One hundred years ago today, local folks learned that passenger fares for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad would soon be lowered.

The April 10, 1925 Humboldt Standard reported that, “Freight and passenger reductions aggregating an annual saving of more than $100,000 to people of Humboldt County will be put into effect over the railroad as soon as tariffs can be made out by the company … and the necessary 30-day publication required by the railroad commission (is) given to the public.

“The reduction comes as the result of a meeting of the transportation committee of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce at the Eureka Inn yesterday afternoon,” the newpaper noted. “The reduced rate marks the completion of one of the major planks in the chamber of commerce program.”

Passenger rates were slated to drop from $14.40 to $12 between Eureka and San Francisco once the new tariffs went into effect, the Humboldt Standard said.

On April 11, 1925, the newspaper said that “talented musical comedy star from Broadway” Genevieve Davis, aka “The Little Prima Donna,” would perform on that day and the next day at the State Theatre in Eureka.

Davis — who appeared in “such famous musical comedies” as “Jimmie” and “Wol Madame” — had spent the last year performing on the West Coast at venues like Californian Theatre in San Francisco, Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre in Los Angeles and the Imperial Theatre in Mexico, and was making her first trip to Eureka for these latest performances.

The newspaper said, “Miss Davis has one of the finest voices ever heard … and at every performance, her songs ‘go over big.’”

The April 13, 1925 Humboldt Standard reported the death of Humboldt County pioneer Thomas B. Riley at his home in Eureka.

The newspaper said, “California lost another of the pioneers that blazed the trails westward across the plains (to) the Pacific Coast.”

Riley “crossed the plains with an ox train in 1853 as a boy of 11,” the Humboldt Standard said. He lived for a time in Placerville before moving to Humboldt County in 1874, where he resided first in Trinidad, then in Orick, Carlotta and Eureka.On April 14, 1925, the Humboldt Standard reported that M. R. Schmeder’s warehouse at the foot of E Street in Eureka would be used as “a place for the storage of eggs by the recently formed Poultry Producers Association of Northern California.”

The newspaper added, “Eggs will be received at the warehouse, graded and packed for the market. It is planned to bring the eggs by motor trucks from outlying centering points in each district to the warehouse in Eureka.”

On April 15, 1925, the Humboldt Standard let everyone know that the improvement to, and extension of, Harrison Avenue from Russ Street to Harris Street is “being pushed rapidly toward completion.”

The paper said, “All interfering stumps have been blasted away preparatory to grading, which is expected to be started within a few days. … Half of the funds to make the improvement have been furnished by the county, the city by private subscription doing the remainder of the work.”

Once completed, Harrison Avenue would connect with Harris Street “and thence give easy access over the county road to the top of Ryan Slough Hill,” the newspaper said.

The week wrapped up with the April 16, 1925 Humboldt Standard running an article about a new exhibit of blankets and sheets in one of the Hinks store windows in Eureka.

“The display, which is attracting more than ordinary attention, consists of lovely foot blankets, wool blankets and sheets, corner embroidered in script with the words ‘Eureka Inn,” … providing tangible evidence as to the nearing completion of the Eureka Inn’s new annex,” the newspaper said.

The Humboldt Standard wrapped up by saying, “The bedding order, which alone amounts to several thousand dollars, was received by Hinks in competition with a number of San Francisco stores and hotel supply houses and is a striking indication of the progressiveness and buying facilities of local stores.”

Heather Shelton can be reached at hshelton@times-standard.com.