Summary:
Mrs. Bunker is a long time resident of Lafayette. She has lived on the same property in Happy Valley for 63 years. This property is the site of the Widow Bernal’s adobe and lies approximately a mile up Happy Valley Road. Mrs. Bunker was interviewed in her home on October 20th, 1976 at the age of 86.
Oral History:
Interview with Irene Bunker in her home, October 10, 1976, at age 86 by Nancy Flood
Nancy Flood: This is an interview with Mrs. Irene Bunker, a longtime resident of Lafayette. Mrs. Bunker, would you first tell us a little bit about your background?
Irene Bunker: My background doesn’t consist of a great deal… I moved here In Lafayette in May of 1913, and my husband purchased the property in 1905, and built the house in 1906, the year of the earthquake. Lumber was very hard to get at that time, so, not having as much money as he thought he had, he had to build the house according to his means. We were married, and I moved here in 1913. The old adobe that was on the place was all torn down before I ever arrived here… to make room for the house that we lived in. Lafayette was not much of a town at that time. There was one store, one butcher shop and a blacksmith’s shop. The main street in Lafayette in the wintertime was quite a mud hole. After the rains came, it was a very undesirable highway. The way the road was by my house in 1915, the doctor couldn’t even get to my house… he had to be met at what was the highway in 1915. The Town hall… I happen to remember just the year that it started… it was started to give dances for the community and raise money to pay off their debt.
NF: What kinds of activities did they have at the time?
IB: Well… we just had the dances.
NF: What were they like… I’ve heard some stories about them, but I’d like to hear what you recall.
IB: Well… they started out as just community affairs, then it got to be quite popular, and at midnight they served a dinner which was put on by the ladies of Lafayette. And they raised enough money in four years to pay off their debt on the hall… all done just through holding the dances.
NF: Was it all volunteer help?
IB: Yes… all volunteer help.
NF: I remember hearing something about those dinners… they were pretty hefty meals, weren’t they?
IB: They were a regular dinner… they had sometimes ham and everything that went with it… and cakes that were all made my the ladies… really wonderful cakes… and sometimes they had various things… the dinners were just full course dinners.
NF: What about the music for the dances?
IB: They had an orchestra, and I can’t remember his name, but he came out from Oakland and played all the dances for quite a few years.
NF: At that particular time, I think I’ve heard that it was the beginning of the Horse Show and other things. What do you remember about that first Horse Show?
IB: The first Horse Show was a very small affair, given by a few people in Lafayette, on the school grounds… and the revenue from the Horse Show went to build a tennis court on the school grounds. Then from there, it became larger, and many, many people entered into the Horse Show… that money went toward various things for Lafayette.
NF: Did you attend the Horse Show?
IB: Oh… always.
NF: What kinds of things happened at the Horse Show… what activities were there?
IB: Oh… there was all sorts of horse racing… showing off the fancy horses and saddles.
NF: Wasn’t there always a parade involved? Do you know anything about the organization of the parade?
IB: Oh yes… and one particular time I recall, Mr. and Mrs. McNeil were in it in an old horse and buggy and got quite a hand… and horses were shown, and there were a few floats but they didn’t go in too much for floats.
NF: Was this a pretty big event for Lafayette?
IB: Yes… it was a large event… and people came from all around the county and Alameda County.
NF: What time of the year was it usually held?
IB: Usually along about July.
NF: We’ve talked about two rather outstanding social activities with the Town Hall and the Horse Show… was there anything else that you can recall that might have been an interesting social activity in those days?
IB: Yes… they had their Improvement Club that met to discuss the things for the betterment of the town… and raised money to carry on various projects.
NF: Didn’t they sell stock at the Improvement Club?
IB: Oh yes… when the Improvement Club was started, they sold stock and everybody that was interested bought the stocks, and later on they were turned in and you could get a new stock, but just what that new stock was, I don’t know, because my husband neglected to turn his in.
NF: Was that around 1925?
IB: Yes… I think it was.
