Fire burns iconic former Madera Athletic Club building
A fast moving fire destroyed the vacant complex of buildings once known as The Madera Athletic Club in the 1800 block of Sunset Avenue. No injuries were reported in the fire. Madera Battalion Fire Chief Chris Trindade said the fire was reported about 10:15 p.m. Thursday but the fire had likely been burning at least […]
Former sheriff Bates turns 95-years-old
Madera County’s unorthodox, ‘Wild-West’ sheriff celebrated his birthday on election day A dozen pay phones lined the combination firehouse/police station in Chowchilla on that July afternoon in 1976. Twenty-six school children and their bus driver had been kidnapped, and newspaper reporters fought for space at the makeshift phone bank. Suddenly a man with a lean, […]
Madera Rotary hosts online auction
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Rotary Club of Madera had to find another way to meet its fundraising demands. Madera Rotary’s refreshment booth at the Madera District Fair and the annual Halloween Dinner/Dance Costume Ball were cancelled. However, the club has chosen to conduct an online Autumn Auction to try to help get back […]
Second half keeps Hawks undefeated
2014 The Liberty Hawks football team faced its biggest adversity of the season and came through with flying colors after scoring all of its points in the second half of a 34-16 victory over the Kerman Lions. The Hawks (9-0, 4-0 North Sequoia League) trailed 13 seconds into the game and were trailing 16-0 with […]
Benny Muñoz: Resident since 1964
This is an excerpt from Neighbors: Oral History from Madera, California Volume 2 by Lawrence F. Lihosit, a local historian. It is available at Maildrop and G.B.S. on Howard and on Amazon.com Books. • • • Benny Muñoz was born the eldest of five on July 26, 1957 in Fresno. When he was very young, […]
Fresh basil is a real prize
I am trying to think of a time when I did not have at least two or three basil plants growing in my yard or on the deck. I still call it basilico, being that my Italian Nana always called it that. At this writing, I just returned home from being evacuated for seven days, […]
1918 fire brought ‘urban renewal’
Madera was founded in 1876, and from then until now the town has been ever mindful of the constant threat of fire. That fear is real. There have been enough conflagrations on Yosemite Avenue alone to fill a book on the subject. There is one downtown fire; however, the results of which caused very little […]