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Collections and Research Assistant, Christina Butler, has created a fun blog highlighting fascinating tidbits of historical information and photos. Check it out here and enjoy her insights into the quirky side of Catalina history! http://catalinamuseum.wordpress.com/ Staff Blog This new page is intended to share an insider's view to the Museum and our Island Community. Staff will post writings here periodically to share their stories and insights. Every day is special here at the museum and we are learning something new all the time! We also are privileged to meet wonderful people and hear their great memories of the Island. Keep checking for postings and please share your feedback with us. **************************************************************************************** March 27, 2009 Times are tough these days and the island isn’t isolated from that. People are uncertain about the future and are feeling financially pinched. I’m feeling more conservative myself and have cut back here and there and am socking money away when I can. What does this mean for the museum? Well, we’re finding out day by day. In the past six months we’ve had fewer visitors and they’re spending less money in the store. That means that two of our key revenue streams are down which makes watching our cash flow a vital activity. But our supporters are still there. Some have had to cut back a little on what they give, but I’ve been very heartened by their continuing generosity. Our board has been very supportive and between their efforts and those of the staff we’re doing everything we can think of to not cut back on key programs or the staffing which allows us to do those programs. Some organizations respond to recessions by holing up and waiting for it to blow over. Not us. This is an important time for us. We will look for new sources of funding, we’re expanding our marketing as much as we can afford in hopes that new audiences find us. We’ll continue to expand our “cyber” efforts to share Catalina and her rich history with the rest of the world. And, most importantly, we’re developing thoughtful plans for our future so that the dirt that we just purchased in January will someday turn into a wonderful and permanent home for Catalina’s history—and one that’s economically sustainable for the long haul. Stacey Otte, Executive Director ************************************************************************************************** February 20, 2009 Everyone has seen countless photos of our famous landmark, the Casino, from various views and at many different times of the day over the years. That is why I just had to share this photo of a more uncommon view. Last week, after a much needed rain shower, a beautiful rainbow appeared above the Casino. I was mesmerized. Typically we don’t get much rain on the island, which in turn means that we don’t have the opportunity for many rainbows either. What a nice surprise it was to see this on my lunch break. For me it was just another reason why I enjoy living on Catalina Island . Enjoy! -- Gail Fornasiere, Executive Assistant/Membership Coordinator
February 5, 2009 I have recently been very busy updating exhibits in the museum’s galleries. Our special exhibition on the ‘Birth of Sportfishing’ closed in early January and I had to take it down to make room for our 9th Annual Plein Air Painting exhibition. It is always a little sad for me to take down an exhibition that I worked so hard to create. In fact it is amazing to me how fast it comes down after I spent months on research and development. It usually takes me about two weeks to install an exhibition in our special exhibits gallery and then when the exhibit closes it takes only about one day to take it apart. I was especially attached to the sportfishing exhibit because I had a lot of fun researching and preparing the exhibit. It is such an interesting topic and since we received a donation from the Tuna Club Foundation for the exhibit I had some extra money to play with to make the exhibit more interactive and exciting. However all things must come to an end and I always enjoy updating the museum with fresh new exhibits. Luckily, in the case of sportfishing it is such a crucial topic to our history that we dedicate permanent space in our galleries for it and so I was able to reuse many of the elements from the big exhibition in the newly updated permenant sportfishing exhibit. Once the special sportfishing exhibit was cleared out of our special exhibition gallery it was time to repaint and prepare for the 9th Annual Catalina Island Plein Air Painting exhibition. This year I was able to bring in 23 paintings on loan for the exhibition from 8 private collections. They are all contemporary paintings of beautfiul Catalina scenes painted by talented Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA) artists. Some of the featured artists include Frank LaLumia, Joseph Paquet, John Budicin, Mary DeLoyt Arendt, Jean Legassick and Kenn Backhaus to name a few. This year I also decided to pay tribute to local artist Stan Sampson who passed away in May of 2008. Four of Stan’s paintings are featured in the exhibit along with his French Easel and some tools of his trade. I would like to thank Joe Sampson for working with me to honor his father’s memory. The exhibit also features a video station with segments covering the history of plein air painting in California. Another addition you may notice this year is new banners in the museum and street banners along Casino Way advertising the exhibit. We worked with a graphics firm in Minnesota to create a new look for the banners and they did a beautiful job. I would also like to thank the Society for the Advancement of Plein Air Painting for their continued sponsorship of this exhibition. Well, now that the Plein Air exhibit has opened and I finished the installation of the permanent sportfishing display it is time for me to start working on our next special exhibition that will open this summer. It should be a fun one to research and develop since we will be highlighting Catalina’s Hollywood History. I am looking for stories and memorabilia so give me a call if you remember a celebrity visit or a movie being filmed on the Island. Or, maybe you have a movie prop in your collection or some photographs. Give me a call!
