Trivia Answers!
Answers to Sonoma County Trivia posted on MAFCA's website.
Visit these and many other sites around Sonoma County on one of the driving tours offered when you attend the MAFCA National Awards Banquet, November 30 – December 4, 2011. For more information and the registration form, click on the link in the yellow banner at the top of this page.
Trivia 1: "
Long before being surrounded by vineyards, this Russian River Valley landmark assisted in the creation of another libation. Hop over to find out more about California landmark #893!"
Answer: The landmark is Hop Kiln Winery. Hops had become a major crop in the area by the late 1800’s and in 1905 rancher/farmer Walters decided to build a hops dryer to serve local farmers. Construction was a race against time with many neighbors betting that it would not be finished for the ‘05 hops harvest. Working with massive redwood timbers from the family’s mill and stone from nearby Felta Creek, the 25 man construction team hurried to complete the majestic, 3-story Hop Kiln in 35 days.
Trivia 2: “Call off the wolves, the house is toast!” What famous writer never lived in his “Beauty Ranch” dream house, now a State Historic Park?"
Answer: Jack London. Not a Brit, but spent a year in England, born in SF in 1876. He is best remembered as the author of “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in “The Sea Wolf”. London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers and wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics such as his dystopian novel, “The Iron Heel“ and his non-fiction exposé, “The People of the Abyss”.
The Wolf House on Beauty Ranch was built with native materials chosen to carefully match one another. A long outdoor pool was to be stocked with mountain bass. A fireproof vault in the basement was designed to house Jack’s collection of manuscripts and other valuables. The two-story living room featured a massive fireplace and an alcove for Charmian's grand piano. The entire house stood on an extra-thick concrete slab that was intended to be earthquake Proof. Double-thick concrete walls were intended to be fireproof. Modern utility systems were installed and every detail of hardware or trim was of the very highest quality, for money was no object. The house was supposed to be magnificent – it burned down three weeks before completion.
"The grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smoulders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive. I am filled with dreams and mysteries. I am all sun and air and sparkle. I am vitalized, organic."– Jack London
Trivia 3: "Who are these good friends? Which one was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science AND resided in Santa Rosa? You have eaten his spuds…"
Answer: Thomas Edison, Luther Burbank and Henry Ford, sitting on the steps of Burbank’s Santa Rosa home in 1915. Luther Burbank developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. His most successful include the Shasta daisy, Fire poppy, July Elberta peach, Santa Rosa plum, Flaming Gold nectarine, Wickson plum, Freestone peach, and the white blackberry. A natural genetic variant of the Burbank potato with russet-colored skin later became known as the Russet Burbank potato. This large, brown-skinned, white-fleshed potato has become the world's predominant potato in food processing. He sold the rights to the Russet Burbank potato for $150 and used the money to travel to Santa Rosa, California, in 1875. (Sorry it will cost you a little more in December 2011).
The Luther Burbank Property in Santa Rosa is a Registered National, State and City Historic Landmark. In California his birthday is celebrated as Arbor Day and trees are planted in his memory. The home that Luther Burbank was born in, as well as his California garden office, were moved by Henry Ford to Dearborn, Michigan, and are part of Greenfield Village. Regarding Santa Rosa; "I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned." - Luther Burbank, 1875
Trivia 4: "There are two neighbors who share quite a long history in Sonoma County; old Parson Jones is 310’ tall and Colonel Armstrong is still going at 1,400 years old! What? You’ll be red in the face if you don’t know this one."
Answer: Sequoia Sempervirens (Coast Redwood) in the Armstrong Woods State Park in Sonoma County. This park was named after Colonel James Armstrong, a lumberman who recognized the errors of his clear-cutting ways and set out to preserve this redwood grove in the 1870s. The Parson Jones tree was named for the Colonel’s son-in-law. The ancient coast redwood is the tallest living thing on our planet! These remarkable trees live to be 500-1,000 years old, grow to a diameter of 12-16 feet, and stand from 200-250 feet tall. Some trees survive to over 2,000 years and tower above 350 feet.
Trivia 5: "What does this flag have to do with Sonoma, Abe Lincoln, and a revolt?"
Answer: The California Bear Flag was first raised in Sonoma, California in 1846 by rebellious white settlers who declared independence for California (from Mexican control), in what came to be known as the Bear Flag revolt. The flag was created by a nephew of Abraham Lincoln, and contained a large "lone star", a caricature of a California grizzly bear, and the words "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC". 
The revolt was short-lived. Within months, the United States was at war with Mexico and the bear flag was replaced by the United States flag. A refined version of the flag, with a smaller star and finer rendition of the bear is now the official state flag of California. The first version resembled a hog, to the amusement of many.
Trivia 6: "What movie was filmed in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square in 1943? And who’s that bald, fat guy in the middle with the skinny shadow? You’ll get this one, no doubt."
Answer: Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was both filmed and set in Santa Rosa, California, which was portrayed as a paragon of a supposedly peaceful, small, pre-war American city. In 1991, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It has been claimed that Hitchcock called it his personal favorite.
When in Santa Rosa you may want to swing by the “Newton” family home located at 904 McDonald Avenue.The McDonald Mansion (also used by Walt Disney for the movie Pollyanna) was built by Mark L. McDonald in 1879. The stone railway station in the film was built in 1904 for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad and is one of the few commercial buildings in central Santa Rosa to survive the earthquake of April 18, 1906. The station is currently a visitor center. Some of the buildings in the center of Santa Rosa that are seen in the film were damaged or destroyed by earthquakes in 1969.
Hitchcock came back to Sonoma County in 1963 to film The Birds in Bodega Bay. Sonoma County has been a favorite location for Hollywood movie makers for decades. For a sampling, visit the Sonoma County webpage: Movie Location Site Map, or the Clickable Map of Movie Locations.
Trivia 7: "In the mid 1800’s three Wild & Crazy Guys came to America (not looking for foxes) seeking to escape political unrest and started a sawmill biz among other things. When the lumber boom slowed, up bubbled a sparkling new idea for their acreage in Stumptown. Who’s this? Come on, it should pop into your head!"
Answer: Czechoslovakian brothers Francis, Anton and Joseph Korbel, of course!
F. Korbel & Bros. began as a manufacturing business in San Francisco that produced materials for the building industry. As their enterprise expanded, the brothers eventually acquired a sawmill and began a full-scale lumber operation near the town of Guerneville in Sonoma County.
Korbel's brandy has a particularly strong following in Wisconsin, which consumes about 28% of their production every year (side note: yours truly: Meet Chair and Sonoma A’s webmaster - part Wisconsinite - highly recommends Korbel XS!)
Lastly, Korbel sparkling wine has been served at the six most recent United States presidential inaugurations…which proves that we can all agree on something!
Trivia 8: "How many Redwoods were used to build this Church? Believe it or not, you’ll be surprised!"
Answer: This is the “Church of One Tree”, Believe it or not, by Ripley! Santa Rosa is the hometown of Robert Leroy Ripley. His “Believe it or Not” column appeared in newspaper syndication worldwide for many years, and he made famous the Church of One Tree in Santa Rosa which once housed a Ripley Museum. Built in 1873, all of the lumber for the church was milled from one redwood tree that stood 275 feet tall and was18 feet in diameter, taken from Stumptown (now known as Guerneville).