Sunday, October 8th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm the Loma Linda Area Parks and Historical Society will hold a Loma Linda History Day at Bryn Mawr Elementary School, 11680 Whittier Ave. The Society asks residents to bring stories and objects related to the history of Loma Linda, especially if they relate to Bryn Mawr and the Mission District. Anyone who brings photos, letters, newspaper clippings, and/or scrapbooks can get them digitized and receive a free digital copy. The event will also include free family activities and historical exhibits about the history of Bryn Mawr.
The Loma Linda Area Parks and Historical Society has begun a slew of new projects, including, a history festival scheduled for next September, local history lesson plans, and a free online image database. Many of these projects are the work of the Society’s newest intern Audrey Maier, a doctoral student in History at the University of California, Riverside who grew up in Loma Linda and graduated from Redlands High School. Maier is researching the activism of three Bryn Mawr women: Mrs. Contreras Cruz, Mrs. Rafaela Landeros Rey, and Mrs. Ruth T. Davis who together succeeded in closing the segregated school in Bryn Mawr. Mrs. Rafaela Landeros Rey, a fierce community activist, spear-headed the movement, enlisting the help of the Bryn Mawr school teacher Mrs. Contreras Cruz and Ruth T. Davis. She convinced Mrs. Davis to run for the school board in order to vote against future segregation of Mexican-American students. Ruth T. Davis won the election and in 1945 Mission School District was fully integrated.
Mission School District records have proven difficult to find, but the society has learned much from Bryn Mawr residents. To learn more the Society is asking residents to share their stories or any other documentation about Bryn Mawr at the Loma Linda History Day on October 8th. At the event, all are invited to bring stories, or other documentation about Loma Linda and Bryn Mawr, Maier states: “Some of the most interesting sources come from residents. Their old photographs and stories are goldmines of information. By hosting a digitization day, we can see some of these treasures, make digital copies of them, and return the originals to their owners. Now a much wider audience of students, researchers, and residents interested in history can learn more about the place they call home.” The Society wants to hear your stories and see your old pictures.
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All the information collected at this event will be featured on Loma Linda Area Parks and Historical Society’s free public image database: LomaLindaHistory.omeka.net. Anyone can visit the site and search through a plethora of photographs of Loma Linda, Bryn Mawr, and the surrounding area.