Monterey Fishing Fleet, circa 1940s

The commercial fishing fleet at anchor in the Monterey Harbor circa 1940s.  (Monterey Herald archives)

Gov. Brown at Firestone Plant in Salinas, 1964

Governor Edmund G. Brown attends a dedication to mark a expansion project at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Salinas on Monday, September 14, 1964. Leonard K. Firestone stated that after the expansion of the plant would employ 600 people with an annual payroll at more than $3 million. The plant will be able to produce more than the 8,000 tires daily by including truck and bus tires.

Cannery Row Fire, 1967

Sunday, December 24, 1967 the old Carmel Canning Company on Cannery Row caught fire and burned for over four hours. The blaze which had over 65 firemen respond from Monterey, Seaside and Pacific Grove caused an estimated $250, 000. Fire and smoke billowed from the structure causing embers to fall on homes in New Monterey starting smaller fires. Fire Chief Clifford Hebrard said that it is his opinion “that the fire was set”
An arson investigation was to take place the next day.

Artist Chang Dai-Chien, 1972

Chinese artist Chang Dai-Chien, demonstrating his painting style in Pebble Beach in 1972.  Chang Dai-Chien or Zhang Daqian was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter.  (Monterey County Herald archives)

Big Sur Folk Festival at Monterey Fairgrounds, October, 1970

The Big Sur Folk Festival was a annual event that started as folk music seminars, and as they evolved into concerts, they became known as well-managed, small affairs that emphasized quality and atmosphere over publicity and commercial success. Even when big names like CSN&Y or the Beach Boys appeared, the audiences were limited to a few thousand to preserve an intimate atmosphere and human scale. Although Big Sur is now sometimes remembered as the anti-Woodstock, it was originally the anti-Newport.







Seventh Big Sur Folk Festival
Saturday, October 3, 1970
[Held at Monterey County Fairgrounds]
1:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys (Sloop John B, Riot in Cell Block 9, Good Vibrations)
John Phillips
Joan Baez
Merry Clayton and Love Ltd. (soul music; hour, with 25-minute instrumental set)
Kris Kristofferson (with Chris Gantry and Vince Matthews) (hour)
John Hartford (half hour)

8:00pm Concert:
Beach Boys
John Phillips
Linda Ronstadt, with Swamp Water
Mimi Fariña & Tom Jans
Mark Spoelstra
Country Joe McDonald ("drew the strongest support of the evening show")
Tom Ghent
Joan Baez
Finale: All sing "You Ain't Going Nowhere"

Joe Cocker and Leon Russell were scheduled but not announced in order to keep audience small. Both canceled.

York School, May 4, 1963

A groundbreaking ceremony for the first unit of the new campus on Saturday, May 4, 1963 at the current site of York School in Monterey.  The school started in Pacific Grove in 1959 and moved to the present location in 1964.  (Monterey Herald Archives)

Betty Ford in Monterey, 1976

Mrs. Betty Ford attends the Merienda at the Memory Garden in Monterey on Saturday, June 5, 1976.  Mrs. Ford was in Monterey campaigning for her husband just three days before the Tuesday Primary.  During her three-hour stay, Mrs. Ford wished Monterey a happy birthday, lunched with friends at the Beach Club in Pebble Beach and delighted friends at a gathering at a ranch in Corral de Tierra.  (Monterey Herald archives)

Environmental Protest, 1974

A group protesting the removal of pine trees at David Ave. and Forest Ave. in Pacific Grove on Feb. 19, 1974.  Protesters were claiming that this grove of pine trees was one of the few undisturbed groves remaining in Pacific Grove.   (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Native American bones found, 1962

Jack Johnson from Oakland, examines human bones found in a cave near Willow Creek in southern Monterey County on August 26, 1962.  A local university archaeologist determined the bones to be from native Amercians and hundreds of years old.  (Monterey County Herald archives)

UCSC site dedication, April 1964

The site for the $275 million university was dedicated on Friday, April 17, 1964.  Governor Edmund G. Brown told some 2,000 persons attending the ceremony “the University of California Santa Cruz campus may provide the model to universities of the 21^st century.  Gov. Brown described the 2,000-acre campus overlooking the Monterey Bay as one of the most magnificent anywhere in the world.  The first 500 students are scheduled to be admitted in the fall of the next year and enrollment of 27,500 is expected by 1990

B.B. King in Monterey, 1967

B.B. King performs on the main stage during the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival. (Herald Archives)

Cesar Chavez released from jail, Dec. 24, 1970

Cesar Chavez speaks to the assembled crowd after his release from the Monterey County jail in Salinas on December 24, 1970. (Photo: Monterey County Herald)

