Day 1: San Mateo Remembers

Location: Central Park, San Mateo

Vibe: Community Enrichment, Local History Storytelling through Dialogue, Visuals, and Music. Redwood trees surround a small stage on the back of the rec center, perhaps most landmarked by the baseball field and Japanese Tea Garden that flank either side of it, or perhaps the mini and main lawns that front it.

On this day: Sunday. April 23, 2023 — the first day of National Library Week. The sun is shining. Tiffany Austin makes her way from singing the national anthem at Chase Center where the Warriors and _____ were facing off in Game _____ of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. We’re honored that she leaves this game (where seats are reportedly selling for _____ each) to ((show up punctually, equipment in tow.??))

Community Alley-Oop:

But what (or who, rather) else Tiffany had in tow made this debut event truly special.

Ashlin Parker

Cyrus Chestnut

Karl ____

Marcus Shelby

San Mateo Remembers seeks to be an anchor for/archivist of stories from voices all across our City.

This was our first event of the 2023 National Library Week festivities, and one that we felt was the appropriate anchor for our San Mateo Celebrates debut. Much of our existence leans on the spine of a 5 year vision for culture and community in our City, and looking forward felt most supported by simultaneously exploring some local roots. 

The name of Dr. James Hutchinson strikes familiar to most as the name on a street sign on the corner of North San Mateo Drive and Tilton Ave. The first African-American physician in San Mateo County, “and for many years, the only black doctor from ______ to ________” {{{{find this quote from video interview}}}}} …. Etc etc etc

Dr. Hutchinson was known as the walking Doctor, and initiated Health programs in San Mateo {{{insert Senior Walkathon material}}}}

When we were planning San Mateo Celebrates and the idea of ‘Remembers’ came up, City Librarian James Moore relayed that he had recently been approached by Dr. James Hutchinson’s youngest, Henry, with some items from the doctors archive. This, along with the Genealogical Society officially moving their archive to our Main Library, {{{{confirm details}}} fanned the flame on a vision to nurture a local historical initiative.

What we hope for next year:

We hope that ‘San Mateo Remembers’ can become a repository of local stories of resilience, compassion, and innovation.

What we hope for the future:

A podcast or monthly live radio show. A mini-documentary. A local biography teaser (“The first page of my memoir”) in every issue of The Link. A shelf of local biographies.

Who we’d like to thank:

The San Mateo Public Library Foundation hosted a Holiday Party last year {{{{first event, first social function in San Mateo}}}} and was delighted to have met Gloria Brown, Shaylona Wheeler, etc. {{{insert photos}}}

For those seeking more of Dr. James Hutchinson’s story, we have 2 copies of his book "A Short Glimpse of a Long Road" available to borrow from the Library. Look out for a selection of photos from his archive in the reimagined Library Link this summer.

[The Library Link has connected our Foundation with our donor family for a decade…]