Sophie and Robert Wing, who brought together two old Lafayette families when they married in 1961, were both born in 1930. Sophie was the youngest of 8 children in the Machado family that ran the Alta Crest Dairy in Lafayette. She describes the dairy operations and in particular the roles assigned to her, from a […]
Speaker Series: “Tales About Trails”
Stu Swiedler will share “Fact versus Fiction” on the creation of the Lafayette-Moraga & Iron Horse Trails. We’ve enjoyed these trails for many years. Find out how they’ve come to be. Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lafayette Library & Learning Center Arts & Science Discovery Center located on the mezzanine floor. […]
Oral History: Sheila Seagrave — April 27th, 2018
Summary: Sheila was one of the many extraordinary talents who made up the Straw Hat Review. The Straw Hat was started by a group from Cal in the language arts department, circa 1947. They performed three different shows during the summer months at the Town Hall in Lafayette. Oral History: Helene Kremer: Okay, we are […]
Oral History: Louis M. Cosso — February 23rd, 2015
Lou Cosso moved to Lafayette from Oakland in 1951 at age 9. His uncle owned and operated a fruit farm on 55 acres in Happy Valley. Back in Oakland people considered Lafayette, with its small size and lack of commercial offerings, to be a remote outpost. As Lou described it, however, it was a perfect […]
Oral History: Jim Martino — August 2010
Jim Martino was the fourth child of Natale, who bought a house with 100 acres and began farming in the Springhill Valley in 1919. Jim, who helped operate the farm after finishing high school, says that his father won many prizes for his pears and other fruit. Jim also remembers that his father would leave […]
Speaker Series: “The Story of Marquis de La Fayette”
Just who was the Marquis de La Fayette? Find out on Sunday, May 6, 2018 – 1:30 p.m. Lafayette Library & Learning Center – Community Hall Please join us for an informative program about the man whom after our city is named and who played such an important role in the establishment of our nation. […]
Oral History: Joyce Allen Stewart — July 14th, 2017
Joyce Allen Stewart is a member of one of Lafayette’s oldest pioneer families, the Allens. Her father, Harold Allen, was born in Lafayette in 1889. Her grandfather, Albert Allen, was born in Lafayette in 1869. Joyce was raised in Lafayette and was a member of the first class to graduate from Stanley School in 1954. […]
Oral History: Louis Armanino — May 6, 1980
Summary: Louis Armanino was born in Italy in 1881. He came to the U.S. at the turn of the century and settled in Lafayette in 1916. In this interview, which was conducted in 1980 when he was 99 years old, Mr. Armanino describes his dairy farm consisting of 50 cows which was located near the […]
Oral History: Effie Root Stahle — May 11, 1978
Summary: The Root family bought a 500 acre farm in Happy Valley in 1904. The property was known as Locust Farm, because of the huge locust trees which stood in front of the house. Nathaniel Jones, a former owner, had planted the trees with seeds he brought with him from the Eastern U.S. Some of […]
Oral History: Natale “Nat” Martino — May, 1975
Summary: Nat Martino (1888-1977) gives us a sense of what daily life was like in the farm-centered rural area of the Springhill Valley. In 1919, he purchased a farm house on today’s Martino Road where he raised a family. He describes how he used farming practices he learned in Italy to create a successful fruit […]
