By Christina Chanes Nystrom,
March 15, 2007
In an attempt to expand its collection, the Historical Society of Pomona Valley is inviting members of the community to share their personal "Stories of the Pomona Valley" at the Pomona Ebell Museum of History on Saturday and April 21 and May 19.
As part of the California Council for the Humanities' California Stories initiative, the society is asking locals to bring in copies of family and regional photos for inclusion in the permanent archive.
"We're interested in anything anyone wants to share with us so that we can document and share that with others in our community," said Mickey Gallivan, president of the society.
"We are also interested in collecting as many stories from the minority communities, which live or lived in the area."
Gallivan said a man recently came into the office to share his photos of an informal motorcycle club in Pomona Valley during World War II.
"It was really very interesting as the club of men toured around the area and to other places, actually doing stunts on their bikes," Gallivan said. "The photos were wonderful, and for us, items such as these are a good way for us to collect and to document the things that happened in our community and what those who lived here did during the period they were here."
A grant received from the California Council for the Humanities allows the organization to make copies of the photos as well as tape personal accounts of family histories to preserve them for future generations.
Historical Society board member Sandra Posey said what is interesting is that many families have been in and around the area for years and that they have stories to share.
"Every year is important - everything from the Japanese interment camps that were used to house Japanese families at Pomona Fairgrounds during World War II, as well as those who lived here during the '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and into the present day," said Posey. "We welcome anyone and everyone to help us further document the history of our valley."
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