If you didn’t buy a pair in 1894 then you missed it. The best $3 shoe in the world was a regular advertiser in the Tribune at the turn of the last century. W. L. Douglas of Brockton, Mass. told shoe shoppers to beware of knockoffs, save thousands of dollars annually and buy the genuine article.

Patent medicines were another major advertiser of the day. They had not discovered spamming yet. Heck, the tinned meat would not be patented for more than 30 years.  The Syrup of Figs ad from 1900, claims to be just the cure when you are feeling bilious or costive. Once again look for the genuine item to get its beneficial effects.

The last ad from 1905 is aimed at me. My hair IS scraggly. Especially when I have been driving with the windows rolled down. Ayer’s Hair Vigor was the Grecian Formula/Rogaine of its day. The tag line appeals to vanity and is a harbinger of the advertising industry’s appeal to youth culture.
“Have a little pride. Keep young just as long as you can.”

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One of the places I would turn back time to see would be the Ramona Hotel.
Four stories tall, the building covered the block between Higuera and Marsh Streets and fronted Essex St. (Now Johnson Ave.) The Hotel had its own railroad spur, a saloon, ballroom and several drawing rooms.
The Hotel opened October 3, 1888 with a grand ball, men wearing swallow tail coats and diamond studs, women in silk and lace. The party wouldn’t last, just over 17 years later the hotel would lie in ashes around a lone chimney.
The Ramona rose in the aftermath of an 1886 fire that devastated downtown. Destroyed were the Andrews Hotel, Bank of San Luis Obispo, the main livery stable and a number of smaller shops. The opening was reported, amid a sea of ads for other hotels, on the lead spot for local news at the time, page 3 of The Tribune. A sign of the importance of the event was the engraving that ran with the article. In this era images with news stories were rare.
Investors included the Southern Pacific Railroad who had high hopes of attracting customers to the sparsely populated west coast. Ironically when the railroad conquered Cuesta Grade in 1894 there was less reason for people to stay here on their travels. Combined with a financial panic and depression the hotel closed the day after Christmas 1894 and did not reopen for 6 months.

Quoting a story by Maggy Stephenson in the Telegram-Tribune May 10, 1947 ,

The Ramona reflected both the architectural indecision of the time, and the veranda-society of pioneer California tourists.
Basically a huge but rather unpretentious clapboard building, eclectic touches were spread on its surface like meringue on a pie.
The steep roof of the Swiss chalet; stringcourses from Italy’s renaissance; half-timber from medieval Nurnberg; chimneys from Tudor England; and little turrets, French or faintly onion-shaped from the Czar’s Russia.

A room cost $2.50 a day and up and included meals. My favorite part, Stephensen said a photograph of the common rooms show entertainment was provided via pianos, banjos, mandolins and guitars.

The dining room was 60 by 80 feet with a 24-foot ceiling and a stuffed mountain lion guarded the lobby. Long before the Madonna Inn, cupids adorned the walls of the Ramona. President William McKinley spoke from the balcony during a whistle stop tour of the west coast.

The era ended November 10, 1905 when an 2 a.m. kitchen fire spread. The night clerk ran from room to room rousing the 250 guests. The building was so far from town that no others were destroyed though several were threatened. By this time custom was to report the big news of the day on the front page. Remarkably the morning paper had a brief the morning of the fire on the front with more details to follow the next day. The Morning Tribune concluded with two boosterish sentences.

There is a golden opportunity for some person, or persons to build at once a big hotel in the business section of the city. San Luis Obispo is growing rapidly and such a hotel would pay well.

Taken on the steps of the Ramona Hotel, Nov. 24, 1896. Swiss envoy minister J. B. Pioda visits San Luis Obispo. Front row from left, starting from the young man in gray suit holding hat, Arthur Baur, A. Tognazzini (standing on second step), J. B. Pioda, A Borel (light trousers), G. A. Berton and Henry Brunner. Second row, starting with the two small boys at left, Louis and Arnold Donati, Pio Taminelli (next to boy in dark suit:, Mr. Antognini, publisher of Swiss newspaper, “El-vezia,” and standing with arms akimbo, Sam Donati (light suit); three unidentified men, one of which has light gray suit and white beard; A. Vignier (bearded with sideburns), A. Monotti and George Cavalli. Third row, starting with man with flag, M. Righetti, Mrs. B. Pezzoni, two unidentified men, one slightly behind the other, B. G. Tognazzini, undentified man standing slightly back and looking of to his left, Peter Tognazzini, G. Fanciola, Dante Muscio, J. B. Bonetti, standing with thumb tucked in pants pocket and loking off to his right, Peter Zanoli, Robert Righetti and a Mr. Palmer. The picture was printed in the Centurama edition of the Telegram-Tribune in 1956. The picture was loaned to the paper by Sam Borradori, who also made the identifications after considerable research.

