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: Mabel Skuce — June 2nd, 2017
Mabel Skuce moved to Lafayette in 1946, and she has lived here ever since. In this interview, she describes and discusses the city as it existed in the middle of the last century: its stores, restaurants, and schools, as well as some of its more general characteristics. Her “tour” of the Lafayette of 60-plus years […]
Oral History: Ken and Marge Cusick — December 6th, 2015
Summary: Ken and Marge Cusick, long time residents of Lafayette, tell stories of their neighborhood and area which has changed dramatically since they came here. Cusicks moved to the Springhill Valley in the early 1950s, and continue to live here today. Ken had a dentist practice in Berkeley that attracted many of his Lafayette neighbors. […]
Oral History: Barbara Tilton — August 3rd, 2015
Barbara spent her early years in Berkeley and many summers in Yosemite where her father was with the National Park Service (1920-1930). At 15 months old, Barbara backpacked with her family from Tahoe to Yosemite sitting in a saddlebag. She lived in Washington D.C. when her father was Assistant Director of the Interior Department. She […]
Oral History: Edwin Quenzel — September 24th, 2015
Summary: Born in 1917, Edwin Quenzel was 98 when he gave this interview. He was raised in Berkeley and served on U.S. Navy battleships in World War II. After the war he moved to Lafayette and began a 50-year career as a licensed building contractor. Mr. Quenzel also built sets for the Dramateurs for many […]
Oral History: Ann Skram — January 26th, 2015
Summary: Ann’s family moved to Lafayette in 1946/47. Her parents built a home with a swimming pool on a one acre lot on Redwood Lane in Happy Valley. At that time Happy Valley Road was lined with huge walnut trees all the way into town and was mostly agrarian. Her father was an entrepreneur and […]
Oral History: Patricia Whitehead Wendt — October 6th, 2014
Summary: In the late 1940s, Patricia’s grandfather purchased 4 acres, and her father one acre, in Happy Valley. They chose the location because they wanted to live in the country, with walnut trees and plenty of land. She discovered a fossilized turtle on the property. The industrialist Henry J, Kaiser, along with other neighbors, attended […]
Oral History: Ed Stokes — January 26th, 2007
Summary: Longtime owner and operator of Diablo Foods, as well as a prominent community leader, Ed Stokes has been Citizen of the Year and won many awards for civic involvement. In this interview, he talks about his early experiences in business and shares some of the management principles that have led him to be successful […]
Oral History: Marianne Millette (Malley) — March 5th, 2014
Summary: Marianne talks about growing up in Lafayette when it was a small, mostly farming community where everyone knew each other by name. In 1932, she moved here with her family from Oakland when she was 2 years old. In 1910, her grandparents Francis and Agnes Malley had purchased land east of Upper Happy Valley […]
Oral History: Charles Reynolds — March 20th, 1979
Summary: Charles’ father bought a farm on the west end of Mt. Diablo Boulevard in 1905. His well-illustrated interview describes what it was like to grow up at a time when fruit orchards and ranches were the dominant businesses in the town. Oral History: Angela Broadhead: Mr. Reynolds, will you tell us when you and […]
