Guide to the Michael L. Belangie Papers

Processed by Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Steven Mandeville-Gamble.
Department of Special Collections
Green Library
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, CA 94305-6004
Phone: (650) 725-1022
Email: specialcollections@stanford.edu
URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc
© 2001
The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved.

Guide to the Michael L. Belangie Papers

Collection number: M0924

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University Libraries

Stanford, California

Contact Information

  • Department of Special Collections
  • Green Library
  • Stanford University Libraries
  • Stanford, CA 94305-6004
  • Phone: (650) 725-1022
  • Email: specialcollections@stanford.edu
  • URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc
Processed by:
Special Collections staff
Date Completed:
2000 May
Encoded by:
Steven Mandeville-Gamble
© 2001 The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Belangie, Michael L. Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1945-1980
Collection number: M0924
Creator: Belangie, Michael L.
Extent: 9 linear ft.
Repository: Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.

Preferred Citation:

Michael L. Belangie Papers. M0924. Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Biography

Born in Butte Montana, on June 29, 1907, Michael Louis Belangie was the eldest of three children. His father was of French-Canadian origin, and spent his working life as a miner. The tall, thin, dark, and conservative, "Mike," as he came to be known, typified the "American Dream," rising from humble origins to success, comfort, and recognition in the community in which he chose to make his home, Menlo Park, California.
The young Belangie was a "go-getter" from the beginning. He graduated from Butte High School and went to work for the Montana Power Company as lineman, and later as hydroelectric station operator. Then he entered the University of Montana in Missoula. But after two years there, he left school. The Depression was sweeping the country. Belangie quickly landed a job as timekeeper and draughtsman for the U.S. Forest Service. This first taste of civil service started him on a career path that he followed for the rest of his life.
From 1939 to 1943, Belangie worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reaching the position of Regional Field Supervisor, working in the San Francisco office. His work lasted throughout the early critical years of World War II, when food rationing became a reality in the United States.
Belangie volunteered for the U.S. Army in l943, and was assigned to the 115th Combat Engineers Battalion in the Pacific Theatre, seeing duty in the Philippines, New Guinea, New Britain, and the Admiralty Islands. As a tech sergeant, he helped to establish and administer Engineer Supply Depots, and supervised operation of supply lines to elements of the 40th Infantry Division in forward areas. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his Army service.
Discharged from the Army in 1945, Belangie joined his wife of ten years , Mary (Maree), in San Francisco, California, and went to work briefly for the Federal Housing Administration.
In late 1945 he purchased Menlo Textiles, a national purveyor of custom-loomed fabrics in Menlo Park, California, some thirty miles south of San Francisco. He and Mary moved to Menlo Park, where he operated the weaving company for the next l8 years. He was drawn to it, as he told a local newspaper, " because it was a creative enterprise-something I could do with my hands." Belangie's artistic streak extended to fabric designs as well as pen and ink landscape sketches.
During his tenure at Menlo Textiles and his sideline enterprise of selling real estate, he frequently had a reason to call into Menlo City Hall, and he began to volunteer for various committees . Soon, Belangie was appointed to the Menlo Regional Planning Committee Executive Council, the City and County Parks Committee, and the Master Plan Revisions Committee. He also became a member of the Menlo Historical Society, was an early advocate of the Menlo Public Library, and was instrumental in forming Menlo Park's Arts Commission.
His public service efforts led him to run for the Menlo Park City Council in 1950, an election that he won. He also became Mayor in 1954-55. In 1955, he resigned his Council seat owing to the press of business, but he was persuaded to join the Council again in 1957, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of a councilman . Belangie remained a Councilman, being elected over and over again until l971, when he again resigned, this time to become Executive Vice President of the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce.
Belangie had a simple formula for public service: "With my fellow councilmen, I felt our first job, as representatives of the people, was to be responsible, and responsive, to furthering the amenities for living, working, and leisure." On the City Council he helped to design Menlo Park's innovative professional-administrative zoning policies, which enabled the city to expand commercial areas without eroding the city's basic residential character, policies that have been emulated by cities all over America. Another major contribution was his work to keep Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in Menlo Park.
A lifelong golfer, Belangie also assisted in the design and planning of the Menlo Park Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, and served a term as the Club's Executive Secretary and General Manager.
But what he is remembered most fondly for is "the Fountain." The Fountain , a replica of a fountain in Rome called "Neptune's Family," had been cast in the 1860s to grace the grounds of Thurlow Lodge in Menlo Park, the home of W. E. Barron. It survived a destructive fire in 1872, when the home was owned by Milton Latham. Later , the property, including the mansion, gatehouse, and fountain, were purchased by Timothy Hopkins, nephew of Mark Hopkins. When Menlo Park moved its Administrative Complex onto this land in the late 1960s, two relics of its former grandeur remained: the gatehouse, and the broken and rusty fountain, greatly in need of restoration.
The gatehouse was restored without much fuss, but Neptune's Family remained in ruins. Belangie, struck by its beauty, vowed to save it from the breakers and see it restored, and for a number of years it sat forlornly in his backyard. Finally, his efforts to persuade the City that the Fountain's historic value was such that the metal sculpture should be restored were successful. The sparkling fountain, with its plumbing repaired, and basking in a new coat of paint, was placed beneath an old oak tree near the gatehouse, and is still burbling away today (2000).
Mike Belangie, however, did not live to see the Fountain restored. He died in 1974 at the age of 69. But ten years later, the Fountain's restoration was completed by the City, and in a ceremony held on July 4, 1984, its restoration was celebrated, with a plaque placed at the base of Neptune's Family, dedicating it to Mike Belangie.

