The Burlingame Voice

Saying Goodbye to the Fire Chief

I was not able to make the retirement celebration for Central County Fire Chief Don Dornell last night but Mayor Keighran and my lovely wife, Councilmember Cathy Baylock, were there along with a sizeable crowd to send Don off to retirement.  From the program we learn that Don was

Hired with the City of Burlingame Fire Department as a firefighter in 1977.  Promoted to Fire Captain in 1985 and Assistant Chief in 1997.  Appointed to be the second Fire Chief of the Central County Fire Department in 2006 and the shared Fire Chief for the CCFD, Millbrae Fire Department and San Bruno Fire Department in 2012.

You will recall from this post about the Screaming Eagles that Don

Served as the first Chairman of the Burlingame Adopt-a-Unit Program since 2004 which as sponsored the adopted soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division through 5 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

I hope Don enjoys his retirement and welcome to new CCFD Fire Chief Mark Ladas.  Here's Cathy Baylock wishing Don well last night.

Definitely a Gem

There's a nice piece in the Daily Journal about one of the gems of B'game, Velma Santana, who has worked the cash register at the Pick of the Litter Humane Society thrift store since 1999.  It notes

After retiring from Caltrans, Santana was asked by one of her closest friends to be a volunteer cashier. Five months later, she was hired because she said they needed someone reliable and knowledgeable to work the register. She just celebrated her 85th birthday and shows no signs of slowing down. 

“The store is like my second home,” she said.

Pick of the Litter collects donations such as clothing, furniture, books, jewelry and households items. Those items are then priced for sale. After rent and other expenses, the store has cleared more than $120,000 in net profits, which will greatly benefit the animals, said PHS spokesman Scott Delucchi.

The shop is just a block south of B'way.  Say hi and congratulations to Velma the next time you are in there, I certainly will.

Local featured on CBS Sunday morning

If you are an early riser on Sunday mornings, you might turn on the telly for a peaceful view of the world through the stories on CBS Sunday Morning. Today, while watching I heard a recognizeable name. The story was about the shared economy and the opening of the story featured Burlingame's own Doug Studebaker talking about his treehouse B & B.

Here are two links. One to the story and one to his rental listing.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57575953/welcome-to-the-new-economy-built-on-sharing/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57575953/welcome-to-the-new-economy-built-on-sharing/ 

This video features Linda Studebaker as well.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/86456

Past Local Luminary

The Daily Journal piece about the 55th anniversary of the service organization Sons in Retirement got me thinking about a past local luminary, Lorenz Hansen.  The DJ notes

SIR was conceived by the late Damian Reynolds in 1958 who then recruited Claus Hink, Lorenz Hansen and Wallace Plummer who held its first luncheon in San Mateo.  

The group has about 180 branches in Central and Northern California now and Branch 1 in San Mateo is one of its strongest with about 200 members.

Founding SIR was just one of many, many accomplishments this B'game luminary had.  Hansen was the Vice President and manager of San Francisco Bank overseeing its expansion into Burlingame when it was the only lending institution financing home purchases during the depth of the Great Depression.  It was Hansen’s clout and influence that convinced the bank to expand into Burlingame which the local papers documented as a “vote of confidence and investment in Burlingame’s future”.

His community involvement was very broad-based. He was the Shriner's long-time treasurer that helped the annual East-West football game gain its fame, San Mateo County treasurer for Gov. Earl Warren's campaigns (prior to his move to the U.S. Supreme Court), and Burlingame District Captain for the War Finance Committe during WWII. 

His other Treasuer positions included the San Mateo County Red Cross and the Salvation Army, his presidency of the Kiwanis Club and his Director’s position for the Burlingame Chamber of Commerce after which he was the first person awarded an Honorary Lifetime membership in the Chamber.  He also had the good fortune to be in the 13th vehicle on the day cars were first allowed into Yosemite.

The Sons in Retirement publicity is a good memory prod to recall this B'gamer of old who lived here for more than 50 years before passing in 1975.

