Theron Nelson is a Lafayette resident since 1950. He was instrumental in forming the Laf-Frantics in 1956. The Lafayette Community Center acquired an 11-acre property on St. Marys Road, which is now Buckeye Fields that is home of the Lafayette Little League.
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: Jennie Bickerstaff – 1957
This is a recording of a talk she gave to the Contra Costa Historical Society In 1957 when she was 85 years old. Her talk includes stories about the founders, other pioneers, and about life in early Lafayette. As a little girl, Jennie first came to Lafayette in 1877 from Pennsylvania and again in 1879 […]
Oral History: Fern Powell Davis – September 14th, 1976
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: Donn L. Black – June 1st, 1980
Summary: After growing up and attending college in Oregon, Donn and Arlene Black moved to California, where Donn started his law career. In 1967 they moved from Oakland to Lafayette. He became Lafayette’s first mayor when the city incorporated the following year. In this interview Donn describes how he and a small group of other […]
Oral History: Dr. Clifford Feiler – November 17th, 1979
Dr. Clifford Feiler, physician and civic leader, came to Lafayette in 1939. He talks about the small village where there were no banks and no bus service and where he was the only medical doctor.
Oral History: Andrew H. Young – November 11th, 1981
This speech by Andrew H. Young was delivered at the Town Hall building in Lafayette on November 11, 1981. Addressing a combined meeting of the Friends of the Lafayette Library and the Lafayette Historical Society, he presents a summary of his book, The Developers of Lafayette.
Oral History: Jack Marchant – November 30th, 1984
Jack Marchant and his brother Paul began building houses together in Kensington and North Berkeley at the end of World War II. They moved to Lafayette to continue this work in 1950. When Lafayette was incorporated in 1968, Jack was a member of the first City Council. The demand for new homes was very strong […]
Oral History: Barbara Franke Boyle – March 4th, 2011
Barbara Franke Boyle came to Lafayette from Oakland in 1937, when she was 10. Her family had been using the ranch in the Happy Valley area as a summer place only prior to the that. They raised pears, and Barbara’s father operated the Walnut Creek Cannery. In the years that Barbara was going to grammar […]
Oral History: Patricia Boyer – April 2006
Patti grew up in the Lafayette Horse Show. Her father, George Brooks, was the horse show announcer for many years. Patti won a trophy in the 1939 horse show riding her paint horse Pagero. After growing up in Richmond, Patti moved permanently to Lafayette 1957. Her recollections of early Lafayette are significant in the development […]