Alameda County: The Center of Western Industry

At the vintage paper fair this weekend I also picked up a series of booklets published by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 1915 to encourage families and businesses to move here. The first one is about Alameda County as a center of industry. Oakland in particular, was a thriving city all the way through the second World War- I film I watched recently from the 1930's referred to it as "the Detroit of the west" (at the time of course Detroit was also thriving and known as the "Paris of the west."). It is also interesting to note that at this time, Los Angeles was not of much consequence- the movie industry was only in its beginning stages and when Americans thought of California, Oakland and San Francisco would have been the first places that came to mind.

Oakland, Gateway to Pleasure

Some more local historical ephemera- I LOVE the sticker above. I was born and raised in Oakland and although I now live in Albany, I still have a very soft spot for my hometown. If you're interested in Oakland history, I cannot recommend a trip to the Oakland History Room at the public library enough. It is one of the most amazing resources around. I bought the brochure below because of its color and graphics. It claims that in Oakland, "gaiety gets in your very blood," and looks like it was published in the 1930's.

California, Where Life is Better

I first started getting interested in California history, and particularly the history of the East Bay and Oakland, when I was in college. One of my professors- the amazing Brian Shure- recognized my interest and loaned me a copy of a brochure he owned called California: Where Life is Better. Published in 1925 by "Californians, Inc.," the booklet advertises "authoritative information" about the superiority of our state over others. At the time I was blown away and tempted to steal Brian's copy to add to my own collection, but I am glad I didn't because yesterday I found my own copy at the vintage paper fair! The book is filled with charts advertising the number of "sunshiny" days in San Francisco versus other cities, the comparative wages for workers, acres of forest per capita, cost of electricity, etc., etc. and discusses in great detail the many benefits of living in such a wonderful place. Here is the introduction:

Why is a Californian such an astonishing phenomenon to the uninitiated and uncomprehending outlander? What vision have they seen that makes these Californians not merely contented citizens of a prosperous commonwealth, but missionaries, crusaders, impassioned bearers of glad tidings to the dwellers in less favored portions of America and of the world?

Often Eastern friends, irked by the monotonous paeans of praise sung by the residents of the land of sunshine and flowers, are moved to ask such questions as these. But they are never completely answered until the questioners themselves come to California. Then the mystery at once becomes plain...

A Californian is a person who has acquired a new scale of values, a new sense of life. Note that the most rhapsodic Californians are not necessarily Native Sons, but newcomers of one, two, or three years' residence. A Californian is a human being who, after years of struggle with a less bountiful Mother Nature, suddenly finds his fundamental adjustments to life eased, relaxed, rendered incomparably more pleasant and advantageous. If he is a particularly hard-bitten individual, if life elsewhere has treated him harshly, it may take as long as half a dozen years before he fully appreciates his improved estate. Then he begins to unbend. He is kinder, both to himself and to his neighbors. He discovers, often with a kind of naive bewilderment, what a fine and gracious thing life can be.Seeing California's fertile valleys pour forth their almost incredible abundance, he loses his distrust of life, and taps resources of confidence and enterprise that he scarcely knew he possessed. He dreams large romantic dreams and then sets to gaily and makes them come true before the eyes of an astonished world.

The Californians inherits a natural domain unparalleled in wealth and beauty. He is rich in all the essentials of life and rapidly growing richer. He is happy. He wants everybody to know about it. There is nothing very complicated about the Californian's psychology. He is merely showing the effects of an unaccustomed fullness of heart. And the strangest part about the gorgeous tales he tells, is that almost all of them are true.

The booklet goes on to discuss California's natural beauty and resources, our educational system, employment, etc., and also includes a section titled Breeding a Superior Race:

It is a fact, recently established beyond question by a report of the United States Children's Bureau, that California children grow to a greater weight and height for their ages than the average children of the United States. When these children reach college their promise is fulfilled, as is evidenced by the number of tennis, track, an football stars California has produced in recent years.

