I am not sure what started the Native San Franciscan conversation but I want to share my experience. I was born and raised in San Francisco, the first (in 100 years) of my family line on all sides to be born other than the Midwest, my sister was the second. Many of my family came to San Francisco during the war to work in the ship yards, most stayed after the war but not everyone liked it here. I didn't know until I was 20 years old and working Downtown at Harvey's Kitchen in The City as a waitress that there were those who considered it unusual. I would be asked by the tourist: "Where are you from?" "From San Francisco." "No, Where were you born?" "San Francisco!" "No one is actually born in San Francisco." I would shrug my shoulders as I did not know what else to say and most were so stunned they did not know what else to ask. Donna

Hi Lesley, My Albertsen's also come from Aero. My Rasmus is Rasmus Lauritsen Albertsen born 24 July 1854 Soby, Aero, Den. He also has a brother Laurits and 12 more siblings! They immigrated to California and lived in Gustine, Newman and the Bay Area. I was just wondering if our Albertsen's are related? Their parents are Albert Pedersen Rasmussen and Egidia (Gie) Hansen. And they were both born in Aero. Thanks! Valerie In a message dated 10/7/2006 1:32:51 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Hi Listers, I am an Australian, looking for information about a 1C2R called Rasmus Hansen Albertsen. He was a Dane, from the island of Ærø ... and I have just found him arriving in Castle Garden: *** Name: Rasmus Albertsen Arrival Date: 14 May 1888 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864 Age: 24 Gender: Male Port of Departure: Hamburg, Germany Destination: Franzisko Place of Origin: Denmark Ship Name: Sorrento Port of Arrival: New York Line: 24 Microfilm Serial: M237 *** Sparked my interest, because I have a photo taken at Cramer's California Gallery, 402 Kearny St., cor Pine, San Francisco ... which I now believe would be Rasmus and his young wife, perhaps1890. Rasmus's exact birth date is 24 Oct 1863. (Other possibility is that it is his 22-year-old brother Lars/Lauritz Albertsen, who was on the same vessel). BTW, Parents of the migrating sons are Albert Albertsen (1824-1881) and Agnes Hedvig Caspersen ... (1829-1910). (Albert Albertsen was my Australian great-grandfather's eldest brother). Help, anyone? It would be great, if I could add some American cousins to my tree :-) Greetings from Oz, Lesley (Melbourne, Australia ... *cold* here today, after a spate of heat and bushfires)

