Surprise!
Didn’t sleep well last night, so I was up and soaking my knees in the hot tub at about 6:00am. Nice morning for it too… rainy and
breezy. Once I got around to checking my email and Facebook, I had no idea the treasure I would find this morning!
Thanks to Grace Marquette for scanning this brochure from the Rio Linda Chamber of Commerce circa 1970. It’s the little surprises like this that really make my interest in local history worthwhile. A couple of things of note;
- A photo of the intact, mid-century modern styled “MarVal Plaza” monument sign. With the funky boomerang lettering, it might even be considered “Googie” style.
- Notice how clean and fresh everything is. Even the archway looks freshly painted.
- A lot of neighborhoods that hadn’t yet been built… Elkhorn Manor, Johnson Woods, Castle Creek Estates, Bell Acqua Park, Rio Linda Woods.
- The Sac Northern railroad tracks still running through the middle of town, and the associated bump on M street.
- While not referenced on the map, this would be the era of McMillan’s Hardware, Roma Liquors, and Archway Pizza… all long defunct.
Grace notes (lol) that anyone interested in the Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society should attend their Sunday Social at Calvary Lutheran Church on Feb. 20th. I’m unsure of the time, however.
Hayward Air Rally
(Special thanks to Erwin Hayer)
The Hayward Air Rally has been held continuously since 1964.
You would first estimate and turn in your time to the second and fuel consumption to the tenth of a gallon before taking off.
The object of the Proficiency Event was to take off from Hayward Airport when the flag dropped, fly south-south-east to Bakersfield Airport, land and refuel after flying between two smoke pots for the time to stop. Then leave Bakersfield to the south east for a fly by at Hesperia Airport south of Victorville CA. After a report with air race number at Hesperia, turn North East (NE) toward Las Vegas. After crossing between two smoke pots at the Convention Center at 500 feet above the ground, time stop, turning south and landing at McCarran Airport.
Aircraft from the American Aero Club stationed at the Rio Linda Airport entered in 1964 and 1965.
In 1965, 10 aircraft from the American Aero Club at Rio Linda Airport placed in the top 12 positions out of the 86 aircraft that were entered.
Erwin Hayer says;
That’s me at 29, one year before I married Sandy, in the photo of Air Race 1966 standing next to the Cessna 120 (N72201) in which I took fourth place.
