Culver City Historical Society

Spring 2020 President’s Message

By Hope Parrish in Articles, President's Message April 16, 2020 0 Comment

Dear Members and Friends:

Spring is on its way! I want to introduce to you our 2020-2022 Board. If you missed the installation, the food was delicious and the evening was outstanding. I can’t thank Vice Mayor Göran Eriksson enough for his wonderful words that he spoke while installing us all. Yes, I am here for another two years at which time I must pass the torch, as I will be termed out. Emelie Gerard has moved into a new position. She is now our VP of Development, which involves fundraising, organizing the Founder’s Day Picnic, and purchasing new items for our store. I am excited to see what she comes up with.

Dennis Parrish (my amazing Dad) has taken on the position of VP of Programs. Some of you may remember the great programs he presented to us in the past. I cannot wait to see his next Program! Tami Eskridge is BACK…and she will now be our new VP of the Museum and Archives. With the many great donations we have received, I am looking forward to working with her on new exhibits for your enjoyment. Also, Carolyn Wispe-Burns will continue to be our Treasurer. Michelle Bernardin, our immediate Past President, has also been editing this newsletter. Let us know if you’d like to relieve her and join our team!

I can happily report that these dedicated committee chairs will be continuing in their current positions:
Denice Renteria – Costumes Chair
Andrew Weissman – Government Liaison
Julie Lugo Cerra – Historic Sites
Jeanne Conklin – Membership Chair
Michael Laase – Parliamentarian
Kevin Lachoff – Photographer
Mark Morris – Videographer

I cannot thank our Wednesday volunteers enough for their hard work and dedication to get the museum digitized! We continue to make huge gains, and it is through the generous support from you, our members, and the amazing people that I have just mentioned.

Thanks to you all, and I look forward to seeing you at our next General Program to see what Dad has in store for us!

The April 15, 2020 General Meeting and Program Has Been Cancelled

By Hope Parrish in Announcements, Meetings, Society Events April 1, 2020 0 Comment

As we continue to monitor and adjust to the changing environment in our city and broader world, we are erring on the side of caution and minding the current city-wide recommendations for large gatherings.

Unfortunately, we are cancelling our next General Meeting and Program on Wednesday, April 15.

We are working on a program of the Culver City airports and Petrelli’s Airport Café, and look forward to presenting this fantastic program in July. Stay tuned!

Stay safe, stay healthy, and be there for each other in these confusing times. More than we value history, we value you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Capturing the History of Our City’s Leadership in Images

By Julie Lugo Cerra in Articles, Culver City History, Historic Sites, Notes from your City Historian March 1, 2020 0 Comment

Former Mayor Michael Tellefson (Julie Lugo Cerra)

There is always a story in history! I would like to share one with you and then ask for your help. Many years ago, two city employees rescued some of Culver City’s historic assets. Both men worked on the second floor of the previous city hall, which is still remembered by many who walk through the ¾ façade entry on that site today at Culver Boulevard and Duquesne Avenue. While the aforementioned employees, Dale Jones (CAO) and Saverio Cerra (Engineering), were looking through a top floor storage space, they noticed boxes of saved items, including a collection of mounted photos. The images were Culver City’s elected officials starting in 1917, the year the city was incorporated. The list began with R.P. Davidson, the first chairman of the Board of Trustees (1917-18), Walter Edwards, V.R. Day, Mrs. V.R. Day (appointed to fill husband’s term), etc. Later, the remnants of this collection, which ended in 1960, was given to our Culver City Historical Society for safe keeping.

Over time, the plaques helped to broaden our knowledge of the early City Trustees, now City Councilmembers. With your help, we can update the wall of honor. We are beginning to receive some of the missing portraits. Please help if you can—if you have high-quality portraits or can let relatives or the individuals on this list know! Reach out to us via email or phone call. We have the resources to perma-plaque images to match the original plaques, some of which appear in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers.

From incorporation in 1917 to date, we need images of the following officials:

