Kingsburg History

Join us tonight at the Kingsburg Historical Park. Open 5-8pm Free admission.

Thanksgiving has passed and the Kingsburg Historical Park has been all gussied up for Christmas! Bring your family and friends to explore the Park well adorned... with lights, take a family photo next to an antique vehicle or buggy. The 1908 Olson-Ball House, Clay School Museum, Reiffel Store and the new Bride's Nest have been decorated as well! Docents and hosts will be on-hand to answer questions. This is our gift back to the community; admission is free. It is also a great time to join the Kingsburg Historical Society or pick up a 2022 Kingsburg Historical Society Calendar. Please note: because of this expanded schedule, we will not be open on Saturday's during the month of December.

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! The 2022 Kingsburg Historical Society Calendar is out today! Twelve beautiful frame ready photographs of Kingsburg fr...om 1908 to 1975. Calendars will be available at Kadys Kitchen, Kingsburg Chamber of Commerce and at the Kingsburg Historical Park. Cost per calendar: $13 plus postage if mailed. The Historical Park is open today (Saturday 11/20) from 9am - 1pm. We are also open from 5pm-8pm on Dec 2-3, 9-10, and 16-17 for Christmas In The Park. Bring your family, enjoy the park as dressed up for Christmas with lots of photo opportunities. Admission is free. Calendar sales are a major fundraiser event for the Historical Park and Historic Kingsburg Jail museum. This project wouldn't be possible without the generosity of our sponsors: Community Sponsors Amparan Flooring, Inc. Cates & Company CPA Bill’s Auto Care - Bill & Tamra Dodd Grid Iron Greats - Mark Pinheiro Guarantee Realty - Michael Miller Kingsburg First Baptist Church Kady's Kitchen Kings River Real Estate Kingsburg Insurance Agency Kingsburg Lions Club Kingsburg Supermarket Safarjian Family Foundation Sign Ranch - Rod Johnson West America Bank Wigh Properties Individual Sponsors Tanya Barros Ron & Karen Bergman Dr. Charles Howard Carlson John & Eileen Dodson Mike & Vallerie Dunn Gerald & Nancy Fry David & Sharon Lindgren Rick & Robyn Lindgren Tom & Karen Marshall Robert & Pat Ostrom Marian Olson Judy Ostrom Chris Peterson The Soghoian & Seavey Families Helen Stewart John & Pat Walton Evelyn Workman

The Dala Monthly, formerly Kingsburg Times, inaugural edition is out! News for Kingsburg, about Kingsburg and by Kingsburg! https://www.facebook.com/dalamonthly/

Do you like a good yard sale? Then you will love the Kingsburg Community Yard Sale this Saturday Oct 2nd! With approximately 40 sellers and food vendors, you ...are sure to have a great time. Where: Kingsburg Historical Park 2320 Sierra St. When: 7:30-noon Be sure to visit the Kingsburg Historical Society area with tons of items at bargain prices. Photos attached ( Note: All items for sale by the Historical Society were donated for that purpose. No donations of historical artifacts are ever sold without the donor’s consent.)

FYI ... The Kingsburg Historical Park will be open today, Saturday July 10th. However due to extreme heat conditions, only air conditioned spaces will be open for tours; Clay School Museum and Riverbend Church. Thanks for you patience and understanding.

The Kingsburg Historical Park is excited to announce ... We are OPEN! When; every Saturday beginning May 1, 2021. Hours: 9am-1pm. Except on May 15th when we will open 11am-2pm after the Swedish Festival parade. The Historical Park is beautiful and waiting for you and your family. Cost: Free Self-Guided Tours... Docent led tours when available. See more

Another interesting artifact at the Kingsburg Historical Park - Olson/Ball House: Years ago, long before refrigeration was available, people found ways to prese...rve foods to survive times when food was not available. They dried fruit and dried, salted and pickled meat and vegetables. Some even dug a hole to bury vegetables in sand, straw or dirt to keep them from spoiling too quickly. As years went by, tools were invented to make those chores easier and faster to do. Today’s Historical Treasure is known as a kraut (cabbage) cutter, although, besides cabbage, it could be used for a variety of foods such as turnips, carrots and beets, to name a few. Homemade sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is a way to preserve cabbage by layering and pounding thinly sliced cabbage and salt in a crock or other suitable container. It is then left in a cool place to marinate or pickle in its own juices. Before kraut cutters were invented, the cabbage was cut by hand with a knife. Early cutters were quite roughly made. Most were wooden boxes that had a slot cut out of the bottom to which a scythe blade was attached so that it was slightly higher than the bottom of the box. Kraut cutters later became more refined. Some even had two and three blades. Other improvements made were holders to keep your hands away from the blade as you ran the cabbage over the blades. Records show that kraut cutters and the making of sauerkraut came to America as early as 1848 when people from Germany and Central Europe immigrated. Some people still make homemade kraut today.

