Podcast: Burbank’s Hidden Gem - The Historical Society Museum

A small door near the Little Blue House opens into a two-floor time capsule, and we recorded right from the middle of it. From the Burbank Historical Society’s member appreciation day, we talk with the people who keep this community museum running on pure volunteer energy, donations, and stubborn love for local history. If you’ve ever searched “things to do in Burbank” and somehow missed this place, you’re not alone and that’s exactly what we’re trying to fix. 

We sit down with longtime volunteer Gary Sutliff to hear how exhibits actually get built, why a massive medallion on the wall still has unanswered questions, and how Burbank fire history comes alive through a classic fire engine that may even return to a parade. Jamie Keyser, CEO of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, shares why this museum should never be a “best-kept secret” and how the collection connects Burbank’s farming roots to Lockheed, the Skunk Works legacy, and the city’s rise as a media and entertainment hub with artifacts like Johnny Carson’s suit. 

Burbank Historical Society president Michael Thomas explains the future: new displays, the need for a stable long-term lease to unlock grants, and why expansion depends on real support from the community. We also talk with Don Baldasaroni about the everyday nostalgia that becomes priceless over time, and with Joseph about recruiting younger docents and using Instagram, TikTok, and digital storytelling to bring new visitors through the doors. 

If you care about Burbank history, local museums, or how cities protect their identity, listen through and then help us spread the word. Subscribe, share the episode with a neighbor, and leave a review so more people find this museum.

Transcript

Welcome From The Museum

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Hello and welcome to another edition of My Burbank Talks. It's June 27, 2026, and we're coming to you from the Burbank Historical Society and their fantastic museum tucked in behind the Little Blue House on Hollow Avenue. Today is the museum's annual member appreciation day with everything this fantastic museum has to offer, along with free barbecue, live music, entertainment, and some great raffle prizes. It's always a great day at the Historical Society, so let's get this party started.

SPEAKER_08 0:31

Hello, Burbank. Craig Sherwin here with you once again. And today we're at the Historical Society. Always looking forward to this every year. So many great things, so many new things at an old place. With me today, of course, is Ross Benson.

SPEAKER_06 0:47

Well, we're at the Historical Society. What do you normally call it? The Historical Society. Oh, that's right. That's right. Well, you know, we we today we'll have some guests. We have one with us who probably knows who.

SPEAKER_07 1:02

Well, before we start that, let's introduce Craig Derling. He's with us again also. Technically, they've already heard from me. Yeah, they haven't seen me yet. Yes. Here I am. Happy to be back for another one.

SPEAKER_06 1:12

And now, Ross, please introduce our guests.

Mystery Medallion And Fire History

SPEAKER_06 1:14

Well, we happened uh, if you've listened to this podcast from this uh great luncheon before, we have Gary Sutliff, and Gary and I go back oh 50 years, 60 years. I've been shooting town in 63. And he used to be a fireman uh in the city of Burbank, and he uh has a heck of a history with the Burbank Fire Department. But this building, some of the people don't realize most of the things hanging on the walls have been literally hung here by Gary Sutliff. You know, I asked him a minute ago how many how many how many get all choked up over it, how many displays he has, and he says he lost count. He says he can't remember that much. What's the what's the news display? What is the news display?

SPEAKER_05 2:04

Well, we have in the other room here, we have the medallion was given to us. Uh I believe uh we've had we don't know where it came from.

SPEAKER_07 2:16

So there's still it's still shrouded in mystery. It's but I do see that it's mounted on the wall this time.

SPEAKER_05 2:20

Last time I was here it was mounted real heavy on the wall because it weighs about 300 pounds.

SPEAKER_06 2:26

I was gonna say, can the wall handle it? Well, it was it was somewhere in the city.

SPEAKER_05 2:31

It was one of those 1980. And the names on there are old.

SPEAKER_06 2:41

Who celebrated her birthday yesterday?

SPEAKER_05 2:43

Yeah. Dan Remy, uh Leland Ayres, one of my favorites. Uh I forget.

SPEAKER_07 2:53

I would love to find out ultim uh at some point where that thing was affixed. Because it's a m metal medallion, but it's about three to what, four feet across.

SPEAKER_05 3:02

Three feet across.

SPEAKER_06 3:03

And there is a story behind it. I was told that apparently it was at a metal salvage place.

SPEAKER_05 3:11

It was in the city yard.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

Oh, is that where it was?

SPEAKER_05 3:14

And somebody stole it.

SPEAKER_06 3:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 3:17

I heard the city the rumor I had the city employees stole it, took it out of Burbank into a scrap metal place and scrapped it out. LA police department, in their regular routine of going to salvage yards, saw it and said, No, no, no, this isn't something they would salvage.

SPEAKER_06 3:41

Definitely.

SPEAKER_05 3:42

And so it ended up, I believe, in the police evidence locker.

SPEAKER_08 3:46

Yeah, was that that back this thank you, LAPD? That was a good Dan Remy and Mary Lou Howard and Linair. You know, they like to have their name on things. Oh, yeah. You drive up the hill. How many streets have their names? Yeah, they're they all have their names. That was the deal they made. You would come and develop the area? Well, we'll put your names on these streets. Oh, okay, we'll vote for that.

SPEAKER_07 4:06

Whoever those people named Avenue and Street are, I want to meet them because they're on everything.

SPEAKER_06 4:11

Well, that's funny because you live up on the hill. Don't you live on one of the wait, don't you live on Sutliff Drive? Oh no. I live on Skyline. Yeah, well, that's right, it's Skyline. And I will tell you, I've been to Gary's house more than once. I've shot weddings in his backyard. He has a view from one end, you can see Catalina on a clear day.

SPEAKER_05 4:32

You can't see Catalina, but you can see downtown LA, downtown Glendale, and the whole San Fernando Valley.

SPEAKER_06 4:39

Yeah, he has a great uh one of those good views.

SPEAKER_07 4:41

And you see Catalina on the street on a clear day. Yeah, you call him for the weather report. What's this building? Well, just like we used to call Al Simmons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 4:50

Right.

SPEAKER_07 4:51

He was up on the hill there and could see the whole valley.

SPEAKER_05 4:53

Al's wife, first wife, just died.

SPEAKER_06 4:57

And his second wife just had a birthday. Just had a birthday. Teresa had a birthday this week. Well, we're talking a lot of fire history, and in this building, I was happy enough uh you invited me. The firemen get together every other month. They do it. Firemen really they have a set schedule. It's on the second Thursday of the second month of every year.

SPEAKER_05 5:20

Every even numbered month.

SPEAKER_06 5:22

And they unveiled the probably the most classic, I think, fire engine that was that is now here at the Historical Society, which you can look at. You have pictures of it, you have it uh it runs, and I I hope almost it's hopefully it'll be in the parade next year.

SPEAKER_05 5:43

Well, it's got a clutch problem. And I I hosted a restoration group here about three months ago, and they indicated they might help us get a clutch.

SPEAKER_06 5:59

Well, that's cool because is the if you come by here, y it's right in the doors as you enter in um when it was donated. That is the thing about Burbank Historical Society. Tons of the displays are donated from people that have lived in Burbank, that have history in Burbank. And as we said, we had somebody walk by here a minute ago. Her jaw was dropping on the number of displays, you know, and everything that's that's in here.

SPEAKER_07 6:26

Well, we talked about a little while ago, and it comes up every time we're here because this is considered one of Burbank's best kept secrets. Because you you everybody flies down all of Avenue.

SPEAKER_05 6:36

Johnny Carson coined that for. Did he really?

SPEAKER_07 6:39

Well, he's got he left his suit in the other room here, in the next room here. You might want to let him know. But uh, but it's you know, i every time somebody by goes by the little blue house and the F-104 starfighter sticking out of the ground, they don't realize that this great museum is back here. That's the museum's right the little blue house. It's behind it, but even when you walk up to the door here, you still have we talked, we were joking about it before. It's like Doctor Who's phone booth. Yes. It's a it you know, it's not much to speak of on the outside, but you go in and it's this sprawling cavernous museum, two floors worth.

SPEAKER_05 7:11

Wait till the end of the year till we get the F-117 mock-up mounted on the face of the building.

