Bill Coate

For The Madera TribunePioneer Ray Pool is shown here in one of his vineyards. When the longtime Madera farmer passed away, he was 95.Ray and Kenny were great friends — for life! They were in the same grade, and they were the only two kids who rode horses every day to Arcola School. They would watch out for each other. If one fell off the horse, the other would be there to help him remount. Usually it was Kenny helping Ray. They were real buddies and pals. Sometimes one would spend the night at t

For The Madera Tribune The Republican banner that stretched across Yosemite Avenue in 1890 should not lead one to believe that Madera was a GOP stronghold. Indeed, just the opposite was the case.

For The Madera TribuneLooking none the worse from their ordeal in Vallejo, Madera’s championship roller polo team of 1908 posed for this photograph. On the front row, from the left, are Wilbur Leggett, Frank Barnett, and Virgil Gordon. The back row, from the left, includes Clarence Pickett, Charles Leggett, D. Stevens, and Jim Holmes.The young Madera athlete was distracted by the taunts of the referee and more than a little surprised when the official engaged him in an argument right in the midd

For The Madera TribuneS.W. Westfall,served two terms as Madera County Sheriff. He spent the better part of his first term in an unsuccessful search for the vigilantes who hanged Victor Adams. Alas, he was unsuccessful due to the lack of cooperation from the tight-lipped folks in the hills.“Coate Tales” has visited the hanging of Victor Adams a couple of times, but recently we found confirmation of an old adage: No history is ever finished. No historian is ever done. There is always more to tell.

For The Madera TribuneThis hotel was the centerpiece of the town of Hildreth. It is also the place where Harry Daniels got what was coming to him at the hands of the Williams brothers in 1888.Gold! It was Madera County’s first industry, and thousands followed its siren call in search of treasure in this land of Ophir.From the 1850s through the 1880s, gold mining camps proliferated throughout our foothills. One of these ghost towns of Madera County is the townsite of Hildreth, located just a few

For The Madera TribuneMadera Unified CARD wrestling participants from all three pyramids (Blue- Madera; Purple- Madera South; and Red- Matilda Torres) gather together after participating in a camp.For generations, students played and got to know each other through team sports from all across the community. In the years since the pandemic, however, society has seen a far higher number of students detached from their peers, isolated socially, and addicted to the shallow connections they find more

For The Madera TribuneMadera Police Chief Walter Thomas was in a playful mood. He wasn’t quite so jovial a few months later when the City demoted him to Assistant Chief.There are times in the history of a town when some things just do not make sense. Every once in a while a city’s leaders take off in a direction that defies logic. Such was the case in 1950, when the Madera City Council wanted to shake up the police department. The councilmen shook it up all right, but in the process, they ended

Eugenio Ferretti and Maria Ceccarelli were married in 1920 in Marlia in the Italian Province of Lucca, and in February 1921, they left Italy for America. Eventually they settled in Madera where they had four sons. Sergio (1921), Nello Dominic (1923), Edward (1927), and Roland (1931). Today, Roland is the only one of the family left to tell their story.

William Saroyan didn’t seem to need anyone’s approval. He almost never went to a college or university to speak because, as he said, “I can’t be bothered; it’s too much trouble and just a little silly.” However, on Jan. 27, 1977, he came to Madera High School to speak. Let me tell you how that came about.

For The Madera TribuneThe Republican banner that stretched across Yosemite Avenue in 1890 should not lead one to believe that Madera was a GOP stronghold. Indeed, just the opposite was the case.In November of 1884, Grover Cleveland was elected to the Presidency of the United States, the first Democrat to be so honored since 1856, and his party was jubilant. Joyous celebrations proliferated throughout the nation, but none like the one thrown in Madera. Most of the nation’s Democrats waited until