952 results found. Records searched: 952

1. Oral History of Jean Coleman - Oral History

   Jean Coleman, born Jean Spangler, was born in Fremont, Nebraska, and moved as a young girl with her family to Mill Valley in 1937. In her oral history, Jean remembers her childhood with friends, attending schools and church, and belonging to the Campfire Girls. Amidst the backdrop of World War II, Jean's mother died and her father moved away, leaving her with a relative and friends. After graduation from Tamalpais High School, she attended Coll...

   Record Type: Archive

   
2. Oral History of Jeanne Brindley - Oral History

   Jeanne Brindley spent most of her childhood living in Mill Valley, where she attended Old Mill School and Tamalpais High School. While attending Tam, Jeanne met Peter Brindley and they began dating. After graduating from high school, she and Peter married and Jeanne took up work as a file clerk in San Francisco. A few years later, Jeanne took a job as a loan clerk at the Bank of America in Sausalito. She would go on to serve as a middle school a...

   Record Type: Archive

   
3. Oral History of Jenny Fulle - Oral History

   In this oral history, Jenny Fulle recounts the remarkable story of how she opened the way for girls to play Little League baseball throughout the nation. Born in San Francisco in 1962, Jenny moved over to Mill Valley with her mother in 1971. Jenny recalls playing pick-up baseball games with the boys at Boyle Park as a child. In 1974, she tried to sign up for Little League but was turned away on account of her gender. Jenny recounts how she then w...

   Record Type: Archive

   
4. Oral History of Jesse Barish - Oral History

   In this oral history, musician and songwriter Jesse Barish recounts his life in music and describes Mill Valley during the 1970s. Born in 1945, Jesse grew up in Brooklyn, the Catskill Mountains, and Miami. After graduating from high school in 1963, Jesse moved out to California, originally touching down in Los Angeles before moving up to San Francisco and settling in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Jesse moved over to Marin in the 1970s, and he ...

   Record Type: Archive

   
5. Oral History of Jill Young - Oral History

   In this oral history, Jill Young describes the emergence of a soccer culture in Mill Valley that was importantly shaped by Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments federal law, which opened the doors for women to participate in sports. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada in 1941, Jill moved down to the Bay Area with her husband in 1968, initially living on a houseboat in Sausalito before moving to Mill Valley, which she has called home eve...

   Record Type: Archive

   
6. Oral History of Jim Derich - Oral History

   In this oral history, retired teacher and principal Jim Derich recounts his 34-year tenure working in Mill Valley's public schools. Born in Sacramento in 1944, Jim describes growing up in a large extended family and spending summers working at a family-owned resort in the Sierras. After high school, where he met his future wife, Barbara, Jim went first to Cal Poly where he studied electrical engineering. Jim then transferred to San Francisco Stat...

   Record Type: Archive

   
7. Oral History of Jimmy Dillon - Oral History

   In this musically infused and engagingly narrated oral history, guitarist, songwriter, and musical educator Jimmy Dillon recounts his devotion to music since the age of 12 when he decided he wanted to be a guitarist. Born in 1951 in Los Angeles, "in the golden age of rock 'n' roll," Jimmy moved to Michigan with his family as a teenager, where he started gigging with his first band, The Fugitives. In 1969, after finishing high school, he moved bac...

   Record Type: Archive

   
8. Oral History of Joan Glassheim - Oral History

   Ombudsman for Marin County over the last two decades, Joan Glassheim shares her experiences in the communities of Marin. Joan left the East Coast for the West to further her career in the federal government’s public housing department, as well as perhaps a fresh start in San Francisco’s Castro District. Quickly, Joan felt drawn to Mill Valley, and greatly appreciated the dog-friendliness of nearby beaches and trails. Joan’s recollection of the vi...