Amazing, right? I am going to be posting some of the other great ephemera I picked up over the next couple days, so stay tuned.

Shameless

Poppytalk has announced the first annual Poppy Awards and I am asking you, my readers, to please nominate me for a Poppy in the papergoods category. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, with the name of my company, Pie Bird Press, and a link to my website, http://piebirdpress.com. They are not accepting anonymous nominations, so please leave your name.

Thank you so much!

Click here to nominate me!

Notes from the Point, January 2010

Weekend Outfits

dress: anthropologie, tights: we love colors, shoes: j.crew, necklace: anthropologie, sweater: j. crew


dress: vintage, tights: we love colors, necklace: topshop, shoes: camper, sweater: anthropologie

Etsy Favorites

magical pony farm


jantar


foret


petites curiosités


pardon my vintage


joey's second story


the wonderful store


the cedar chest

Sidewalk Secrets- Update

I started another blog to house my collection of sidewalk stamp photos. Check it out here!

Resolved

I can't believe 2009 is already over. I did a good job of keeping my resolutions (except learning to make cheese... maybe this year I will finally take a trip to Massachusetts to learn from this lady). I still didn't read as much as I'd like, but I did manage to get through some good books. I definitely went to more shows, saw more art, spent more time with friends, and said "yes" much more than "no" to the opportunities that came my way. I also kept my house more tidy (although I must admit that it will never be spotless), started cooking more for myself, and kept my list of things that make me happy, which I think has made me more appreciative of how wonderful my life is. I also managed to leave the country (something I hadn't done in years), and lose 20 pounds. This year I want to stick to a lot of my previous resolutions, with maybe a couple of changes. Here goes:

1. Travel more. I was lucky enough to travel quite a bit with my family when I was a kid, and spent some time abroad in college, but as an adult it can feel a lot harder to get away. My trip to Paris in October was a nice reminder that I can get away, and of how much I love it. This year I intend to go abroad again and take more trips to visit my friends around the country.

2. Read more. I think my life is too busy to read 3 books a month anymore, but one per month is a good place to start.

3. Go to more shows. I really enjoyed getting back into the music scene last year. I may have gotten too old for noise shows in warehouses filled with hipsters under 25, but it's still fun to go out and support my friends' bands, and see old favorites.

4. See more art. Ok, I did a terrible job of going to the Art Murmur regularly last year. I would really like to try and go every month.

5. Keep a list of things that make me happy. Keeping this list has really been great. It's so nice to sit down at the end of the day and think about the things that made me smile. Even if it feels like a bad day, there is always something that reminds me how lucky I am. And on the very worst days, it's wonderful to look back through the days and count my blessings.

6. Keep my house tidy. This is always the hardest thing for me, but I am resolved to do it. Having a clean house makes me feel better about everything.

7. Take a class in cheesemaking, breadmaking, food styling or something.

8. Spend lots of time with friends. Almost nothing makes me happier.

9. Continue to say "yes" to life. I want to continue to take advantage of all the great places and events that the Bay Area has to offer. This includes historical walks, a visit to the Luther Burbank home, planetarium shows, attending a soil tasting, guided foraging, film festivals, going to the races, seasonal fruit picking (I can't miss blueberry season again this year!), trying new restaurants, whale watching, etc., etc..

10. Lose another 25 pounds. Somehow in the last 10 years I gained much more weight than I ever realized. I have already dropped two clothing sizes, which is very exciting. I want to be able to wear all my fabulous vintage clothes again, and weigh what my driver's license says I do.

11. Cook for myself. It's easy to get lazy when there's nobody else to cook for, but I always feel good about myself when I make a meal.

12. Be the best friend, daughter, dog-owner, and business woman I can be. I am very lucky to have great friends, a great family, a loving, furry, companion, and to be doing what I want with my career and I don't want anyone to ever think I take any of it for granted.

Happy New Year!!