CCHS honors hardworking individuals in their commitment to history - 2003

Once a year the Conference of California Historical Societies attempts to find some of these individuals and pay them public homage with a special award. This year’s awardees once again astonished membership with their accomplishments.

Individual Awards

Sister Helen Carmody, St. Vincent Medical Center Historical Conservancy, Los Angeles. Although Sister Helen Carmody, a Daughter of Charity, passed away in October 2002 at age 95, this award is given to honor her and her great efforts in preserving a part of our history. The award was accepted in her name by Sister Mary Kennedy.

Sister Helen was the person most responsible for saving many historical records documenting the history of Los Angeles’ first hospital, now known as St. Vincent Medical Center. She was a dietitian working there about 40 years before her passing. When workers were cleaning and were tossing out photographs, minute books and other documents, some going back to the mid-19th century, she stopped them and made sure these materials were saved. These included descriptions of the original building and facts related to epidemics of smallpox in 1886 and typhoid fever in 1902 and 1905.

Through her efforts and the Hospital Auxiliary, the hospital established the St. Vincent Medical Center Historical Conservancy in 1995. The collection went from being stored in a small room to a 2000-square-foot area that includes a preservation workroom, expanded storage space, a research room and a sizable exhibition space. This may be one of only two fully operational hospital museum/archives on the west coast.

She also had the foresight to put away her habit and cornette (original headpiece) when they were to be turned in for the more modern outfits. Thirty years later, this habit and cornette are proudly displayed by the conservancy in her honor and is one of the few originals still in existence. Her foresight and efforts have made it possible for both the casual visitor and the serious researcher to gain a comprehensive grasp of the health care contributions of an institution that is now in its 147th year. She is a great example of the need for all of us to be on the watch to prevent the destruction of our heritage.

Dr. Munson A. Kwok, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. A past president of this society, Dr. Kwok has served as a board member for several years. Even though he has a busy professional life as a senior scientist at a Southern California aerospace firm, Dr. Kwok has also found time to volunteer in the Chinese American community and Los Angeles Chinatown. He is currently National Secretary of Chinese American Citizens Alliance, a century-plus civil and immigrant rights organization.

Dr. Kwok is also currently on the citizens’ advisory committee to the California State Parks Commission, advising on the Cornfields-Taylor Yard development program, L.A. River project. He is presently devoting much time as an active board member of the Friends of the Chinese American Museum. The new Chinese American Museum is scheduled to open Winter of 2003 in the historic Garnier Building. Due to the energetic efforts of Dr. Kwok and Howard Quon, a founding donors program was established in December 1985. He has worked many years to help preserve and share the rich Chinese history of the Los Angeles area.

J. Putnam Henck, Rim of the World Historical Society. Mr. Henck has been a faithful supporter and active member of this society since its beginnings in 1986. He has given donations, led and attended tours and supported the museum. His family was one of the pioneering families on the San Bernardino Mountains, including Skyforest and the Lake Arrowhead area, and his life and work have been intertwined with its history. He has a tremendous knowledge of the area, making him an invaluable resource of its history.

Mr. Henck wrote the book Memories of Putnam Henck, subtitled Plus a Little Bit of History, to help answer questions about the history of this area. In 2001 he was recognized as Citizen of the Year by the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce. The chamber’s visitor center has been named the J. Putnam Henck Visitor Center. Thanks to his efforts we have a much richer and more accurate understanding on this area’s history. The award was accepted in his behalf by John Swisher.

Leonard R. (Bud) Utter, Historical Society of Centinela Valley. Bud joined this society in 1977 and became a life member in 1984. He has served as president of the society for 16 years. He not only presided over the Board of Directors and other meetings but served as total manager of the facility, which includes the 1834 Centinela Adobe, the Daniel Freeman Land Office and the Walter Haskell Heritage Center. He has taken on the chair duties for three annual area events, the Fiesta in September, the Barbecue in spring and the Luminaries Celebration in December.

Henry Welcome, Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society. Founding president and program chair of this society, Henry was also its longtime newsletter editor. He passed away in March of this year, and this award is given to honor his memory. His daughters Kristina Moore and Susan Ikenberry accepted the award in his name.

Henry was involved in the creation of two museums, which unfortunately closed, but he continued to work on the reorganization of the collection. With his wife Betty he produced a very useful short history of Eagle Rock. Considered to be the leading authority on Eagle Rock history, Henry gave a number of talks on the community’s heritage to various historical groups. A founding member of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, Henry was very active in promoting the heritage of Chinese Americans.

Scholastic/Authorship Awards

John W. Robinson, Author. John has made a tremendous contribution to our knowledge of much of the Southern California area with the many books that he has written. The research and physical study of the areas he covered is very extensive.
He is an active hiker, backpacker and mountain climber — reflected in his books. These include Trails of the Angeles, San Bernardino Mountain Trails, Mines of the San Gabriels, Mines of the San Bernardinos, The San Gabriels, The San Bernardinos, The San Jacintos, Sierra Madre’s Old Mountain Wilson Trail, Southern California’s First Railroad, Los Angeles in Civil War Days and Camping and Climbing in Baja, California.

