This year is the sesquicentennial of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, the first transcontinental stagecoach line. Casey Gill will follow the trail of the BOMC next month and blog about it here. Behind the scenes, teams of dedicated Historians are working 'round the clock to make this historical event come to life. For you!

Casey's journey across the land is the visible piece in a huge undertaking. Lots of sweat and yes, even some tears are falling on his behalf. Behind the BOMC glitz is the seamy underbelly we call reality.

Glen Myers is a Curator in the Wells Fargo History Museum here in San Francisco The other night, Glen and I were working on some video stuff for the project, when outside the studio window came a loud CRASH. We rushed to see what was up and saw a pile of wreckage that was, only moments before, three automobiles.

"My Car!!" Glen yelped and with a single leap, he was outside. Glen's truck was parked behind another car outside the studio, and the third car of destiny came round the corner at high speed. That driver lost control and plowed into Glen's truck, which macked into the one in front.

No one was injured, and the driver of the offending vehicle was led away in a stupor and taken to the hoosegow  .

The police and emergency workers on scene were brilliant, and darn efficient. After 3 hours of police work, insurance reports and tow trucks — there was even another crime across the street that needed the police! — our night's work was through. Glen has everything worked out and we'll get back in the studio on Sunday to finish the gig. But behind the glamor of Casey's trip 'cross country, there are many stories of bravery and perseverence that might never be known. Except for this blog, which brings you the real McCoy  .

Glen's is one such story. The scars we bear are a testament to the level of committment we have to following the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. To bring it to you — our community. There is no greater sacrifice.

And we think Glen might get a Hybrid  out of it!

Posted by Charles at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Branding, Crime, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Neighborhood watch, Perspective, Photographs, Prepare, San Francisco, Stagecoach, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank

Guided By History began two years ago as part of the centennial of the 1906 SF earthquake and fire. We spent a few months blogging about disaster preparedness, because that was the primary mission of the centennial.

Right now, Hurricane Gustav  is kind of finishing its run on New Orleans. The storm continues, though, prompting bad weather  in Louisiana. Residents of the Big Easy are expected to go home Thursday.

By all accounts, everyone took proper action in advance. Everyone is watching to see that everything goes well and that all those people who live on the Gulf Coast come first. After all, that's why we make the big plans we have to make to move thousands of people to safety — because we all have to make sure our neighbors are safe. We look out for them, they look out for us...that's how everyone is looked out for!

OK, it's simplistic, but you get the point.

Oh, and one more thing. Make sure you are prepared with the right kit   at home and at work. That's the most elemental, organic way to begin to recover if your life is turned upside down by disaster.

Posted by Charles at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Animals, At Home, Environment, Events, Hurricanes, Misc, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

It's a Thursday here at the Wells Fargo History Museum in downtown Minneapolis. Thursday means vegetables — just a block away from us to the north is the Nicollet Mall Farmer's Market , held on this day every week during the summer.

It's fitting that our visitors on Thursdays are often on their way to or from the Farmer's Market: Wells Fargo has a long history of being part of agricultural businesses here in Minnesota.

When Wells Fargo came to Minnesota, it was on the Great Northern Railroad, and then on the Chicago Great Western Railroad. Our agents handled shipments of both crops and livestock. We worked with small farm families and the huge mills  along the Mississippi River. Wells Fargo express cars carried packages to and from the University of Minnesota's School of Agriculture , which opened in 1888 . There is a long list of farm produce and equipment that Wells Fargo shipped to and from Minnesota, but my favorite item is a photo from MNHS   of a shipment of beer from different breweries, including August Schell's brewery  in New Ulm, Minn.

Today, Wells Fargo supports farmers in the Midwest and throughout the US with Agricultural Business Banking, as well as Agri-Business Insurance. Our ties to the farming community remain as strong now as they were in the 1800's, and you could say that those ties have borne a lot of fruit.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy some pure Minnesota-made maple syrup.

Posted by Phyllis at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Agriculture, At Home, Branding, Environment, Experts, Farmers, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Participate, Prepare, Railroads, Remember, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank, Wheat

A few months back we began selling a new book in our museums, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking. Published in 1881, this happens to be the first known African American cookbook and a very rare work.

Cooking 125 years ago? Without the Food Network , the guidance of celebrity chefs  or Alton Brown ?

It was certainly a different world then, one in which cooking required more time and labor than it does today, as well as that all-important cook's touch. Those people really had to know what they were doing.

Mrs. Fisher certainly did.

