tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85921749389969324152024-03-13T20:12:04.120-07:00Liz in San Francisco- San Francisco News with a ViewLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.comBlogger382125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-83974858447470570932010-05-21T20:40:00.000-07:002010-05-22T20:59:20.771-07:00Sea Lions of Fisherman's Wharf Celebrate 20th Anniversary and Welcome Home Party!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_dbUxyoaFI/AAAAAAAAC80/jHGKPwiybwc/s1600/IMG_5096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_dbUxyoaFI/AAAAAAAAC80/jHGKPwiybwc/s320/IMG_5096.jpg" /></a></div>The most popular question the public ask about the sea lions is, 'what do you feed them?' said Ann Bower at the Welcome Home and 20th Anniversary party at Pier 39 today. <br />
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Of course, the answer is that the sea lions feed themselves! she said. Ann is Director of Education at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, and has been working with Pier 39 ever since the sea lions arrived.<br />
<i>(pic left, with Kathy Paver, Marketing Senior Vice-President with Pier 39) </i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ibvnfTPBI/AAAAAAAAC-0/D7dlPYR7pCM/s1600/IMG_5072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ibvnfTPBI/AAAAAAAAC-0/D7dlPYR7pCM/s320/IMG_5072.jpg" /></a>Another often-asked question is, what caused the sea lions to pick this particular spot, and what causes them to stay?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_icOD2p9QI/AAAAAAAAC-8/bJRn9LuDfKU/s1600/IMG_5074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_icOD2p9QI/AAAAAAAAC-8/bJRn9LuDfKU/s320/IMG_5074.jpg" /></a>'No-one's asked them, they haven't told us!' said Ann, but she would offer three answers: the dock is comfortable with floats laid down, sheltered by a harbour wall, and they don't have to swim far for their food.<br />
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She was there this morning with other members of the center including Executive Director Jeff Boehm, members of Pier 39, Harbourmaster Sheila Chandor, and staff of Aquarium of the Bay. All were there to share the celebrations of the return of the sea lions and their 20th anniversary with several hundred members of the public. <br />
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Alongside, about 200 sea lions paticipated noisily as free hats, Coca Cola and Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water were handed out, along with pieces of a lavish party cake and chocolate cup cakes.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_idKfwfG7I/AAAAAAAAC_E/s1ShM31QrR4/s1600/IMG_5086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_idKfwfG7I/AAAAAAAAC_E/s1ShM31QrR4/s320/IMG_5086.jpg" /></a>Why are the sea lions so endearingly popular? she was asked by Jan, a freelance radio journalist. 'Because people see something of themselves in them,' she said, adding that she thinks people 'just like big mammals,' evidenced also by the popularity of whales and elephants.<br />
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How would she describe sea lions? 'Gregarious, boisterous, enjoying being next to each other...fat and sassy!'<br />
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When it comes to being next to each other, anyone who has stood on the pier and watched is struck by not just by 'next to each other' but 'on top of each other!' Yesterday, there were empty rafts galore because of the mass exodus last fall, so the sea lions could each have commanded their own territory, but there they were, stashed and heaped as ever on a few rafts.<br />
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'Sack of potatoes,' said Ann. The secret lies in the word 'thigmotactic' - 'you've got to have a lot of letters to get it in scrabble!' The first part, 'thigmo' stems from Greek and means 'to touch'. The second part means 'movement' or 'arranging in order.'<br />
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Sea lions are not happy bunnies?!!! unless they touch each other as they flip flop and snoooze, bask and play. <br />
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Mostly! It was noticeable that when the band struck up their equally boisterous tunes, trumpeting and oompahing and drumming out songs like 'Popeye the Sailor Man!' from the top of the pier, that the sea lions responded.<br />
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Was it imagination, or did the sea lions really sway, and they did seem particularly lively. Were they catching an air of excitement and responding?<br />
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They were not used to the music, said Ann, and were making some response to an unfamiliar sound, but generally more excited? This made her chuckle. There was another reason! Breeding season is approaching, the time when every full-blooded, testosterone-packed male readies himself. Soon, they will migrate south to the Channel Islands, off the south coast of California, and conquer - leaving only 'young juveniles or old boys too tired to care!' Kathy Paver added in her interview. <i>(previous blog)</i><br />
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Which comes back to the touching. Stolid, and proud and alone sat a bruiser of a black sea lion who had elicited squeals of delight from a group of schoolchildren as another sea lion attempted to scramble onto his empty float, and was knocked back into the sea.<i> </i>Some 800 lbs of solid sea lion practising marking out his territory in readiness for a summer of love.<br />
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Also there in the colony were small sea lions, but they were not pups, said Ann, rather one-year-olds and maybe some two-year-olds.<br />
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And there is always a question about the difference between sea lions and seals: sea lions have little brown ear-flaps and long, front flippers.<br />
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Sea lions are migratory creatures, but the extent of last year's ebb and flow took even the Marine Mammal Center and Pier 39 staff by surprise, said Jeff Boehm, Executive Director of the center. The animals are 'opportunistic feeders' he said, and 'clearly something changed' but they could not be sure of the whole picture.<br />
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Jeff has been quoted in the media as saying that anchovies and sardines attracted a record-sized herd of 1,701 to haul out in K-Dock last October, and that low herring supplies caused an equally dramatic exodus after Thanksgiving. But yesterday, he said while these were factors, it was not necessarily the whole answer.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igE94rCII/AAAAAAAAC_0/JqGPwxhcSjg/s1600/IMG_5064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igE94rCII/AAAAAAAAC_0/JqGPwxhcSjg/s320/IMG_5064.jpg" /></a>Many of the sea lions swum north to the Sea Lion Caves in Oregon. Could their return here be linked to overcrowding there? It was possible, he said. Sea lions are dynamic and will simply find food.<br />
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After cutting the anniversary cake, Jeff was thrilled with the party and seeing, he said, the excitement that people had being around wild animals. Pier 39 was a 'significant urban center' and also offered a 'significant opportunity' to encourage people to care about animals and the environment, he also said.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igXumt5nI/AAAAAAAAC_8/rkHakPFPbmA/s1600/IMG_5075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igXumt5nI/AAAAAAAAC_8/rkHakPFPbmA/s320/IMG_5075.jpg" /></a> Visiting the city for a few days from Tampa, Florida, were friends Richard and Jan. 'We just came to look at the sea lions. We had no clue about party cake!' said Jan. This was her first trip to the city, and Richard's, the first for 20 years.<br />
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'I think they're great!' said Jan, of the sea lions.<br />
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Sitting on the pier was Shari with her five-year-old son, Miles.<br />
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'I've been keeping up with them. I grew up in San Francisco, and it's good to see them back,' she said.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igi5hXGeI/AAAAAAAADAE/nLZeRkOXE8I/s1600/IMG_5091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igi5hXGeI/AAAAAAAADAE/nLZeRkOXE8I/s320/IMG_5091.jpg" /></a></div>Shari remembers their arrival, three months after the Loma Prieta earthquake in October, 1989. She also remembers the day of the quake. She was on her way upstairs when the house shook, and her aunt had crossed the Bay Bridge from Oakland just minutes before a section of it collapsed.<br />
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Miles, too, was excited with the sea lions and their party.<br />
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Had he known there was a party? 'Yes!'<br />
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Did he like the sea lions? 'Yes!'<br />
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Did he like the cake? 'Yes!'<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igqWBqLsI/AAAAAAAADAM/PE8_280HJJk/s1600/IMG_5079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_igqWBqLsI/AAAAAAAADAM/PE8_280HJJk/s320/IMG_5079.jpg" /></a></div>It was a positive day all round!<br />
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Entertainment continued on the pier with traditonal fun with Scott, one of their street performers, and Salty. New to the scene with a digital twist was Prasant Mohapatra, Co-Founder of Mapiz, a free 'app' with a 'Save the Sea Lions' game.<br />
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Players save the sea lions from dangers ranging from environmental to killer whales and sharks, and each day at 9 pm a winner is awarded two free tickets for rides on the Rocket Boat in the bay.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ig1HQ9o-I/AAAAAAAADAU/3BFMYo4Vtcs/s1600/IMG_5062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ig1HQ9o-I/AAAAAAAADAU/3BFMYo4Vtcs/s320/IMG_5062.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ihfnTUpAI/AAAAAAAADAc/rMrhlPug2hY/s1600/IMG_5068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_ihfnTUpAI/AAAAAAAADAc/rMrhlPug2hY/s320/IMG_5068.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The start-up company provides location-based gaming, and Pier 39 are only their third customer. Mapiz.com also sends out 'near casts' - info to people in close range letting them know, for example, that a party is happening on Pier 39!Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-4372134141422098662010-05-21T18:29:00.000-07:002010-05-21T20:54:11.538-07:00Pier 39 Celebrates Return of Missing Sea Lions and 20th Anniversary of Their Arrival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cUqhb-vXI/AAAAAAAAC7c/j3Zt7EkSiLA/s1600/IMG_5047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cUqhb-vXI/AAAAAAAAC7c/j3Zt7EkSiLA/s320/IMG_5047.jpg" /></a></div>It was a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the sea lions' arrival at Pier 39 - and this time the guests of honour did show up!<br />
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Around 200 sea lions put in a lively, boisterous appearance as a band struck up on the pier and fellow guests donned party hats, munched birthday cake and cup cakes, and partied.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cXqZmv8BI/AAAAAAAAC78/tN-h-iEE6tU/s1600/IMG_5064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cXqZmv8BI/AAAAAAAAC78/tN-h-iEE6tU/s320/IMG_5064.jpg" /></a> The centre party piece was a cake artistically decorated with a seal on top. Cutting the cake marked the start of celebrations at 11 am, the honour falling to Kathy Paver, Marketing Senior Vice-President of Pier 39, and Jeff Boehm, Executive Director of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, with a little help from Salty.<br />
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Kathy said she was 'absolutely thrilled' at the party. 'We had to postpone because we had none of our friends here!' she said.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cufG-beDI/AAAAAAAAC8M/VRckWzFBia4/s1600/IMG_2649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cufG-beDI/AAAAAAAAC8M/VRckWzFBia4/s320/IMG_2649.jpg" /></a></div>The party had been due to be held in January, marking the month in 1990 when the sea lions began to cluster in K-dock, but after reaching record numbers last fall, the animals suddenly disappeared leaving only a handful of stalwarts.<br />
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Pier 39 were waiting for between 100 and 200 to return before they held the party. Slowly, over the last few weeks there has been a stable increase in numbers and so today also became a Welcome Home party.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cYHC3al9I/AAAAAAAAC8E/IksqZVW_YJw/s1600/IMG_5071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cYHC3al9I/AAAAAAAAC8E/IksqZVW_YJw/s320/IMG_5071.jpg" /></a>The 'favourite of tourists and residents alike' are back. 'Everybody's happy!' said Kathy. <br />
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No-one knows the history of the sea lions better than her for she has been there from the beginning when they put in their first unexpected appearance in K-Dock. And it wasn't easy! Kathy was a shopping center developer, in post at the pier for less than two years. Suddenly she was carer for a small colony of barking, boisterous sea lions, a role that hadn't been included in her job description!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cUwv3LEpI/AAAAAAAAC7k/u91EcPSlgLQ/s1600/IMG_5051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cUwv3LEpI/AAAAAAAAC7k/u91EcPSlgLQ/s320/IMG_5051.jpg" /></a>'There was a whole group of us that didn't know what to do!' she said. <br />
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At first, the number of sea lions was small. 'We had a few, then a few more,' she said. Soon, numbers rose to between three-and-four hundred, the sea lions having swum around the curve of the coastline and into the bay. They were relocating from Seal Rocks, below Cliff House at the north end of Ocean Beach. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cup-_lDcI/AAAAAAAAC8k/vRobXcjdxPw/s1600/IMG_2670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cup-_lDcI/AAAAAAAAC8k/vRobXcjdxPw/s320/IMG_2670.jpg" /></a>She rang the Marine Mammal Center across the bay in Sausalito, and credits Ann Bower, Director of Education, with a lot of the success of the sea lions' residency. Also Sheila Chandor, Harbourmaster, both of whom were guests at the party today.<br />
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Kathy discovered that the sea lions were a protected species and, next, that their arrival attracted a lot of media attention. K-Dock at that time had both local boats moored there and a guest docking area, and the boats were having trouble navigating around the new arrivals.<br />
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'We really just decided, "Well okay! You win!"'' she said. They found moorings for the boats elsewhere and created a protective environment within a far more unusual urban setting.<br />
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'I remember walking in high heels down the dock and thinking "I'm out of my mind!"'<br />
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Gradually, with experience, other safety issues were added. Entry to the dock was closed to the public and journalists no longer interviewed on the dock. Part of the success story is that over the 20 years there have been no accidents to either the sea lions or people, she said.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">pics also by Simon </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cXI66674I/AAAAAAAAC7s/RwiE3bV3SP4/s1600/IMG_5073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_cXI66674I/AAAAAAAAC7s/RwiE3bV3SP4/s320/IMG_5073.jpg" /></a>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-21678318482953482252010-05-20T21:29:00.000-07:002010-05-20T21:38:11.203-07:00Pier 39 Sea Lions' Welcome Home and 20th Anniversary Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YFeck5NqI/AAAAAAAAC60/l5cRNA8_E04/s1600/DSC02354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YFeck5NqI/AAAAAAAAC60/l5cRNA8_E04/s320/DSC02354.jpg" /></a><br />
Commemorative party hats, free cup cakes, coca cola and alpine spring water are being given out at Pier 39 tomorrow as part of the sea lions' party.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YFixkNITI/AAAAAAAAC68/lLitz6qZHaI/s1600/DSC02355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YFixkNITI/AAAAAAAAC68/lLitz6qZHaI/s320/DSC02355.jpg" /></a>The guests of honour won't be participating in the party food or wearing the hats, but hundreds of people will be eating, drinking and celebrating in their honour.<br />
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The Pier 39 party is both a postponed celebration of the 20th anniversary since the sea lions took up residence at the pier, and a welcome home party!<br />
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The party had been planned for January, on the anniversary of the sea lions' arrival at the pier in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. But after reaching record numbers of 1,701 in October last year, they mysteriously disappeared, to be discovered in Oregon.<br />
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However, over the last month, to the delight of Pier 39 staff and tourists, up to 300 have returned.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YMG6wgMtI/AAAAAAAAC7M/Kd5-BSFK5yc/s1600/IMG_5032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YMG6wgMtI/AAAAAAAAC7M/Kd5-BSFK5yc/s320/IMG_5032.jpg" /></a>And so the party is on!<br />
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Naturalists from The Marine Mammal Center and Aquarium of the Bay will be there to talk about the sea lions. Drinks are being given by Coca Cola and Crystal Geyser, and all party gifts are available while supplies last.<br />