   Record Type: Archive

   
9. Oral History of Joan Murray - Oral History

   Joan Murray was born on October 1st, 1946. She and her mother moved from San Francisco to Mill Valley in October 1956. Joan attended Old Mill School, Edna Maguire School, and Tamalpais High School. She took courses at College of Marin and graduated from the University of San Francisco. Joan worked in banking and insurance until she retired in 2012, at which point she became incredibly active in volunteering with the community she so greatly loves...

   Record Type: Archive

   
10. Oral History of Joe Angiulo - Oral History

    In this oral history, Mill Valley music man Joe Angiulo discusses his nearly four decade-long career as a music teacher in Mill Valley’s public schools, his family life, his community involvement, and his abiding love of music. Born in Ohio in 1941 to Italian immigrant parents, Joe recounts moving to California after graduating from high school, originally touching down in Sacramento where an elder brother of his was living. A trumpeter since the...

    Record Type: Archive

    
11. Oral History of Joe Breeze - Oral History

    In this oral history, bicycling legend Joe Breeze recounts a life devoted to riding, racing, designing, and building bicycles, as well as to fostering and promoting bicycle culture more generally. Born in San Francisco in 1953, Joe grew up in Mill Valley and, at the time of this oral history, had lived in Marin County his whole life. Joe recalls how his father introduced him to bicycling at a time in American history when it was a culturally marg...

    Record Type: Archive

    
12. Oral History of John Garber - Oral History

    In this oral history, John Garber recounts a life oscillating back and forth between sports and acting. Born in 1941 in Fresno, California to Armenian-American parents, John moved with his family to San Francisco at the age of 6. John describes the development of his passion for sports on the playgrounds of the schools he attended in San Francisco and later Los Angeles. John recalls going to Idaho State University to play sports, but then discove...

    Record Type: Archive

    
13. Oral History of John Goddard - Oral History

    Born and raised in Marin, John Goddard had an active Mill Valley childhood, participating in numerous clubs and sports. His love for music also blossomed at this time. He began working at the local music store, Village Music, as a teenager. At the age of 24, John took over the store. Under his ownership, Village Music transformed into a hotspot for local and international celebrities, such as Grateful Dead band members and George Lucas, as well a...

    Record Type: Archive

    
14. Oral History of John R. Boettiger - Oral History

    In this oral history, retired academic, writer, Redwoods resident, and member of the Roosevelt family John Boettiger discusses his life, lineage, and love of community. Born in 1939, John lived in the White House of his grandparents Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt from the age of three to six. John subsequently grew up on Mercer Island, outside of Seattle. He attended both Amherst and Columbia University, and went on to become a professor of psych...

    Record Type: Archive

    
15. Oral History of John and Virginia George - Oral History

    John George, born in August 1905 in Lake City, Colorado, was a resident of Mill Valley since 1930. Virginia Glahn Cameron George, born in May 1913 in Petaluma, California, was a resident of Mill Valley since 1913. After moving west from Colorado and finishing college, John became the principal of high school with 14 students in Astoria, Oregon. He moved to California in 1929 and pursued graduate work at Stanford University. John eventually took a...

    Record Type: Archive

    
16. Oral History of Katherine Kirkland - Oral History

    In this oral history interview, longtime Tennessee Valley resident Katherine Kirkland recounts tales an active life as part of a close-knit community. Kathy spent her childhood on her grandfather's dairy farm in Tennessee Valley, part of the community of Portuguese families that worked the land both in the valley and beyond. With a practical mindset, she relays some of the challenges of farming, from the rationing days of World War II to the high...

    Record Type: Archive

    
17. Oral History of Ken Bovero - Oral History

    In this oral history, arborist and entrepreneur Ken Bovero recounts his life, work, and love of trees. Born in San Francisco in 1961, Ken moved to Mill Valley with his family when he was three years old. Ken recollects his wild teenage years and then describes the about-face he made at the age of 17, when he started his tree business. Ken shares his first encounter with Sudden Oak Death, a tree illness that he was the first to identify, and discu...

