May 07
Edward Gardner Lewis and wife Mabel bought the 23,000 acre rancho that would become the colony of Atascadero for $850,000 in 1913. The utopian dreamer, land speculator and publisher envisioned a new city. By 1915 a tent city sold the subdivided lots and was the place for people to stay while building their homes. The …
Apr 23
I have been told by some who work in a prison setting, they prefer not to know an inmate’s history. All they can deal with is the now. It could be overwhelming to reflect on the combined damage a group of mental health patients had caused. In the mid-sixties a then new approach included group …
Apr 16
A cowardly man with large ambition, weak ability and a large pile of explosives — stop me if you have heard this story before. It is almost always a man responsible. The story is more common than we care to admit. They slither out from under rocks every few decades, from anarchists in the 19th …
Apr 15
The other man to escape from the new San Luis Obispo County Jail atop the new courthouse was caught. James W. Webb had been at large since November 27, 1942 and he was captured in Sacramento. He was hiding out in a house with a rifle, shotgun and a large amount of jewelry.
Feb 05
What happened to the Murray Adobe and why should we care? Today’s column addresses the second question; Wednesday’s will address the first. Walter Murray was one of key formative personalities in San Luis Obispo County as the region made the transition from Mexican rule to American. The English born and educated in law, Murray came …
Jan 26
The grand jury blamed shoddy welding as the cause of the escape from the county’s new jail. The story came out in the January 6, 1943 edition of the Telegram-Tribune. They placed responsibility at the feet of the courthouse architects, Walker and Eisen. The architects could have been found guilty of putting an ugly building …
Jan 23
The Daily Telegram’s early years in San Luis Obispo were mediocre. Founded on principles of temperance, managed by committee, the paper knew how to scold alcohol consumers. The newspaper seemed befuddled when real news came to town. The writing was florid and repetitive, leading you to believe the paper was stretching to fill space and …
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. …
Jan 07
Outlaws made travel by road on the Central Coast in the mid-1800s hazardous to your health. The term outlaw implies that there is some form of capable law enforcement but in 1850 California was a newborn state. Though San Luis Obispo was a charter county the mechanics of government were not yet effective. There were …
Dec 16
Brief items from the Dec. 9, 1942 Telegram Tribune. The post office was taking on extended hours to handle the volume of Christmas mail. Both the holiday and growing military bases were straining the system. The state board of equalization was scheduled to enforce a midnight liquor curfew starting this evening. Twenty boys in Chicago …
Recent Comments