editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
September 2016
Serving Alamo and Diablo A Community Minded Man By Alisa Corstorphine
In May 1993, community minded resident Bruce Marhenke started a hyperlocal newspaper called Alamo Magazine. He led off the inaugural issue with an article titled “Hello…Alamo!” and mailed the 28 page “rag” to the residents of Alamo. Bruce wanted to celebrate his town and share local happenings. He kept the paper “homey,” and in the masthead banner instead of listing a price for a copy of the paper, he wrote “PRICELESS!” His goal was to “…bring the best of the news – some new, some about days gone by – about our neat little hamlet of Alamo!” Bruce Marhenke The paper began when email, digital photography, and computers were young. Bruce would use a typewriter, his trusty camera, Safeway photo processing, and sheets of cardboard to layout the pages and get the paper ready for press. He wanted contributions from “residents, business people, old timers, young kids, clubs, schools, government, associations, sports
Charity Bike Institute
See Bruce continued on page 11 By Fran Miller
Throughout an entrepreneurial career that has taken him from sales with IBM to his current position with Reflow Water Works, Alamo resident Stephen “Steamer” Stanley has always found time for charitable endeavors. After having been a youth sports coach, and having served on the boards of Shelter, Inc., CEID, and the Orinda Chamber of Commerce. In addition to being active in Rotary, Stanley decided it was time to establish his own charitable organization, and thus, Charity Bike Institute (CBI) was created. CBI’s premise is simple: they collect unwanted bicycles, refurbish and restore them if necessary, and donate them to individuals in need. Stanley operates the organization year-round, relying on word of mouth for his collection of unwanted bikes. He personally contacts homeless and transitional shelters, schools, veteran groups, and other organizations to find those in need of a bike. His staff of high school vol- Stephen Stanley, founder of the Charity Bike Institute, presents Angie unteers provide the Carmignani of the Taylor Family Foundation with a donated bike trike. tune-up labor, and he was recently provided free use of a large business office on
See Bike continued on page 25
Local Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 263 Alamo CA
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Children walked coast to coast beside the family wagon, which carried supplies for the long journey. Photo by Jody Morgan
The Spirit of the Old West: Honoring Our Past, Educating Our Future By Jody Morgan
The Spirit of the Old West at the Blackhawk Museums is a powerful tribute to two vastly different civilizations that collided across the American West – one losing an ancestral homeland, the other claiming an intractable wilderness. Each side of the exhibition immerses visitors in the culture presented. A 140-foot long topographic table recreates events that marked the westward expansion of the United States. Artifacts used by Plains Indians and American settlers are displayed against a backdrop of colorful murals. Animals indigenous to the mountains, plains, and valleys enhance the sense of entering an earlier time and wilder place. Intrigued by a friend’s suggestion that a remarkable collection of antiques from the American West was available to a single individual purchasing it in its entirety, Ken Behring traveled to Cody, Wyoming to see it. He immediately recognized the educational value of the collection Jerry Fick had spent his life discovering and preserving. Fick, whose grandmother was a full-blooded Delaware Indian, grew up
See West continued on page 20
Motorists enjoyed hill climbing competitions on Mount Diablo until the State Park opened in 1931. Drivers celebrate reaching the summit c.1920. (photo courtesy of Beverly Lane and Ralph Cozine) th
Mount Diablo – Magnet for Early 20 Century Motorists By Jody Morgan
As soon as roads to the summit of Mount Diablo were completed in 1915, intrepid motorists began using the steep grades to test their driving prowess. Eager for proof of superior performance to Volume XVI - Number 9 advertise, automobile manufacturers used 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Alamo, CA 94507 the Mount Diablo climb to establish reliability of their products. Challenge trophies Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 brought professional competitors. AmaAlisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher teurs vied to clock the fastest time from Editor@yourmonthlypaper.com Oakland to the top. The era ended and was Sharon Burke ~ Writer almost forgotten after 1931 when Mount The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today Diablo State Park acquired the roads. is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising
See Motorists cont. on page 30
herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.