MUSEUM MEETS ON JANUARY 20th, 2010

2010 - A Year of Valley Adventures
Sam Alessi's Round Robin Restaurant - vintage postcard - Gift of Gary Fredubrg to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - December 2009

The Board of Directors and Advisors of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley will meet on January 20th in the Board Room of the Valley Economic Alliance. The entire meeting will focus on The Museum's 2010 calendar and fund-raising concepts/realities.
If you would like to be a guest at the meeting, please call 1 (818) 347-9665.
Museum meets at: 5:30 pm informal meeting 6: pm regular meeting
The Valley Economic Alliance
5121 Van Nuys Blvd. - Board Room
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-1497

Interested in being part of the newly forming Friends of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley? Give your Museum Community a call and make 2010 a year to remember. 1 (818) 347-9665

LECTURE SERIES ARRIVES FOR 2010

2010 - A Year of Valley Adventures
Rob Friedman and Wilard Simms - Photograph by Michael Stevens for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - at the Glazer-Danay Reception - November 2009.

What's in store for visitors and residents of the San Fernando Valley in 2010? A Year of Adventure! Coming in the New Year is an exciting and very special lecture series, called "Secrets of the Valley."
Uder the direction of Wilard Simms and Rob Friedman, the series will be announced on this blog in January 2010.

Have ideas for lectures you would like to attend? Want to nominate a speaker for your Musuem's lecture series? Want to be on the lecture series announcement list? Call your Museum today: 1 (818) 347-9665

THOUGHT FOR THE YEAR 2010

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
-Helen Keller

WINTER TIME THOUGHTS OF VALLY SWIMMING POOLS

2009 - The Year of Valley History
North Hollywood Municipal Plunge date unknown. Historic postcard given to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg - December 2009
The venerable Municipal Swimming Pool was dedicated on June 15th, 1929 at the north end of North Hollywood Park. Coming, as it did, at the onset of the Great Depression, this pool served as one of the few ways that Valley kids could learn to swim or find relief from searing summer heat. As the 8th public swimming pool established by the Los Angeles Playground and Recreation Commission, it represented a dramatic change in the accessibility of ordinary people to swimming facilities. Less than two decades before, most swimming pools like colleges in America existed as private facilities for the privileged.
Other pools in Reseda, Sun Valley and Griffith Park, that had been funded prior to the Depression, were built until about 1931.

With the end of World War II and a population explosion in the San Fernando Valley, a resurgence of park pools joined home swimming pool construction. From the late '60s until the introduction of the polio vaccine, use of public pools in Los Angeles County lost popularity.

Click on this image of the North Hollywood Municipal Plunge, and image a young high school boy by the name of Alan Ladd working as a summer lifeguard here. Or ask the older members of your family who grew up in the Valley, if they can remember the actor Andy Divine's Crystal Plunge just north of Van Nuys High School on Kester - or their adventures at Pop's Willow Lake.

The North Hollywood Pool is located:
5301 Tujunga Avenue North Hollywood

Join Your Museum Today. 1 (818) 347-9665

JAN 10, 2010 CAMPO DE CAHUENGA FIESTA

City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Campo de Cahuenga
3919 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601
Alfred Tutungi, Senior Recreation Director II

Presents LAYERS OF HISTORY

Please Join Us for the 59th Re-enactment of the Signing of the Articles of
Capitulation at Campo de Cahuenga
Sunday, January 10, 2010 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Featuring the debut of the exciting new Campo de Cahuenga Children's Coloring Book.
v Fiesta Dancers
v Living History and Authentic Uniform Dress
v Firing of the Howitzer Cannon
v Self Tour of the Archeological Dig
v Memorial Wreath Presentation
v 12 Flags Over California
v Children’s Art Contest & Exhibit
v Gift Shop
v $2.00 Taco Bar & Complimentary Refreshments
Event Sponsored by
Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Association
Visit our Website: www.campodecahuenga.com or
Contact us by e-mail at: campodecahuenga1847@hotmail.com

CAMPO DE CAHUENGA COLORING BOOK NOW AVAILABLE

Museum of the San Fernando Valley Book Review by Fred Berk Librarian of The Museum

Phyllis Hansen, member of our Museum's Board of Directors, has authored another book that is bound to delight many people. The cover title is THE CAMPO DE CAHUENGA COLORING STORYBOOK, while the actual title is THE COLORFUL STORY OF THE CAMPO DE CAHUENGA, A Coloring Book that Makes History Fun. The text, design and photos are all by Phyllis Hansen, and the illustrations are by Pamela Flesner. It was just published by the Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Association.

