Presentation to
Alameda City Council 2024
Valerie Turpen, President Alameda Museum
ALAMEDA CITY’S RELICS ARE
SAVED BY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Alameda Historical Society
1948
Alameda Historical Society is founded
and Fred Croll is elected President.
1950
The City funds renovation of a room in
the basement of the library for meetings
and displays of a historical collection.
The Historical Room opens in 1951 on
Wednesdays 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm.
Acc. No. 00.315.1
Fred Croll
was Deputy
Assessor for
the City of
Alameda in
1906.
He is shown
above at the
office in
1909.
Oakland Tribune
The museum desk calendar remained
on March 15 for over a year.
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
March 2020 - June 2021
We are continuing to live with the effects and consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic. With stay at home orders in Alameda and across the world, life as we knew it ceased in March 2020.
The doors of the museum closed for fifteen months.
• Our lecture series was canceled.
• Estate sales ceased.
• The museum lost our Treasurer of many years.
• Curator George Gunn retired after 50 years at the museum. • Board members, members, and docents moved.
Accomplishments During Closure
• The Alameda Museum Quarterly continued to be published. • Pop-up exhibits filled the museum windows.
• The museum created an ebook online of Imelda Merlin’s book Alameda, a Geographical History which is out of print.
• The museum archives were converted to a searchable database in CatalogIt. Over 20,000 3 x 5 accession cards were scanned for their typed content. Each object continues to be photographed. • A scanner was purchased thanks to grant funding. This will help record hundreds of photos, negatives, and 35mm slides in the collection.
• The textile collection was reviewed, researched, and photo- graphed and is being preserved in handmade acid-free boxes. • The newspaper storage racks were re-organized for easier access.
I S S U E NU m bE r 1 • m a r c h 2 0 2 2
Arthur Tadashi Hayashi
October 22, 1922 - May 6, 1994
The author penned this memoir for his children.
The Alameda Museum received a floppy disk
and a printed copy of the story in 2006.
The recent conversion of museum
archives to a digital format has made
it possible to share his story with you.
It has been edited for length and clarity.
The Hayashi family: Tadashi (Arthur), Musumi (Muts),
their mother Chitose holding Hozue (Grace), their
father Hisaki, Hajime (Paul), and Akira (James or
Butch). Image: Florence Nakata Omori.
W
e, the Japanese, were the largest ethnic group in
Alameda. It was a white man’s town with about
three black families1 and a few Hispanic families. As I look back now, I realized we lived in an area in Alameda bounded by the estuary north, to Santa Clara Avenue to the south, and Broadway in the east, to Willow Street to the west.
Both the Buddhist Church and the Methodist Church were
located in the middle of this area. I don’t know if it was a matter of deliberate choice or whether we had no choice in the matter as far as real estate was concerned. Because we lived in a small area, whether by design or choice, we had our own Japantown.
The majority of families lived in the small area. Most
of the men in our community were gardeners, and we
had five nurseries and two florists. Our community had
our own grocery stores. Our next-door store made tofu
and other Japanese goodies. We had an auto garage and
gas station, shoe repair, barber, bathhouse, and our own doctor, Dr. Iriki (Walter Keisuke Iriki, a Stanford graduate).
We also had a laundry across the street and two cleaning shops. Down the street was the Y okohama Cleaners and
ours was called Tokyo Cleaners. Although my father had a cleaners, I can still see him riding his bicycle every day to do housework. My father would then come home to press
the clothes at night. My mother would watch the store
throughout the day doing alterations and ironing of the laundry which we took in.
Within our small community we had a Buddhist Temple
and a Methodist Church. Both had a Japanese Language
School. The Buddhist Language School was patterned after the schools in the old country. When the bell rang for the start of classes, the kids lined up by class, bowed together to the teachers, and then marched into class. At the Meth- odist Japanese School, when the bell rang for the start of classes, we would wander in from the basketball court
because guys like me only went to Japanese language classes because our mothers insisted we go to class. We went to Japanese Language School after regular school, between
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, which cut into our playtime.
Continued on page 2 . . .
A MEMOIR
The Quarterly
Our newsletter tells stories of our city relying
heavily on the museum archives and those
doing research.
AMQ August 2020
Jack the mailman
wearing a mask
makes a delivery
to the Nurses’
Home on Clinton
Avenue during
the 1918 -1920
flu pandemic.
AMQ March 2022
The memoir of Arthur Hayashi,
a high school student when
Executive Order 9066 was
signed February 19, 1942.
AMQ September 2022
Fred Mudgett, age 14,
attached his radio antennae
to the City Hall tower. He was
the only connection the world
had with San Francisco after
the 1906 earthquake.
ONLINE AT
AlamedaMuseum.org/
temporary-exhibitions
VISIT OUR POP-UP EXHIBIT 2324 Alameda Avenue
Pop-Up Exhibits
An Assemblage of Hats
Showcasing items from the
museum archives. These shows
were visible online and in the
storefront on Alameda Avenue.
Pop-Up Exhibits
Making History 2020
An archive of images,
statements and events that
became history in 2020.
Acc. No. 18.13.1
Wonder Horse c. 1950s
purchased at Stone’s
on Santa Clara Avenue.
