correspondence

Deeds, Not Words: Women's Organizations and Loyalty Oaths

October 02, 2018

World War II ended in 1945, but victory soon turned to an uneasy peace, as long running tensions between once Allied nations surfaced in what became known as the Cold War. The tensions between Communist Russia and the democratic United States are referred to as a Cold War, since animosity between the two took shape in the form of proxy wars and political maneuvering, rather than prolonged violent fighting between the two countries...

The Carl S. Dentzel Collection

September 25, 2018

The Carl S. Dentzel Collection documents the work and influence of Dentzel throughout his lifetime as a journalist and a community activist, including the renaming of the city of Northridge, coverage of the conflicts abroad between the U.S., Central America, South America, and Europe, and his work with organizations such as the Cultural Heritage Board of the City of Los Angeles, Museum Alliance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural...

Community Fairs

September 04, 2018

Fairs vary in size, location, and purpose. Larger scale fairs, like state fairs, usually last for weeks or months, whereas county and neighborhood fairs typically run for a few days or weeks. Types of fairs vary from agricultural shows to those that are meant to educate local communities about different topics. Fairs vary in size and focus, but are meant to bring people together, be fun, and have an aspect of education, even if it is for self-promotion...

special collections

urban archives

old china hands archives

The Susan B. Nelson Collection

June 26, 2018

The Susan B. Nelson Collection documents Susan Nelson's professional and personal life, most notably the fundamental role she played in the creation of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The collection details the work of the Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore and the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore Foundation, which Nelson worked with to realize the dream of an urban park for residents of the greater Los Angeles area...

On the Eve of Suffrage: The Philanthropic and Educational Work of the Reseda Woman's Club, 1918-1920

May 07, 2018

On May 2, 1918 a local newspaper announced the organization of the Mother's Club of Marian, noting the Club’s purpose was "to be of patriotic service, to become a center for broader social life, and to work unitedly for the advancement of both school and community." Marian would later change its name...

A Look Back at the Sylmar Earthquake

February 06, 2018

This week marks the 47th anniversary of the Sylmar Earthquake. Many details of that difficult time are documented in the Duane Georgeson Papers, held in Special Collections and Archives. Duane Georgeson was a twelve-year veteran of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power...

The Canoga Park High School Collection

December 12, 2017

Canoga Park High School is one of the oldest high school in the San Fernando Valley. The school first opened as Owensmouth High on October 4^th, 1914 with three teachers and fourteen students. In 1931, the school's name was changed after the town of Owensmouth became known as Canoga Park. The Canoga Park High School Collection consists of...

Civilian Internment in China, 1941-1945

December 05, 2017

Japanese incursions into China began as early as 1931, shortly after the Mukden (or Manchurian) Incident. The following six years saw several smaller incursions, both military and political. For the Far East and Southeast Asia, the war began with the full-scale Japanese invasion of China in 1937; two years later it would become World War II...

old china hands archives

The Mimi Melnick Collection

October 31, 2017

The Mimi Melnick Collection documents Mimi Melnick's personal and professional life, most significantly her influence over the emergence of jazz as a legitimate area of academic study and her role in the development and promotion of jazz in the Los Angeles area between 1958 ...

Canoga Park Women's Club Collection

September 12, 2017

The woman's club movement was a social movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. The first wave during the Progressive era was started by white, middle-class women, and a later phase was led by African-American women. While most began as social or literary clubs, they eventually began working towards social reform...