Page 33 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2017

Roseland Reality Rebound?
Since Sonoma County is developing a “Springs Specific Plan” (2018) to spruce up the area, it seems appropriate to reflect on the Springs in “the good old days.” To assist in this endeavor, two long time residents walked this writer around the Springs identifying buildings, vacant lots, and monuments that fostered a different lifestyle than we experience today. My walking guides were local artist Patrick McMurtry who was raised in the Springs and author and artist Michael Acker who has chronicled the changing history of Sonoma’s one-time central attraction, the warm natural springs waters.
“To dismiss anger and frustration is to breed more anger and frustration.
Even if someone is hateful, they should never be dismissed or ignored.” (Lynda Hopkins, Dec. 2016 Sonoma County Gazette). This encouraging quote from the new Sonoma County Supervisor for the Fifth District makes for an excellent opportunity to do some “reality checks” about Roseland in her district. This writer has only spoken with the new supervisor a few times, but her open approach to those who disagree with her, or her predecessor Efren Carrillo, has encouraged
a number of Roseland residents who have spoken to Roseland Review. Before delving deeper into the promising future, Roseland Review will go back to when this column started 36 months ago to discuss why it exists and what our Roseland Community of over 15,000 people may need from the new supervisor.
Michael Acker’s book on the history of the Springs will be published in March. Watch for it at Readers Books and the State Parks Barracks bookstores.
Four years ago the city of Santa Rosa and the County of Sonoma began to have a “semi-o cial” discussion between various elected and appointed government o cials over annexation of the “Roseland County Island.” The discussions between various city and county representatives about annexation of Roseland have actually gone on since at least 1983 preceding the formation of the Roseland Redevelopment Project Area of 264 acres along Sebastopol Rd. The o cial declaration of the project in November 1984 had an agreement where Santa Rosa would eventually annex the area between Olive St. in the east and Stony Pt. Rd
at the western edge of Roseland. There have been starts and stops along the way as the city and county usually haggled over how to spend taxpayers’ money between their municipal corporations. Twenty years ago Santa Rosa annexed the area surrounding Roseland, but not taking all of the 1.2 square mile Roseland community of many diverse neighborhoods into the city.
Before World War II the Springs drew tourists and vacationers from near and far. Stroll from Highway 12 and you find summer homes with multiple rooms complete with screen porches and wide verandas. While permanent homes today, in the pre-WWII eras they were summer rentals.
The pictures above provide two points of interest. The building on the left is the former Valley Volunteer Fire Department. If one walks up to the building (now Voltaire Electric) the SVFD lettering is still visible just below the roofline.
The picture on the right is the Woodleaf Store (1925), now the Mission Inn Big Three building. The Woodleaf once housed the Greyhound Bus Depot, a soda fountain, drug store, coffee shop, and liquor store. The Big Three closed months ago. A Mission Inn public relations spokesperson says plans for the building are still in flux.
Three years ago the city and county formed the “o cial” Joint City and County Roseland Sub-committee and this column was born. One local resident asked Roseland Review why there is a picture of the Roseland map and not the writer
of the column. Simple, it is better to have a picture of the physical boundaries
Patrick and Michael provided multiple narratives as we ambled along Hwy. 12. “Oh, the Barking Dog was Denny’s Bar in 1950, and the SMI parking lot was the Road House.” The Lanning building next door that recently sold to Ken and Stacy Mattson was owned by the Lanning family and operated by Pete Mancuso as the Resort Club and later The Melody Club. The site is destined to soon be Sondra’s “Noodle Springs.” The gents chuckled as they pointed towards the Mission Inn across the area designated to become the “Plaza.” “Before the spa was built it was the location of the Quonset House movie theater.” In its final days it became a porno theater.
of Roseland made by the local governments. These “man-made” boundaries or “breaks” in the continuity of the larger Roseland community near Santa Rosa in the 1950s has forever cursed the now disadvantaged neighborhoods located there. This curse is “taxation without representation” in the eyes of many long-time residents located in both the city and county sections of Roseland. This is because many Roseland residents feel they get NO voice in what is occurring when local government in icts projects upon taxpaying citizens.
As viewing a kaleidoscope my guides transformed today’s sites into their former identities. Andy’s Liquors was a bank. In the 1930’s the Taqueria Hacienda was Sam’s Grill. Parson’s Hardware, once Valley Lumber, has existed since WWI. The Valley of the Moon Donut Shop, now Boost Mobile, was a gathering spot for both sheriffs and folks down on their luck. Nearby were a fortune teller and GD’s Gas Station. Today’s Carniceria La Favorita was an early home of Pet’s Lifeline. Sonoma Valley Fitness was an art gallery. Near the new affordable housing complex El Brinquito Mercado housed places with names like Tripp’s, Sam’s, and Mike’s. The original Mary’s Pizza was at the corner of Arroyo Road and Hwy 12. The Iniquez Market was the Arroyo Veterinarian, and before that a laundromat.
Barham, Boyd, Burbank, Corby, Hearn, Hughes, South, Sunset, and West is
not the name of a legal rm, though perhaps one is needed to sort this local government mess out. These are the names of streets in Roseland in dire straits needing massive repairs yesterday. There are others also in need, but for brevity this column will focus on these. Take two for an example of the dilemma. Hughes and Sunset are both streets only two blocks long. Each has one block in the city and the other block in the county. The roads have not been kept in good shape and now are rutted and full of potholes. Yet there is no repair coming anytime soon and the draft agreement between the city and the county for annexation states road repairs DO NOT have to be completed until 2021, no matter who is doing the repairs. Roseland review will delve into this issue deeper and well as the “third rail” in the local government system impacting all Roseland residents. This is the Roseland School District which is currently on a building spree with a new high school building at the Sheppard Elementary School site. Plus there are now plans to build a new middle school at the Roseland Creek Elementary School site and a new pre-school at the Roseland Elementary School site.
At the base of Pine Avenue was the entrance to Boyes Springs Bathhouse that covered 25,000 square feet and housed a roller rink, two pools, a steam room, restaurant, penny arcade, and bar. Homes and gardens cover the site today. Nearby is the Creekside Lodge and Restaurant. Across from Creekside is the former Sycamore Lodge that was a bar and restaurant that served a wonderful gin and tonic.
As this edition went to press Roseland Review was able to speak with some volunteers from the Community Action Partnership painting the cement barrier blocks put in place at the Roseland Village Shopping Center site. This is now becoming the Camp Michaela Homeless encampment with a tent city and numerous recreation vehicles on site all the time. Vince Harper of the Community Action Partnership will host a meeting of the Southwest Area Health Action Group. On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM at the CAP O ce, 141 Stony Circle, Suite 210, 95401. You can get speci c information from Vince at HYPERLINK “mailto:vharper@capsonoma.org” vharper@capsonoma.org. That same Wednesday at 5:30 PM in the evening the Roseland School District will hold the monthly school board meeting at the new district headquarters for Roseland School District. This is located on Burbank Ave. now just to the south of Roseland Creek and the recently built Roseland Creek Elementary School.
There will be more walks in the Springs. We have touched upon only a portion of the interesting places of yesteryear. While major changes are in the offing, remember the Springs for decades were the center of life in southern Sonoma County. The natural waters attracted people for health, fitness and fun. People traveled by ferry and train to use the pools and arcades, and find summer romance. The Springs shall flourish again!
Thank you Patrick and Michael.
Springs Community Hall Pancake Breakfast – Saturday, February 5! The Grange Hall kitchen remodel has been completed. It has been renamed the Springs Community Hall. Mark your calendar!
2/17 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 33