SPEAKER_07 7:18

How are we gonna see it though?

SPEAKER_05 7:20

Well, you'll see it from stealth. Anywhere.

SPEAKER_07 7:24

You'll bump into it though, because it's well that's that that's a thing for us.

SPEAKER_05 7:28

Like a scale mock-up of it or say mock-up in Lockheed belt and we just inherited it from the uh airport. They had it in storage the maintenance section out back. And it's in my garage right now, res in respect.

SPEAKER_07 7:48

You need to keep that in the driveway. That'd be great. Drive by.

SPEAKER_05 7:52

All we gotta do is figure out how to hang it. It weighs three hundred and sixty pounds or no, two hundred and sixty-eight pounds.

SPEAKER_07 8:01

So they decided they didn't want to use it in the new terminal? I take it.

SPEAKER_05 8:05

They didn't want anything locked in the new terminal. Really? And and that's I think it's political.

SPEAKER_07 8:12

It's sitting on locky, yeah. That's that's a that's a way sitting on property that the Skunkworks was on for crying out like that. They they built that plane there.

SPEAKER_06 8:20

Craig had brought up earlier when we were talking pre-show that Bob Hope. Now us also well, most of us sitting around this table remember Bob Hope, and the airport was named after now.

SPEAKER_08 8:32

Yeah, now they got rid of Bob because then people don't know who Bob Hope is anymore, and that doesn't identify our airport the way you want to. Oh. Oh, that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_05 8:45

Uh it's in the works right now. Oh, great.

SPEAKER_08 8:47

Well, you know, his museum has golf club. His museum never got going, so he they've got to have a lot of stuff somewhere stored that they'd love to get displayed.

SPEAKER_05 8:55

The guy that was in charge of that is uh helping us put something together.

SPEAKER_06 9:02

Well, the museum is open every weekend. Um, they have great docents and know that will tell you the history when you're looking at a display. Um, today is their, like I say, their um appreciation luncheon for their members. And it's probably the best deal you can get where you can become a member of the the uh historical $20. You know, those are the prices that were many years ago.

SPEAKER_07 9:33

Now you can't buy a magazine for $20. Half the people listening to this spent that at Starbucks this morning. Yeah, you're right. They do functions here.

SPEAKER_06 9:44

Oh, Craig just brought that up. They have a second story here that has an A V department that they can display stuff, you can bring food in there. I've had many, many meals.

SPEAKER_07 9:54

Year round, they do functions here. You can you can hire the room out upstairs to have an event. There's a stage, there's an audiovisual example up there.

SPEAKER_05 10:03

Right now we're having a problem with the city.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

Because what's new?

SPEAKER_05 10:08

Buildings are ours. We built the building. We paid a dollar a year for police. And uh it ended up with the new city council once more.

SPEAKER_06 10:31

Was the city council or the the staff? Yeah, this the staff is just Do the city council members know that?

SPEAKER_05 10:39

Yes, they do.

SPEAKER_08 10:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 10:41

So we need more members.

SPEAKER_08 10:42

We yeah, no more people to come.

SPEAKER_05 10:44

No, need a little more investigation and what's going on with the about two of them are siding with us to think it should be a dollar a year, but they want us and the only thing the city contributes is the electricity and the water. They want seventeen hundred dollars a month for that from now on. And and our leases up in two years, roughly a year and a half or so.

SPEAKER_06 11:11

See now, our our followers on my Burbank podcast, there's stuff you get here that you can't find anywhere in the city. I mean, you listen to our podcast and we hear it straight from people that know what's going on. And and and it's unfortunate of the it's a hidden secret.

SPEAKER_07 11:32

Well, you're showing the city of Burbank and its history in the best possible light. This museum, and how how the city organizers or powers that be can't see that and they want to charge and Gary, how long have you how long have you been here?

SPEAKER_05 11:47

Oh, my life.

SPEAKER_08 11:48

Okay. I mean, how long how long have you been working with the uh historical society?

SPEAKER_05 11:53

Oh 43 years.

SPEAKER_08 11:55

And how much are you getting paid in in that 43 years?

SPEAKER_05 11:57

Absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_08 11:58

So you can spend I don't want anything. You can spend 43 years of volunteering, and the city can't even come up with $1,700 a month. It's all volunteers here, right? Everything here's volunteer work.

SPEAKER_05 12:08

Yeah, everybody. And uh I just met with a company uh last week uh to put solar on the building that'll pay for all the electricity.

SPEAKER_06 12:20

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 12:21

So we're gonna use that for negotiations with the city, I think, depending on what it costs.

SPEAKER_06 12:28

Well, I want to wrap up this this segment of my Burbank's talks. We appreciate you, Gary. I you know, every year that we come here, you guys really take care of us, take care of the crew. Uh you guys feed us lunch and always will. Well, we thank you very much. We just love what you guys do. Thank you. Thank you for what you've done, do, and will do.

SPEAKER_08 12:51

All right. Thanks again.

SPEAKER_05 12:52

Thank

Chamber CEO On A Community Icon

SPEAKER_05 12:53

you.

SPEAKER_08 12:53

Well, we have another guest with us who is a friend of my Burbank, and you have seen her on previous podcasts. Ross, please introduce our next guest.

SPEAKER_06 13:02

Well, you know, we are fortunate to have the CEO of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Amy Keyser, who is today in her probably CEO hat.

SPEAKER_08 13:14

Uh, but she's very close with the And you saw on the you saw on the MyBurk's best podcast at right. They hosted the chamber at the great conference room that by the way, anybody can rent out when they need to.

SPEAKER_06 13:26

Well, and uh nice plug. Uh gotta take care of uh Jamie has uh they've had their chili cook-off here. Uh last year or so when Tournament Roses was having celebrating their anniversary, you had an event here with the chamber. And you you know, I know you've been in this place a million times and is it still blows you away, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

I love it. I think it's such a tremendous icon to our community. They are you know close to 50 years old, which is just absolutely incredible. When I had worked at the Walt Disney Company before I came to the Chamber of Commerce, we had the Disney Archives, and that was something there's something so special.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

Wait, wait, wait. You weren't one of those holding up that building, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Oh yes, of course I was.

SPEAKER_06 14:16

You mean there were eight of them before?

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Yes, exactly. Uh but uh I I really see the value in that. And the one thing that I've always said is we don't want this to be the best kept secret. This is such a valuable museum. And when people come here for the first time when they've lived in this community, they say, How have I never known that this was here? So we love to be able to host community events here and just you know, showcase this beautiful space uh to uh, you know, to our community, the residents, anyone who, you know, comes in here and does business. But also when you're bringing in friends and and driving tourism to Burbank, this is a great stop. I'm looking right behind you guys right now. That's a donor wall of all the people throughout the years who have contributed to this organization. But every single time I come, I seem to find a new little treasure. And well, that's what we were saying.

SPEAKER_06 15:16

Um, you know, there's new displays every day, or they put them up every so on. And like you said, Burbank's best kept secret. I agree. And the it people drive by here, it's open on the weekends. I've said that before on with previous interviews. People can come in here on a weekend and the docents will help you and walk you through. And um, there's other times if you're if you have kids in school, they take school kids, the tours through here. And if it's not, you know, people don't realize we're now in these things of these little cell phones, and you get your whole life here. You want to know what happened in Burbank a hundred years ago.

SPEAKER_07 15:54

Well, here you can you can see the real thing here. Right. I mean, it's a huge facility, but it's there's something here for everybody, whether it's you know, there's just not city of Burbank history, but so much has happened in this city over the years, over the decades, so much has been built and created in this city. That's here too. We have Johnny Carson wearing his suit, an actual suit he wore on the show, with a chair from the Tonight Show. That was the Tonight Show, right? That we all knew when Johnny Carson hosted it. So there's the the television, the film industry history here, there's the farming history, there's vignettes, little rooms of how people lived their lives years ago, decades ago here. The room next to us is a whole garage with a collection of vehicles in it. Amazing. And then they're still upstairs.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Absolutely. It's a I love that they refer to it as a museum because that's exactly what the experience is. When you walk through it, you can see how it kind of, you know, where it began, and then the the the shift to Lockheed and everything that was here. And then it was what you had said earlier about Johnny Carson, and that was when it became Burbank was the media capital of the world. And that's where that whole piece uh came from. So once uh Lockheed and that industry had left Burbank, that was when we were able to shift to media and entertainment and our studios, which are still uh you know a thriving commodity right here in Burbank with uh, you know, all that we're doing. It's uh filming and um, you know, all of that industry has become challenging, not only for Burbank and for uh Los Angeles, the state of California, but the US as well. But what I've heard, and even with um Warner Brothers opening up those new sound stages, it's absolutely amazing. And we've heard that things are bustling.

