For The Madera Tribune Major Jim Savage. As difficult as it may be for the 21st century mind to grasp, there once was a time when Major James Savage was thought to be a hero in Madera. In fact, on April 23, 1951, more than 100 local folks held a California Centennial program at his grave, which was then located on land that is now covered by Hensley Lake. Guy Crow presided over the gathering, which featured Walter Chandler, Madera County District Attorney, as the guest speake

For The Madera Tribune Captain Russel Perry Mace. “Pioneer’s passing sent Madera into mourning” Madera Mercury — April 26, 1894 “At 3:15 A.M. Tuesday, the Grim Messenger came and called from our midst that noble and grand, good old man, Captain Russel P. Mace. Mr. Mace had been in comparatively good health most of the winter, and up until recently no immediate danger was apprehended. At 3:15 o’clock this morning his family was awakened by a noise in his room.  They went to hi

For The Madera Tribune The first Lucca’s restaurant in Madera. An inferno of flames stabbed at the darkness on Monday, Sept. 10, 1973. Lucca’s restaurant was ablaze, and according to retired Fire Chief, Alden Potter, it was the worst fire in town since the Madera Theater burned in 1941.  Losses from the restaurant fire were estimated at $250,000. Bystanders could hardly believe their eyes. There had been a Lucca’s on the corner of Third and Gateway since 1934, when Giorgio an

For The Madera Tribune Hard work by Madera firefighters saved lives when the Alta Hotel burned in 1931. As Maderans neared the end of the 1920s, they were full of optimism. Prospects of oil wells on the outskirts of town danced in the heads of some local capitalists, while others dreamed of raising the funds to build a brand new, four-story hotel on Yosemite Avenue. In the end, however, both schemes failed, and the town entered the 1930s rather tentatively as the nation’s eco

For The Madera Tribune Duane Furman, shown here in 1966, was chosen as the first superintendent of MUSD. The California gold rush was still in its infancy when Californians sat down to write their state constitution in 1849, and even in those rough and tumble frontier days, public education was at the fore of everyone’s mind. What followed in the wake of the subsequent population explosions in the Golden State was the proliferation of tiny, one-room schools, each forming a se

For The Madera Tribune Berenda School, circa 1890. When Fresno County Sheriff Leroy Dennis chose not to run for reelection in 1872, he decided to move to a little spot in the north end of the county where the Southern Pacific Railroad had just built a freight depot. Dennis was certain that a town would grow up around the depot, and he wanted to be there when the boom came. Little did he know that in 20 years, the little village he envisioned would one day be a major transport