NEWS·& NOTES FROM THE COLMA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 1993 Julv, August. September 2004 Newsletter #66 A Message From Your Board Members Special dates Our next meeting will be our 11th Birthday July 6th, Tuesday 2:00 p.m. CHA Boardmeeting th Celebration on Monday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m. at 1500 Hillside Blvd. here at 1500 Hillside Blvd. Our guest speaker will be Don Garabaldi. His family started the July zs", Monday 7:00 p.m. CHA 11th Birthday Garden Valley Nursery in 1901. The land Celebration at 1500 Hillside Blvd. bordered East Market, First Ave. and Valley St. rd They• 0srew ferns in the hot houses in the 1950's. August 3 , Tuesday 2:00 p.m. CHA Don will be enlightening us with the history of Boardmeeting at 1500 Hillside Blvd. his family's nursery. nd August 22 , Sunday 11:00 a.m. Tour of the new You don't want to miss this meeting. We will be Colma Historical Museum in conjunction with swearing in a new Vice President Dorothy San Mateo County's Victorian Days at 1500 Bechtol who has been serving on the board for Hillside Blvd. five years and has accepted the additional responsibilities of the Vice President. She will August 28th, Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to -t:OO be replacing Mary Brodzin who has been the p.m. Victorian Days in History Lane at the San Vice President and a founding board member Mateo County History Museum at 777 Hamilton since 1993. Richard Rocchetta will be sworn in St., Redwood City. CHA will have a booth as a new board member. Edith Harper and telling the history of Colma. Alice Letcavage will be renewing their positions t for another three years. September 7 h, Tuesday 2:00 p.m. CHA Boardmeeting at 1500 Hillside Blvd. We are deeply saddened that Mary Brodzin has _ resigned as Vice President and board member ~/~. September is", Wednesday 7:30 p.m. DC/Colma after eleven vears of service to the Colma :;--'- History Guild meeting Dolger Center, Westlake, Historical Association. Her valuable input, time, Daly City. Pat Hatfield will be the speaker with and dedication will be sorely missed. a video story of Colma. What's happening at 1500 Hillside? The Colma Historical Association is working in conjunction with KM2 Productions of South San Francisco to make a video of the history of t Colma. The filming will take place on July s" through July 9 \ The video will be completed in time for the Town of Colma's 80th Anniversary in August of 2004. We have received the new Cemetery display cabinet. This cabinet will hold 16 binders filled with photographs and the history of each cemetery. On the lower shelf is a section for each cemetery to place free handouts to our visitors. Without the donations from the following cemeteries this display would not be possible. Cypress Lawn, Eternal Home, Greek Orthodox, Greenlawn, Holy Cross, Italian and Olivet Cemeteries. A Special thank you to Giuseppe Timpano for all of his input and time to get this display cabinet designed & completed. We have also received three large photographs from Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery and one large panoramic photograph from Cypress Lawn Memorial Park for the Cemetery History room. These are welcome additions to the museum. Other new displays: Volunteer Fire Fighter Manikin in full uniform, Colma's I" computer and office equipment, Colma's early residents the Ohlone Indians, Influence of the Spanish, Irish, Italians, the Melting pot after WWII and school memorabilia. Our early kitchen & home have new curtains and drapes. This is thanks to Francisca Harper. She did an outstanding job with the material donated by Fro Vallerga & Aurora lVIabunga. Other additions are from Kathy Hnilo. She purchased and donated items she heard we needed. A folding chair, a clock for the library, paper cutter & waste baskets for various rooms. All of the above is what brings us closer to becoming a professional museum. Some of you might not be aware that one of our members, Ed Graham worked in the Colma Train Depot. Here is his story. ~ST~B_R ~t4IIL,IR.~ICJJAIDE~[ A Publication of the Pacific Coast Chapter, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. FOUNDERS OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM Janu.r.y/February 2004 -&- Number 65""7 THE SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR MUSEUM I was very fortunate and Washington Street, while in high school where it was physically and college, to be able connected to the freight to work during my shed. summer vacations for In 1949, there were six the Southern Pacific statio. ns remairu. n.g on Railroad. From 1943 to the line: Baden, Colma, 1945, while in high Union Park, Daly City, school, my father was Ocean View and Elk- able to get me hired on ton. Team tracks were as a clerk at the SP located at Baden, Coast Division Time- Colma, Ocean View keeping Bureau in San and Elkton. Colma Francisco, where he was the only station was Assistant Head WIt. h a d epot. T h e Timekeeper. After . .. .. other st at io n s were graduating from high Southern PaCIfiC Colma depot at ItS original location, CIrca 1915. .d .f d 1 b school and serving a Colma Historical Association collection, courtesy Ed Graham. 