SPEAKER_07 17:50

And it's all to draw more production in it. Exactly. In a previous life, I worked in television, so I know that that that goes in cycles. Comes and it goes.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

Well, it seems like it's in a good up cycle right now, too, which is great to hear.

SPEAKER_06 18:03

Well, the newest thing, I and I just saw I think two days ago, our the city PIO PIO office produced a little video vignette on filming in Burbank. Most people don't realize there's over a thousand build businesses in Burbank that are primarily just media related. Absolutely. And people don't understand that you know there's some working out of bathrooms, garages. We know a couple that have been chamber members that are now they're they're in a two-story main building on one of our main highways.

SPEAKER_07 18:38

You can't throw a wet cat anywhere in the city without hitting an an editing facility, a prop house, a rental facility, a studio of some kind, whether it's audio, video, what have you. Oh, catering.

SPEAKER_06 18:49

Are you all that there's some types of businesses? So where are we gonna be soon? We we don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But the museum, you gotta keep that history. You gotta come through and look at it where we've been, where we're going, and that is the fantastic thing about the Burbank Historical.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Well, and I love exactly what you're saying too. And I actually was here one day when uh Warner Brothers came in. It was Michael Walbrecht and his team. Because they're also working with everyone to make sure that whatever it is that they're showcasing is updated regularly. So it's not just the same old things that you've ever had, although those are treasures that you keep, but you build upon that. One of my favorite things when I come here that we can see in there the little bragging rights that we have is that one Miss Debbie Reynolds was Miss Burbank. I don't recall what year that was, but I never knew that until I came here and I saw that, and she was wearing the Miss Burbank sash, and you're like, oh, who even knew that she grew up right here in Burbank?

SPEAKER_06 19:53

And Craig and I remember when she was in Burbank on Parade in a yellow Mercedes. Ooh, and I have a picture of it, and everybody wanted a picture of Debbie Reynolds.

SPEAKER_07 20:02

Even I have a and I didn't grow up here, even I have a Debbie Reynolds story. I worked with her in in uh no, that was here when she worked. I worked with her back in the late 90s. I love that. And she was a pistol, I'll tell you that. She was grew up here in Burbank, went to Burbank schools, and you know, again, history.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Well, and Russ, so I know that you are you and your team are working hard to bring uh Burbank on parade back. So I think it's believed it's called Celebrate Burbank, and that's a big focus of all of ours next year to bring that back. But the historical society plays a key role in that too. They bring out some of their cool vehicles.

SPEAKER_06 20:42

We're gonna have the Moreland bus that was built here in Burbank in the 1900s, early 1900s, this bus. You know, we're gonna have the little fire engine that somebody donated, the first Burbank fire engine. It's stuff like that. That to me is what celebrate Burbank's about.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Gosh, it would be great to see like that um that bus taking kids from the Boys and Girls Club or kids from Burbank Unified, Parks and Wreck. You know, I just always remember that too of seeing the vehicles go down, Olive, and it was, you know, tied with the school district and and a real bonding of community.

SPEAKER_06 21:18

And I think Well, I'll give you a little secret. Talk to the band teacher at Burbank High.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 21:26

They have marched to Disneyland. The two schools are gonna march together. A hundred and so many, hundred and twenty-seven kids. It's gonna go from curb to curb, right down Magnolia Boulevard. They're already rehearsing and practicing, and they are excited. It's gonna be a Burroughs uniform and a Burbank High uniform, but it's an all city band. And they won't be last in the parade with the shovel with the shovels in the rooms, right? They're gonna be first, they're gonna be leaving the parade.

SPEAKER_07 21:54

They're looking forward to it. They're already rehearsing.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

I love that.

SPEAKER_07 21:57

Well, we learned we we learned a lot over the last year. So the wheels are already turned into we'll steam ahead for next year.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Love it. And I want to give a little shout out to everyone that works behind the scenes here at the museum, from our docent to the board of directors. My handsome husband, Mr. Mike Thomas, is the board chair this year, and they have new exciting things that they're working on. But it takes a village, it really does. And I always love to come to this barbecue because it's a celebration of the members and it's a member appreciation barbecue. So anyone who comes in to support the um museum is, you know, they give back to say thanks for that as well.

SPEAKER_07 22:40

In my mind, this day is not just to celebrate the members of the museum, but but the people, the staff that works here and volunteers their time to keep this running and create such a wonderful place.

SPEAKER_06 22:51

I mean the place is amazing, but you have to have a large amount of people to keep it clean, to keep everything up to date. You know, if a display breaks or something, it's got to be fixed immediately. And that's a thing. You come in here, this place is is gorgeous. It's daily polished.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

It is every little thing. And so for all those little things that might happen behind the scenes, when you're coming in as a guest, you'd never know any of that.

SPEAKER_07 23:21

And it's all volunteer.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Yeah, it's all volunteer.

SPEAKER_07 23:24

Amazing. So there'll be more to follow on that, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

I'm going to do a call to action. Anyone who's listening to the podcast, get them get the message out. If you haven't been to the museum, come to the museum. It's absolutely spectacular and a true gem in our community. Thank you, Burbank Historical Society. Thank you, my Burbank, for being here today for this important work and always doing these uh features. Uh every single time, even though I'm with the chamber, I can always get your newsletter, uh, go to your website, and I always learn more about the things going on in the community because it might be uh something at Parks and Rec with a baseball team that you know won a championship or you know, things like that. You you run you you cover the gamut of everything in our community. But we are Burbank's news tours.

SPEAKER_07 24:19

You are where are you gonna get?

SPEAKER_01 24:22

You are a Burbank resource hub.

SPEAKER_06 24:24

Can we have her on all of these? Well, you know, 16 years ago, Craig had came up with the idea, you know, and created myburbank and uh dot com.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

You craig.

SPEAKER_06 24:35

And it really because he had the vision of you know, nobody's opening newspapers. These phone, these little devices we call our cell phones, you get all your news on. And that's what he wanted to make sure that we covered Burbank. No other publication in the city will give you everything, and that's what we try to do. Our writers are all uh Burbank based. Craig and I are Burbank based our whole lives. Burbank deserves its own news source, and that's who we are.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

We just say thank you.

SPEAKER_08 25:04

All right, thank you very much. Dave McKeaser, CEO of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. Thank you for stopping by. See ya. We will see you at the next event.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Thank you so much.

The President’s Plan For Growth

SPEAKER_08 25:14

Okay, Ross, we have another guest in today's show. Why don't you introduce him?

SPEAKER_06 25:18

We happen to have the VIP, the president of the Burbank Historical Society.

SPEAKER_07 25:25

I believe he was addressed as the Grand Poobah already. Oh, is that what they called him by someone else in a blue shirt, so you know they have it right.

SPEAKER_06 25:32

Wow, Michael Thomas.

SPEAKER_09 25:34

Thank you, thank you very much, and thank you, my Burbank, for being here today. We really appreciate uh all your support uh over the many years. And uh yes, the Grand Pooba is not earned at all. I pay for that, and I I do uh owe quite a few people some money for today's uh efforts.

SPEAKER_06 25:52

So thanks for well we happen to have your wife on here a few minutes ago. Okay, and she plugged the chamber and the museum and the other events that you the chamber does here. But we're just curious, you're the current president, you're the chief bottle washer, I'm told, and also as you said a few minutes ago, you dumped the trash on weekends.

SPEAKER_05 26:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 26:16

The museum we have talked to to Gary and some other people about some some great displays. What's the future of Burbank Historical Society? Where are you going and Burbank's changing daily? Where are you going? There's more history every day. Well, that's it. Are you putting up on another story? Or are you building or what?