B.J. Higuera (1917)
Mrs. V.R. Day (1921), who finished her husband’s term
Dan F. Coombs (1920-29)
W. S. McNeir (1920)
Earl Bobier (1922-30)
David E. Clark (1926-32)
John F. Lehman (1932-40)
Phillip F. Stephon (1932-40)
Arthur Segrell (1934-38, 1942-6, 1946-50)
R. H. Segrell (1934-42)
Francis Robert Reeves (1938-40)
Ray L. Haskell (1940-44)
Walter H. Hahn (1944-45, recalled)
Robert C. LaComb (1944-45, recalled)
Thomas J. Carroll (1945, 1948-52)
William G. Douglas, Jr. (1946-50)
Edward T. Castle (1950-54)
Harlan J. Thompson (1952-54)
Joseph L. Sullivan (1952-56)
Ed Juline (1952-56)
Robert Unruhe (1956-60)
Raymond O’Neal (1958-62)
Garland F. Garrett (1960-64)
Gerald Margolis (1962-66)
Joe Lawless (1964-68)
Martin A. Lotz (1968-76)
John Carl Brogdon (1970-74)
Richard Pachtman (1970-78)
Dr. James Boulgarides (1972-80, 1988-96)
Richard Alexander (1974-90)
A. Ronald Perkins (1974-86)
Richard Ross Brundo (1976-88)
Paul Jacobs (1976-92)
Jozelle Smith (1986-94)
Steven Gourley (1988-96)
Ian Michael Balkman (1990-98)
Albert Vera (1992-2000, 2002-06)
Edward Wolkowitz (1994-2002)
Sandra Levin (1996-2000)
Richard Marcus (1996-2000)
David Hauptman (1998-2002)
Alan Corlin (2000-08)
Carol Gross (2000-08)
Steven J. Rose (2000-08)
Gary Silbiger (2002-10)
Scott Malsin (2006-10, 2010-11)
Christopher Armenta (2008-12)
Mehaul O’Leary (2008-16)
Andrew Weissman (2008-16)
Jeffrey Cooper (2010-18)
Meghan Sahli-Wells (2012-20)
Jim Clarke (2012-14, 2014-18)
Thomas Aujero Small (2016-20)
Goran Ericsson (2016-20)
Alex Fisch (2018-22)
Thomas Lee (2018-22)

Thank you for any help!

The Rollerdrome Was My Neighbor

By Lydia Spiegelman in Articles, Culver City History February 1, 2020 0 Comment

Lydia, c. 1956 (Lydia Spiegelman)

The Rollerdrome was my love. I lived only four houses from it on Bentley Avenue. I spent many, many hours meeting people and learning to skate. I took lessons every Saturday morning and had races with fellow skaters. My Friday nights were spent at the Rollerdrome with friends, going out afterward for a “Piece O’ Pizza” across the street. (Eating pizza at 11:00pm is certainly something I can’t do now!) All of my childhood memories are there. Wonderful times spending birthdays, and just going to have fun. I can still remember the Rollerdrome’s comforting smell. As I got older, going on dates and skating “couples only” was so fun and special, especially if a good skater asked you to skate. This magical place was my heaven and I loved every moment I spent there. I still have my skates, with the original case and decals on it, and plan to leave them to our Historical Society. Still like new with precision wheels, which was all the rage at that time. It made skating so much smoother.

I remember when they filmed The Fugitive at the Rollerdome. It was very exciting to see a T.V. show being made right in our neighborhood. I was so thrilled to see David Janssen in person. Handsome as ever!

My parents’ bedroom was in the front of our house and every summer they opened the windows to let some cool air in because we didn’t have air conditioning. I remember my dad used to say, “I can’t sleep over that organ!” We lived so close that we could hear the organ playing and could dance to it. It was a wonderful time and I knew it. A very special period in my life, as it was in so many other lives. To this day I love hearing organ music and it reminds me of that magical place. Memories are made of this.

Winter 2020 Message

By Hope Parrish in Articles, President's Message January 16, 2020 0 Comment

Dear Members and Friends:

As we close 2019, reflecting on the honor it is to volunteer for this society, I want to recognize the many individuals dedicating time to this museum. I need to thank all of you. This society’s growth is dependent on its memberships, longtime to our most recent.

Dedicated volunteers, from our board to our youngest docent, you are the backbone of the museum. Since my term began, the Wednesday docents have worked very hard to update our database, allowing for more content description and photos of each item searched. The process of entering the data is very detailed, but our docents have made great progress getting our museum digitized. We have a state-of-the-art microfilm machine gifted to the Society from the Sahli-Wells family. Knowing we will soon be able to access the Star News from 1950-1980 will bring new light to researching.

Hackman Capital Partners helped us preserve four historic film windows

And the acquisitions! Where to begin? Iconic motion picture cast photos, Red Skelton’s fan mail, buried items at the Ivy Station dig, Stan Laurel’s bow tie, Little League collection and, on loan, the bible used in the 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty. Our two biggest donations (literally) were from the Art Directors Guild, four original MGM backdrops, and the 12’ x 3’ wide stained-glass window from The Magnificent Ambersons. I am grateful to Steve Auer and Hackman Capital Partners for including the Historical Society in the preservation effort of four film historic windows, three from Ambersons and the finale window from Gone with the Wind. Over the past 80 years, The Culver Studios property has had many owners, and housed these beautiful pieces of film history.

I look forward to another two years as President and hope we see you on January 15 for our board installation. Peace, Love, and Preservation!

Happy New Year!
Hope