Scope and Content

The Michael Louis (and Mary) Belangie Collection is extensive (9 linear feet). It is divided as follows: Boxes 1, 2, 8 (oversize), and 9 (oversize photo album) contain files pertaining principally to Belangie's personal life. Boxes 3 through 7 contain principally material that, although about the Belangies, represents "life as it was " in Menlo Park, California, 1945-1980. These files contain such material as costs of operating a household, automotive records and costs, appliance and other advertisements, insurance records, stock transactions and investments, medical records and costs, and yearly income taxes.

 

Series 1. Personal files

 

Subseries 1. Michael L. Belangie

Box 1, Folder 1

Birth certificate (2 copies, 1 clip) See also box 8, folder 11941, 1962

Box 1, Folder 2

Diploma, Butte High School5/29/1921

Box 1, Folder 3

Personal data (army discharge, resumes, notification of death, etc.)1945-1974

Box 1, Folder 4

Wallet & i.d. cards1936-1974

Box 1, Folder 5

Selective service correspondence, army discharge942-1945

Box 1, Folder 6

War experience (letter, 4 clips, telegram)1942, 1945

Box 1, Folder 7

USDA (2 clips)1940-1941

Box 1, Folder 8

As Menlo Park City Councilman (correspondence, clips, certificate of election) See also box 8, folder 31952-1974

Box 1, Folder 9

Chamber of Commerce (correspondence, clips, membership roster) See also box 8, folder 5 1949-1976

Box 1, Folder 10

The Town Club (correspondence, membership rosters, newsletters)1972-1974

Box 1, Folder 11

"The Fountain" (correspondence, publicity, clips) See also box 8, folder 81978-1984

Box 1, Folder 12

Personal correspondence1946-1974

Box 1, Folder 13

USDA correspondence1942-1946

Box 1, Folder 14

Correspondence to/from relatives1952-1984

Box 1, Folder 15

Business correspondence1953-1973

Box 1, Folder 16

Gratitude & congratulatory correspondence1938-1961

Box 1, Folder 17

Souvenir menu, UALFeb. 1950

Box 1, Folder 18

"Train Collectors Quarterly"Apr. 1954

Box 1, Folder 19

Kistler coat of armsnd

Box 1, Folder 20

Disability claim & correspondence1970-1972

Box 1, Folder 21

Legal matters1975

Box 1, Folder 22

"Little House" Menlo Senior Center1954

Box 1, Folder 23

Loan application1957

Box 1, Folder 24

Assets1974

Box 1, Folder 25

Final illness medical statements1971-1974

Box 1, Folder 26

Death certificate, correspondence, obituaries1974

 

