Category Archives: Pescadero

June 1920: Pescadero’s Plans for the 4th of July

From the “Coastside Comet,” June 18, 1920 Pescadero to Celebrate Plans and preparations are being completed for a big Fourth of July celebration in Pescadero this year. The festivities will be held on Monday, July 5, commencing with a musical … Continue reading

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19th Century: Gotta A Tooth Ache?

From theW “Coastside Advocate” “Dr. W. J. Marsh, the popular Santa Cruz dentist arrived in town with his estimable lady and the junior Marsh, Monday. He opened parlors two doors south of Levy’s store, where he will remain fro a … Continue reading

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So, explain it to me, again, John. If someone’s from Pescadero, they are called a “Fishermonger” or “Fishmongerite”?

Story by John Vonderlin Email John ([email protected]) Hi June, I’ve always been mildly curious about the origin of the town of Pescadero’s name ever since I first became aware of the town a few years ago. If you look up … Continue reading

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John Vonderlin Ponders Pescadero’s “Greatest Claim” to Fame….

Pescadero’s Claim to Fame by John Vonderlin (email John: [email protected]) Hi June, One of the recurrent themes of my essays has been the greatest claim to fame of the sleepy town of Pescadero. Your book, “The Coburn Mystery,” detailed its … Continue reading

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….Pescadero during Prohibition….(6)

[I wrote this in 1977.] Two years after the Great Blaze of 1926, sheriff’s officers followed a guide who led them over a trail covered with a tangled mass of ferns, shrubs and fallen trees. As the deputies hiked carefully … Continue reading

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…Pescadero during Prohibition (5)

[I wrote this in 1977.] Rumrunners, bootleggers and raids by the liquor police remained topic number one on the South Coast until March 1926 when a quick-spreading fire rallied the small community to save the little town of Pescadero. A … Continue reading

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….Pescadero during Prohibition….(4)

[Note: I wrote this in 1977.] The how, where and when of landing illegal booze along the Pescadero coast was not something the locals openly talked about–but there were plenty of whispers about an isolated ranch house which reportedly served … Continue reading

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Pescadero during Prohibition (3)

[I wrote this in 1977.] All during Prohibition, Pescadero provided the colorful backdrop for a violent whiskey war between smugglers…..and the residents of the tiny village. And when undercover agents learned from their key sources that a well-connected booze ring … Continue reading

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Pescadero during Prohibition (2)

Early in 1924 an abandoned trawler, the SS Fremont crashed into the rocks near Ano Nuevo Island–arousing the curiosity of the alcohol police, as well as the locals, of course. Just like the table talk at Duarte’s Tavern today, the … Continue reading

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1891: The Battle Over Pretty Pebbles At Pescadero…. (2)

Loren Coburn and Joe Levy had been feuding for a decade. During the 1880s, Levy and his brothrs, Armand and Fernand, had opened a general store in the old, two-story McCormick building, near the Swanton House, once a quaint hotel … Continue reading

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