Treasure buried in the basement Treasure buried in the basement (September 15, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Jewels rarely come in drab shades of gray, but the boxes blanketing a wall in the Menlo Park Historical Association's office are a treasure trove.

Inside are postcards of World War I nurses in white robes, a glass ashtray with Menlo Park's oak tree logo, a flag with 48 stars, yellowed clippings from the now-defunct Palo Alto Times, and countless other pieces of the past.

Many residents donate collections of heirlooms after inheriting them from relatives, while some of the bounty comes from a lucky break. Hand-written minutes from Sequoia Union High School District board meetings dating back to 1895 came to the association after someone found them in the walls of a house being demolished.

"If this organization did not exist, a lot of Menlo Park would have been destroyed or thrown away," member Bill Weseloh muses about the association, which was started by the Friends of the Menlo Park Library around 1970.

Spotting a box labeled "Lucie Vandergon," association president Dick Angus exclaims, "Oh! She was my first-grade teacher!" Searching for a class photo, he casually rattles off a list of his childhood instructors.

"How can you remember that stuff?" Mr. Weseloh asks.

The treasure trove may be down in the library basement, but it doesn't have to be buried from residents. Association members say anyone is welcome to come take a dive into the archives, ask questions about Menlo Park history, listen to taped oral histories from longtime residents, or donate old items.

City Clerk Silvia Vonderlinden says residents often contact her with questions, such as what year someone served on the City Council or whom a park is named after, because they haven't heard of the association. But she knows where to go for the answers.

"It's amazing how helpful they can be from such small quarters," she says of the association.

Susan Holmer, director of library services for the city, says she often directs patrons down to the association, but adds that the group's limited hours reduce the amount of times that happens.

"When your hours are middle-of-the-day hours, it's hard for anyone other than retirees," she says.

She adds that the association makes a perfect library neighbor, because of its focus on research and its educational exhibits in its glass display cases.

For the association, though, the cases are merely a tease. With more members, perhaps they could expand their hours and find more display space to do their collection justice, they say.

"We have stuff here that I haven't even seen," Mr. Weseloh says wistfully. "It would take you forever to go through all these drawers."

E-mail a friend a link to this story.