Thank you James. I am 85yr old and a native of San Francisco. This message is a keepsake for all of us who live elsewhere these days. Allene Watt Kirschman ----- Original Message ----- From: "James R. Smith" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; "SF Genealogy" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 8:40 PM Subject: [CASANFRA] Native San Franciscan............ > Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. > > Pass the French bread, > Jim > > FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY > > If you have spent any time in bookstores lately, you might have noticed > that there are books on San Francisco's past, present, and future; books > that tell you where to eat, where to drink, where to drive, where to > take a bus, where to stay, what to look at, and even how to cook in the > San Francisco style, whatever that is. But no book tells you how to act > like a native San Franciscan, because it is widely assumed that the > breed, if it ever existed, is extinct. > > One book, "San Francisco Free and Easy," subtitled "The Native's Guide > Book," says on the first page, "San Franciscans are notorious newcomers. > You'll find few people here with the sort of roots common to East Coast > cities". Another, written by a carpetbagger named John K. Bailey, is > called "The San Francisco Insider's Guide." It begins, "On! my first > visit to San Francisco, 15 years ago...." Fifteen years ago? I know a > cat who's lived in San Francisco longer than that! > > A terrible thing has happened to native San Franciscans. They have > become strangers in their own city. Their whole culture is in danger of > being swallowed up by foreigners from New York, Ohio, New Hampshire, > Denver, and other places Back East -- not to mention Hong Kong, Taiwan, > Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, India, and Mexico. These newcomers all > assume everyone else is a newcomer. > > The first thing to go is the language. Despite everything you've ever > heard, there IS a distinctive San Francisco way of talking and it is > important to make note of it, for the record, before it becomes as dead > as the Latin they teach at S.I. Here's how to talk like a San Franciscan. > > The first lesson - learned at birth - is never to call it "Frisco" or > "San FRANcisco." Most resident tourists have settled on something that > sounds like an Anglicized version of the Spanish San Francisco, but > natives run the two words together, and it comes out "Sanfrencisco." It > may also be called "thecity," which is one word. It is never called > "the city," which is two words and tacky. > > Another way to tell true, native San Franciscans is that all native San > Franciscans know something about other native San Franciscans. This > cannot be faked. The first test comes when a native San Franciscan is > introduced to someone he does not know at a party. Sooner or later, one > will ask the other where he or she is from. > > The correct dialogue goes like this: > > > Q: Whereya from? > > A: Here. > > Q: Oh yeah? Whereja go to school? > > A: S.H. > > Q: Oh yeah? D'ya know (fill in name of acquaintance)? > > At once, the two people realize they are both natives and doubtless have > friends, experiences, and a whole subculture in common. > > There are several keys to this small bit of conversation. First, as > I've already mentioned, the true native runs all the words together. He > never says, "Where are you from?" because that is the way they talk Back > East (which is anything East of Denver.) When he asks where you went > to school, he means high school - not college, not trade school, and > certainly not P.S. 178. The correct answer is one of several San > Francisco high schools. "S.H.," of course, means Sacred Heart High > School (now known as Sacred Heart Cathedral), which not only reveals > your high school but often what district of the city you came from, and > other details. > > If, for example, the answer is "S.I." you know the guy went to St. > Ignatius High School (or College Preparatory, if after 1969) and was > probably raised a Catholic and is from an upper-middle-class family. > > If the answer is "Riordan," you know the guy went to the superior > Catholic "boys-only" school, and is from a family that is not only > hard-working and intelligent, but which also has the finest blend of > personality and sense of humor of all the Catholic institutions. > > If the person says "Poly," they probably grew up in the shadow of Kezar > Stadium in Golden Gate Park -- the site of many memorable high school > football games, or in the Haight-Ashbury. > > If the response is "Mission" or "Bal" (for Balboa High), you know he is > from the Mission District, and his father was probably a member of the > working class, called "a workinman" in the San Francisco dialect. > > If the response is "High on the Hill" you knew they came from the > Sunset, Woods or Richmond and went to Lincoln, the only important thing > was winning "The Bell" game from their cross town rivals, Washington. > They knew were "the Pits" and "the Circle" were. > > If he went to Galileo, he is probably a North Beach Italian, and not a > Mission District Italian. > > Women, too, can be identified by the school they attended. If they went > to Mercy (on 19th Avenue), they probably grew up in the Sunset or in > Daly City, or maybe even in St. Francis Woods or Forest Hill. > > If she responds "Prez," she went to Presentation High School on Masonic, > and may have grown up in the Haight or the Richmond. > > One has to be careful, though. Some women, if asked where they went to > school, will respond that they went "to the madams." A tourist will > immediately leap to the conclusion that the poor woman was raised in a > whorehouse, but natives understand immediately what this woman means: > She attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, conducted by a ritzy order of > nuns, and is doubtless from a wealthy family. She is not necessarily a > Catholic, however. Diane Feinstein went to the madams. > > The next thing to note about this conversation is that the proper > response to a remark is "Yeah?" not "You don't say so?" or "Is that > right?" San Franciscans say "Yeah" a lot, but it doesn't always mean yes. > > Now you are ready for your geography lesson. Oakland, Berkeley, and all > those other places are "across the Bay." The largest city in Santa Clara > County is "Sannazay," not "San Jose." Sannazay is on the way to > Sannacruise. To get there, you have to go down the Peninsula, past South > City, Sammateo, Rewoodcity, Paloalto, and a whole buncha other towns. > "The River" is the Russian River, and no other, but "the Lake" is Lake > Tahoe (if your family was wealthy); otherwise, "the lake" is either > Clear Lake or Lake Berryessa. The town on the river is called > "Gurneyville," even though the correct pronunciation is Gurnville. San > Franciscans know the correct pronunciation, but choose not to use it. > If corrected on this, a native will likely say, "If those guys up there > are so smart, what'er they doin' livin' there? People who live in > Gurneyville all year are a buncha Okies anyway." (It should be noted > that being called an "Okie" - as in persons from Oklahoma or anywhere > south -- is among the worst insults a San Franciscan can offer; it means > a person lacks taste or sophistication. > > Natives are often asked for directions, sometimes by tourists and often > by pseudo-natives. A San Franciscan of course, has no idea where > anything across the Bay is, but he knows all about San Francisco. > > To start with, unless a street is tiny, like Saturn Street or Macrondray > Lane, it is never called by its full name. You never say "Taraval > Street," for example, only "Taraval." When you direct someone to go > "out Geary," it means you go West. You know, toward the beach. One > never goes "in Mission," or "in Geary." To head in the general direction > of downtown, one goes "down Mission" or "down Geary." It is "the > beach," too, not the seashore or the coast. The coast is down the > Peninsula, near Sharp Park. There are no beaches on the Bay, despite > evidence to the contrary - only on the ocean. San Franciscans know there > are 30 numbered streets and 48 avenues; they know Arguello is First > Avenue and Funston is 13th Avenue. They know that First Street is not > the first street, and that Main is not the main street. The Richmond > district is always called "The Richmond," and the Sunset District is > always called "The Sunset," but Noe Valley has no article in front of > its name; neither does downtown or North Beach. No one knows why. But > natives do know it is always 24th pronounced "twennyfourth") and > Mission, not Mission and 24th. It's Second and Clement, not Clement and > Second. The street is not pronounced "CLEment" but "CleMENT." There is > no need to make a distinction between Second Street and Second Avenue in > this case, since San Franciscans know that Second Street and Clement do > not intersect. > > They know several other things, too: that Alcatraz is not called "The > Rock," that Yerba Buena Island is called "Goat Island" or "YBI," that > French bread is not called sourdough bread and never was. The name > "sourdough" was invented by advertising guys from Chicago or someplace. > They know that Italians do not eat pizza. They eat spaghetti, > tagliarini, or some other stuff, mostly in North Beach, but sometimes in > small places in the Mission. > > Most of us grew up under the delusion that everybody was a native San > Franciscan. [Interjection time: *No* we did not! We assume most people > are foreigners.] It was the largest small town in the world, and we > thought it the only city that counted. Occasional tourists complimented > us on the city, but we never dreamed they'd move here and take over. > > One native San Franciscan, after she bought a house in the Richmond, one > of her new neighbors asked her where she was from. "I moved out here six > months ago," she said. "Oh, from the East or Midwest?" the neighbor > asked. "No," she said, "from California and Buchanan." > > There is only one way to be a native San Franciscan. You gotta be > born here. "Anybody," my grandfather used to say, "can be born in > Oakland, or Back East. It's an honor to be born in Sanfrencisco." > > -- > > James R. Smith > > Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks > > ISBN: 1884995446 > > www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/> > > > > ************************** > Visit SFGenealogy.com! > http://www.sfgenealogy.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I am curious to whether any school records are available for the San Francisco City School District between 1920-1930. I am seeking school records (unknown which school) of Clifford Anthony Begnal, b. 28 May 1923, SF, for the years 1928-1930. Also, Newton Richard Begnal, b. 16 July 1924. Mother Thelma Ferne Perry, father Clifford Franklin Begnal. The father Clifford Franklin Begnal, age 16 in 1920, may have attended a school in SF too. Mother ELizabeth (O'Shaughnessy) Begnal. Father may not be listed (George Felix Begnal, not in SF in 1920). Per 1920 census Clifford and his mother were living at 3554 A, 20th St. SF. Also, Thelma Ferne Perry, age 14 in 1920, may have attended school in San Francisco as well. Thelma Ferne Perry, b. 17 July 1906, Auburn ME. Parents Anthony D. Perry and Dora/Dorothy Etta Perry. Per the 1920 census they lived at 1635 Pierce St. SF. This family moved to San Francisco sometime after 1910. My Begnal lineage with documents and pictures is at - http://www.begnal-enterprises.com/genealogy/begnal.html My Perry (Pereira Cardoso) lineage is at - http://www.begnal-enterprises.com/genealogy/cardoso.html Thank you for any information and assistance......Doc

Mostly rings true, but here's a quibble. As a Parkside native and Lincoln alum from the days when it was an isolated box (factory?) I sang "High on a hilltop, ... " at every student body event, but never identified myself as going to school "High on a hill." Many students in the Sunset did cross-town commutes to Poly, Washington, Lowell, and even Galileo. After all, a trip on the Muni cost 2 1//2 cents on a 20-ride student pass! Also, to my knowledge, no one I knew mispronounced Portola as PORT-ola. We tried to give streets named after Spanish explorers a Spanish pronunciation. Fran Pillsbury At 08:40 PM 10/5/2006 -0700, you wrote: >Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. > >Pass the French bread, >Jim > >FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY >If the response is "High on the Hill" you knew they came from the >Sunset, Woods or Richmond and went to Lincoln, the only important thing >was winning "The Bell" game from their cross town rivals, Washington. >They knew were "the Pits" and "the Circle" were. >James R. Smith

