WATCH ALAMEDA STORIES!

Click on titles to view recent stories created at the Alameda Free Library's Digital Storytelling Station. Check back often! Our newest Alameda stories are uploaded to this page regularly.

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Fragments
Local stained glass artist/restorer Joan DiStefano reflects on the ecumenical aspects of her work in Alameda churches, and reveals how discovering and repairing a monastery's cache of discarded stained glass became a metaphor for life.

Petticoats to Pantsuits
Sylvia Snell Hudson reviews the transition from postwar ultra-feminine fashions of the 1950s to pantsuits for working women in the 1970s, recalling some of the more humorous aspects of following fashion in her own life.

And There Was Light
Mark Cunningham showcases the beautiful hand-painted stained glass in the First Presbyterian Church sanctuary, now expertly restored and recently named "Best Stained Glass in the East Bay".

East and West
Rev. Betty Williams remembers a time in Alameda when living in the West End could mean segregation, and how she learned to effect change through community activism and service.

Woodstock at War
Alameda resident Sharon Tymn remembers the days of painted-on nylons, home-colored margarine, ration stamps, and other facts of daily life in the Woodstock housing development during World War II.

Alameda Beauty
The first black "Maid of Alameda" pageant runner-up, model and talk show host Judith Givens remembers Alameda's small-town atmosphere fondly, despite encounters with racism.

Room For Hope
Lois Pryor, past president of H.O.P.E., remembers the struggle to overcome housing discrimination and find affordable housing for tenants relocating from the demolished Estuary Housing Project.

More Than Words
Former Alameda Free Library staff member Althea Hagemann gives a behind-the-scenes look at the old Carnegie Library, and explains why it was especially busy in the 1930s.

Power to Play
Alameda's Poet Laureate, Mary Rudge, tells the story of how she and the Woodstock Community surrounding the Naval Air Station worked together to develop Woodstock Park for their families, and posterity.

Front Line Mayor
Terry LaCroix bears witness to the worst aviation disaster in Alameda history: the 1973 Navy Corsair crash that incinerated the Tahoe Apartment building but mobilized the community.

A Sporting Life
Frank McIlhenny recalls the year Alameda High School's track and field team won the state meet, contributions to the AHS newspaper and yearbook, and his father's medals for heroism in wartime.

A Penny On The Rail
Noel Folsom describes growing up in Alameda in the days of air raid sirens, little red streetcars, and the China Clipper.

The Silver Lining
George Kido recalls a successful career in Entomology, achievements in sports & art, and overcoming the challenges posed by his Japanese-American heritage during his childhood in Alameda and World War II.

Dancing Through The Depression
Dorothy Eggers remembers a happy childhood in Alameda despite the sacrifice and hardship of the Great Depression.

Neptune Beach Revisited
Dan X. Solo reminisces about his time at Neptune Beach amusement park, and reveals a few tricks of the carnival trade along the way!

I'm So Sorry

Alameda Free Library's Claire Coustier tells a moving tale about the day her mother confronted the reality of Japanese Internment in WWII.

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These are in Flash video format: a high-speed internet connection and the latest version of Flash Player is recommended for optimal viewing. You may embed the video on your own site or blog, or share via email. Use your mouse to show, and then select, the preferred options on the controls at the bottom of the video screen.

 

The opinions expressed in these digital stories do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Alameda Free Library, its partners, nor the California State Library, and no official endorsement by these entities should be inferred.

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