History
Down ‘Memory Sidewalk’ on Court, Estudillo, and Alhambra
Courtesy Martinez Historical Society Contra Costa Gazette paper boys are shown in 1933. They covered Martinez, Pittsburg, Concord, Pleasant Hill among other communities receiving $10 a month salary and 10 percent of what they collected from subscribers who paid 50 cents a month for the subscription. Bill Sharkey III, who had a route from Alhambra […]
Martinez Historical Society cookbook includes family favorites
Mary Goodmann said, “We started this endeavor in the spring of 2018 when we realized that foods we grew up eating and memory’s associated with them were being lost. We tried to capture everything from an all day affair of making ravioli to a quick meal put together by a single working mother with two […]
Underground Echoes: Meet the cemeterians
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette Our column this week is different, however fear not, new biographies are in the works. The huge interest in genealogy has inspired nationwide cemetery restoration to become a large growing movement. Today as we have chosen to focus on conversations with three remarkable individuals. They are […]
Underground Echoes: Where is Velda Dunn?
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette Velda Lillian Dunn-Acker, 20, gave birth to her only son Donald Jay Acker, February 27, 1934 in Los Angeles but died during the delivery. Her siblings retrieved her body for burial in Martinez and broke off all contact with her husband and son. This past July, […]
Underground Echoes: Bricks and sticks
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette MARTINEZ, Calif. – City of Martinez’s Annual Spring Cemetery Cleanup. Due to the numerous winter storms, there was quite the renaissance of those pesky annoying plants we all call “weeds” and the accumulation of numerous fallen branches. Although much was accomplished, more still needs to be […]
Underground Echoes: In our outdoor museum, past lives matter
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette There is something very serene and introspective about working in the Alhambra Pioneer Cemetery, both as the oldest known cemetery in Contra Costa County and as a wonderful outdoor museum. For one thing, the residents are very quiet. The other reasons include the beautiful views of […]
Underground Echoes: Aaron Rice: The final chapter (1880-1906)
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Martinez Gazette Contributors From our last column, we discovered Aaron had siblings. Although his sister Judy Schlesher (58) was never found, (nor could we find any record of her) his older brother William (62) and family, were located living in McKinney, Collin County, Texas. We additionally found them enumerated in […]
Underground Echoes: Family: Love, loss & found
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette When we last left Aaron and his family, they were living blissfully. They had become in a relative short period: property owners, industrious entrepreneurs, founders of Napa’s AME Church, ardent voters and proud US citizens. As proof of their accomplishments an announcement published in the Napa […]
Underground Echoes: Life on the family farm: Aaron Rice (1860-1871)
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette Picking up Aaron’s story from where we left off, William Rice still had custody of Nathaniel while the rest of his family was free. They finally get to celebrate the holidays without following someone else’s rules. This included their first ever Thanksgiving as it was not […]
The move to California: Aaron Rice (1819-1860)
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Martinez Gazette Contributors We apologize for not writing since last May, but circumstances arose that put our column on hold. In celebration of Black History Month, we wanted to complete Aaron Rice’s story. However due to the time gap, we thought it best to summarize his saga in a few […]