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The party begins at 11 am and continues until 2 pm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YNRixlQYI/AAAAAAAAC7U/BopOQ35V56Q/s1600/IMG_5029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_YNRixlQYI/AAAAAAAAC7U/BopOQ35V56Q/s320/IMG_5029.jpg" /></a></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-47197988817369882252010-05-18T18:51:00.000-07:002010-05-19T08:52:31.054-07:00San Francisco's Emergency Services Train for Water-based Terrorist Attack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAh5wh8hI/AAAAAAAAC6k/FpU7yZp1Uiw/s1600/IMG_5014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAh5wh8hI/AAAAAAAAC6k/FpU7yZp1Uiw/s320/IMG_5014.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAkkCu6_I/AAAAAAAAC6s/2jbsBeVwyFY/s1600/IMG_5013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAkkCu6_I/AAAAAAAAC6s/2jbsBeVwyFY/s320/IMG_5013.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAZ6C6J3I/AAAAAAAAC6c/8bTZrZemKZo/s1600/IMG_5012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_NAZ6C6J3I/AAAAAAAAC6c/8bTZrZemKZo/s320/IMG_5012.jpg" /></a>San Francisco's emergency services held a major training exercise this morning to help protect the city against a water-based terrorist attack.<br />
<br />
The exercise involved two sea lions and a dolphin from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program who are trained to detect underwater mines and intruder divers. <br />
<br />
Their venue, McCovey Cove behind the Giants' AT & T baseball park, where 42,940 fans had packed into the stadium on the opening day of the season.<br />
<br />
Any large gathering place in the US, especially a sports stadium, is a potential target, said an informed bystander who wished to remain anonymous.<br />
<br />
It has taken about a year to prepare for the exercise, which is held once every five years and is part of a wider state drill, including at the port of Oakland across the bay.<br />
<br />
The planning itself has proved crucial as it has given the emergency services opportunity to think of new ways in how the city might be attacked.<br />
<br />
'There are over 50 specific things we identified to be lacking, so that alone makes this a success,' continued the bystander.<br />
<br />
Training for today was based around the question, 'What would you do if.........? We have been thinking "outside of the box",' he said.<br />
<br />
'We know there are all sorts of places we don't want to think about. It's important to look at everything we can.'<br />
<br />
The emergency services are not complacent, however. The result of the year-long process and today's practice 'may not be an A-plus but a passing grade,' he said, but without the exercise there is 'maybe something we wouldn't have done.'Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-62614512879475055242010-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:002010-05-20T20:59:36.332-07:00Sea Lions of Pier 39 Are Back and Postponed 20th Anniversary Party to be Held in Their Honour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4fNmafpVI/AAAAAAAAC5s/dW6SnEz7la0/s1600/IMG_4954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4fNmafpVI/AAAAAAAAC5s/dW6SnEz7la0/s320/IMG_4954.jpg" /></a></div>They're back! The missing sea lions of Pier 39 have been returning to their floats over the last four weeks, and in their honour a postponed 20th anniversary party is to be held next Friday.<br />
<br />
From pups to the big and bulbous, somnabulent, and the comical 'don't mind me!' clumsy clamberers, the beloved barking residents of K-dock are back delighting the public.<br />
<br />
'We're so happy, it's great to have our sea lions back. We always knew they'd come back!' said Sue Muzzin, Director of Public Relations & Advertising.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4hXPY4szI/AAAAAAAAC58/jCoviHY3Rto/s1600/IMG_4956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4hXPY4szI/AAAAAAAAC58/jCoviHY3Rto/s320/IMG_4956.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The sea lions have been returning in higher numbers over the last four weeks. 'We've probably seen about 150 to 300,' Sue said today. Details of the planned party are to be released soon.<br />
<br />
The famous California sea lions are a major tourist attraction and have been bringing prosperity to Pier 39 for 20 years. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4fa9B6uLI/AAAAAAAAC50/TWkf2zzCPy8/s1600/IMG_4945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4fa9B6uLI/AAAAAAAAC50/TWkf2zzCPy8/s320/IMG_4945.jpg" /></a>Their numbers had risen to record highs of 1,585 in September, and 1,701 in October. And then, just as suddenly, they vanished almost overnight, their numbers dwindling to a handful.<br />
<br />
Their migration was thought to be due to food supplies, their increase because of anchovies and their disappearance a result of a low herring supply in the bay this winter. Many of the sea lions swum north to the Sea Lion Caves in Oregon.<br />
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Their return is thought also to be linked to food sources. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4hmfVxxYI/AAAAAAAAC6E/6uAfunLBzeE/s1600/IMG_4950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4hmfVxxYI/AAAAAAAAC6E/6uAfunLBzeE/s320/IMG_4950.jpg" /></a></div>A party in January to mark the 20th anniversary of their arrival was mostly postponed. Instead of the planned celebration, a much smaller event was held. Docents from the Marine Mammal Center met with the public at the pier to talk about the sea lions.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4ek5J7B-I/AAAAAAAAC5k/3CTQ-xb2r-8/s1600/IMG_4941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-4ek5J7B-I/AAAAAAAAC5k/3CTQ-xb2r-8/s320/IMG_4941.jpg" /></a><br />
The animals started to congregate there in January 1990, just weeks after the October, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake. There were between 10 - 50 at first, but by March of that year numbers had risen to over 300.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-26374870530605264742010-05-09T21:28:00.000-07:002010-05-10T17:18:02.379-07:00Kaiwo Maru Leaves San Francisco After Commemoration of 150th Anniversary of First Japanese Vessel to Visit City and First Japanese Embassy to Visit America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iYylrXctI/AAAAAAAAC4E/FOzLjW42qrE/s1600/IMG_4922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iYylrXctI/AAAAAAAAC4E/FOzLjW42qrE/s320/IMG_4922.jpg" /></a></div>Carrying over 400 goodwill messages from children in San Francisco to children in Japan, the captain and crew of the Kaiwo Maru sailed out of the bay this afternoon.<br />
<br />
Several hundred people gathered on Pier 27 for a closing ceremony that marked the end of a commemorative visit celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first Japanese vessel to sail to the city, and the first visit of a Japanese embassy to America. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iYYhaZPII/AAAAAAAAC38/Eq24z-LAcJc/s1600/IMG_4918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iYYhaZPII/AAAAAAAAC38/Eq24z-LAcJc/s320/IMG_4918.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A member of the Japanese parliament, Mr <br />
Taro Kono, flew into the city this morning to attend the ceremony, and a symposium on the anniversary that is taking place tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-icmJEYTzI/AAAAAAAAC4U/GGqasSSl6AY/s1600/IMG_4908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-icmJEYTzI/AAAAAAAAC4U/GGqasSSl6AY/s320/IMG_4908.jpg" /></a>He described the anniversary as 'a very good bridge between Japan and the US' and said he hoped the Japanese community in California would continue to be a bridge between the two countries.<br />
<i>(pic of Mr Kono in blue cap with Mr Steve Matsuura, Co-Chair of the anniversary committee, as they watch the ship depart)</i><br />
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Over 2,000 people toured the ship yesterday and saw a poster exhibition, Captain Makoto Inui said. On behalf of his crew and cadets, he said, 'We will<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-igRjmoetI/AAAAAAAAC4k/7LVCZpV5E3o/s1600/IMG_4885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-igRjmoetI/AAAAAAAAC4k/7LVCZpV5E3o/s320/IMG_4885.jpg" /></a></div>never forget such a warm-hearted hospitality....I don't say "goodbye", I say, "See you!"'<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iXZCIvORI/AAAAAAAAC30/MTIqb7kPAQM/s1600/IMG_4841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iXZCIvORI/AAAAAAAAC30/MTIqb7kPAQM/s320/IMG_4841.jpg" /></a>San Francisco's Consul General of Japan, Yasumasa Nagamine, said, 'This has been an extraordinary, magnificent five days.' Stretched before him on the pier wall was art work from schoolchildren in the city, and Japanese drummers, Maikaze Daiko, had earlier fascinated the crowd with an energetic performance. <br />
<br />
Without the visit of the Kanrin Maru in 1860 and the accompanying delegation of Japanese ambassadors, San Francisco's Japantown 'would probably not have existed,' it was said during the ceremony. Part of the purpose of the commemoration was to deepen the friendship between the two countries. <br />
<br />
Cultural events have been held, the city welcomed the arrival of the Kaiwo Maru on Friday with a presentation of a plaque and photo, and receptions have been held on board the ship and in the Consulate of Japan. Hundreds of schoolchildren have also been involved and had entered an art competition, which focussed on the anniversary, and friendship between Japan and the US.<br />
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The Kaiwo Maru is a four-masted, 361 ft training ship. Her visit commemorated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Kanrin Maru on March 17, 1860, and travelling as a passenger on board was a descendant of the orignal crew. <br />
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Acting as escort for three Japanese ambassadors on board the USS Powhatan in 1860, the battered ship arrived three days ahead of the US Navy ship that had had to stop for repairs in Hawaii.<br />
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The ambassadors travelled on to Washington and ratified the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation with President James Buchanan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-igjFScTnI/AAAAAAAAC4s/ooodBxHvUlQ/s1600/IMG_4857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-igjFScTnI/AAAAAAAAC4s/ooodBxHvUlQ/s320/IMG_4857.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The visit of the Kaiwo Maru, said the Consul General, would be remembered for many years and had been 'one of the best highlights of this commemorative year.' The crew, he added, had had fun in the city playing basketball and dancing.<i> (pic of the Consul General presenting an art award)</i><br />
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Co-Chair of the anniversary committee, Mr Allen Okamoto, told Captain Inui, 'Your ship is absolutely special, your crew is a delight, and you have an open invitation to return to San Francisco anytime.'<br />
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<br />
The art competition involved drawings, paintings and posters depicting the Kanrin Maru, the Kaiwo Maru and the ocean. Winners of the Consul General Award and the Captain's Award were presented with certificates.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-eKD2Z_GJI/AAAAAAAAC3k/TCoWB1PeLCs/s1600/IMG_4901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-eKD2Z_GJI/AAAAAAAAC3k/TCoWB1PeLCs/s320/IMG_4901.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A winner of both awards, for a delicate pencil sketch of the Kaiwo Maru with the Bay Bridge in the background, was 15-year-old Fumi<i>.</i><br />
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'I think it's a really good thing that the US and Japan are really good friends and not having a war. We were having a war but now we're friends,' said Fumi, who will be taking an art class next year.<br />
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The ship sailed about 4 pm, her crew skimming up the ropes to stand on the rigging for a final goodbye as two American Navy tugs pulled her gently from the dockside. Then, with red and white flag streaming from behind, and the crew scrambling back onto the deck, she was escorted out of the bay by the tugs and a Coast Guard boat.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iZmHwrGfI/AAAAAAAAC4M/NAef9yEcjwc/s1600/IMG_4924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-iZmHwrGfI/AAAAAAAAC4M/NAef9yEcjwc/s320/IMG_4924.jpg" /></a></div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-55327914575335414122010-05-05T22:13:00.000-07:002010-05-09T20:59:50.434-07:00150th Anniversary of First Japanese Vessel to Visit San Francisco and First Japanese Embassy to America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-XqvbuCqlI/AAAAAAAAC28/oCFk6RQFhIM/s1600/ship1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-XqvbuCqlI/AAAAAAAAC28/oCFk6RQFhIM/s320/ship1.jpg" /></a></div>A tall-masted Japanese sailing ship, the Kaiwo Maru, came into the bay today to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the visit of both the first official Japanese vessel to San Francisco and the first Japanese embassy to America. <i>(pic by Chris)</i><br />
<br />
In 1860, the Kanrin Maru escorted three ambassadors, who were aboard a US naval ship, arriving battered from severe storms on March 17. <i> </i><br />
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It was the beginning of a historic visit that sealed a new friendship and trade treaty between the two countries.<br />
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And it also gave the captain his first taste of ice-cream! <br />
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San Francisco today is home to a thriving Japanese culture and has the largest and oldest Japantown in the USA. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-MkLotBBiI/AAAAAAAAC2s/IU-JX_S0oag/s1600/IMG_4835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-MkLotBBiI/AAAAAAAAC2s/IU-JX_S0oag/s320/IMG_4835.jpg" /></a>This morning the Kaiwo Maru docked at Pier 27 and will be here until Sunday, with an open-day and exhibition for the public on Saturday. <br />
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'This is most important for us,' said Captain Makoto Inui, early this evening as he welcomed people on board for a reception.<br />
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Later, during a brief reception speech, he said that he hoped the visit would 'promote more and more friendship' between the USA and Japan.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-JLqJN_EyI/AAAAAAAAC2M/WQ7J7F_jF4g/s1600/IMG_4830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-JLqJN_EyI/AAAAAAAAC2M/WQ7J7F_jF4g/s320/IMG_4830.jpg" /></a>And he was delighted, he said, pointing upwards, to be in San Francisco and to hold a party under such a 'sunny, beautiful blue sky!'<br />
<br />
When the Kaiwo Maru docked this morning, the Captain and crew were officially welcomed on the dockside at 10 am by a city representative and leaders of the Japanese community. A commemorative plaque and photo of the city were presented on behalf of Mayor Gavin Newsom, and the Cherry Blossom Queen gave a bouquet.<br />
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This evening among the guests were the Consul General of Japan, Yasumasa Nagamine, the Executive Committee of the 150th Anniversary of the First Japanese Vessel to San Francisco, and members of local Japanese associations. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-MklE5GVHI/AAAAAAAAC20/-RR6nmjm32w/s1600/IMG_4833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-MklE5GVHI/AAAAAAAAC20/-RR6nmjm32w/s320/IMG_4833.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Among the 171 people sailing with the ship are direct descendants of the original crew in 1860, including Mr Yoshiharu Masai who is sailing as a passenger.<br />
<br />
Mr Masai said that he was very happy to be standing where his family had once stood.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-JMop4CV8I/AAAAAAAAC2U/5b0Kxr8cxxw/s1600/IMG_4831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-JMop4CV8I/AAAAAAAAC2U/5b0Kxr8cxxw/s320/IMG_4831.jpg" /></a>A member of The Society of the Kanrin-Maru Crew Descendants, he said that they had found 400 families with historical connections to the 96 crew members, although only 12 had joined the society.<br />
<br />
Tracing people through family trees had been difficult, he said, speaking mostly through Masashi Sugawara, Junior Third Officer, who acted as interpreter - <i>pictured</i><br />
<br />
During his stay he will be meeting some families in San Francisco. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-K_Bys8FYI/AAAAAAAAC2c/Ltx8Xb9TInU/s1600/IMG_4836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S-K_Bys8FYI/AAAAAAAAC2c/Ltx8Xb9TInU/s320/IMG_4836.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The visit of the Kaiwo Maru has been something of a coup for the Japanese community, and marks the first of about 40 commemorative events being held around the Bay Area this year.<br />
<br />
Mr Isao 'Steve' Matsuura, Co-Chair of the anniversary committee, said the ship had originally been due to end her voyage in Hawaii. The Consul General and others had negotiated to extend the voyage, which has been paid for from San Francisco.<br />
<br />
'But we are successful. It is here today, it has met our goals. We are very happy!' he said.<br />
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The four-masted Kaiwo Maru is four times bigger than her historical counterpart, he said. The Kanrin Maru was 'wrecked' when she arrived in the city after her non-stop five-week voyage and spent two months in a shipyard for repairs. <br />
<br />
She arrived three days ahead of the ambassadors in the USS Powhatan as that ship had to put in for repairs in Hawaii.<br />
<br />
However, it gave the crew a chance to spend two months walking around the city. Captain Katsu Rintaro had made an entry in his diary that he had seen ice-cream for the first time - and he liked it very much! said Steve Matsuura.<br />
<br />
On that visit, the ship had been formally welcomed with an opening ceremony and the presentation of a plaque on Pier 9.<br />
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A closing ceremony for the Kaiwo Maru will be held on Sunday at Pier 27, beginning with cultural events for an hour at 1.30 pm, before the ceremony takes place. Then the Kaiwo Maru, a training ship of the Institute of Maritime Training in Japan, will sail again out of the bay. However, the ship sailed in under engine power and will also depart that way, leaving her sails furled. <br />
<br />