    Record Type: Archive

    
18. Oral History of Larry "the Hat" Lautzker - Oral History

    In this oral history, Mill Valley merchant and community events organizer Larry "the Hat" Lautzker recounts the story of his life and how he came to find his home in Mill Valley. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Larry came out to California on a LSD-fueled bus trip in 1970, and moved into the Good Earth Commune in the Haight-Ashbury district. Larry shares wild stories from this period, giving a detailed description of the Commune's resistance to the "...

    Record Type: Archive

    
19. Oral History of Larry Cragg - Oral History

    In this oral history, guitar repairman and multi-instrumentalist Larry Cragg recounts a life engaged in two of the most important cultural scenes that took shape in Mill Valley during the 1970s: music and mountain biking. Born in Chicago in 1948, Larry first came out to California in 1967 for the Monterey Pop Festival. He recalls experiencing a powerful sense of belonging on that visit, prompting him to make the permanent move west later that sam...

    Record Type: Archive

    
20. Oral History of Laurie Cohen - Oral History

    In this oral history, Laurie Cohen, musician and founding director of the Mill Valley Philharmonic, recounts a life full of personal accomplishments and contributions to the community. Born in San Francisco in 1947, Laurie grew up with six siblings in a progressive household that was always full of artists and social activists. Laurie attended private schools in San Francisco before going to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. In college she beca...

    Record Type: Archive

    
21. Oral History of Leonard Asiano - Oral History

    In this oral history, Leonard Asiano recalls Homestead Grocery in the 1950s, one of the last neighborhood grocery stores in Mill Valley. Born in 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, Leonard's family moved out to Mill Valley in 1949, and his father, Joseph Asiano, immediately purchased Homestead Grocery at 15 Linden Lane, which provided living quarters and rental income for the family in addition to retail income from the store. Leonard worked at the store wh...

    Record Type: Archive

    
22. Oral History of Locke McCorkle - Oral History

    In this rollicking oral history, Locke McCorkle recounts a colorful life full of passion, humor, and adventure. Born in San Jose in 1930 — and at the time of this interview proudly "as old as God and as young as spring"— Locke grew up in Eureka, California. After studying English and French at Humboldt State University, he moved down to the Bay Area to attend graduate school at Berkeley, but changed his course when he heard Alan Watts’ lectures o...

    Record Type: Archive

    
23. Oral History of Lorin Rowan - Oral History

    In this oral history, musician and songwriter Lorin Rowan recounts the unfolding of his musical life and the role Mill Valley and its environs has played in it. Born in Massachusetts in 1952, Lorin grew up in a suburb of Boston with two older brothers, Peter and Chris, who turned him on to playing music at the age of eight. The three brothers formed a bluegrass band together and moved out to California in 1969, pursuing fame and fortune in the mu...

    Record Type: Archive

    
24. Oral History of Lorraine Goddard - Oral History

    Lorraine Goddard was born Lorraine Roux at her family home at 35 Sycamore Avenue in 1914. Her parents George Francois Roux and Mary Agnes Johnson, immigrants from France and Ireland, respectively, met in San Francisco. Lorraine attended Park School, Summit School, and Old Mill School. She graduated from Tamalpais High School and majored in French and History at Dominican College. She later received her teaching credential from the University of C...

    Record Type: Archive

    
25. Oral History of Louis Ferrario - Oral History

    In this oral history, artist Louis Ferrario reminisces about his long life lived in Mill Valley. Born in Point Richmond in 1925 to Italian immigrant parents, Louis’s family soon moved over to Mill Valley, where his father had worked on building the railway and the Mt. Tamalpais gravity cars before going on to work for the city’s maintenance department. Louis recalls the untimely deaths of his mother and sisters, and poignantly describes the speci...