Hi Lesley, The 1900 census has the following two living together in Contra Costa County, CA; ALBERTSEN Rasmus; age 38; single; born Oct 1861 Denmark; immig 1888; carpenter. ALBERTSEN Hans; age 28; single; born May 1872 Denmark; immig1889; house painter MeLani (I can send you the image if you'd like) =Hi Listers, =I am an Australian, looking for information about a 1C2R called Rasmus =Hansen Albertsen. =He was a Dane, from the island of Ærø ... and I have just found him =arriving in Castle Garden: =Name: Rasmus Albertsen =Arrival Date: 14 May 1888 =Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864 =Age: 24 =Gender: Male =Port of Departure: Hamburg, Germany =Destination: Franzisko =Place of Origin: Denmark =Ship Name: Sorrento =Port of Arrival: New York =Line: 24 =Microfilm Serial: M237 =Sparked my interest, because I have a photo taken at Cramer's =California Gallery, 402 Kearny St., cor Pine, San Francisco =... which I =now believe would be Rasmus and his young wife, perhaps1890. =Rasmus's exact birth date is 24 Oct 1863. =(Other possibility is that it is his 22-year-old brother =Lars/Lauritz =Albertsen, who was on the same vessel). =BTW, Parents of the migrating sons are Albert Albertsen =(1824-1881) and =Agnes Hedvig Caspersen ... (1829-1910). (Albert Albertsen was my =Australian great-grandfather's eldest brother). =Help, anyone? It would be great, if I could add some American =cousins to =my tree :-) =Greetings from Oz, =Lesley

1900 US Census, California, Contra Costa County, Supervisors District 2, Enumeration District 410, Sheet 5A ALBERTSEN, Rasmus, head, Oct 1861, 38, single, born DEN, parents born DEN, immigrated 1888/12 years/naturalized, Carpenter, can read, can write, can speak English, rent home Hans, brother, May 1872, 28, single, born DEN, parents born DEN, immigrated 1889/11 years/naturalized, House painter, can read, can write, can speak English Lesley Albertson <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Listers, I am an Australian, looking for information about a 1C2R called Rasmus Hansen Albertsen. He was a Dane, from the island of Ærø ... and I have just found him arriving in Castle Garden: *** Name: Rasmus Albertsen Arrival Date: 14 May 1888 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864 Age: 24 Gender: Male Port of Departure: Hamburg, Germany Destination: Franzisko Place of Origin: Denmark Ship Name: Sorrento Port of Arrival: New York Line: 24 Microfilm Serial: M237 *** Sparked my interest, because I have a photo taken at Cramer's California Gallery, 402 Kearny St., cor Pine, San Francisco ... which I now believe would be Rasmus and his young wife, perhaps1890. Rasmus's exact birth date is 24 Oct 1863. (Other possibility is that it is his 22-year-old brother Lars/Lauritz Albertsen, who was on the same vessel). BTW, Parents of the migrating sons are Albert Albertsen (1824-1881) and Agnes Hedvig Caspersen ... (1829-1910). (Albert Albertsen was my Australian great-grandfather's eldest brother). Help, anyone? It would be great, if I could add some American cousins to my tree :-) Greetings from Oz, Lesley (Melbourne, Australia ... *cold* here today, after a spate of heat and bushfires) ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ========================== Mary Thiele Fobian Genealogical & Historical Research Pacific Grove, California

Hi all, October 7th at 9pm EST, GenealogyForum.org will be holding a Research Party. This is not the time to get answers to questions, but an opportunity to have some research done for you! General US research resources will be available (census, some immigration such as Ellis Island, vital records indexes, newspapers, etc.) for request. There will be some ethnic and non-US resources available, but most of the work will center on US sources. Research requests will be handled during the research party. It's a good chance to get help if you tried to find your ancestors but had no luck. Please keep in mind that you must have a specific requests. General requests like "I want to know if there were any Silva's in Boston in 1880 will not be filled". Come to the chat room (starts at 9pm EST/6pm PST) with your research request. All research will be done by genealogyforum.org staff and the research during the party is free! Hope to see you there!!! Mel Site Manager: www.islandroutes.com and www.chroniclife.com Chat Moderator: www.genealogyforum.org View my genealogy at: http://treeclimbing.nexuswebs.net _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

I never knew we had a specific accent until I went to Nursing School at St. Mary's Hospital. I could always tell who of my patients were natives (or at least raised and schooled in thecity). Do we put our sox in draws or drawrs? "rwalker"