Jeannine
Pedersen *********************************************************************
August 16, 2008 Visitor Questions II: Frequently Asked & Unusual Here at the Catalina Island Museum, we greet and talk to many island visitors each day. In doing so, we field a lot of interesting questions. Some questions are pretty standard or ‘frequently asked’, while others are quite unusual and can catch us off guard. Over a series of blog entries I am, with the help of the entire Museum staff, trying to answer some of these questions. First a very common question…. How many people live on the island? Actually the first question is: Do you live on the island or do you commute? Followed by: How many people actually live here? The population as of the 2000 census was 3,696 people, with almost 85% living in its only city of Avalon. Currently about 4000 people live on the island year round. Most of these people live and work here but of course there are always exceptions. Some people do actually live on the mainland and commute to the island for work. The best examples of this would be some nurses for the Catalina Island Medical Center and some of our teachers at the Avalon Public School. In the summer months the island resident population grows due to the need of extra part-time help in response to the increased number of visitors to the island. Most summer months the total population, including tourists, will grow to 10,000 – 12,000 people. Avalon is the host for the majority of these people and that is all within 2 square miles! Now for a more unique question…. How did golf carts become the main mode of transportation? As far back as the 1930s visitors and islanders alike have enjoyed some rather unique options to get around our beautiful island. In those days you could pay to have a horse pulling a two-wheeled cart, take you around Avalon. It lasted about 1 hour and apparently the animals automatically knew the way. If you wanted to stop you would just pull the reigns. Over time this idea evolved and by the mid-1950s you could rent a motorized three-wheeled cart to get around Avalon to see the sights. In the late 1950s and early 60s the more traditional golf cart started to become the popular choice, especially as rentals. Also in the early 1960s, the Avalon City Council determined it was time to start regulating the amount of full-size vehicles on the island and they came up with size parameters for appropriate smaller vehicles (roughly the size of your average golf cart) which they referred to as autoettes. (The permits used for golf carts today are still referred to as autoette permits.) The early to mid-1960s were also a time when new condos were being built. The people buying these (many from the mainland) saw more value in their property if they could also have a vehicle with it. Because of the regulations on full-size vehicles, the natural choice became a golf cart. By the mid-late 70s many island residents adopted golf carts as their main mode of transportation as well.
Today most islanders have a personal golf cart and there are two golf cart rental companies (three locations) for visitors to choose from. According to the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce, a recent survey found that renting a golf cart was the #1 tourist activity on Catalina Island! I would like to thank some of our long-time island residents, especially Ralph Morrow, Chuck Liddell and Doug Bombard, for their help. Please check back for my next set of questions and answers. Also, if you have a specific question you would like us to answer please feel free to email me at membership@catalinamuseum.org with the subject: Blog question. Gail Fornasiere **************************************************************************************** July 5, 2008 Fourth of July
For several years now the museum has participated in the Fourth of July parade. This year we wanted to let people know about our exciting new exhibit on the history of sportfishing on Catalina. Thanks to our two summer interns, Meghan Berver from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies and Vanessa Gonzalez of Long Beach, our float featured 10 fish "puppets" representing common species around Catalina: flying fish, blue and yellow fin tuna, barracuda, marlin and more. It was a long hot walk and the streets were jammed with people laughing, clapping and cheering as each float passed by. When you're in the parade, it's amazing to see just how many people love to be on Catalina for the fourth. It's like walking through a neverending tunnel of people.
