LIVERMORE

HERITAGE

GUILD

July 2002 Vol. XXXI No. 10

 

CALENDAR
Thursday, July 11 @ 7:00 p.m.
LHG Meeting, Recreation Center, Room 3

 

Saturday, July 13, 9-1 p.m.
GARAGE SALE at DUARTE GARAGE

 

Saturday & Sunday, July 13 & 14, Art Under the Oaks, Alden Lane Nursery, Livermore. Artworks, art in action, entertainment. Free admission

 

]HERITAGE GUILD HAPPENINGS

Thanks to Lynn Owens and the other volunteers for making this another wonderful auction! As usual, this year it was another big hit. LHG sold 107 spaghetti dinners at this year's annual auction and spaghetti feed. Gross total for this year's auction (includes dinner, drinks and auction) was $5,140.91. Some of the more interesting items sold at the auction were: rifle holster $140.00, primitive hope chest $320.00, wooden wine box parts $200.00, parking meter head $50.00. About 77 paddles were given out with about 52 buyers. We sold approximately 146 items in 2 1/2 hours.

 

The 2002 Preservation Conservation Award Committee would like to thank Anna Siig and Sue Marchand for their expert art work and calligraphy for the award certificates. Sue and Anna accomplished this feat in an efficient and timely manner. The Guild would like to thank Pat & Clarence Hoenig for chairing this years Awards Nominating Committee.

 

News Flash!: Newly revised and expanded edition of Dan Mosier's "History of Tesla" book is now in stock at LHG Carnegie Bldg. Same Price as before but with many more Photographs.

 

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In our ongoing project to turn the Duarte Garage into a transportation museum, the Guild members feel the following projects need special attention. Interested people who are willing to donate their time will be greatly appreciated!

Duarte Garage Projects
1. Clean & paint old floor jacks
2. Clean & paint roll-arciand gasoline tanks/pumps 3. Repair or replace unsafe tables
4. Move Seagrave southwest

5. Print & laminate descriptive signs for all displayed items
6. Display cases: Install casters, repair rear doors and provide locks, install lights
7. Repair (or provide wheeled dollies) for all displayed items so they can be easily moved
8. Reinforce/strengthen Carnegie bookcase bases
9. Paint & assemble the sorgham press and return to Ravenswood 10. Replace headlight & clearance light on History Mobile
11. Assemble roll-top desk
12. Clean & repair old town siren
13. Install new oil filter housing on Mack
14. Check History Mobile brakes
15. Move Carnegie bookshelves to south end
16. Locate & display "license plate wall"
17. Move model T, Seagrave and gravel wagon
18. More history board?
19. Get rid of extra drill press

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However Livermoreans observe the Fourth of July it will be different than they would have celebrated Independence Day half a century ago when Fourth of July celebrations were the biggest event of the year.

"Old timers" will assert there is nothing today as grand and glorious as an old-time Fourth of July celebration which began with a salute at sunrise from Livermore's old cannon and ended with a blaze of fireworks at night. It was always the "grand and glorious" Fourth.

Typical celebration was that held in Livemore in 1901, which gave the community a day packed with excitement and thrilling action, much of which could not be duplicated in a similar celebration today.

First event was the parade, starling at 10:30 a.m., featuring, of course, decorated carriages and other horse-drawn vehicles. Outstanding always was the float bearing the Goddess of Liberty, early-day predecessor of Miss Livermore, Rodeo Queen, of today.

The literary exercises came at 1:00 p.m. in Farmers Union Hall, then located at North Livermore and Railroad Avenues, long since torn down. Features were the reading of the Declaration of

Independence and the patriotic oration. This speech was always of the "make the eagle scream" type and designed to arouse the audience to patriotic fervor.

During the afternoon there was dancing in the Company Armory, a band concert by the Fifth Infantry band of Oakland, a sham battle by Company I and bicycle races. Livermore was a bicycle racing center in those days and boasted many champions among its home town riders. The races were usually run on South Livermore Avenue, then Lizzic Street, or East Avenue.

Fire departments always had a big part. This particular year featured a hose cart race between Livermore and Pleasanton, the latter winning by getting a stream of water first through its hose. Sometimes these events went a bit further and ended as "water fights", the rival companies turning their hoses oil each other.

In the evening was I lie inevitable horribles parade, which excited

young boys as nothing in any celebration can do today. They were half scared to death, and at the same time fascinated, by the antics of the horribly dressed marchers.

A military ball closed this particular celebration, although usually it was a grand display of fireworks. There were no laws against fire crackers in those days and nearly every youngster had burned fingers and/or faces when the last giant cracker had been exploded under a tin can.

In its report on the big day The Herald particularly mentioned the colored electric lights along First Street, a decoration now reserved for the Christmas season.

Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward and Washington township towns alternated observing the Fourth on a sort of hit-or-miss schedule, so there was always a celebration within train ride, driving distance for those who had fast stepping horses or riding distance for the young sports who had fast bikes.

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