1. ent i le ~n Yh y a . .. became a cui b h li . h signpost beanng t e sta- brief period in the Army, I enrolled ecame a qUlet ranc me, Wit tion name. As it was the only in college and spent the summers one through passenger local oper- agency (staffed) station, Colma of 1947 and 1948 working ticket ating until sometime in the 1930s. handled the freight accounting for clerk positions at various depots on In 1942, the portion of the line in all six stations. However, on pa- the San Francisco Peninsula. San Francisco north of Bernal was k abandoned. It was later cut back per, separat~ accounts were ept However, when I hired on for my for each station. last summer with the SP in June to Elkton, near Ocean Avenue, he ti When I arrived at Colma, Agent 1949, I was told there were no cur- werh e th e trac k en ded by t e time b d I reported in 1949. By then, the Bradley suggested that I put in a i rent openings on the Peninsula, but San Bruno Branch, as it was called, for a permanent assignment to the there was a temporary vacancy at was included within the San Fran- job. He said it was the best place Colma which I could fill until an cisco yard limits. The single re- to work on the railroad. I thought opening came up on the Peninsula. maining daily local freight train I had no chance since I had just This didn't sound very exciting at was operated as a yard switch hired on and had no seniority (tra- the time, but with some trepida- movement out of Bayshore Yard, ditionally railroad job assignments tion, I reported the next morning known affectionately by the crews went to persons with the highest to Agent L. A. Bradley. as the "Hill Cannonball". job seniority). He urged me to try Th e 1in· e throug h C 01ma was th'e The Co 1ma depot is one 0f the Bay anyway, as many employees on the f·irst rat'1 liine mt. o SF'an rancisco, Area's most historic. tram. depots. Coast Division didn't have any idea built bv the San Francisco & San While the precise date of construe- where Colma was. With my one- Jose R;ilroad in 1863. It served for tion is not known, it was probably day seniority, I put in a bid. To many years as the mainline for the built sometime between 1863 and my surprise, it turned out to be the SP Coast Route, but the long up- 1881. As constructed, the depot only one submitted, and I got the hill grade to Daly City became a and its freight shed were two sepa- job as a permanent assignment. So bottleneck for train operations. It rate buildings, located on opposite I spent the rest of that summer was bypassed in 1907 as a result of sides of the tracks from each other. working at the Colma Depot. the construction of the Bayshore Sometime after World War I, the My position was freight clerk, Cutoff between San Francisco and depot WlS relocated by the SP to a which paid about $12 per day, a San Bruno. After the c c t o if location on the east side of the good wage in 1949. Bradley was opened, the line thrnugh C,:m.1 rocks between San Ped~') Road the only other employee. In addi- from the San waybills for the day's loads. Since Francisco Munici- this was actually a yard job, 'his pal Railway shops correct title was engine foreman. at Elkton. Muni The train would set off any cars for at that time was the Colma team track, then high- scrapping old ball up the branch, setting out loads Market St. Rail- at Union Park, Daly City, Ocean way trolleys at View and Elkton, returning late in their Elkton the afternoon with the empties Shop. picked up along the way. '----' ~-'-,-,'-='-::::' :::-"=..' -;;:::'.ii.:::::'-",,-_- -'''-''-'''"'----------'"",''''-;;.:::,-=-----' My d ail y com- The rest of my day was sFent typ- SP ten-wheeler 2375 heading an excursion train sponsored mute to work in- ing up freight bills and sending bv the Northern ClliforniJ Railroad club on October -L I d ki h vo ve ta mg t e them out, collecting payments 1953, Colma Historical Association collection, counes)" Ed SP from Menlo from the customers, performing Graham, Park to Broad- the freight accounting and balanc- tion to his SP duties, he also served way, Burlingame, where I would ing the books for each of the six as agent for Railway Express board a Greyhound bus (the No.