Petaluma History Session I: with Harlan Osborne, Katie Watts, John Sheehy

Onstage with Jim & Tom

Left to right: Jim Agius, Harlan Osborne, Katie Watts, John Sheehy, Tom Gaffey (back to camera)

Onstage with Jim and Tom welcomes Petaluma historians Harlan Osborne of the Argus Courier, Katie Watts of the Press Democrat, and author John Sheehy to explore and discuss Petaluma history.

This 70-minute conversation explores many moments and characters in the town’s history, including: when Petaluma tried to secede (twice), the town squatter Garrett Keller, the near civil war battle with Santa Rosa, “Mr. Petaluma” Bill Soberanes, the origins of the title “egg capital of the world” (even if it wasn’t true), Doc Naify of the California Theater, Petaluma’s response to prohibition, the Jewish chicken farmer community, and much more.

Classic Petaluma locations & characters referenced: The Spa, Gilardi’s Corner, Marios & Johns, Agius Grocery, Fannie Brown’s brothel, A & B Market, Fairwest Grocery, Volpi’s, Twin Oaks, Elks Lodge, Petaluma Hotel, Caulfield’s Meats, Andresen’s, The Hideaway, Mattei Brothers, The State (The Mystic) and the California/Showcase Theater (The Phoenix), the roost dances at Kenilworth, radio stations KAFP (“Krowing Always For Petaluma”) and KTOB, Mario Figone, Baccala’s Market, The Cordas, The Dolcinis, Judge Rollie Webb, Clem McCorkell, “Stan the Man” Greenhagen, Tom Caulfield, Lamar Lauritzen, and Bert Kerrigan.

Author: John Patrick Sheehy

John is a history detective who digs beneath the legends, folklore, and myths to learn what’s either been hidden from the common narrative or else lost to time, in hopes of enlarging the collective understanding of our culture and communities.