John managed to find the time for all this between teaching for 32 years and being active in several historical organizations. He has recorded and preserved much of the history that was being lost through vandals, housing growth and the forces of nature. We thank him for saving and sharing that information with us through his books.

Mary Huff, Author. Mary is the author of the book Grandma Ann, a story of her great-grandmother as told by her grandmother, Mary Proctor. This involved considerable research, particularly through family records. Although the story had been told in a writing called Our Pioneer Mother by Lenora J. MacDonald, Mary was able to include much more personal information. This story tells of the Johnson family traveling from Iowa to Utah where they helped establish Salt Lake and Cedar City. They then, around 1862, moved on to Santa Clarita Valley and ended up settling in the west San Fernando Valley.

Thanks to Mary’s efforts we have a better picture of the ways of life and places of an earlier time in the valley. She is an inspiration to others, encouraging them to share their family histories and increase our knowledge of our community history.

Preservation Awards

William (Bill) Roberts, San Pedro Bay Historical Society. As a retired building contractor and carpenter, Bill Roberts put his talents and energy to work, as project manager and worker, to help restore the society’s Muller House. His wife Nan and other volunteers assisted him in the work on the upstairs rooms by rebuilding kitchen cabinets, relocating a cupboard from the kitchen to the bathroom and remodeling a large display cabinet in the downstairs bedroom which is now an exhibit showcase. He also discovered an ingenious way to complete the frieze work left out below the hip of the house.

As a member of the Cabrillo Beach Bath House Preservation and Restoration Committee, Bill also helped with the Bath House restoration. It is now completely restored, providing meeting space for multiple community activities. He has also served on the society’s board of directors and is a member of the San Fernando and 29 Palms historical societies. He is also on the Point Fermin Lighthouse Committee, which is currently restoring that facility. Bill has proven to be a real asset when it comes to restoring our historical resources in the San Pedro area. The award was accepted in his behalf by Mitch Mardesich, who is the society’s president.

Nan Roberts, San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Nan Roberts worked alongside her husband to help restore the society’s Muller House. She scraped, sanded and painted the walls and woodwork in practically every room of the house. She has continued as chair of Muller House activities, overseeing all the details for a variety of events. She also arranges for cleaning, maintenance and gardening personnel and decorates the tables for the functions held there.

She has worked in a variety of other positions including secretary, vice president, membership committee chair and president of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. She is currently a member of the society’s board of directors and is on the Visions committee. She also represents the society on the Cabrillo Beach House Coordinating Council.

Nan has not only been a major force in helping to get the Muller House restored but is continuing to see that it is kept up and enjoyed by so many people in the community. The award was accepted in her behalf by Mitch Mardesich.

Edith Reber, Pioneer Cemetery, Sylmar. Edith deserves this award for her many years of effort in preserving the Pioneer Cemetery at Sylmar (Los Angeles County). Since 1958, as a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and later as a member and Pioneer Cemetery Chairman of the Sylmar Chamber of Commerce, she has worked to beautify and preserve the site and its history. It was first dedicated in 1892 and is the second oldest cemetery in the San Fernando Valley. In 1959 the Native Daughters were given title to the land to restore as a memorial cemetery. The cemetery gained state historical status and California Marker #753 was dedicated in 1961. In 2002 the Native Daughters relinquished title to the land to the San Fernando Valley Historical Society.

Although it took many years to raise money and fight the battle back from vandalism and earthquakes, Edith Reber was at the forefront for over 43 years. Thanks largely to her efforts, the cemetery is a beautiful 3.8-acre site, well cared for with trees, shrubs, flowers and walkways, as well as the markers for the people buried there.

Waddingham/Doctor Award

This award — in memory of Gladys Waddingham and Joe Doctor — honors individuals who have served their history community for a quarter century or longer.

Lila Lee, Mendocino County Historical Society. Lila has been very active in the preservation and sharing of Mendocino County history for well over 25 years. She was instrumental in helping to get the Grace Hudson home, now the Sun House, as a museum in Ukiah.

When it was in good hands, she was able to focus her attention on the Held-Poage home, also in Ukiah, which, thanks to her efforts, was given to the Mendocino County Historical Society for use as a library and museum. Over the years she spent many, many hours updating the records, answering questions and helping researchers. She and her volunteers keep records of newspapers back to pioneer days. She has willingly shared her personal collections and many of her items can also be found in the Mendocino County Museum in Willits.

Her many years of collecting, preserving and sharing Mendocino County history have not gone unnoticed. In 1994 she was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Greater Ukiah Chamber of Commerce. In 2001 the California Genealogical Alliance presented her with the Distinguished Service Award for her outstanding service to CSGA, a member society in the local community.