    Record Type: Archive

    
26. Oral History of Lucy Mercer - Oral History

    In this oral history, founder of the Throckmorton Theatre Lucy Mercer recounts her life and the story of the Mill Valley cultural institution she created. Born in Santa Rosa, Lucy grew up in various towns and cities throughout the Bay Area. After graduating from high school, Lucy moved to Sausalito; and then in the early 1980s, with a family of her own, she moved over to Mill Valley. Lucy recounts how she was initially drawn to the site at 142 Th...

    Record Type: Archive

    
27. Oral History of Lynda Chittenden - Oral History

    In this oral history, beloved school teacher Lynda Chittenden recounts her 30-year teaching career in the Mill Valley School District. Lynda was originally hired by superintendent Jim Collins to teach at Old Mill School in 1967, a time, she recalls, when public education in Mill Valley was in the process of radical transformation. Lynda describes various pedagogical initiatives in which she was involved over the years as well as the ways in which...

    Record Type: Archive

    
28. Oral History of Lynda Crain - Oral History

    In this oral history, third-generation Mill Valley resident Lynda Crain recounts her family history in Mill Valley and describes her own experiences growing up in the town. Lynda relates several stories passed down to her by her mother Helen Benson, such as a local outbreak of smallpox that occurred in the 1920s and the Great Fire of 1929. She recalls the various historic homes that her parents and grandparents lived in over the course of many de...

    Record Type: Archive

    
29. Oral History of Margaret "Kett" Zegart - Oral History

    In this oral history, longtime Mill Valley resident, artist, and retired teacher Margaret "Kett" Zegart recounts the story of her life. Born in Michigan, Margaret grew up in East Lansing in a family with Scandinavian roots. She attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and Michigan State University. After college, she moved to New York City, where she worked for magazines and made art. Margaret recounts living as a young artist in New York City and the p...

    Record Type: Archive

    
30. Oral History of Margaret Dowd - Oral History

    Margaret Dowd was born Margaret Lee Wosser on January 10, 1906 at Duncan's Mills in Sonoma County, California. A third-generation Californian, Margaret came to Mill Valley at the age of three, when her mother purchased a home in Blithedale Canyon. Margaret married Jack McGinnis, with whom she had two daughters. Margaret and Jack divorced after six years, and Margaret married Charles Irvine "Irv" Dowd in 1948. Margaret eventually moved to the Redw...

    Record Type: Archive

    
31. Oral History of Marie Moraes Filippi - Oral History

    Marie Filippi is the daughter of Roque Moraes, one of the original Portuguese dairy farmers from the Azores who started and ran the numerous dairies in and around Mill Valley. The Moraes dairy farm was on the area now known as Enchanted Knolls. In this oral history, Marie recounts the development of the dairies in southern Marin and her father's involvement. Marie also provides insight into the Portuguese community culture in Southern Marin and h...

    Record Type: Archive

    
32. Oral History of Marilyn Bagshaw and Patty Bagshaw Simmons - Oral History

    Sisters Marilyn Bagshaw and Patty Bagshaw Simmons were born at Ross Hospital in Kentfield in 1940 and 1942, respectively. The Bagshaws were raised in Mill Valley and attended Old Mill School, Tamalpais High, and College of Marin. Over the years, Marilyn worked for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph, the human resources department of Blue Shield of California, and was a school secretary. At the time her oral history was recorded, Patty had worked for...

    Record Type: Archive

    
33. Oral History of Marilyn Price - Oral History

    In this oral history, bicycling enthusiast and social entrepreneur Marilyn Price recounts the path that led to her life’s work as founder of the nonprofit Trips for Kids. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1940, Marilyn moved to California in 1966 after completing a degree in sociology at the University of Michigan. In the early 1980s, Marilyn set down roots in downtown Mill Valley. Marilyn describes her decades-long work in progressive nonprofits, ...

    Record Type: Archive

    
34. Oral History of Marilyn and Kimberly Jessup - Oral History

    In this oral history, Marilyn Jessup and her daughter Kimberly recount their lives and community involvement in Mill Valley over the years. Born in 1928 in Phoenix, Arizona, Marilyn moved to Mill Valley with her husband Richard Jessup in 1956. Marilyn and Richard went on to have five daughters together, Kimberly being the youngest. Marilyn and Kimberly - the latter of whom followed in her father's footsteps in becoming an architect - describe Ric...

