Mar 29
September 10, 1987 San Luis Obispo County used to be home of the world’s largest solar-cell power station. Built by an oil company in 1983, the view of the Arco solar power plant was an eerie combination of age-old scenes of sheep grazing and science fiction technology. Every few minutes the silence of the Carrizo …
Mar 27
The California Polytechnic School had not even grown into being a junior college yet and wouldn’t even commonly be called Cal Poly until 1927. The enrollment at the school was less than attendance at a current basketball game. If you guessed they played at Crandall Gym you would be wrong, it didn’t open until …
Mar 25
November 20, 1968 A little over 40 years ago another tragic traffic stop in Oakland lead the arrival of a notable convict at the California Men’s Colony. Huey P. Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Oakland policeman John Frey. Two years earlier in 1966 Newton had co-founded of the Black Panther …
Mar 23
May 6, 1916 You often hear people complain about change but every era has its share. There was still one saddle shop downtown when I started working at the then Telegram-Tribune in the 1980’s. Burriss Saddlery hung on downtown until summer of 1997 but the internal combustion engine had driven the horses from the streets …
Mar 20
February 1, 1966 One of the striking things about advertising in the mid-20th century is the amount of text in it. Here Crocker-Citzens Bank invited their readers to spend some time reading, thinking and planning for the future. Today lizards sell car insurance, credit card companies tell you how much better you will feel when …
Mar 18
November 8, 1968 One way to avoid unwanted graffiti is to invite the artists in and give them a can of paint. The Julian A. McPhee University Union was under construction at Cal Poly. In this era, many a California campus struggled with trying to control student expression from their students. Cal Poly took the …
Mar 16
Finally, revealed here – the awful truth no one wanted you to know – the untold story behind daylight saving time. Twice a year we go through the ritual, spring forward, fall back but can anyone explain why? Even fellow Tribune blogger Patrick Pemberton has been taken in. It is time to blow the lid …
Mar 14
Assistant Steve Schultz continues digging a shallow burrow started by John Fitch at Atascadero Beach during a clam census. January 10, 1974 The Pismo Clam is a part of the identity of Pismo Beach but the bivalve’s historic range is from Half Moon Bay to Baja California. It was an important part of the area’s …
Mar 12
May 1916 Readers I need your help. All the information we have on this one is “Students meet at Mitchell Park in 1916 for a dance festival.” I am guessing this is a maypole and they are celebrating May Day on May 1st. Any ideas? I’ll see if the May 1, 1916 microfilm has anything …
Mar 11
August 2, 1976 For a few weeks Hollywood magic flipped the coasts of the United States and transformed the coast south of Moñtana de Oro State Park into Passamaquoddy, Maine. A lighthouse was built near Point Buchon as part of Pete’s Dragon, the most expensive Walt Disney production to date. Passamaquoddy is the name of …
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