A History of the Curran Ranch, Glenside Drive, Lafayette Most people in Lafayette, especially those who live in Burton Valley, drive by land that once belonged to the Curran family. Today, it is still a cattle ranch where Reliez Station Road joins Glenside Drive. Open acres extend into the hills above Michael Drive, all the […]
Oral History: James Rossi — June 11th, 2021
Summary: James S. Rossi was interviewed by Andree Duggan on June 11th, 2021. He is the grandson of Serafino Rossi Sr., who emigrated from Italy at age 16 in 1906 and eventually farmed pears, peaches, plums, apricots, figs, and grapes on his 158-acre farm in Reliez Valley. James tells how his father, Angelo, who was […]
Oral History: Sherril Lercari – Barber
A memory walk up Springhill Road Sherril Lercari – Barber A primary entertainment activity in the l940’s was to take a Sunday ride into the country with a picnic lunch. Our family was living in Oakland and enjoyed our weekend rides and picnic lunches. One Sunday in 1945, we came from Oakland through the tunnel […]
Oral History: Russell Bruzzone — November 20th, 1984
Summary: Russell Bruzzone was interviewed by Oliver Hamlin on November 20, 1984. Russell’s grandfather, Frank Ghiglione, was a truck farmer who came to Lafayette in 1906. He previously ran vegetable farming operations in San Pablo and in the Rockridge district of Oakland. In this interview Russell looks back over his long career as a homebuilder […]
Oral History: Maria Hjelm — May 29th, 2009
Maria Hjelm was interviewed by Brenda Heppler on May 29th, 2009. She joined the Friends of the Lafayette Library Board soon after arriving in the city in 2003. She took over management of the very popular literary speakers program, known as Sweet Thursdays. Maria also managed the library’s relationships with its Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium […]
Oral History: Hilma Jones — February 3rd, 2009
Hilma Jones was interviewed on February 3rd, 2009, by Brenda Heppler. Soon after Hilma and her husband moved to Lafayette in 1982 she began actively volunteering in the local schools. She remembers that the members of her family rarely visited the small library that served Lafayette at that time. In the late 1990’s when a […]
Oral History: Donna Lenhardt — November 25th, 2008
Donna Lenhardt was interviewed by Mary McCosker on November 25th, 2008. She had worked as a librarian at the “old” library for 5 years at that point. She was excited about the potential for the new library to attract many new users in the community, and to connect them with each other, because of its […]
Oral History: Jerry Overaa — July 23rd, 2009
Jerry Overaa was interviewed on July 23rd, 2009, by Brenda Heppler. Jerry was CEO of C. Overaa & Co., the construction company that built the new library. At the time of this interview he had also been a Lafayette resident for over 40 years. Jerry’s company had built libraries in Orinda, Danville, and other cities […]
Oral History: Roger Falcone — July 12th, 2008
Roger Falcone was interviewed by Brenda Hepler on July 12th, 2008. Roger was head of the Lafayette School District board. He was also head of the physics department at UC Berkeley and was actively involved with the Lawrence Hall of Science. Among the things Dr. Falcone brought to the group of talented and dedicated volunteers […]
Oral History: Linda Peterson — May 5th, 2009
Linda Peterson was interviewed by Mary McCosker on May 12th, 2009. In the 1980s Linda co-founded a communications firm which specialized in helping non-profit organizations “tell their story”. She had been a supporter of the library for years, and had been president of the Friends of the Lafayette Library, when she became leader of the […]