Abby Fisher was an ex-slave from South Carolina who moved to San Francisco in the 1870s. She and her husband began a pickle and preserves manufacturing business. Mrs. Fisher was so well-known for her skill in the art of cooking (she was awarded medals and diplomas in many fairs in California) that she was asked by her "lady friends and patrons" to write a cookbook sharing her knowledge. Unable to read or write herself, she dictated the information (which explains her "Circuit Hash" [succotash] and "Carolas" [crullers] recipes).

Her cookbook was published by the Women's Cooperative Printing Union  — a union that came into existence with the support of Wells Fargo Bank superintendent James Latham, 50 years before women won the right to vote. Way to go, Mrs. Fisher and way to go, WCPU!

What Southern dishes does Mrs. Fisher share with us? Recipes for sauces, pickles and preserves abound, as these were her specialties and her line of business. The rest are recipes for various meats, breads, cakes, pies and other dishes — from turtle soup to ice cream.

And just to clarify, "Beef a la Mode"  is not served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Let's get cookin'!

Posted by Ileana at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in African American History, Artifacts, At Home, Barbecue, Experts, Misc, Museums, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank, Women's History

I live in Car Country, USA. San Diego has only developed a light rail system in the last few decades, and it still does not go to where a lot of folks live or would like to go. Gas prices here  are among the highest in California, and California's gas prices  are amongst the highest in the country.

Driving habits may change, but for now it's still about the commute.

At Wells Fargo Museums, one of the points we make about journeys by stagecoach is that the travelers often ended up in relationships with their fellow riders — widows finding new husbands is the example most cited. Recently, my wife and I have noticed something that is new to us because we have started to take mass transit  after so many years commuting by car. You don't see people being courteous often at 65 mph — you see the obverse.

While on the San Diego Trolley  two days ago, Janet observed a fellow passenger give up his seat to an elderly woman and, after she exited, offer the same seat to another passenger. Recently, when I was on Muni  in San Francisco, a young man escorted an elderly woman onto a packed train, while the driver patiently waited. This was, apparently, the most natural thing in the world to all of them.

My father, during the oil embargo of 1973 , decided it was his duty to drive to work less, and walked ¾ of a mile to the bus stop. He liked riding on the bus so much he kept it up till he retired.

One day a passenger he regularly sat with broke down in tears as they headed home. He told my father that he was dying of cancer and had no one he could turn to take care of his teenage daughter. He asked if my father could look after his daughter, and my father said he would.

Years later there were plenty of tears of gratitude at this young woman's wedding, which my folks attended. The beauty of it was that by opening their lives to another person, they did themselves a great favor. (I especially enjoyed the fact that this girl had the tact of a wolverine  and punctured many of my mother's conceits with devastating efficiency!)

Car culture is not going away soon, but we may find something as we go back to a world of traveling within our community, not simply barreling through it. This phenomenon of civility, it seems to me, shouldn't be a phenomenon, but a reality.

If higher gas prices force us out of our solitary commutes, I can see that coming to pass.

Posted by Allan at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Found in Environment, Misc, Museums, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Railroads, Ride sharing, San Diego, Transportation, Travel, Vanpools, Wells Fargo Bank

We promised to reduce Loss and Damage. Therefore, we must handle shipments "The Fargo Way."

Issues of the Wells Fargo Messenger in 1913 and 1916 focused on the matter of "Loss and Damage."  And the little things meant a lot — attention to details was the answer.

On March 25, 1915, a traveling inspector in Albuquerque, New Mexico wrote to Elmer R. Jones, General Superintendent of Wells Fargo & Co.'s Express. "Looking over overland waybills carried by messenger D.A. Wetherbee for shipments of perishables," the inspector wrote, "I notice that he writes on the face of the waybill, 'ICED' with date and name."

Rushing refrigerated carloads of fresh produce was a huge Wells Fargo business, and the inspector saw how precious time could be saved during stops. Wells Fargo messengers along the route, he recommended to Jones, "should be furnished with a regulation re-ice stamp." This would save them the time of writing the icing schedule on waybills, or having to decide whether a shipment needed ice when the train stopped.

Jones got the letter in two days (by Wells Fargo Express, of course), and very quickly the re-ice stamps were disbursed!

Posted by Bob at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Found in Agriculture, At Work, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Perspective, Prepare, Railroads, Remember, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank

Our team of dedicated Archivists handed me a clipping a while ago. It's one of those things you find as you do Archival work. They thought, and I agree, that it belongs on Guided By History.