Among the other events this year are a joint Tea Ceremony of the three Japanese schools in the Bay Area, to be held in the Asian Art Museum on May 15; a three-day international visit of 200 Japanese people who will live in American homes, part of a grassroots celebration between August 24 - 30; and a Grand Finale of 1,000 world-renowned, Japanese drummers, though mostly from the Bay Area, and led by Kitaro who is writing new music for the occasion.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-7006112069523564152010-04-30T22:08:00.000-07:002010-05-01T12:26:10.927-07:00Fior d'Italia Celebrates 125th Anniversary Year in Authentic Italian Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9w2J-cXPPI/AAAAAAAAC1s/nxz_dmWOqY4/s1600/IMG_4812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9w2J-cXPPI/AAAAAAAAC1s/nxz_dmWOqY4/s320/IMG_4812.jpg" /></a></div>'We're just thrilled to be going into our 125th year,' said Bob Larive, owner of the Fior d'Italia.<br />
<br />
Bob and his wife, Jinx, have owned the Fior for 20 years and as such are the newest keepers of over a century of history and tradition.<br />
<br />
A tradition and record not only within San Francisco but for the whole of America as The Fior carries the flag for being the oldest continuously operating Italian restaurant in the country. <br />
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'I'm proud that we've been able to do that,' said Bob. Over the 125 years, only three groups of people have owned the restaurant. His days are steeped in history, with photos of his forebears and historic photos of the restaurant hanging all around the walls. And he's looking forward to the next 125 years, joking that he wouldn't be around for that celebration.<br />
<br />
The Fior, he said, represents the 'veteran' San Franciscan restaurant, holding onto tradition with 'real Italian food, like grandma used to make.' Every so often, a customer will comment that the food reminds them of their grandmother's cooking. 'Nothing makes my chef prouder,' said Bob.<br />
<br />
Upholding authentic Italian cuisine in a competing market of what Bob describes as 'yuppie' restaurants, is obviously a challenge. Yuppie restaurants do 'funny things with the food', are popular for a year or two and then move on, he said. In the interim, they are affecting the city's traditional restaurants, some of whom have had to close. 'That's a shame,' he said.<br />
<br />
The Fior also offers 'real service' with staff that 'stay with us forever,' he said. 'JC', and he pointed, had been working there for 32 years. There is not the same professionalism in restaurants that use college kids in training, he said. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9w2SAIROGI/AAAAAAAAC10/McPtMlfquuM/s1600/IMG_4810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9w2SAIROGI/AAAAAAAAC10/McPtMlfquuM/s320/IMG_4810.jpg" /></a>The enduring style of The Fior, said Bob, may be semi-formal with the waiters wearing tuxedos, but it is also 'a lot of fun.' <br />
<br />
'It's casual in its own way,' he said.<br />
<br />
Fun today it certainly was, with the restaurant crowded with people enjoying their Victorian celebration for as little as 5 cents or as much as 30 cents.<br />
<br />
Chef<b style="font-weight: normal;"> Gianni Audieri couldn't agree more. Is he going to produce a signature dish for the anniversary?</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
Horror sweeps across his brow. 'I don't believe in signature dishes,' he said. Chef Gianni has been there for 25 years and his great love is for authentic Italian food.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><i>pic with Bill Del Monte, the 104-year-old son of the founder of The Fior<br />
</i></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"> </b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Neither does he, when asked, recommend a favourite dish out of the 70 dishes on the menu. Always his reply is, 'You decide! It's your taste!'<br />
<br />
Has this 72-year-old chef created any of the dishes on the menu, given them a personal twist?<br />
<br />
'No, I try to stay traditional,' he said, abhorring modern experimentation like 'putting bananas in pasta!' His search and goal to stay true to the cooking of old Italy.<br />
<br />
Of course, the menu has changed from its earliest days. The original menu featured frogs legs, but that was not on offer today. A lot of dishes, sweetbread - pancreas - liver, kidneys have faded from the menu as 'most people do not accept it,' he said. <br />
<br />
There is also much more meat as people can afford it now.<br />
<br />
The Fior's cuisine is based on the traditional cooking of Genoa and Tuscany, northern regions of Italy that in the old days were wealthier than the south.<br />
<br />
'North of Florence' , he explained, and you have the slightly richer egg pastas of cannelloni, lasagne, tagliatelle, ravioli and tortellini.<br />
<br />
'South of Rome' and you have the pastas that are made with only flour and water, like spaghetti, linguini, macaroni. With one complication that confuses people, 'tagliatelle' is a northern name, and 'fettucini' is the same pasta with a southern name.<br />
<br />
With the richer northern region, rice also became a starch staple, he added.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">And authenticity means lightness of sauce: one ounce of pasta with one ounce of sauce, said Chef Gianni, not the American and British way of smothering pasta in sauce! If 150 calories becomes 1,500 calories, who's fault is that?! he said.<br />
<br />
The Fior gradually over the years became one of San Francisco's top restaurants, but in the beginning it catered mostly for hungry, working men. Platters of salad and pasta would sit in the middle of the tables, the food plentiful when cents were not. They fed men toiling 12 hours a day, six days a week for $6, so that five cents for a meal was a lot of money, said Chef Gianni.<br />
<br />
Chef Gianni has had a rich and varied culinary experience, cooking around the world. He began in kitchens when he was only 16-years-old, and his talent was spotted. He was sent to culinary school and afterwards went to Lausanne to both cook and learn French. He has worked in Germany, Italy, England - including the Regency Hotel in Piccadilly - and on a cruise ship, emigrating to New York at the end of 1960. <br />
<br />
After nine years in New York, he went to the Carribean, Miami, South America, including Venezuela, and LA, where for a while he owned his own restaurant with a partner. When his restaurant went through difficult times, he had an offer to work at The Fior. <br />
<br />
'I said, "what the hell is the Fior d'Italia!' he recounted. But once he saw the restaurant and the beauty of San Francisco, he was hooked. Love blossomed not only in the kitchens and the city. He met and married his wife, Trudy, who was the restaurant's office manager, and today they have two boys, 'who are not cooking!' said Chef Gianni with a smile.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">With Bob and Jinx and Chef Gianni, history and tradition will continue to be celebrated and upheld for future generations.<br />
</b>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-79624773043679813792010-04-30T20:11:00.000-07:002010-04-30T20:44:40.248-07:00Fior d'Italia Celebrates 125th Anniversary Year with 104-year-old Bill Del Monte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uRkupFtHI/AAAAAAAAC00/_xcUCTOrizA/s1600/IMG_4788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uRkupFtHI/AAAAAAAAC00/_xcUCTOrizA/s320/IMG_4788.jpg" /></a></div>Seated in a vintage Surrey pulled by groomed horses this morning was 104-year-old Bill Del Monte, survivor of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, and youngest son of the founder of the Fior d'Italia that today launched its 125th anniversary year celebrations.<br />
<br />
Back on his head, his trademark tan tam o'shanter with its red and blue stripes instead of the commemorative fireman's helmet with which he was presented only two weeks ago at the annual earthquake commemoration. He didn't wear the helmet today as 'it looked too heavy!' he said. <br />
<br />
Bill was guest of honour at today's party, riding through the North Beach streets with family members and Senator Mark Leno, and escorted by the Sheriff's Mounted Posse.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uRttYnEhI/AAAAAAAAC08/J6EPl_OzxYo/s1600/IMG_4808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uRttYnEhI/AAAAAAAAC08/J6EPl_OzxYo/s320/IMG_4808.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Inside the restaurant he sat in a private area with friends and family, while customers filled the front part to enjoy their Victorian-priced lunch entrees. Behind him, a historic mural, thought to be of scenes of Tuscany and Umbria with the church of St Francis of Assisi, the painter unknown. <br />
<br />
Throughout the restaurant are historic photos of his family, staff, the different buildings that have housed The Fior, and reflections of old San Francisco. Today, the Fior is inside the San Remo Hotel on Mason Street.<br />
<i>pic of publicist Lee Houskeeper of San Francisco Stories, Bill, and neices Barbara Del Monte and Janette Barroca</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9ugjnCBkdI/AAAAAAAAC1U/lFAK2Nlyw9Y/s1600/IMG_4814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9ugjnCBkdI/AAAAAAAAC1U/lFAK2Nlyw9Y/s320/IMG_4814.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bill was born in January 1906, three months before the earthquake, in an apartment behind the restaurant. The paradox of it being a family restaurant was that it origins began in what was nicknamed the Barbary Coast, an area around North Beach infamous for saloons, opium and gambling dens, and brothels that served local San Franciscans, sailors, and farm-hands and miners of the gold rush.<br />
<br />
Bill's father came to California for the gold rush but turned to food instead. Settling in North Beach with many other Italian immigrants, he helped establish the area that became known as 'Little Italy.'<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9ug-I201AI/AAAAAAAAC1c/jIM0VyRwRug/s1600/IMG_4802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9ug-I201AI/AAAAAAAAC1c/jIM0VyRwRug/s320/IMG_4802.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i>photo of Bill's brothers and sister and parents: Attilio, Eva, Angelo and Assunta, Eugene, Guido, and Bill in front beside his mother.</i><br />
<br />
As a young man, Bill helped in the restaurant. 'I was a hat-check boy', he said. As family do, he worked without a salary but enjoyed the tips until the service was franchised out, and Bill's services were no longer wanted. They hired two good-looking girls instead, he said with a grin. And that was the end, for he never worked in the kitchens or waited at tables. <br />
<br />
However, he did enjoy the food! His favourite dish was veal made by one particular cook. He described the oval plate with the veal surrounded by sliced potatoes. 'I have never tasted it like that since, I don't know what he did....the herbs he used,' he said. In those days, he added, they had very young veal as the calves were slaughtered earlier than they are today.<br />
<br />
He was looking forward to a veal lunch again. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uSBZmylLI/AAAAAAAAC1M/XfD7iStSQBs/s1600/IMG_4816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9uSBZmylLI/AAAAAAAAC1M/XfD7iStSQBs/s320/IMG_4816.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Like Bill, The Fior, has travelled through a century and beyond, somehow managing to survive through a formidable array of events of natural disasters of earthquakes and fire, the politics of Prohibition, the Great Wall Street crash and Depression, two World Wars and recessions.<br />
<br />
However, Bill has no memories of his father, Angelo, talking about any particular difficulty. And it seems that when the restaurant was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, his father just got on with the business of rebuilding the business.<br />
<i>pic of owner Bob Larive and the private party area for family and friends</i><br />
<br />
'He enjoyed meeting people,' is what Bill remembers about him. There was a table reserved at lunchtimes for members of the upper society, like Amadeo Giannin, founder of the Bank of Italy before it became Bank of America. 'A lot of business was transacted at that table,' said Bill.<br />
<br />
Asked again what his secret was of not just living to 104 years but of being so active - could it be all that veal and pasta? - he said, 'I don't know. I've been lucky, I've lived through the most eventful century in history.'<br />
<br />
Never before or since have so many things been invented, he said. Automobiles, just two years before he was born, radios, electricity, TV and internet, were a few of what he listed.<br />
<br />
He is continuing to make history, escorted through the streets in vintage vehicles. When will be his next celebrity appearance? He laughed, he's not expecting any more, but as the living embodiment of over a century of San Francisco's history, this is probably not the last occasion.<br />
<br />
How does he feel being such a rich part of San Franciscan history?<br />
<br />
'I love that, it's nice,' he said.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-87621207685654724822010-04-30T15:57:00.000-07:002010-04-30T16:01:35.208-07:00Fior d'Italia Launches 125th Anniversary Year with Original Victorian Menu at Original Prices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9td_CKKUQI/AAAAAAAAC0U/-_NX0PaiWSo/s1600/IMG_4780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9td_CKKUQI/AAAAAAAAC0U/-_NX0PaiWSo/s320/IMG_4780.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Inside the Fior d'Italia restaurant today, it is May 1, 1886. And with veal, chicken, beef and pasta on the menu for no more than 30 cents, diners were wrapped around the side of the building by late morning like spaghetti around a fork!<br />
<br />
The Fior is celebrating the launch of its 125th anniversary year by throwing open its doors to customers with a sample menu of its original dishes at the same Victorian prices.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9td1xPZn7I/AAAAAAAAC0M/kqPXL9mC8V0/s1600/IMG_4790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9td1xPZn7I/AAAAAAAAC0M/kqPXL9mC8V0/s320/IMG_4790.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Star diner was 104-year-old Bill Del Monte, youngest son of Angelo Del Monte, founder of The Fior. Bill was paraded down the street in a vintage Surrey accompanied by the Sheriff's Mounted Posse at 11 am. Accompanying him were family members and State Senator Mark Leno. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9teRdiwY6I/AAAAAAAAC0c/nJy7sQbqPmM/s1600/IMG_4792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9teRdiwY6I/AAAAAAAAC0c/nJy7sQbqPmM/s320/IMG_4792.jpg" /></a></div>Alighting from the carriage, Senator Leno presented commemorative diplomas on behalf of the Senate to Bill and current owners, Bob and Jinx Larive. Bill's diploma was a delayed honour in appreciation of him being the sole attending survivor at the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire ceremony two weeks ago. <br />
<br />
Senator Leno said he had been unable to attend the ceremony at Lotta's Fountain due to being at a party conference.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9teYSCxUUI/AAAAAAAAC0k/FXJOzQCmsR0/s1600/IMG_4799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9teYSCxUUI/AAAAAAAAC0k/FXJOzQCmsR0/s320/IMG_4799.jpg" /></a></div><br />
He then congratulated them on the anniversary and the achievement of the Fior being the oldest continuously operating Italian restaurant in the USA.<br />
<br />
With the prices on the menu today, he quipped, 'I would love to be able to roll back the State deficit to 1886!'<br />
<br />
Paying tribute, he said, 'This is San Francisco and North Beach history,' and the various owners were 'modern-day pioneers' who had endured many hardships including fires, earthquakes, depressions and recessions.<br />
<br />
At the doors of the Fior, were the earliest arrivals who had wanted to make sure of their celebratory lunch.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9tefj0ABnI/AAAAAAAAC0s/nmHwQUrhP5E/s1600/IMG_4777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9tefj0ABnI/AAAAAAAAC0s/nmHwQUrhP5E/s320/IMG_4777.jpg" /></a></div>First to arrive had been Michael at 8.45 am followed at around 9 am by Lin, Marianne and their friend, Michael, joined later by Richard.<br />
<br />
What had brought Michael so enthusiastically to the door? 'The prices!' he said, waving a print-out of the menu. His choice was the veal. <br />
<br />
Lin said she was there 'Just for the festivities. It's going to be a fun day,' and Marianne had made it because her neighbour had slipped an article about the party under her door. They were opting for the Veal Saute or the Eggplant Parmigiana, and Michael, the Tortellini with Meat Sauce.<br />
<br />
Richard, who was after the Roast Sirloin, appreciated the reputation of the Fior. 'I've always known this restaurant, it's been here for years.' he said. But at the forefront of all their minds was 'It's the prices!'<br />
<br />
<i>Pic: Richard, Michael, Lin, Marianne and, first to arrive, Michael. </i>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-84116915506150913542010-04-28T12:50:00.000-07:002010-04-29T17:27:15.656-07:00Fior d'Italia Celebrates 125th Anniversary Year with Original Menu and 104-year-old Bill Del Monte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9hdYUmT0RI/AAAAAAAAC0I/hW9hEMzw70c/s1600/april30menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9hdYUmT0RI/AAAAAAAAC0I/hW9hEMzw70c/s400/april30menu.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>America's oldest Italian restaurant, the Fior d'Italia, celebrates its 125th anniversary year on Friday - serving lunch dishes from their earliest menu at the original Victorian prices, and with guest of honour 104-year-old Bill del Monte, San Francisco's most active 1906 earthquake and fire survivor, whose father founded the restaurant.<br />
<br />
The day will be one of historical pageantry and the reliving of memories handed down the generations. Bill, who now lives across the Bay, will ride to the restaurant in a vintage Surrey, escorted by the Sheriff's Mounted Posse. He is due to arrive at 11 am at the restaurant in the San Remo Hotel on Mason Street.<br />
<br />
Also at the heart of the celebrations will be the Fior's owners, Bob and Jinx Larive, Chef Gianni Audieri and State Senator Mark Leno.<br />
<br />
Bill's father, Angelo Del Monte, founded the restaurant that opened on May 1, 1886, and this event marks the launch of the 125th anniversary year. Bill was born in the back of the restaurant in January 1906, just three months before the restaurant was destroyed in the Great Earthquake and Fire<br />
<br />