Subseries 2. Mary Belangie

Box 1, Folder 27

Civil service records1946-1964

Box 1, Folder 28

Correspondence1943-1983

Box 1, Folder 29

Will (copy)1957

Box 1, Folder 30

Drivers license, driving certificate, ticket1950, 1980s

Box 1, Folder 31

Palo Alto Women's Club1969

Box 1, Folder 32

Recipesnd

Box 1, Folder 33

Directions to peoples' housesnd

Box 1, Folder 34

Sears charge accountnd

Box 1, Folder 35

Transfer of Oldsmobile to brother1974-1975

Box 1, Folder 36

Miscellaneous notesnd

 

Series 2. Menlo Textiles

Box 1, Folder 37

Menlo Textiles brochure1960

Box 1, Folder 38

Menlo Textiles partnership agreement, bank acct1947-1960

Box 1, Folder 39

Photos (9)[1950s?]

Box 1, Folder 40

35 mm slides1950s

Box 1, Folder 41

Publicity 1951

Box 1, Folder 42

Income tax returns1948, 1956-60

Box 1, Folder 43

Sale of corporation1961 ff

 

Series 3. Subject files

 

Subseries 1. Belangie family subject files

Box 1, Folder 44

Appliance warranties & instructions1960s-1970s

Box 1, Folder 45

Automobile insurance and loan1955-1980

Box 1, Folder 46

Automotive maintenance1960s-1970s

Box 1, Folder 47

Calif. Senior citizen property tax assistance1972-1980

Box 1, Folder 48

Calif. Water Service statements1967-1974

Box 1, Folder 49

Personal health (news clips)1970s

Box 1, Folder 50

DMV registration, handbooks, test, etc1950s-1980s

Box 1, Folder 51

House improvements & techniques1950s-1970s

Box 1, Folder 52

Real estate matters1960s-1970s

Box 1, Folder 53

School facilities, reading list1940 & 1972

Box 1, Folder 54

Miscellaneous pamphlets1948-1955

Box 1, Folder 55

Medicare brochures[1960s-1970s]

Box 1, Folder 56

Medicare benefits claims & notes1970s

 

Subseries 2. Sharon Heights subject files

Box 1, Folder 57

Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club bylaws, etc.1961, 1973

Box 1, Folder 58

Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, steering committee & board of directors meetings1961-1962

Box 1, Folder 59

Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, general manager records1961-1962

Box 1, Folder 60

Sharon Heights Magazine "Duffer" & brochures1961-1962

Box 1, Folder 61

Golf instruction clippings1970s

 

Subseries 3. Menlo Park & vicinity subject files

Box 2, Folder 1

"San Mateo County, its Story"1967

Box 2, Folder 2

"Trees of Menlo Park"1972

Box 2, Folder 3

"Menlo Park Centennial, 1874-1974" See also box 8, folder 171974

Box 2, Folder 4

"Menlough Park"1970s

Box 2, Folder 5

"Menlo Park Today"1966

Box 2, Folder 6

"Menlo Park Today"1967

Box 2, Folder 7

"Menlo Park Today"1968

Box 2, Folder 8

"Menlo Park Today"1969

Box 2, Folder 9

"Menlo Park Today"1970

Box 2, Folder 10

"Menlo Park Today"1970-1971

Box 2, Folder 11

"Menlo Park Today"1971

Box 2, Folder 12

"Menlo Park Today"1974-1975

Box 2, Folder 13

"Menlo Park Today"1976

Box 2, Folder 14

"Menlo Park Comprehensive Plan, 2000" See also box 8, folders 19 and 231974

Box 2, Folder 15

"Menlo Park Comprehensive Plan, 2000"1974

Box 2, Folder 16

Menlo Park official government stationery1970s

Box 2, Folder 17

"Oak Meadows of Atherton"1976

Box 2, Folder 18

"Atherton Lands"1979

 

Series 4. Miscellaneous books

Box 2, Folder 19

"Artisans & Technicians" (in French)[1960?]