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Vivian Krug with the South County Historical Society sent this information. If you like old local photos this looks like a great exhibit.

Carpenter on tower in Oceano.

Photos by Virgil Hodges, Courtesy of the Bennett-Loomis Archives

You may never have heard about Virgil Hodges, but you’ve probably seen his photographs. You may have old postcards with his photos of women wearing bathing suits in 1905 Oceano Beach. His images are in history books, seven warships running aground at Point Honda in 1923, the Santa Rosa breaking apart near the Point Arguello lighthouse in 1911, or Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet visiting Avila in 1908. Magazines and newspapers featured many of his photographs throughout the years – images of people, of floods and fires, and of everyday life on the Central Coast.

Photo archivist Gordon Bennett will present a talk on Hodges at the South County Historical Society IOOF’s Hall in Arroyo Grande Saturday Nov. 22, 2008 at 2 PM. Bennett remembers the stories behind the photographs from his close friendship with the photographer which lasted until Hodge’s death in the early 1990s.

Born near on a farm near Arroyo Grande in 1879, Virgil Ulysses Hodges was the son of a Union Civil War veteran who named his son after Ulysses S. Grant. His sister Rose provided the necessary spark for Virgil’s life-long interest in photography. Rose had large box camera that she passed on to Virgil when she married. Virgil developed his skills quickly not only in taking pictures but in also developing and printing photographs.

Virgil Hodges moved to Lompoc after graduating from Arroyo Grande High School. He married Fae Elnora Winn and worked for the Lompoc Streets Department for thirty years, retiring in 1944. After his wife’s death in 1958, he moved to a cottage on Whiteley Street in Arroyo Grande.

“Get a good camera, learn how to use it and be there when things happen,” Hodges said. He followed that rule and visitors can see more than twenty of his enlarged photographs at the IOOF Hall, 128 Bridge Street in Arroyo Grande through December 14, 2008.
Other photographs on display include two Oceano Dunes Photo exhibits, one by Santa Barbara Photographer Robert Werling and the other by Pismo physician Billy Mounts. Museum hours are Fridays and Saturdays 1 – 5 PM, or by appointment in groups of four or more. For more information, please call 489-8282.

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Tribune librarian Sharon Morem found this undated postcard photo of a Marsh Street parade in the files.
That is our starting point.
From here we start making guesses. The spectators are dressed in their holiday best, plenty of folks are wearing long sleeves and there are no shadows under an overcast sky. The street is unpaved; this may be the bridge where San Luis Creek goes under Marsh Street.
There is a patriotic theme which could make this a July 4th celebration.
Looking at the fashions it is the early 20th century after electric fixtures came to town. My guess is that this is an Armistice Day parade (later renamed Veteran’s day.)
The first official Armistice Day was November 11, 1919 to remember those who had fallen in World War I.
If someone has better information please post a comment.

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I don’t have to tell you, times are tough today. It’s time to head down to the saloon and toss one down the hatch.
This undated, uncaptioned bar was somewhere in San Luis Obispo. There was a choice of whiskey from Irving’s to The Old Government or you could tap the barrel of Tennessee Moonshine.
The last item was rung up for 95 cents on the register. Cigar boxes of San Luis Perfecto’s are on the top of the bar.
The lights were both gas and electric; my guess is this in the 1910’s.
Spittoons lined the floor; it is likely only refined lady ever in the place was the picture on the wall.
Last call historians, anyone know where this is or recognize the people?

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The photos are of a train wreck on Cuesta Grade. The only caption information we have is Lark wreck near San Luis Obispo. Judging from the cars and clothing this appears to be the late 1910’s to early 1920’s.

