Abstract Founded in 1947 by Fred Ross Sr., Edward Roybal, and Anthony Rios, the Community Service Organization (known as the CSO) was a grass-roots civic-action organization led by its membership. The goal of the organization was to empower community members to become civically engaged to improve their lives and fight for social justice. The CSO began in East Los Angeles focusing on the Latino and Mexican-American communities, and then expanded with Chapters across California. The collection...

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W. Chase Craig (1910-2002) illustrated, wrote and produced comic books from the mid-1930s until his retirement from Western Printing and Lithography in 1975. Craig wrote and drew the first issues of Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, and Merrie Melodies for Western Printing and Lithography. Western's Los Angeles office issued comics based on Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz, MGM, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Hanna-Barbera characters, and popular TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s.

Abstract The Daughters of the American Revolution Don Jose de Ortega Chapter Collection documents community engagement and social networks of a subset of Los Angeles women in the last quarter of the 20th century. The Don Jose de Ortega Chapter is part of the national lineage-based membership organization Daughters of the American Revolution. Scrapbooks and newsletters document the Chapter's local historical preservation efforts, philanthropic work, and aspects of San...

Abstract The Daughters of the American Revolution Fernanda Maria Chapter Collection documents the administration and activities of the Northridge based local chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and reflects a segment of San Fernando Valley social life in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The hereditary based organization's educational, patriotic, historic preservation, and genealogy activities are reflected primarily through...

Abstract El Rescate is a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 1981 by members of the Santana Chirino Amaya Central American Refugee Committee (SCARC) and the Southern California Ecumenical Council. El Rescate was the first agency in the United States to respond with free legal and social services to the mass influx of refugees fleeing the civil war in El Salvador and has continued providing services for nearly 45 years. The Human Rights Department of El Rescate was established in 1984 to document...

Abstract The Encino Woman's Club Collection documents club administration, activities, philanthropic endeavors, the acquisition and management of their clubhouse, and their dissolution in 2024. It details membership and committee work through business and executive meeting agendas, minutes, and attendance records. Fundraising events and local field trips are documented by press clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, club bulletins, yearbooks, and records assembled by...

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The Ewer Travel Collection contains travel ephemera, journals, and scrapbooks related to the early 20th century travels of Florence and Bernard Ewer around the world.

Abstract The William (Will) Randolph Fowler Collection highlights the literary works of Will and his father Gene Fowler. Gene is best known as a New York newspaperman and screen writer for 20th Century Fox. Will Fowler is known for his many endeavors, including musician, newspaperman, publicist, and author. The collection contains materials written by both Fowlers, including articles as they appeared when published, correspondence, drafts, galley proofs, typescripts, and...

Abstract Beulah "Dickie" Garrigues was a founding board member (and treasurer) of the Inglewood chapter of the Business and Professional Women's Club. She was a legal secretary who lent her expertise in the field to her professional organization and worked as a career spokesperson to high school students. The papers of Dickie Garrigues document her leadership in three women's clubs located in Inglewood, California between 1939 and 1992: Business & Professional Women's Club of Inglewood, Legal...

Abstract Peggy Gilbert was a saxophonist and band leader. From the 1930s through 1996 she led several all-girl orchestras and bands. An advocate for women musicians, she arranged for bookings and contracts. She was an active member in Local 47 of the Musician’s Union. The Peggy Gilbert Collection contains the personal music scores, scrapbooks, and photographs of Peggy Gilbert, with a few items from her youth. The audio materials in the collection include an interview...