Collection Guide
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The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens staff
oral history collection
HIAoralhist
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens staff oral history
collection
Identifier/Call Number: HIAoralhist
Physical Description:
250.6 Gigabytes
(12 digital files)
Physical Description:
2.08 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 2019-2022
Abstract: A collection of oral histories,
conducted from June 13, 2019 - June 6, 2022, recording the background and work experiences
of staff in the Facilities and the Botanical Divisions of The Huntington Library, Art
Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Language of Material: Materials are in Spanish and
English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens staff
oral history collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired from interviewees, June 2019-June 2022.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Photographs, gift of Dr. José Orozco, August 2023.
Dr. José Orozco, of Whittier College, conducted the interviews, in collaboration with Clay
Stalls of the Huntington Library. The Huntington Library's oral history project documents
the work and lives of non-managerial staff employed in Facilities and the Botanical Division
of The Huntington. They are the staff directly responsible for maintaining The Huntington's
grounds, gardens, and buildings. The interviews are purposely intended to develop The
Huntington's institutional archives' holdings on non-managerial staff in Facilities and the
Botanical Division. As institutional history, the interviews have been accessioned into The
Huntington's institutional archives.
The Huntington Library's oral history project documents the work and lives of
non-managerial staff employed in Facilities and the Botanical Division of The Huntington.
The collection consists of thirteen interviews with ten current and former staff members
(two of the staff are interviewed twice), and three children of one of the former staff
members. The interviewees were selected because of the length of their tenure at The
Huntington, generally at least ten years. These extensive tenures at The Huntington provide
an overview of the work of Facilities and the Botanical Division during the last quarter of
the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st century. Interviews are either in
Spanish or English, depending on the interviewee's preference. Of the ten staff member
interviewees, eight are from the Botanical Division and two from Facilities. Their length of
employment by The Huntington at the time of their interview ranged from a decade to 50
years. The audiovisual interviews (MP4 files) were conducted from June 13 2019 - June 6,
2022; the longest interview was approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes, the shortest
approximately 42 minutes. The collection also includes nine photographs which were shot by
Dr. Orozco as part of his collaboration with the Library in the staff oral history project;
not all staff members who were interviewed wished to be photographed for the project. The
subjects of the photographs are: Guadalupe Gutierrez; Leonor Jiménez; Manuel Moreno; Cruz
Pinedo; C. Ramiro Ramírez Pinedo; Shadi Shihab; Javier Vasquez; John Villareal; Rosie
Pinedo, Jacinto Pinedo, and Angel Pinedo.
Finding aid created by Gayle Richardson May-October 2020; four additional interviews were
added July 2023. One box of photographs added April 2024.
Interviews are arranged alphabetically by interviewee last name; photographs are arranged
by subject.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Botanical gardens -- California -- Employees
Employees -- California -- San Marino -- Oral histories
Gardeners -- United States -- California, Southern --
History
Gardening -- California, Southern -- History
Janitors -- California -- San Marino -- Oral histories
Immigrants -- California, Southern
Mexicans -- United States
Interviews
Oral histories (literary works)
Photographs
Orozco,
José
Arellano, Arturo
Benites, Faustino
Gutierrez, Guadalupe
Jimínez, Leonor
Moreno, Manuel
Pinedo, Angel
Pinedo, Cruz
Ramírez Pinedo, C. Ramiro
Pinedo, Jacinto
Pinedo, Rosie
Shihab, Shadi
Vasquez, Javier
Villarreal, John