Lila is a real dynamo and a great treasure to all who may have an interest in Northern California history. In her spare(?) time she also served for several years as the CCHS Regional Vice President for Lake and Mendocino Counties. The award was accepted in her behalf by Al Minard.

Lenore J. Clark, Lake County Historical Society. Lenore has been a member of this society since she moved to Lake County in 1973 and is now a life member. She and her husband set up, printed and mailed the Pomo Bulletin quarterly for many years. She also served as secretary for the society for several years. She continued to keep track of history and type the Pomo Bulletin until 2000 when her eyesight became troublesome. This is true dedication to her society and the sharing of history. The award was accepted in her behalf by Al Minard.

Arthur A. Almeida, San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Art Almeida is a charter member of this society and has given consistent and outstanding service to the society for the past 28 years. He served as president for 10 years and has also held the position of vice president, director of the board, parliamentarian and historian.

Art is an outstanding authority on labor and union history and has written and lectured on Los Angeles/San Pedro Harbor history. He co-authored four books, contributed to the Shoreline, the society quarterly, moderated various tours and programs, assisted in distribution of books to local schools and served on or chaired numerous committees. He chaired the committee that oversaw the erection of the California State Liberty Hill Monument and wrote the state proposal papers. He helped found Wilmington Historical Society.

A major project for Art was getting the Muller House and the land for the society and serving as the first project manager. He has devoted much time and energy to several aspects of getting, restoring and maintaining this house and serving as a docent.
He also found time to be active with the Associated Historical Societies of Los Angeles County and the Conference of California Historical Societies (CCHS). In his 18 years with CCHS he has been president, vice president and a co-regional vice president. Art is a real dynamo and a great example to us of how much a person can accomplish.

Wanda Wolf, Lake County Historical Society. Wanda has been a member of this society since 1972 and a life member since 1981. During that time she has been a board member for many years, a dedicated treasurer and membership chairman. She has worked on the distribution of the Pomo Bulletin, the society’s magazine, and has been in charge of the selecting, ordering and selling of history books for the society.

Wanda has attended many of the CCHS conferences, bringing back information for society members. She is a treasure to the Lake County Historical Society for her many years of faithful work in the preservation and sharing of Lake County’s history. The award was accepted in her behalf by Al Minard.

Outstanding CCHS Regional Vice President Award

Arlene Hartin, Region 1 Vice President (Redwood Empire — Del Norte and Humboldt Counties).

Each year the First Vice President, who also serves as chair of the Regional Vice President’s Council and coordinator of the Regional Vice Presidents, presents the Vice Presidential Award to that RVP who has rendered outstanding service in performing the duties of his or her office during the past year.

Also known as the Outstanding RVP of the Year award, the award this year went to Arlene Hartin. She and her Redwood Empire team were responsible for the 2002 Fall CCHS Symposium held in Eureka. The symposium was well planned, informative and entertaining and has been considered one of the best by many CCHS attendees.

Knowing the territory comes easily to Arlene. She was born and raised in Eureka as were her parents and one grandmother. A graduate of Humboldt State University in Arcata, Arlene retired from CALTRANS in 2001 after 35 years working in the personnel department. Arlene and her husband Bill have been married for 42 years and have one son who is a software engineer.

As a member of the Humboldt County Historical Society since 1960, Arlene has served as secretary and treasurer and currently is a permanent board member. She has been an active RVP for Region 1 for several years and regularly reaches out to the community by giving living history demonstrations and slide shows and has conducted tours of local historic sites.

Arlene was unable to attend the CCHS Annual Meeting and the award was accepted in her behalf by Christina Essex.

President's Award for Special Assistance

Guy Ball, CCHS Webmaster. In presenting the 2003 Presidential Award of the year, President Rick Wilkerson stated: “The Conference of California Historical Societies provides the opportunity for the president each year to recognize the outstanding achievement of an individual who has assisted the president in special projects. Each year it is pretty tough because a lot of people have come forward and are very, very helpful to the president in helping to execute his duties. This year it was a no-brainer for me. Along came a young man in January to assist us in a very special project for your benefit, and we now have a website listed as www.californiahistorian.com. We began constructing the site in January and now it is ready to go, ready to improve and ready for use by all of us. The name of this fellow is Guy Ball. Guy lives in Tustin and has two sons. He is a technical writer with the Unisys Corporation, he’s an educator, an author, an editor and a collector of vintage electronics and historical ephemera. Guy provided high standards and exceptional service to the CCHS in developing the website and we couldn’t have gone forward without him.”

The president then presented Mr. Ball with a plaque on which was inscribed: “The Conference of California Historical Societies hereby and by these presents recognizes Mr. Guy Ball for outstanding achievements during 2003, constructing www.californiahistorian.com, and presents him with the President’s Award, given this 28th day of June 2003 at Van Nuys, California.”

Guy is a long-time executive board member of the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society and webmaster of their site, www.SantaAnaHistory.com