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History - page 2

Turlock’s history, historic places, institutions and the people who shaped the region.

Gary Soiseth: The Turlock Mayor Who Brought Farming and Water Policy to City Hall

Before he was Turlock’s mayor, Gary Soiseth was advising farmers in Afghanistan about orchards, irrigation and markets. Back home, he brought that agricultural and policy background to City Hall. His 2014–2018 term involved regional water projects, a new connection with Stanislaus State students and a four-candidate reelection race. An almond-farm childhood, then work overseas Soiseth grew up on the family almond farm in Turlock and graduated from Turlock High in 2002. He earned a political-science… Keep Reading

Ray Carter: Turlock’s Mayor During the State-College Campaign

Ray Carter appears in Turlock’s college story at two revealing moments: a celebration in 1959 and a tense public hearing in 1960. The Journal’s history and Modesto’s original council minutes identify him as mayor. The banquet for a newspaper publisher In 1959, Carter and about 500 other community members honored Stanley T. Wilson, the Journal’s publisher and editor, for his work bringing a state-college campus to Turlock. The newspaper’s 105th-anniversary history records Wilson’s membership on… Keep Reading

Robert Charles Geckler: Turlock’s Undertaker Mayor and Broadway Legacy

Robert Charles Geckler built his funeral chapel on North Broadway in 1919 and was selected as mayor in 1920. The business later passed through the Guy and Hale names before becoming Allen Mortuary. Tinkham’s 1921 biography and a McHenry Museum and Historical Society history connect the stages. Shipbuilding, undertaking and the 1906 disaster Geckler was born in Orange, Massachusetts, in 1882. He came to California in 1901 and initially worked on an uncle’s farm in… Keep Reading

Enoch S. Christoffersen: The Turlock Mayor Behind the Parkway Name

Enoch S. Christoffersen served 22 years as Turlock’s mayor, in two stretches: 1952–1958 and 1962–1978. Caltrans’ naming history, page 237 links him to the Highway 99 bypass as well as the turkey business that made his name locally. Enoch and Marie built a poultry business Christoffersen was born in Chicago in 1903 to Danish immigrant parents. His family lived in Nebraska before arriving in Turlock in 1913. According to McHenry Museum & Historical Society’s street-name… Keep Reading

Dale Pinkney: Turlock’s Mayor, the 1978 Election and Pedretti Park

Dale Pinkney’s public career runs through Pedretti’s ballfields, West Main Street and an eventful election night. Turlock’s 18th mayor served from 1978 to 1982, following eight years on the council. The Journal recalled his service in 2018. From Turlock High to City Hall Pinkney’s family obituary places his birth in El Centro in November 1931 and his death in Turlock in April 2018, aged 86. He spent most of his life here, graduated from Turlock… Keep Reading

Curt Andre: The Turlock Mayor Who Helped Shape a Growing City

Curt Andre’s mayoral years changed the map of Turlock. He served from 1990 to 2006, a period confirmed by the City’s fall 2009 newsletter. New shopping areas and recreation facilities were part of that change, alongside decisions about what the City could afford and where development should go. A family farm, an airplane and an optometry practice Michael R. Shea’s December 2006 Modesto Bee profile identifies Andre Lane and Curt Court, south of Stanislaus State,… Keep Reading

M. R. Critser: A Gap in Turlock’s Mayoral Record

M. R. Critser is one of the harder names to place in Turlock’s mayoral history. The Political Graveyard’s historical index lists Martin R. Critser as mayor in 1952. Turlock’s own community records document a civic leader named Marvin Critser. The names may refer to the same man, but that connection has not been established. What the mayoral listing tells us The Political Graveyard gives a single reference year, rather than a complete term of office.… Keep Reading

Horace Stephen Crane: The Mayor Behind Crane Park and Turlock High

A school campus, a shady park and a banking business: Horace Stephen Crane helped shape Turlock in ways that lasted far beyond his years as mayor. The land he gave for Crane Park and the high school made his family name part of everyday life. His connection to the town began in 1871, when he arrived as a child. A childhood in a new railroad town Born in Woodbury, Connecticut, in 1866, Crane came west… Keep Reading

Carl C. Carlson: From Turlock Lumber Yard to Mayor

Carl C. Carlson supplied building materials to a growing Turlock, then helped govern it. He arrived at 19, started in the lumber yard and worked his way into ownership. In 1918, fellow trustees selected him as their chairman—the office also called mayor. His contemporary biography records his business career and selection as chairman. From an Iowa childhood to a Turlock ranch Carlson was born near Ogden in Boone County, Iowa, on July 13, 1884. His… Keep Reading

Turlock Irrigation District: The Canals That Changed the Valley

The Tuolumne River gorge and La Grange Reservoir seen from the top of New Don Pedro Dam
La Grange Reservoir viewed from New Don Pedro Dam, 2016. Photo: Ryanx7 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.

The canals beside Turlock’s roads are part of the reason the town grew. Before irrigation, much of this valley depended on winter rain and grain farming. In March 1900, water finally reached Henry Stirring’s cornfield near Ceres—a small delivery that marked the start of a much larger change. Turlock Irrigation District had been organized almost thirteen years earlier, on June 6, 1887. It was California’s first irrigation district under the Wright Act. Getting from a… Keep Reading

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