I
have been asked by the Tuolumne County Historical Society to make a recording
of my life. I would be very glad to do this at this time, as being one of the
very few sons of pioneer sons of pioneer fathers left in the community at this
time. All right I think it would be well for me to start with the origination
of the Baer family in this community. My dad Myer Baer was born in Von Hamburg Germany as sort
of water in place for a health resort on December the
14th 1824. He left his native land in the early fall of 1850 at the
age of 36. He came around the horn in which in those days took several months
to travel to reach his destination. When he arrived in San Francisco there were
wild talks of the gold discovery in the Southern Mines. So by team and stages
he came to Sonora which took several days, and arrives in Sonora he found the
town teaming with life. Husky miners were everywhere. After several days he
noticed that the miners had nothing but tin cups and plates so he thought maybe
a crockery store would do well. So he rented a tent, that’s all there was there
in those days. He put in a stock of crockery, he said he did quite well until
the early spring of 1852 when a good friend of his told him that he might do
well to put in a stock of liquors, as he has everything to do with. So on the
next Saturday night this is the day that the miners came in. They soon found
out what was doing so their patronage was in mass in appreciation of the flavor
of the liquor the boys went wild with the delight and soon their well filled
bags of gold dust was gone and so was the liquor. Dad sat in the ruins of his
tent every piece of crockery was broken into bits it was a very costly lesson
but it taught my dad that booze and independent business could not be successfully
conducted in a merchandise store. When dad
replenished his crockery stock the big fire of
Ernie Ench 1852 laid the town in
ashes. Later dad opened a clothing store having a mister Lizinsky as a partner. This long store which was located where the
Pit Studio now stands was a very small affair but their rental was high. I have
receipts in my possession that showed $125 a month for rent which was
tremendously high for that then. Rents were high until about 1858 and by that
time the cream surface places had been skimmed off and a dull period ensued and
rent dropped to $20 a month for the same places. While I was on this subject I
have been asked if I knew why the street took a bend in the vicinity where the
old city hotel now stands. Dad told me the reason that the only wooden shack in
a town of tents stood on this corner and instead of removing it they went
around it, making a curve in Washington Street. By this time the big boom was
in Columbia with teaming population which as they almost became the capitol of
California. I often heard my dad speak of Columbia and how people in Sonora and
vicinity would walk to Columbia on Saturday nights as there were
no other transportation in those days. Around 1859 dad dissolved his
partnership store of Moes Hanover who was retiring
from business and at the close of the 60’s he bought the store. Mr. Hanover was
married and his wife had his sister living with her and in the late 60’s dad
was married to this sister. There were several rooms in the back of the store
where he lived and most of all my sisters and brothers were born. I could go on
for hours telling of the hardships that encountered in this marriage but after
all they all came through except one little sister who died of pain poisoning
in 1872 another sister Daisy passed away in 1905 I do not remember of dad ever having
any sickness in his life. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on July the 17
th 1907 at the
age of 83. He was a grand man and a wonderful father. Now stop that now.
General
Information:
Interviewer: Azevedo, Joe and Firebaugh, Dorothy
Interviewee: Baer, Julius
Name of Tape: Autobiography of the
Baer Family
When: 1959
Transcriber: Naomi
Transcribed: 1/9/08