Among the offerings, to which the public are invited, are veal <b style="font-weight: normal;">sauté for 5 cents, chicken parmigiana for 10 cents, eggplant </b><b style="font-weight: normal;">parmigiana for 20 cents </b><b style="font-weight: normal;">and, if you really want to splash out, roast sirloin for 30 cents. </b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">But diners only have between 11 pm and 4 pm to enjoy this celebration and it will be on a 'first come first served' basis!</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">The Fior held similar revelries on their 100th and 110th anniversaries. </b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">'In the past the public celebrated these anniversary events with much gusto -- which is why we are expecting the same enthusiastic throngs this 125th year,' said owner Bob Larive, in a press release from Lee Houskeeper of San Francisco Stories.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Despite the contraction of the hospitality industry during the present recession, the storied Fior d'Italia remains a perennial draw featuring the fine Northern Italian offerings that made San Francisco's Italian cuisine famous. </b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">'We have survived fires, earthquakes, Prohibition, a depression and several recessions, two World Wars and are still here and looking forward to our next 125 years,' said Bob.<br />
<br />
'We're very proud of our authentic Northern Italian cuisine and our culinary tradition,' said Chef Gianni Audieri, 'And through it all we've remained true to our Northern Italian cuisine using the best of seasonal quality ingredients.' </b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Popular dishes, said </b><b style="font-weight: normal;">Chef Gianni, are</b><b style="font-weight: normal;"> the Calamari, Gnocchi, Osso Bucco, Veal entrée's, and Caesar Salad, which customers rate as “The City's best."<br />
<br />
When the Fior d' Italia first opened its doors, great sailing ships packed San Francisco's harbor, goats roamed Telegraph Hill and the Barbary Coast was a rough and tumble district, writes Lee Houskeeper.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"> “The Fior” catered to the growing Italian community and achieved universal recognition as San Francisco's most elegant dining spot. After the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed the Fior, it was soon back in business in a tent and then in a new building. This location and the next were the site of numerous banquets sponsored by Italian social and fraternal organizations and many family and social events for locals and visitors to the city.<br />
<br />
In 1953, the Fior located directly across from Washington Square Park. However, on Valentine's Day 2005, a fire forced a move to the historic San Remo Hotel at 2237 Mason Street.</b><br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue;"><cite>The colourful history of the Fior d'Italia, from its founding families, the history of Italian immigrants and San Francisco, including the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, to its food and recipes by Chef </cite><i><b style="font-weight: normal;">Gianni Audieri, can be read online. The book, 'The fabulous Fior', with many historic photos, has been written by San Franciscan journalist Francine Brevetti, the granddaughter of Alberto Puccetti, a waiter and part-owner of the Fior over 100 years ago. Alberto's starring role in the history was to be outside the restaurant as it was closing in the early hours of the morning of April 18, 1906, </b></i><i><b style="font-weight: normal;">having earlier that night served tenor Enrico Caruso, </b></i><i><b style="font-weight: normal;">when the Great Earthquake struck.</b></i><cite> </cite><br />
<cite> </cite><a href="http://www.fior.com/information/fior_book.pdf%20"><cite>www.<b>fior</b>.com/information/<b>fior</b>_<b>book</b>.pdf </cite></a><br />
<br />
</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-57221044549126861482010-04-22T14:13:00.000-07:002010-05-18T12:31:19.660-07:00Bouquets to Art Attracts Hundreds at the de Young Museum on Opening Day<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9B3T6LjBiI/AAAAAAAACy4/e69wKydXtu4/s1600/IMG_4717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9B3T6LjBiI/AAAAAAAACy4/e69wKydXtu4/s320/IMG_4717.jpg" /></a>Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but so,<br />
too, is interpretation! <br />
<br />
Amidst the artistry and inspiration of the Bouquets to Art exhibition at the de Young Museum this week, there was plenty of fun, creativity, and a little division among the visitors! <br />
<br />
Peggy from Napa was not the only one to pose with a new hat.<br />
<br />
'I love the colours and the way they use a succulent for the elevated part...it captures it almost completely,' she said.<br />
<br />
She was with her sister, Joy, from Sacramento, who had brought Peggy for her first visit to the exhibition. But this was only Joy's second visit. 'I lived in San Francisco for years and years and years and never came here. I had to move to Sacramento to see it!' she said.<br />
<br />
The hat was a Victorian recreation by Ron Morgan of Berkeley, and accompanied Louise Beatrice de Fonblanque's 'Portrait of a Woman.' <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GrRi3srXI/AAAAAAAACzA/fuuXWnM5g14/s1600/IMG_4720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GrRi3srXI/AAAAAAAACzA/fuuXWnM5g14/s320/IMG_4720.jpg" /></a></div>'Isn't this a great idea for a room divider!' said Jeanne of Burlingame, admiring the finite detail crafted in natural materials, strands of ivy and flowers flowing down the sides.<br />
<br />
The titled 'Metamorphosis - Life - Repetition - Reflexion - Art' bore a philosophical resemblance but not a pictorial one with Victorian artist, Eadweard Muybridge. The artist, famed for his part-scientific studies on animal and human movement, was shown in strips of miniature Freeze Frame photos going through the motions of sitting and standing second by second.<br />
<br />
Jeanne's eye saw an altogether other purpose: a graceful addition to her home. No doubt Svenja Brotz of Chestnut and Vine Floral Design would be happy to engage in repetition and reflexion of his own!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9IBBxx_cyI/AAAAAAAACzw/DOsE6kvQoMw/s1600/IMG_4733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9IBBxx_cyI/AAAAAAAACzw/DOsE6kvQoMw/s320/IMG_4733.jpg" /></a></div>One of the largest pieces in the exhibition was itself a symbol of division.<br />
<br />
It stretched for several feet in front of Irving Norman's interpretation of 'War and Peace' - 'the ruthlessness of capitalism and the alienation of urban America', giving its audience plenty to muse over as they peered all around it.<br />
<br />
The work was by a group of Sausalito artists, <br />
R.Space, Shannon Patillo, Trisha Olson and Eric Olson.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GwWE3vPsI/AAAAAAAACzY/h11YAtI-0ck/s1600/IMG_4740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GwWE3vPsI/AAAAAAAACzY/h11YAtI-0ck/s320/IMG_4740.jpg" /></a>Romantic entwinement, however, filled the minds of Stephanie and Hannah from Modesto as they gazed at Natalie Bowen's vibrant floral arms. <br />
<br />
They envisioned the red flora curled into monograms of a bride and groom, and displayed as a dramatic centre-piece at a wedding celebration.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_LouOl55vI/AAAAAAAAC6U/WLte8ju4Dj0/s1600/Flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_LouOl55vI/AAAAAAAAC6U/WLte8ju4Dj0/s320/Flowers.jpg" width="230" /></a>Mirroring the distinctive red swirls, Natalie, of Natalie Bowen Designs, had produced 'An interpretation of the artist's palette and form', matching an etching with scraping and burnishing of William T. Wiley's 'Now Who's Got the Blueprints.'<br />
<br />
Her creation was quite an inspiration, producing this interactive display from Joy, sister of Peggy in the green hat above! - <i>pic by Peggy</i><br />
<br />
Miguel Covarrubias' wall-sized painting depicting the fauna and flora of the Pacific Ocean provided a naturally beautiful backdrop. Before it, a bowl overflowing with richly coloured, exotic flowers.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GxUJA4o_I/AAAAAAAACzg/sjrzEyFBvS8/s1600/IMG_4712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9GxUJA4o_I/AAAAAAAACzg/sjrzEyFBvS8/s320/IMG_4712.jpg" /></a>As one observer read out loud the floral designer's aim, 'to interpret a lush and colourful diversity of the Pacific Rim and Pacific Ocean, with a wide range of colours, shape, texture,' another exclaimed in appreciation, 'Well he did that, that's for sure!' <br />
<br />
The display was created by Catherine Matsuyo Tompkison-Graham of the Tompkison Group, San Jose.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9G0eN-dKlI/AAAAAAAACzo/10chCLshSc8/s1600/IMG_4727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9G0eN-dKlI/AAAAAAAACzo/10chCLshSc8/s320/IMG_4727.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
'Oh that's fabulous, in conjunction with the picture!' cried a lady in a yellow jacket springing into action with her camera.<br />
<br />
Her eyes had fallen on a display that was receiving a lot of popular acclaim. In the painting were two young girls in old-style bathing suits - Two Bathers - by David Park, a pioneer in the San Francisco Abstract Expressionist Movement.<br />
On a stand, a floral repetition that perfectly captured the colours and freedom of movement within the painting.<br />
<br />
'Taking a "painteely" approach celebrating the figure, color, the artist and painting,' said Phyllis A. Brady and Joe Brady of the Twigs and Ivy Floral Studio in San Ramon, creative in vocabulary also.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9IEy0MBrBI/AAAAAAAACz4/mbdNbG_vyUw/s1600/IMG_4745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S9IEy0MBrBI/AAAAAAAACz4/mbdNbG_vyUw/s320/IMG_4745.jpg" /></a></div>This vision in pink drew admiring glances instantly. 'This is very pretty!' commented one lady.<br />
<br />
However, while the appreciation was unanimous, there was<br />
a light-hearted discussion among some over which portrait was the focus: the elegant lady on the left, who wore ivory floral decorations on her dress and in her hair that matched some of the flowers, or the younger girl in pink.<br />
<br />
The answer was in the pink! It was Frederick Childe Hassam's Easter Morning (Portrait at a New York Window), and not John Singer Sargeant's painting, recreated by Judy Cochran Ward of Novato.<br />
<br />
Bouquets to Arts opened on Monday with a gala event for members and invited guests, and threw open its doors to the public on Tuesday. Friday is Hat Day, a hat competition, and throughout the week are floral lectures and demonstrations. The last day is Saturday.<br />
<br />
'Now in its 26th year, Bouquets to Art has attracted nearly 550,000 visitors and raised over $4.52 million in net proceeds, which have been used to fund an impressive roster of special exhibitions, art acquisitions, educational programs, and special projects at the Legion of Honor and the de Young Museum,' said the museum's press release.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-8835951033278313312010-04-21T22:43:00.000-07:002010-04-23T14:16:42.335-07:00Bouquets to Art Opens at de Young Museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8-65Y-3_GI/AAAAAAAACx4/6mTaNwjCy6U/s1600/IMG_4708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8-65Y-3_GI/AAAAAAAACx4/6mTaNwjCy6U/s320/IMG_4708.jpg" /></a></div> Floral artistry at its best is once again on display at the de Young Museum in the annual exhibition of Bouquets to Art.<br />
<br />
About 150 top floral designers from around the region have created original designs to match artwork in the museum in the Golden Gate Park.<br />
<br />
The displays are visually breathtaking, an exuberance of colour, life and art that uplift people's spirits as they stand and admire, and photograph the exhibits.<br />
<br />
Cameras as well as blooms were in abundance on Tuesday at the 26th annual exhibition. Hundreds of people had poured in soon after the doors opened at 9.30 am.<br />
<br />
'This is one of the best in the entire show!' opined Ann, from the Bay Area, joining a cluster of viewers around a large stand surrounded top and sides with vibrant flowers mixed with twists of wood and iron.<br />
<br />
It was reflecting a colourful abstract of fused glass by Klaus Moje, 'Untitled' (#7) - <i>pictured far left</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_FL6IKdNI/AAAAAAAACyA/NaaMcI9YOo0/s1600/IMG_4707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_FL6IKdNI/AAAAAAAACyA/NaaMcI9YOo0/s320/IMG_4707.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Ann's appreciation was for 'the overall use of the materials including the arrangement, which is highly creative. It's a formidable, artistic creation,' she said, listing both soft and exotic flowers, iron and wood.<br />
<br />
<i></i>Equally complimentary was Sue, living north of San Francisco. 'Every inch of that has flowers on it and it must have taken forever to put it together. It's so compacted and (there are) so many designs in it. It has a 360-degree view, which is different from every angle,' she said.<br />
<br />
Another lady walking past simply exclaimed out loud, 'Mmm, THAT is something! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_GkVPKwzI/AAAAAAAACyI/BouYqD9Usk8/s1600/IMG_4697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_GkVPKwzI/AAAAAAAACyI/BouYqD9Usk8/s320/IMG_4697.jpg" /></a>Designers Bloomster's of San Jose had achieved success!<br />
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The artwork that the designers illustrated reflected a wide range of styles from abstract to classical, the Old Masters taking deeper colours, and also including themes of life and history.<br />
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The jazz of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong were behind this 'trumpet blast of gold to celebrate this uniquely American Music.'<br />
<br />
The music itself an inspiration from a 'Jazz' punch bowl, circa 1931, the work of Viktor Schreckengost, pioneer of American industrial design.<br />
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Floral designers were Constance Shrecengost of Sunshine Flowers of the Bay Area, and co-exhibitor Jennifer Capra of Martinez.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_MV_aAPRI/AAAAAAAACyQ/DjvxPeIi1Aw/s1600/IMG_4701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_MV_aAPRI/AAAAAAAACyQ/DjvxPeIi1Aw/s320/IMG_4701.jpg" /></a>Jacob Lawrence's 1947 painting, 'Migration', depicted African Americans with their suticases leaving the south, and heading northwards with hope towards a changed America.<br />
<br />
For floral artists Savage Rose and Marian Lebrun, their piece was 'foreshadowing the bright change these individuals are about to gain in their lives....'<br />
<br />
'The flowers bursting from confined objects, such as a suitcase and hat, expresses the surge of energy and perseverance these individuals had while travelling towards their goal of freedom,' they wrote.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_WbI6NjHI/AAAAAAAACyg/ZIvl3m6xHMg/s1600/IMG_4702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_WbI6NjHI/AAAAAAAACyg/ZIvl3m6xHMg/s200/IMG_4702.jpg" width="109" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_ZAURMC1I/AAAAAAAACyo/V8zMT06bVEk/s1600/IMG_4703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_ZAURMC1I/AAAAAAAACyo/V8zMT06bVEk/s200/IMG_4703.jpg" width="128" /></a>In the modern art gallery, sculptor Nick Cave's spangled Soundsuit found it had a glittery counterpart, both of which attracted much attention.<br />
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Cave, who is also a trained dancer, named the Soundsuits for the noises they make when worn for performances. So Constance Oakson of the Empire of Flora, Los Altos Hills, made a replica of a suit for Cave.<br />
<br />
The entrance to many of the galleries is through Wilsey Court, a large open space which each year a designer is invited to fill with an extravagantly-sized display.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8-3cfM6oTI/AAAAAAAACxw/Purba947JbU/s1600/IMG_4696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8-3cfM6oTI/AAAAAAAACxw/Purba947JbU/s320/IMG_4696.jpg" /></a>This year it hosts a purple extravaganza of trailing silk ribbons with flowers at the ends. Close up, the effect is beautiful, light catching the different shades, the creation of acclaimed Bay Area floral designer, Orna Maymon of Ornamento.<br />
<br />
Around the exhibition, many people reflected a love of colour and artistry in their clothing. None more so than craft artists Tarra, her mother, Virginia, and father, Mort, who posed for photos several times.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_UPHHQ3vI/AAAAAAAACyY/r9RU752rDzU/s1600/IMG_4695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8_UPHHQ3vI/AAAAAAAACyY/r9RU752rDzU/s320/IMG_4695.jpg" /></a></div><br />
'We love dressing up for Bouquets to Art because it's all about the colouring and bringing joy to life,' said Tarra.<br />
<br />
The exhibition shows that 'we can all be colourful and unique and alive, and that it's such a joy to create and express. It's kind of like the inner child that is free,' she said.<br />
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'May we all blossom this spring in the rainbow of life!'Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-18876220920950682312010-04-18T19:54:00.000-07:002010-05-16T16:53:37.637-07:00Gold Fire Hydrant Ceremonially Resprayed for 104th Anniversary of Great Earthquake and Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-Fl1yrJI/AAAAAAAACwI/lw6e7OuneTs/s1600/Quake17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-Fl1yrJI/AAAAAAAACwI/lw6e7OuneTs/s320/Quake17.jpg" /></a></div>A lone fire hydrant in San Francisco was ceremonially resprayed gold today, each burst of paint representing a memory of someone who fought to save the Mission District from a raging inferno or who died in the 1906 earthquake and fire.<br />
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The golden hydrant is honoured each year for being the only hydrant to supply water on the perilous night of Friday, April 20, two days after the earthquake struck.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S80TouS68EI/AAAAAAAACxg/aoNEXYuzqWA/s1600/IMG_4685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S80TouS68EI/AAAAAAAACxg/aoNEXYuzqWA/s320/IMG_4685.jpg" /></a></div>Some 3,000 volunteers fought through the night and saved the Mission District west of 20th Street, along with the historic adobe Mission church that had been completed in 1791.<br />
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Only because the hydrant at the top of Dolores Park allowed water to flow from it. <br />
