“I don’t think I was quite five years old when we left Stockton for Visalia, so memories are scratchy. I remember the day we left Stockton. Kae and I wore matching coats and hats trimmed with ermine and sat in the jump seat of the sedan.” – A letter from my Grandma Gerry
My Grandmother’s parents met in San Francisco through mutual friends in 1912 and then eloped the following year in January 1913. Being a livestock man, my Great Grandpa Ed bought a house, then a ranch, in the Central Valley and formed “The Noble Sheep Company.” Their house was in Stockton, their ranch was in Visalia, and his offices were in South San Francisco. Talk about a commute! Then in 1923, they permanently settled in Oakland.
My grandmother thought she “wasn’t quite five years old” when they left Stockton and moved to the ranch in Visalia, but Newspapers.com tells a different story:
The date was October 19, 1920, and my grandmother would have been 5 1/2 years old. It’s amazing what we remember and what we don’t and that we have a record of the truth buried in the archives of Newspapers.com, my latest obsession.
Since hitting a dead end on Ancestry.com while doing family research, it seemed only logical that I follow this new rabbit hole I have stumbled upon and oh, what a marvelous find it has been!
My Great Grandma Katie Hosts a Luncheon in 1927
So, two questions: Why is this newsworthy and why is the picture of my great grandmother the hostess, and not of the bride who the luncheon is in honor of?
There are so many clippings like this in the old newspapers, and it made me realize that newspapers back in their day was the social media of the times. It was their Facebook and their Instagram. So, they printed articles about every little thing such as:
My Great Grandmother Went Shopping in 1922:
My Great Grandma Katie’s Cousin, Hazel, Paid her a Visit in Visalia, also in 1922:
My Great Grandma Katie Got a Parking Ticket in 1921. Extra Extra! Read All About It!
And Every Year the Nobles Summer in Santa Cruz
“It was the Roaring 20s and times were prosperous,” my Grandma Gerry wrote.
But the good times didn’t last forever…
“Years later, Daddy had a stroke. Creditors took the house.” – Grandma Gerry
It’s one thing to read about this from letters from my relatives, but to see it in the papers, makes it more real. And one more thing before I go…
How come I never heard the story about their house catching on fire in 1934? My Great Aunt Winifred could have died, but their dog saved her life:
Newspapers.com for the win. It’s been worth every penny.
Theresa Donahoe 