Jan 22
Harold Guiton would be happy to see the depot in use today. He and other volunteers saved what is now the only remaining Southern Pacific Depot in the county. Paso Robles modernized and remodeled their depot after a fire so it is little like the original structure. San Luis Obispo bulldozed their wood frame depot. …
Dec 20
They could have been bitter rivals. Benjamin Brooks was the long time editor of The Tribune. George Staniford had owned The Tribune before Brooks and later owned a competing paper the Breeze. Both held high office in the Masonic lodge. Often rival newspapers of the era engaged in ugly personal attacks between editors and some …
Nov 06
Digging a little deeper in the San Miguel history folders I found this Lura Rawson column. The town had even more boom and bust cycles than I originally thought. From the Telegram-Tribune May 31, 1990: San Miguel: Like its namesake, a survivor. In an earlier column, I called Mission San Miguel Archangel a survivor among …
Nov 02
San Miguel is one of the boom and bust towns of the region. Founded July 25, 1797, it is 16th of the 21 California missions. Another significant moment came October 8, 1886 when Southern Pacific built rails into town from the north, then kept right on going to Paso Robles and Templeton where construction paused …
Sep 04
Horatio S. Rembaugh traveled many miles before he set out to California, arriving in San Luis Obispo just in time to help publish the first edition of the Tribune. Born in Philadelphia August 3, 1840 he would never know his mother. Ann Rembaugh died within 9 months of Horatio’s birth. The fourth and last child …
Dec 05
The Thompson Bridge Company of San Fransisco was at Stenner Creek, building a structure that caused sense of wonder in the little cow county. People would drive out from San Luis Obispo in their horse and buggy or walk from town to see the magnificent structure take shape. They would see steel being lifted into …
Dec 01
They had to find the bridge before they could build it. After the tunnels had been carved into the Santa Lucia the Southern Pacific railroad snaked down the Grade to the foot of the mountain range where it makes a 180 degree turn known as the horseshoe. To maintain elevation the railroad had to span …
Nov 24
Look sharp for Thanksgiving with these men’s haircuts from 1894. Styles include Round, Pompadour, Shingle and Featheredge. Clean Towel and sharp razors are all part of the service by the Armstrong Brothers at 884 Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo.
Nov 21
America was born with a tradition of populist movements. What was the Boston Tea Party but a bunch of populists rebelling against taxes and monopoly? Today there is a Tea Party movement that often complains about taxes and an Occupy movement that often complains about monopolies. The striking thing about both movements today is they …
Nov 17
It is a bit of a tossup, kids today are presented with difficult choices but end of the 19th century had it’s share of danger. Morning Tribune editor Benjamin Brooks was surveying the railroad construction on Cuesta Grade when he came across this story. The story begins, as it often does, with boys looking for …
Recent Comments