The main body of the book is a well-balanced collection of seventeen full-page outline illustrations of Campo de Cahuenga and its historical setting. Each one represents a different focus on the life and history played out here. For example, one page features a stagecoach that would have come through the area, stopping at the Campo, and another shows California's General Andres Pico in uniform. Any child who colors his or her way through these pages should begin to sense the important role of this place in our history, as well as the colorful heritage associated with it.

The book costs $5.00 + tax, and can be ordered by e-mailing campodecahuenga1847@hotmail. It will also be available at Campo de Cahuenga itself on January 10, 2010, at the annual reenactment of the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga. After that date, copies will be available to visitors at the newly re-opened Campo building and museum.

Fred A. Berk

NUESTRA SENORA DE SAN FERNANDO

The Virgin of San Fernando - Photo taken for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht - December 2009. (click on image to enlarge)
A visit to historic San Fernando in the Northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley is a special experience. In many ways its like stepping back into Santa Barbara before the tourists and retirees arrived. Saint Ferdinand's Catholic Church is worth a visit, if only to see its very beautiful stained glass rose window.
The food in San Fernando is exceptional, especially if you are fond of real family-owned Mexican restaurants. The independent city of San Fernando is the hometown of many of the craftsmen/women who beautify other parts of Los Angeles Country. It's a community right on the edge of celebrating its crafts and arts - a great time to explore and make it part of your Valley-wise experience.

URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Remains of a shop entrance in a parking lot on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. Can you imagine what an ancient city like Rome experiences with every street repair or construction project? Outside of the fence, Richard Hilton, director of Museum Tours leads the "Walk It Off" after Thanksgiving tour of historic NoHo.

As the "Year of Valley History" draws to a close, our Museum Community wishes to thank the many of you who have supported our growth during 2009. This coming year we will be reaching out to individuals and organizations to support The Museum as sponsors and donors to support our new offices and expand our services. Don't worry, our requests will be modest but our ambitions great.
In 2010 The Museum will also be seeking your photographic skills, to document our lives in the Valley and Southern California. So, here's hoping that you got a digital camera for the holidays and plan on sharing your treasures on this blog.

CHRISTMAS ROSE AT LOPEZ ADOBE IN SAN FERNANDO

Christmas Rose in the Gardens of the Lopez Adobe in San Fernando California - Photo for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht - December 2009.
In the travel business there is something called "destination marketing". Very simply, it encompasses the idea that when people see a community as a destination, they tend the stay there in a hotel, eat meals, buy gifts and much more. Our San Fernando Valley communities would do themselves well by recognizing the importance of places like the Lopez Adobe to their economy.
In 2010, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley will conduct an expanded walking tour program. Local tourism, or as we call it "in-tourism" is much more than civic pride, it is a direct contribution to local economies.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MUSEUM OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

Angel or Orchid?
The holiday season is a time for miracles, and no miracle is greater than the love and respect we show our fellow human beings.

All people, like orchids, deserve a closer look.

Merry Christmas from The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.

CHRISTMAS TREASURES IN SAN FERNANDO

Builder, developer and publisher Severyn Aszkenazy at La Galeria Gitana in San Fernando, California.
Galley director, Karen Nichols shows one of her "historic" t-shirts featuring memories of San Fernando. 1 818-898-7708
A wonderful Latino interpretation of the sacred Polish icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help = La Galeria Gitana December 2009
Artist, Gallery Director Karen Nichols with a t-shirt featuring Lucile's women's ware - a much loved shop in old San Fernando.
You can still see the remarkable "Sacred Art / All Things Spiritual" at La Galeria Gitana including Christmas Eve. The Gallery opens at noon and closes at 6 pm. Lots of parking.
120 North Maclay Avenue, Suite E. San Fernando (Behind the Coldstone Creamery)

FINAL PHOTOS IN THE RECENT NORTH HOLLYWOOD FLOOD OF 1938 COLLECTION

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Photo 1265 -North Hollywood Flood of 1938 - Photo gift to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 (click on images to enlarge)
Riverside and Tujunga looking North

Photo 1264 -North Hollywood Flood of 1938 - Photo gift to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 (click on images to enlarge) Colfax and Ventura looking East to Mount Cahuenga.