SPEAKER_09 26:35

We would like to. Uh we are completely volunteer driven uh and donation driven. And uh so those are those are definitely in our future. Uh future plans are expansion. Obviously, we are uh bursting at the seams here. Uh we do have quite a few other uh displays in storage. We have exciting uh new displays coming in within the next uh six months to a year. Don't want to announce or jinx anything. Ooh, so people should show up for the next appreciation launch and a couple of good uh possibilities uh that the museum has been working on. We're excited. Um we've been in some negotiations with the city recently to get uh our lease uh for the future in str in place. Um there's been some snags uh just contractually, but uh we're dotting the I's and crossing the T's on that.

SPEAKER_08 27:36

When you're talking about expansion, though, I know they're gonna raise Olive Park completely.

SPEAKER_09 27:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_08 27:41

And and build a whole new gym, a whole new Creative Arts Center, a whole new little theater. Are you trying to get involved in in that planning and use that as part of the expansion process?

SPEAKER_09 27:55

We have not been approached about that expansion process as far as I know. No one's approached me or no one's approached the board.

SPEAKER_08 28:03

I saw I saw their their plans about six months ago. They they were actually coming out with the public, you know, input and everything.

SPEAKER_09 28:10

So yes, and from every rendering I've seen, they stop at the Ludkey Arts Center. The their rendering does.

SPEAKER_06 28:18

Yeah, see, that's what just gets me is you know, we this museum is amazing, and the city is going to level Olive Wreck and you know, do millions of dollars worth of change over there. You would think that they would at least talk to because don't you want to, if you're coming to Olive Wreck, incorporate this as part of the entire experience here exactly.

SPEAKER_09 28:43

Well, the city is working with us. Uh uh, don't don't get me wrong there. The it we may not be directly in their new redesign plan, uh, but they are working directly with us to get us a new lease in place which will allow us to go after some grant funding, some larger funding that could allow us the opportunity to expand. To allow us the opportunity to possibly search for other properties in the area. You know, we're not certain. We're looking to A get that lease with I's dotted, T's crossed. Once that's in place, we can go out to you know, potential investors with a solid lease in place. Without a lease in place, an investor is gonna look at us and go, Well, we don't even know if you're gonna be there tomorrow. We can come back and say, Hey, look, we've we just signed a 30-year lease with the city of Burbank. Now they're gonna want to talk.

SPEAKER_06 29:44

You're not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_09 29:46

Essentially.

SPEAKER_06 29:47

At least in yours and my lifetime.

SPEAKER_09 29:50

Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 29:52

Not gonna let that happen.

SPEAKER_09 29:53

No. So we're like I said, we're trying to just finalize that with the city, and they've been great. Our negotiations have been great. Our vice president uh Ted Garcia's been uh spearheading that and he's been fantastic. Um being the president, uh my board's made it very easy to be the president here.

SPEAKER_06 30:12

I thought you lost your hair for other reasons.

SPEAKER_09 30:15

I have. I have you just interviewed my wife, right? I can't keep up with her. So I've been chasing her and I just blew all my hair off trying to keep up with her. She's a dynamo. Um we we do have big plans. We have to pause them uh until everything is in place.

SPEAKER_06 30:36

Um what's that old line? Can't put the cart before the horse?

SPEAKER_09 30:40

Very good. Very good to bring up a historical line. I wish I could tell you who who coined out.

SPEAKER_06 30:48

Greg, you're maybe the horse. But we understand that. Well, you know, again, you guys put on this appreciation lunch every year. And food, I mean, I had tri-tip. It comes from Andy Martin. They're a mainstay here in Burbank, and they supply uh the coleslaw was dynamite and the chicken, and I mean everything was yummy. You guys have ice cream out there. I see.

SPEAKER_07 31:14

Well, there's a live music and the minorette show and the raffle, all kinds of things going on here that are top-notch.

SPEAKER_09 31:20

We've got so much community support here. We handy market has come through with the food almost every year. Um every year that I've been here, they've supported somehow, some way, and uh always uh plentiful, and we cannot thank them enough. Mark and Alan over there have been fantastic. Um Valley Boys, I mean, they're uh they're a crowd favorite. Uh they we have to bring them in from way out of town, uh, but they're by demand.

SPEAKER_06 31:51

So people don't realize that this is laid out real well. And they're outside next to the house. Yes, the menster house. It's tree covered, it's got a nice outdoor oh, there's plenty of shade out there. Nice. I'm getting all choked up.

SPEAKER_07 32:08

It gets all choked up when we talk about Urbanks, the history, and all that. But today is to appreciate the members.

SPEAKER_09 32:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 32:16

We appreciate the staff as well. All volunteers, yes, all putting in their own time today and every day. Every day. And it's not just the hour, the the opening hours of the museum that people the public can come. It's behind the scenes, it's setting everything up, it's it's it's uh putting exhibits in, cleaning the place up, getting it ready for everybody. It's a great facility.

SPEAKER_09 32:38

We've had board members out here for the past couple of weeks getting prepared. Uh, you know, the Sutliff family with Gary, uh, you know, they've donated all of the ice cream and the cotton candy and popcorn that everybody's enjoying so much out there. Been out here setting up the tents out there for the Valley boys and for the crowd to enjoy them. All our boards have been out here just rolling up their sleeves. Nobody really asked too many questions, other than what do we gotta do?

SPEAKER_06 33:06

And and what I love looking at, going through that food line, your volunteers, we're not talking just older Burbank citizens. No, you got a couple of young members now on your board that I mean they love the history of Burbank, and that's why they became docents and now board members. So it's it's a place if you're new into town, you know, that you want to check it out. There you guys are always looking for docents.

SPEAKER_09 33:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 33:34

You know, I'd love to hear your take on that because we we cover a lot of events in this city, whether it's the Road Kings, the car show, or whatever, but it seems to be uh an older crowd that's really keeping the blood flowing in these organizations. How are you? Are you have plans to get uh a younger crowd uh coming in as docents and all that? I do see some younger faces out here, yes, which is great.

SPEAKER_09 33:55

Yes, we obviously are targeting the younger market, um trying to capture them. We've tried to turn a lot of our communications digital. We've expanded our board this year. Um and when we've expanded our board, we've done so in a youthful manner, if you will. Um just uh so happens to be that way they were some longer time docent that just so happened to be interested in being board members. And uh it just uh was all timing, it seemed, with uh three came on at once. Um three unc you know, just unexpected people you wouldn't expect to see at the historical society.

SPEAKER_06 34:44

Well that's cool.

SPEAKER_07 34:45

That's that's what that's what we're kind of trying to get to because well my point isn't that you know we we don't want to see everybody of every age participating and have a good time here. Obviously, we we enjoy that. Um but you know, at some point somebody might want to retire or move on, who's gonna replace that generation?

SPEAKER_09 35:02

The the great thing about our museum is anytime someone walks in, they're typically in awe of what they're what they're viewing and the amount of what they're seeing and the amount of burbank history they're able to take in. And it seems to have captured a lot of the younger generation that are that do get brought to into uh our museum. We also do uh tours each year of the entire third grade at the Burbank Unified School District. So each year we tour all third grade classes through our museum.

SPEAKER_06 35:44

And aren't I correct? I thought I've heard that their buses to get people here are fully paid. It doesn't come out of school district money. You guys have supported that for those grades and those kids for numbers of years.

SPEAKER_09 36:02

Numbers and numbers of numbers of years we have supplied the buses to uh sustain that program and to make sure that the youth of Burbank has an opportunity to you know uh gain the the knowledge of the history of Burbank uh you know in such a robust way.

SPEAKER_06 36:20

Well that's that's what I mean. I love to hear that you guys are involving the young kids so forth.

SPEAKER_09 36:27

We're working hard. We've got a new uh social media program that we're putting out. I I would really love people to start following us on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook and all you know that's where they're at.

SPEAKER_06 36:41

Yeah. I was just gonna say, come tomorrow, there'll be something else out there. I happen to still be on uh MySpace, I think it is, or uh what was it before that?

SPEAKER_09 36:51

I'm the old I I I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 36:54

But there is new and you gotta stay up with the new.

