Be sure to stop by the Library to explore the Lafayette Historical Society’s new display honoring the Bicentennial Farewell Tour of the Marquis de Lafayette! Who was Lafayette, and why does he still matter today? Born in France in 1757, the Marquis de Lafayette was no ordinary teenager. At just 19, he defied expectations—and his […]
Acalanes DAR Events: Join Us in Honoring the Marquis de Lafayette!
Lecture by Guy-Noël Benoit: April 3, 7:00 PM, Don Tatzin Community Hall, Lafayette Library Delve into Lafayette’s remarkable story, including his vital contributions to the American Revolution, his friendship with George Washington, his involvement in French politics, and his celebrated return to the U.S. in 1824 as the “Nation’s Guest.” The lecture closes with a […]
Oral History: Maeve Pessis — July 22, 2009
Summary: Maeve Pessis was interviewed by Mary McCosker on July 22, 2009. Through her work with Friends of the Lafayette Library and the Lafayette Vision Committee. Maeve was one of the members of the community who knew the difference a new library could make. She describes the collaborative effort, involving a large and diverse group […]
Oral History: Gwen Lennox — August 8th, 2009
Summary: Gwen Lennox was interviewed by Barbara Baratta on August 4, 2009. Gwen remembered being a voracious reader while she was growing up in Selma, a small farming community in the central valley. Her parents had been active in their community, and when Gwen moved to Lafayette in 1993 she soon became an early and […]
Oral History: Lois Laine — June 12th, 2009
Summary: Lois Laine was President of the Friends of the Lafayette Library in the late 1980s. She became part of the Lafayette Vision Committee, a diverse group of individuals which was assembled by Anne Grodin to anticipate the growing city’s future needs. In this interview, Lois Laine describes how the committee proceeded to recognize that […]
Out Of The Archives: The 1942 Acalanes High School Yearbook
Recently, we’ve begun trying to digitize our collection and make it available on Internet Archive. Click here to view the yearbook on Internet Archive. Also, some of our volunteers have had some fun feeding these items into Notebook LM to hear their AI podcast hosts discuss it. We were going to make the actual items […]
Out Of The Archives: The First Acalanes High School Yearbook, The 1941 Aklan
Recently, we’ve begun trying to digitize our collection and make it available on Internet Archive. Click here to view the yearbook on Internet Archive. Also, some of our volunteers have had some fun feeding these items into Notebook LM to hear their AI podcast hosts discuss it. We were going to make the actual items […]
Oral History: Alice Johnson — August 7th, 2008
Summary: Alice Johnson was interviewed by Georgi McLain in 2008. Alice moved to Lafayette in 1959 and almost immediately she began looking for ways to make a contribution to the city’s cultural organizations and to local government. She was active as a member of the Walkways and Trails Commission and the local chapters of the […]
Oral History: Mary McCosker — June 24th, 2009
Summary: Mary McCosker, a Lafayette native, was interviewed by Georgi McLain on June 24, 2009. She had been involved with the project to build the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center–which was on track to open 5 months later–for many years at that point. She recalls in this interview that Lafayette’s out-dated current library had […]
Oral History: Robin Holt — May 19th, 2008
Summary: Robin Holt was interviewed by Pat Riegg on May 19, 2008. She and her husband, a Navy officer based in Alameda, moved to Lafayette from Hawaii in 1975. Long a member of the Friends of the Lafayette Library, she became involved with the project to develop a new library after attending a presentation by […]
