Past Times: Highlights from the Photography Collection

This summer’s exhibition at the Downtown Museum, Past Times: Highlights from the Photography Collection, answers the question “What did Hayward area residents do for fun in the past?”  An extensive mining operation into the photography collection revealed some answers.   There is an old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.” The historic photographs selected for the exhibition prove that Hayward area residents played a lot and were definitely never dull!  The beautiful weather, diverse population, and central location in the greater metropolitan area meant that people living here spent their leisure time participating in a wide variety of activities.  Some people went for a swim at the Plunge.  Others preferred to explore their creative side painting a scene on canvas.  Many residents spent their free time walking in the annual rodeo parade.  Other residents joined the Lions Club and helped raise money for charitable causes.   People of all ages enjoyed a nice day in the park.  

The Historical Society’s photo collection is fairly extensive and representative of the evolution of photography from ambrotypes to digital photos.  The earliest photo in the exhibition dates from the late 1880s, while the most contemporary image dates from the 1980s.  The vast majority of the roughly 25,000 negatives, prints, and slides in the collection cover the years between 1940 and 1960, the period of the greatest growth in the area’s development, and explains why most of the photos included in the exhibit are from this period. 

The photos provide a unique window into the past.  They give us a feel for what life was like by capturing a moment in time.  Historic photos present a challenge because often there is very little identification included with the image.   With careful research, though, great stories from the past emerge.  A more complete story can be told with some of the images selected for Past Times, while other images simply convey a sense of fun.  Together, a story of leisure activities appears. 

From Horses to Horse Power

One of many stories is about the sports activities practiced in the area. While the local schools had very active, championship caliber sports teams, there was also a variety of amateur teams and events in the area—some required a good jump shot and others required a good engine.  Beginning in the 1870s, many young men in the area played on several different merchant-sponsored baseball teams.  Accounts in the local newspapers in the late 19^th century often encouraged everyone to come out and watch the local boys beat a team from San Leandro or Alvarado.  In the 1940s and later, local-sponsored basketball and bowling teams were competing against each other in the same manner.   In parks and fields throughout the area could be found a good pick-up game of basketball, football, or baseball.   There was also fishing at Lake Chabot (still a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon), auto racing at the Oakland Speedway from the 1930s to early 1950s, and cowboys trying to ride bucking broncos out at the rodeo grounds.

Treading the Boards

If sports did not appeal, there were also plenty of opportunities to explore the arts.   One could catch a good minstrel show at Memorial Park in 1900 or a dramatic play by the Hayward Community Theater at one of the local schools in the 1940s.  In the mood to hear some music?  The Forester’s Band was performing in 1904 and the Parks Air Force Base band provided the tunes while local girls boogied with sailors at the USO dances during World War II.  Dancing went on all night at the Cherryland Fireman’s ball in 1947 and the young students of the Valdez Dance Studio performed around Hayward in the early 1950s.   Artists had an outlet in the very active art association founded in 1943 which provided support and an occasional venue for display. 

Hitting the Pavement

The photos show that parades were another favorite pastime.  It looks like almost everyone in area participated in a parade or was a spectator watching from the sidewalk along B Street.  There were rodeo parades just about every year since the 1920s to celebrate the annual Rowell Ranch Rodeo.  Horse associations, businesses and clubs joined the procession down B Street and Main.  The large Portuguese population in town sponsored parades by the IDES (Irmandande do Divino Espirito Santo) beginning in 1889.  Of course, there were the eminently popular Pet Parades, which began in 1925.  Grade school classes, scouts, and other organizations dressed up in costumes and walked through downtown Hayward carrying, leading, or riding their favorite pet (occasionally a doll, too).  Participation in the parades was always voluntary (except when parents insisted their children join in), and during non-school or work hours.

Social Networking

Lots of social organizations in town offered a fun time too as a way to create business contacts, make new friends, and do good works for the community.  Just a few of the organizations shown in historic photos included the Lions Club, the Hill and Valley Club, the American Legion, the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts.  Members might participate in a parade together or hold a picnic or dance performance to raise money for a good cause. 

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

The weather and terrain made all sorts of outdoor activities very popular as well.  Both area residents and visitors from around the Bay came to the Hayward area for picnics and to play in our parks.  Some people went oyster hunting along the shoreline or took their new-fangled bicycles for a scenic ride in the 1890s.  Other people went horseback riding in the hills, while still others played in a park or took a stroll down a quiet lane.  A few families hopped in their cars and traveled further away, maybe to Livermore or the Sierra, to camp out for a few days.  Some visitors rode the electric street car beginning in the 1890s and spent the afternoon picnicking and exploring the great wilds of the Hayward area.   Industrious youth even spent their free time setting up lemonade stands to quench the thirst of adventurers.

The choices for spending free time were not unlike how we spend our leisure time today, only without all the electronics.  The photos illustrate that members of this community in past times really knew how to have a good time with their pastimes!

Stop in to see the exhibition beginning April 8.  Maybe you can help identify the photos and the people in them further!