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Dearest Friends and Supporters,
Perhaps more than in most of our lifetimes, we have been looking with anticipation at changing the digit at the end of the year from a big, fat “zero” to a shiny and straight numeral “1.” The Roaring ‘20s Part II certainly did kick off with an unanticipated amount of fanfare, albeit not what any of us had hoped for. To everyone who has struggled over the past 12 months, particularly with ill health, all of us at the Fresno County Historical Society send you a resounding Happy New Year and most sincere wishes for a better 2021.
The turn of the calendar has brought about hope and determination to do better around the world for more than four millennia, when the first recorded New Year Resolutions were noted in ancient Babylon.
Babylonians are said to have started the tradition during Akitu, a 12-day celebration which honored Janus, a two-faced god who symbolically looked back into the previous year and forwards into the new year. During the Akitu festival, the ancient Babylonians would plant crops, crown a new king (or pledge their loyalty to the reigning king), make promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any borrowed items. They believed that if they kept their word, the gods would look favorably on them for the year ahead; if promises were broken, they would fall on the bad side of their gods.
Ancient Egyptians celebrated the advent of their new calendar during the Nile River's annual flood. By 46 B.C., Roman emperor Julius Caesar had moved the first day of the year to January 1st in honor of the Roman god of beginnings, Janus, an idea that took some time to catch on. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reaffirmed the January 1st New Year with the Gregorian calendar -- a concept that persists today.
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New Year’s resolutions were also made in the Middle Ages. Knights would renew their vow to chivalry by placing their hands on a live or roasted peacock. The annual “Peacock Vow” would take place at the end of the year, as a resolution to maintain their knighthood values.
By 1802, the tradition of making (and often failing to keep) New Year’s resolutions was common enough that people satirized the practice. A Boston newspaper from 1813 featured the first recorded use of the phrase “New Year resolution,” stating:
“And yet, I believe there are multitudes of people, accustomed to receive injunctions of new year resolutions, who will sin all the month of December, with a serious determination of beginning the new year with new resolutions and new behavior, and with the full belief that they shall thus expiate and wipe away all their former faults.”
Modern New Year’s resolutions are a largely secular practice, with most people making resolutions to themselves rather than promising gods. The focus of the tradition is on self-improvement, with people taking time to reflect on their goals. Today’s resolutions are often health focused, driven by the indulgence of the Christmas period. The symbology of the New Year also makes it a great time to wipe the slate clean and start fresh after December 31st.
At least 40% of people in the United States set New Year’s resolutions, yet, research shows that 80% of people break their resolutions by the first week of February and only eight percent are successful in achieving their goals at all. While the majority of Americans age 45 and younger plan to make a New Year's resolution, only 28 percent of those 45 and older will vow to make changes. Clearly, experience trumps hope, here.
Despite having over 4,000 years of practice, we don’t seem to be able to apply our resolve as much as we would hope.
While your plans for New Year's 2021 probably looked a lot different than usual - you may have traded in a New Year's Eve party for more time on the couch in front of a festive New Year's movie - your resolutions and priorities may look different too. A renewed focus on your health and that of your loved ones may be, appropriately, top of mind. That surely is more important to manifest than any other resolutions that might come to mind.
Here at the FCHS, our resolutions are simple – to ensure that the events of this historic time period are properly captured and preserved for the generations yet to come and that everyone in our Valley has the chance to share in the collective knowledge that THEY are making history every day.
With that said, we look forward to once again hosting all of you at Kearney Mansion in the near future. We can’t wait to press the play button once again on some truly exciting events and endeavors. Who knows, Christmas may even come again in July!
Warmest regards for a healthy, happy and historic 2021,
Elizabeth Laval
President, Fresno County Historical Society
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ROOTS OF THE VALLEY:
The Human Fly Climbs
the Bank of Italy Building
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Human Fly climbing the Bank of Italy Building in downtown Fresno, January 18, 1919. Image courtesy of Pop Laval Foundation. |
On January 18, 1919, The Fresno Morning Republican ran the following feature story inviting the whole of the community to observe The Human Fly climb to the top of the Bank of Italy Building. Below is the complete story...
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Human Fly to Climb Bank of Italy Building;
Today 2:30
Today is the day, two-thirty is the time, the Bank of Italy is the place, and the Human Fly will climb, rain or shine, and if the telephone calls that have been received in the past few days are indications of anything there will be an enormous crowd out to see the stunt pulled off.
Mr. Williams is now at the Hotel Fresno, where he has been resting up a few days before making his climb here, and today at two-thirty, using nothing but his hands and feet, he will climb from the sidewalk in front of the building to the ball that surmounts the flagpole.
The Armenian Relief Association will have a corps of collectors on hand who will take up a collection from the crowd witnessing the exhibition, and after Mr. Williams' expenses are paid the rest will go to relieve the suffering in devastated Europe. Mr. Ardzroni, chairman of the Armenian Relief Association, says that there will be at least 5,000 Armenians out to see the exhibition pulled off and one of the biggest crowds ever seen in the city of Fresno is expected.
Mr. Williams has been driving about town in the last two or three days in a Stephens Six and says he likes Fresno very much. Mr. Williams will be dressed entirely in white, wearing tennis shoes, will start the exhibition promptly on time.
The Human Fly will have completed a 48-hour fast Saturday at one o'clock. About 2:15 he will suck the blood from a piece of rare beefsteak and immediately afterward will be in condition for this climb.