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<i>*pics show the rescued Mission church which was only slightly damaged with the brick church beside it. The brick church was rebuilt and became a basilica.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S80TY7-k0sI/AAAAAAAACxY/-PmROAYC7EY/s1600/IMG_4684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S80TY7-k0sI/AAAAAAAACxY/-PmROAYC7EY/s320/IMG_4684.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The gold paint-spraying is part of the 104th anniversary commemoration of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire. It takes place immediately after the wreath-laying ceremony at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street. By just after 5.30 am about 200 people had assembled.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-QUhL0XI/AAAAAAAACwQ/F2Mm0e7ytMM/s1600/Quake18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-QUhL0XI/AAAAAAAACwQ/F2Mm0e7ytMM/s200/Quake18.jpg" width="200" /></a>The cavalcade bearing guest of honour, 104-year-old survivor Bill Del Monte and members of his family arrived and a piper in Scottish kilt played, as the piper had done at the fountain. Bill was escorted to the hydrant where he opened the spraying ceremony.<br />
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After him was John Greenberg, accompanied by his son, whose family foundry, M. Greensberg's Sons, had made the doughty hydrant. <br />
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Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White sprayed on behalf of Fire Chief Dennis Sullivan, who was injured in the earthquake and died a few days later. 'There would have been a different outcome had he remained as the Chief,' she said. <br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8vA43YmFYI/AAAAAAAACxI/jN6NjKE88Us/s1600/IMG_4674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8vA43YmFYI/AAAAAAAACxI/jN6NjKE88Us/s200/IMG_4674.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-eWARkFI/AAAAAAAACwY/syJsmx-srlg/s1600/Quake20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u-eWARkFI/AAAAAAAACwY/syJsmx-srlg/s200/Quake20.jpg" width="200" /></a> She highlighted the need of massive State finance to upgrade the city's water supplies, the subject of Prop B on this year's election ballot, and paid tribute to members of NERT (Neighbourhood Emergency Response Team), volunteers who are training residents to prepare for the next great quake - <i>pic of Edie Schaffer, Coordinator Chair of the NERT Advisory Board (lt) with colleagues and ten-year-old Jade</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8vBQggZfUI/AAAAAAAACxQ/pSLPSuq87w0/s1600/IMG_4678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8vBQggZfUI/AAAAAAAACxQ/pSLPSuq87w0/s200/IMG_4678.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And then came the turn of Bill's family members including a number of young great-neices and nephews. Six-year-old Nina was hoisted high, but when the moment came for her to name who she was spraying for, she couldn't remember and needed a little help!<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was the number of 'greats'....Great Great Uncle Bill!<br />
<br />
Bill's niece, Janette Barroca sprayed on behalf of Bill's parents for rescuing the family from the fire. 'I give them a lot of credit that Bill is here today.'<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>There were others: Assistant Police Chief Kevin Cashman, on behalf of a family member who was a firefighter at the time. Born in 1899, Vincent Cashmere went straight from the traumas of World War l into the fire department, and found himself facing the worst national disaster ever to hit America.<br />
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James Dalessandro, author of the novel '1906' that was turned into a film and was being screened later that morning at the Westin St Francis -<i> a story of political intrigue with the earthquake and fire as the backdrop </i>- said of the scale of the disaster, 'It didn't have to happen.' <br />
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Ironically, he went on, Fire Chief Dennis Sullivan had been due to attend a meeting to campaign for upgraded water supplies at the time of the earthquake, just as San Francisco today faces the same issue. James praised Chief Joanne Hayes-White 'who really gets it' when it comes to the needs of the city. And sprayed on behalf of the brave firefighters in 1906 who went 'without food, without rest, without water.'<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u_huh8cSI/AAAAAAAACw4/NbKfB-J8Z1M/s1600/IMG_4682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u_huh8cSI/AAAAAAAACw4/NbKfB-J8Z1M/s200/IMG_4682.jpg" width="161" /></a></div><br />
Children, too, joined in, on behalf of the 'brave firefighters.' Six-year-old Rory has 'done this every year since he was one,' said his mother, Megan.<br />
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As the painting continued with members of the community, the sun sprayed morning light over everyone, and Bill Del Monte and the cavalcade made ready to depart.<br />
<br />
Bill sat in the passenger seat, still wearing his commemorative 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Survivor Award fire helmet, and declared he was 'fine.'<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u_rd6t7RI/AAAAAAAACxA/L7FE_ScBZlQ/s1600/Quake24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8u_rd6t7RI/AAAAAAAACxA/L7FE_ScBZlQ/s320/Quake24.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Had he enjoyed the ceremonies?<br />
<br />
'Yes, thank you,' he said, with a smile and a wave as the vintage car pulled away to take him to a well-deserved Bloody Mary breakfast at Lefty O'Douls.<br />
<i>(breakfast pic by Liane Corrales) </i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_CDFkHXatI/AAAAAAAAC6M/v8jf5M9huhc/s1600/IMG_4822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S_CDFkHXatI/AAAAAAAAC6M/v8jf5M9huhc/s320/IMG_4822.jpg" /></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">see more photos by Chris on flickr:</span> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623757165237/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623757165237/ </a><br />
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*<i>Historic pics are part of a private collection of Ron Ross, founder and president of the San Francisco History Association. Ron first published his photos in a souvenir edition for the 75th anniversary, and again for the 100th anniversary</i>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-65061484898811187682010-04-18T11:37:00.000-07:002010-04-21T17:53:53.147-07:00104th Anniversary of 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire Commemorated at Lotta's Fountain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tDSUHFumI/AAAAAAAACvg/Lm-AKdyPnfU/s1600/Quake5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tDSUHFumI/AAAAAAAACvg/Lm-AKdyPnfU/s400/Quake5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Those who died in the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, and those who survived and lived to rebuild San Francisco from the ashes, were honoured at 5.12 am this morning.<br />
<br />
About 300 people gathered at Lotta's Fountain to applaud guest of honour and survivor, 104-year-old Bill Del Monte, and to participate in a wreath laying ceremony and moment of silence.<br />
<br />
Bill and members of his family travelled in the back of an open-topped vintage car from the Westin St Francis in Union Square, flanked in a small cavalcade by modern and vintage fire trucks and with police outriders. <i>(Photo by Bob David)</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S83GgEkAC9I/AAAAAAAACxo/ZWrBAE2ZQk4/s1600/8T3B1091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S83GgEkAC9I/AAAAAAAACxo/ZWrBAE2ZQk4/s400/8T3B1091.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>As they arrived at Lotta's Fountain in the dark at about 5 am, the San Francisco German Association Band struck up. They were greeted with applause from the crowd, many in costume, recreating the atmosphere of the early 1900s and during the ceremony Bill was formally welcomed and thanked for his appearance. <br />
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As Bill sat tucked in the passenger seat, gone from his head was his familiar tan tam o'shanter. Instead, he wore a commemorative fireman's helmet with a badge inscribed '1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Survivor Award.'<br />
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It is the first such award ever given, and Bill received it last night at the Survivors' Dinner. <br />
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San Francisco Chronicle writer, Carl Nolte, conjured up an image of the devastation of the quake and fire in which four square miles of the city burnt to ashes and 3,000 people died. San Franciscans used to say that if they stood in town long enough, they would see everyone they knew, he said.<br />
<br />
He was thankful that no-one left but chose to remain, and said, 'if you want to seek their monument....look around you.'<br />
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The event was supported by the police and fire departments and those involved in emergency management who are urging the city to prepare for the next big disaster. Police Captain Al Casciato said people must 'never forget' the lessons learned from the disaster, and 'never lose sight of' the lessons learned from every national disaster.<br />
<br />
Before the official moment of silence and wreath laying, event organizer Lee Houskeeper asked for a special moment of silence for Taren Sapienza who died last year and who for over 25 years had worked to keep the commemoration alive. Taren had taken on the mantle from her father, Leo Sapienza, the last president of the South of Market Boys who began to hold an annual remembrance at Lotta's Fountain in 1919.<br />
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After the silence, Lee reminded the crowd that water was now flowing from the fountain once again, due to former Mayor, Willie Brown, and his first campaign promise to restore it. 'He didn't know how bad a shape it was in, but he did it. He kept his promise,' said Lee.<br />
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Then 5.12 am approached - 'not 5.11, not 5.13, and not 6.12!' said Lee in reference to the debate over the precise time of the quake and the issue of daylight saving time. Leading the observance of a minute's silence, he said it was for 'these wonderful San Franciscans who rebuilt our city from the ashes.'<br />
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The silence ended, a city siren sent an eerie wail out into the darkness, a bell clanged from a vintage fire truck, the sirens of modern fire trucks blared and, next, a lone piper played Amazing Grace while Captain Casciato layed the wreath at the foot of Lotta's Fountain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tMixgkuBI/AAAAAAAACvo/g1pYxnnRrZc/s1600/IMG_4670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tMixgkuBI/AAAAAAAACvo/g1pYxnnRrZc/s200/IMG_4670.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>With the solemnities over, the band struck up a rousing 'San Francisco' with which the crowd joined in. Cherie Oliver, who has been attending the ceremony for 25 years, voluntarily took over the mic.<br />
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Now living in Redwood City, she said, 'I fell in love with San Francisco when I came here in 1972.' She now views through 'new eyes' the courage of the 1906 survivors, she said, having experienced the 1989 quake that caused great damage to parts of the city.<br />
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'If it had been me, I would have got out,' she said. Her imagination took her to 1906 and nightmarish scenes of the fire chasing people down the street with everyone rushing to get on boats and sail across the bay.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tMs65oUBI/AAAAAAAACvw/7018kEkErJE/s1600/IMG_4671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tMs65oUBI/AAAAAAAACvw/7018kEkErJE/s200/IMG_4671.jpg" width="158" /></a>It was the courage of parents to bring their children back to a burnt out city that impressed her the most.<br />
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Deborah, who also lives outside of San Francisco, has been attending for 23 years 'to honour the people that died here, and to remember fondly the people that came back to the city again.' What impressed her was that within nine years, the city was able to host a world fair.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tM43B_TXI/AAAAAAAACv4/97DHfWsZYoo/s1600/IMG_4672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8tM43B_TXI/AAAAAAAACv4/97DHfWsZYoo/s200/IMG_4672.jpg" width="118" /></a></div>In elegant costume, Krista Slanker was there with another purpose. As a member of the Department of Emergency Management, she said, 'It's just a great opportunity to commemorate a very important event for San Francisco,' and which serves as a reminder 'of being prepared for the next emergency,' she said.<br />
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There was one dissenting voice to the occasion. A member of the public complained that the organizers had not got their watches set properly and that the moment of silence had occurred a couple of minutes too early!<br />
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Whatever the accuracy to a minute, time was pressing for Bill Del Monte and his cavalcade, the official attendees and others wishing to attend the paint spraying ceremony of the heroic, gold fire hydrant at the top of Dolores Park.<br />
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In the darkness, they were soon heading for the Mission District.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">for more photos, flickr stream by Chris: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623757165237/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623757165237/ </a>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-88826636368628192152010-04-17T20:13:00.000-07:002010-04-30T14:33:46.553-07:00104-Year-Old Bill Del Monte Honoured with First-Ever 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Survivor Award<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8p0OvB73aI/AAAAAAAACvA/kicPnMzMNJc/s1600/QuakeDinner31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8p0OvB73aI/AAAAAAAACvA/kicPnMzMNJc/s320/QuakeDinner31.jpg" /></a>Bill Del Monte, at 104-years-old, was honoured this afternoon with the first-ever 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Survivor Award.<br />
<br />
An alert centenarian, Bill was guest of honour and sole attending survivor at the annual Survivors' Dinner, the start of commemoration events this weekend of the terrible disaster that befell the city.<br />
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Much to his surprise, he was presented with his award, a commemorative fireman's helmet with a specially inscribed badge, by the Battalion Chief of Battalion 3, Gerry Scullion. <br />
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'To Bill,' said Chief Scullion, 'who has persevered this long and is someone to look up to, we honour you tonight.'<br />
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Announcing the award, event organizer Lee Houskeeper, said Bill was 'probably the most famous guy in San Francisco today.'<br />
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Slightly overwhelmed with the attention, Bill, who donned the helmet, said humbly, 'It's a little too much for me!' <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8p0oDIJ4KI/AAAAAAAACvQ/0RQMGQb7a6E/s1600/QuakeDinner18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8p0oDIJ4KI/AAAAAAAACvQ/0RQMGQb7a6E/s320/QuakeDinner18.jpg" /></a>About 20 people had gathered for the occasion in the historic John's Grill near Market Street. Guests included Police Captain Al Casciato, and representatives of the Emergency Management and NERT (Neighbourhood Emergency Response Team).<br />
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Bill was chauffered by his niece, Janette Barroca and met by Lee and Chief Scullion. Emerging from the car in front of a vintage fire truck, he walked into the restaurant with just a little steadying help.<br />
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On his head then was his trademark tan tam o'shanter with red and blue stripes. 'Even coming here today I got three compliments. I think I have had about 3,000 since I was given this hat about 30 years ago,' he said, once he was seated inside.<br />
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Bill has catapulted to survivor fame since he made his first appearance at last year's anniversary.<br />
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What does he think of the commemoration?<br />
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'It's something unusual. Naturally, it will soon be coming to an end,' he said, referring to occasions when survivors are present.<br />
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This may be only Bill's second appearance at the San Francisco ceremony at Lotta's Fountain which is held at the time that the 7.8 earthquake struck at 5.12 am on April 18, but he has joined in with other aspects of earlier commemorations. He has been on a boat tour around the Bay, that used to be held for survivors, and been to luncheons at John's Grill about four or five times.<br />
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Of the formal ceremonial events that take place at 5.12 am, he said, 'I was living in Marin. I figured it was too much, I never bothered to come.' He added, 'This will be my last.'<br />
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Definitely?<br />
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'Yes!' he said.<br />
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Bill was only three-months old when he was bundled by his grandmother onto the back of his father's buckboard, and the family were driven down to the Ferry Building through blazing streets. <br />
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Today, his hearing is slightly diminished but even in a noisy restaurant you could converse with him, and his mind is clear. <br />
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So clear that he still engages in a little day-trading. The stock market was Bill's second disaster in life. At the age of 25 years he lost $1 million - about $24 million in today's values - in the Wall Street crash of 1929.<br />