There were tons of entries in the parade...many locals and community groups like Avalon Rotary, Catalina Island Humane Society and more. And it's fun to see summer residents and visitors taking part in the all the fun, too. What really elevates our parade into something special, beyond the quirkiness of decorated golf carts, is the ever-amazing USC Trojans Marching Band. I'll admit I'm not a hard-core Trojans fan (yay, Sun Devils!) but I am a tremendous fan of the band which is full of enthusiastic, talented and disciplined musicians. After the parade it is so fun to randomly run across pockets of kids jamming and practicing before the evening's performance in the Casino Ballroom. Fight on, Trojans Marching Band! I hope all of you had a fun and festive Fourth and take a little bit of the Catalina patriotic spirit home with you! Stacey Otte
**************************************************************************************** June 20, 2008 twentysixmiles
Most of you probably know by now that Avalon is hosting a tv series production crew who is filming the pilot and initial episodes for a new show called "twentysixmiles." The show stars John Schneider, once of Dukes of Hazzard fame (and many other productions, including some great appearances on Nip/Tuck). We don't know if the show will be picked up yet, but there are certainly high hopes that it might. You can imagine in these economically challenging times what a boon an ongoing tv production would be for us! Especially since it features Catalina as Catalina...and our hope is that the island is as much of a character as any of the human ones. Catalina has been the set and backdrop for hundreds of movie and tv productions since the birth of Hollywood. Early legends like Cecil B. de Mille and D. W. Griffiths used Catalina time and again. And quite a legacy all of these productions have left us--perhaps most tangibly the offspring of the original 14 head of buffalo brought over in 1924 for a Zane Grey production, The Vanishing American (but they apparently vanished onto the cutting room floor, so don't expect to find them if you actually watch the flick). The island has welcomed the congenial crew of "twentysixmiles," and we are collectively crossing our fingers that we'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming months and even years. With Catalina as the backdrop for this family-oriented show, how could it not become a hit!? I personally am fascinated by the logistics and mechanics of how a tv show is produced and hope to get to know some of the crew and actors while they're here, as well as take some behind-the-scenes photos so we can document this for posterity. Assuming we get their blessing, we'll be posting more blogs about the show, along with some photos in the coming weeks. In the meantime, hope you're enjoying your summer!
Stacey Otte **************************************************************************************** June 17, 2008 Visitor Questions: Frequently Asked & Unusual Here at the Catalina Island Museum, we greet and talk to many island visitors each day. In doing so, we field a lot of interesting questions. Some questions are pretty standard or ‘frequently asked’, while others are quite unusual and can catch us off guard. Over a series of blog entries I will, with the help of the entire Museum staff, try to answer some of these questions. First a very common question…. If this is a casino, where do I go to gamble? Originally, ‘casino’ meant a small villa built for pleasure. During the 19th century, the term casino came to include other buildings where social activities took place. So, in 1929 when William Wrigley, Jr. was building the state of the art theatre and magnificent ballroom he used the term ‘casino’ in its general sense as a “place of entertainment” to describe this new landmark for Avalon. Of all the different activities held over the years at the Casino, none have included gambling. The next time you are in Avalon please visit the Museum, located on the ground floor of the Casino building, to learn more about this unique building and our island’s rich history. Now for a more unique question…. When & where did Marilyn Monroe live on the island?
