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Posts published by “Marshall Newman”

The Saga Of Yorkville…The Town That Moved

A reader of this publication recently asked about the history of Yorkville. The answer to this innocuous question is a tale that is pure Anderson Valley; fascinating, unusual and slightly bizarre. Over its 150-year history,…

The Lost Hamlets of Anderson Valley

History is full of surprises, even in Anderson Valley. Here, as nearly everywhere, it moves at a seemingly imperceptible pace, until we look back and discover much has changed. In the last 60 years alone,…

President Trump’s Performance Review

To paraphrase former San Francisco Mayor and former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in a recent San Francisco Chronicle column, “From now on, everything President Donald Trump does in office will be to win the…

The Pleasures of Picture Postcards

I recently visited my neighborhood chain drug store to purchase picture postcards to send to friends. I purchased my previous batch there perhaps two years ago. After searching to no avail, I was informed by…

Mendocino County Snapshot, 1950

One of the astonishing aspects of our internet-connected world is the ability to discover – and buy – stuff we never knew we wanted. Amazon and eBay have become great enablers, but almost every commercial…

Odd Tree Out, Yet Again

Readers of the Anderson Valley Advertiser may remember my “Odd Tree Out” articles from earlier this year, chronicling my rediscovery – after 20 years – of California nutmeg in an area west of Philo.  With…

Odd Tree Out – The Sequel

Readers of the Anderson Valley Advertiser may remember my “Odd Tree Out” article back in April, which detailed discovery of some young examples of the rare California nutmeg tree west of Philo. Several commented on…

Old Skills

Growing up in Anderson Valley in the late 1950s and 1960s meant learning a few skills, maybe not for everyone, but certainly for my siblings and me. We were living at my parent’s summer camp,…

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