April 2018
The History Corner
by David Mostardi, Club Historian
Once Upon A Hillside: 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago
April 1918
Fireside Meeting: Communication was read from Juliet Garber Stringham as to a Red Cross benefit, and from Mrs. L. J. Robson regarding the Liberty Loan parade. Mr. Irving Whitney offered his truck, and arrangements were made for the Club to participate in the parade to be held in Berkeley on April 6th.
Mrs. Shaw called attention that Dr. Williams and Dr. Mitchell were entitled to stars on our service flag. [Dr. Clara Williams and Dr. Elsie Reed Mitchell, who spent much of their careers in military medical service, were profiled in the July 2011 History Corner. A service flag is a banner that family members of those serving in the United States Armed Forces can display. The flag has a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. The service flag originally applied only to World War I, and it was later expanded to include “any period of war or hostilities.” The Hillside Club evidently had a service flag at the Clubhouse as part of the Club’s service during World War I.]
The business meeting was adjourned and the members were addressed by Mr. Bernard Maybeck, who introduced Miss Peck. She told of her travels through Serbia with lantern slides illustrating the art and the life of the Serbian people. Professor Noyes then read some of his own translation of Serbian poetry, about the Maid of Arseval and the traditional hero, Marco Crollovich. Mr. Perunovich, a Serbian official had one of the native instruments, the gusle, which he played while chanting one of the native songs. [The most popular hero of Serbian epic poetry is Marko Kraljevic (“Marko the Prince”), who traditionally lived for 300 years during the late Middle Ages. The poems were composed by anonymous poets after the fall of the Serbian Empire to the Ottomans. … George Rapall Noyes (1873-1952) was the founder and first chair of the Slavic Languages Department at UC Berkeley. He born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard in 1894, and spent two years in St. Petersburg in 1898-9. He arrived at Cal in 1901 and began organizing the Slavic department. He published a number of translations, including Heroic Ballads of Servia (1913) and Poems by Adam Mickiewicz (1944). Noyes was awarded numerous honors during his career, and he retired as Professor Emeritus in 1943. … The gusle is a single-stringed instrument from southeastern Europe. It is held vertically between the knees and played with a bow. It is always accompanied by singing, usually epic poetry. Several gusle videos are online at youtube.com.]
April 1943
Fireside Meeting: Our speaker will be Mr. J. D. Hicks, Professor of History at the University. His subject will be “Versailles in Retrospect: An American View.” Professor Hicks has served on the faculties of the University of Nebraska and the University of Wisconsin, serving at the latter institution for ten years. He has taught during summer sessions at both Harvard and Columbia and is the author of the one of the most popular texts used in the University, “The American Nation.” The musical portion of the program will be presented by Mrs. J. D. Hicks, who made her initial appearance before the Club in the Women’s Minstrel Show. [John Donald Hicks (1890-1972) spent thirty years at Cal, and was the Morrison Professor of American History from 1942 until 1957. He was a popular undergraduate teacher, with classes of 500 students or more. He was widely known for the “Hicks Histories,” three seminal textbooks that were repeatedly revised and widely praised. His research focused on the transition of the United States from a small-town agricultural society to the industrial, urban power of the 20th century.]
Peace Plan Discussion Group: The last meeting of the Peace Plan Group was attended by over forty-five members. Although this was the last scheduled meeting for the year, we will meet again in April, where we will review Dr. Condliffe’s “Agenda For a Post-War World.” The Club will gladly accept any excess sugar, coffee, or chocolate that members have find in and about their premises.
April 1968
Fireside Meeting: Dr. L. W. Swan, biologist from San Francisco State College, will be speaking on “The First Ascent of Mt. Everest.” Dr. Swan was a member of the Hillary Party that conquered Everest in May 1953 and he will tell us about the “Abominable Snow Man,” and show some exciting pictures of his findings and discoveries.
Spring Extravaganza: A four-act musical entitled “Where There’s a Will,” having its setting in Shakespearean England, will be presented by the membership for this evening. Our very talented Clotilde Taylor wrote this musical some fifteen years ago when it was first presented and it will now be revised so as to apply to current circumstances and situations. Lois Tomlinson will direct the music and will provide some original music for the revised version.
April 1993
Opera Gala: “Secret Marriage” will be performed by the Berkeley Opera with orchestra. This pleasant production will be followed by the always attractive and scrumptious “Dessert Buffet.”
Fireside Meeting: The Photographic Arts Committee will host our Fireside with a two-projector dissolve slide show of photographs taken by students of Mrs. Dorothy Mayers’s Vista College photography class. Her students continue to learn and share their interest in photography with one another. Each student will present 10-20 slides representing a theme of his or her choice. You’ll enjoy and be impressed by their skills.