Times Past

Salomon Picos cousin and benefactor, former Mexican Gov. Pío Pico.

Trek through SLO County was risky prospect

A ride to Santa Barbara could cost you your life. That was the way it was in San Luis Obispo between 1853-58.

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Archive by category ''Times Past

TIMES PAST

Did legendary bandit escape SLO posse’s clutches?

The posse, composed of some of San Luis Obispo’s leading citizens, stealthily surrounded the camp of the bandidos. They fully expected that “Joaquin” would be the leader of the gang. David F. Newsom, San Luis Obispo County’s first superintendent of schools, was serving...
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California's mythical bandit Joaquin Murieta

“Joaquin” was reputedly a Mexican bandit from the Mother Lode region. He had been grievously wronged by Yankee racism. He swore vengeance against all Americans.
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Theosophy's Central Coast history

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91) created the Theosophical Society, a world-wide spiritual movement that linked the great avatars, “bodily manifestation of the Divine,” from Krishna, Moses, the Buddha, Christ and down through Hiawatha. She saw them as purveyors of ancient wisdom...
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Rancheros and the short era of big cattle ranching

Virtually all of the 22 Mexican land grants issued for San Luis Obispo County during the period 1840-1846 transitioned from variegated agriculture to cattle raising. San Luis Obispo was becoming a “cow county.”
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The story of Mission Assistencia in Santa Margarita

Henry Chapman Ford’s painting of Asistencia Santa Margarita de Cortona in that late 1800s shows a now vanished “casa” to the east.
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Dallidet Adobe, and its tenant, saved by worried SLO citizens

Stella Louis always claimed it was her lemon meringue pie that won over Paul Dallidet.
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St. Francis risks his life in visit to Egypt

Would a Christian dare set foot in the court of the leader of the Muslim enemy during the time of the Crusades? St. Francis did just that in 1219. He was seeking to bring peace by ending the terrible Fifth Crusade. Pope Francis...
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Pope Francis, like the historic Brother Juniper, believes in simplicity

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is the first Roman Catholic pope to take the name Francis. He is noted for leading a life of simplicity just like the original Francis of Assisi.
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The story of St. Francis of Assisi

The new pope chose Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the Catholic Church’s holiest figures. The news services are reporting that hundreds if not thousands of newly born boys are being given that name. It’s a good name for someone dedicated to a life of healing and understanding...
TIMES PAST

A missionary's journey continued

San Luis Obispo was a “little gem of civilization in the wilderness” according to Herbert Eugene Bolton who pioneered the study of the Spanish-American borderlands.