Photo 1259 -North Hollywood Flood of 1938 - Photo gift to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 (click on images to enlarge)
Chandler and Vantage looking Southeast toward Mount Cahunega.

If you are interested in supporting the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley or the preservation of historic photographs, call 1 (818) 347-9665 . Preserving the Valley's history and presenting its culture is our job. Become a sponsor of your Museum today.

More Flood Photos

2009 The Year of Valley History
Photo donated to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009
Photo 1257 Colfax and Ventura looking West (click on images to enlarge)

1938 Flood North Hollywood - Photo donated to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 Photo 1263 Riverside and Tujunga looking North

Photo 1256- Photo donated to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009
Photo 1250 Colfax and Ventura looking North

Protecting and preserving historic and contemporary photographs of the San Fernando Valley is a big, and never ending task. If you wish to contribute photographs to the Archives of your Museum, call 1 (818) 347-9665 soon. Also, if you would like to help us defray archival expenses for the photograph collection, your tax deductible donation is greatly appreciated.

MORE OF THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1938

2009 the Year of Valley History
Photo 1253 1938 Flood Riverside and Tujunga South West - Photograph donated to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 (click on images to enlarge)

Photo 1252 - Photograph donated to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009 - Looking Northwest at Magnolia and Westpark.

Bridges in danger - 1938 North Hollywood Flood - Photograph donated to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009

Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Adds to The Museum's Archives

22009 - The Year of Valley History
Photo 1262 - Unidentified Workman Surveys Pipeline Damage - Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009. (click on image to enlarge)
The danger working around the damage from the Flood of 1938 is very apparent in this one of a kind photograph.
Photo 1261
Refuge Tent - The Great North Hollywood Flood of 1938 - Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009. (click on image to enlarge)
For those of us who endured the great Northridge Earthquake, the idea of refugees in the Valley isn't all that far fetched. This photograph tells many stories, including the formality of that time in America. It was an era when folks got dressed up to ride on airplanes and gosh - to stand in a refuge tent?
Photo 1260 - Coldwater Canyon Bridge at Ventura looking East - The Great North Hollywood Flood of 1938 - Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009. (click on image to enlarge)

A special thank you to the members of the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for adding these priceless photographs of San Fernando Valley history to The Museum's archives. The Chamber has been always right here for The Museum during these formative years.

1938 Flood in North Hollywood - Photo Collection Received

Photo 1258
1938 Flood Magnolia and Westpark looking South West - Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009
Click on this image to get the full impact of the raging Tujunga Wash during the March 1938, North Hollywood Flood.
Photo 1255
1938 Flood Colfax and Ventura looking North - Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009
The Los Angeles River's massive attack on the bridges of the San Fernando Valley and the land supporting riverside homes is clearly seen - (click on image to enlarge)
Photo 1254
March 1938 Flood Riverside and Tujunga looking West Donation to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce - December 2009
Home collapses into the Tujunga Wash in the great North Hollywood Flood of 1938

ADVICE OF PALAEOGRAPHER NEEDED FOR VALLEY HISTORY

Typical of most fledgling museums, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley has big gaps in our knowledge. Two of these areas are in geology and palaeography.
Were the great creatures, now fossils, of the LaBrea Tar Pits, onetime residents of the San Fernando Valley? Could this Large Headed Llama, here depicted at the San Diego Zoo, have once roamed our Valley, or grazed at the edge of an inland sea? Inquiring Minds Would Like To Know.

CAMPO DE CAHUENGA ART CONTEST FOR CHILDREN

Dear Educators and Arts Administrators,


 On Sunday, January 10th, 2010, the Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Association will once again host the exciting Re-enactment of the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga (the event that completed America’s dream of manifest destiny.)
This year, the Association will expand the event's already fascinating activities to include the opportunity for school children to celebrate their California historical heritage through art.
Elementary age children (grades 3 though 6) from public and private schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, Los Angeles Children's Art Centers, and community arts programs are invited to share works of art on paper, on the theme of "My California Heritage". The children's art will be on display on the day of the Re-enactment (which features: Mexican and Colonial California dancing, elaborate costumes, a very loud cannon, bands, and a famous Ranchero Taco Bar.) Visitors are encouraged to wear "Rancho" era costumes.
We hope that your children will be able to be part of the “My California Heritage” art project. Attached are the guidelines for art entries.
Your friends in the Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Association are looking forward to meeting you.
Sincerely Yours
Gerald R. Fecht
My California Heritage Art Project
Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Association.