All of us have minor phobias that we don't necessarily share with everyone. Some avoid under-cooked food , some people are bowled over by odors  that no one else is even aware of. Some are acutely aware of germs  and general uncleanliness.

Well, this AP  image proves that where there's a clientele, there's a way. An ATM manufacturer found a way to sanitize Japanese bills as the machine dispensed them. It's from a 1996 item in the San Francisco Chronicle , whose caption read, "the money-laundering device will ensure nothing more than clean cash gets transferred to supersensitive bank customers."

I haven't found if the machines are in operation.

Anybody know if these are out there anywhere?

Posted by Charles at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, Environment, Misc, Prepare, Psychology, Wells Fargo Bank

In January, tornadoes bombarded the South , taking more than fifty lives — at least thirty of those in my native state of Tennessee. Stories of survival in this tragedy include a man who managed to protect himself by pulling a couch over his head, bank employees who sought protection in their bank vault, and a woman who huddled in her bathroom as the twister roared through her neighborhood.

The far-reaching path  of the tornado and its accompanying storms extended from Texas to Ohio and the damage was bluntly described by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen when he said, "It looks like the Lord took a Brillo pad and scrubbed the ground." Tornado experts say this round of tornadoes is the worst they have witnessed  in about twenty-three years.

The swath of area  that tornadoes frequently go through every year is called Tornado Alley . But the untold story is that tornadoes don't just occur in Tornado Alley — they appear in some of the most unlikely places in the United States.

For instance, I had just gotten off the MAX  about a month ago, and as I headed to my son's school in Vancouver (across the Columbia River from Portland), I learned that a tornado  had come within a half mile of the school.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, earthquakes, flooding, and forest fires are the disasters we expect, not tornadoes. This small tornado had wind speeds of 90-110 mph, was 440 yards wide, and had a two mile path that touched down several times. Damage was not nearly as severe as in the South, because the Pacific Ocean and mountain terrain of the Pacific Northwest helped to limit the damage.

After hearing with relief that my kids were safe, I was interested in how often twisters went through Southwest Washington.

The last tornado that swept through Vancouver took place on April 5, 1972 , taking six lives and injuring 300. It ranks as the deadliest tornado in the state and was ranked the 7th worst weather-related event  of the 20th century in Washington State. It destroyed a grocery, a store, a bowling alley, and an elementary school, causing over five million dollars in damage. On the same day, tornadoes touched down near Spokane and in Stevens County, Washington.

All this stresses the fact that tornadoes can happen anytime, anywhere. As the year unfolds — and the traditional tornado season looms nearer — it's time to update your disaster plan, keeping in mind that tornadoes touch down  in unlikely places.

Posted by Steve at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, At Work, Environment, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, Tornadoes, Wells Fargo Bank

I just got a new period costume for my work here at the Old Sacramento History Museum. I added a pocket watch to finish off the the banker's uniform and give it a classic feel. It is a nice but humble watch, and goes well with the 1860s garb, but it is positively shabby compared to the watches some people received in recognition for valor while working for Wells Fargo.

The first person that comes to my mind when I think about these presentation watches is an agent named Aaron Y. Ross. Ross received the watch for defending an express rail car January 23, 1883 in Montello, Nevada . It was a winter night when bandits accosted the train on the Central Pacific Railroad  line. Ross was holed up in the Wells Fargo express car as the thieves attempted to rob the train. The men ordered Ross out of the car but he refused

The bad men opened fire on Ross. He was wounded three times in the crossfire, but he remained defending the car. Ross returned fire and killed one of the bandits. The others attempted to burn Ross out of the car but were unable to set the car ablaze. The gang eventually gave up and Ross was victorious in defending Wells Fargo's treasure.

Ross defended a Wells Fargo shipment of only $600.00, "but next door in the postal car was $500,000 in currency," which was also saved thanks to Ross's valor. The gang escaped but was arrested five days later in Utah.

For his courage, Wells Fargo presented Ross a gold watch and chain valued at 650 dollars, along with 1000 dollars in cash. All his medical bills were paid, too. The presentation watch read:

From Wells, Fargo & Company to MESSENGER Aaron Y. Ross. In token of his courageous and successful defence of the EXPRESS CAR against Highway Robbers at Montello, Nev. JANUARY 23, 1883.

Next week, I'll tell you about another fine watch or two, presented by Wells Fargo to its bravest defenders.

Happy New Year!

