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Description
In this oral history, Debra Schwartz sits down with Ellie Wood and her son Tim Wood at Ellie's home in Portola Valley to view old photographs of Mill Valley and discuss her life and family history. 98 years old at the time this interview was recorded, Ellie was born in 1918, and was the great-granddaughter of John Cushing, regarded as the first settler of Blithedale Canyon. Ellie shares memories of growing up on Eldridge Avenue, walking downtown with her girlfriends, hanging out at Esposti's Ice Cream Parlor, riding the gravity cars down the Mount Tam railroad, and taking the ferry over to San Francisco, among other things. She tells stories of illustrious family members like her social activist mother who was an early campaigner for birth control and reproductive health, paving the way for the establishment of Planned Parenthood in Marin. Ellie describes moving to San Francisco after she got married and raising her three sons. As this oral history concludes, Ellie notes her lifelong love of singing and finally sings a few verses from her favorite musicals.
Identifier
86F11316-F3A6-45C4-8E81-264468698640 2016.108.001
Subject
Allen, Charles Howard Collier, John Cushing, Grace Cushing, John Cushing, Sidney Dodge, Mabel Erskine, Kate Erskine, Milly Esposti's Ice Cream Parlor Ferries Gravity cars Jenkins, Eleanor Jenkins, James Jenkins, Jim Kee, Suey McHale, Sally Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway MV history - Interwar years Native Americans Native peoples Planned parenthood Railroad Railways Sanger, Margaret Singers Singing Thomas, John Women's rights Wood, Edward Wood, Parker Wood, Tim
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