MY CALIFORNIA HERITAGE ART PROJECT

Themes
Students may complete one work each based on one of the following themes related to the history and culture of California: 

The Era of historical Native Americans

The Era of Spanish and Mexican Ranchos

The Era of American Pioneers

Arrival of 20th Century Immigrants to the California
New Americans from Foreign Lands



Size of Art and Materials
Student entries should be no smaller than a standard sheet of paper 
(8.5 by 11) and no larger than 12 by 18 inches. Works in pencil, colored pencil, marking pen, school paints, watercolor and crayon will be accepted.

Entry Identification
Entries Must Have Child’s Name, School, and Teacher/Classroom



All Entries Receive Award Certificate

The Youth Arts and Education Division of the Los Angeles City Department of Cultural Affairs will have certificates for each child-artist who participates. 



Grand Prize Award
One winning artwork will be professionally framed and placed on display inside the historic Campo de Cahuenga for a year. The winning student and his/her caregivers will receive a free year's membership in the Campo. 

Student works will be featured throughout 2010 (by first name only and school) on the websites and blogs of both Campo de Cahuenga and The Museum of the San Fernando Valley. 

http://www.campodecahuenga.com/
http://museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot.com/

Pickup of Art and Certificates
Art works must be done by students entrees and will available for return after2: 30 pm on the day of the Re-enactment. Work not claimed by 3:00 Will Not Be Returned.



Submission of Entries
Teachers / parents may submit entries by mail beginning:
December 16, 2009 until January 7, 2010


CALIFORNIA ART CONTEST

Campo de Cahuenga
PO BOX 956
North Hollywood, CA 91604

Time of Re-enactment and viewing of Student Art
January 10, 2010
1: pm Re-enactment and art viewing

Location of the Campo
Campo de Cahuenga
3919 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood 91601

PERFECT PRESENT FOR A VALLEY HISTORY BUFF

Looking for a really special present for your family history buff?
The NoHo Historic Walking Tour of the Museum of the San Fernando Valley is the perfect gift. The gift certificate is good for any of the four great tours of historic North Hollywood, or for any of the new tours planned for other areas of the Valley in 2010, it's only a $10 donation.
Give your Museum a call to order your certificates in time for Christmas.
1 - (818) 347-9665

CHINESE ORNAMENTS AT THE RONALD REAGAN LIBRARY

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Chinese Ornaments on Holiday Tree - Ronald Reagan Presidential Library December 2009 - Photo by Mary Olson Friedman (click on image to enlarge)
Chinese Ornaments on Christmas Tree at Reagan Library - Dec. 2009 - Photo by Janne Fecht

RARE ENCINO AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

2009 The year of Valley History
These rare aerial photographs of Encino are a gift to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg. We know that they are of Encino, but need help with landmarks and streets. If you can help please comment below with the photo number.
Refer to photograph 1247 - click on images to enlarge.

(refer to photograph (Refer to photograph 1246)

(Refer to 1245)

SHERMAN OAKS "CORKER ROOM"

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Stanley Burke's Corker Room - Vintage Postcard - Gift to te Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg - December 2009
If the San Fernando Valley wasn't wild in the 1950s, it wasn't because its denizens didn't try. Take a look at the bar pictured on this postcard. Stanley Burke's Corker Room was located a t 5043 Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. Its telephone number was STate 8-5110
"Every Bite A Tender Delight"

SAN FERNANDO MALL

2009 The Year of Valley History
San Fernando Mall 1966 - postcard given to the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg December 2009
The San Fernando Mall in the City of San Fernando was dedicated on the 22nd of October1966. In 2009 the Mall is free from automobile traffic.


The history and culture of San Fernando are a major interest of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.

BEKINS STORAGE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY 1950

Bekins Truck detail from a Map of the San Fernando Valley - background printing removed for this blog image.

Bekins Van and Storage Sherman Oaks, California 1950

Bekins Map of the San Fernando Valley 1950 - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gary Fredburg - December 2009

By 1950, the population explosion in the San Fernando Valley was well underway. Bekins Van and Storage Company, that had a location at 6200 Lankershim in North Hollywood (STate 3-7373) added a second headquarters at 15111 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks (STate 4-6276).
Does anyone remember the howler monkey kept somewhere near the Bekins Storage building in Sherman Oaks, around 1958?

