Nifty Fifty
by Susie Hodgson
A long, long time ago, I can still remember…
Fifty years ago, a feisty, fiery, fetching woman was working in the Burbank Public Library. We’ll call her Mary Jane. (After all, that’s her name!)
Mary Jane’s family had been in Burbank since 1913 and her father was the first Police Chief of Burbank, meaning there was a lot of history in Mary Jane’s blood!
Over time, Mary Jane began to see that important documents and photographs were starting to disappear. That meant that future generations wouldn’t get to know the rich history of the city of Burbank -- and that was not okay. So she decided to do something about it. And that is how the Burbank Historical Society came into being.
At Mary Jane’s side was her husband Harry Strickland, a retired Burbank Police Detective. As a man in blue, he worked on big cases – that is, as big as they get in the otherwise peaceful town of Burbank. They include the true crime story I Want to Live, for which Susan Hayward won an Oscar, and the TV movie Til Death Us Do Part, co-written by Vincent Bugliosi, who would later become very famous for writing about another horrific crime. Think Helter Skelter.
Soon Mary Jane noticed that one of the last Victorian homes which was built in the previous century was on the chopping block and about to be demolished. So she raised the money to move that charming 1887 house from its old location on Orange Grove to its current location on Olive, saving the little home from the wrecking ball. That beautiful blue house is known to insiders as the Mentzer House, since it was the Mentzer family that lived there. Harry and friends spent the next three years re-building, re-finishing and renovating that house and it still stands today as a part of our museum, open on weekends from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. It’s eye opening, even shocking, to see what was – and wasn’t – in the houses of yesteryear.
One-time Society President and long-time Board member, the late, beloved Les Rosenberg once said, “I think people like the old house. They get a feeling of how things used to be. One time an older woman came through and spotted a cookbook on the kitchen table and she said that her mother used that book!”
At the first Historical Society Board meeting, held at the public library, eight people paid the first dues. $41 was collected. At the next meeting, 17 people showed up and, to quote Mary Jane, “We were on our way!”
Board member Ellen Dibble had arguably the toughest job of all. She catalogued, organized, and filled the reams of material the Society collected, which literally took years.
Gordon R. Howard and his wife Mary, as well as Ray Sense, Paul Lambert, and more opened their checkbooks in support of the museum, named for Gordon R. Howard. To put it bluntly, Mary Jane sure could raise money. And you’ll notice most of the donors were men! Like I said, Mary Jane was one fetching, flawlessly fantastic fundraiser!
The Gordon R. Howard/Burbank Historical Society Museum with its accompanying Mentzer House is a treasure trove of Burbank artifacts; dresses, shoes and jewelry from the 1800s and 1900s; dolls; cameras; a farmhouse section; antique vehicles (that still run!); business signs (remember Don’s?) and much more. The Lockheed room is a magnet for visitors (it seems EVERYONE knows someone who worked at Lockheed!) and the many studio exhibits are fascinating.
Every person who poured their blood, sweat and tears into creating the Burbank Historical Society, the Mentzer House and the Gordon R. Howard Museum were volunteers. Still are!
So come by, join us at our events (such as the one coming up in July; see below) and enjoy! And a great big Cheers and Thanks to the late, great, one-of-a-kind Mary Jane Strickland!
ON SATURDAY, JULY 15TH, FROM 1 TO 4 PM, THE BURBANK HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL BE HOSTING ITS COMMUNITY BBQ & ICE CREAM SOCIAL! WE’LL HAVE PLENTY TO EAT (MEXICAN FOOD, SANDWICHES, ICE CREAM, COTTON CANDY, ETC.), GREAT ENTERTAINMENT -- PLUS IT’S OPEN TO EVERYONE! FREE FOR SOCIETY MEMBERS, SMALL CHARGE FOR NON-MEMBERS AND FUN FOR ALL!
Want to learn more about Burbank? Come visit us!
The Burbank Historical Society/Gordon R. Howard Museum
OPEN SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, 1 TO 4 pm - FREE Admission!
Located in George Izay Park, right next to the Creative Arts Center
Phone: (818) 841-6333
Web site: www.burbankhistoricalsoc.org
Email: ghowardmuseum@sbcglobal.net