystery #90: The Case of the Perplexing Pumitile
By Connie Popelish, North Fork History Group Some of the special features of North Fork architecture include the unique buildings made of blocks of pumice and cement, known as pumitile. Pumitile concrete bricks were manufactured by the Jourdan Concrete Pipe Company of Fresno, beginning around 1931. Initially, the company made concrete pipes for sewage systems, but eventually branched out, designing open-interior ...
Read More »History Mystery #89: The Case of the Mystery Mining Machines
By Karen Morris, CHS President COARSEGOLD — The Coarsegold Historical Society has three pieces of mining machinery on display at the Coarsegold Historic Museum. They were donated quite a few years ago and we need help with the names and how they were used. We think the middle one was possibly some kind of rock crusher. If you can help ...
Read More »History Mystery #88: The Case of the Missing Hospital
Submitted by Debby Carter, SHSA Librarian (Fresno Flats) MOUNTAIN AREA — An article on the front page of the October 29, 1970, Sierra Star reads: “Bass Lake Receives 200 Bed Hospital: On Tuesday, Oct. 27, a full 200-bed hospital will be delivered to Bass Lake. According to Supervisor Lonnie Cornwell and Chairman of the Board Herman Neufeld of Madera County, ...
Read More »Walking up a Dirt Road: Westfall Picnic Area up Miami Mtn Road
Long before YARTS existed, daily automobile shuttles ran from Madera to Wawona on the road we call Miami Mountain Road today. Before that, it was an old stage route and I had been walking up parts of it the past few months. This time I visited the locations where some of the people that I had written about died and ...
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