    Record Type: Archive

    
35. Oral History of Mark Watts - Oral History

    In this oral history, field recording specialist, archivist and epigrapher Mark Watts recounts his life and narrates the life story of his father Alan, famous spiritual teacher and former Druid Heights denizen. Born in 1953, Mark grew up in Mill Valley; El Cerrito; and Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. After high school, he attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where he studied psychology. Mark recounts how he moved back to California in the early ...

    Record Type: Archive

    
36. Oral History of Martin Griffin - Oral History

    In this oral history, physician, naturalist, champion of open spaces and bane of developers Martin Griffin recounts with warmth and humor his long and extraordinarily active life. Born in Ogden, Utah, in 1920 to nature-loving parents, Martin moved with his family to Portland, Oregon, when the Great Depression hit, and then down to Los Angeles and finally up to Oakland, where he attended elementary school through high school. Martin recalls some e...

    Record Type: Archive

    
37. Oral History of Martin Rosen - Oral History

    In this oral history, lawyer and conservationist Martin Rosen recounts his life and his work in conservation. Of Eastern European Jewish heritage, Martin was born in Los Angeles in 1931. He attended UCLA and then moved up to the Bay Area to go to law school at UC Berkeley. After a stint in the Air Force, Martin moved to Mill Valley in 1963 with his wife Joan and their two young children, Dirk and Marika. Martin gives a detailed account of the Mar...

    Record Type: Archive

    
38. Oral History of Marty Balin - Oral History

    In this oral history, musician and songwriter Marty Balin shares stories from his life at the center of the rock music scene and hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in 1942, Marty grew up in both San Francisco and Richmond. He describes himself as having been a very musical child, born with "a song in [his] heart." Marty began his musical career in the San Francisco folk scene. When the clubs he was playing at in the early 1960s did not s...

    Record Type: Archive

    
39. Oral History of Mary and Tony Brabo - Oral History

    Tony and Mary Brabo were married for 82 years, reportedly the longest marriage in Marin County history. They died in 2011, at ages 99 and 100, respectively. Tony was born February 14, 1912 and Mary November 15, 1911, both in the Homestead Valley neighborhood of Mill Valley. Mary was the daughter of Manuel and Marie Brazil Bettencourt. Both families came from the Azores region of Portugal; Mary recalls speaking only Portuguese as a child. Tony and...

    Record Type: Archive

    
40. Oral History of Matt Cerkel - Oral History

    In this oral history, Marin Municipal Water District park ranger Matt Cerkel shares his passion for Mt. Tam as well as some of the extensive historical, geographical, and environmental knowledge he acquired in his 22 years working on the mountain. Born in San Francisco, Matt grew up in Kentfield and Greenbrae. Matt relates how his father's side of the family came to San Francisco in the 1850s, and how his grandfather told him stories about taking...

    Record Type: Archive

    
41. Oral History of Matthew Davis - Oral History

    Matthew Davis was born in Nebraska, grew up in Oregon, and finally settled in the Bay Area, California in the late 1950s. After studying at the University of Oregon, Davis travelled to Japan while in the Navy, where he was intrigued by the country’s culture and landscape. Davis then moved to Point Richmond, and later to Mill Valley, where he started a family. It was in Mill Valley that he was inspired by Mount Tamalpais and met other like-minded...

    Record Type: Archive

    
42. Oral History of Michael St. John and Jeff Davidson - Oral History

    In this oral history, retired Mill Valley firefighters Jeff Davidson and Mike St. John discuss their careers in the fire service. A fifth-generation Mill Valley resident, John joined the Mill Valley Fire Department in 1979 and became fire chief in 2011 three years before his retirement in 2014. Mike started his career in 1985 with the Marin County Fire Department. He went on to join the Mill Valley Fire Department in 1987, becoming captain in 199...