NF: Were you involved in this group or any groups at about that time?
IB: Well, I was involved in the Horse Show, because we (the ladies) had booths in the daytime and sold sodas and made cakes to sell and things like that… to raise money to carry on for the community.
NF: It sounds as if the entire community was involved.
IB: Very much so. Everybody was in on it to make it as big an affair as possible.
NF: I’ve always thought there was a great sense of community here in Lafayette…
IB: Yes… there was… a closeness… we all felt very close to one another because the town was small and everyone was interested in everyone else.
NF: What are your memories of the beginning of the railroad that ran through town?
IB: The railroad… they began building it in the early part of 1913, and in 1914… spring… it was opened for the public. It went from Oakland to Antioch. Later on it was developed on into San Francisco.
NF: Did you ever ride on the train?
IB: Oh yes… many times.
NF: How did it compare to our modern BART trains?
IB: Well… I’ve only ridden on the BART train once, so I couldn’t compare it. It was really wonderful because it was quick transportation. It beat my horse and buggy days of driving to Oakland. I drove to Oakland before we had the train several times… and the roads got so slick I was almost afraid to drive.
NF: At that time the route to Oakland was a little bit different from what it is now… what are your recollections of that?
IB: The road was altogether different… after you left Orinda, you traveled down close to the creek… the road followed the creek bank… and then as time went on, they built the highway a little bit farther on up the bank, until of course now, we have the new highway.
NF: At that time did you go through the old tunnel?
IB: No… we went right over the top of the tunnel that is here now.
NF: What was the old tunnel like?
IB: Well, I don’t know exactly how long it was, but the first time I went through there, it was in the wintertime, and we’d had quite a heavy rainstorm, then it turned cold and froze, and we had icicles all the way through the tunnel the size of a person’s arm, hanging down quite low in the tunnel.
NF: That was a fairly low tunnel, too, wasn’t it?
IB: Yes… it was a low tunnel. Big teams could get through it, but buses nowadays could not have gotten through it.
NF: It must have been an experience.
IB: Yes, it was… quite an experience, and really, it was a happy experience, and I wouldn’t give up those days for the world.
NF: About how long did it take to go into Oakland?
IB: It took me two and a half hours… a real expedition.
NF: At about that time Lafayette had many summer homes… people were spending part of their vacation time in this area are you familiar with them?
IB: No… I’m not familiar with any summer homes here. The first apartment house that was built in Lafayette… I made the remark, “Who would ever move out here and live in an apartment house?”… I’ve swallowed that saying many times, because there are a lot of apartments now… but no… I never knew anybody who just came out for the summer.
NF: Thinking back to 1913… do you have any idea about how many people were living in this area?
IB: No… I really don’t know… maybe somebody kept a census, but I don’t know.
NF: The homes were pretty well spread out, I suppose…
IB: Very much so.
NF: How close were your nearest neighbors at that time?
IB: Oh… about a block… the Frenches lived there… that was the only neighbor… then finally as time has gone on, I forget how many houses have gone in on this 20 acres.
NF: One of the things that has kind of piqued people’s curiosity here in Lafayette, is the infamous or famous oil wells that we keep hearing things about. What do you know about them?
IB: Well… I know there was an oil well that was put up in Happy Valley, but I don’t remember what year.
NF: As I understand, there were two different sightings of oil (or whatever you call it)… one was in 1902 and the other was around the early 1920’s, I believe.
IB: Yes… I think it was, and there was another one that was put up in San Ramon, but I don’t think they found any oil.
NF: Do you know anything about the selling of stock in that… any of the business schemes?
IB: No… I don’t know any of the business schemes… we just weren’t involved in any of it… and I don’t know anybody who ever bought any of the stocks.
NF: Lafayette has certainly changed and grown in the 63 years you’ve been here… what are your feelings about some of these changes and how do you look at this?
IB: We can’t stop progress… and I think it looks nice to look out and see the lights at night… and see the progress of the city… I think it looks nice and I like it… because we can’t stop progress… it has to come.
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