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How did his parents feel about that? I asked, his father, Angelo, being the founder of America's oldest Italian restaurant, the Fior d'Italia. 'They were worth more than I was, the whole family, we all made big money on the stock market at the time,' he replied calmly.<br />
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As Bill was the youngest of five children (though sadly his sister, Angiolina, died as a toddler), the figures sound astounding. So what did the family do?<br />
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'We kept trying bit by bit to get it back,' he said.<br />
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With bated breath I asked if he had faced another financial disaster with the recent stock market crash?<br />
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'Hardly at all. I was lucky, a couple of years ago I got out,' he said.<br />
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Bill and his late wife, Vera, did not have any children, and Vera died 18 years ago. 'I was lucky. I had a wonderful wife,' he said.<br />
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Tomorrow, Bill will be up at dawn and ready for his ride in a vintage car to the commemoration on Market Street.<br />
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Asked afterwards what he thought of Bill, Chief Scullion said he was 'pretty amazing! We could all do with what he's got to survive that long.'<br />
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During the award ceremony, Lee Houskeeper also paid tribute to Taren Sapienza who for many years had organized the events and who sadly died last year. She was represented by two of her sisters, Diane and Donna. <br />
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'She really focussed on the survivors,' said Diane, organizing their hospitality and making sure they had blankets and baskets of goodies.<br />
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Their father, Leo, was the last president of the South of Market Boys, who were the originators of the annual commemoration at Lotta's Fountain. <br />
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According to Lee, there will be the 'biggest and best and loudest parade' at 5 am. The cavalcade will proceed from the Westin St Francis and there will be a band from the SF German Music Association, who will be joined by members of other bands. <br />
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<span style="color: blue;">pics by Chris </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623754216601/">flickr photostream: </a>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-25048817604793811412010-04-16T20:14:00.000-07:002010-04-30T14:32:46.599-07:00104th Anniversary Events of 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nrkI9-veI/AAAAAAAACug/bF45zLryDX4/s1600/IMG_4651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nrkI9-veI/AAAAAAAACug/bF45zLryDX4/s320/IMG_4651.jpg" /></a></div>At 5.12 am eaxctly on Sunday, April 18, several hundred people will gather, some in period costumes, for a solemn pageant to reflect on the great devastation of San Francisco's 1906 earthquake and fire.<br />
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They will stand in the dark around Lotta's Fountain in the heart of the city on Market Street. A vintage fire truck and street car, and a band will be there along with representatives of the city and emergency services. As the clock reaches 5.12 am, the city sirens will wail and there will be bell clanging from the vintage vehicles.<br />
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Surrounded by emergency services, the fire, the police and members of the Emergency Preparedness team, 'it's the safest place to be,' said Lee Houskeeper, press agent for San Francisco Stories and organizer of the 104th commemoration. The city are using the anniversary to prepare San Francisco for the next great quake that has been forecast to occur before 2038.<br />
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The wreath laying ceremony is held at Lotta's Fountain because it was one of the few remaining structures in the street and became a focal point for stunned people to gather and post messages as they searched for loved ones.<br />
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The ceremony is a legacy of the South of Market Boys who began gathering there every April 18 from 1919, although there was one commemoration event two years after the quake, said Lee. Some of the people who will be there remember being there as children and are now taking their children.<br />
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The exact time of the 1906 Great Earthquake is uncertain. The main debate is between 5.11 am and 5.12 am, and some people put it at 5.13 am, he said.<br />
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The USGS call it 5.12 am, but even they had to get their information from San Francisco. 'They have estimated several times what the time should be. They can only use best estimates,' he said. They and the city appear to have settled it at 5.12 am in deference to Gloria Hansen, the city's historian and former Head Librarian.<br />
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About 3,000 people died, a quarter of a million were left homeless and about $8 billion of damage in today's equivalent was caused.<br />
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'To be specific, 522 city blocks, four square miles of the city, 2,593 acres, 28,188 buildings -- all destroyed. For 99 years, until Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the San Francisco earthquake and fire stood as the largest natural disaster in U.S. history,' wrote Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle in a series of features at the time of the 100th anniversary.<br />
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The crowd will then travel on to a gold fire hydrant in the Mission District for a ceremonial spray painting. This hydrant, at 20th and Church Streets, is credited with the miraculous saving of the area with its historic churches. It was the only hydrant that had a water supply.<br />
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Firefighters and residents had to pull the heavy steam engines up the hill and fight the raging inferno throughout the night.<br />
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'The titanic battle lasted seven hours,' wrote Bill Cereske - http://www.naalarm.com/bill/golden.htm<br />
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'Hoses were used. Mops and buckets were used. Behind the fireline, homeowners were on their roofs beating out sparks and small fires with blankets, mops, casks of wine - anything that could be used. Doors from the demolished houses were used as heat shields until they too began to smolder. Exhausted firefighters would drop in their tracks, as volunteers took to their lines. Nurses moved through, administering stimulants. Through the night, the fight raged.'<br />
<span style="font-family: Book Antiqua,Times New Roman,Times;"> </span> <br />
<pre style="font-family: inherit;">So on Sunday, between 5.40 am and 6 am, residents will spray paint the hydrant in </pre><pre style="font-family: inherit;">memory of their loved ones.</pre><pre style="font-family: inherit;"> </pre><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nr1QwVecI/AAAAAAAACuo/vKFidwugYoA/s1600/IMG_4665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nr1QwVecI/AAAAAAAACuo/vKFidwugYoA/s320/IMG_4665.jpg" /></a></div>The anniversary events also include two historic San Franciscan restaurants. <br />
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A Bloody Mary breakfast will be held at Lefty O'Doul's, near Union Square, from 5.30 - 11 am, where the traditional Sunday breakfasts have been held for about six years.<br />
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Manager John Fair will be there from 4 am getting everything ready.<br />
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'When you wake up in the morning and see the costumes and the fire-trucks, it really brings you back to those times,' he said. He recalled one diner, too young at 80 years to be a survivor, reflecting on how times were so different from when he was a kid.<br />
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The restaurant reflects the history of baseball. It was founded in 1958 by San Franciscan Francis 'Lefty' O'Doul, a New York Giants personality who became coach and manager of the San Francisco Seals.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nr93GD1dI/AAAAAAAACuw/q-XGTN0RsKQ/s1600/IMG_4662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nr93GD1dI/AAAAAAAACuw/q-XGTN0RsKQ/s320/IMG_4662.jpg" /></a></div>Tomorrow afternoon, on Saturday at 4 pm, the survivor dinner will take place at John's Grill near Market Street. John's is one of the remaining period pieces of the city, a three-storied, wooden panelled restaurant with period furnishings. It was one of the film settings for The Maltese Falcon, and its walls are adorned with film memorabilia and photos of old San Francisco and well known patrons.<br />
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Owner John Konstin has been hosting anniversary dinners there for about 25 years.<br />
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'We used to fill up the whole place, of course the numbers have dwindled,' he said. The longevity of the survivors impresses him. 'When you least expect to see someone back the next year, you keep seeing them.'<br />
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He remembers Jeanette Scarpa Trapani who died last year at the age of 107. She lived in the city and was a patron there for 80 years. <br />
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'I asked her how she was able to live such a long and healthy life,' he said. 'She said it was the martinis!'<br />
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The survivor reunions have had great value for the survivors. 'A lot of people knew each other. This would be the place where they saw each other once a year. They would stay at the St Francis...and have dinner here,' he said.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nsFtQ6ZaI/AAAAAAAACu4/zxfDQLns1Sc/s1600/IMG_4663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8nsFtQ6ZaI/AAAAAAAACu4/zxfDQLns1Sc/s320/IMG_4663.jpg" /></a></div>Manager Neil Hayes won't be there today, but he was in the city for the 100th commemoration. 'My wife and I couldn't get near John's that day! Unfortunately, there was no getting our foot in the door,' he said.<br />
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By the 101st anniversary, Neil was working at John's and recalls there being two survivors present, surrounded by flash bulbs and the media.<br />
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'I think it's fantastic. A sure way of keeping the memory,' he said.<br />
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The earthquake is one of the great tragedies of America and he said it was important to show how the city has been raised up from the ashes.<br />
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A point Lee Houskeeper agrees with. The significance of San Francisco's achievement is another important reason for keeping the commemoration alive, he said. People all over the world who have been devastated by earthquakes look to San Francisco as the supreme example of a city restored from rubble.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-31238490201857064472010-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:002010-04-30T16:19:01.712-07:00Only One Survivor of 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire to Attend 104th Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8kYSk9pWNI/AAAAAAAACuY/uixkHTh6ObA/s1600/Bill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8kYSk9pWNI/AAAAAAAACuY/uixkHTh6ObA/s400/Bill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>pictured, Bill Del Monte and Rose Cliver at 2009 anniversary </i><br />
<br />
At 104-years-old, Bill Del Monte is both one of the greatest survivors and greatest losers along the West Coast. <br />
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He survived San Francisco's 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, and as a young man lost the equivalent in today's money of about $24 million in the 1929 Wall Street crash.<br />
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This weekend, he will be feted in the city as the lone earthquake survivor who is able to attend the 104th anniversary events - and he is still day-trading!<br />
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'He was one of the biggest losers in the West Coast,' said Lee Houskeeper, press agent of San Francisco Stories who is the organizer of the anniversary commemoration. As a young man, Bill didn't go to college but began to dabble in stocks and shares, said Lee.<br />
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It was fortunate dabbling, for by his early twenties Bill had amassed a fortune of $1 million. He lost everything in the 1929 Wall Street crash and, to boot, had to spend the next few years paying taxes on non-existent earnings because he had invested in what is called 'selling short and buying futures,' Lee said.<br />
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Bill is undoubtedly an icon of disasters and survival, with the Wall Street crash still considered the greatest stock market disaster because of its far-reaching effects, the Great Quake, which remained the biggest natural disaster in America until Hurricane Katrina, and the fact that he is one of probably no more than 10 centenarians from the quake to still be alive.<br />
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And the only one that can cope with getting up at the crack of dawn to travel in the back of an open-topped vintage car for a ceremony at 5.12 am, the approximate time that the quake struck.<br />
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Lee has spent the last year scanning the nation and obituary columns to find out about survivors. He has been in direct contact with about six or seven, and said there are about ten in total whom he knows of. Given that the oldest person in America, a woman, died recently at the age of 114 years, he wouldn't be surprised if there were a few more that are simply not coming forward.<br />
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Last year, Bill was making his debut appearance at the San Franciscan ceremonies, although he had attended others in the Bay Area, together with survivor Rose Cliver, then 106-years-old. Rose, who will be 108 years in October, is still alive and living in Santa Rosa with her son and his wife. Last year, her niece, Gloria, described how Rose loved to gamble on slot machines, and despite hearing difficulties, had a mind ' as sharp as a tack.'<br />
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After the quake, Rose, her parents and 11 brothers and sisters took refuge in the hills at Bernal Heights and then lived in a tent in their backyard.<br />
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Bill was born in January 1904 in the back of the Fior D'Italia restaurant founded by his father, Angelo Del Monte. Today, the Fior D'Italia is America's oldest Italian restaurant. At three-months old and the youngest of six children - one sister sadly died as a toddler - Bill couldn't possibly remember the quake and fire. But his older brothers did. Bill was bundled by his grandmother onto the back of a buckboard with the rest of his family, and his brothers could recall it being driven down to the Ferry Building through streets alight on both sides. <br />
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Once at the Ferry Building, they escaped to a house they owned across the Bay and stayed there until they could return.<br />
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To read more of Bill & Rose's stories: http://lizinsanfrancisco.blogspot.com/2009/04/1906-san-francisco-earthquake_18.html<br />
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Among other Bay Area survivors that Lee has been able to catch up with is Nancy Stoner Sage*, who was 105-years-old in February. Nancy's family lost everything. Her mother died soon after the quake and her impoverished, jobless father gave up Nancy and her older sister, Margaret, for adoption by their grandparents. <br />
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In those days, said Lee, it was not uncommon for orphaned children to be given up for adoption. Financial straits were so dire, babies born in hospital were kept there by the hospital until medical fees had been paid.<br />
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Nancy ended up living in a miners' camp in Idaho and became a librarian until she retired in the late '70s. Lee discovered her living in Littleleton, Colorado, still as bright as a button.<br />
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'She plays cribbage every Sunday with her son, Darrell, and beats him!' he said.<br />
<br />
Another survivor is 108-year-old Ruth Newman, living in Pebble Beach, 120 miles south of San Francisco. She was raised on a ranch on a fault line in Healdsburg, Santa Cruz. She's 'sharp as a tack, they say,' said Lee. 'She remembers the earthquake and living on a ranch on a hill at a dry creek road.'<br />
<br />
Jeanette Scarpa Trapani died in the New Year at the age of 107 years. Herbert Heimie Hamrol, who for many years was thought to be the last known survivor, died at the age of 106 in February last year. Herbert was a local personality, attending every anniversary gathering and continuing to work in Andronico's Market in the Inner Sunset until shortly before his death.<br />
<br />
The wreath laying and commemoration ceremony is at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street at 5.12 am on Sunday, followed by repainting of a gold fire hydrant in the Mission District, a Bloody Mary breakfast at Lefty O'Douls on Geary near Union Square for a $20 donation, and a showing of the film '1906' at the Westin St. Francis Hotel.<br />
<br />
There is also a free tour of the city's water supplies on Saturday and, for a $60 donation, a survivor dinner at 4 pm at John's Grill on Ellis Street, just off Market Street. All of which are open to the public.<br />
<br />
This year's anniversary may turn out to be both poignant and historic. 'It maybe the last we can have with a survivor that's willing to get up that early,' said Lee.<br />
<br />
