Big game hunting and the Snow Museum
This originally appeared in the Montclarion Dec. 7, 1999. Images courtesy of the Oakland History Room.
Today, Snow Park is a wonderful triangle of green space that provides respite to weary office workers, those hoping to improve their putting skills and anyone who enjoys the smell of cut grass after […]

This first appeared in the Montclarion in November 1999.

There is a delightful book in the Oakland History Room called Social Etiquette, or Manners and Customs of Polite Society.
Written in 1896 by Maud C. Cooke, the book was put out by an Oakland publisher, Occidental Publishing Co. The book provides everything from placement of finger […]

Your first and last chance to be scaredThis first appeared in the Montclarion Sept. 9, 2001. Images courtesy of the Oakland History Room.
Not only was Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon Jack London’s favorite haunt in life, it possibly still is now that he’s occupying a barstool on the Other Side.
This 1880 structure, so tiny […]

This first appeared in the Montclarion May 7, 2004. Images courtesy of Bud Veirs.
The hills neighborhood of Glenview may seem like a fairly pleasant little area, but once violence here was so severe it made Gangs of New York look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. That’s right, gang warfare once rocked these placid streets.
Our story […]

My column Looking Back, written about Oakland history, has appeared in the Montclarion newspaper since July of 1999. The Montclarion is part of the Contra Costa Times, and you can click here  to see the most recent column online—click on the Montclarion masthead once you arrive, and then scroll down until you see my byline. […]