Another little language "note".....I'm a 5th generation San Franciscan, only lived there until age 3 though and then raised across the Bay. But my mother is 4th generation, born and raised, and she went to Mission. Referring to Market Street, she's always pronounced in Mah-ket and Portola was PORT-ola, not Por-TO-La. As for me, giving SF the respect I think it deserves, I've always called it "the City", two words but with a capital C! Donna Madrid ----- Original Message ----- From: "James R. Smith" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; "SF Genealogy" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 8:40 PM Subject: [CASANFRA] Native San Franciscan............ > Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. > > Pass the French bread, > Jim > > FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY > > If you have spent any time in bookstores lately, you might have noticed > that there are books on San Francisco's past, present, and future; books > that tell you where to eat, where to drink, where to drive, where to > take a bus, where to stay, what to look at, and even how to cook in the > San Francisco style, whatever that is. But no book tells you how to act > like a native San Franciscan, because it is widely assumed that the > breed, if it ever existed, is extinct. > > One book, "San Francisco Free and Easy," subtitled "The Native's Guide > Book," says on the first page, "San Franciscans are notorious newcomers. > You'll find few people here with the sort of roots common to East Coast > cities". Another, written by a carpetbagger named John K. Bailey, is > called "The San Francisco Insider's Guide." It begins, "On! my first > visit to San Francisco, 15 years ago...." Fifteen years ago? I know a > cat who's lived in San Francisco longer than that! > > A terrible thing has happened to native San Franciscans. They have > become strangers in their own city. Their whole culture is in danger of > being swallowed up by foreigners from New York, Ohio, New Hampshire, > Denver, and other places Back East -- not to mention Hong Kong, Taiwan, > Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, India, and Mexico. These newcomers all > assume everyone else is a newcomer. > > The first thing to go is the language. Despite everything you've ever > heard, there IS a distinctive San Francisco way of talking and it is > important to make note of it, for the record, before it becomes as dead > as the Latin they teach at S.I. Here's how to talk like a San Franciscan. > > The first lesson - learned at birth - is never to call it "Frisco" or > "San FRANcisco." Most resident tourists have settled on something that > sounds like an Anglicized version of the Spanish San Francisco, but > natives run the two words together, and it comes out "Sanfrencisco." It > may also be called "thecity," which is one word. It is never called > "the city," which is two words and tacky. > > Another way to tell true, native San Franciscans is that all native San > Franciscans know something about other native San Franciscans. This > cannot be faked. The first test comes when a native San Franciscan is > introduced to someone he does not know at a party. Sooner or later, one > will ask the other where he or she is from. > > The correct dialogue goes like this: > > > Q: Whereya from? > > A: Here. > > Q: Oh yeah? Whereja go to school? > > A: S.H. > > Q: Oh yeah? D'ya know (fill in name of acquaintance)? > > At once, the two people realize they are both natives and doubtless have > friends, experiences, and a whole subculture in common. > > There are several keys to this small bit of conversation. First, as > I've already mentioned, the true native runs all the words together. He > never says, "Where are you from?" because that is the way they talk Back > East (which is anything East of Denver.) When he asks where you went > to school, he means high school - not college, not trade school, and > certainly not P.S. 178. The correct answer is one of several San > Francisco high schools. "S.H.," of course, means Sacred Heart High > School (now known as Sacred Heart Cathedral), which not only reveals > your high school but often what district of the city you came from, and > other details. > > If, for example, the answer is "S.I." you know the guy went to St. > Ignatius High School (or College Preparatory, if after 1969) and was > probably raised a Catholic and is from an upper-middle-class family. > > If the answer is "Riordan," you know the guy went to the superior > Catholic "boys-only" school, and is from a family that is not only > hard-working and intelligent, but which also has the finest blend of > personality and sense of humor of all the Catholic institutions. > > If the person says "Poly," they probably grew up in the shadow of Kezar > Stadium in Golden Gate Park -- the site of many memorable high school > football games, or in the Haight-Ashbury. > > If the response is "Mission" or "Bal" (for Balboa High), you know he is > from the Mission District, and his father was probably a member of the > working class, called "a workinman" in the San Francisco dialect. > > If the response is "High on the Hill" you knew they came from the > Sunset, Woods or Richmond and went to Lincoln, the only important thing > was winning "The Bell" game from their cross town rivals, Washington. > They knew were "the Pits" and "the Circle" were. > > If he went to Galileo, he is probably a North Beach Italian, and not a > Mission District Italian. > > Women, too, can be identified by the school they attended. If they went > to Mercy (on 19th Avenue), they probably grew up in the Sunset or in > Daly City, or maybe even in St. Francis Woods or Forest Hill. > > If she responds "Prez," she went to Presentation High School on Masonic, > and may have grown up in the Haight or the Richmond. > > One has to be careful, though. Some women, if asked where they went to > school, will respond that they went "to the madams." A tourist will > immediately leap to the conclusion that the poor woman was raised in a > whorehouse, but natives understand immediately what this woman means: > She attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, conducted by a ritzy order of > nuns, and is doubtless from a wealthy family. She is not necessarily a > Catholic, however. Diane Feinstein went to the madams. > > The next thing to note about this conversation is that the proper > response to a remark is "Yeah?" not "You don't say so?" or "Is that > right?" San Franciscans say "Yeah" a lot, but it doesn't always mean yes. > > Now you are ready for your geography lesson. Oakland, Berkeley, and all > those other places are "across the Bay." The largest city in Santa Clara > County is "Sannazay," not "San Jose." Sannazay is on the way to > Sannacruise. To get there, you have to go down the Peninsula, past South > City, Sammateo, Rewoodcity, Paloalto, and a whole buncha other towns. > "The River" is the Russian River, and no other, but "the Lake" is Lake > Tahoe (if your family was wealthy); otherwise, "the lake" is either > Clear Lake or Lake Berryessa. The town on the river is called > "Gurneyville," even though the correct pronunciation is Gurnville. San > Franciscans know the correct pronunciation, but choose not to use it. > If corrected on this, a native will likely say, "If those guys up there > are so smart, what'er they doin' livin' there? People who live in > Gurneyville all year are a buncha Okies anyway." (It should be noted > that being called an "Okie" - as in persons from Oklahoma or anywhere > south -- is among the worst insults a San Franciscan can offer; it means > a person lacks taste or sophistication. > > Natives are often asked for directions, sometimes by tourists and often > by pseudo-natives. A San Franciscan of course, has no idea where > anything across the Bay is, but he knows all about San Francisco. > > To start with, unless a street is tiny, like Saturn Street or Macrondray > Lane, it is never called by its full name. You never say "Taraval > Street," for example, only "Taraval." When you direct someone to go > "out Geary," it means you go West. You know, toward the beach. One > never goes "in Mission," or "in Geary." To head in the general direction > of downtown, one goes "down Mission" or "down Geary." It is "the > beach," too, not the seashore or the coast. The coast is down the > Peninsula, near Sharp Park. There are no beaches on the Bay, despite > evidence to the contrary - only on the ocean. San Franciscans know there > are 30 numbered streets and 48 avenues; they know Arguello is First > Avenue and Funston is 13th Avenue. They know that First Street is not > the first street, and that Main is not the main street. The Richmond > district is always called "The Richmond," and the Sunset District is > always called "The Sunset," but Noe Valley has no article in front of > its name; neither does downtown or North Beach. No one knows why. But > natives do know it is always 24th pronounced "twennyfourth") and > Mission, not Mission and 24th. It's Second and Clement, not Clement and > Second. The street is not pronounced "CLEment" but "CleMENT." There is > no need to make a distinction between Second Street and Second Avenue in > this case, since San Franciscans know that Second Street and Clement do > not intersect. > > They know several other things, too: that Alcatraz is not called "The > Rock," that Yerba Buena Island is called "Goat Island" or "YBI," that > French bread is not called sourdough bread and never was. The name > "sourdough" was invented by advertising guys from Chicago or someplace. > They know that Italians do not eat pizza. They eat spaghetti, > tagliarini, or some other stuff, mostly in North Beach, but sometimes in > small places in the Mission. > > Most of us grew up under the delusion that everybody was a native San > Franciscan. [Interjection time: *No* we did not! We assume most people > are foreigners.] It was the largest small town in the world, and we > thought it the only city that counted. Occasional tourists complimented > us on the city, but we never dreamed they'd move here and take over. > > One native San Franciscan, after she bought a house in the Richmond, one > of her new neighbors asked her where she was from. "I moved out here six > months ago," she said. "Oh, from the East or Midwest?" the neighbor > asked. "No," she said, "from California and Buchanan." > > There is only one way to be a native San Franciscan. You gotta be > born here. "Anybody," my grandfather used to say, "can be born in > Oakland, or Back East. It's an honor to be born in Sanfrencisco." > > -- > > James R. Smith > > Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks > > ISBN: 1884995446 > > www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/> > > > > ************************** > Visit SFGenealogy.com! > http://www.sfgenealogy.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

