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Description
Shirley Claire Dias was born on November 8, 1931 in San Rafael and spent her early childhood on her father's dairy farm in Petaluma. When her family moved to Mill Valley in 1942, Shirley enrolled in Old Mill School and later, Park School. She went on to attend Tamalpais High School, working part-time as a waitress at the Mountain Home Inn. In 1951, Shirley graduated from College of Marin and went to work at the American Trust Company Bank in San Francisco. During a dance at the Swiss Club Tell in Mill Valley, Shirley met a young gentleman, Frederick Blaine "Skip" Larkins. The two married on March 14, 1954 and had two children, Diane and Jim. Shirley worked as the secretary for Summer School in Sausalito before moving on to several more administrative positions within the Mill Valley School District. In her oral history, Shirley gives a detailed account of her family's history of dairy farming and ranching as well as their connection with early Mill Valley settlers Benjamin and Hilarita Lyford. Shirley shares her memories of attending local schools, daily life in Mill Valley, the extension of Miller and Blithedale Avenues around the high school, hiking Mount Tamalpais, and notable residents and shops. Shirley also details her involvement with the PTA and the YMCA, where she sat on the board of directors and served as the Senior Athletics Coordinator.
Identifier
60EC5E01-3B28-4C9D-8DD0-324082435179 2017.018.001
Subject
Alto School Avilla, Vic Costa Creamery Dairies and livestock raising Dairy farming Dias, Bob Dias, Gilbert Dias, Jim Dias, Jim, Jr Dias, Louis Joaquin Dias, Robert Education Esposti's Ice Cream Parlor Farm life Farmers Farming Golden Gate National Recreation Area Hauke Park Kite Hill Korean War Larkins, Amanda Larkins, Blaine Frederick Larkins, Diane Larkins, Emily Larkins, Jim Lyford, Benjamin Mill Valley Historical Society Mill Valley School District Mountain Home Inn MV history - Baby boom years (1950s and early 1960s) MV history - Music and counterculture (1960s and 1970s) MV history - WWI and WWII Oral history - Education Oral history - Local business Oral history - Volunteerism, activism Portuguese Reed, Hilarita Reed, John Richardson Bay School administrators Silveira, Amelia Silveira, Armand Silveira, Virginia Slide Ranch Swiss Club Tell Tamalpais High School Tennessee Valley World War I
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