CCHS honors hardworking individuals in their commitment to history - 2006

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

Pat Bello, East Contra Costa Historical Society. Pat has been a very active member of and volunteer for the society for many years and is very knowledgeable. She became the docent chair in 1995; as chair, she is also a member of the board of directors. She gives speeches to local organizations and schools about local history and she trains new docents to be tour guides and speakers. She also helps design museum displays. She has focused special efforts on school children, setting up a program for third-graders to tour the museum as part of the school district’s requirement to learn local history. In 2005 alone, 79 third-grade classes toured the museum — about 1100 children. She is also involved in a project to provide elementary schools with a binder about local history and has helped provide the information to be included. The many hours of dedicated effort she has spent in preserving and sharing the history of eastern Contra Costa County will have a lasting impact on the communities and especially the children of the area.

Dr. Richard Doyle, San Fernando Valley Historical Society. Since his retirement from the medical profession in 1996, Dr. Doyle has been an active leader in the historical society as well as other historical organizations. He filled several offices of the historical society, including president during two terms, curator, docent and member of the board of directors. He helped rescue the historical Lankershim Reading Room. He also provided the leadership in getting the society’s collection of historical photos added to the San Fernando Valley history digital library in the Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge. He has sought out and contributed several artifacts to the society’s museum at the Andrés Pico Adobe. He has video-recorded several of the society’s programs over the last six years. His efforts in so many areas have contributed to the protection and sharing of the valley’s history for us and for future generations.

Loren W. Fowlow, San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Loren has contributed much to the community of San Pedro. He edited the Y’s Men’s Club bulletin for more than 30 years, among other duties and functions. He became the editor of the historical society’s bulletin in 2001. In that capacity, he has collected material, taken photos and done some writing himself. His bulletins are both interesting and informative. He also became a member of the society’s board of directors that year and spends a lot of time at the society’s museum — the Muller House — especially helping maintain the museum’s landscaping and beautification. He has also taken photos of important events in town for the archives and has set up complicated sound systems for special events. In 2003 he became the society’s official representative on the Commission of the historic Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse. He is a great asset to the society and the community.

Lester A. Krames, Moraga Historical Society. The society has a real treasure in Lester. Professionally, he worked 37 years for KRON-TV in San Francisco, becoming art director in 1966 and retiring in 1987. His talents have been a help to the society, and he has been a member for over 20 years. He is very knowledgeable on the history of Moraga and adds his wonderful artwork to the historical events about which he is writing. Along with the newsletter, he has helped compile Rancho Moraga, a handout booklet that has been a help to both children and adults in learning the history of the area. He did all of the special artwork and maps for the society’s first book, Moraga’s Pride, published in 1987. He has served as photographer for the society and seeks out artifact donations for the historical collection. His work over the years in preserving and sharing Moraga’s history is a great legacy for the community.

Susan Ross, Orinda Historical Society. Susan was born and raised in Orinda and has seen many changes over time. She is a trained librarian and has been an active volunteer and co-vice-president of the historical society. While waiting for the Orinda Library to be constructed and the historical society space under it was ready, she organized volunteers to inventory their boxes of archival material. She helped make a computer program work for cataloging material. She also helped to preserve the society’s extensive map collection. During the heavy rains of January 2004, the new museum and library were flooded twice. She had to assess damage, oversee what could be saved, clean and reframe artwork, dry out photos, arrange for special blowers, order new storage containers and rearrange the areas to prevent further and future damage. It was an enormous project and involved supervising many volunteers. Between her extensive knowledge of the city and her abilities as an archivist, she has been a great asset in the preservation and sharing of Orinda’s history.

Preservation Awards

Mildred Pickersgill, Friends of the Lake County Museum. Mildred is a founding member of the Friends of the Lake County Museum and was instrumental in rallying public support to save the county’s old courthouse built in 1878. She was a leader in the efforts to save it from demolition and see it dedicated as the new home of the Lake County Museum in 1978. As a member of Lake County’s Museum Advisory Committee and then Heritage Commission, she applied her thorough knowledge of local history toward the development of recommendations regarding museum policies and local preservation activities to the county’s board of supervisors. She is a charter and active member of several county organizations and has a continuing concern for the preservation and care of the county’s historic sites, artifacts and stories. She serves as the CCHS RVP for Lake County and also for neighboring Mendocino County. Her efforts have added much to Lake County’s cultural wealth.