Posted by Greg at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Crime, Misc, Museums, New Year's Day, Perspective, Prepare, Railroads, Remember, Sacramento, Transportation, Wells Fargo Bank

The San Francisco Examiner  ran this story on July 9, 1950, and some anonymous (but intrepid!) historian saved it. Hey, heroically preserving the past — your past.— is what historians do everyday.

OK, anyway...the story, as you can see, is about an express agent for Railway Express Agency  in Oakland, California , named Margaret Garvey. The news value, at least in 1950, was "a woman doing a man's job"  — a contradiction in those days. (Today, of course, there is only "a worker doing a job.") In 1950, U.S. culture was smack in the middle of that perception of women's weakness , even after they had taken a critical and heroic labor role in World War II . The sensibility of the times — the  zeitgeist  — was that a woman's proper place was in the home.

So the story about Garvey has a tone of amusement, but closer examination reveals two key skills in her work: Margaret manages the office, and she's unflappable as a salesperson. The article tells that she got the job as Agent, and in the middle of the Great Depression to boot.

The article also emphasizes Garvey's work after hours in civic causes — she's in charge there, as well. Garvey uses every interaction to push the business, and it's in that regard that feminism emerges. (That's feminism as Movement , and feminism as state of being , for you linguistic turn  fans out there.) She doesn't shrink from interaction, and doesn't demur to men just because women were "supposed" to. Alternately, Garvey used her position as a woman to start a conversation that most men, she figured, neither expected nor would resist.

Margaret Garvey was in charge of selling her business and making the operation run effectively. Any small business operator will tell you that's the element of work: selling the goods and keeping track. This story is cool because Garvey used the "subordinate" position of women at that time to place herself in a principal position.

That's not just clever — that's success. Historic success!

Posted by Charles at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Misc, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo's Minneapolis History Museum has a program this month commemorating the 1982 Thanksgiving Day Fire. The Fire and people's memories are also featured on Wells Fargo's History site.

That blaze in downtown Minneapolis destroyed the Northwestern National bank headquarters, the company that rebuilt itself as Norwest and later merged with Wells Fargo.

The fire took everyone by surprise and the event was seared in the community's memory.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Fire. Minneapolis Curator Megan Schaack blogged about the fire, developed exhibits and hosted events that culled memories of the disaster, good and bad.

WellsFargoHistory.com has video memories from employees, including today's CEO John Stumpf, who began work immediately to get business back on track. The fire occured on Thanksgiving Thursday and burned through the weekend, but the Company opened first thing the following Monday morning. Rock stars!

The fire is a big deal in the Twin Cities. The Museum's events got a lot of attention from the media, in print from the Downtown Journal  and on TV at KARE  (Channel 11) and Fox 9 

(Check out how Channel 5   uses WellsFargoHistory.com as their content — that darn media!)

Posted by Charles at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Work, Events, Experts, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

Check out this blurb from the January, 1915 Wells Fargo Messenger. Priceless.

I wish one and all the best of Days, ever!

Posted by Charles at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Found in Agriculture, Animals, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Holidays, Misc, Participate, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

The 25th anniversary of the Thanksgiving Day fire that destroyed Northwestern National Bank  (now Wells Fargo) in downtown Minneapolis is fast approaching. The fire was, at the time, the largest office fire in US history and caused an estimated $100 million in damages. The flames burned for four days and demanded the efforts of 180 firefighters. Amazingly, the first five floors of the bank building were untouched by fire. Charles Lindberg’s first plane, a "Jenny" , on display in the lobby was unscathed (Lucky Lindy lives on), as were the safe deposit boxes and vault.

A new emergency plan — quickly put into place along with computer backup files stored four blocks away (new technology in those days) — allowed the bank to continue business the next day. By the following Monday, 1,500 team members were working from new office spaces throughout town.

The empty shell of a building stood for two years until it was demolished in 1984. The city block stood empty for another four years until the construction of the Norwest Center (now called the Wells Fargo Center ). Designed by Cesar Pelli , the 57-story bank tower opened in 1989. Pelli salvaged and reused many architectural parts from the demolished 1930 bank building. “These elements," Pelli declared, "help make the connection between past and present, old and new, to strengthen the continuity through time that is the hallmark of all great cities.”

Join us in remembering the fire. Contribute your stories online at our history website. And visit the museum on Tuesday, November 20, for a reception from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. CST. Objects on display at the Wells Fargo History Museum in Minneapolis include a melted telephone retrieved from the charred office remains.

