My West Sacramento Photo of the Day: January 2011

Sam Combs Park on Stone Boulevard in West Sacramento.
Sumner W. "Sam" Combs was born in Hastings, Nebraska in 1895 and was one of seven children, 3 sons and 4 daughters. Sam worked on the family farm in Butler County and graduated from Ulysses High School in Ulysses, Nebraska, then was drafted into the army during WW1.

Sam attended business school in Omaha and married his high school sweetheart Valdeva Maria Hastings, one of the first females to graduate from University of Nebraska. Valdeva's father was State Senator Lovell Sheldon Hastings. After the depression hit, the family lost their farm and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 1936, Sam moved his wife and 3 children to San Francisco then came to West Sacramento where Sam got a job with the Hotel Senator Garage. After a stint working for the Hull Hotel Company in Fresno, Sam moved his family back to West Sacramento and ran a service station on the old El Rancho Hotel property until the property was sold and he retired.

Sam was a charter member of the Port District Kiwanis and was friends with William G. Stone, also known as the "Father of the Port, who encouraged him to run for Yolo County Supervisor. Sam went door to door meeting folks in the three communities of West Sacramento, Broderick and Bryte and was elected in 1960.

John Combs wrote about his father and the contributions he made to our community:

SUMNER WILLIAM COMBS, SR., KNOWN TO EVERYONE AS `SAM', MOVED TO WEST SACRAMENTO FROM HOLLYWOOD IN 1946. HE WAS OWNER OF THE EL RANCHO SHELL SERVICE STATION UNTIL HE RETIRED IN 1960. HE JOINED THE WEST SACRAMENTO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND WAS APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE CHAMBER'S FIRST COMMITTEE FOR CITY INCORPORATION. IN THIS CAPACITY HE BECAME CONVINCED THAT CITY GOVERNMENT WAS FAR MORE PREFERABLE THAN THE COUNTY SYSTEM IN PLACE THEN. CITY GOVERNMENT FOR WEST SACRAMENTO BECAME HIS PASSION AND VISION. VOTERS REJECTED THE INCORPORATION ISSUE BUT `SAM' SAW OTHER WAYS OF BETTERING HIS COMMUNITY, SO HE RAN FOR SUPERVISOR AND WAS ELECTED TO REPLACE LAWRENCE DREW. HE WAS RE—ELECTED IN 1964. DURING HIS YEARS AS SUPERVISOR, WEST SACRAMENTO BEGAN RECEIVING ITS FAIR SHARE OF MUCH NEEDED COUNTY FUNDS FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE. BY 1966 OVER 100 MILES OF ROADS AND STREETS IN THE FIRST DISTRICT WERE BUILT AND REPAIRED. THE 5th STREET UNDERPASS WAS BUILT, BRIDGING THE GAP EXISTING BETWEEN BRODERICK, BRYTE AND WEST SACRAMENTO. STREET SIGNS WERE ERECTED, THE FIRST STREET SWEEPER SERVICE WAS BEGUN, A NEW LIBRARY BRANCH WAS LOCATED IN WEST SACRAMENTO, MAJOR ROAD DEVELOPMENT WAS LAID OUT FOR HARBOR AND INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARDS, THE YOLO COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION WAS EXPANDED TO GIVE EAST YOLO TWO MEMBERS INSTEAD OF ONE. HE SECURED INCREASES IN SERVICES RENDERED BY YOLO COUNTY OFFICES, NAMELY, PROBATION, SHERIFF, AND DISTRICT ATTORNEY. A CORPORATION YARD WAS CONSTRUCTED. HE COOPERATED WITH LOCAL GROUPS TO CONSTRUCT THE BUILDING THEN KNOWN AS `THE GIRLS ACTIVITY CENTER' LOCATED IN THIS PARK HIS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND OTHER AGENCIES HELPED PRODUCE THE AGREEMENT THAT DEEDED THE PARK'S LAND TO WEST SACRAMENTO. `SAM' DIED THE DAY AFTER HIS 71st BIRTHDAY IN JANUARY, 1966. HIS FATAL HEART ATTACK CAME IN THE WOODLAND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAMBERS JUST AFTER HE PRESIDED OVER THE LOCAL COUNTY AGENCY FORMATION (LAFCO) COMMITTEE. SOON AFTER HIS BURIAL IN WOODLAND CEMETERY, THE YOLO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS VOTED TO NAME THIS PARK IN HIS MEMORY. HE PARTICIPATED IN MANY ORGANIZATIONS AS DISPLAYED ON THE BRONZE PLAQUE DEDICATED IN HIS HONOR TODAY, MAY 23, 2002. THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE TILE ON THE WALL ARE MOST APPROPRIATE SINCE HE FOUGHT IN EVERY MAJOR BATTLE IN WORLD WAR I. `SAW' WAS A TRUE PATRIOT. ~John Combs, March 2008.