'We have been planning for some time for what we will do when there are no survivors because there are a huge group of people who want this to continue and because, in the end, San Francisco is the survivor,' he said.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, he intends to make the most of the opportunity of honouring the survivors. <br />
<br />
'These are the people we know who rebuilt the city from ashes.'<br />
<br />
*Nancy Stoner Sage died yesterdayLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-13528417208614661932010-04-16T09:46:00.000-07:002010-04-16T09:56:31.199-07:00San Francisco Prepares to Commemorate 104th Anniversary of 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8iSaKCd9rI/AAAAAAAACuQ/XMoqC4NHZlQ/s1600/IMG_4656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8iSaKCd9rI/AAAAAAAACuQ/XMoqC4NHZlQ/s400/IMG_4656.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<i> pic of Lotta's Fountain on Market Street</i><br />
<br />
As San Francisco is preparing to commemorate the 104th anniversary of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, the Mayor and emergency services are focussing on readying the city for the next big quake.<br />
<br />
A programme of commemorative events has been rolled out along with city plans for seismic retrofitting, with an emphasis on the need for every San Franciscan to be able to cope personally with a major emergency.<br />
<br />
At the heart of the weekend events will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street at 5.12 am on Sunday morning. There will also be an annual repainting in gold of a fire hydrant in the Mission District that helped save the Mission from fire, a survivor dinner and breakfast, a film-showing of the disaster, and a tour of the city's emergency water supplies.<br />
<br />
The 7.8 quake struck with devastating force at 5.12 am on April 18, killing 3,000 people, leaving at least a quarter of a million homeless and causing, in today's currency, $8 billion in damage. <br />
<br />
'Recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Southern California are all too clear reminders that we must continue to prepare for the next major earthquake in our region,' said Mayor Gavin Newsom. 'We’ve made great progress in recent years, but we can never let up on our work to seismically reinforce our key facilities and infrastructure to withstand a major earthquake.'<br />
<br />
In April 2008, scientists and engineers from various earthquake agencies including the USGS released a new report warning of a 99.7 per cent chance of a 6.7-plus quake in the next 30 years in the Greater Bay Area.<br />
<br />
One of the top priorities is the upgrading of a high pressurize fire fighting water supply system, also known as the Auxiliary Water Supply System, which was built after the 1906 quake.<br />
<br />
More than 40 repair and improvement projects are underway, part of plans that are expected to create 190,000 new construction-related jobs, said the Mayor and the President of the Board of Supervisors, David Chiu, in a press release. These include health centers and hospitals, libraries, culture centers, museums, including the new Academy of Sciences in the Golden Gate Park, terminals at San Francisco airport, and the drinking water system from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite.<br />
<br />
In the past 20 years, 180 seismic projects have also been completed.<br />
<br />
'We need to look ahead and ensure that our aging infrastructure, the backbone of our great City, is protected for our future generations,' said Supervisor Chiu. Despite the work that has already been done, 'we still have a long way to go in terms of seismic improvements and repair. Being able to respond quickly after an earthquake is critical to our survival and recovery as a city,' he said.<br />
<br />
The Mayor and Supervisor Chiu had gathered earlier this week with Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Police Chief George Gascon, Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management Vicki Hennessy and others to highlight emergency preparation.<br />
<br />
'Emergency preparedness and planning should be a part of our everyday lives,' said Vicki Hennessy. 'This can be as easy as buying a few extra canned goods and batteries the next time you’re at the market or making a family emergency plan over dinner.'<br />
<br />
They are asking people to check out the website www.72hours.org to learn more about individual preparation.<br />
<br />
The programme of events, which they hope will attract many members of the public, are as follows: <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Public Tour of Auxiliary Water Supply System</b><br />
<b>April 17</b><br />
<b>Twin Peaks Reservoir@ Marview Way at Farview Ct FROM 9-11 am</b><br />
<b>Pump Station #2 @ Van Ness and McDowell Road from 1-3 pm</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>John’s Grill Annual Survivor Dinner</b><br />
<b>April 17, 2010 @ 4 pm John’s Grill</b><br />
<b>63 Ellis St.</b><br />
<b>Reservations suggested; call (415) 986-0069 for more information</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>104th Annual Wreath Laying and Commemoration</b><br />
<b>April 18, 2010 @ 5:11 am</b><br />
<b>Lotta’s Fountain, Market St. at the intersection of Kearny, Third and Geary</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Golden Fire Hydrant Painting Ceremony</b><br />
<b>April 18, 2010 @ 5:40 – 6:00 am</b><br />
<b>20th and Church Streets</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Lefty O’Douls Annual Survivor Breakfast</b><br />
<b>April 18, 2010 @ 6:00 am</b><br />
<b>333 Geary St. (at Powell)</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Screening of the film “1906”</b><br />
<b>April 18, 2010 @ 10 am</b><br />
<b>Westin St. Francis Hotel</b><br />
<b>335 Powell St.</b><br />
<b>RSVP Required; call (333) 377-4453 for more information</b>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-20197184518277790132010-04-13T19:13:00.000-07:002010-04-13T19:36:31.248-07:00Steak Restaurants versus San Francisco's 'Monday Vegetarian Day'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8UZoHrc3LI/AAAAAAAACuA/Sme7fGn62bA/s1600/IMG_4515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8UZoHrc3LI/AAAAAAAACuA/Sme7fGn62bA/s400/IMG_4515.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>'I think what people eat is none of the business of the Board of Supervisors, whether it's potato chips or raw carrots,' said Al Petri, owner of Alfred's Steakhouse, the city's oldest, traditional steak restaurant.<br />
<br />
'First of all, I and a lot of other businessmen in the city are not happy with a lot of decisions that have come out of city hall, and I think trying to legislate our lifestyle is none of their business,' said Al. Their role is to 'efficiently and competently manage the business of the city,' he added.<br />
<br />
He strongly opposes the city's decision last week to name every Monday 'Vegetarian Day' in a bid to encourage people to eat more vegetables and less meat. The resolution, brought to city hall by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, was prepared by members of the organizations In Defense of Animals, and the San Francisco Vegetarian Society<i>.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8UZvBn5s9I/AAAAAAAACuI/jhqUQwUBjig/s1600/IMG_4514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8UZvBn5s9I/AAAAAAAACuI/jhqUQwUBjig/s400/IMG_4514.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Another steak restaurant manager, though, said, 'I'm encouraged that politicians are becoming more concerned about the dietary decisions their constituents make.'<br />
<br />
Pete Osborne is manager of his family business, Momo's, with its trademark sunflower-yellow umbrellas opposite the San Francisco Giants' ballpark. During baseball season, he feeds thousands of fans. <br />
<br />
Diet, he said, has become a national issue with the Obama administration and Michelle Obama's vegetable garden.<br />
<br />
Moderation in meat-eating, however, is something both restaurateurs agreed on. <br />
<br />
Like other restaurateurs, Al had known nothing beforehand about the resolution until his wife had called him that day and told him, "you want to see what there is in the news."' <br />
<br />
However, if a Vegetarian Day had to go ahead, it would have made more sense to put it on a Friday, thought Al. 'If they made it on a Friday it could kick in with the Catholics....and have a larger base,' he said, referring to a tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, an association with Good Friday.<br />
<br />
Although Al is a purveyor of fine cuts of aged beef from cattle fed only on grass and corn, he hasn't always been sinking his teeth into juicy steaks. He has lived on the other side of the dietary fence, and from his experience questions the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. <br />
<br />
'I don't know if vegetarianism is much more healthy,' he said. 'I was a vegan for about one-and-a-half years, 25 years ago, and I don't think I was any healthier than I am now. I think a lot of it is psychological.'<br />
<br />
'And I think individually our responsibility is to control our own excesses. A glass of wine is good, maybe a bottle of wine is bad.' <br />
<br />
Behind part of the vegetarian philosophy, he said, is a belief system akin to Eastern beliefs where, he cited examples, one is 'not supposed to walk on flowers or swat flies.' <br />
<br />
He considers meat-eating to be in our nature. 'If I want to be a vegetarian, a Protestant, an Islamist, I don't think that's in our DNA. But we have a need to eat meat, it's a protein source that goes back a long time to the hunter-tribal gatherers.<br />
<br />
'I'm not advocating you slaughter your pet cat and make some sort of cat fricassee...' he said quickly, which led onto the issue of what meats are acceptable psychologically and in different cultures. 'A lot of people have this ethical thing about what animals you can kill. It's alright to kill a chicken but it's not okay to kill a steer. I think that's what this whole game is about,' he said.<br />
<br />
He questions, too, the accuracy of scientific 'experts' in their claims over not only dietary benefits but the impact of animal husbandry on the environment. As an example, Hope Bohanec, Grassroots Campaigns Director of IDA, told city Supervisors that if San Franciscans dropped meat from their diets one day a week, that would equate to removing 123,000 cars from city streets.<br />
<br />
'Is it proven or guess science?' Al asked. 'I don't think it's a position of the government to try and make these decisions for us without scientific fact.'<br />
<br />
Alfred's maybe a steak restaurant, but it does cater for the non-carnivore. 'We get a number of vegetarians in here, and that has different variations, some will eat fish, some are vegans, and we accommodate them as a restaurant, whatever their needs are,' he said, adding, 'This doesn't necessarily mean we have a vegetarian emphasis on our menu.'<br />
<br />
Thinking of the thousands of hotdog-loving Giants fans, I asked Pete Osborne, in reality what effect would the resolution have? <br />
<br />
'From a business perspective, I'm not sure how it's going to affect us. We're known for doing a steak dinner,' he said. 'We do sell more hamburgers on a day of a ballgame than we would on a day of comparable business.'<br />
<br />
Typically, he said, of 300 lunches on a game day, there would be 100 burgers, but on a non-baseball day, no more than 50. 'It has less to do with the clientele and more with the traditional eating habits associated with the ballpark,' he said.<br />
<br />
So what does he think of an Orange and Black Culinary Attack, of nicely steamed carrots and black beans tucked inside hotdog and burger rolls?<br />
<br />
'I'm not sure! But it's funny to think about it!!' he laughed, and suddenly remembered, 'We do sweet potato fries. They're orange! That would go!'<br />
<br />
Pete has been to culinary school and is well researched and read about dietary issues, but has been working in the family business for 12 years, ever since he was 14-years-old. 'My training is from here, for sure!' he said.<br />
<br />
How does he view Hope Bohanec's statement that eating meat is as harmful as smoking cigarettes? <br />
<br />
'I think that refers specifically to the American diet because we have a tendency to eat too much meat. So I think it heightens awareness. It's a step in the right direction,' he said. <br />
<br />
And as much as he enjoys meat, 'meat and only meat is a bad thing,' he asserted. ' It leads to heart disease and other illnesses. There needs to be a balanced diet.'<br />
<br />
'Everything in moderation - and it couldn't be truer when it comes to the diet,' he said.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-249106077743807202010-04-12T19:20:00.000-07:002010-04-13T19:37:19.691-07:00Ten Per Cent Reduction Offer on Vegan Pizzas on San Francisco's Monday Vegetarian Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8PQ9k6vAlI/AAAAAAAACtw/Yt98YMRkTkY/s1600/IMG_4528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8PQ9k6vAlI/AAAAAAAACtw/Yt98YMRkTkY/s400/IMG_4528.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A San Francisco pizza restaurant is offering customers a ten per cent reduction on vegan pizzas on Mondays.<br />
<br />
Amici's pizza chain, which has two restaurants in the city, is putting their offer on the table following the passing of a resolution by the city's Board of Supervisors last week that from now on every Monday is to be known as Vegetarian Day.<i></i><br />
<br />
While the manager of one of the busiest restaurants in the city, The Cheesecake Factory, says that they have many vegetarian items on their menu and can easily accommodate customers should there be a rush for vegetarian food.<br />
<br />
Of the resolution passed last week, Richard Allum, Director of Marketing for Amici's East Coast Pizzeria, said, 'I think San Francisco is the perfect city for something like that. People in San Francisco tend to be very progressive and forward-thinking.'<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8PSljSgiJI/AAAAAAAACt4/0vn1R4buZkM/s1600/IMG_4511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8PSljSgiJI/AAAAAAAACt4/0vn1R4buZkM/s400/IMG_4511.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
First reaction of Alex Ross, manager of the Cheesecake Factory - <i>pictured at back of the terrace overlooking Union Square</i> - was, 'That's news to me. I wasn't aware of it, but this is great.'<br />
<br />
However, he went on, 'We definitely have vegetarian items on the menu, eggplant sandwiches, pasta and many of our salads,' he said, listing just a few.<br />
<br />
The Cheesecake Factory caters for many dietary restrictions and options, including seasonal religious festivals like Passover and Lent, he said, and showed an extensive menu with over 200 items spread over 21 pages. There were another 12 items on the 'specials.'<br />
<br />
'So what's one more day, one day a week, 52 times a year. It wouldn't be too difficult to pull it off,' he said.<br />
<br />
Amici's had been researching vegan cheeses. 'I'm not a vegetarian myself,' Richard Allum said, but had often found himself annoyed at the token offerings of vegetarian and vegan food on different restaurant menus. About 18 months ago they found a new product called Daiya. <br />
<br />
'It's proven to be very popular,' he said,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>and so when the resolution came along, 'we thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase it - the Daiya.' Other vegan cheeses, he said, have either not melted or been oily, but this was of a perfect stretch and melt consistency, and bubbled on top of the pizza.<br />
<br />
Not made of soy, but from the South American plant, cassava, Daiya seems to have set the vegan community alight with its cheese-like properties - judging from vegan reviews online. I sampled it from their restaurant opposite the Giants' ballpark and, presented with a good sprinkling of pepper and vegetables,<span style="font-size: small;"> couldn't tell the difference.</span><br />
<br />
Last month Amici's entered their <span style="font-size: small;">Asanté pizza into a competition at the annual </span>Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. It was the first-ever vegan entry. 'It didn't win but it got some good recognition from that,' Richard said.<br />
<br />
What he thought was important about the city's resolution was that it made clear that vegetarianism and vegan life-styles were equally valid.<br />
<br />
The concept of choice was also what attracted Alex to the resolution. 'I think it's a very interesting idea. As a non-vegetarian, I think it would be difficult for me, but it's important for people to have choice.' <br />
<br />
Hopefully, he said magnanimously, it will increase sales for restaurants that are vegetarian or vegan. But many restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory offer vegetarian options, he said, adding a plea to his regulars 'so please don't forget us!'<br />
<br />
The Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco is the busiest in the chain on the continent of America, beaten only by Honolulu - 'we don't count them!' said Alex.<br />
<br />
It is crowded throughout the day and evening, and doesn't take table reservations. It's location is a boon. Eight floors up on top of Macy's, it overlooks Union Square and has an outside terrace. And tourism in the city is booming.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-87677976386843970362010-04-12T14:30:00.000-07:002010-04-13T19:37:41.888-07:00Top Vegetarian Chef Concerned about San Francisco's 'Monday Vegetarian Days'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8OGxcEuuWI/AAAAAAAACto/lyJKd7HEWPU/s1600/IMG_4516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8OGxcEuuWI/AAAAAAAACto/lyJKd7HEWPU/s400/IMG_4516.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>One of the city's top vegetarian and vegan chefs has expressed concern about the political approach of enshrining a Vegetarian Day in an official resolution.<br />
<br />
For today is the first-ever Vegetarian Day in San Francisco. No longer Monday but renamed last week by the Board of Supervisors. Their goal, to encourage San Franciscans to have one meatless day per week and eat more vegetables.<i></i><br />
<br />
'It's kind of odd. I'm not opposed to it, not at all, in that it calls attention to people's diets,' said Chris Tucker, Executive Chef of the city's fine-dining vegan restaurant, Millenium.<br />
<br />
But he has qualms about the effect the resolution will have on people and what it will do for the image of the city. He thinks people will see it as ''just more of that nanny government as before. And,' he said, 'just another thing that people will look at San Francisco and say "Oh, that's San Francisco! An island of craziness!"'<br />
