Member News

CONGRATULATIONS!

The Historical Society of Pomona Valley has a new home - the historic Ebell Club, now the Pomona Ebell Museum of History.

In response to the San Clemente Historical Society’s historical preservation efforts, a seven-unit construction project that would have overwhelmed a historic site was turned down by the California Coastal Commission.

The Santa Monica Historical Society Museum was allocated a facility - rent-free for 20 years at the new Santa Monica Main Public Library Complex - by the City of Santa Monica. For more information, call Bob Gabriel, Foundation Co-chair: (310) 829-0305. www.santamonicahistory.org

Carmel Valley Historical Society received a $30,000 grant from the Robert and Virginia Stanton Endowment Foundation, of the Community Foundation for Monterey County.

Conejo Valley Historical Society has been particularly successful with their school tour programs. The Chumash Tour invites third-graders to pretend that they are the original inhabitants of the valley. The Pioneer Days program allows fourth-grade students to participate in children’s activities of over 100 years ago. Fifth-graders are challenged by the Westward Movement and Spanish Settlement by exposing them to the experiences of the mid-1800s. All programs include many hands-on activities, guided by some 30 dedicated docents.

Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions, produced by Heritage Preservation, provides information on 15 federal grant and loan programs to help cultural institutions and historic sites prepare for and recover from disasters. The new booklet covers programs for planning and mitigation as well as recovery. Up to 50 copies can be ordered at no charge from the FEMA publications office by calling 800-480-2520 toll-free. Ask for FEMA publication #533. The 32 pages can also be downloaded from www.heritagepreservation.org which is the website of Heritage Preservation.

Putting together a quality exhibition can be an intimidating task. AASLH is offering a new technical leaflet bundle that provides a valuable overview of exhibit planning with bibliographies that will point you to more detailed guidance:

• TL #73 Exhibit Planning: Ordering Your Artifacts Interpretively
• TL #137 Planning Exhibits: From Concept to Opening
• TL #175 A Systematized Approach to Exhibit Production Management
• TL #204 Charting the Impact of Museum Exhibitions and Programs: Understanding the Public’s Perspective
• TL #215 Exhibit Conservation: Strategies for Producing a Preservation-Responsible Exhibition

The bundle of five leaflets (BNDL #006 Exhibit Planning) is $27 ($22.50 for AASLH members) from the AASLH Bookstore at 615-320-3203. You may also fax your order to 615-327-9013. Online orders: www.aaslhnet.org/aaslhssa/ecssashop.shopping_page

Boeing provides charitable contributions to U.S.-based nonprofit 501©(3) charitable and educational organizations in five focus areas: education, health and human services, arts and culture, civic, and the environment. Boeing also considers requests for in-kind donations and services. Website: www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/community/guidelines.htm

Wells Fargo gives first priority to requests where the primary purpose is to benefit people and communities of low and moderate income. While it accepts requests from organizations which enhance a community’s quality of life (cultural, arts, civic projects, etc.), these are not funding priorities. California guidelines info: www.wellsfargo.com/about/charitable/ca_guidelines

The Ahmanson Foundation provides grants to nonprofits serving in Los Angeles County in the areas of arts and humanities, education, medicine and health, and human services. Support is also provided for building funds, renovation and equipment, capital campaigns, endowments, institutional scholarship funds, matching grants, and special projects and programs. Website: http://www.theahmansonfoundation.org/

The Christensen Fund supports activities by Bay Area institutions around: (1) maintaining and sharing the cultural and artistic life of diaspora communities; (2) engaging young people and the broader community in understanding the breadth of the world’s biological and cultural diversity, the value of connection to landscape and the threats of such things as global warming. Website: http://www.christensenfund.org/

The Regional Alliance for Preservation (RAP), a national network of nonprofit organizations with expertise in the field of conservation and preservation, provides information and resources. Their website includes a calendar of training and educational opportunities, a list of services provided by RAP members and a publications and research section with a searchable bibliography. http://www.preservecollections.org/

Automobile in American Life and Society is a website and online archive recently launched by the Science and Technology Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. It overviews essays and case studies on the auto-mobile’s relationship to labor, gender, race, design and the environment. Website: http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/