The shop sells bicycles
today.
Digitizing the Collection
The museum has over
20,000 objects in its
collection. Originally the
donation record was
typed on a 3” x 5” card
and filed in drawers.
Today the information
is archived in a digital
database widely used
by museums.
Acc. No. 96.112.4
Alameda High School
December 1901 “Acorn”
yearbook. Soft-bound
booklet, with gold design.
Size: L 9-3/4” X W 6”
Beth Sibley organizing
and cataloging high
school yearbooks.
Acc. No. 16.40.1
Encinal High School started
operations in 1952; 1956 was
the first year a Yearbook was
produced featuring the first
graduates.
Preserving the Collection
Acc. No. 82.26.1
A gown purchased at
Kahns’, Movieland Shop,
Oakland, CA. Worn by
Mrs. William Murray,
wife of the Mayor of
Alameda, 1931-1935,
to a ball held at
Neptune Beach,
January 30, 1934.
The dress is a replica of
a gown worn by Lupe
Velez, a famous movie
actress of the time.
Textile expert Nancy Martin, assesses
a donation to determine its age and
to review the materials it is made of.
Preserving the Collection
Acc. No. 22.1.1
Two-piece satin and floral
cut velvet wedding dress.
The panel is edged with
metal and glass buttons.
The Alameda Free Library held a collection of Native American artifacts when the museum was established in the basement of the Carnegie.
These possessions of the Ohlone people have moved with the museum since that time. Today the Alameda Museum has reached out to three local Ohlone tribes for advice and collaboration on the best path forward.
Assessing the Collection
Acc. No. 91.1.26
Pierced abalone
shell.
Acc. No. 91.1.69
Obsidian
spearhead
Acc. No. 91.1.167
Large circular stone
hollowed out.
Native American artifacts.
Visitors
In 2020 we began counting visitors and having them list their reasons for visiting in the guest book.
2020 January - March
62% Exhibits
34% Research
4% Shop
2021 June - December
51% Exhibits
44% Research
5% Store
2022
78% Exhibits
18% Research
4% Store
2023
74% Exhibits
12% Research
14% Store
2023 Monthly Visitors
January 224
February 239
March 242
April 281
May 278
June 308
July 918
August 290
September 412
October 428
FIRE RECORDS
BLOCK BOOKS
PHOTO ARCHIVES
contain a variety of subjects:
public buildings, homes,
city departments, civic events,
and portraits.
The globe shown above in the
Carnegie Library is now on exhibit
at the museum.
Research
The museum holds records that allow researchers an accurate glimpse into the city’s history.
Research
Research questions are answered weekly by email, phone or in person.
An appointment is requested for research using the newspaper, maps, documents, blueprints, and photo archives. Projects we have assisted with include:
• Central Avenue Safety Improvement Project: JRP Historical Consulting • Clement Avenue Safety Improvement Project: JRP Historical Consulting • Alameda Marina Development: AHC Archaeological/Historical Consultants • US Maritime Training School: Page & Turnbull, architects; Planning Dept. City of Alameda; UC Berkeley Environmental Design • California Radio Society, Alameda Sun, and Alameda Post:
Newspapers, photo collection, fire records, police records, block books • Alameda Japanese American History Project: Documenting materials pertaining to the Japanese residents of Alameda
• Family Histories: Photo search, businesses directories, yearbooks, newspapers, family Bibles, scrapbooks
• Native American Collection: Archive list, photos, maps, newspapers Virtual Lecture Series 2022
In 2022 our lecture series became virtual hosted by board member Rasheed Shabazz on Zoom. Seven events were held including:
Virtual Lecture Series 2023
Plan for the Future
Executive Director and the Strategic Plan
The Alameda Museum has reached a point that it can no longer be managed and run on volunteer power. We need an Executive Director to work with the board to solidify and implement a strategic plan. We are in the process of filling the position.
Museum Assessment
The museum will engage in the STEPS program (Standards and Excellence Program) a self-paced assessment program designed specifically for small- to mid-sized history organizations to review their policies and practices.
Online Archives
The museum has established an online archive available to the public through the CatalogIt Hub on the museum website at AlamedaMuseum.org.
We plan to have the CatalogIt database information available at the front desk.
Research
Historian Dennis Evanosky is currently at the museum on weekends to answer questions and assist with research. Questions are answered via email or phone as received. We can also assist with research by appointment on weekdays.
Plan for the Future
Native American Collection
The museum has sent a letter to East Bay Ohlone groups requesting a review of the collection and to discuss a responsible outcome for the items.
We have met with one tribe and are in communication with the others.
Outreach
Increase community outreach to promote awareness of our resources and promote collaborations with the museum, specifically with groups that have been underserved.
Exhibits
Reimagine our gallery space to broaden the stories told and histories displayed.
Internships
We have re-established our high school community service internship and hope to expand our internships for longer periods.
Meyers House
Increase programming at the Meyers House to include in depth displays on the Meyer sisters who were college educated career women at a time when that was unheard of.
Lecture Series
Continue and expand our lecture series to include hybrid / in person lectures.
Preserving the Past for the Future
Since 1948