KIWANIS CLUB MEETING IN SAN FERNANDO ELKS TEMPLE

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY   2012

Today, I was the guest speaker on behalf of The Museum Community at the San Fernando (city) Kiwanis Club. The food was homemade and terrific, and the hospitality warm and friendly. I discussed how great museums, like the Olympic Games demonstrate a region or city's power, and the ability to accomplish great things.

The Elks Temple of San Fernando was established in 1927, and built this structure in 1931. The historic facility is located at 804 Pico Street in San Fernando.

 The Kiwanis Club of San Fernando prepares for its weekly meeting in the Elks Temple facility.

Detail of large wall tapestry in the Elks Temple in San Fernando. The great American character actor Andy Divine was once the 16th Exalted Ruler of the San Fernando Elks.

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games memorabilia among the treasures of the San Fernando Elks Temple. In the center is one of the relay torches that carried the flame across America.

Ceramic souvenirs bearing symbols of the Elks Lodge.

 

Entrance Hall of the San Fernando Elks Temple.

THE WILD GOOSE RESTAURANT

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY      2012

Interior The Wild Goose Restaurant  - Sherman Oaks  - vintage postcard  Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley  2012  from Gary Fredburg  (click on image to enlarge it0

The Wild Goose

Bob Hall      ---    Louis Thomas

13302 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, California

The Wild Goose was at one time considered one of the finest restaurants in the San Fernando Valley. It was "the" place for graduation or birthday dinners. I was told years ago that the way the restaurant got its name was from the flocks of Canadian geese that make the San Fernando Valley their winter home. 

MOUNT SAN ANTONIO - OLD MOUNT BALDY

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY    2012

In a day or two, when the rain clouds disappear (and if the weather was cold enough) residents of the eastern parts of the San Fernando Valley should be able to see the snow capped grandeur of Mount Baldy. 

Vintage postcard of Mount San Antonio - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg 2012  (click on image to enlarge it)

Officially named Mount San Antonio by Spanish missionaries of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) or Franciscans, the mountain was christened after Saint Anthony of Padua. The patron saint of lost objects, San Antonio was a member of the Franciscan Order.
The saint, as did members of his religious community, tonsured or shaved the top of his head as a sign of his obedience to the rules of Saint Francis Assisi. To avoid being burned in the hot sun of Southern California, Franciscan friars (brothers) wore hooded robes or small beanies called in Italian "zucchetto".
Brother Eugenio Casano, the band teacher at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks had a cherished zucchetto given to him by Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII. 

Calling it Mount Baldy may have been a very early Spanish rancheros' joke about Mount San Antonio. Some say it got its name by the lack of trees above the snow line. 
The Tongva people of the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys called the mount "Joat" simply meaning snow

PIERCE COLLEGE AND THE VALLEY'S AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY    2012

Look closely at this vintage postcard, and envision what the hills surrounding Pierce College look like today. All are covered with homes, commercial buildings and apartments.  In the blinking of an eye, the San Fernando Valley's agricultural spaces have disappeared, and soon the orchards and farm lands that once epitomised life in the Valley will be gone, likely forever.

The Museum Community believes our school children deserve at least a few places in the San Fernando Valley where they can experience first hand their agricultural heritage. Protecting and defending the "farm" at Pierce College isn't just a matter of nostalgia but is a very important tie to where the Valley has been, what it is today, and where it will go in the future.

Los Angeles Pierce Community College - vintage postcard - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg 2012.  (click on image to enlarge it)

Caption reads:

"Fabulous San Fernando Valley - Los Angeles Pierce Junior College, located in the west end of the famous San Fernando Valley, offers courses in Agriculture, Industrial Arts, Engineering, Business, Secretarial and Liberal Arts. A Co-educational institution, established in 1947"