Marilyn Monroe married James Dougherty in 1942, when she was only 16. He joined the United States Merchant Marine in 1943 and was sent to Catalina Island for boot camp. Marilyn (then Norma Jeane) naturally came along and they lived on the island until he was sent overseas in 1944. No one is exactly certain where they lived while on the island. Some research has been done by various parties over the years and the best guess is somewhere near or at the top of Metropole Avenue in Avalon. It is also rumored that she would often babysit for neighborhood children, but that has not been confirmed. Please check back for my next set of questions and answers. Also, if you have a specific question you would like us to answer please feel free to email me at membership@catalinamuseum.org with the subject: Blog question. Gail Fornasiere **************************************************************************************** May 3, 2008 Last weekend, Crescent Avenue (also known as Front Street to us locals) hosted about 20 vintage motorcycles in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the last Grand Prix motorcycle race in 1958. Event organizer Johnny Brown did a great job pulling the event together and invited the museum to participate.
Our curator, Jeannine Pedersen, put together a photo exhibit for our booth on Wrigley Stage. She also pulled out a vintage trophy and some racing footage courtesy of volunteer and museum member Roger Meadows. Our booth attracted lots of interest while folks poured over the photos and copies of the programs. Intrepid and dedicated volunteer Dean Hill happily grabbed his video camera and filmed the bikes as well as got some great interviews with former racers and oganizer Johnny Brown. This footage, combined with our historic racing footage and photos will be edited into a 10-15 minute segment for our Telethon coming up this fall in November. More and more we look
for opportunities at special events like this to videotape, Many thanks to volunteer Laurie Hill for both helping at the booth and coordinating all the other volunteers that pitched in. Here's some background on the Grand Prix races from Jeannine:
****************************************************************************************
March 22, 2008 Spring has definitely sprung on Catalina and it's one of the most beautiful ones I've ever experienced here. Here are two photos I took a few weekends ago that will hopefully whet your appetite for more. The burn areas are green, green, green, and believe it or not, there are areas that look more like Ireland than Southern California. It's times and vistas like these that make me so grateful for living here.
Well, in the last few weeks I've taken a few hours here and there to spend some time in the hills and I've been reminded, on a very deep and maybe even spiritual level, why I'm still here. Catalina Island is a very special place. It is unlike anywhere else I've ever been or ever lived. The sense of community is unparalled and the scenic beauty unmatched. I can walk to work in five minutes, I can watch the sun rise over the ocean while I sip my morning coffee, and my neighbors watch out for me, just like I watch out for them. I'm blessed to live here and doubly blessed to have a very challenging and rewarding career, as well. From this side of the ocean, life is looking pretty good. Stacey Otte
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I've
lived on the island for (gulp!) seventeen years which is a startling
thought in many ways. I have family and friends that shake their
heads at the thought that I'm still living on "that island." When
am I going to rejoin the "real world?" they wonder.
I
am happy to report that I just finished writing my
third book with Arcadia Publishing,
I
have not lived here for quite a year yet, but what a
year it has been! I moved to Catalina Island with my
boyfriend last March from Minneapolis, MN. It has
been a big change for us. Of course, we cannot get
enough of the Southern California weather especially
this time of year. I grew up on a lake in a small
tourist town in northern Wisconsin. As you can
imagine, the island is completely different than the
Midwest. I would have never dreamed I would have the
opportunity to live on an island in the Pacific
Ocean. So far it has been a great adventure and we
try to take advantage of the ‘island life’ as much
as possible. We have traveled numerous times into
the interior and relaxed on the other side of the
island, watched the buffalo, explored Two Harbors
and have had great meals at the Airport in the Sky.
We have also been kayaking with sea lions swimming
around us, been on a fishing charter and have been
lucky enough to travel by boat all the way around
the island seeing many aspects of the island that
most people have never had the chance to see. We
certainly do not take our surroundings for granted.
There have also been some trying times with the fire
that happened back in May which threatened our new
home in Avalon. This was not exactly the adventure
we were looking for. However, what came out of it
and what impressed us the most was how this small
community came together to help each other and
support our dedicated local and state firemen and
women, as well as all the other entities, that came
together in our community’s time of need. In the
end, it was a great feeling to know that we had
moved to such an amazing and unique place.