I've seen that narrative before, and it's pretty much accurate so far as we natives go (and it made me realize where my speech patterns came from). However, one inaccuracy was that kids who lived in the Richmond (like me) went to Lincoln. Not true; Washington was our district school. Didn't Herb Caen spell it "Sanfrncisco?" That's how I pronounce it. I now live in Vallejo (that' s "Vuh-lay-oh") due to the fact that we couldn't afford to buy in "thecity," but work here with a number of natives, including one from the Mission, with that distinctive accent. And it's absolutely true, upon encountering another native, the question "where did you go to school" meant high school. Fun stuff. Judy Pat <[email protected]> wrote: I absolutely loved the message submitted by James Smith. I have joked for forty plus years that " I " am the only person actually born in "thecity". Everyone else is from somewhere else and moved there. I lived "out the Mission", otherwise known as the part of Mission St. beyond Silver (Ave) and closing in on Daly City. The Excelsior had it's own flavor as did most sections of thecity. Guerrerah is the correct native pronunciation for Guerrero St. and I suspect that anyone else lucky enough to be born there know that "flats" are not flat ground but two homes in one, usually one up and one down. And now to the purpose of this message, once again I am renewing my plea for anyone with a yearbook or pictures from St. Rose 1930-1932 or Presentation circa 1927-1930 to please write to me off list, as I am desperately searching for pictures of my mother and aunt. And if anyone has a yearbook for N.D.V. high school 1950. PLEASE WRITE TO ME. Thanks, Pat Nancy Crowley wrote: I loved this! But I went to St. Rose and she overlooked my alma mater. I like to joke about my dear late father (a second generation native, graduate of Star of the Sea, SI and USF) who in the second half of his life, worked in the travel business. He and my mother went to Europe often, mostly because my mother loved Paris. However, in my father's words, Paris was no San Francisco, Lake Tahoe was better than Lake Como and he preferred Lake Merced to the Three Rings of Kerry. "James R. Smith" wrote: Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. Pass the French bread, Jim FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY Pat FLOOR: The place for storing your priceless genealogy records --------------------------------- Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

Hi Pat, The SF History Center at the Main Library has a large collection of city yearbooks. You can call them & ask. Jim http://sfpl.org/librarylocations/sfhistory/sfhistory.htm Pat wrote: >I absolutely loved the message submitted by James Smith. I have joked for forty plus years that " I " am the only person actually born in "thecity". Everyone else is from somewhere else and moved there. > > I lived "out the Mission", otherwise known as the part of Mission St. beyond Silver (Ave) and closing in on Daly City. The Excelsior had it's own flavor as did most sections of thecity. Guerrerah is the correct native pronunciation for Guerrero St. and I suspect that anyone else lucky enough to be born there know that "flats" are not flat ground but two homes in one, usually one up and one down. > > And now to the purpose of this message, once again I am renewing my plea for anyone with a yearbook or pictures from St. Rose 1930-1932 or Presentation circa 1927-1930 to please write to me off list, as I am desperately searching for pictures of my mother and aunt. And if anyone has a yearbook for N.D.V. high school 1950. PLEASE WRITE TO ME. > > Thanks, > > Pat > >Nancy Crowley <[email protected]> wrote: > I loved this! But I went to St. Rose and she overlooked my alma mater. I like to joke about my dear late father (a second generation native, graduate of Star of the Sea, SI and USF) who in the second half of his life, worked in the travel business. He and my mother went to Europe often, mostly because my mother loved Paris. However, in my father's words, Paris was no San Francisco, Lake Tahoe was better than Lake Como and he preferred Lake Merced to the Three Rings of Kerry. > >"James R. Smith" wrote: Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. > >Pass the French bread, >Jim > >FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY > > > >Pat > FLOOR: The place for storing your priceless genealogy records > > > > > > >--------------------------------- >Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com >************************** >Visit SFGenealogy.com! >http://www.sfgenealogy.com >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- James R. Smith Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks ISBN: 1884995446 www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/>

I absolutely loved the message submitted by James Smith. I have joked for forty plus years that " I " am the only person actually born in "thecity". Everyone else is from somewhere else and moved there. I lived "out the Mission", otherwise known as the part of Mission St. beyond Silver (Ave) and closing in on Daly City. The Excelsior had it's own flavor as did most sections of thecity. Guerrerah is the correct native pronunciation for Guerrero St. and I suspect that anyone else lucky enough to be born there know that "flats" are not flat ground but two homes in one, usually one up and one down. And now to the purpose of this message, once again I am renewing my plea for anyone with a yearbook or pictures from St. Rose 1930-1932 or Presentation circa 1927-1930 to please write to me off list, as I am desperately searching for pictures of my mother and aunt. And if anyone has a yearbook for N.D.V. high school 1950. PLEASE WRITE TO ME. Thanks, Pat Nancy Crowley <[email protected]> wrote: I loved this! But I went to St. Rose and she overlooked my alma mater. I like to joke about my dear late father (a second generation native, graduate of Star of the Sea, SI and USF) who in the second half of his life, worked in the travel business. He and my mother went to Europe often, mostly because my mother loved Paris. However, in my father's words, Paris was no San Francisco, Lake Tahoe was better than Lake Como and he preferred Lake Merced to the Three Rings of Kerry. "James R. Smith" wrote: Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. Pass the French bread, Jim FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY Pat FLOOR: The place for storing your priceless genealogy records --------------------------------- Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com

