Editor’s note: Ripon Historical Society President John Mangelos is penning a Ripon history column that will appear periodically in the Bulletin.

October 18, 1918
MEETING A BULL AT THE OLD FISHING HOLE
Monday night Bert Kincaid, Francis Bodeson, Vernon and Glen Bigelow went down on the San Joaquin River fishing.  The boys found a good location, divested themselves of most of their clothing and prepared to wade out into the stream in order to land the big ones.  They had selected a pasture with a good landing to haul out the catch
Without warning a big bull suddenly burst through the brush and chased Francis Bodeson back and forth across the sand bar, much to the delight of the other boys.  Francis finally beat him to a tree and went up like a squirrel.
The bull proceeded in like manner to the tree with the other three boys, all half naked and kept them up the tree nearly all night.  They finally got home, stiff, skinned up and nearly frozen, reasonably early Tuesday morning without a chance to catch a fish.

January 1, 1914
SWEDISH CHURCH BEING ERECTED IN RIPON
Two lots were purchased Monday with a view of the erection of a Sweedish Mission church building.  The lots front north on Main Street and are almost directly opposite the grammar school.  The lots were not bought directly by the Swedish Mission interest, but by parties who are holding them in option for the church.
This enterprise adds another incentive to Ripon’s future growth as the Swedish Americans are recognized in all the states for the brawn of industry, intellectuality and devoted Christian work.

ALMOND TREES COME TO RIPON
February 1913
Mr. Stuart of the Ripon Nursery and Improvement Company showed Ripon farmers fine young almond trees that are gaining renown in the state.  Stuart has a process he applies to these trees which makes them distinctive from other.  At a certain age he clips the upper stem and sets the grafted parts.  Instead of allowing the straight tap root to grow he cuts it off, thus giving he stem various tap roots which spread giving better moisture from the ground and making a steadier support for the tree – in comparison giving the trees becoming hardier and with much better root systems.

August 4, 1950
NEW PAINT SHOP OPENS NEXT TO NEWS OFFICE
Mr. John Mosma is a painter of signs and he has opened his shop next door to Brink Real Estate.  An expert at hand painting of various types, he is a lamp maker by trade and came to Ripon from Haarlam, Netherlands a few months ago. In the Netherlands he operated a lamp factory.  He also makes parchment lamp shades and lamp bases to match.

July 13, 1951
FRED LAGIER QUITE A BIRD CATCHER
Fred Lagier is quite a bird catcher, according to his neighbor Joe Regelo.
Monday morning the family’s pet canary was hung on the porch in its cage and later disappeared.  Then on Tuesday while Mr. Lagier was picking plums in his yard, the bird flew to him and pecked his shoe.  It flew away but came back for plums and Mr. Lagier was able to catch him and return him to his owner.

January 27, 1951
The main trusses on the new Immanuel Christian Reformed Church at Fourth and Orange streets were completed last Thursday and the construction on the walls started on Friday. An Estey pipe organ has been purchased from the California Organ Company.  It includes chimes and 15 sets of pipes and when installed will be one of the valley’s finest church organs.

Back in 1931
There’s an electric device now that beats the toughness out of steak without letting any of the juice escape.  It was one of the many marvels exhibited at the National Hotel Exposition held a few days ago in the Grand Central Palace, New York.  Others included an electric potato peeler that peels and slices a bushel a minute, a machine that slices bread and meat and arranges the pieces in near piles ready for sandwiches along with an electric noise eliminator that, when fastened on the window, ends all worry about neighbors’ radios on street sounds.