Custom House Tunnel Construction, 1967

Monterey mayor Minnie Coyle dedicated the one and only tunnel in Monterey on April 5, 1968. The actual dedication was delayed while over $9,000 worth of damage had to be repaired due to a construction vehicle damaging the ceiling tiles. The $2.5 million urban renewal traffic tunnel, then known as the Custom House Tunnel or Minnie's Ditch, took over two-years to complete. The tunnel connecting downtown Monterey with New Monterey and Cannery Row runs beneath Custom House Plaza

Miss Pacific Grove, 1958

Brown haired Gail Maitre (center) gives a big smile on Sunday, July 6, 1958 after being picked the winner in a close contest for Queen of the Feast of Lanterns and Miss Pacific Grove. Miss Maitre is wearing the calypso costume that went with the ballad she sang in the talent section of the contest. (Monterey Herald archives)

This was the scene at Pacific Grove's Beach on Sunday afternoon July 6, 1958 during the judging of contestants for Queen of the upcoming Fest of Lanterns. Several thousand people who attended the Pacific Grove event were part of what may have been the biggest weekend crowd in the Peninsula history. (Monterey Herald archives)

Dennis the Menace, 1956

The child in this picture is actually Jim Wiseman, son of Al Wiseman who illustrated the original Dennis the Menace comic books which were authored by Fred Toole. While Dennis inspired the original character, Jim was the inspiration for many of the comic books. He had the enviable position of seeing the creation of the comic books from initial sketches through the finished book - and got to preview each before it was published.

The inspiration for the comic strip came from Dennis Ketcham, the real life son of Hank Ketcham, who was only four years old when he refused to take a nap and somehow messed up his whole room. Hank tried many possible names for the character, and translated them into rough pencil sketches. But when his studio door flew open and his then-wife Alice, in utter exasperation, exclaimed, "Your son is a menace!", the "Dennis the Menace" name stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham. The Mitchell family of Dennis, Hank/Henry and Alice were all named after the Ketchams.

The comic strip that was inspired by Dennis, was carried by 16 newspapers within five months. By May 1953, 193 newspapers in the United States and 52 abroad were carrying the strip to 30 million readers.. It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, and distributed to more than at least 10,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages.

Armed Forces Day, 1959

Linda Howe, 5, smiles a bit anxiously as she knows her image is being flashed on the closed TV circuit behind her by Lt. C.M. Rigsbee at the Postgraduate School. The display was one of many seen by thousands who flocked to military insatllations all over the Peninsula to celebrate Armed Forces Day on May 13, 1959 (Monterey Herald Archives)

A look into the future on May 13, 1959 is given by this Fort Ord soldier wearing the latest in Army equipment. His infa-red binoculars allow him to see at night.(Monterey Herald Archives)

Gov. Brown and daughter, 1966

California Governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. golfing at Del Monte golf course in Monterey with his daughter Kathleen in October of 1966.  (Monterey County Herald archives)

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, 1964

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performing at the Monterey County Fairgrounds on Sept. 4, 1964. According to a Herald article, Joan Baez was doing a benefit concert for Pioneer House, a new inter-racial, non-profit nursery school in Seaside. Bob Dylan was a special guest of Baez. The concert was on a Saturday night and raised about $5,000 for the school.

Fourth of July, 1958

Fort Ord's military personnel march past the official reviewing stand on Del Monte avenue, leading off today's colorful July 4th 1958 Parade in Seaside. Civic and military dignitaries reviewed the hundreds of marchers from in front of city hall, while thousands of other spectators watched along the parade march. (Monterey County Herald archive)

MPC Football, 1959

Eddie Esteban from Pacific Grove was one of forty-four players who turned out for the first day of football practice on September, 2, 1959 at Monterey Peninsula College with coach Tor Spindler.

Nikita Khrushchev in Salinas 1959

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, traveling by train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, stopped in Salinas on Sunday, September 20, 1959. Accompanied by U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, the northbound train rolled in to the Salinas train station at 3:45 p.m. The six-minute stop failed to yield a glimpse of the Soviet Premier to the hundreds of people who gathered around W. Market Street.

Great White Shark, 1959

Eight-year-old Scott Lemon mugs for the camera as he looks over a ten-foot, five-hundred-pound great white shark that was caught by his father, Jerry Lemon, on August 24, 1959, from their party boat "Sea Otter" off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove.