Box 2, Folder 20

AAA "Southwestern Tour Book"1964

Box 2, Folder 21

"1001 New Decorating Ideas"[1950?]

 

Series 5. Personal finance files

Box 2, Folder 22

Investing (clippings)1960s

Box 2, Folder 23

Investment records1955-1983

Box 2, Folder 24

Investment records1982-1986

Box 2, Folder 25

Stock dividends (notes)1959-1982

Box 2, Folder 26

Stock transactions, AVCO1960-1980

Box 2, Folder 27

Stock transactions, U.S. Steel1950-1960

Box 2, Folder 28

Stock transactions, Host International1966-1982

Box 2, Folder 29

Stock transactions, Itek, Camelot1967-1983

Box 2, Folder 30

Stock transactions, Mitchum, Jones & Templeton1962-1973

Box 2, Folder 31

Stock transactions, Tenneco1963, 1970s

Box 2, Folder 32

Stock transactions, Lundborg1953-1970

Box 2, Folder 33

Stock transactions, Capital Preservation1981-1983

Box 2, Folder 34

Stock transactions, Morgan Stanley1958-1978

Box 2, Folder 35

Stock transactions, Dean Witter1985-1986

Box 2, Folder 36

Stock transactions, Miscellaneous1946, 1970s

Box 2, Folder 37

Bank statements, Bank of America1982-1984

Box 2, Folder 38

Bank statements, Wells Fargo1978-1987

Box 2, Folder 39

Bank statements, Wells Fargo (cont'd)1978-1987

Box 2, Folder 40

Bank statements, First Interstate1985-1988

Box 2, Folder 41

Bank statements, Great Western1984-1988

Box 2, Folder 42

Pass books, Wells Fargo1944-1968

Box 2, Folder 43

Pass books, Northern Cal., UCB, BofA1944-1980

Box 2, Folder 44

Check registers, Wells Fargo1951-1972

Box 2, Folder 45

Check registers, various1955-1987

Box 3, Folder 1

Taxes, news clippingsnd

Box 3, Folder 2

Tax information1983-1984

Box 3, Folder 3

Income tax returns & receipts1939-1947

Box 3, Folder 4

Income tax returns & receipts1945-1951

Box 3, Folder 5

Income tax returns & receipts1955

Box 3, Folder 6

Income tax returns & receipts1956

Box 3, Folder 7

Income tax returns & receipts1958

Box 3, Folder 8

Income tax returns & receipts1959

Box 3, Folder 9

Income tax returns & receipts1961

Box 3, Folder 10

Income tax returns & receipts1962

Box 3, Folder 11

Income tax returns & receipts1963

Box 3, Folder 12

Income tax returns & receipts1964

Box 3, Folder 13

Income tax returns & receipts1965

Box 3, Folder 14

Income tax returns & receipts1966

Box 3, Folder 15

Income tax returns & receipts1967

Box 3, Folder 16

Income tax returns & receipts1968

Box 3, Folder 17

Income tax returns & receipts1969

Box 3, Folder 18

Income tax returns & receipts1970

Box 3, Folder 19

Income tax returns & receipts1971

Box 3, Folder 20

Income tax returns & receipts1972

Box 3, Folder 21

Income tax returns & receipts1973

Box 3, Folder 22

Income tax returns & receipts1974

Box 3, Folder 23

Income tax returns & receipts1975

Box 3, Folder 24

Income tax returns & receipts1976

Box 3, Folder 25

Income tax returns & receipts1977

Box 3, Folder 26

Income tax returns & receipts1978

Box 3, Folder 27

Income tax returns & receipts1979

Box 3, Folder 28

Income tax returns & receipts1980

Box 3, Folder 29

Income tax returns & receipts1981

Box 3, Folder 30

Income tax returns & receipts1982

Box 3, Folder 31