I loved this! But I went to St. Rose and she overlooked my alma mater. I like to joke about my dear late father (a second generation native, graduate of Star of the Sea, SI and USF) who in the second half of his life, worked in the travel business. He and my mother went to Europe often, mostly because my mother loved Paris. However, in my father's words, Paris was no San Francisco, Lake Tahoe was better than Lake Como and he preferred Lake Merced to the Three Rings of Kerry. "James R. Smith" <[email protected]> wrote: Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. Pass the French bread, Jim FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY If you have spent any time in bookstores lately, you might have noticed that there are books on San Francisco's past, present, and future; books that tell you where to eat, where to drink, where to drive, where to take a bus, where to stay, what to look at, and even how to cook in the San Francisco style, whatever that is. But no book tells you how to act like a native San Franciscan, because it is widely assumed that the breed, if it ever existed, is extinct. One book, "San Francisco Free and Easy," subtitled "The Native's Guide Book," says on the first page, "San Franciscans are notorious newcomers. You'll find few people here with the sort of roots common to East Coast cities". Another, written by a carpetbagger named John K. Bailey, is called "The San Francisco Insider's Guide." It begins, "On! my first visit to San Francisco, 15 years ago...." Fifteen years ago? I know a cat who's lived in San Francisco longer than that! A terrible thing has happened to native San Franciscans. They have become strangers in their own city. Their whole culture is in danger of being swallowed up by foreigners from New York, Ohio, New Hampshire, Denver, and other places Back East -- not to mention Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, India, and Mexico. These newcomers all assume everyone else is a newcomer. The first thing to go is the language. Despite everything you've ever heard, there IS a distinctive San Francisco way of talking and it is important to make note of it, for the record, before it becomes as dead as the Latin they teach at S.I. Here's how to talk like a San Franciscan. The first lesson - learned at birth - is never to call it "Frisco" or "San FRANcisco." Most resident tourists have settled on something that sounds like an Anglicized version of the Spanish San Francisco, but natives run the two words together, and it comes out "Sanfrencisco." It may also be called "thecity," which is one word. It is never called "the city," which is two words and tacky. Another way to tell true, native San Franciscans is that all native San Franciscans know something about other native San Franciscans. This cannot be faked. The first test comes when a native San Franciscan is introduced to someone he does not know at a party. Sooner or later, one will ask the other where he or she is from. The correct dialogue goes like this: Q: Whereya from? A: Here. Q: Oh yeah? Whereja go to school? A: S.H. Q: Oh yeah? D'ya know (fill in name of acquaintance)? At once, the two people realize they are both natives and doubtless have friends, experiences, and a whole subculture in common. There are several keys to this small bit of conversation. First, as I've already mentioned, the true native runs all the words together. He never says, "Where are you from?" because that is the way they talk Back East (which is anything East of Denver.) When he asks where you went to school, he means high school - not college, not trade school, and certainly not P.S. 178. The correct answer is one of several San Francisco high schools. "S.H.," of course, means Sacred Heart High School (now known as Sacred Heart Cathedral), which not only reveals your high school but often what district of the city you came from, and other details. If, for example, the answer is "S.I." you know the guy went to St. Ignatius High School (or College Preparatory, if after 1969) and was probably raised a Catholic and is from an upper-middle-class family. If the answer is "Riordan," you know the guy went to the superior Catholic "boys-only" school, and is from a family that is not only hard-working and intelligent, but which also has the finest blend of personality and sense of humor of all the Catholic institutions. If the person says "Poly," they probably grew up in the shadow of Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park -- the site of many memorable high school football games, or in the Haight-Ashbury. If the response is "Mission" or "Bal" (for Balboa High), you know he is from the Mission District, and his father was probably a member of the working class, called "a workinman" in the San Francisco dialect. If the response is "High on the Hill" you knew they came from the Sunset, Woods or Richmond and went to Lincoln, the only important thing was winning "The Bell" game from their cross town rivals, Washington. They knew were "the Pits" and "the Circle" were. If he went to Galileo, he is probably a North Beach Italian, and not a Mission District Italian. Women, too, can be identified by the school they attended. If they went to Mercy (on 19th Avenue), they probably grew up in the Sunset or in Daly City, or maybe even in St. Francis Woods or Forest Hill. If she responds "Prez," she went to Presentation High School on Masonic, and may have grown up in the Haight or the Richmond. One has to be careful, though. Some women, if asked where they went to school, will respond that they went "to the madams." A tourist will immediately leap to the conclusion that the poor woman was raised in a whorehouse, but natives understand immediately what this woman means: She attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, conducted by a ritzy order of nuns, and is doubtless from a wealthy family. She is not necessarily a Catholic, however. Diane Feinstein went to the madams. The next thing to note about this conversation is that the proper response to a remark is "Yeah?" not "You don't say so?" or "Is that right?" San Franciscans say "Yeah" a lot, but it doesn't always mean yes. Now you are ready for your geography lesson. Oakland, Berkeley, and all those other places are "across the Bay." The largest city in Santa Clara County is "Sannazay," not "San Jose." Sannazay is on the way to Sannacruise. To get there, you have to go down the Peninsula, past South City, Sammateo, Rewoodcity, Paloalto, and a whole buncha other towns. "The River" is the Russian River, and no other, but "the Lake" is Lake Tahoe (if your family was wealthy); otherwise, "the lake" is either Clear Lake or Lake Berryessa. The town on the river is called "Gurneyville," even though the correct pronunciation is Gurnville. San Franciscans know the correct pronunciation, but choose not to use it. If corrected on this, a native will likely say, "If those guys up there are so smart, what'er they doin' livin' there? People who live in Gurneyville all year are a buncha Okies anyway." (It should be noted that being called an "Okie" - as in persons from Oklahoma or anywhere south -- is among the worst insults a San Franciscan can offer; it means a person lacks taste or sophistication. Natives are often asked for directions, sometimes by tourists and often by pseudo-natives. A San Franciscan of course, has no idea where anything across the Bay is, but he knows all about San Francisco. To start with, unless a street is tiny, like Saturn Street or Macrondray Lane, it is never called by its full name. You never say "Taraval Street," for example, only "Taraval." When you direct someone to go "out Geary," it means you go West. You know, toward the beach. One never goes "in Mission," or "in Geary." To head in the general direction of downtown, one goes "down Mission" or "down Geary." It is "the beach," too, not the seashore or the coast. The coast is down the Peninsula, near Sharp Park. There are no beaches on the Bay, despite evidence to the contrary - only on the ocean. San Franciscans know there are 30 numbered streets and 48 avenues; they know Arguello is First Avenue and Funston is 13th Avenue. They know that First Street is not the first street, and that Main is not the main street. The Richmond district is always called "The Richmond," and the Sunset District is always called "The Sunset," but Noe Valley has no article in front of its name; neither does downtown or North Beach. No one knows why. But natives do know it is always 24th pronounced "twennyfourth") and Mission, not Mission and 24th. It's Second and Clement, not Clement and Second. The street is not pronounced "CLEment" but "CleMENT." There is no need to make a distinction between Second Street and Second Avenue in this case, since San Franciscans know that Second Street and Clement do not intersect. They know several other things, too: that Alcatraz is not called "The Rock," that Yerba Buena Island is called "Goat Island" or "YBI," that French bread is not called sourdough bread and never was. The name "sourdough" was invented by advertising guys from Chicago or someplace. They know that Italians do not eat pizza. They eat spaghetti, tagliarini, or some other stuff, mostly in North Beach, but sometimes in small places in the Mission. Most of us grew up under the delusion that everybody was a native San Franciscan. [Interjection time: *No* we did not! We assume most people are foreigners.] It was the largest small town in the world, and we thought it the only city that counted. Occasional tourists complimented us on the city, but we never dreamed they'd move here and take over. One native San Franciscan, after she bought a house in the Richmond, one of her new neighbors asked her where she was from. "I moved out here six months ago," she said. "Oh, from the East or Midwest?" the neighbor asked. "No," she said, "from California and Buchanan." There is only one way to be a native San Franciscan. You gotta be born here. "Anybody," my grandfather used to say, "can be born in Oakland, or Back East. It's an honor to be born in Sanfrencisco." -- James R. Smith Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks ISBN: 1884995446 www.HistorySmith.com ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Hi all, Just wanted to send a reminder that the online conference has started at www.genealogyforum.org. Go to our chat rooms to participate, all events are free, no registration needed. One event that may be of particular interest to San Francisco genealogists is the Irish Lecture Series. Every Friday in October at 10pm EST/7pm PST there will be a new group of lectures. And, on October 27th, there will be a special guests, David Rencher of the LDS church, who will give a presentation on finding Irish records at the LDS Family History Center. Hope to see you all there!!! Site Manager: www.islandroutes.com and www.chroniclife.com Chat Moderator: www.genealogyforum.org _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