SPEAKER_09 36:57

We've um and we're we're working hard to stay up with that being a museum. We don't want to, you know, give everything to everybody all at once, but we do want to advertise and show off some of some of the things to get some of the younger crowd in here. Um we're doing a lot of fun things with with the uh with the uh online uh presence. Uh I encourage everyone to check us out at Burbankhistory.com or uh burbankhistoricalsoc.org. Um you can see all of our events there. Uh you can find out uh what has been going on in the past and all about Burbank history. Um we have a lot to offer. We're always looking for more docents to help. We're completely volunteer as discussed before.

SPEAKER_06 37:49

Well, any way that we as my Burbank can help get that word out there, you know, we are members, we have been, we've been to these luncheons last three or four years, and it's nice to see different faces and so forth in any way. Don't just come for the food. Yeah, no, believe me. Well, this happens to be the first time I think we've had Mike on a headset, which you did very well. I know you were standing over there in the corner a few minutes ago sweating, and you said your palms were sweaty.

SPEAKER_09 38:20

I don't I've never done this, so I was pretty more. Well, it's just a conversation.

SPEAKER_08 38:25

That's all we're having.

SPEAKER_09 38:26

You guys have been great. My Burrbank, I mean, personally, uh I've worked with my Burrbank. I've worked with my Burrbank and you know many organizations over the city.

SPEAKER_06 38:36

Well, I we have a Twitter account and we put stuff out on that. And Mike Thomas is the first one.

SPEAKER_09 38:43

I retweet a lot in the middle of the night for you guys. Anyone that's working in the that's when everybody retweets.

SPEAKER_07 38:48

Yeah. The middle of the night. I have a quick question for the president, though. Yes, sir. All the exhibits, everything, all of the Burbank history, and that's going to be added to in the coming years. Does the president have a favorite thing in this museum?

SPEAKER_09 39:02

I do.

SPEAKER_07 39:05

And is there a drum? No secrets here.

SPEAKER_09 39:09

Well, it almost changed when we brought the new fire uh engine in because that's uh that is fantastic.

SPEAKER_06 39:19

One of my loves too.

SPEAKER_09 39:20

But the wedding dress in this room here is is something special. One right behind us here? Yes.

unknown 39:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 39:29

Is something special and I encourage uh entire Burbank community to come and get the full story on the wedding dress.

SPEAKER_07 39:41

And who wore it?

SPEAKER_09 39:42

Who wore it and how it was made.

SPEAKER_07 39:45

And you have to come to the museum to check that out to find that out, right?

SPEAKER_09 39:49

Absolutely. Absolutely. And we encourage you to be here. We are only open uh a few short hours on the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, one to four. Uh, but please come on out. We also will arrange private tours for groups. You just contact uh the museum.

SPEAKER_06 40:07

You can reach us online, as I said, at Burbankhistory.com or Well, the other thing that um I just recently I I know you guys put on monthly uh you use your assembly room. And I was here for Daniel West Watson and talking about his photography. Yes. And the book uh there was somebody before him that you know mapped this whole area.

SPEAKER_09 40:30

Route 66, yes.

SPEAKER_06 40:31

Right, and people need to pay attention that you have so many other events going on. That was really fulfilling to me. Dan West Watson and I started photography at John Bros High School together. Oh wow. So we go way, way back, and his dad was my mentor. So it was just great to listen to Dan again.

SPEAKER_09 40:52

Yeah, that's right. You were uh you were uh lighting them up about the uh cameras. That's right. All about his cameras.

SPEAKER_06 40:58

Well, he bought scanners from me. His first scanner was bought from me, and it's people don't understand there's other things that go on here.

SPEAKER_09 41:06

We do monthly. We do monthly events uh upstairs in our in our main room, and uh we have uh speakers almost every month. We will have uh some kind of a program upstairs, you know, Burbank related. Um check our website and we're always updating. We're always trying to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible.

SPEAKER_07 41:29

Now, if somebody's interested, they could also reach out to decide if they want to make use of that room for an event.

SPEAKER_09 41:34

Absolutely, absolutely. We do uh uh we do use it uh quite often. So please contact for availability. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 41:45

How many people is it will it hold?

SPEAKER_09 41:47

I was just asking that this morning, and I heard, don't please don't quote me on this. I heard standing over 350 seated and standing in the 250 range.

SPEAKER_07 42:03

That's a good sized room. People don't realize 200 of him, a hundred of us.

SPEAKER_06 42:08

True, true, true. Well, Michael, thank you very thank you very much for having us today. Thank you for being president, and you know, I know taking the reins of any organization, you know, that's how you lose your hair, ask me. I want to put on a parade, and I've lost my hair many years thinking of that parade. Uh but uh what you do and your board, thank them for us from my Burbanks crew. Of course. Um, I mean we got here and we had three people moving stuff for us, and I mean displays were moved for us so we to accommodate us.

SPEAKER_09 42:43

That's who we are.

SPEAKER_06 42:44

From Craig and I, we didn't break anything. No, that wasn't us. We appreciate all the help, thank you.

SPEAKER_09 42:50

Of course, we appreciate uh all the support always.

SPEAKER_06 42:54

Well, we'll be we'll always come back. All it takes is that answer, that you know, ask, and we'll be here. And again, thank you, Michael, for taking time to have a conversation with us. You can now take that sweat and uh wipe it all away and go now. You can put broadcasting on your resume.

SPEAKER_09 43:10

I love it, I love it. Thank you, guys. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Gas Station Memories And Real Service

SPEAKER_08 43:14

Well, Ross, we have a good friend of the show here, somebody that everybody knows in many capacities. Please introduce them.

SPEAKER_06 43:24

We happen to be having, and uh what gets me is all the people today are wearing blue shirts, and we're talking to Don Baldastaroni wearing the black shirt. And Don Baldastaroni, he has been on our podcast before. He's on more than I am, and you're our official. But if you don't know Don, Don is part of the Chamber of Commerce, Burbank Historical Society. You're on the Heritage Commission, you've chaired that, you've done that, and you have been around this town probably a lot longer than some of the asphalt in the streets. And I will say the asphalt is oh okay. I thought you said something else.

SPEAKER_04 44:04

The streets were dirt.

SPEAKER_06 44:08

A lot of people talk, you know, we're talking about the museum. A lot of people don't know that Don owned several gas stations. You remember what gas stations were? On the major corners, they still had the city.

SPEAKER_07 44:20

They still have gas stations.

SPEAKER_06 44:22

Oh, I thought you plugged your car.

SPEAKER_07 44:23

They just don't come out with that giant wad of cash and clean your windshield anymore.

SPEAKER_06 44:28

But Don had car um a gas station at Glen Oaks and Olive. Olive and First Street. Uh Burbank and uh Victory.

SPEAKER_03 44:37

Victory. Burbank and Victory.

SPEAKER_06 44:39

Burbank and Victory. So you've been around for a little while.

SPEAKER_04 44:42

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:43

I know you went to that school up on the hill.

SPEAKER_04 44:46

Well, I I well, two schools. I went to Bell Jeff, Elmer Jefferson.

SPEAKER_06 44:50

Well, is that where those nine years got a hold of you?

SPEAKER_04 44:52

Yeah, for ten years. And then uh I went over to uh Burbank High.

SPEAKER_06 44:58

We won't say anything about that.

SPEAKER_04 44:59

We love we love the good school on the hill.

SPEAKER_06 45:01

Yeah, we like one in the valley.

SPEAKER_04 45:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:04

But no, you have some people are afraid of heights. Uh-huh. Gas stations back in the day where they did full service. There were service stations. Right. You you got your car, you you get your car filled up, they do your windows, they check your oil, they check your radiator, they check the air, the tires, the air and the tires. And how do you you do that to your own car now?

SPEAKER_04 45:29

Well, I wish I could say yes.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

Right.

SPEAKER_04 45:32

However, I do have a coming over to wash both of my cars tomorrow at my house. So no, I don't get down a look at that.

SPEAKER_06 45:40

Just the top half of the car gets washed. Yeah, right. Well, he he drives one of those little tiny Mini Cooper. Yeah, Mini Coopers. I don't know. He gets into spots like I have my truck and he'll pull in in front of me and I'll go, oh well, there's done.

