

Madera’s first black police officer was tough, compassionate
For The Madera Tribune General Waldo Sims, Madera’s first black police officer. When the Madera policeman came to the home of Charles...
Bill Coate
Mar 5


Barsotti legacy of hard work paid off
For The Madera Tribune Sugar Pine workers await lunch from Barsotti’s hotel. The 32 year-old Italian packed his bags and prepared to...
Bill Coate
Mar 1


Treasurer’s wife fought to the end
For The Madera Tribune County Treasurer Amer and the wife who worked so hard to get him out of prison. It was Saturday night in Madera,...
Bill Coate
Feb 25


Madera firefighters saved lives
For The Madera Tribune Madera even used its old hook and ladder rig to fight the hotel fire. As Maderans neared the end of the 1920s,...
Bill Coate
Feb 22


A danger-filled night for 2 Madera cops
For The Madera Tribune Madera’s police force in 1947. Ernie Fernandez is on the far right. In 1947, Madera was pretty much a peaceful,...
Bill Coate
Feb 19
My first job
The summer after I graduated from high school, and before I began college, I worked in a men's retail clothing store in downtown Atlanta....
Nancy Simpson
Feb 15


He was his brother's keeper
Courtesy of the Coate Family Archives Johnny Coate. One brother was born just before Christmas, and the other was born just after...
Bill Coate
Feb 15


Putney Ranch: The Next Chapter
For The Madera Tribune Charles and Julia Shinn in front of Peace Cabin. Change is coming, again, to one of Madera County’s most historic...
For The Madera Tribune
Feb 12