Just received this from my sister. Thought a few might enjoy it. Pass the French bread, Jim FOR ALL FRIENDS RAISED IN THE CITY If you have spent any time in bookstores lately, you might have noticed that there are books on San Francisco's past, present, and future; books that tell you where to eat, where to drink, where to drive, where to take a bus, where to stay, what to look at, and even how to cook in the San Francisco style, whatever that is. But no book tells you how to act like a native San Franciscan, because it is widely assumed that the breed, if it ever existed, is extinct. One book, "San Francisco Free and Easy," subtitled "The Native's Guide Book," says on the first page, "San Franciscans are notorious newcomers. You'll find few people here with the sort of roots common to East Coast cities". Another, written by a carpetbagger named John K. Bailey, is called "The San Francisco Insider's Guide." It begins, "On! my first visit to San Francisco, 15 years ago...." Fifteen years ago? I know a cat who's lived in San Francisco longer than that! A terrible thing has happened to native San Franciscans. They have become strangers in their own city. Their whole culture is in danger of being swallowed up by foreigners from New York, Ohio, New Hampshire, Denver, and other places Back East -- not to mention Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, India, and Mexico. These newcomers all assume everyone else is a newcomer. The first thing to go is the language. Despite everything you've ever heard, there IS a distinctive San Francisco way of talking and it is important to make note of it, for the record, before it becomes as dead as the Latin they teach at S.I. Here's how to talk like a San Franciscan. The first lesson - learned at birth - is never to call it "Frisco" or "San FRANcisco." Most resident tourists have settled on something that sounds like an Anglicized version of the Spanish San Francisco, but natives run the two words together, and it comes out "Sanfrencisco." It may also be called "thecity," which is one word. It is never called "the city," which is two words and tacky. Another way to tell true, native San Franciscans is that all native San Franciscans know something about other native San Franciscans. This cannot be faked. The first test comes when a native San Franciscan is introduced to someone he does not know at a party. Sooner or later, one will ask the other where he or she is from. The correct dialogue goes like this: Q: Whereya from? A: Here. Q: Oh yeah? Whereja go to school? A: S.H. Q: Oh yeah? D'ya know (fill in name of acquaintance)? At once, the two people realize they are both natives and doubtless have friends, experiences, and a whole subculture in common. There are several keys to this small bit of conversation. First, as I've already mentioned, the true native runs all the words together. He never says, "Where are you from?" because that is the way they talk Back East (which is anything East of Denver.) When he asks where you went to school, he means high school - not college, not trade school, and certainly not P.S. 178. The correct answer is one of several San Francisco high schools. "S.H.," of course, means Sacred Heart High School (now known as Sacred Heart Cathedral), which not only reveals your high school but often what district of the city you came from, and other details. If, for example, the answer is "S.I." you know the guy went to St. Ignatius High School (or College Preparatory, if after 1969) and was probably raised a Catholic and is from an upper-middle-class family. If the answer is "Riordan," you know the guy went to the superior Catholic "boys-only" school, and is from a family that is not only hard-working and intelligent, but which also has the finest blend of personality and sense of humor of all the Catholic institutions. If the person says "Poly," they probably grew up in the shadow of Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park -- the site of many memorable high school football games, or in the Haight-Ashbury. If the response is "Mission" or "Bal" (for Balboa High), you know he is from the Mission District, and his father was probably a member of the working class, called "a workinman" in the San Francisco dialect. If the response is "High on the Hill" you knew they came from the Sunset, Woods or Richmond and went to Lincoln, the only important thing was winning "The Bell" game from their cross town rivals, Washington. They knew were "the Pits" and "the Circle" were. If he went to Galileo, he is probably a North Beach Italian, and not a Mission District Italian. Women, too, can be identified by the school they attended. If they went to Mercy (on 19th Avenue), they probably grew up in the Sunset or in Daly City, or maybe even in St. Francis Woods or Forest Hill. If she responds "Prez," she went to Presentation High School on Masonic, and may have grown up in the Haight or the Richmond. One has to be careful, though. Some women, if asked where they went to school, will respond that they went "to the madams." A tourist will immediately leap to the conclusion that the poor woman was raised in a whorehouse, but natives understand immediately what this woman means: She attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, conducted by a ritzy order of nuns, and is doubtless from a wealthy family. She is not necessarily a Catholic, however. Diane Feinstein went to the madams. The next thing to note about this conversation is that the proper response to a remark is "Yeah?" not "You don't say so?" or "Is that right?" San Franciscans say "Yeah" a lot, but it doesn't always mean yes. Now you are ready for your geography lesson. Oakland, Berkeley, and all those other places are "across the Bay." The largest city in Santa Clara County is "Sannazay," not "San Jose." Sannazay is on the way to Sannacruise. To get there, you have to go down the Peninsula, past South City, Sammateo, Rewoodcity, Paloalto, and a whole buncha other towns. "The River" is the Russian River, and no other, but "the Lake" is Lake Tahoe (if your family was wealthy); otherwise, "the lake" is either Clear Lake or Lake Berryessa. The town on the river is called "Gurneyville," even though the correct pronunciation is Gurnville. San Franciscans know the correct pronunciation, but choose not to use it. If corrected on this, a native will likely say, "If those guys up there are so smart, what'er they doin' livin' there? People who live in Gurneyville all year are a buncha Okies anyway." (It should be noted that being called an "Okie" - as in persons from Oklahoma or anywhere south -- is among the worst insults a San Franciscan can offer; it means a person lacks taste or sophistication. Natives are often asked for directions, sometimes by tourists and often by pseudo-natives. A San Franciscan of course, has no idea where anything across the Bay is, but he knows all about San Francisco. To start with, unless a street is tiny, like Saturn Street or Macrondray Lane, it is never called by its full name. You never say "Taraval Street," for example, only "Taraval." When you direct someone to go "out Geary," it means you go West. You know, toward the beach. One never goes "in Mission," or "in Geary." To head in the general direction of downtown, one goes "down Mission" or "down Geary." It is "the beach," too, not the seashore or the coast. The coast is down the Peninsula, near Sharp Park. There are no beaches on the Bay, despite evidence to the contrary - only on the ocean. San Franciscans know there are 30 numbered streets and 48 avenues; they know Arguello is First Avenue and Funston is 13th Avenue. They know that First Street is not the first street, and that Main is not the main street. The Richmond district is always called "The Richmond," and the Sunset District is always called "The Sunset," but Noe Valley has no article in front of its name; neither does downtown or North Beach. No one knows why. But natives do know it is always 24th pronounced "twennyfourth") and Mission, not Mission and 24th. It's Second and Clement, not Clement and Second. The street is not pronounced "CLEment" but "CleMENT." There is no need to make a distinction between Second Street and Second Avenue in this case, since San Franciscans know that Second Street and Clement do not intersect. They know several other things, too: that Alcatraz is not called "The Rock," that Yerba Buena Island is called "Goat Island" or "YBI," that French bread is not called sourdough bread and never was. The name "sourdough" was invented by advertising guys from Chicago or someplace. They know that Italians do not eat pizza. They eat spaghetti, tagliarini, or some other stuff, mostly in North Beach, but sometimes in small places in the Mission. Most of us grew up under the delusion that everybody was a native San Franciscan. [Interjection time: *No* we did not! We assume most people are foreigners.] It was the largest small town in the world, and we thought it the only city that counted. Occasional tourists complimented us on the city, but we never dreamed they'd move here and take over. One native San Franciscan, after she bought a house in the Richmond, one of her new neighbors asked her where she was from. "I moved out here six months ago," she said. "Oh, from the East or Midwest?" the neighbor asked. "No," she said, "from California and Buchanan." There is only one way to be a native San Franciscan. You gotta be born here. "Anybody," my grandfather used to say, "can be born in Oakland, or Back East. It's an honor to be born in Sanfrencisco." -- James R. Smith Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks ISBN: 1884995446 www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/>

Just want to let anyone that is coming to the San Francisco Library to look at the San Francisco City Directories. Know that they have been moved, they are still on the 5th floor, but know are on shelves, only the widows, on the south wall behind the newspapers desk. No big deal, just you know where to go.;-) George --------------------------------- Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out.

