The History Corner
by David Mostardi, Club Historian
Once Upon A Hillside: 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago
September 1920
Fireside Meeting: Our speaker will be Professor H. E. Bolton, who spent his vacation searching for the first white man’s trail across the Sierras. He will tell us about it.
At the close of the business meeting Prof. H. E. Bolton of the department of History of the University of California was introduced and gave a talk, illustrated by slides, on his vacation work, in tracing out the authenticating the first trail across the Sierras to be made by white men. Prof. Bolton spoke with so much enthusiasm over the results of his labors in the field of historical research that he carried his audience with him. At the close, all felt not alone entertained and instructed by the facts presented, but a keen interest and satisfaction in the accomplishment of one member which has enabled him to add facts of important to the history of the Pacific Coast.
[Herbert Bolton was chair of the UC Berkeley History Department for twenty-two years (1911-33), and was the founding director of the Bancroft Library. He is widely credited for making the Bancroft the renowned research center it is today.]
September 1945
Improvements to the Club House: The ladies’ dressing room will hardly be recognized as the same place. Its walls and ceiling have been lightened (Messrs. Hamilton and Keyes did the painting). Mrs. Ivie, assisted by Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Underhill, made new draperies for the windows, Mr. and Mrs. Heggie donated a lovely maroon-colored rug, and Mr. and Mrs. Moody a big mirror.
The Club room [i.e. the main hall] now has a Chinese altar table acquired by the Board and toward which our charter member, Mrs. Frank Morton Todd, donated $50, a greatly appreciated gift.
The parchment panels in the four hanging lights in the Club room have been replaced by translucent glass, so now we should be able to recognize each other, to read Extravaganza programs, and to tell whether the cups passed by the refreshment committee contain coffee or chocolate.
Two of our members who preferred to remain anonymous have donated two wooden cabinets to our Directors’ Room [probably the green room]. These were made to order, one for filing sheet music for the chorus and one for storing vases used for flower decorations.
With the Club supplying the paint, Mr. Lindeman, our Custodian, used a part of his vacation in painting the kitchen a light ivory.
September 1970
What We Did On Our Summer Vacation: Please take a look at our fine new stage flooring—no more danger of splinters. Our thanks for this improvement go to several of our members and to Rudy Lindemann [the Club manager] who, in early summer, put in many hours of labor, in ripping up the old flooring and in laying the new floor.
Fireside Meeting: The Photographic Art Section will provide the program at the opening Fireside. The Oatmans will show pictures taken on a “Ship Trip Around the World,” with some emphasis on the South African Republic, Morocco, and Southern Spain.
Civic Affairs Section: The Speaker for the September 28th meeting of the Civic Affairs will be Alameda County Supervisor Joseph P. Bort, who will talk on “Welfare and Other County Problems.” Mr. Bort will welcome questions. [Joseph Bort was the first chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and an advocate for the East Bay getting its share of federal and state transportation funds. He also served on the Berkeley City Council, first elected in 1963. He played a key role in getting BART undergrounded through Berkeley. Bort was also the chief fundraiser for the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club’s “Necklace of Lights” program. He died in 1995 at the age of 80.]
September 1995
The Club’s archive of printed monthly newsletters ended with the May 1994 issue. If you know of a source for any newsletters between 1994 and the Club’s renaissance in the early 2000s, your historian would love to hear about it!