COMING EVENTS 2018:

HILLSIDE FEST
Spearheaded by El Cerrito Trail Trekkers and the city’s Environmental Quality Committee. Four programs dealing with El Cerrito history – including its deeper history – takes place early this May as part of the festival. For more info, click here.

El Cerrito" Historical Narratives
Featured Stories

Lucille Irish - El Cerrito's "Go To Gal"
By Rich Bartke

Rich Bartke, a founder of the Historical Society and former councilman and mayor, recalls Lucille Irish, who passed away in February at age 89.
There was a time when if you wanted something done in El Cerrito, or information about the community, you contacted Lucille Irish. Lucille served in the City Clerk’s office for 40 years, the last 20 as City Clerk. She was the “go-to” person in the community for many of those years. It didn’t matter who was Mayor or who was City Manager, Lucille was the keystone, the axis around which everything turned.


Paul Grundland- An Appreciation
By David Weinstein

Paul Grunland, a longtime member who died in February at age 93, never lived in El Cerrito but there was no bigger fan of the town. He consistently spoke about how friendly El Cerrito was – and how well governed. He loved eating at Fatapples with his wife Peggy and friends, and shopping at Pastime hardware. He appreciated El Cerrito as a place where people who wanted to get something good done could often get it done.



El CERRITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2017, GOALS FOR 2018

El Cerrito’s Centennial occupied much of the society’s attention in 2017. Of the 78 Centennial events listed on the centennial calendar, the Historical Society sponsored or co-sponsored 17 of them – more than any other organization, we believe. Pat Shaw represented the historical society on Centennial planning.
 
The society toured historic buildings and neighborhoods, featured talks on the city’s origins and growth and delved into how El Cerrito became the place we know and love. We learned about the Castro family, our city’s “gambling past,” the history of our recycling center and our Boy Scout camp, Camp Herms – among other subjects. (CHECK OUT THE LIST!)

If your local organization would like a speaker on these or related topics, the El Cerrito Historical Society has a speakers panel available. Contact David Weinstein 524-1737 davidsweinstein@yahoo.com Click Here for more details.

EL CERRITO NOTABLES

The El Cerrito Historical Society believes that a remarkable number of noteworthy people have come from El Cerrito or have lived here at some time in their lives. A few were world famous, others were well-known in the area or were particularly noteworthy in their own field. This list is an attempt to compile those names now known to the Society. In the future the Society hopes to compile a list of those who were significant in the development and growth of El Cerrito. This is a work in progress, and your suggestions for additions, editing, or deletions are welcome. Click Here to visit our extensive list.