SPEAKER_07 45:54

He's always there ahead of me. Yeah, from these uh the the any of the service stations you own, do you have any items in the museum from any of that or no?

SPEAKER_04 46:02

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Um actually on in the Road King display, Kong's garage, the workbench was actually put in Olivan First Street in 1948. And uh I took that with me when the city uh bought us out to put the Logic credit union on the corner. And uh so I have a lot of different things like that, and little hand tools and everything.

SPEAKER_06 46:29

Well, see, being a lifelong Burbank resident, and Craig will attest to this that we used to drive around Craig Craig and his El Camino and all. We used to remember those gas stations way before that Logics building and way before up uh at Glen Oaks and Olive, you know, and Burbank and Victory. I mean, those are stations that we remember. And the only choices were leaded or unleaded. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 46:52

Oh, we had Custom Supreme, if you remember that. Right. That's the high octane, 133 octane. It was very good.

SPEAKER_06 47:00

Kerosene.

SPEAKER_04 47:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 47:01

Well, you know, you just think back uh back in the day. People nowadays have no clue of what a gas station was. You could take get your car full service, oil changed, it would you could come out, your windows would be clean, they wouldn't be smeary, you know, and you ran, like you say, a couple of gas stations. And I think that's really cool if you think back. People want to know history of Burbank? Call Don Baldasaroni. He can help you out.

SPEAKER_07 47:31

You'll find him at any event in the city. He's very easy to find.

SPEAKER_04 47:36

Well, you know, one of the things about service in a gas station, what I used to do is, you know, people don't tip service and do your windows and everything. So I'd give a certificate to a customer and say, Well, next time you come in, if they do your windows, if they check your tire, if they do complete service on the pump lot while you're getting gas while we put it in, I'll give my guy twenty dollars. And I did that for many years.

SPEAKER_07 48:05

So they they give the they turn in the certificate.

SPEAKER_04 48:07

Yes, they would give it to the guy that was uh servicing them and whoa, and I'd give them cash. So it didn't come out of customers' money, but I knew they were giving service. They wanted that.

SPEAKER_07 48:19

And that's where and then that's gonna keep customers coming to yourself.

SPEAKER_08 48:22

And that's when service deserved a tip. Now you go to a sandwich shop to make a sandwich for you, and they want a 20% tip for doing the basic job they were supposed to do. Nothing special.

SPEAKER_07 48:32

You know, when I bought my raffle tickets earlier, they wanted a tip. They turned that iPad toward me, and 10%, 15%? No.

SPEAKER_08 48:40

That's the tip. Don't play the horses. That's the only tip I got.

SPEAKER_06 48:43

So Craig or Craig and I are from the west part of town. We're we're on the other side of the hill or the freeway. Of the train tracks. No, we we kind of grew up Toluca Lake, we call it. There is a lake over there. But there was this uh 76 station at um Oak and Pass Avenue, Jim Tilley's Union, and I think I was 16. They got me a milk crate. They stole it from Vaughn's right next door so I could at least reach up and clean the windows. But I learned everything about cars, you know, back working at a gas station, and then now it's handles ice cream and uh urgent care.

SPEAKER_04 49:20

But you know your information stepping on the milk crate, that was against federal law.

unknown 49:27

That's right.

SPEAKER_07 49:28

Send it on the case.

SPEAKER_04 49:32

Because all of us had those, and it was not a plastic. It was actually the metal, the wood, you know.

SPEAKER_06 49:40

But whoa. Yeah, people don't understand. You know, Craig used to love to get certain type of chocolate milk, you know, and you where do you used to drive everywhere? What kind of chocolate milk was it? Morgon deers or something? No, no, it was the egg dog back in the day. Egg dog or the Altadina glass. The Altadina egg dog in the glass. Yeah, the Altadina egg dog is where Craig and I we're we're old, we're ancient. I'll speak for myself. Just hit seven. It's too late for that. But we used to have milkmen come to deliver the carnation milk, yes.

SPEAKER_04 50:10

We did too.

SPEAKER_06 50:11

You know, Carnation milk, they'd bring it to you every day and put it in a little on your porch.

SPEAKER_04 50:15

Yep. Mine, they used to tie up the horse to the to the thing out front and then walk up to him and put it in the little box there.

SPEAKER_06 50:23

Well, you know, we can't forget the Helms bakery truck. I was just gonna say that whistle, him coming down to those long Was Martinos around back then? They were over there.

SPEAKER_08 50:32

Actually, uh uh at um Alameda and Maine.

SPEAKER_06 50:35

Yep, that's where the their main plant was. Right. Yes. And now it's I remember that time. But you know, that's the thing. I'm not ever gonna leave Burbank. They're gonna take me away in a box or in a can. No, they're not gonna take you away. Well, I've told my son, just take me up to the parking lot and blow my dust.

SPEAKER_04 50:52

No, we're gonna we're gonna bomb you and keep you in the museum here.

SPEAKER_06 50:56

You're gonna be stuffed next to Johnny Carson's suit. But you know, thank you again. You know, staying in Burbank, you know, the rich history of you, you know, knowing this town, having gas stations here, grew up in this town, it's like me. And it's I I you know I have an offspring. I have a son. He says he will not move anywhere. You know, he says that Burbank is in my granddaughter's not court-ordered. It's free to do so. I drive my granddaughters around and they know you know Burbank streets, and you know, if they ever get lost, how to get home and get whatever. Well, they used to chase fire is with you. You're got the little shortcuts everywhere, you know. So it's stuff like that that makes Burbank Burbank.

SPEAKER_07 51:38

But Don, I I I at this at this uh event I always like to ask one question. Of people that are spend a lot of time here. All the items that are here, the hundreds or thousands of items that are on display here, even your own. Do you have a favorite?

SPEAKER_04 51:55

Boy. You know, what brings back the most memories to me is the Kong's garage, which is built with a lot of Road King memorabilia in there. You know, and that you know, I just love. But it's then at the other end, we have a Miller Earhart statue and then we have the fire truck. I mean, where do you pick it? That is the hardest question you can ask somebody that's been here. You know, I mean, you guys is a pinnacle of reporting. Um what do I want to say? Uh you know, you guys make Burbank what it is. I can't believe you know as much about me as I know about me.

SPEAKER_06 52:38

Well, you know, that's that's one of the things. You thank Google. Well, I will say, you know, uh Craig and I do know a lot about Burbank. When, you know, a lot of things changed in this city, and I'm all for progress, you know, um, and so forth. And it it really I just love Burbank and the history, and people that are new here have no clue what things that we did and and everything back.

SPEAKER_07 53:05

But there's a future to this place too. Yes, history hasn't stopped. History continues today, tomorrow, the next week, the next month.

SPEAKER_04 53:13

Today's projects are tomorrow's history, right? Absolutely. Like you're exactly right.

SPEAKER_06 53:19

I have a saying I used to say, yesterday's history, tomorrow is a mystery. Live in today, it's a great present. You know, and and if you don't live in today, because we have no clue if we'll be here tomorrow. You know, you don't know what might happen or whatever, but today you're in the best city that you'll ever find. I better not get emotional. Oh, here we go. Blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_04 53:42

I got some rakins here. I tell you what, I agree with you. Uh the museum will be here for the next fifty years. God willing, city willing, historical society willing, as we're working together to to iron out any difficulties that we might have had. Uh they've been great to deal with. You know. Um I I I think we owe a lot to the city for letting us be here for the last fifty years.

SPEAKER_06 54:10

Oh, that's that's kind of cool, and that's what you know. Um next year you guys will have your appreciation luncheon again. You'll find us doing a podcast and interviewing some great people. Today we had some different people that we've interviewed. And keep the museum up, keep it uh, you know, as shiny and pretty as you guys do.

SPEAKER_07 54:29

And it's up to all of us to make sure that it doesn't go anywhere and only continues to grow.

SPEAKER_04 54:34

I exactly. You know, like I say, we really appreciate it. I want you to know that. As in the museum, and I'm not talking about just the museum, I'm talking about the road kings. Everything I'm a part of knows how valuable your organization is. It's like Burbank.

