Foster City Historical Society

In celebrating Foster City's 50th Birthday people can now buy our History Books at the Arco / AMPM on Hillsdale Ave & Edgewater. Read up!

Matthew Ryan Fondy is an American soccer player who plays for Oakland Roots SC was born and raised in Foster City. Matthew attended Burlingame HS and played college soccer at UC Santa Cruz. He started professional career San Jose Earthquakes in 2012. https://bleacherreport.com//1327007-matt-fondy-makes-impre

Time is running out to enter the ‘Why I Foster City’ Student Art Contest! The contest is open to K-12 students living in Foster City and art submissions must be submitted by 12p on Wednesday, 3/31. Details here: http://ow.ly/Pjo550EcntV

Tom Patton photographed Foster City in 1979. Many of his works are on display at Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO. tompattonphotography.com/night-works#9

Foster City’s Bill Dickey, who has been affiliated with College of San Mateo as a student, coach since 1975, faculty member and administrator for 56 years, was inducted into CSM’s Athletics Hall of Fame. #fostercity #history https://news.collegeofsanmateo.edu//foster-city-resident-/

Last night (9/10/2020) we had a discussion on the History Books of Foster City. So, I (Evan) reached out to my friend Allene Ball for some *HISTORY* and she dug up her A NEW TOWN COMES OF AGE: FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA. This book was put out by the Foster City Chamber of Commerce in 1985. It is currently out of print and very hard to get a copy. If anyone has one or the original files please share with FCHS! But here are some images from the book with some good and all the people who helped on it over 30 years ago. Allene Ball also had the 25 year ribbon from the 1996 Birthday still in the book!

Save that map! We discussed those at a recent meeting. They were important maps when the city was being built because normal maps didn't have FC streets in the days of paper maps (we were too new). Those maps were used by the PD & FireDept to figure out where to go. When they ran out of maps it was actually a big problem in town.

The Foster City Historical Society is looking for 3-5 good Day of Red Sky photographs for our records. If possible please consider sharing in this post for preservation for decades to come.

https://facebook.com/events/s/virtual-walking-tour-san-mateo/3127991413916180/?ti=as

On Thursday we discussed the Rubber Ducky Races which have been floated (pun intended) to make a return in 2021 for the 50th Birthday Celebration and clean up of the poor lagoon water quality. *Do you know the history of the Ducky Races?* - Along with extreme amounts of drinking and access issues / parking a MAJOR issue was people jumping from bridges into the water. Today the FCPD post this warning! ... Proof: nothing is new, history repeats itself. Come join the FCHS as we get ready for the celebrations and preserve the history we will inevitably repeat! https://www.facebook.com/134037019317/posts/10158404777309318/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Xpc2aJFSg&feature=youtu.be Many of the photos in this video are from the book that we published. Enjoy.

An open letter to the public from the Foster City Historical Society's BOD.. I have been a member of many historical societies. I have had the privilege of being a president for 12 years. If you ever want to belong to an organization that has a rich variety of history to offer, you should join your city’s local historical organization. Many people don’t realize it but you don’t have to go far to find amazing local history. ... Every city is unique with stories relating to its past, its architecture and its people. Many of those people who’ve been embedded in the community for decades possess a vast mental encyclopedia of local knowledge. We can learn from these people, and it’s a good idea to record their stories as soon as possible. Older generations are not going to be around forever, and documenting their life experiences is vital while their thought processes remain sharp. Learning about how the past took shape will help us to better shape our present, and make the correct and appropriate choices to shape our future. How many times have you noticed a new business open up at the location of a formerly popular restaurant or store? Have you ever returned to a community that you haven’t visited for years to find it drastically changed, making it hard to recognize? Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined that changed community, and what it was like when you visited years before? Does your memory make it seem like it was just yesterday that you were there? Our memory is like having our own personal time machine. The only problem is that it’s not always easy to describe the vivid life-like experiences of our memory. Sharing what our mind sees is not a real possibilityyet. If we had the ability to upload our experiences into a virtual reality computer, we could permanently share our knowledge for future generations to learn from and to enjoy, especially school kids. So, let’s all appreciate our older more experienced members of the community, and learn as much from them while they are still here with us. We are planning a meeting on Saturday February 11. We hope to use a room in the recreation building. We also hope that you are interested in attending. Catherine Miskow, President, Lucy Williams, Vice President and Rich Bennion, Treasurer.

In conjunction with the Foster City Association of Black Residents, we invite you to a Unity Celebration Party in honor of MLK Day. Saturday, January 14; 6-9pm... at the Foster City Recreation Center. $25 donation gets you free wine, a great dinner, and entertainment. Call 650-218-4459 for more information.

If you are interested, please consider joining us.