Compiled by Nick Sestanovich

75 years ago

Formal Dance Planned For Soldiers (Feb. 4, 1943)

The first formal dance for the enlisted men stationed here will be given Wednesday night, February 10, in the City Hall under the direction of Mrs. Olga Hettinger and her committee of workers.
Miss Violet Molfino assisted by boys from the 501st Coast Artillery will carry out a Valentine theme in the hall decoration for the party. Heretofore the weekly dances have been informal and the suggestion from the Valentine dance be made a formal affair met with the hearty approval of the boys and are looking forward to the occasion.

50 years ago

Benicia Art Center Benefit Program To Be Held Sunday (Feb. 1, 1968)

A social program built around wine tasting and art exhibits will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Robert K. Winters residence, 400 West M St., with proceeds to benefit the Benicia Art Center.
Tickets are available by calling 745-0130 or 745-1189, or at the Alamo Galleries, 123 First St.
The center, with Richard O. Morris of Benicia as director, plans to serve the Solano-Napa counties area by providing instruction, recitals, and exhibits of various art forms. One of the first programs, co-sponsored with the North Bay Artists, is the traveling competitive art show preview ’68 to premiere in Benicia Thursday, March 7.
Other programs to be outlined at the wine tasting benefit include the schedule of the first art classes, tentative plans for a music recital in early spring, and an Inez Storer exhibit in May. Miss Storer, whose book, “Children of the Wind and Pines,” was recently published by Lippincott, has loaned her original drawings and correspondence for the book to the Art Center for an exhibit exemplifying the process of readying an illustrated book for publication. Mr. Morris plans to mount the work into a traveling exhibit available to schools and classes in the area.
The wine tasting will also feature the first public display of the Center’s permanent civic art collection, comprised of work by contemporary California artists. The collection and the Art Center office will be housed in the Alamo Galleries, 123 First St.

25 years ago

No methane detected at homes (Jan. 31, 1993)

By Sarah Rohrs

Testing by the Department of Toxic Substances Control revealed no methane contamination Friday afternoon at four Rose Drive homes that abut Blake Court.
The tests had been ordered to determine if any methane gas from a sinkhole at 876 Rose Drive had contaminated nearby houses.
Steve Bulluomini, senior engineer geologist, said state workers used hand-held methane monitoring devices and checked for the gas in “every conceivable open space, including underneath the sink cabinets.”
The state also took air samples that will be analyzed for more precise measurements of gas, should any be detected, Allan Hirsch, public information officer for Toxic Substances Control, said Friday.
“We don’t believe there is methane contamination, but we thought it would be prudent to test the houses,” Hirsch said.
State workers immediately after Southampton Co. crews Friday morning used sand and concrete to fill up a sinkhole in the back year of a Rose drive house that already has old landfill waste beneath its surface.

The full articles of these and other stories are available on microfilm at the Benicia Public Library.

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