1925 — 101 years ago
From the Sonoma Index-Tribune of August 1, 1925:
Kenwood Home Lost to the Flames. The Alexander Westrup home at Kenwood, one of the finest residences up the valley, burned Wednesday night before the Boyes Springs and Valley engines could arrive, the loss put at $10,000. The Westrups were not home; a defective flue or poor wiring is blamed.
Texas Develops a Taste for Valley Apples. The Lone Star State paid $2365 for 700 boxes of Sonoma Valley Gravensteins, or about $3.50 per box. Sixteen carloads have already left Vineburg, with thirty carloads of pears to follow.
A Modest Fig Bonanza. The Lowell ranch shipped 11 boxes of figs this year, returning $4.50 per box, each box holding 10 pounds or roughly 120 figs. The orchardist offers his philosophy: "A fig for care, a fig for woe. I should worry as long as they grow."
"Fighting Joe" Hooker's Trunk Goes to the Museum. A trunk once owned by the pioneer "Fighting Joe" Hooker, sometime owner of the Watriss ranch, was sent from El Verano to the Golden Gate Park museum. Though many years old, it is in an excellent state of preservation.
Old Glory Reaches the Post Office at Last. Patrons have noted, and complimented, the addition of an American flag and an awning to the Sonoma post office. The emblem, long needed, presently flies at half mast in honor of William Jennings Bryan.
A Roadside Ford, and Then the Thieves. A traveler named Bulfine, of the Cudahy Packing Company, overturned his Ford on the Black Point cut-off, requiring eight stitches near the hip. While the car lay at the roadside it was completely stripped by auto thieves.
1905 — 121 years ago
From the Sonoma Index-Tribune of July 29, 1905:
The Politeness of Thieves, Reviewed. A reprinted account holds up Japanese burglars as models of conduct, three of whom, on being told by a dyer's wife that a fine silk dress was entrusted for dyeing and not her own to surrender, promptly withdrew with their confederates. Our own gentlemanly burglars, the piece suggests, have much to learn.
A Gallon of Syrup, and Other Economies. P. Boccoli, near the postoffice on Napa street, advertises Fine Syrup at 85¢ per gallon and Gold Dust Washing Powder at 5e. Canned Peas may be had, per can, for 10¢, should the household require them.
Salt Water and One Thousand Acres at Schellville. The Embarcadero Resort at Schellville, kept by A. Margucci, offers hunting, fishing, boating and salt water bathing across a thousand acres, together with a bowling alley and livery stable, at $1.00 per day. It remains open, one is assured, all the year round.
1886 — 140 years ago
From the Sonoma Index-Tribune of July 31, 1886:
The Rat-Catcher's Diminishing Trade. A New York professional laments that where he once earned $50 or $100 to clear a house of rats, he is now glad to do the same work for $10 or $20, blaming every household's own trap and well-advertised poison. Only three or four professionals remain in the city, and one of them can no longer find use enough for his ferrets.
The Newspaper Multiplies. A survey of the directories finds 14,160 newspapers and periodicals now in print, against a mere thirty-seven listed in 1776. Among them are three devoted to the silkworm, six to the honey bee, eighteen to dentistry, and one, solemnly, to dancers.
Glen Ellen's General Purveyor. J. Poppe of Glen Ellen advertises dry goods, groceries, liquors and cigars under the heading of general merchandise. Country produce, he notes, is taken in exchange.
Items retold from the original pages, which are in the public domain; the scans are courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society collection at the Internet Archive. The century-old OCR is imperfect — where a name or figure was illegible, we have left it out rather than guess.