    Record Type: Archive

    
43. Oral History of Mort Sahl - Oral History

    In this oral history, stand-up comedy pioneer Mort Sahl recounts his life, career, passions, and disappointments. Born in Montreal in 1927, Mort grew up primarily in Los Angeles. After graduating from USC, Mort moved up to the Bay Area and soon after started his career in stand-up comedy at the legendary hungry i nightclub in San Francisco. Mort discusses his rise to national fame in the entertainment business, which led him to meet many notable ...

    Record Type: Archive

    
44. Oral History of Norman Ortman - Oral History

    Longtime Mill Valley resident Norman "Bud" Ortman recounts how his family first came to Mill Valley after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. When a fire destroyed the family wood and steel business, Bud's grandfather moved his family to Mill Valley and built the house in which Bud would eventually be born. In this oral history, Bud describes daily life as a kid in Mill Valley, attending school and goofing around; sledding down Mill Valley's grass...

    Record Type: Archive

    
45. Oral History of Otis Guy - Oral History

    In this oral history, bicycle enthusiast, retired fireman, and father Otis Guy recounts his life on and off two wheels. Born in Alabama in 1953, Otis’s family moved soon after to San Rafael, where he grew up. After high school, Otis joined the fire department, beginning a long career as a fireman and EMT. Throughout this oral history, Otis conveys his passion for bicycles. He discusses his life as a road racer and his founding of the Velo Club Ta...

    Record Type: Archive

    
46. Oral History of Patricia Fleming - Oral History

    Patricia Johnson Fleming was a long-time resident of Mill Valley. In her oral history, Patricia vividly describes daily life in Mill Valley from 1923 onward, including her experiences attending local schools, stories about local residents and shops, and the fun and entertainment everyone enjoyed. Patricia provides personal recollections of the devastating 1929 fire in Mill Valley and discusses the effects of the Depression and World War II. With ...

    Record Type: Archive

    
47. Oral History of Patrick Williams - Oral History

    In this oral history, innkeeper, retired fireman, and prolific storyteller Pat Williams recounts his life and expresses his deep connection to Mt. Tam. Born in San Francisco in 1948, Pat grew up in a military family that moved repeatedly during his childhood and adolescence. Pat describes how after high school he joined the Navy which brought him back to the Bay Area, where he discovered his vocation for firefighting, but was then deployed to Vie...

    Record Type: Archive

    
48. Oral History of Paul Liberatore - Oral History

    In this oral history, Paul Liberatore recounts his life as a journalist, rock 'n' roll writer, and participant-observer in the Marin County music scene over the course of several decades. Born in Yonkers, New York, in 1945, Paul moved to Southern California with his mother and stepfather in the early 1950s, and grew up in Santa Clarita. After graduating from San Diego State University, Paul landed his first newspaper job with the San Diego Union-...

    Record Type: Archive

    
49. Oral History of Peter Brindley - Oral History

    Peter Brindley was born in San Francisco in 1942. He spent what he describes as an idyllic childhood in Mill Valley, enjoying time with friends out in nature, seeing matinees at the theater, and cruising around Marin and San Francisco. During his youth, Peter especially enjoyed watching local baseball games at Boyle Park, as well as seeing the Oakland Oaks and the San Francisco Seals at larger arenas. Unable to join the army due to an injury, Pet...

    Record Type: Archive

    
50. Oral History of Peter Coyote - Oral History

    In this thoughtful dialogue, Peter Coyote shares the evolving personal philosophy that underscores his roles as actor, writer, activist and Buddhist lay priest. Peter first encountered Mill Valley in 1959, when he visited Mount Tamalpais on a trip from San Francisco. The memory of the mountain stayed with him and in the early 1960s, Peter returned to the area. For the next 10 to 15 years, Peter moved fluidly back and forth between San Francisco a...

    Record Type: Archive