<br />
He went on in lampooning vein, 'I hear the naysayers. Monday is Vegetarian Day, Tuesday should be Foie Gras Day, Wednesday.....!!!' ...'San Francisco is a bunch of crunchy sprout-eating people...it's just funny!' he said. He had taken time out of his working day for the interview and was sitting in the empty restaurant inside the Hotel California on Geary, a few blocks from Union Square.<br />
<br />
The resolution, passed unanimously last Tuesday, is designed to encourage restaurants and schools to serve vegetarian food on Mondays, for grocery stores to promote the sale of vegetables, and for the population to eat vegetables in a bid to improve people's health and have an environmental impact on the planet. <br />
<br />
How, he queried, was it going to be enacted? Were they going to send round the vegetarian police?! Or spend city money promoting it?<br />
<br />
'To me, politically, I think the Board of Supervisors spending time on this is a little strange,' he said, concerned also about the financial health of the city and its predicted budget shortfall of $483 million.<br />
<br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">'To be quite honest, I hope they don't spend a dime on this. If you want to go down half a block away, I'll show you what they should be focussing on.' He pointed towards the Tenderloin area, noted for its jobless and homeless community.</div><br />
San Francisco was elitist, he said, and also made it very difficult for small businesses and restaurants to survive, being one of the most expensive cities in America to work in.<br />
<br />
The resolution would be a good thing if it changed people's eating habits and made them aware of where food came from, he said. But, 'Monday, Vegetarian Day. Great!' Just a name would achieve nothing. He wanted to see the 'trickle down' effect. <br />
<br />
'There should be some curriculum in schools about diet, and the impact foods have on yourself and the environment, and that's where we should be targeting things, on education.'<br />
<br />
Surprisingly, perhaps, while he and his staff obviously have a lot of positive things to say about vegetables, they are occasional meat-eaters.<br />
<br />
'A lot of people in this restaurant are not vegetarians or vegan, we just like this food and eat it most of the time,' he said. 'I'm not vegetarian.' He eats 'sea food once in a while and a little bit of meat, but I eat this way most of the time because I like it.'<br />
<br />
As a restaurateur, Chris loves working with local farmers. He grew up in farm country in New Jersey at a time when 'there was a real disconnect' with what farmers grew and restaurants served. But the 'local cuisine' movement has changed all of that.<br />
<br />
How will the resolution affect restaurants?<br />
<br />
It might attract new clients to vegetarian restaurants, he said, but although most chefs in San Francisco produce meat-based cuisine, there were so many talented chefs and many already producing regional Italian cuisine which is fairly vegetable-based, he said, that he thought it wouldn't make much difference.<br />
<br />
'Everyone in this town can cook great vegetables.'<br />
<br />
Millenium, who provided the food for the private party in Supervisor Sophie Maxwell's office after the resolution was passed, combine a sophisticated, fine-dining cuisine with a casual atmosphere. <br />
<br />
'The depth and scope of what we can do with vegetable-based products is endless,' Chris said. 'When I step away from it, I hope it will be the best-ever in the history of restaurants because of what we have done.'<br />
<br />
When he opened up, people didn't give him one year to survive. He is thriving after 16 years.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-19528469272558106092010-04-10T21:14:00.000-07:002010-04-11T07:26:41.650-07:00Tim Lincecum Two Time Winner of Cy Young Award Presented with Trophy at AT & T Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FLzcAG5oI/AAAAAAAACsw/Hwlmz_hWWrU/s1600/IMG_4621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FLzcAG5oI/AAAAAAAACsw/Hwlmz_hWWrU/s320/IMG_4621.jpg" /></a></div>Tonight was Tim Lincecum's night.<br />
<br />
The San Francisco Giants pitcher, one of the top pitchers in baseball, was presented with the Cy Young Award for the second consecutive year before tonight's game against the Atlanta Braves at the AT & T Park.<br />
<br />
Tim had had a 'spectacular season' said Mike Krukow, veteran Giants broadcaster and MC for the occasion. Holding the Cy Young trophy in his hands, Tim appeared overcome with emotion.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FL72-A_9I/AAAAAAAACs4/7uCRO2nJ37Q/s1600/IMG_4635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FL72-A_9I/AAAAAAAACs4/7uCRO2nJ37Q/s320/IMG_4635.jpg" /></a></div><br />
'Ummmm!' he said, and hesitated, flanked by the Giants and his proud father, Chris. A nearly-full stadium of fans erupted in cheers and applause.<br />
<br />
However, Tim found his voice after a minute and it was to his fans that he first gave credit. First of all, he said, he wanted to thank his fans 'who have given me so much support.'<br />
<br />
'Also my team mates. Bengie's the biggest part of that,' he said, of catcher Bengie Molina. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMPXCDDRI/AAAAAAAACtI/i9ZfZKW-LzM/s1600/IMG_4628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMPXCDDRI/AAAAAAAACtI/i9ZfZKW-LzM/s320/IMG_4628.jpg" /></a></div>Winning the NL Cy Young Award back-to-back gives Tim an illustrious list of achievements: one of only four baseball players ever to win it back-to-back; the first player to win it twice in his first two full seasons in Major League Baseball; and the only Giant to win it twice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Only one other Giant has ever won the award, and that was Mike McCormick in 1967. Tim, from Washington State, will be 26-years-old in June, and was the youngest-ever winner of the award when he first won it in 2008.<br />
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In February, a new contract was signed giving him $23 million over two years.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMYzhb7sI/AAAAAAAACtQ/UUjqrJnF7jY/s1600/IMG_4631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMYzhb7sI/AAAAAAAACtQ/UUjqrJnF7jY/s320/IMG_4631.jpg" /></a>Before the presentation, a video of Tim receiving the award formally in New York in January was shown on the jumbotron.<br />
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Afterwards there were messages from Greg Maddux, Cy Young Award winner for four consecutive years in '92-'95; ex-Giants who won the award with other teams, Vida Blue in '71, and Gaylord Perry in '72 and '78 and, at 40 years, the oldest player to receive it; and Ken Griffey Jr. a record achiever of home runs and player from Tim's home team, the Seattle Mariners.<br />
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<i>Pics shows Tim with his father and below Greg Maddux</i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMePCtflI/AAAAAAAACtY/To67Rq55usE/s1600/IMG_4637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8FMePCtflI/AAAAAAAACtY/To67Rq55usE/s320/IMG_4637.jpg" /></a>The game then opened, the second of the series against the Atlanta Braves, whom the Giants beat in a historical home opener yesterday. After the game there will be fireworks with a musical tribute to Tim.<br />
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Tim is scheduled to play tomorrow on the day that <br />
will see celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the first game played at the AT &T Park, originally called Pacific Bell Park, with a reunion with the 2000 team including Barry Bonds, Ellis Burks and Jeff Kent.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-34399133329266255602010-04-10T13:41:00.000-07:002010-04-10T14:12:42.846-07:00SF Giants Fans Celebrate Opening Day 2010 in Style!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DZ-0jHDxI/AAAAAAAACrI/ybbHcW5FJrE/s1600/IMG_4568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DZ-0jHDxI/AAAAAAAACrI/ybbHcW5FJrE/s320/IMG_4568.jpg" /></a>The SF Giants fans know how to celebrate their Opening Day in style. And with a breathtaking win over the Atlanta Braves, giving them an unbroken run so far, there was plenty to celebrate.....<i>see previous blogs</i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8Db6xk6H5I/AAAAAAAACro/RRgufEnJEUA/s1600/IMG_4586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8Db6xk6H5I/AAAAAAAACro/RRgufEnJEUA/s320/IMG_4586.jpg" /></a>Six-month-old Arielly, though, in baby-pink Giants' outfit, was not concerned with numbers as she<br />
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dangled happily in front of her father, Julio. She was making her debut appearance.<br />
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'She's happy to be here for her first game. She has five more games to go this year,' said Julio. Julio, there also with his brother-in-law, Marcos, has been a fan 'since I was her age.'<br />
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His favourite memory?<br />
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Will Clark's base hit in the play-offs against the Chicago Cubs in 1989.<br />
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In more exuberant manner, Bob, Jim and Billy from the Bay Area were having a blast! 'I just bought this shirt today,' said Jim. All three are confident that the Giants' will get to the play-offs.<br />
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And Stephen brightened up the Arcade area with his Pablo 'Panda' Sandoval costume. Does he often go out dressed like that?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DbKzA5HGI/AAAAAAAACrY/fKxb8iE-oEY/s1600/IMG_4609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DbKzA5HGI/AAAAAAAACrY/fKxb8iE-oEY/s320/IMG_4609.jpg" /></a>'Yeah!' he said. With the Giants trailing 4-2 at the time and the end of the ninth inning approaching, he shrugged off the game as 'been okay!' Just before Benjie Molina gave a good hit and made a run to first base that put the fans hearts in mouths and raised the tension.<br />
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Behind the Arcade was McCovey Cove where boaters celebrated in their own style on the water.<br />
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But it wasn't just fireworks, streamers, fighter jets and excitement in the air at the ballpark that afternoon. It was good old-fashioned love! Three guys proposed to their girlfriends via jumbotron messages.<br />
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As 42,940 fans poured exultantly out of the ballpark,<br />
they savoured a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in a record-breaking near four-and-a-quarter-hour Opening Day game.<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DcsX3tWTI/AAAAAAAACsA/gWbGJpSkhFo/s1600/IMG_4618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DcsX3tWTI/AAAAAAAACsA/gWbGJpSkhFo/s320/IMG_4618.jpg" /></a><br />
It is the longest home opener in San Francisco history, the Giants later announced on their website. <br />
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'The thing we like,' said Ted, speaking on behalf of his friend and himself, 'is that there's no clock in baseball.'<br />
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Unless, of course, he added, it got to midnight and then someone might call it a night!<br />
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'Everything in America is fast, fast, fast. But this game is 160 years old,' he said, and so not designed around clocks.<br />
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His tee-shirt summed up the feelings of the fans.<br />
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Had he played hooky to watch the game, and how many people did he think had?<br />
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'I'm self-employed,' he replied, 'and many around here are.' But out of the crowd in the ballpark, 'probably a third to a half,' he reckoned.<br />
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<i>Tonight pitcher Tim Lincecum will be presented with the Cy Young Award trophy, his second consecutive year of winning it. The presentation takes place at 6.30 pm followed by the second game against the Atlantia Braves. At the end of which, there will be fireworks at McCovey Cove featuring a musical tribute to Lincecum</i>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592174938996932415.post-88071653988550089582010-04-10T08:38:00.000-07:002010-04-10T14:18:34.152-07:00SF Giants 2010 Opening Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWLLCuxII/AAAAAAAACqQ/Tp2Phd9UVYU/s1600/IMG_4530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWLLCuxII/AAAAAAAACqQ/Tp2Phd9UVYU/s320/IMG_4530.jpg" /></a></div>The Opening Day for the Giants in San Francisco is as much about fashion and food as baseball. In orange and black outfits, and panda costumes aka Pablo 'Panda' Sandoval, it's a day for fans to dress as sporting glitterati.<br />
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And while the city have just named every Monday 'Vegetarian Day,' they might just as well call this 'Giants' Sick Day!' Alongside the ballpark, with just under two hours to go to the Opening Pitch, fans crowded onto outside tables at the newly-opened Mejita restaurant. There, the first request for a pic set the scene, being met with concerned and hasty denial.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWX82djGI/AAAAAAAACqY/MVzWwCChKpo/s1600/IMG_4532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWX82djGI/AAAAAAAACqY/MVzWwCChKpo/s320/IMG_4532.jpg" /></a></div>'No! 'I'm playing hooky and I don't want anyone to see me!' said a lady, as she tucked into a plate of Mexican food with three friends. <br />
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Around the corner, people were streaming onto the Willie Mays Plaza, and staff were doing a great job in ushering what would be almost 43,000 fans through the massive, dark-green gates, including carrying out bag searches. Free calendars were being handed out, too, at the entrances.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWgim7WBI/AAAAAAAACqg/MzrQtpCoXlU/s1600/IMG_4535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CWgim7WBI/AAAAAAAACqg/MzrQtpCoXlU/s320/IMG_4535.jpg" /></a></div>Inside the teeming ballpark, Sara, though, had no such qualms of 'sick day!' as she sported a panda hat and number 48 shirt of Pablo Sandoval.<br />
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'I'm partial to his number. We sit just past third base so we get to see him close up,' she said. But she's also a huge fan of him apart from his number. 'He's a great guy! We've spoken to him and he's signed autographs for us,' she said.<br />
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A born and bred San Franciscan, she's a third generation Giants' fan.<br />
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On John's head was a shiny history of the Giants encapsulated in the badges pinned to his cap. Covering the years from 1988, they are mostly of opening days, but two specials are Barry Bonds' 500th home run and the 2002 World Series.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CaJEbD5mI/AAAAAAAACqo/STtTFwkQIrw/s1600/IMG_4536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CaJEbD5mI/AAAAAAAACqo/STtTFwkQIrw/s320/IMG_4536.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CaVYtep1I/AAAAAAAACqw/fU02gTvml9k/s1600/IMG_4537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8CaVYtep1I/AAAAAAAACqw/fU02gTvml9k/s200/IMG_4537.jpg" width="143" /></a>'I love it, this is my 24th consecutive opening day,' he said. A fan since 1951, and living 70 miles south of the city, he has high hopes.<br />
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'I think we may see a play-off for this year,' he said.<br />
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Such was Michelle's enthusiasm to be there, she had flown in overnight from Indiana, leaving at 3.30 am ET and half-an-hour past midnight, San Francisco time.<br />
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'I had heard about the 10th Anniversary and I'm going to all three games in the series,' she said. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DMSvFth2I/AAAAAAAACq4/HYe9V32JDKo/s1600/IMG_4543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DMSvFth2I/AAAAAAAACq4/HYe9V32JDKo/s320/IMG_4543.jpg" /></a></div>Strings of orange beads matched her carefully-teamed outfit. 'I'm a huge fan, ever since this ballpark opened up,' she said.<br />
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Ken has been a fan for much longer, with memories going back to Candlestick Park from where the Giants moved ten years ago. <br />
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'I remember when I was younger and in school and summer school, and we would go on trips to the ballpark,' he said.<br />
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The difference between the AT & T Park and Candlestick?<br />
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'Less windy!' he said.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DmN3gSCwI/AAAAAAAACsg/did1zcecMR8/s1600/IMG_4610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DmN3gSCwI/AAAAAAAACsg/did1zcecMR8/s320/IMG_4610.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DNHJrVsWI/AAAAAAAACrA/tDWTCjdhH-s/s1600/IMG_4546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RVGqzOYid_Y/S8DNHJrVsWI/AAAAAAAACrA/tDWTCjdhH-s/s320/IMG_4546.jpg" /></a>The official celebrations for the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the AT & T Park take place on Sunday with a reunion with some of the 2000 National League West Division Championship team, including Barry Bonds - <i>pic of team displayed on jumbotron</i><br />
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Bobby, from San Francisco, was orange and black from head to toe. On his seventh Opening Day extravaganza, he had brought his four-year-old son with him for his first!<br />
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Confident about the Giants making the play-offs, he was hopeful of a place in the World Series and his favourite player is Tim Lincecum.<br />
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Will he be buying a newly-designed Lincecum wig with its trademark long black hair?<br />
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He will. His orange and black wig is soon to be consigned to history.<br />
'This one is three years old and I'm going to update it!' he said.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09734614360932606114noreply@blogger.com0