JIMMIE HODGES COWBOY MUSIC FROM TARZANA

2009 The Year of Valley History
Apple Valley Romance Sheet Music 1959 - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg - December 2009

Hey Jerry, You've got the wrong valley!
Well, considering the title of this sheet music donated this week to The Museum by Gary Fredburg, at first glance you'd seem to be right. But, if you look at the sign at the bottom left, you will discover that Apple Valley Roman was written by Jimmie Hodges working out of Tarzana, California in the San Fernando Valley.
Published in 1959, this music was distributed by Jimmie Hodges Publications at 18528 Collins Street in Tarzana. In that year, Apple Valley was considered just over 90 miles from Hodges' business.

If you would like to be a part of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley's effort to preserve our music heritage, call today and pledge your support. 1 (818) 347-9665

JOLICOEUR DONATION TO MUSEUM LIBRARY

Leather bound copy of The San Fernando Valley by Dr. Jackson Mayers - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by James Jolicoeur December 2009.
In 1956, a new Hughes Market had just opened on the corner of Balboa and Devonshire in Granda Hills. Hughes #4 was considered one of the most efficient and beautiful grocery stores in the United States. A buddy of mine from the Naval Reserve in North Hollywood, Fred Balen (I may have misspelled his name), was not only a football star at Van Nuys High School, but the head-box boy at the market. Fred knew that I was working for work to pay off my Chevy, and helped me get a job there.
The manager was Fred Vodt (again I may have the spelling wrong) and he worked us hard, but fairly.
One of the box boys was a great young fellow by the name of Lee Jolicour. We used to joke about his name meaning Happy Hearted.
Years later, when I was teaching at Moorpark College, I encountered a student by the name of James Jolicoeur, who turned out to be the grandson of Fred Vodt and the son of Lee Jolicoeur. No one is better named than the happy-hearted James Jolicoeur.
One of my favorite memories of Europe is of James Jolicoeur looking down on a running track in the ancient Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece. He quickly organized his fellow students, boys and girls, to secure sticks and run a relay race at the sacred stadium.
Today, your Museum received a beautiful copy of Dr. Jackson Mayers, 1976 book called The San Fernando Valley. It is a gift of the happy hearted James Jolicoeur in Claremont, California. Thanks James from all of us working to bring about a great Museum of history and culture for the Valley.

EXCITEMENT GROWS OVER CORVALLIS HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY

2009 The Year of Valley History
Program for The Wizard of Oz at Corvallis High School.
On May 6-7-8, in 1983, a production of about Dorothy and her red slippers came to the San Fernando Valley. Thanks to Bronwyn Ralph, we know that the Stage Manager was Cheryl Wiley and that The Wicked Witch of the West was played by Tina Scourtis. Who played Aunt Em? Or, who was the Cowardly Lion?
Your Museum Community, working with important groups such as the Committee for Corvallis History, wants future generations to see the roles or jobs their mothers and grandmothers in this school production.

Here's an example of why your involvement as a member in the Museum Community is important. Recently, a 1945 Corvallis High School year book was offer to The Museum for our library. We'd like to buy it for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley before it vanishes into the Never Land of e-bay. We just need the budget.
Join your Museum today. Call 1 (818) 347-9665 and get involved.

"Never doubt that a small group of concerned people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

DECEMBER 7th 1941 - A DAY TO REMEMBER

Larry Kent was a swing band leader in 1941. He and his orchestra were the first band whose music was transmitted on a trans-oceanic broadcast that year. Larry's hot band played the night away in the penthouse of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu.
Typical of traveling orchestras, the band wrapped up its performance just before dawn and headed down for breakfast before a warm day's sleep on the magical island of Oahu. The boys in the band wouldn't get much sleep that day!
Just before dawn, Larry told me years later in a high rise office in Woodland Hills, weird noises began to happen. Distant popping sounds screamed into roaring blasts. The American territory of Hawaii had been attacked, by the Empire of Japan.
Horrific booms, siren cries and car horns blasted into the first light of that Sunday morning.
After the war, and returning from his military service, Larry Kent found work in Hollywood as a theatrical agent. Later, he became a master of licensing and marketing. He helped invent the NFL Properties, gave the Super Bowl its Roman numerals and licensed images of the famous cowboy Roy Rogers.
Larry Kent is long gone. Let us hope that the lives of our American servicemen and women, and the civilians who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 won't be soon forgotten.
Jerry Fecht

THE GODDESS JULE' VISITS LOS ANGELES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Folk musicians at the Swedish Fair weave melodies for dancers. Photo for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht - December 2009.
Jul or Jule' is the magical wheel that closely resembles the Indo-European concept of karma. The wheel of Frigga (the Mother Goddess) comes alive as the Wheel of the year, or New Year.