Posted by Megan at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Work, Fires, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Thanksgiving, Wells Fargo Bank

Almost four years to the week from the Cedar Fires , San Diego is again the center of a firestorm. For me personally, this one was both nearer and farther away.

Good friends have been staying with us all week, unable to move back into their heavily damaged Rancho Bernardo  neighborhood. Their house has survived but all around them destruction has visited and left its cruel calling cards. If we've learned anything about the rebuilding process from the previous conflagration, it's that it will be years before those destroyed homes will be replaced. And much of what they lost is irreplaceable, no matter how many kings’ horses and men  are called on to help them.

The response of the firefighters , police, and public officials has been much improved. Communication between different agencies and cities was clearly better. A reverse 911 system  warned many residents that flames were headed their way, but by no means were the warnings given to everyone who needed to hear them. My friends were warned with that most intimate and American of all emergency notifications: a neighbor knocking on the door at 4 in the morning. They received no call, but managed to evacuate in a hail of embers.

The incessant finger pointing of four years ago has been largely replaced by pats on the back and kudos, and much is well-deserved. The local news agencies'  shotgun approach to covering the fires and evacuations was mostly effective in getting important information to the residents of the afflicted communities, but you could miss a lot if you weren’t both internet and media savvy . Some of the best information came from residents being interviewed about what they knew. As such, it seems to me that Journalism should no longer be an elective course in our school systems. If you don’t know how to evaluate the utility of different information streams, you will likely pay a high price in ignorance and frustration — or perhaps worse.

Blogs may be good for getting some facts out, but the lessons from this fire will require a more substantial hearing. Perhaps my handlers will allow me to revisit this topic weeks from now, after the smoke clears and some clarity returns to the skies surrounding San Diego.

Posted by Allan at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Home, At Work, Events, Fires, First-hand Accounts, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, San Diego, Wells Fargo Bank

In honor of Blog Action Day, I am pleased to boast of Wells Fargo's accomplishments in the Green Consciousness that's been sweeping the mainstream. Wells Fargo's history is a happening site for environmental awareness.

Our Archivist here at Wells Fargo is a total...um, Green disciplinarian, shall we say. Archivists preserve the past  and its artifacts, and Keri takes that to another level. As much as pestering us about recycling everything from batteries , plastic  and glass , she also pushes for digital record keeping. Digital records are easier to store and preserve, and they better manage resources as well. Less paper is used and less space is required in the long run for storage. Saves moola, too — triple play!

Guided By History has previously blogged Green about Earth Day, recycled paper, and getting behind the Sierra Club. Oh, and solar energy, another about supporting eco-groups. So we're on the Green thing.

And happy to participate today!

Posted by Charles at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Artifacts, At Work, Environment, Events, Misc, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, spent winter vacations in Upper Michigan , and spent summer vacations camping around the country. My husband was raised in Indiana, where the ice storms  are legendary. We were both taught to have an attitude of preparedness. Our cars are outfitted with jumper cables, emergency shovels, sleeping bags, windshield scrapers, and (of course) umbrellas.

We don't have hammers.

When your car falls into water, you can't open the door because of the pressure from the water. If you have manual windows, you can open a window and swim out. If you have power windows, you must break a window in order to escape. How do you prepare for this? Keep a hammer in your car, within reach of the driver's seat.

The night of the I-35W bridge  collapse, I watched regular-channel programming for the first time in two years. I watched all night. By the time the rescue efforts were called off for the night, I had finally figured something out. All along, people had been saying that there were 50 or more cars on the bridge when it collapsed. But on the news coverage, there were more like 20, if that. I finally realized that all those missing cars were underneath the part of the bridge that was in the water.

Did those people keep hammers in their cars? Could I have gotten out?

There is a running joke in Minnesota that all we can talk about is the weather . There's a good reason for that: We have a lot of weather, and it causes the natural disasters that we deal with here. We have blizzards, we have tornados, we have flooding. We don't have earthquakes, or hurricanes, or tsunamis. So, of course, we talk about the weather. But now we're talking about bridges.

The I-35W bridge across the Mississippi is as complicated in its death  as it was simple during its life . For many of us, it is as though we lost a family member. Many of us drove that bridge twice a day; I myself drove it about twice a week. Its death has caused tangled emotions and tangled conversations, no less than it has caused tangled traffic. Some of us ran to give first aid help; some of us ran for our cameras; some of us ran away. Some of us want to get as close to it as possible; some of us can't even see pictures without shedding tears. Some of us blame the mayor; some blame the governor; some blame the legislature; some blame the construction company doing repairs. Some of us want to spend more on all of our highways; some of us want to spend more on mass transit; some of us want to spend more on maintaining the status quo.

