Last year, the Kelley House was the lucky recipient of numerous items from the David J. Russell Estate. His generous children, Ann, David, Libby and Peter, offered us boxes of photographic prints and scanned negatives that capture their father’s fascination with the Mendocino Coast, (including the activities of the Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department), as well as maps and surveys he had made in his role as [...]
Two images, taken almost 100 years apart, showing the house located on the southeast corner of Howard and Ukiah Streets in Mendocino. 1928 image from the Kelley House Museum Archives A Category I historical structure, it was designed and built in 1883 by A. F. Carmichael as a residence for restauranteur and hotel owner W. T. Wilson. Starting in 1887, Dr. William McCornack rented the structure [...]
“Sunday Afternoon With The Ocean Wave Quilters” will be presented August 15 from 4-5PM in the Escola Room of the Kelley House Museum. This is an opportunity to meet the creators of the museum's summer display, Quilted Iconic Buildings of Mendocino. $7 public, $5 members. In July of 2019, one of the Ocean Wave Quilters members, Cindi Jo Willey, issued a challenge to guild members to [...]
The Kelley House’s summer exhibit, “Quilted Iconic Buildings of Mendocino” runs July 2 – August 31. The museum is open Friday – Sunday, 11am – 3pm. Twenty-five different historical buildings are colorfully rendered on 18” x 18” quilt squares, individually pieced and stitched by members of the Ocean Wave Quilters. In an extraordinary display of history meets art, iconic buildings are brought to life, including the [...]
Kelley House docents David and Katy Tahja are rockhounds. Their idea of a perfect day is being out in the middle of no place with interesting rock samples peeking out of an easily accessible creek bed. Sliced Coprolite, or paleo feces. The Tahjas have coprolites from their collection on view at the Kelley House (Attribution 2.0 Generic CC BY 2.0, Flickr) Their explorations have taken them [...]
Hello All! Here are a couple of intriguing photos we want to know more about. Help us identify the ladies in these portraits, taken at Mendocino coast photographic studios – one at Hazeltine’s in Mendocino and the other at Frederick’s Studio in Fort Bragg. If you can provide any information, please email us at curator@kelleyhousemuseum.org
Dolly Efishoff in 2001 with Middle School Interviewers Kyle Houghton, Charlie Carter, and Travis Bell. “Today is Friday, February 2, 2001 and I’m Charlie Carter. And I’m Kyle Houghton from the Mendocino Middle School Oral History Project. Our technical recorder is Travis Bell. Okay, we’re talking today with Eugenie Efishoff also known as Dolly, and her niece Carol Rallinshomes on Cummings Lane about a mile east [...]
The Kelley House welcomes Anne Semans as its new Director. Anne brings 30 years’ experience from the for-profit world, with a background in marketing, small business management, education, and hospitality. She is the author of four self-help books, and has written extensively on parenting, health, and travel. Before moving to Mendocino, Anne lived in San Francisco, where she worked with the groundbreaking, women-friendly, sex-positive, adult toy [...]
We want to share once again some excerpts from the oral history project that was created back in 2000 by the students of Ryan Olson Day’s Options Class at the Mendocino Middle School. With the help of Steven Jordan and a grant obtained by Deena Zarlin, they made audio recordings of their interviews with 12 “Old Timers,” who told the kids what it was like living [...]
My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates.You never know what you're gonna get.Forrest Gump The 184-year old letter written by Charles W. Drechlser to his wife Mahalia, given to the Kelley House Museum from the collection of John and Rosemary Kelley Maulbetsch. Kelley House received a remarkably interesting “box of chocolates” last month – a well-packed bin of papers that had belonged [...]