Question: What is the history of the Golden Tee golf course on Tulare Street? – Cliff Sparrow, Clovis Answer: Jess Blakeley, who opened a popular public swimming pool on Tulare Street near Clovis Avenue in 1948, added a nine-hole golf course on his 20-acre property in 1961. The course was designed by famous golf course [...]

Question: Are there any pictures of the original Chester Rowell Elementary School? I attended there in the early 1960s. It was a beautiful two-story brick building heated by radiators. The kindergarten room even had a fireplace. – Kathy Burrows, Fresno Answer: In 1921, the name of Arlington Heights school was changed to Chester Rowell Elementary [...]

Question: What’s the history of the Rowell Building in downtown Fresno? – Robert Liera, Fresno Answer: When the six-story Rowell Building was built at Tulare and K (later Van Ness) streets, it was the tallest building in Fresno and the first with steel framing. Physician and newspaperman Chester Rowell and business partner Wilber Chandler — [...]

Question: What is the history of the town of Hildreth in Madera County? – Neil Simpson, Fresno Answer: Hildreth, about 35 miles east of Madera, took its name from a pioneer family that came to California by wagon train in the 1850s. According to “Madera” by Charles W. Clough, Jesse Hildreth established one of the [...]

SHAVER LAKE — Hey, what happened to all the water? Instead of a lake here, there’s just an empty brown expanse littered with boulders, tree stumps and logs. But take a closer look, preferably with binoculars or a spotting scope. What you’re seeing is Fresno County history, much of it exposed to sunlight for the [...]

Question: What is the history of Zenny’s Mexican Restaurant? I have tried for years to duplicate their Mexican spaghetti recipe. – Clarence Edwin and “Ed” Hunt, Fresno Answer: Zenny’s and Nida’s Mexican restaurants were named for Zenaida Smyth, who opened the original Zenny’s at the southwest corner of Blackstone and Olive avenues in the late [...]