Finding aid for Reardon family papers, 1923-1968. MVC081
Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura
County Community Foundation.
Museum of Ventura County
May 2022
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Ventura County
Title: Reardon family papers
Creator:
Reardon, Mary Cecilia, 1908-1989
Creator:
Reardon, Oliver Ignatius Thomas, 1904-1992
Identifier/Call Number: MVC081
Physical Description:
3.03 Cubic Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1923-1968
Abstract: The Reardon family moved from the Midwest around the turn of the century and is well known for establishing a mortuary in
Ventura, as well as others in Oxnard and Simi Valley. Oliver Louis Reardon and Mary Agnes O'Leary Reardon had seven children.
Mary Cecilia Reardon graduated from Ventura Union High School and went on to teach music at the Villanova Preparatory School
in Ojai. Oliver Ignatius Thomas Reardon graduated from the Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai and went on to pursue a career
in music. This collection consists mostly of yearbooks either belonging to Mary C. Reardon or Oliver Ignatius Thomas Reardon.
The yearbooks are for Ventura Union High School, Villanova Preparatory School, and the Seminary of Our Lady Queen of Angels.
Other materials include booklets for Ventura Union High School class reunions, newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook documenting
Oliver Reardon's musical career.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior
to your visit.
Language of Material:
English
.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the
Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have
not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org.
[Identification of item], Reardon family papers, (Collection MVC081), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura,
California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Cynthia Baumgartner; gift; 1991, 1993.
Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
Our collections are processed using MPLP methods so that we can prioritize access for users and identify potential priorities
for more detailed processing. If while using our collections you think there is something that should be added or amended
in the finding aid, we welcome your input. You can notify staff in the reading room or send us an email at library@venturamuseum.org.
Be sure to include the collection number and name and the box number you were working with in your email.
The Reardon family moved from the Midwest around the turn of the century. Oliver Louis Reardon (1874–1937) and Mary Agnes
O'Leary Reardon (1879–1926) had seven children: Oliver Ignatius Thomas Reardon (1904–1992), Mary Cecilia Reardon (1908-1989),
Joseph P. Reardon (1910–2006), James Albert Reardon (1914–2007), John William Reardon (1915–1961), Francis Xavier Reardon
(1916–1969), and Roger A. Reardon. The family is well known for establishing a mortuary in Ventura, as well as others in Oxnard
and Simi Valley. The family also had several musicians. Oliver Jr. and his mother, Mary, would often play the organ for silent
movies screened at the former Liberty Theatre in downtown Ventura. Mary Cecilia was music director at the Villanova Preparatory
School in Ojai for some time in the 1930s and 1940s.
Mary Cecilia Reardon was born October 25, 1908. She died on April 25, 1989 at the age of 80. She graduated from Ventura Union
High School in 1926 and went on to teach music at the Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai. Oliver Ignatius Thomas Reardon
was born on July 30, 1904. He graduated from the Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai and went on to pursue a career in music.
He obtained a doctorate degree in music from Emerson University in Boston. He also taught music at Villanova for around 18
years. Reardon joined the Navy in 1942. After retiring from the military, he was an organist at the San Buenaventura Mission
in 1984-1985. He never married. He died on July 10, 1992 at the age of 87.
This collection contains mostly yearbooks either belonging to Mary C. Reardon or Oliver Ignatius Thomas Reardon. The yearbooks
are for Ventura Union High School (now known as Ventura High School) for 1923-1927, Villanova Preparatory School for 1943-1955,
and the Seminary of Our Lady Queen of Angels for 1967-1968. Other materials include booklets for the 40th and 50th reunions
for Ventura Union High School's Class of 1926, newspaper clippings, Mary C. Reardon's correspondence, a brown scrapbook documenting
Oliver Reardon's musical career.
This collection is not organized at the series level and has box-level descriptions. Many of the yearbooks had ephemeral items
and notes inserted in them. These yearbooks have been foldered together with those items. There were also loose papers in
the brown scrapbook. Those loose items have been foldered and are in Box 1.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
School yearbooks
Scrapbooks
Musicians -- California -- Ventura County
Reardon, Mary Cecilia, 1908-1989
Reardon, Oliver Ignatius Thomas, 1904-1992
Reardon family -- Records and correspondence
Villanova Preparatory School (Ojai, Calif.)
Ventura High School (Ventura, Calif.)
Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary (Mission Hills, Calif.)
Box 1
Yearbooks and papers 1923-1976
This box contains yearbooks from: Ventura Union High School (
La Revista) for the years 1923-1927; Villanova Preparatory School (
The Villanovan) for the years 1943-1955; and Villanova Preparatory School (
The Augustinian, Volume 1 and 5) for the years 1926-1927 and 1931. Other materials include booklets for Ventura Union High School's 40th
and 50th reunions for the class of 1926, newspaper clippings, and the correspondence of Mary Reardon.
Papers include ephemera, cards, certificates, clippings, address and phone books, programs, sheet music (including a Japanese
composition), and documents for John Joseph Lyons' will. Lyons was Mary and Oliver Reardon's grand uncle.
Many of the yearbooks are signed by Mary Reardon's classmates or students. Many of the yearbooks contain programs, cards from
students, clippings related to students, and other ephemera related to events that took place during the school year or the
lives of the students after graduation. The 1925 yearbook for Ventura Union High School contains a pressed flower.
Box 2
Yearbooks and scrapbook 1927-1968
This box contains 2 yearbooks for Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary for the years 1967 and 1968. Additional materials include
a certificate for Mary Agnes O'Leary Reardon's enrollment in the Mass League of Our Lady of Lourdes, and a brown scrapbook
containing clippings regarding Oliver Reardon's Piano School (1935-36), programs for recitals, commencement exercises at St.
Thomas of Villanova Preparatory School (June 12, 1927), In Memoriam fliers for Dora Miller (1939), editions of
The Prep Times, tickets for school performances, and newspaper clippings. There are also 2 folders containing loose papers that were in
the front of the scrapbook and an envelope of papers that were in the scrapbook. The papers in the folder are similar to the
contents of the scrapbook.
Box 3
Correspondence and ephemera circa 1916-1948
This box contains correspondence, programs, notes, photographs, and ephemera. The correspondence is mostly for Mary C. Reardon,
and includes letters belonging to Mrs. Reardon (Mary Agnes), Oliver Reardon, Sr., Oliver Reardon, Jr., and Roger Reardon.
There are also several programs for Mary and Oliver's musical performances, and membership and ID cards mostly belonging to
Mary Cecilia.
There are also photographs of Mary Cecilia with Fred Tvedt and friends. Fred Tvedt was in the 82nd U.S. Naval Construction
Battalion. Oliver Reardon also joined Navy during World War II. Much of the correspondence in this box relates to World War
II and the daily life of a Seabee, including an account of a transport ship in the Pacific. Additional correspondence includes
letters from Roger to his sister Mary Cecilia, written while he was at Villanova. Additional materials include ephemera, a
weaving kit, cards from Roger to his mother, prescriptions, newspaper clippings, postcards, Christmas cards, and holy cards
or devotional prints.