Summary: Jim Shierry was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in November, 2004. Jim learned the clothing business at an early age by working alongside his father, who was a manufacturer’s rep. After serving in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War he decided to open his own clothing store, Shierry Men’s Apparel, in La […]
Oral History: Vic Pagliero – September, 2005
Summary: Vic Pagaierò was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in September 2005. He was born in Oakland in 1923. At age 13 he moved to Moraga and began a long career as a ranch hand and farmer. He married Ruby in 1949, and that year he also went to work operating a rototiller for landowners in […]
Oral History: Joe Campana – November, 2004
Summary: Joe Campana was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in November, 2004. He owned and ran Campana Music for 57 years. Born in 1920, Joe served in Europe and Africa in World War II and came back to Lafayette determined to own his own business. He had learned how to play the accordion as a boy […]
Oral History: Lou Repetto – August, 2004
Summary: Lou Repetto was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in August, 2004. A San Francisco native, he decided to settle in this area after serving in World War I and he co-founded the Lafayette Garbage Disposal Service company. Lou discovered that becoming active in the local Lions Club was a good way to build his business […]
Oral History: Ned Robinson – October, 2005
Summary: Ned Robinson was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in October, 2005. He was the Fourth mayor of the City of Lafayette and served on the City Council for many years. His proposal for a city government that was limited to “the three P’s: good planning, police protection, and public works,” and therefore would not require […]
Oral History: Gloria Duffy – August 1st, 2009
The two Gloria Duffy’s, mother and daughter, were interviewed by Robin Fox on August 1st, 2009. Both interviewees said that libraries were very important to them as they grew up. Each of them found that from an early age libraries had helped them to learn about the world and prepare them for world travel later […]
Oral History: Ted & Linda Murphey – November, 1976
Summary: Ted and Linda Murphey were interviewed in November, 1976. They had operated Murphey’s Valley Prescription Pharmacy on a site near the present-day Wells Fargo Bank from 1947 to 1964. Twelve years later they described for their interviewer the other principle businesses–mostly restaurants and gas stations–that existed on Mount Diablo Boulevard at that time. Oral […]
Oral History: Beverly Panfilli – October, 2004
Summary: Beverly Panfilli Littorno was interviewed by Julie Sullivan in October, 2004. Her father Adolph, who had experience working in commercial fishery, along with her mother Barbara, opened a small fish market on Old Tunnel Road in 1945. It soon became a restaurant as well, called Lafayette Seafood Grotto. This business became one of the […]
Oral History: Ken & Sue Nagel, SFO Helicopter – November, 2004
Summary: Ken Nagel and his wife Sue Nagel were interviewed by Julie Sullivan in November, 2004. Ken was an attorney, and later also a member of the Board of Directors, for SFO Helicopters. This service carried passengers from Lafayette to and from San Francisco International Airport and also six other locations around the Bay Area. […]
Oral History: Dr. Gloria Duffy — May 10th, 2021
Summary: Dr. Gloria Duffy was invited to speak at the May 10, 2021 meeting of the Lafayette Youth Services Commission. She described how she and two other high school seniors had combined their efforts to create the Youth Commission, which was at that time celebrating its 50th anniversary. While members of the founding group had […]
