When it comes to history, the community of Folsom has a whole lot of it. Most of us locally know the story of how the community and city came about, from Theodore Judah’s vision that rose the community out of the ground during the booming Gold Rush, to the arrival of the railroad, Johnny Cash’s famous visit and more. While the history books and local periodical have documented all of those significant moments in time, there is a there is a hoopla of unique “happenings” that took place throughout the decades as well.
If you look back through the years, you may be amazed of what was considered “headline news” back in the day. Folsom Times has partnered with the staff of Folsom History to bring our community a backwards glance of yesteryear here in the community thanks to the work of Shelby Sorensen and Jovia Low. These two local history buffs have spent time digging into the past to bring you This Time in History, an ongoing collection of some of the memorable moments that were the “talk of the town,” back in the day. Here’s a look at the first couple of weeks of August through the years.
August 1, 1947: Major William Adams, navigator for the plane which dropped the atom bomb at Bikini several months ago, and now stationed at Mather Field, was the speaker at the meeting of the Folsom club Wednesday evening.
August 2, 1940: Bridge and Scott Streets, which hitherto have run only as far south as Natoma Street, are each being opened another block to Persifer Street by the county, making the high school and the baseball grounds much more accessible.
August 3, 1934: Communism is getting no foothold in the schools of California, if the ideas submitted by the leaders of tomorrow in Bank of America’s essay contest on “America in 1964” are typical of the thoughts of the younger generation.
August 5, 1921: Ramley’s Service Station, recently erected on the Donnelly lot on Sutter Street, is a very attractive addition to the business section of Folsom.
August 6, 1881: A new club, to be known as the Dorcas Literary and Social Club, was organized last Saturday night by Folsom Division No. 278, Sons of Temperance.
August 9, 1867: Death of one of Folsom’s founders; James Spruance, a Folsom merchant who came to California in 1849, passed away at 45 years old.
August 10, 1901: Arrangements have been completed by which all who wish to attend the performances of the Ringling Bros.’ Worlds Greatest Shows in Sacramento Wednesday, August 21st, can secure special excursion rates on all lines of travel.
August 11, 1939: Considerable excitement was stirred up Monday when an airplane dropped a flare, which landed near the Nimbus school and started a fire.
August 12, 1954: As General Electric sees it… The atom will produce power for homes in 5 to 10 years
August 13, 1943: One tablespoonful of waste household fats saved every day by each of Sacramento county’s 53,229 families during the second year of the WPB fat salvage campaign would provide enough glycerin to make 2,554,992 anti-aircraft shells, it was estimated today by the largest single collector of this vitally-needed war material.
August 14, 1952: The nationwide craze for sighting mysterious objects speeding through the heavens was picked up in Folsom this week where two observers reported seeing a bright light moving westward at a high altitude.
August 15, 1868: The history of the world for the past ten years has been crowded with great events, crowding rapidly one upon another. The destruction of slavery in American and in Russia, the completion of the Atlantic Cable, the rise of the German Unity in the heart of Europe, the near and certain complete of the Pacific Railroad, and the appointment of an American to represent the oldest nation of the heart at every civilized court tend to show the advancement of the great masses of the human race to a higher grade of action of progress and civilization than ever before known.
Photo: Keystone Bombers at Mather Field, late 1920s to early 30s. Photo: Folsom History Archives
