Travel | Mill Valley Public Library

Advertisement for a two-day excursion on Mt. Tamalpais - Ephemera

Advertisement for a two-day excursion on the Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway, including meals and lodging, for $10.

Record Type: Archive

"Little Journeys over the Northwestern Pacific Railroad" brochure - Ephemera

Brochure titled "Little Journeys over the Northwestern Pacific Railroad", circa 1911, describing short trips, one hour to one day's time, from San Francisco over the Northwestern Pacific Railroad's lines. Brochure describes the Railroad's all-day "Triangle Trip" as "one of the most delightful scenic one-day jaunts in America". Brochure is comprised of six panels.

Record Type: Archive

Northwestern Pacific Railroad ticket - Ephemera

Northwestern Pacific Railroad return ticket, circa 1910. Holes punched for San Rafael to Mill Valley.

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Abby Wasserman - Oral History

Abby Carol Wasserman was born on May 30th, 1941, in Berkeley, CA, and grew up in Mill Valley, attending Old Mill, Park School, Alto Grammar School, and Tamalpais High School. In her oral history, Abby describes in rich detail, her school experiences, Mill Valley friends and neighbors, serving in the Peace Corps in Bogotá, Colombia, living abroad in England, Honduras, Turkey, and Nigeria, her involvement in theater, and her career path as a teache...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Alan and Ruth Barnett - Oral History

After meeting in New York City and marrying in 1955, Alan and Ruth Barnett took a long time to find the perfect place to live. Alan had grown up in Chicago and Ruth in Germany and Czechoslovakia. It was a job as secretary to Grace Morley, the first woman director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, that brought Ruth to the Bay Area. Alan served in the National Guard and wound up working for the military in the public information sector. He...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Al Klyce - Oral History

In this oral history, architect, builder, and Mill Valley native Al Klyce recounts his life. Born in 1931, Al is the grandson of one of Mill Valley's early pioneers, Harvey Klyce, who came from Tennessee and settled in the area in 1895. Al discusses his schooling in Mill Valley and recollects some of the old businesses in town when he was growing up. Al recounts how as young man he considered going into the ministry after being inspired by Gordon...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Betsey Cutler - Oral History

In this oral history, retired public servant Betsey Cutler recounts her life in Mill Valley and decades of service to the community. Born in New Jersey in 1942, Betsey moved to Mill Valley in 1969. Betsey first got started in public service when her two daughters, Karen and Susan, were growing up in the 1970s and she became President of the PTA. Betsey went on to serve for several years on the Planning Commission and then the City Council, includ...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of David Freiberg - Oral History

In this oral history, David Freiberg, a key figure in the Bay Area music scene from the 1960s onward, recounts his life, career, friends, and family. Born in Boston in 1938 and raised in Cincinnati, David moved out to California in 1959 where he first took up playing the guitar. Touching down in Oakland, he moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s and then over to Mill Valley a few years later. David gives a detailed account of his time playing ...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Doris Bloom - Oral History

In this oral history, Mill Valley native and lifelong resident Doris Bloom presents a view of a beloved and evolving Mill Valley over the course of many decades. Doris recalls the Mill Valley of her childhood, including the Locust neighborhood stores to which her mother took her as well as the devastating fire of 1929 that her father participated in fighting. Doris recalls the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and how she walked across it on...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Edmund (Ed) Stiles - Oral History

In this oral history, Edmund Stiles recounts his more than 50-year residency at Druid Heights. Born in Michigan in 1939, Edmund grew up on the East Coast and attended Dartmouth College. Edmund describes how he first came out to the Bay Area in the early 1960s, just as he was discovering his vocation to make furniture. He recounts the first time he visited Druid Heights and his first impressions of Roger Somers, one of the founders of the communit...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Florence Garvie - Oral History

Florence Garvie was born on Mother's Day in 1924 at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Her father served in the Army, so Florence's family moved often in her early childhood, spending several years in Hawaii, Salt Lake City, and California. Florence attended high school in Pennsylvania and received a degree in botany from Pomona College in Claremont, CA. Her first job was as a nursery plant inspector for the Los Angeles County Agriculture ...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Jean Barnard - Oral History

Jean Barnard was born in New York on October 30th, 1918 and graduated from Vassar College in 1940. Jean was a summer visitor in Mill Valley from 1919 to 1930, her family traveling from the East Coast by train to visit her Aunt Ruth Boericke and Ruth's husband, Ralston White, at their "Garden of Allah" estate. During her visits to Mill Valley, Jean's family would take the train up the winding mountain railroad and enjoy Mill Valley's scenic outdoo...

Record Type: Archive

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

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

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

Oral History of Robert Green - Oral History

In this oral history, gallery owner Robert Green recounts his life in the art world. Born in 1941 in New Jersey, Robert grew up in the New York metropolitan area. He attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, after which he joined the U.S. Coast Guard. Robert worked in publishing and advertising before moving into the fine art sector. Robert recounts traveling the world for 22 years as an enterprising young art dealer before he settled in Mill V...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Ruth White Bowie - Oral History

Ruth White Bowie was one of Mill Valley's grande dames in the true sense, though she would have deplored the use of the term. Ruth was born in San Francisco, and she and her twin sister were educated at Miss West's private school in the city, then at the Waltham School for Girls near Boston and Briarcliff Manor on the Hudson. In 1910, Ruth married Ralston L. White, a member of one of Mill Valley's most influential families. In this oral history, ...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Steve Coleman - Oral History

In this oral history, set designer and artist Steve Coleman discusses his life, work, and creative collaborations in Mill Valley. Though his parents were Mill Valley residents, Steve was born in Geneva, Switzerland. When he was small child, his father got a job with the United States Information Agency and moved the family to India for a few years. Steve and his family then returned to Mill Valley, where he primarily grew up. Steve reminisces abo...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Susan Reynolds - Oral History

In this oral history, retired teacher and gardening enthusiast Susan Reynolds recounts her life in Mill Valley. Born in Richmond in 1940, Susan grew up in Kensington and attended school in El Cerrito. Susan describes how she and her family would often come over to Marin for hiking and picnics on Mt. Tam when she was growing up. Susan attended San Jose State University, where she developed her child-centered approach to teaching. In 1964, Susan an...

Record Type: Archive

Oral History of Verna Parino - Oral History

Born in 1917 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Verna Parino lived in Mill Valley for more than 60 years until her death in 2015. In this oral history, Verna recounts how she moved to San Francisco in 1942, and soon after made her first visit to Mill Valley with her church youth group to spend a weekend at the Alpine Hiking Club Lodge. She tells the "romantic tale" of how Mill Valley's first Youth and Community Center was brought into being in 1962 - a p...

Record Type: Archive