ArchiveGrid offers unparalleled access to archive records and finding aids. It allows researchers to search for archival collections around the country to find collections pertaining to particular subjects. Most historical resources are not available online, but this site will allow access to finding aids to save time in on-site visits. The site is accessed only by subscription but should be available through public and university libraries. Website: http://www.archivegrid.org/

The Godfrey Memorial Library is another subscription-only website. Primarily a genealogical library, it contains invaluable resources for the historian. The collection of newspaper archives alone (Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and others) is well worth the annual membership fee of $35. Members receive The Godfrey Update, a 20-page biannual publication that gives simple directions for the web’s use, and lists new additions to the library’s resources. Website: http://www.godfrey.org/

The Archaeological Channel is a media website designed as a public education service. The programming focuses on archaeology, indigenous peoples and related subjects. It offers on-demand videos and audio programs, resources for educators, news reports, commentaries, stories from indigenous storytellers, links to other websites…and more. Website: http://www.archaeologychannel.org/

All 39 volumes of H. H. Bancroft’s works, indexed, are now available from the 1st-hand-history.org website.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill authorizing issuance of commemorative coins in 2006 to mark the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, and honor the Old Mint’s role in the city’s recovery. The Old Mint operated until 1937; at one time it produced more than half of the U.S. coinage. It held one-third of the world’s gold supply by 1934. Coins minted in San Francisco have an "s" mark. The City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society partnered to restore the Old Mint; revenues from the sale of the new commemorative coin will fund a coin museum in the Old Mint structure.

Los Angeles’ 62 Metro Rail stations and the Gateway Transit Center feature the work of artists commissioned to enhance the transit system. Pacific Railroad Society tells us that guided tours, free to the public, meet at the Hollywood/Highland Metro station on the first Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. and at Union Station on the first Sunday of each month at 10 a.m. Call (213) 922-2738 to book a tour on other days (groups of 15 or more) or visit www.metro.net/metroart

The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Fremont, shows a program of old films at 7:30 p.m., Saturday nights. See Charlie Chaplin, Ben Turpin, Buster Keaton and "Felix the Cat." Website for info: www.nilesfilmmuseum.org

Native Daughters of the Golden West maintains a permanent record of information concerning California pioneers who resided or were born in California before December 31, 1869. This valuable research tool has been microfilmed by the California State Library and is available from the California State Library in Sacramento and from the Sutro Branch in San Francisco. To date there are some 33,000 persons registered. An index to the collection, with instructions on how to obtain copies of the submissions, is available online at www.cagenweb.com/epl/ndgwmaster.htm

Portuguese Voters of 1872 in California, part of a database compiled by Jim Faulkinbury, includes 1155 names from the 1872 Great Register of Voters of citizens born in Portugal or Portuguese territories. www.dholmes.com/voters.html

Fresno County Genealogical Society has compiled a list of births in Fresno County in 1905. The list includes each person’s name, birthdate and mother’s maiden name. Website: www.rootsweb.com/~cafegs/1905_birthsfc.htm

"Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman’s Party" is a selection of some 2650 pictures from the Library of Congress. Representing the militant wing of the suffrage movement, the NWP effectively commanded the attention of politicians and the public through its aggressive agitation, relentless lobbying, creative publicity stunts and disarming examples of civil disobedience. Photos range from 1875 to 1938, most from 1913 to 1922. Website: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/

The California Council for the Promotion of History informs us that the London School of Economics has launched Archives Made Easy for historians. This online guide to archives around the world gives costs and processes involved in an archives visit, essentially the kind of information researchers need to know beforehand to avoid costly mistakes and delays. Website: http://www.archivesmadeeasy.org/

To view a collection of Civil War treasures and Confederate Army maps, many of which were used by Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, try visiting: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/hotchkiss/

Kathy Gursky, website manager for the East Contra Costa Historical Society, designed and copyrighted The School Bell, an educational website that helps children learn the basics in a fun way. She has taught school for 30 years in Brentwood, about 25 miles west of Stockton. The School Bell website: http://www.theschoolbell.com/ East Contra Costa Historical Society website: www.theschoolbell.com/history/

The Wisconsin Historical Society, a member of CCHS, has online exhibits from the museum on the website. Images including Jewish women immigrants in the upper Midwest, living with atomic bombs (1945-65), paintings as history, ad posters, handheld fans, pottery, Easter eggs and more can be seen on www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/exhibits/ For clothing, see: www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/collections/