Local LumVinary

We have a number of luminaries in B'game in all sorts of walks of life.  One of our luminaries is really a lumVinary in that he is a luminary in the wide world of wine.  Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal had an article about drinking a wider variety of wines rather than the same ole, same ole vino.  Here's the latest quote that brings national attention to our little burg and our lumvinary

I'll drink fewer of the wines that I already love, and more of the wines that I've somehow ignored.  The latter will likely prove easier to pull off than the former; most wine drinkers I know—including professionals and amateurs—have wines that they love and tend to favor. According to Gerald Weisel, proprietor of Weimax Wine & Spirits, in Burlingame, Calif., many of his customers want to drink the same wine over and over again.

Mr. Weisel's New Year's wish would be for those wine drinkers to walk into his shop and ask for something " 'below the radar' or, as my Italian friends say, 'fuori strad'—off the road," he said.

This is the fourth or fifth WSJ quote I have seen from Gerald over the years and his pithy nature shines through each time.  Gerald holds court six days a week at his family shop on B'way and adds a lot of flavor to our local scene.

A gift that keeps on giving

The B-Voice rarely announces a commerical opprtunity, but this one is different.

Here's a way to "shop local"  and support a local non-profit at the same time. 

The perfect gift this year will be the book, "Burlingame Centennial" available at Books Inc. on Burlingame Avenue. It's a fund raiser for The Burlingame Historical Society and is available directly from the Burlingame Historical Society as well. Lastly it's available on Amazon, but that wouldn't be shopping local and the historical society does not benefit as much from a sale thorough Amazon. Happy Holidays and happy reading.

All About Anson

The Library is hosting an event about Anson Burlingame next week.  While old Anson didn't spend much time in B'game, he did have quite an impact on international affairs.  You can read about the Tuesday event here.

I know I cannot make it so if you go, please take some notes and fill everyone in on the information David Chai presents!

Remembering Geo. Howard

Our very own Joanne Garrison, author of the Burlingame Centennial book, has a retrospective piece in the Daily Journal about local architectural legend George Howard.  In it she notes

Most of George’s architectural projects were either Neoclassical or English Tudor in design, reflecting the Gilded Age preference for all things European. The one major exception was the project for which he is best known, the Burlingame train station. In 1893, the newly formed Burlingame Country Club sought its own train station to welcome guests in style from San Francisco. George and his architect partner Joachim Mathisen chose a quintessentially California design for the station—that of a California mission. The train station, completed in 1894, is now designated as a California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due primarily to its architectural significance as the earliest permanent example of California Mission Revival architecture.

If you would care to learn more and perhaps add a bit of info (for you old timers), the Historical Society has a place for that too.  Here's the aforementioned book which is available at Books, Inc. and makes a great present during the holidays.

Is Burlingame's post office historic? If so, what can be done?

FREE Online Forum - Historic Post Office Closures

 

Thursday, November 8, 2012

12:00-1:00 PM

 

California Preservation Foundation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Los Angeles Conservancy are offering a FREE online forum.

 

Due to deep budget deficits, the U.S. Postal Service plans to close, relocate, or downsize numerous post offices throughout the country.  Many of California’s Historic Post Offices will be impacted by this and some have already been affected.  The process for the sale of post offices has been confusing and unclear. Hear about what has occurred to date across the country and the process for closure and relocation and how you and your organization can get involved.  Also, hear about lessons learned from recent Post Offices closures in California.

 

This online forum is free and open to the public.  The format will include a presentation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, California Preservation Foundation, and the Los Angeles Conservancy followed by time for questions and answers.  If you have a specific question to submit ahead of time, please email it to Jennifer Gates at  jgates@californiapreservation.org.

 

Registration is FREE so sign up now!

 

For additional information or questions please contact California Preservation Foundation at

cpf@californiapreservation.org or call 415-495-0349.

The Other Candy Store

There are a couple of great candy stores in B'game.  Preston's on B'way is the classic.  Powell's is doing a nice business just south of B'game Avenue.  But the most intriguing one in town doesn't have any sugary treats.  It's the Candy Store across from the tennis courts in Washington Park and is filled with the best-of-the-best collectible cars.  The club does rent out the facility for events, but after 20+ years in town, last night was my first visit.  As the website notes:

The elegant Spanish style building was designed in 1928 as a Packard Dealership for Earl C. Anthony.

And it houses several Packards to this day along with Ferraris, Jags and a gorgeous Duesenberg.  Here's a view of the center aisle.  Notice how the truss work reflects the design of time.

Truly a gem of B'game.