Hello Everyone! Here's an update on what we've added since September 1st at SFGenealogy.com: www.sfgenealogy.com The primary purpose and highest priority of SFGenealogy.com is to provide FREE internet access to genealogical and historical information for the City and County of San Francisco and the surrounding communities. New volunteers and material are always welcome! Visit our "Help Wanted" page to see how you might help! www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/sfwantad.htm We sincerely thank everyone who has submitted material to share and those who offer lookups for other researchers! Enjoy! Pam and Ron Pamela Storm Wolfskill and Ron Filion San Francisco Genealogy www.sfgenealogy.com San Mateo County Genealogy www.sfgenealogy.com/sanmateo/ Santa Clara County Genealogy www.sfgenealogy.com/santaclara SF Bay Genealogy www.sfgenealogy.com/sfbay/sfbindex.htm *********************************************** CITY & COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: New Databases: Norwegian Club - Members (1947) & Officers (1906 to 1947) 1962 Corpus Christi School Eighth Grade Graduates - by Linda Emerson 1979 Aptos Middle School Sixth Grade New Links: 1899 Hotel Guests - by Elaine Sturdevant at the Golden Nugget Library Klondike Gold Rush Passenger Lists 1904 City Directory (Images) - by Golden Nugget Library *********************************************** SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1967 San Mateo High School Freshman Class 1983 Colma Fire Department - by Tim Wolfskill San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Booking Registers - by SMC Genealogical Society 1948 (Feb) Jefferson Union High School Graduates - by Dee Harrell *********************************************** SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 1968 Pioneer High School Faculty & Class of 1968 - by Kathy Styles Prominent Citizens of Santa Clara County in 1895 - by Nancy Pratt Melton *********************************************** CAL DATA NOOK: Berkeley - 1927 University of California Berkeley, Senior Class Dixon - Dixon Union Union High School Faculty & Class of 1939 Humboldt County - 1882 Freemasons of California - Humboldt County Lodges Sacramento - 1940 McClatchy High School Faculty, Graduates & Underclassmen San Leandro - 1962 Pacific High School by Elaine Sturdevant San Leandro - 1963 Pacific High School by Elaine Sturdevant ************************************************************************* -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.407 / Virus Database: 268.12.11/460 - Release Date: 10/1/2006

OK you Bay Area genealogists who have been meaning to visit the California Genealogical Society Library one day: October is the month to discover us!! There are talks that will be of interest to all levels of researchers scheduled each open day (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays) for the whole month, AND the usual $5 “non-member reader’s fee” is waived. For a schedule of events, see the link to our Family History Month pdf flyer near the top of the busy webpage: www.calgensoc.org. (Why not start on Oct. 5th, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. with “Resources at the California Genealogical Society and Library” ?! ) Come browse our collection – most States are well represented, in addition to California resources. We are in downtown Oakland at 1611 Telegraph Ave., Suite 100, 1.5 blocks from the “south end” of the 19th St. BART station. There is free parking on Saturdays at a nearby garage . For additional info, email to [email protected] or call 510-663-1358. Lorna Wallace CGS volunteer

Susan Sorry, you are not the only person who was "space out" when I checked for Grace Helen Whipple, I missed her first name, and checked for the first name of Helen. But just checked again and there is a Whipple. Grace B. with a spouse F. B. who died in San Francisco, on 1928-12-30 at the age of 42 years. So that looks like the person you are looking for. Also for death notices, with the correct dates;-) and places you can ask for people in San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara counties to look them up. Good luck George [email protected] wrote: In a message dated 9/28/2006 8:15:23 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Hello! 1. Our Benjamin was Benjamin Riddle Whipple, and I looked at the date, and it was July 9, 1926... I must have just 'spaced out' when I said the 26th. Is there and obit or record of something, that I can obtain? how do I do that? 2. Abbie Whipple would be the mother of Ben. The dates look right. Again, do you know what I do next to find obituary etc info? 3. If a person is not in the death index, does that mean they did not die there? or are there other reasons a person might not show up in that index? Thank you so much for this help! Susan Susan There was a Helen B. Whipple, who died 1919-04-25, but at the age of 73, in Alameda County. There are two Benjamin Whipple, who both died in 1926, one had a spouse with the first initial of E, with a middle name with the initial of F., died in San Diego County, the other one age 55, middle name with the initial R., died in Alameda County, on July 9, 1926. There is a Abbie Whipple who died in Alameda County, March 6, 1918, age 50. You have the correct date for Frank. George [email protected] wrote: Hello, Is there anyone who could do some lookup for me? I am searching for obituary information for 1. Grace Helen Whipple [nee Brown/ Browne]. Census said she was b. in CA Oct 1885, and she died Dec 30 1928 I think the place was San Francisco, although the family lived in several nearby locations as well. She married Francis [Frank] Bates Whipple between 1910 and 1920. Grace's parents were Thomas Brown/e [b. Ireland abt 1853, and it said in census he came to USA in 1877] and Amber G unknown [b. abt 1861 in CA]. Grace had siblings, Thomas C, Jessie [female], Adair [male], Marietta/ Maretta, Lionel B, Forrest. I am at brick walls big time. I know almost zero about the Brown family. I would appreciate anythng about any of them. Thanking you all so much in advance. I was hoping the obit might tell me anything about her family, where she is buried, etc etc. Did they marry? have children?, die in 1906 quake? leave the area? 2. seeking obits for Benjamin R Whipple, died 26 July 1926 in the Bay area [He died golfing]. Ben was b. in Michigan 3. Frank [Francis Bates] Whipple, b. 1872 in MI, died May 28, 1938 in Santa Clara Co, CA. Frank owned/ or was an owner of National Ice and Cold Storage Co. [I would like to more about that too...] 4. Mary Helen Whipple, b. 1878 in MI. She died 19 Mar 1952 in Santa Clara Co, CA. Ben, Frank, Mary were siblings. 5. Their mother Abigail J [Riddle] Whipple died 6 Mar 1918 in Alameda Co, CA. I think she must have been on a visit from Michigan??? My!, This seems a long and hard request as I look at it. I am at my family Brick wall, and would greatly appreciate any help on any of these. THANK YOU! I have enjoyed and learned so much from these forums. Susan S [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.