Please post a comment if you have better information.

Before Amtrak became the national rail entity individual railroads ran independent passenger services.

Southern Pacific used to have overnight service with deluxe sleeper cars between Los Angeles and Oakland-San Francisco in a train called the Lark. (They also had a Morning Daylight and Noon Daylight.)

As the automobile became more popular, railroads had to compete to survive.

The problem with passengers is they want to be treated like humans, not freight. Apparently Southern Pacific was uncomfortable with this concept.

Passenger service requires a company to hire a lot of pesky employees, buy expensive deluxe sleeper cars and it messes up the timetables for more profitable freights.

By the mid-1960’s the railroad union was locked in a battle with the Southern Pacific to maintain the trains and jobs. The railroad had lost interest in the passenger.

By May 1971 Amtrak was formed as a government owned corporation to keep the form of transportation alive.

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The old San Luis Obispo telephone exchange when it was located on Chorro Street. Pictured here are Cecelia Dodge (standing) Ruth Johnson, nee Haley, Elena Bellani, nee Heyd, Mael Seely, nee Sutliff and Maymie McMillan.

The exterior photo shows the 1894-95 San Luis Obispo telephone office located in the Knapp building on Higuera Street next to the old city hall.

Tribune librarian, Sharon Morem found two earlier Pacific Telephone and Telegraph exchange photos than the ones we published earlier this month.

These look much older than the mid-1960’s photos we had before. My guess is these are from the early 1900’s or late 1800’s. Other than the wood burning stove, the technology looks much the same; only the dresses seem to have changed.

The big revolution would come later with transistor technology and touch-tone phones.

Press 1 to repeat this blog entry.

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May 10, 1901

Tribune librarian Sharon Morem has uncovered a stack of old prints from our files. Some of them are from before the paper published photos but they were printed on our pages at a later date so that is good enough to include in the blog.

The election season is here, this is a photo of the only President, to my knowledge, to have a public appearance in the county, William McKinley.

According to one website McKinley traveled more miles than any other president to his time. The steam engine pulled into town covered with red white and blue bunting and a photograph of the president on the front. The photo caption written on the negative says Santa Barbara; the newspaper says the train arrived at 7 p.m. in San Luis Obispo.

Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon visited here before they were elected president.

Editor Benjamin Brooks pulled out all the stops with front-page stories the day of McKinley’s arrival and the day after. It was a significant commitment for the four-page paper though the event did not push the advertising off of the front page.

Sandercock’s express wagon toured San Luis Obispo picking up flowers for a reception at the posh Ramona Hotel near the corner of Johnson and Marsh Streets.

I won’t bore you with all the political blathering.

McKinley concluded with, “This nation was founded 124 years ago in conscience; it is our business to keep it in conscience, to preserve it for those who shall come after and pass it along to our successors as the beaconlight of civilization everywhere. I thank you and good bye. (Wild cheers and applause.)

Though no hard numbers were given the article said that people from all over the county found a reason to have business in the town this day and that the streets were jammed.

He was the president William Randolph Hearst goaded into the Spanish-American War. Four months after his visit to San Luis Obispo, while attending the Pan-American exposition in Buffalo N.Y., McKinley was shot by an anarchist and died 8 days after the shooting.

Some compare politicians to snake oil salesmen and there was no shortage of patent medicine advertising in the paper during this era. Often the ads were more interesting to look at than the news sections.

Dr. R.V. Pierce, coincidentally of Buffalo N.Y., had a standing advertisement in the early 1900’s with his Favorite Prescription, Golden Medical Discovery and Pleasant Pellets.

What do the pills do you ask?

Why they make women happy, old people strong, tranquilize nerves, build firm flesh instead of flabby fat.

“It prepares the womanly organism for maternity and makes the birth hour practically painless.”

“This great blood purifying medicine eliminates the poisons which cause the disease. It increases the activity of the blood-making glands, and so increases the purity and abundance of the blood supply, thus giving vigor and vitality to all organs of the body which depend for their health on plenty of pure blood.”

Constipation, indigestion, irritability, vertigo, womanly health, sick headache, rheumatism are no match for these magic pills.

Who needs a health care system when you have these wonder medicines?

They don’t make them anymore?

Uh-oh.

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