Farmworker Protest, 1966

Unemployed farm workers protesting a work program established by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. About twenty farmworkers marched carrying signs from downtown Salinas to the welfare office on Natividad Road. (Photo: Monterey County Herald, February 10, 1966)

Carlo the Clown, 1969

A Monterey Herald newspaper advertisement on December 8, 1969 for an appearance of "Carlo the Clown" at Holman's in Pacific Grove.  If you have any information on Carlo the Clown please contact Vern Fisher at 277-7132

Gold Mining in Monterey County, 1958

Gerald A. Doyle and James B. Pauley at the Los Burros mine in southern Monterey County in the Los Padres National Forest.  James B. Pauley and Gerald A. Doyle were prospecting the mine for gold on March 4, 1958. (Peter Breinig - Monterey Herald)

Monterey Train Station, 1958

Passengers from the San Francisco Bay Area disembark from a Southern Pacific train at the Monterey train station near Fisherman's Wharf on Nov. 17, 1958.   (Monterey Herald archives)

Operation Surfboard, March 21, 1955

Members of the 38th RCT make their beach landing in San Simeon with over 5,000 U.S. Navy and U.S. Army personnel during Operation Surfbaord on March 21, 1955.  Operation Surfboard consisted of 50 ships from the Amphibious Assault Force and participated in the amphibious assault landing of 5,000 troops of the Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at San Simeon Bay. The operation was completed about March 30, 1955.  (Peter Breinig - Monterey Herald)

Lady Bird Johnson, Sept. 20, 1966

Carol Channing, Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Lady Bird Johnson and Bernice Brown, at Hearst Castle in San Simeon on Sept. 20, 1966.  Lady Bird Johnson was in California for a four-day tour of the state.  (Photo: Monterey County Herald)

Night Vision Technology, 1959

A look into the future on May 13, 1959  is given by this Fort Ord soldier wearing the latest in Army equipment.  His infa-red binoculars allow him to see at night and would prove to be one of the first versions of night vision technology that the military would contiune to develop.  (Monterey Herald Archives)

Laguna Seca Raceway, 1966

Jim Hall (66) in a Chaparral 2E gets the jump from the pole position and is followed by Phil Hill (65) in a Chaparral 2E, Dan Gurney (30) in a Lola T70, Bruce McLaren (4) in a McLaren during the first heat of the Monterey Grand Prix on October 16, 1966 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey.  (Photo: Monterey Herald)

Barry Goldwater in Monterey, May 26, 1964

Arizona Sentaor Barry Goldwater speaks to approximately 2,500 people at Colton Hall in Monterey on Tuesday May 26, 1964 during his race in Tuesday's California presidential primary seeking the nomination for the Republican party.  (Monterey Herald Archives)

Fourth of July, 1946

1946 Fourth of July Parade in Monterey that was described as the biggest local parade ever.  Fort Ord troops from ships anchored in the bay attend the parade and the centennial flag raising.  (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Wrecked Fleet, 1953

People watch as the salvage effort starts on seven ships that were anchored at the Monterey Harbor and blown ashore by a sixty-mph northeast gale on Monday, February 23, 1953.  A half million dollars in damage was reported.  (Monterey Herald Archives)

Albee Rolligon, 1958

William Albee testing his low pressure tire creation in Seaside in 1958.   On a fishing trip to Alaska in 1950, Mr. William Albee of California observed a group of Eskimo preparing to remove a heavy wooden boat fro the artic waters. Albee wondered how the small, heavily clad men would manage the boat up the muddy bank. The Eskimos produced and inflated several air tight seal skins on which they rolled the boat out of the water and up the bank. Thus was born the concept of the Rolligon low pressure Air Bag tires. With this idea in mind, Mr. Albee returned to California and began developing the first low pressure off road tire.

Marble Cone Fire, 1977

Fred Nason Jr., Marcus Rudnick and Fred Nason Sr. on the Nason property in the Chews Ridge area while fighting the Marble Cone Fire in Big Sur on August 5, 1977.  The Marble-Cone Fire was a wildland fire which burned for three weeks in August, 1977 in the Big Sur high country. By the time it was extinguished, it had burned about 178,000 acres in the Santa Lucia Mountains, known as the Ventana Wilderness, making it the largest wildfire in recorded California history at that time. (Monterey County Herald)

Lockheed Scuba Knights in Pebble Beach, 1958

Members of the Lockheed Scuba Knights of Sunnyvale motor out to Stillwater Cove who along with 70 other members were in Pebble Beach for a kelp cutting project on March 24, 1958.  (Monterey Herald Archives)

Moss Landing Harbor, 1955

Aerial of the Moss Landing Harbor crica 1955.  Note the three Texaco oil tanks at right.  Moss Landing is located on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough, and at the head of the Monterey Canyon. It is home to the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a multi-campus research facility of the California State University; and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, sister organization to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Moss Landing's most notable landmark is the Moss Landing Power Plant. The natural gas plant, located at the intersection of State Route 1 and Dolan Road is visible from Santa Cruz to the north and Monterey to the south on clear days. (Monterey Herald archives)