While these offerings are only published every two weeks, I constantly think about the old days in Napa. Like many seniors, my memory of yesterday is fuzzy while my memory of six or seven decades ago is clear, so I never seem to run out of subjects.

Here are some things that I remember from Napa in the 1940s that no longer exist. Let’s see if you remember them, too.

Do you remember an airport in what is now Bel Aire? It opened right after World War II and was across the highway from the old Napanee bar and Napa Valley Inn.

The entrance was about where Lucky supermarket sits today. There was one north-south dirt runway, a small hangar and a few small airplanes used for flying lessons. One of the principals involved in the operation was Buzz Remington, a Napan who learned to fly in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Not many people know that during World War II there was a prisoner of war camp on Silverado Trail east of Yountville. German and Italian prisoners of war were interned at the camp. As a youth, I remember seeing military trucks traveling on county roads with POWs in the back. The facility did not get a lot of publicity so most citizens of Napa County were not aware of its existence.

If you were around during WW II, you might remember the gray unmarked buses that traveled up and down the valley several times a day. They hauled hundreds of Napa County workers from as far north as Calistoga each day to and from Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo.

Here’s a toughie. Do you remember a chicken ranch on West Salvador Avenue (now called Wine Country Road)? The approximate site is the one now occupied by the Chateau Hotel. The ranch was named Jonafred Farm after its owners John Marx and Fred Rosenthal. It had several long chicken coops that housed thousands of fryer chickens. My grandfather worked there for a period of time during WW II.

Remember the Greyhound Bus Depot? Back in the 1940s, it was one of the busier places in town. Buses came from north, east, south and west to drop off and pick up passengers and cargo. On any given weekday, it was not unusual to see three or four buses at a time parked in the two-lane driveway. In those days many people traveled across country by bus. You could get on a bus in Napa and travel on the highways throughout the whole country. The depot was between Third and Fourth streets, with entry on Brown and exit on Main. That site is now the county “superblock” with the jail, criminal courthouse and administration offices.

Remember a restaurant called Vance’s Inn? I have to admit that I was never inside the establishment but I remember that white, cottage-style building, with a prominent sign, that was north of the city limits of the time. I remember it having a reputation for good food. It was on the north side of Jefferson Street near Pueblo Avenue and surrounded on three sides by orchard.

In a recent discussion about old Napa with a fellow old Napan, my friend mentioned Buehler’s Tire Shop and asked if I remembered it. I certainly do. It was owned by Hank Buehler and was on the south side of Third Street between Coombs and Randolph. It was directly across the street from what was then Gasser Motors (now Billco’s Billiard Parlor). The Buehler building disappeared with street re-alignment some time in the past.

Remember when many homes had ice boxes? Remember the ice trucks that delivered ice for the ice boxes? In Napa, they were blue and belonged to Union Ice Company. During the summer, when a driver stopped, kids would come running from everywhere to get a chip of ice to suck on. The Union Ice plant was on Fifth Street, beside the river on the east side. It disappeared with the current flood control project.

I still have lots of memories of people, places and things in and about my hometown that I would like to share with you. So, see you next time.

Napa As It Was appears every other Monday, alternating with Betty Rhodes’ Senior Corner.