Another interesting Artifact from the Kingsburg Historical Park: Years ago, long before refrigeration was available, people found ways to preserve foods to survive times when food was not available. They dried fruit and dried, salted and pickled meat and vegetables. Some even dug a hole to bury vegetables in sand, straw or dirt to keep them from spoiling too quickly. As years went by, tools were invented to make those chores easier and faster to do. Today’s Historical Treas...ure is known as a kraut (cabbage) cutter, although, besides cabbage, it could be used for a variety of foods such as turnips, carrots and beets, to name a few. Homemade sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is a way to preserve cabbage by layering and pounding thinly sliced cabbage and salt in a crock or other suitable container. It is then left in a cool place to marinate or pickle in its own juices. Before kraut cutters were invented, the cabbage was cut by hand with a knife. Early cutters were quite roughly made. Most were wooden boxes that had a slot cut out of the bottom to which a scythe blade was attached so that it was slightly higher than the bottom of the box. Kraut cutters later became more refined. Some even had two and three blades. Other improvements made were holders to keep your hands away from the blade as you ran the cabbage over the blades. Although we are unable to determine the precise date of manufacture of our artifact, records show that kraut cutters and the making of sauerkraut came to America as early as 1848 when people from Germany and Central Europe immigrated. Some people still make homemade kraut today.

The effort to clean and reorganize the back porch of the Olson-Ball House at the Kingsburg Historical Park is complete.

Spent the last few days conducting an inventory, dating and tagging artifacts in the Olson-Ball house at the Kingsburg Historical Park. Here is a small glimps at the hundreds of artifacts I have and will continue to examine. Such a fun place to hang out!

A partial view inside the Heritage Building at the Kingsburg Historical Park.

Another interesting Artifact from the Kingsburg Historical Park: Years ago, long before refrigeration was available, people found ways to preserve foods to survive times when food was not available. They dried fruit and dried, salted and pickled meat and vegetables. Some even dug a hole to bury vegetables in sand, straw or dirt to keep them from spoiling too quickly. As years went by, tools were invented to make those chores easier and faster to do. Today’s Historical Treas...ure is known as a kraut (cabbage) cutter, although, besides cabbage, it could be used for a variety of foods such as turnips, carrots and beets, to name a few. Homemade sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is a way to preserve cabbage by layering and pounding thinly sliced cabbage and salt in a crock or other suitable container. It is then left in a cool place to marinate or pickle in its own juices. Before kraut cutters were invented, the cabbage was cut by hand with a knife. Early cutters were quite roughly made. Most were wooden boxes that had a slot cut out of the bottom to which a scythe blade was attached so that it was slightly higher than the bottom of the box. Kraut cutters later became more refined. Some even had two and three blades. Other improvements made were holders to keep your hands away from the blade as you ran the cabbage over the blades. Although we are unable to determine the precise date of manufacture of our artifact, records show that kraut cutters and the making of sauerkraut came to America as early as 1848 when people from Germany and Central Europe immigrated. Some people still make homemade kraut today.

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9 Solomon might have been on to something. Consider the following old ideas that have become new.

In 1915 the Smith Motor Wheel was introduced to the American Market. This advertisement appeared in the Kingsburg Recorder on August 13, 1915 promising speeds up to 20 miles per hour on your bicycle. Now, 105 years later, countless kids received a similar bike for Christmas.

Spent the last few days conducting an inventory, dating and tagging artifacts in the Olson-Ball house at the Kingsburg Historical Park. Here is a small glimps at the hundreds of artifacts I have and will continue to examine. Such a fun place to hang out!

A partial view inside the Heritage Building at the Kingsburg Historical Park.

