Category: Santa Rosa History

Yes, there was a real hockey team in Santa Rosa. Back in 1939, Joseph T Grace (my great uncle and one of the original Grace Bros) and a strong supporter of local athletics as well as a wise businessman built an ice arena. In conjunction with the UC Berkeley ice hockey coach, JT concocted a…

To a couple generations of Santa Rosans the Grace Brothers whistle was as much a part of their growing up as was picking prunes. Santa Rosa,  being a much smaller town of less than 30,000  in the middle and late 1950’s, left lots of room for kids  to roam on their bikes. But for parents…