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Close up of Mr. Williams scaling the Bank of Italy Building on January 18, 1919. |
When interviewed at the Hotel Fresno last night Mr. Williams was asked how he felt when in tight places and his answer came as a great surprise. "I depend entirely upon prayer to assist me over the difficult spots," he said. "Whenever I am in a tight place a little prayer, a stiff upper lip gives me perfect mental control and I am able to look the situation over coolly, whereas on the other hand were I afraid I would be liable to do the wrong thing, which would result in a fall."
"To what do you attribute your unusual ability?" was the next question. "It is merely a matter of practice," he replied, "and good mental control. The most important thing is to stay cool at all times, never giving the element of danger involved any serious consideration. In other words, don't think about falling."
Mr. Williams will also appear at the Liberty theater immediately after the climb, giving a wonderful exhibition of chair balancing, and will show to the audience a wonderful feat of stretching the muscles of the body, from 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches and also stretching the arm close to 18 inches. Mr.Williams will appear afternoon and night. Also a special double feature, Miss Margaret Fisher in "The Matinee of Charity" and Mae Marsh in "The Racing Strain." Prices the same.
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WELCOME NEW FCHS BOARD MEMBERS
Your Fresno County Historical Society is governed by an incredible all-volunteer Board of Trustees. In 2020, we were pleased to welcome a number of newly-elected members. Their dedication and participation, particularly during this historical time where our events and fundraisers were mostly cancelled, has ensured the stability of the organization. As we enter our 102nd year, please take just a moment to honor our FCHS current Trustees! They include: Chairman, Martin Ilic, Vice-Chairman, Chris Woolf, Treasurer, John Chandler, Secretary & Immediate Past Chairman, Sayre Miller and members Brad Jones, John Paul, Hon. Robert Oliver, Gary Renner, Walter Smith. Rhonda Herb, Nate Moore, Chris Rocha, David Rodriguez, Andrew Slater and Gregory Simpson. These community-minded individuals each bring their own unique talents, perspectives and expertise to the Society. We are so pleased that they are an integral part of our growing organization.
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This month, our Archives Outreach Initiative includes the release of City of Fresno Organizations A – R photographs. These wonderful images of social clubs and organizations reveal the varied interests of Fresno citizens in the early 20th century. Just a glance at the Society pages of the Fresno Morning Republican will give you a glimpse of the activities of Fresno's women's clubs, men's lodges, youth groups and musical organizations. It is our hope that these images will serve to remind us of better times, and a brighter future when we can gather together again.
We are happy to announce that records from the Fresno County Historical Society Archives have been accepted for digitization through California Revealed. This is our second year to receive free digitization and online hosting through an initiative the California State Library. In 2019, we arranged for the digitization of our 8mm and 16mm film reels, a selection of our most important print materials and earliest newspapers. Fifteen films are available for viewing on the Society’s California Revealed page. Due to the pandemic, professional digitization has been delayed and we hope to have the print materials available in the coming months. For the 2020 round of digitization, we have secured grant-funded digitization services for our turn-of-the-century Fresno County Justice of the Peace dockets and 1870’s Fresno Expositor newspaper issues. Check back for more information about this great opportunity to share our collections with a wider audience.
Stay tuned for more news from the behind-the-scenes activities of the Fresno County Historical Society Archives. Visit valleyhistory.org for updates on reopening the Archives to in-person research. The Archives are still open via email. Please send research requests to archives@valleyhistory.org.
Photo Credit: Taft & Sherman Quartet, 1912. Fresno County Historical Society Archives, Fresno, California.
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Parcel Photograph Project Update &
Work From Home Volunteer Opportunity
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The Parcel Photograph Project has continued despite the pandemic. The project began two years ago with the goal of digitizing and creating a database of our residential and commercial property photograph collection from the Fresno County Assessor’s Office in partnership with Fresno County Library. Donated in 2005, this Collection consists of fifteen boxes of photographs taken between 1955 and 1975. This year, the first two steps of the project to organize and digitize the Collection were completed.
Project director, Gene Sibley, has built a small sample database, which covers two neighborhoods heavily impacted by the Creek Fire; Point Road in Big Creek (map) and the Huckleberry Tract at Huntington Lake (map). This section of the database and photos illustrates the value of preserving these irreplaceable resources. The majority of the properties in the database were severely damaged or destroyed in the early days of the fire. We hope that by making this Collection digitally searchable, we will be better able to help researchers who are looking into the history of their homes.
In 2021, the Parcel Photograph Project will be focused on the important work of database development to link the photographs to their current physical addresses. We are eager to move forward with the project, which can only be completed with the help of volunteers. This work-from-home, volunteer opportunity requires a Windows based computer, a 32GB flash drive and installation of the database engine on the volunteer’s computer. Volunteers should be willing devote up to eight (8) hours per week to the project. If you are interested in participating, please fill out our Volunteer Application and the Archive staff will contact you with additional details.
Photo Credit: Parcel photographs of the homes near 60026 Huckleberry Hill Lane in the Huckleberry Tract at Huntington Lake, October 10, 1965. Fresno County Historical Society Archives, Fresno, California.
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COVID-19 UPDATE
To keep our community safe, tours of Kearney Mansion Museum & Gallery were suspended on November 13th in compliance with COVID-19 Tier 1 requirements from the Fresno County Health Department and the State of California. We continue to hope to see you soon!
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THE FRESNO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
valleyhistory.org
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