The History Corner January 2022

by David Mostardi, Club Historian

Once Upon A Hillside: 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago

January 1922

Business Meeting: Neil Monroe, chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee, introduced his Honor Mayor Bartlett, who presented at some length his reasons for favoring the “California Water and Power Act.” [Club Member] Mr. J. D. Galloway had been asked to speak on the opposite side of the question and he answered many of the Mayor’s arguments. Questions were asked from the floor and Mayor Bartlett was given a few moments for his reply to Mr. Galloway. [Louis DeFontenay Bartlett (1873-1951) was an attorney and Mayor of Berkeley from 1919 to 1923. He was noted for his work to promote public utilities, especially water and power. His wife was Mary Olney, daughter of Warren Olney Sr., former mayor of Oakland and co-founder of the Sierra Club.]

Board of Directors Meeting: Some general discussion took place in regard to the necessity and economy of providing a permanent and convenient property [i.e. sets for performances] and costume room. Mr. McFarlan suggested the building of such a room at the rear of the stage, over the present rear room. He had examined the possibilities of such a room with Mr. Jack Ballantine and thought that an “attic” could be provided in which all scenery and costumers could be stored in an accessible manner. He also suggested that a window could be cut from this room, overlooking the stage conforming to the architecture of the stage which would be extremely useful in many types of performances.

It was pointed out that through the use of this room, the lower rear room could be kept free from stage properties and scenery which is now piled up in a heap or laid on the rafters, subject to damage and menace in several ways. It was suggested that the work of building this storage room might be done by members of the club, and in any event this room should not enter into the building plans now under consideration. Mr. McFarlan stated that he had made no expenditure as yet from the fund voted at last meeting, to be expended on permanent stage screens and furnishings, as he was considering the most needed practical properties. No action of any kind was taken by the Board on this subject. [This discussion underscores how small and cramped the stage area was at the Old Club House, and how important dramatic and musical activities were to the Club membership. It is hardly surprising, then, that when the new Club House was designed in the wake of the 1923 Fire, a full-sized and fully-equipped stage was one of the top priorities.]

January 1947

New Year’s Eve Party: Come and enjoy the New Year’s Eve Party at the Clubhouse. There will be dancing, games, entertainment and a midnight supper. Dring’s Orchestra will provide the music for dancing.

Fireside Meeting: When the Christmas and Holiday Season is over, we are glad to gather, once more, around our fireside and begin our plans for the New Year. After our regular business meeting, the Parkers will present their reflections of the Canadian Rockies—a record in motion and color, of a five week’s journey by motor, saddle, and foot from Lake Louise to Mount Robson and Berg Lake, Jasper National Park and its back country.

International Relations Section: Professor John B. Condliffe will be guest speaker. It will be remembered that Professor Condliffe’s book “Agenda For Peace” was reviewed by the Committee several years ago. Two questions will be discussed: First, can a durable peace be made without doing away with “protective tariffs”? Second, do cartels promote or obstruct International goodwill? These questions are particularly pertinent at the present moment for International Trade looms more important than ever in the United Nations’s Conferences. [John Bell Condliffe (1891-1981) was a New Zealand economist, known for the role he played in international NGOs between the first and second world wars. He worked at the League of Nations in the early 1930s before accepting a professorship at Berkeley in 1939, which he held until his retirement in 1953.]

January 1972

Fireside Meeting: Mr. Edward E. Kallgren, Berkeley City Councilman and practicing attorney, will describe and evaluate the Berkeley scene as he sees it. A forthright speaker, he was supported last April by most of the organized committees sponsoring certain specific candidates and issues, a factor which contributed to his election to the council. Mr. Kallgren has since experienced the many challenges and frustrations of Berkeley city politics, and can relate very well to the subject. [Edward Kallgren (born 1928) was the top vote-getter in the April 1971 City Council election that brought three new “radical” members to the City Council, including 30-year-old Loni Hancock. Warren Widener won the mayor’s race, becoming the first African-American mayor of Berkeley.]

Photographic Arts Section: We are all invited to join the Ruckers in a Scandinavian Adventure through the medium of motion pictures. It appears that the most adventurous parts of the trip will occur before we reach Scandinavia when our transatlantic vessel encounters extremely rough weather. After this exciting experience, we can relax as we enjoy a peaceful cruise up the coast of Norway as far as Hammerfest, followed by the smoothest of our nautical adventures, the Göta Canal trip. The journey will include parts of southern Norway not usually seen by tourists.

The Tomlinsons will take us to the other side of the earth, showing us slides of various South Sea islands, including Moorea, Bora Bora, Samoa, and New Zealand. An accompaniment of this showing (a first for the Hillside Club, we believe) will be the Sounds of the South Pacific as recorded by the Tomlinsons.

January 1997

The Club’s archive of printed monthly newsletters ended with the May 1994 issue. If you know of a source for any newsletters between 1994 and the Club’s renaissance in the early 2000s, your historian would love to hear about it!