I've been reading old editions of the Kingsburg Recorder to get an Idea about how Christmas has been celebrated in Kingsburg over the last 100 years. In doing so, some of the letters to Santa were thought provoking and amusing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Update: something isn't adding up about those posted in the Dec. 25, 1980 edition of the Kingsburg Recorder. In an effort to learn more about the young writers, I ran a name search in the Recorder archives. I discovered Karin Rocker would have been about 11 years old in 1980. Maybe the Recorder posted letters from their archives.

Tired of being couped up inside. I have an activity you will love. The backstory: The Valley Lumber company operated in Kingsburg from February 1905 until Au...gust 1954. In order to encourage customers to order lumber and fixtures necessary to build a new home, Valley Lumber offered a wide selection of house plans and construction blue prints for free. Several of the offerings are attached. See how many you can spot as you cruise the neighborhoods, and then post a photo in response. I will get you started. Plan nr. 401 was the most popular and most frequently advertised in the Kingsburg Recorder. Example: 1540 Union Street. On May 22, 1922 Robert Scott was traveling East on Sierra near Simpson Street when he lost control of the model T as he crossed the tracks and crashed into a tree. Anna Scott’s life changed forever that day as she became a widow with three small children and a fourth due in just two months; Gordon "Scotty" Scott. In Anna’s mind, she would always be married to the love of her life and would never marry again. Instead, she devoted her life to raising her children as best she could. After Scotty was born, Anna sold the farm and purchased a small one-bedroom home at 1540 Union Street, where she would raise her growing family. Scotty said he and Robert slept on the screened in back porch while his mother and sister slept in the bedroom. "It wasn’t much, but it was home." observed Scotty.

Great news! You can now get your 2021 Calendar at Kady's Kitchen, Kingsburg Supermarket, Kingsburg Barbershop, and the Chamber of Commerce! You can also order calendars using the attached form. You won't be disappointed!

On October 9, 2020 Kingsburg lost another hometown hero; Gordon Eugene Scotty Scott. I first met Scotty in 2017 when I interviewed him regarding his WWII experiences. Scotty was small in stature but a giant in character. Gordon Eugene Scott was raised in Kingsburg during the Great Depression by his widowed mother; a Swedish immigrant, who lost her husband two months before Gordon was born. On his 18th birthday, Gordon enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served as a Mac...hinist Mate for six years, advancing in rank from Seaman to Chief Petty Officer. His story of endurance and bravery aboard the U.S.S. Arizona, Lexington and Suwanee are legendary in Kingsburg. Gordon participated in 15 major sea battles against the Japanese Imperial Navy throughout the Pacific and the German Wolfpack off the shores of North Africa. After the war, he became a prominent businessman in Kingsburg and a legend at the Kings River Golf and Country Club. Today, 98 year old Gordon Eugene Scott is known to his many friends and family as Scotty. In 2019 Scotty rode alongside of his son-in-law (David Meyer) in the Swedish Festival parade. They rode in a WWII era Willys Jeep adorned with flags and representing Kingsburg's Greatest Generation. So, today - whether you have served or not - let's give a final salute to Gordon Eugene "Scotty" Scott (5/24/1922 - 10/9/2020).

100 years ago Kingsburg residents assembled in a open lot that is now Los Pepe's parking lot, to watch a silent movie called "True Heart Susie." The open air theater, called Nelson's Airdome, showed silent movies. August 13, 1920 is the earliest reference to Nelson's Airdome I could find in the Kingsburg Recorder. It was relatively short-lived under that name. In April 1921 it was leased by C.G. Bartis and Robert N. Bunce and operated under the name The Kingsburg Theater.... It was announced that in order to avoid any conflict with the churches, the theater would be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Kingsburg Theater, under Bartis and Bunce, also failed. So, in 1922 C. J. Nelson constructed a new brick theater building on a plot of land that is now the Suncrest parking lot. The grand opening was July 1, 1922 and It could seat 500 on folding chairs with plenty of leg room. A used marguis would later be added and the name would be changed to The American Theater. Like all of the theater ventures before it, the American Theater had its successes and failures before closing. In "The True Heart", a plain young country girl named Susie, secretly loves a neighbor boy, William. She believes in him and sacrifices much of her own happiness to promote his own ambitions, all without his knowledge. Eventually he rises to a position of success and sophistication, and Susie realizes that she has through her own efforts raised him to a level where he is inaccessible to her. They were also treated to a double feature called "Para Magazine" and a Ford Educational Weekly newsreel called, "One $ Down". If you want to experience the excitement of movie-going in 1920 here is your opportunity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxpjXrzWW4Q