Remember when: Newly renovated hotel opens doors in 1936

78 YEARS AGO

(From the I-T of Oct. 9, 1936)

Sam Sebastiani is preparing to open his newly renovated and modern hotel here tomorrow night. He will throw open the doors to the public and invites everyone to call and inspect the greatly improved accommodations. … The City of Sonoma has put an armor coat between the pavement and sidewalk on Spain Street between First Street East and First Street West, a fine improvement. … Impressive were the rites of the Catholic church which united Shirley Bet Corcoran and Melvin Canobbio in marriage here last Saturday evening. The brilliantly lighted altars of St. Francis church, decorated in chrysanthemums and Woodwardia ferns, and the rich vestments of Rev. J. Ryan added to the beauty and solemnity of the scene.

68 YEARS AGO

(From the I-T of Oct. 11, 1946)

An autographed baseball signed by all the members of the pennant-winning San Francisco Seals baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the large glossy-print photograph of the championship squad were this week presented to Sonoma Troop 16 of the Boy Scouts by Henri Maysonnave, civic-minded Sonoma resident. … With reservations made for 400, and many noted hotel men including the president of the American Hotel Association, representatives from Southern California, Palm Springs, Arizona, San Francisco and other places famous for their hotels and resorts, the 35th annual convention of the California State Hotel Association opens Sunday at Sonoma Mission Inn. … While returning home from their fishing trip in the Sierras via Reno, the Arnold-Benedict party found that Reno had prepared a grand welcome and banquet for “Hap” Arnold at the Riverside Hotel. … The two Sonoma Valley district hospital trustees whose terms expire next month will not seek reelection. They are August Pinelli and August Sebastiani who will retire because of their own business responsibilities.

58 YEARS AGO

(From the I-T of Oct. 11, 1956)

Sonoma Valley had a piece of that history-making, perfect no-hit, no-run World Series game pitched by young Don Larsen of the Yankees on Tuesday. Larsen’s, you know, was one of seven perfect games in baseball history. One of the seven occurred back in 1917, when Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox threw a perfect 4-0 shutout at the Washington Senators. His catch, certainly as big a help to Shore as was Yogi Berra to Larsen, was none other than the late Sam Agnew of Fetters Hot Springs. … Forty children have been entered in the baby contest which will be a highlight of the “County Fair” sponsored by the Methodist church Nov. 10 in the Veterans Memorial building. … Work on Bettencourt, Andrieux, Perkins and Third Street East is expected to begin Monday or Tuesday, following acceptance by the city council Monday night of a bid by the Brown-Ely company of El Cerrito on the project. The Brown-Ely company was low bidder for surfacing the street, at $5,012, when bids on the project were opened Oct. 1. … The California Director of Agriculture has placed a quarantine on walnuts from the Sonoma Valley, according to H.B. Seiler, local agricultural inspector. Recently the Sonoma, El Verano and Kenwood area was discovered to be infested with the Walnut Husk Fly.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.