Sunday Gazette: September 20, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! This week's riddle starts with a friendship, and ends with a package that changed our whole valley.
Long before she ever set foot in Riverside, our mystery woman made a powerful friend back in Washington, D.C. — a man who spent his days tending greenhouses for the federal government. When she and her husband headed west to try their luck in a brand-new colony town, she didn't forget him. She wrote asking if he knew of anything promising that might take root in our sun-baked soil.
As it turned out, he did. A small, unassuming parcel began a journey of thousands of miles — by ship, by rail, and finally by stagecoach — before it ever reached her Riverside doorstep. What was inside would go on to build an entire industry, and put our city on the map.
Who was the woman waiting for that package, and what arrived inside it?
Send us your guesses — we'll share the answer tomorrow morning.
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HISTORY
Camping With Hoover: A Riverside Family's 1928 Summer
Ninety-eight years ago, E. N. Fairchild's family vacation to the Redwoods turned into a front-row seat to history.
This coming Tuesday marks the official start of fall and, therefore, the end of summer. For many, summer ended with Labor Day weekend or the time when the kids returned to school. This is also a time when many look back, reflect on their summer vacations, and recount the highlights.
Ninety-eight years ago, a Riverside resident and his family returned to Riverside after a three-month vacation with exciting news to share. Edward Noble Fairchild, his wife Emma and their two-year-old son Jim departed from Riverside on Tuesday, June 12, 1928, for an automobile trip to camp for the summer at Richardson Grove in the Redwoods of Humboldt County.
E. N. Fairchild was a prominent Riverside photographer. He was born on May 1, 1877, in Greeley, Colorado. In his early years, he moved around and never settled in one place for long. By 1910, he was living in Riverside with his mother on Chestnut Street. In 1915, he was in San Francisco as an official photographer at the Panama-American Exposition. He returned to Riverside briefly in 1916 and worked with Fred W. Twogood. By 1918, Fairchild was in Santa Barbara, working as a motion picture operator at the Mission Theater. He also lived in Portland, Oregon, and Chico, California, during his wandering years.
Fairchild returned to Riverside in 1921 and again lived with his mother until 1923, when he married Emma Buckley, a teacher at Lowell School in Riverside. Emma also came from Greeley, Colorado. The couple lived at 960 11th Street (between Almond and Chestnut). Their son, James, was born on July 27, 1926.
Leaving their home on 11th Street, the family traveled by car, most likely following Highway 101 for much of the journey.
Read and share the complete story...
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
Open for Interpretation
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
Back-to-school preparations continue at my house, and new shoes are not just a fashion statement for my family unit. We walk a mile to school, and the same distance back again. Elementary school includes plenty of physical education between those trips. Finding shoes that fit these needs is solved by Amazon. Finding something interesting to do with their box is where I come in.
The lid gives us a small, satisfying interval between expecting and knowing. We could use that interval creatively. How much excitement can we generate over something we already own, simply by putting it away and taking it out again?
When I was a kid, my friends and I played “What’s in the Box?” We’d put objects inside a box, once even my best friend’s kid brother, and leave it in the road to see what happened. Mostly, we got yelled at by an adult who had to stop and move the box or drive around it. That’s the kind of creativity that comes to children on long summer days without the distractions of screens or adult supervision. Consider this a childhood confession, not one of this week’s suggested activities.
Read and share the complete prompt...
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, September 20
- Gardening for Butterflies at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Dancing for Fun at Janet Goeske Center
- Vision Beyond Sight: Tech and Accessibility in Action Panel Discussion at Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California
- Juicy Talk Citrus From Ancient Times to California's Second Great Gold Rush at California Citrus State Historic Park
- Sevendust & Theory of a Deadman: The Dead / Seven Tour at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- The Sixties Show at Fox Performing Arts Center
Monday, September 21
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
Tuesday, September 22
- MSRPAC's Monthly Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($45)
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
- County Board of Supervisors Meeting at 4080 Lemon Street, 1st Floor
- FREE YOGA - Mandala Yoga with Alejandro at Community Yoga Center
- Inland Empire Latino Economic & Policy Summit at Riverside Art Museum
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Course at Riverside City EOC
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
Wednesday, September 23
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church ($25)
- FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- History on the Rocks - Round Two! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- Rayland Baxter :: Farm House Collective at Farm House Collective
- FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Riverside Jams at Carbon Nation Brewery
- Riverside City Council Candidate Forum: Values and Vision for tour Future at Temple Beth El
Thursday, September 24
- Where are Riverside County's Ballots and How Secure Are Its Elections? at The Cheech Marin Center
- Bluey's Big Play at Fox Performing Arts Center
- DIY Bird Seed Feeders at Marcy Library
- Financial Aid Fall Refunds Disbursed at University of California, Riverside
- The Front Bottoms - 11 Years of Back On Top at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- Remnants of a Century-Old Japantown: Historic Wintersburg, Huntington Beach at Riverside Main Library
Friday, September 25
- Moon Festival at Heritage House
- National Comic Book Day | DIY Comic Book at Marcy Library
- My Hero Academia in Concert at Fox Performing Arts Center
- Red NOT Chili Peppers at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Saturday, September 26
- Little LandUse Learners Spring/Summer Programming at LandUse Learning Center
- Highgrove & University City Cleanup at Sycamore Highlands Park
- International Coffee Day at Marcy Library
- Joel Mejia Smith: It's been a while… at Culver Center of the Arts
- Women's Soccer vs. California Baptist at UCR Soccer Stadium
- Punchis! Punchis! Banda Rave Experience(18+) at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- Walk and Write with Inlandia at California Citrus State Historic Park at California Citrus State Historic Pakr ($50- $65)
- Golden Moments of Care Fundraising Gala at Canyon Crest Country Club ($135)
- Riverside Oktoberfest 2026 at Palenque kitchen by Mezcal
- Sip'n Sing Karaoke Paint party at Passion Net Studios ($35)
- Sonic the Hedgehog Pinball Launch Party at Riverside Game Lab
- BrincosDieras - El Desmadre Continua Tour(18+) at Fox Performing Arts Center
Save the Date
- Sep 27: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 28: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 30: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Oct 2: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 3: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 3: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 4: Riverside Historical Society Local History Book Fair at Villegas Community Center
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Oct 17: Spooky Music Organ Concert at First Congregational Church of Riverside ($30.00)
- Oct 22: Experience RUSD, Riverside Unified State of the District at Riverside Municipal Airport
- Oct 24: Vintage Car and Warbird Show at Riverside Airport - Commemorative Air Force Hanger and Museum
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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