SPEAKER_07 54:50

It's all part of the fabric of this city. Exactly. All part of the same thing.

unknown 54:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 54:54

Yeah, you know, I used to say years ago, come over Barham, come up Camarillo, come up, you know, Victory Boulevard. You know when you're in Burbank. I've had so many people over the years tell me, you know, you look around, you don't see graffiti, you don't see homeless people. But you want a real contrast? Go the other direction. Exactly. Start at Burbank and leave. Exactly. And that's why I don't go anywhere. You know, uh, you know, Craig has stock in Amazon, so I order all my stuff on Amazon.

SPEAKER_07 55:23

Craig, thanks. Yeah. And his new Maserati. Right. So, Don, we're left.

SPEAKER_06 55:32

We're gonna let you get back to making sure everything goes great today. Again, thank you very much for having us.

SPEAKER_04 55:37

You know, we're only a phone call away, and the last thing I have to say, real quick, this is member appreciation day. Anybody that would like to join the museum, we're gonna have another one next year. There you go. It was fantastic.

SPEAKER_07 55:51

Good. And you can be a part of this.

unknown 55:52

Right.

SPEAKER_07 55:53

Yeah, not that I'm a member, but my bribe is a corporate member.

SPEAKER_04 55:56

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 55:57

And anybody that wants to be a docent, uh, volunteer at the museum.

SPEAKER_06 56:01

That's right. We're gonna interview, in fact, as our last interview, probably one of your board members now uh you is used to be a docent. He's out there serving Coleslaw, in fact. Um, I want to bring him in here because he's probably one of your younger docents and works for the city and how he just loves doing everything. Joseph.

SPEAKER_04 56:20

Joseph is excellent.

SPEAKER_06 56:22

Well, bring him on in. He's gonna be our next interview.

SPEAKER_04 56:24

You got it. Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_08 56:25

Thanks for letting you in.

Bringing Younger Volunteers Through Social

SPEAKER_08 56:26

Ross, we have a very new guest on our podcast who's never been on our podcast before. So please introduce him and let people know all about him.

SPEAKER_06 56:36

Well, you know, there are a lot of people that make the Burbank Historical Society run and so forth, and we have Joseph Wrangle with us. Now, I know Joseph as a former still city employee, correct?

SPEAKER_00 56:49

Correct, yeah, still here.

SPEAKER_06 56:50

But you worked for the police department. You were a cadet at one time, or were you an explorer?

SPEAKER_00 56:54

I was both, actually. See, I do remember you. Explorer than a cadet. Exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 56:58

And I remember you wearing what's it called? The uh and uniform uh well, no, but the animal that's gruff, yes. McGruff.

SPEAKER_00 57:06

Yes, I have dressed as McGruff.

SPEAKER_06 57:07

We literally have McGruff here with us. That's a real dog.

SPEAKER_00 57:11

That's my secret identity.

SPEAKER_06 57:12

Not supposed to talk about well, Joseph. I know you became a dozen down here, and I've been here. You love this museum. Oh, absolutely. And you're now a board member, you're probably one of the younger, and that's what I'd love to get you uh, you know, telling us. Yeah. We'd love to get more young people involved because the older people, uh yes, they're getting older and we're passing away, and some of us can't move around as quick. But younger people like yourself, it's a fun project. I know you have fun here, that's why you went from being a docent to a a board member. Yeah. And today you get to serve Coleslaw.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

I did, this is true.

SPEAKER_07 57:48

Very well, by the way. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

Every scoop, you know.

SPEAKER_07 57:51

But what what drew you to to the museum here?

SPEAKER_00 57:53

What drew you to I just I just love history in general. It's uh I don't know, particularly like that time period between like the forties and the sixties. I just kind of love that period. But I don't know, history is history, right? And look at look at where we are, we're surrounded by it here, and it's a good thing we look back on our past in order to see the mistakes that we made and also the progress that we've made. And so just to see how this place grew and where we're at today, it's just uh just amazing to me. Like um working for the city, there's certain old documents I have access to where I'm like, oh my gosh, look at this old picture from 1945, a traffic collision. I'm like, and no one knows this thing exists, no one knows that's there. And so sometimes like there's things that are here, for example, there's like some city of Burbank black, like to our right, looks like some sewer cover, but that has a story behind it.

SPEAKER_07 58:34

Right, and we talk about that a lot when we're here because of the the it's still kind of a mystery. There's still some mystery that we're discovering. It's a myth. Well, it's funny you say that.

SPEAKER_06 58:42

I I've done pictures for over 50 years, and there's a new video that the city just uh put out two days ago about filming and Burbank. They're really pushing filming. And one of the pictures that they zero in on was a picture of an officer Rick Madrid and uh Rick Garcia with the um oh Ghostbusters and it's on the wall in the traffic department. And I looked, listen, that's my picture. I shot that.

SPEAKER_00 59:06

Oh, you shot that, okay. That's one of the things.

SPEAKER_07 59:07

I'm proud to say that that both of our pictures adorn the walls in the hallways at the police station. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 59:13

And that, you know, I look at that. I shot that both, well, the one officer's gone for many years, but you know, that history of Ghostbusters, you know, filming here, and that happened to be at an opening up at uh Horseman Elementary School is when I did it. As soon as I saw it, I remember. And it was a kind of a famous picture because the Ghostbusters guy's going, You're giving me a ticket? You know.

SPEAKER_07 59:36

But as you mentioned, you're a fan of history.

SPEAKER_00 59:38

Oh, absolutely, yes.

SPEAKER_07 59:39

And and you think Burbank Historical Society, you know, Burbank History, Burbank Museum. Burbank history is national history. It is, yeah. Because what's been created here, what goes on in this city, it's the everybody should be it should be of interest to everybody.

SPEAKER_00 59:53

Yeah, like especially like say you go, everyone goes to the movies, right? So we have one of the biggest movie studios here. We have Walt Disney, we have Warner Brothers, we have NBC, right? But if you go to the any movie theater, like AMC 16 and those little AMCs, so it's the highest grossing AMC in the nation, and that's amazing. That speaks for Burbank and so.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:10

Are we still the AMC capital of the world?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

Most theaters are they count us as AMC 30 because they combine them all.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:16

Um then they're all like a block from each other, too.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:20

Craig and I remember when we didn't have a walk-in theater here. Had the Pickwick, that was it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:25

That was it. See, I wish we saw the Pickwick, that'd be nice.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:27

R.I.P. Yes, R.I.P. exactly. Yeah. Well, Joseph, again, like I said, you did a great job out here. You're a great member. I mean, if a young person was interested and wants to talk to a young person, you're on the board, you'd be glad to give somebody a tour. Oh, absolutely. Or talk to them about being on the board or being involved in the history museum.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:48

Yeah, like I love giving tours to people because there's so many people that have lived here for so long that they have no idea this place even exists. Uh we've had people who've been here for fifty years, like, I didn't know this place was a thing, right? It's like, well, it's kind of a big building, but it's kind of kind of tucked away a little bit, right? So I think even getting on podcasts like this, right, and talking about it just kind of spreads the word and saying, Hey, we're here, we're part of Burbank's history, we'd like to see the history we have in this museum. People care for this place and love this place and it shows and just the walls and the artifacts we have and everything.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:15

Yeah, it's people don't understand how the the displays you have have been treated. I mean, they're pristine. They are, yeah. You're not coming into a museum that has dust and cobwebs around it. It's like a terrible museum. Well, you know, museums people think, you know, dust and dreary and so forth. You come in here and this place is just amazing. I I think that a word, word amazing is that is a single word you can call the code.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:44

Well, everybody mentions it, you know, everyone everyone that comes through the door, whether it's their first time or their hundredth time, there's a wow factor to coming in here. It's bright, it's airy. Yeah, I will say cavernous, but in a good way. Everywhere you turn, there's like another room of something, you know. A lot of people stumble into the room behind us here, and the whole length of the building, and it's all of uh artifacts of Johnny Carson from you know uh Dr. Burbank and all that, but there's a whole nother wing behind us that well, and it's all again kind of hidden from view a little bit, but you just it's interesting.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:18

People that might have come here a year ago, come back because there's so much new. Come back in six months, and we're told we're gonna see a great new display that we can't talk about. So people, you know, again, it's stuff like that. You know, you might have come here once, come back. Bring your new.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:36