I couldn't resist putting three more photographs on this blog from the Swedish Christmas Fair this weekend. If one pays attention at such ethnic events, amazing things show up. In the case of the Swedish Fair, the ancient Nordic Goddess Jule' was there in all her harvest glory. The Goddess is represented, as is Ceres in Southern Europe, by woven straw ornaments for Christmas trees or wall decorations with pretty ribbons. Woven, Viking designs showed up all over the event including the in and out patterns of the folk dancers shown in these photographs.

HOLIDAY ADVENTURES IN LOS ANGELES

Greeters at the Swedish Fair at the Shrine Auditorium
Each year when our friends Mary and Linda plan with us for our Southern California adventures, the idea of going to the Swedish Fair comes up, along with a Christmas lunch at the Tam O Shanter Inn on Los Feliz Boulevard as it heads towards Glendale. This year, we did them both.
The Fair was great fun, and a lady even gave me a pepper-cookie. (In the good old USA, we call these ginger snaps. Little kids in Goteborg Sweden sing the cutest Christmas song about pepper cookies.)
At the Tam O Shater Inn, we all got to taste our pal Linda's winter mushroom soup - sooooo good, it was worth planning an invasion of Scotland for.
Kirsten of Copenhagen - Photo by Gerald Fecht for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - December 2009
Kirsten Carr (Kristen of Copenhagen) once had a jewel of a shop in Tarzana. Then the great Northridge Earthquake of 1994 devastated her business. Can you imagine the damage done to a store full of crystal and china from Sweden and Denmark? My wife Janne and I went to her store to replace our Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates and have been friends and customers of Kirsten ever since. How much fun it was to see her with Jule' treasures today at the Chistmas Fair (Everybody calls it the Swedish Fair). Today Kirsten lives in Woodland Hills.

On the way home from the Fair, we stopped at Peter Shire's amazing art studio in Echo Park to watch neighborhood dogs having their pictures taken with Santa Claus. There was stunning pottery and of course Peter's world class sculptures. I hope you have seen Peter's NoHo Arch in North Hollywood on Lankershim Boulevard.

In the early evening, Janne and I returned into the city to stop by the Christmas Party of the AIDS Lifcycle organization. It was held at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood. There, aside from visiting with friends that we have made over the years as volunteers for Ride, we saw a fine show called Boxes Exposed by Dwora Fried. The exhibit of box sculptures runs through January 30. 1125 North McCadden Place in Hollywood.

MUSEUM BEGINS ITS FOCUS ON THE HISTORIC IDLE HOUR CAFE

2010 - The Year of Valley History
Most recently called La Cana, the original Idle Hour Cafe is an important San Fernando Valley landmark. Photos for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht November 2009.
For sometime, we at The Museum of the San Fernando Valley have been worrying about the historic Idle Hour Cafe on Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood. As you can see from these snapshots, that I took the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the building is in pretty bad shape. Like all such structures; a fire, vandalism or wrecking ball can't be far away.
As more and more of you join The Museum Community, we are able to add important issues such as preserving and restoring the Idle Hour to our list of interests and activities.
To our good fortune, Sheilah Kodimer of North Hollywood has stepped forward to discover and report to The Museum about the status of the Cafe, the efforts of the Los Angeles Conservancy and historical preservation possibilities for the structure.

If you have information about the Idle Hour (photos, documents etc) and are interested in providing Sheilah with information, contact your Museum today. 1 (818) 347-9665

CORVALLIS HIGH SCHOOL ARTIFACTS BEGIN TO ARRIVE

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Our Lady of Corvallis High School Commencement Program - gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Bronwyn Ralph - November 2009.
Corvallis High School 1981 -82 - Photograph Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Bronwyn Ralph November 2009
Wallet photos, a leatherette diploma case, a yearbook and commencement program - artifacts and supportive information is beginning to come in for the Our Lady of Corvallis High School Project.
If you, a friend or relative attended Corvallis High School, your Museum invites you to become part of the exciting project to save the school's history, relate the lives and achievements of its alumnae and tell the story of this Studio City school's impact on our community and nation.
Contact The Museum at 1 (818) 347-9665
Donations to The Museum, including artifacts, are tax deductible.