Vallejo's Flour Industry

In 1860 Vallejo's founder, John B. Frisbie, chartered a ship to export wheat grown near Vallejo to Liverpool - the first shipment of wheat overseas from California. Captain A.D. Starr established Vallejo's first flour mill in South Vallejo in 1869. Flour shipped from the port of Vallejo would eventually travel to Asia, South America, and Europe as Vallejo became the largest flour-shipping port in California. The mill was purchased by the Sperry Flour Company in 1910 and later became the General Mills Sperry Division.

During WWI the Sperry Mills shipped tons of flour to Europe as part of the wartime relief effort. Employment at the mill increased from 125 workers in 1915 to 363 in 1919.

On August 30, 1934 a spectacular fire destroyed a large portion of the mill. Two marine elevators, 21 bins of grain, and 500,000 grain bags were consumed by the flames. Vallejo Fire Department crews were aided  by floating fire equipment from Mare Island. Explosions of grain dust blew huge sheets of corrugated metal off the roof of the mill and 6,000 tons of grain was destroyed before the blaze was finally brought under control.

The General Mills Sperry Division mill in Vallejo closed in 2004.

A Romantic Affair: An Afternoon with Cole Porter and the Gershwins

Please join us at the Museum on Sunday, February 13 at 2:00 for "A Romantic Affair: An Afternoon with the Gershwins and Cole Porter" presented by SonomaSong with the John Simon Trio. The concert promises to be a special treat for the Valentine’s Day weekend. 

 

There's a special quality to a song by Cole Porter or brothers George and Ira Gershwin - a freshness, a personal melodic and rhythmic style, and certainly a lasting quality.  Porter and the Gershwins are known and loved throughout the world as the personification of the American popular song. They truly are American classics.

 

SonomaSong and the music of Porter and the Gershwins will fill the room with romance and send the audience away with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.  Embraceable You, They Can't Take That Away from Me, Somebody Loves Me, I've Got You Under My Skin, I Get A Kick Out of You, The Man I Love, In the Still of the Night, and I Love Paris, are only a sampling of the dynamic 90 minute concert. 

 

“A Romantic Affair” is being presented by Kiwanis of Vallejo and the Vallejo Suburban Kiwanis with all proceeds benefiting the Museum. Tickets for “A Romantic Affair” are $35 (which includes wine, light hors d’ oeuvres, and sweets) and are available at the Museum or from Kiwanis Club members. Wine and hors d ‘oeuvres will be served at 2:00 with the concert starting promptly at 3:00.

Christmas in Vallejo, 1896

Miss Annie Pennycook hosted a holiday gathering of her close friends on Christmas Day, 1896. The celebration included refreshments, holiday games and an exchange of gifts. Among those who enjoyed the festivities were A.E. Lucy, Lavina Bushnell, Ethel Cutler, Jean Brownlie, Estelle Lucy, Grace Brownlie, Maud Harrier, Maud Rounds, Belle Roney, A.L. Halliday, John Rothschild, Milton Cutler, G.G. Halliday, B. Beinenfeld, L.G. Harrier, Will Green, Johnston Cooper, James Topley, and Herbert Diamond. Pennycook was a teacher and principal in the Vallejo schools for more than 40 years, and Pennycook Elementary School was later named in her honor.

Vallejo's Holiday Fashions - 1880

The Vallejo Evening Chronicle reported on Vallejo's holiday fashion trends on December 3, 1880:

Now look out for holiday gifts.

Amaranth red is the favorite shade.

Yellow blonde hair is no longer stylish.

The Sara Bernhardt gloves are very stylish.

Muffs to match bonnets or coats are fashionable.

Fashion may be studied in the church or theatre.

Little girl’s coats are to have hoods at the back.

Sashes are worn with nearly all the new costumes.

Large hats are most becoming to children, and continue in vogue.

Chinese and Hindoo designs are seen upon many of the new dress materials.

Bayadere stripes will be again worn for underskirts. They come in new silk and wool materials.

A novelty is the floral pocket, which is likely to be worn very much this season on evening and full dress toilets.

Jersey webbing in the new shades of red, purple, wine-red, and variations of olive are among the new dress goods.

Thanksgiving at the Orphanage, 1910

From 1869 to 1922 the Good Templar's Home for Orphans in Vallejo provided care for needy children from throughout California. After it closed, the grounds of the former Home served as the Vallejo Municipal Golf Course. In the 1930s the Vista de Vallejo subdivision was built on the hilltop location.

In November 1910 the Vallejo Evening Chronicle reported on the sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner prepared for the Home's residents that year. The dinner, according to the paper, "was well worth looking upon. The heavily laden tables were covered with snow white table cloths and spread upon them was a wealth of roast turkey, cranberry sauce, fruit, candy, cakes, pies, and other good things. There was an abundance of everything; two huge turkeys being set aside to be used later. The Home contains 112 children at the present time and every one of them was made happy... through the generosity of our people. Those having charge of the arrangements for the dinner desire to thank the employees of the Mare Island Navy Yard and the people of Vallejo for their liberality."

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Winged V's

Although they only played from 1905 to 1911, the Winged V's amateur football team rolled up an astounding winning record and became the undisputed football champions of northern California. Over a span of six years the team had 65 wins, with only one loss and three ties. Many team members went on to prominent careers including Columbus Castagnetto (Solano County auditor), Oscar Hilton (elected to the California State Assembly), Jack Thornton (Solano County Sheriff) and Harry Gee (Vallejo City Attorney).

Celebrate Vallejo - Hawaiian Style!

It's once again time to "Celebrate Vallejo" at the Museum! "Celebrate Vallejo" is our annual gala event to celebrate our Museum and our diverse community. This year we will “Celebrate Vallejo” Hawaiian Style! Join us for an evening of Hawaiian and Asian/Pacific cuisine, tropical drinks, and South Seas entertainment! The event will be held on Friday, November 5th at the Museum. Festivities commence at 6:30 p.m. and will include elegant hors d' oeuvres, complimentary cocktails, raffle, silent auction items and a live auction.

You can help make this event a great success:

• Donate items for our live and silent auctions. Ideas for auction items include: time-share vacations, weekends or overnights at vacation homes, services you or your company can provide, an outing on your boat, gift certificates, antiques, gift baskets, etc. The sky's the limit . . . use your imagination!

• Purchase tickets for the event. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

• Encourage your business or organization to become an Official Sponsor. Your $400 sponsorship gives you:
- A table for 8
- Table signage for your business or organization
- Listing in the Celebrate Vallejo program.
- Special recognition during the event

The goal of Celebrate Vallejo – Hawaiian Style is to raise much needed operational funds so we can continue to develop programs at the Museum and to reach out to build awareness of our unique community. Vallejo and Mare Island, by the way, have many interesting historical ties to Hawaii. In December 1874, Hawaiian King Kalakalua visited Mare Island while on his way to Washington D.C. for a meeting with President Ulysses S. Grant. Later, in 1965, Mare Island launched the USS Kamehameha, one of seventeen nuclear submarines built at the Shipyard. Please join us on Friday, November 5th to share the fun, Hawaiian style!