Friends of the Duarte Library
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Six months of research by two local historians has led to
the release of the new book, "Images of America: Duarte," that was released
on Aug. 24.
Irwin Margiloff, 78, a New York native and retired chemical engineer, has
served as curator of the Duarte Historical Museum for more than 15 years,
where he has become an expert on all things Duarte.
The Rev. Neil Earle, 62, a Canadian native, has lived in Duarte for about a
decade. The senior pastor of Grace Communion International in Glendora is
also host of the DCTV monthly program "A Second Look," which focuses on
public affairs, news, history and archaeology from a local perspective.
Together, during a six-month period, they did the research that resulted in
the 125-page paperback published by Arcadia Publishing.
There are copies of pictures and documents related to the original land
grants, settlers, development of local institutions, schools and citrus
industry.
Earle credits Margiloff with 70 percent of the project. He became involved
after a suggestion that the pair work together.
"Irwin's the detail man and I'm the overview man," he said. "That, I think,
made this a great working relationship."
There are also little tidbits of eras past. Like how exterminators would use
hydrogen cyanide gas as a pesticide in the 1890s, the former Southern
Pacific Railroad station in Duarte, and an Episcopal mission.
It is Margiloff's first book. "I've always been interested in history," he
said. "Wherever I've lived I've chased around and been interested in the
locality."
Upon his arrival to Duarte he visited the museum and met his predecessor.
"Shortly thereafter I found myself curator," he said. "There wasn't much
competition for the job."
It has been about 33 years since the last book on the city was published.
"On the Duarte" by R. Aloysia Moore and Bernice Bozeman Watson was released
in 1976. The first book about Duarte, "The Sequent Occupance of the Rancho
Azusa de Duarte," was written by Ida Mae Shrode in 1948.
After the two partnered, Margiloff and Earle worked on different avenues of
research. "I worked from the beginning to the present and he worked from
the present backwards, so we met somewhere in the middle," Margiloff said.
The most surprising element that Earle discovered about Duarte were the
qualities of the early residents.
"These were fairly educated, professional-type people," he said. "I was
really intrigued that the old Victorian elite got Duarte off to a very
stable start. In so many of the pictures in the book, they're having
picnics; they're playing tennis."
Pictures from the old schools show classrooms with African American and
Latino students.
"They really stressed culture," Earle said. "They really stressed education.
Even to this day, Duarte's most distinctive building is The Old Spaghetti
Factory. This was the progressive era. I see Duarte as `The Three Cs:
Continuity, Community and Culture'."
Excerpted from the Pasadena Star article of 9-3-09. The book is available at
the Duarte Library. To watch a video about Writing the History of Duarte, go
to www.dctvduarte.com;
Video Archives; Historical Duarte; 9-14-09.