The News From 100 Years Ago

Pioneer passes
The Honorable Harry S. Ball died Monday with friends and family attending him in his Pacific Grove home.
Ball was one of the pioneers of Monterey County. After his birth in New York on March 10, 1830, Ball and his family traveled west to Minnesota, and then to Hangtown in California in 1850. As a young man, Ball became involved in prospecting and mining activities thereby earning a small fortune. In 1863, Ball migrated to Salinas when this fledgling town was first being surveyed and laid out. Ball recognized the area’s potential and staked out a ranging patch of wild, valley mustard grass which he converted to farming¹.
His farm operation grew to an extensive scale before Ball started a grain buying-selling business. He built grain warehouses in Chualar, Gonzales, and Salinas. His Salinas granary was nearly ½ mile long.
Ball then began investing in property. Among his holdings are the buildings now occupied by the Salinas opera house and another occupied by the Fashion Stables. He always took a leading interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and up-building of the Monterey County community. Mr. Ball served as mayor of Salinas for over a dozen years.
In 1900, Ball retired from business and moved his home to Pacific Grove. He passed his declining years with his wife in a beautiful home among the pines near the seashore. The pioneer was an ardent Republican and a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity.

New baggage handler
Mr. J. W. McCoy’s newly-formed transfer company has bid on and received license to handle luggage for the Southern Pacific. McCoy has named his firm City Transfer
and it will be responsible for handling all baggage on trains stopping anywhere between Del Monte and Pacific Grove. City Transfer’s principal office is 207 Forest avenue (across from the post office). Baggage will be stored for free for five days.

Childhood psychologist presents wise counsel
Your Child Today and Tomorrow by S. M. Gruenberg is to be discussed at Chautauqua. The teaching of the course will be offered as a series of presentations which will assign reading, program outlines, and lists of supplemental books.
All classes will be designed to inspire and illuminate as the psychology of childhood and methods of fruitful training are explored².

Artists Salt and Buchanan open signage firm
Entrepreneurs Salt and Buchanan, with a shop on Grand Avenue, have been known for some time as being among the “quality” decorators in this area. They were named as agents for colored electric signs and have served as paper hangers and grainers³.
Now Salt and Buchanan have added to their services by opening a sign-writing adjunct. Just bring in what you want your sign to say and Salt and Buchanan will take care of the rest.

Notes from around the area…

• Collapsible leather go-carts, suitable for racing on the hills of Pacific Grove, are
  being sold by J. K. Paul’s furniture. These carts are very fine and are being sold
  at a bargain.
• Miss Flora Conover’s elementary students have decided to celebrate the
  California Bird and Arbor Day on Monday. Miss Conover’s classroom has been
  decorated with pictures of wild birds and forest scenes.
• Enjoy the very freshest eggs? Raise your own chickens. Visit 825 Pine avenue
  to purchase chicks and receive instructions. Chicken houses and fencing are
  also available.
• You are invited to stop by Pacific Grove’s Museum of Natural History to view
  exhibits celebrating the birthday of L. Wizard Burbank⁴.
  The flag flying on the Carnegie Library was flung into the breeze to honor
  visitor Andrew Carnegie.
• The Frances Willard Lodge No. 237 of the International Order of Good
  Templars meets every Friday evening at 7:30 in Scobie Hall, 17th and Lighthouse.
  A cordial welcome is extended to all. Posted by Mary E. Gilman,
  CT, and Anna Cooper, Sec’y⁵.

The cost of living…

• Johnston Bros. & Campbells grocery store has brought in a sizable assortment
  of canned fruits. These are being sold at the right prices. For instance, a large
  can of peaches can be purchased for 15¢. We open, you eat! Bring a spoon!
• Get your Hydegrade Galatea [a cloth material] for sewing from Roth-Coney
  Company in Pacific Grove, six yards for $1⁶
• Honey by the comb. Two combs for 25¢. Oliver Grocery Company.
• Lodge your guests at the Pacific Grove Hotel. Our rates range from $3 to $5
  each night. Our hotel has been renovated and painted inside and out.
  Freshly baked bread, 15¢ by the loaf. Ten loafs for $1. The New England
  Bakery also offers cakes and pastries. Corner of Lighthouse and Forest!

Notes
1. The Salinas Valley at the time of Ball’s acquisition was described by an early
resident as “an ocean of mustard grass waving higher than a horse-mounted
man’s head.”
2. Raising children during the Victorian era was generally a matter of great interest
and greater concern. An abundance of activities—such as special classes, trips
to mountain and shore, scouting, social events, museum or library programs—
were offered. Television could not yet be counted on as baby sitter.
3. “Grainers” were artists painting imitations of the grain of wood or stone.
4. Luther Burbank was a famed botanist, horticulturist, and agricultural scientist.
He developed more than 800 varieties of plants during his career of 55 years.
Burbank’s varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, cacti and
vegetables. He earned the nickname Wizard for his many accomplishments.
5. Secret societies of virtually every ilk were very much a part of this period.
Templars were associated with legends concerning mysteries and secret
knowledge allegedly handed down from ancient times.
6. “Hydegrade” was the company name. “Galatea” was the product name.
Galatea, a Victorian mainstay, borrowed its name from the Greek word meaning
“she who has white skin.”