I just want to buy a hammer .

Posted by Phyllis at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Found in At Home, At Work, Events, Get Involved, Minneapolis, Misc, Museums, Natural Disasters, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank

Chris Terzich, with our Incident Management Team in Minnesota, noted my post from last October, "How Do You Prepare For Crime?" In it, I wrote:

I could use a little help. My neighborhood is being infiltrated by criminals, and I honestly don't know how to "prepare" for crime ... I want to have the right pieces in place to prevent it from happening, or to lessen the impact on my property and my peace of mind ...

How do you prepare for crime? What does the Preparedness Kit consist of?

Chris dropped me a line with some advice that sounds like the surest bet—people getting together to protect the neighborhood. To have each other's back, so to speak.

"Hi Charles," Chris wrote:

"Locks, maybe alarms and a good habit of using them are important, but the most effective, if not most efficient, way to prevent crime is to know your neighbors. National Night Out  looks to accomplish that. It seems odd that a little grillin' and chattin'  will do anything meaningful to reduce crime, but it can. After eight years in our neighborhood, I know my neighbors and they know me. They may not be home all the time, but if I leave my garage door open, or someone comes to my house when I am out of town, I can expect a call.

"It takes time, and one National Night Out may not change a whole lot, but it is a good start."

Well, that sounds pretty good to me. Grillin' and chattin'  itself is motivation enough to get to know the neighbors, even the odd ones. If it adds to the "insurance" we all need against harsh reality, so much the better. An added note—the neighborhood organized a meeting with police shortly after the original post. The cops said pretty much what Chris said. Strong neighborhoods are the surest bet to discourage crime.

And start gettin' the word out! 

Posted by Charles at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in At Home, At Work, Barbecue, Crime, First-hand Accounts, Get Involved, Misc, Neighborhood watch, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Wells Fargo Bank

In May 1976, Wells Fargo Bank's Corporate Responsibility Committee found vanpools  "offer significant potential energy savings." The committee recognized the energy conservation that could be realized by such a program and referred it to the appropriate departments in the bank for implementation.

Environmental consciousness  developed quickly in the 1970s, thanks to the protest movements of the '60s and to the overwhelming pollution scourging the nation. In 1973, the gas crisis  raised prices at the pump and caused a major upheaval in the way Americans thought about their cars. (Check this outstanding report  on it.) Conservation became an important method for balancing supply with demand. People were looking for ways to save gas.

One method was to carpool, to find others who were going the same place and double up. In time, casual carpools  emerged as a way to commute. But vanpooling was the big idea that bridged business support with individual commuter habits. Businesses sponsor the vans and their maintenance, while rider-workers pay a reasonable fare and drive. The vans have dedicated routes, from a neighborhood to a business location.

The whole thing has worked pretty well, considering the long list  of vanpool and ride-sharing programs that exist. And the United States Environmental Protection Agency  actually rates the best programs and models the best areas for these programs.

But back in those halcyon '70s , when all this was the juncture of critical problem and forward thinking, the concept of riding together with people who were not family was new. But for Wells Fargo, the idea wasn't so new. From the beginning, the company supported the idea of taking as many passengers as the vehicle could handle!

Posted by Charles at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in At Work, Environment, Get Involved, Misc, Participate, Perspective, Prepare, Remember, Ride sharing, Stagecoach, Vanpools, Wells Fargo Bank

Well, L.A. tops the list  of America's most polluted cities. But that won't stop me from loving the Southland .

I spent a few years of my youth in SoCal—many people do. It's the lure of endless sunshine for Midwesterners, and the Hollywood  dream for anyone with a little extra, uh, personality. And certainly, the legend of better-looking dates . You go there and find it's not true after all, but hey—you're only young once ...

The lure of Southern California is older than you think. It was Mexico's northernmost province: Mexican pioneers moved there after 1796 to set themselves up as Rancheros . A gold rush  happened there in 1842, on a much smaller scale than in '49, but it was California's first. In the 1880s , after railroads connected the region to the rest of the continent, high-pressure ads encouraged a huge migration and a land boom. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s  sent thousands limping to the promise of work and a piece of land. Since then, palm trees, orange groves and the fantasy of paradise have maintained a steady stream of people into Southern California. The reality that paradise is a postcard has kept the stream out as constant.

But fantasy or no, millions live there and call it home. Southern California is big, stretching as one urban area (almost) from Mexico  to