The History Corner
by David Mostardi, Club Historian
Once Upon A Hillside: 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago
April 1921
Garden Fete: The April Social Committee is holding a Garden Fete in the Clubhouse to which are invited members and their guests. It will contribute to the spirit of the occasion if as many as can conveniently, will wear garden clothes, not gardening clothes.
Building Plans: It was moved that it be the sense of this meeting that we improve the [original 1906] Club House by removing as many pillars as possible in the present auditorium and with this addition accept the plans recommended by the Building Committee. This proposal will be one of six to be presented to the members for a vote next month.
April 1946
Fireside Meeting: Mr. William Alexander will present a motion picture, “Hillsiders in Action in the High Sierras.” During this program Mrs. Horace Lansing will favor us with a group of songs.
Spring Extravaganza: The Extravaganza this year will again be a masterpiece. From the start to the finale, our own George Cummings will again mold Hillsiders into fantastic roles and unravel impossible situations. To give you a little idea: Back in the days of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt, there was a king named Amenough, his queen Norfeer, and his daughter the Princess Lotus. Around these very semi-historical personages, the author has woven a tale of love, intrigue, spite and hope, in which the High Priest of Osiris and the Priestess of Hathor fight for the mastery.
The title of the show is “The Third Moon” and in it will be found many old favorites and some of the newer members as principals; with a large chorus of soldiers, courtiers and ladies of the Court. Specially designed costumes, scenery and properties, with novel lighting effects, will be used, and the entire production will be worth of the former extravaganzas.
There will be two performances, one of Sunday evening given for the friends and families of all those engaged in the show; while that on Monday will be for members of the Club and their friends. So put down Monday, April 15th, as a date that should be a must with all club members.
April 1971
Student Exchange Program: Fern and Jack Harger will present a slide-sound show of the sightseeing and community activities of the 1970 visit of 16 students from our sister city, Sakai, Japan. This was a part of the Sakai-Berkeley Exchange Program which was formed in 1967. Each year a group of students from Sakai and from Berkeley alternate visiting their sister cities. In 1970 Fern and Jack were in charge of housing the visitors. In 1971 they will travel with a group of 17 Berkeleyans to visit Sakai. [Sakai is a port city just south of Osaka, Japan. It was the first of Berkeley’s sister cities, which now number seventeen. “The City of Berkeley has established relationships with Sister Cities which benefit the human rights, health, safety, culture and education of the residents of Berkeley, and provide for new opportunities for exchange programs and cultural enrichment for Berkeley students.”]
Garden Festival: Garden treasures of Australia, Mexico, and the Orient will be used to decorate the Clubhouse for our Garden Festival. Mr. Walter G. Vodden, Jr. of the UC College of Environmental Design, Department of Landscape Architecture, will speak and show slides of the Blake Garden, which is a real garden of treasures. [Walter Vodden was hired to manage the Blake Garden in 1957, following the Blake family’s decision to designate the property to the University of California.]
April 1996
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!
Comments