Scholastic/Authorship Awards

Rudolph M. Lapp, Ph.D., College of San Mateo. Dr. Lapp has been a professor of history for many years and is now a professor emeritus of history at the College of San Mateo (CSM). In his years teaching, researching and writing, he has broken new ground as a pioneer in the study of African Americans in early California. He wrote three books that reflect this study: Archy Lee: A California Fugitive Slave Case, Blacks in Gold Rush California and Afro-Americans in California. His second book, published in 1977, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize that year. His scholarly study started in 1959 when he offered a course at CSM on “The South and the Negro in American History.” This is believed to be the first black history course given at a California community college. He has also written several articles and contributed to biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias. Without his years of research in this area, students, other teachers and the public would not be aware of the extent of the contributions of African Americans to the history of California.

Mary Lou Pozzo, Little Landers Historical Society. Mary Lou is a very active historian, librarian and a past president of this historical society, located in Tujunga. She is also the CCHS RVP for Region 40 (Arroyo Seco area). Her crowning achievement to date, however, is the publication of the hardcover book, Founding Sisters. It covers the lives of 38 of Tujunga’s early women pioneers from 1886 to 1926 and includes hundreds of photos spread over its nearly 500 pages. Mary Lou spent 10 years researching the lives of these women and their accomplishments. The book also presents an important picture of the area and times in which the women lived. This book will be a valuable addition to local history collections in private, public and school libraries in the Foothills area. Mary Lou also led the effort to save the “Weatherwolde Castle,” a historic home located in Tujunga (see California HISTORIAN, Spring 2006).

Margaret Rodrigues and John McPherson, Los Paseos School. Margaret and John are a team of fifth-grade teachers at this school in the San Jose Unified School District. They led their students in producing an award-winning multimedia project. They guided 39 fifth-grade students to do in-depth research of the area. They interviewed residents and historians and traveled to historic sites, museums and individual homes. The found diaries, photos and other information on the history of the area. They studied the ecosystems of two rivers — Coyote Creek and Fisher Creek. The teachers received a $1900 grant from the Live Oak Foundation for software and equipment. A CD has been produced with several of the students narrating the history from the era of the local Native Americans to the era of the explorers and settlers of this 6800-acre valley and surrounding area. They used historic photos and real locations in recounting this history and sharing concerns about the importance of preserving the area and its history. The teachers will continue the project with new fifth-graders over a period of four years. The students are learning a wide variety of skills in reading, writing and problem solving, as well as history. The experience has also made their families more aware of their area and its history. Margaret and John have achieved a great deal with this project, a fine example for other teachers and schools to aspire to.

Maria Sakovich, Richmond Museum of History. Maria has added much to the history of the Italian American people in Richmond, especially their history before World War II, in her work as an immigration research professional. The Italian Americans were the largest minority group at that time but were mostly undocumented until Maria put together the exhibit in the museum and in the resulting book, La Nostra Storia (in English: Our History, or Our Story). Her research as curator of the exhibit and author of the book has added much to the knowledge of Richmond’s Italian American community. Interest is so strong that the second printing is almost sold out. This book is the first publication to recount how the Italian American community contributed to the growth and development of Richmond. It is important for us to remember the ancestors who came here and preserved their history for future generations. We hope her work will encourage others to do the same.

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.

Marti Aiello, Pittsburgh Historical Society. Marti has more than met the requirement of 25-plus years of constant and outstanding service to a historical organization. She has been involved in several historical organizations. She has served as president of the Pittsburgh Historical Society and has been an active member since 1968. She is also a past president of the Contra Costa Historical Society. Marti’s husband had been curator of the Pittsburgh Historical Society Museum for many years, and after his passing, she took over in 1976 and served until 2003. She helped the society acquire its new museum and then helped design and build its many display rooms. She raised nearly $70,000 by writing grants during the constructive phase of the museum. She has authored several local history books and produced documentaries. Since 1983 she has written a history column for what is now the East Contra Costa Times. Much more could be said about this dynamo who is a real treasure to Pittsburgh and Contra Costa County.