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 […]
Oral History: Franke Family — March 6th, 1978
In the early 1930s, Rudolph Franke purchased 10-plus acres in Happy Valley near where Los Arabis Road is today. The property was initially used as a summer retreat. Mr. Franke later added a pool, a pavilion for hosting larger parties, and then built a year-round family home in 1937. Additional parts of the original Franke […]
Oral History: Bill Wakeman
Bill’s parents bought land in the center of Lafayette and built a house in 1918. In this interview he talks about growing up here in the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Lafayette School was easy to get to, but after that he had to take the Sacramento Northern train to Mount Diablo High School in Concord. […]
Oral History: Fern Powell Davis – September 14th, 1976
Summary: An Interview with Fern Powell Davis by Angela Broadhead and Bronwen Heuer. Mrs. Davis, a retired teacher and school librarian, talks of the 1930′s, 1940′s and 1950′s in Lafayette. Mrs. Davis was born on March 17, 1899; she was interviewed in her home on Sept. 14, 1976. Oral History: Q: Fern, The Lafayette Historical […]
From the Archives: LHS Potluck, April 12th, 1977 (Lou Borghesani and Mickey Meyers)
Summary: Lafayette in the 1930s and 1940s – speech by Mickey Meyers and Lou Borghesani to the Lafayette Historical Society, April 12, 1977. Transcript: LHS Annual Potluck 4-12-77 Mickey Meyers (Introduction by Lou Repetto) Lou Repetto: We have with us tonight two gentlemen whom I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for 28 years… that’s my […]