We need to keep an eye on on the website and the socials because you're always having events here. Every month there's an event. So another reason to come back.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:42

The social media is that's that's a big part of it. So for a while, like a long time, we didn't really have anyone charge of social media. We didn't really our most outreach was you know, postcards, newsletters, stuff that maybe worked 30, 40 years ago, but society's changed and think people more on their phone, on the internet. So get our word out there, you have to get in the on the social media channels like TikTok or Instagram, right? To get your message to more people. So if we have people come in saying, and we ask them how'd you find out about us, they said, Oh, we saw the TikTok with the creepy doll room. Like, oh, okay, perfect. You know, as long as I brought you in here, that's great.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:12

Well, and you have to go where the people are.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:14

As far as social media and all that.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:16

Yeah. So like you might have members that you do postcards with or newsletters and that works for them, but maybe that's eighty or so people. But if you have say the internet and you're using that resource for things and you're gonna have a ton more people and say, making people across the country too, right? You're spreading your message ever. So when people come here to LA and visit, especially for this FIFA World Cup, then they're gonna see, hey, you know, there's a museum here, we should go visit it. That's something to do um on on the weekday or with the weekend, I should say.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:41

And they'll share it with their friends. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:42

And then we'll get more people to come and it's just it's amazing. I mean, we've had people from Germany come, uh, you know, the Netherlands, uh any uh lots of different countries I've spoken to, and they're they love it. They're like we didn't know this place was here, we saw it online, and it's a cool experience.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:55

Yep, there's more stuff behind that little blue house and the the jet sticking out of the ground, right?

SPEAKER_06 1:03:59

That's definitely we'll let you get back to either serving you uh the fruit plate you gave me was delicious too.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:06

That's a delicious fruit. Yeah, I I wish I could say it was grown here in Burbank, but you know.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:10

Oh well. It was served here.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:12

But I'm you know, I'm gonna.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:14

Back in the day, the original city seal, we had cantaloupe on it.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:17

Right. That's right. What you do at the city, I know what department you work at and so forth. We've we've worked together. Thank you for not only taking care of this, but working. Being a Burbank person, you know our streets. And you know, and Craig and I talk about it. We've talked about it during today's podcast. Nowadays the city hires people that live way out, they have no clue about Burbank. And that's to me too much turnover too with them. Yeah, we don't have we don't hire our local people.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:48

Oh, you know how difficult it is to find some people that like uh like some new hires, and it's like, oh, do you live here in Burbank? Do you go to school here? No, neither, neither. Even with all our officers, right? They're all from Santa Clarita and they go to school out there. So if you find like a Burbank grown person that works for the city, it's uh it's almost uh becoming a rarity because it's just uh But that's a connection to the city that they have invaluable.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:08

They lose an emotional connection, they lose ownership, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:11

They're not invested in the city because they it's just a job and they move on. Where we we live here. We gotta this is our our city. So don't go anywhere, Joseph.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:20

Yes. A little hidden secret. I our assistant city manager, Courtney Pageant. When she took that position, she worked at the PD, you worked with her at the PD. She lived outside of Burbank. And when she became assistant city manager, she wanted to live in the city that she worked in. She's moved to Burbank. She wanted the feel when people, the community, the people in the city, she wanted to be a a voice of them and listen to them and know what they're talking about.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:47

That's what it takes. You want to know what this city's all about, you come to the Burbank Historical Society. Yeah, take a look around and you'll you'll get filled in real quick. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:56

Yeah, and I will say, Courtney, she's great. She's one of the best people.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:00

She's a great boss.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:01

She absolutely was. Yeah. She helped get us that plaque that's right there. Because that that uh manhole looking cover, uh, LAPD did a search warrant over in uh Sun Valley and they found it. We're like, hey Burbank, this is yours, you guys want it? And we're like, well, yeah, we'll take it. It's ours. It has our seal on it. And so then I asked Courtney, I'm like, hey, can the museum have that uh to display? And she, you know, she asked around to see if it was allowed, and then she's like, Yep, you guys can take it. So put it on a pickup truck, write it here, attach to the wall, and it's there.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:26

And we're the official custodians of that property now, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:29

Absolutely. Yes, we are. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:31

Well, again, Joseph, thanks for joining us today. Thanks for jumping on the podcast. You know, the history museum has a lot of old stuff. That's why podcasts are new. That's why, again, we hope we get the word out. We hope somebody listened to it and pick up your segment, or you know, you they'll probably listen to the whole podcast and hear you. And if you get a little razzin at work come next week, you know, you that's a good sign because it just means people are listening to it. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:55

Uh my Latin's gonna be like, Hey, are you on a podcast? Like, well, uh, you want to listen to it?

SPEAKER_06 1:07:00

Maybe. There you go.

How To Visit And Support

SPEAKER_06 1:07:02

Well, thank you very much. And you know, again. Thank you again. Thanks for what you do.

SPEAKER_08 1:07:07

Well, that's it for another fine edition of our podcast here at the uh historical society. Ross and Craig, what have you learned today?

SPEAKER_07 1:07:19

What don't people realize? I'll go first. You better. Because I've learned so much today that I didn't know or didn't understand before. But one of the last tidbits I learned, and it didn't happen during an interview we recorded, it was just somebody walking by said, Did you know that the Urban Historical Society Museum is the eighth largest museum of its kind in the country?

SPEAKER_08 1:07:41

And in California?

SPEAKER_07 1:07:43

The largest in California. So that's and it's only growing. It's only getting away.

SPEAKER_08 1:07:48

That's historical society, not museums.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:49

Right, not just museums, not like a just a regular museum, but a museum uh as the product of a local uh historical society. Interesting little tidbit that I learned today that I didn't know yesterday. But before we finish, I wanted to make uh put some info out there because we mentioned a lot during interviews how to contact historical society, how to volunteer or reach out or whatever. So I'm gonna give out uh a few tidbits. I'm gonna do it off of this because I won't remember them. But the uh the main uh uh address for the museum, if you were happen to be stopping by, is 1100 West Clark Avenue in Burbank, California. There's another one somewhere.

SPEAKER_08 1:08:26

Or if you're driving down Olive and you see the blue house, it's right behind it.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:29

That's behind where Clark is. And there's a parking lot right there, too. Yep, on Clark. You've got to go around, or you could park uh at Isa the park next door and walk across, whatever you want to do. But the actual address, if you're looking it up on your GPS, um and there's emails and so forth. But the the website is burbankhistoricallsoc.org. So it's they compact the society part. But Burbankhistorical soc.org, and they're at Burbank History on Instagram. And if you go to the website, they have all the different social media addresses on there. So everything you need to know. Those were some good tidbits.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:03

I mean, give us some recording. Well, we still are got it all. Well, I want to I'm glad that we had the president, Mike Thomas with us. Joseph Frangle, who used to be a docent and who also, what animal is that that he used to wear? McGruff. McGruff the the Wonder Dog, because he works at the police station. I don't know about the Wonder Dog part, but we had Jamie Thomas, we had a couple other interviewees. I just what a great day.

SPEAKER_07 1:09:29

What a great day, guys. And I don't want to interrupt you, but we we during the in these podcasts we do tend to see some familiar faces. But that's because of this the how tight-knit the city is. You have people that are so passionate about Burbank that they're very involved in different organizations and parts of the city. We want their knowledge. We want their knowledge, too. They may work full-time for the city in an office somewhere, but they still spend their free time in these organizations. It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:54

I I agree, very, very true. And um Handymart, the food. I had a plate of food that tried tip and chicken and if they want to go there themselves to the source, point of vista and magnolia, just look for the column of smoke. You'll smell it around lunchtime. Saturday, and on Saturdays, his barbecue. I had chicken and I had tri-tip and I had baked beans and coleslaw, and somebody brought me an ice cream. And the people, the hosts here, have been fantastic for us. I mean, what a great day.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:26

Well, we want to thank everybody here at the historical state for for hosting us. We appreciate it. For Craig Derling, for Ross Benson, and for Xavier X Man Dubon, who's our T D. Thank you very much for watching and listening, and we will talk to you next time.