Income tax returns & receipts1983

Box 3, Folder 32

Income tax returns & receipts1984

Box 4, Folder 1

Income tax returns & receipts1985

Box 4, Folder 2

Income tax returns & receipts1986

Box 4, Folder 3

Income tax returns & receipts1987

Box 4, Folder 4

Income tax returns & receipts1988

Box 4, Folder 5

Income tax returns & receipts1989

Box 4, Folder 6

Income tax returns & receipts1990

Box 4, Folder 7

Income tax returns & receipts1992

Box 4, Folder 8

Income tax returns & receipts1993

Box 4, Folder 9

Income tax returns & receipts1995

Box 4, Folder 10

San Mateo County taxes1965-1992

 

Series 6. Insurance files

Box 4, Folder 11

Veterans' Benefits1951-1974

Box 4, Folder 12

Medical records1939, 1961-69

Box 4, Folder 13

Medical records1972-1976

Box 4, Folder 14

Medical records1977-1985

Box 4, Folder 15

Menlo Clinic Medical Reports1964-1988

Box 4, Folder 16

Aetna Insurance (Chamber of Commerce)1971

Box 4, Folder 17

Medical insurance, Bay Pacific1987

Box 4, Folder 18

Medical insurance, Blue Shield1946-1974

Box 4, Folder 19

Medical insurance, Blue Shield1946-1974

Box 4, Folder 20

Medical insurance, Blue Shield1975-1985

Box 4, Folder 21

Medical insurance, Kaiser1985

Box 4, Folder 22

Medical insurance, Insurance Company of America1958-1972

Box 4, Folder 23

Life insurance, Prudential1938-1964

Box 4, Folder 24

Life insurance, Metropolitan (M.L. Belangie)1944-1974

Box 4, Folder 25

Life insurance, (Mary Belangie)1938-1976

Box 4, Folder 26

Life insurance, Veterans Administration1951-1974

Box 4, Folder 27

Accident insurance (Menlo Park City)1970

Box 5, Folder 1

Homeowners' insurance1957-1988

Box 5, Folder 2

Automobile insurance1957-1988

Box 5, Folder 3

Personal property insurance1967-1987

 

Series 7. Magazines (some include Menlo Textiles advertising)

Box 5, Folder 4

Architectural Digest, December1979

Box 5, Folder 5

Architectural Digest, March 1980

Box 5, Folder 6

Architectural Digest, Mar/Apr1985

Box 6, Folder 1

Architectural Digest, Vol XII, # 1nd

Box 6, Folder 2

Architectural Digest, Vol XII, # 2nd

Box 6, Folder 3

Architectural Digest, Vol XIII, # 2nd

Box 6, Folder 4

Architectural Digest, Vol. XIII, # 3nd

Box 6, Folder 5

Architectural Digest, Vol ?nd

Box 6, Folder 6

House & Garden, April1949

Box 6, Folder 7

America's Fabrics. MacMillan, NY1947

Box 7, Folder 1

Shaping America's Products. Reinhold Pub.Corp., NY1956

Box 7, Folder 2

haping America's Products. Reinhold Pub.Corp., NY. Duplicate copy

 

Series 8. Oversize materials

 

Subseries 1. Miscellaneous

Box 8, Folder 1

M.L. Belangie, birth cert., marriage license1935, 1941

Box 8, Folder 2

M.L. Belangie, publicity photos (22 & 1 clipping)1913-[1970?]

Box 8, Folder 3

M.L. Belangie, Menlo Park City Councilman (2 clips). See also box 1, folder 81962, 1971

 

Subseries 2. Clippings

Box 8, Folder 4

George Liddle (Willow Expressway)1971

Box 8, Folder 5

M.L. Belangie, Chamber of Commerce1971

Box 8, Folder 6

M.L. Belangie as artist1976

Box 8, Folder 7

"I stole my greatest story,"1958

Box 8, Folder 8

Belangie & "The Fountain" See also box 1, folder 111984

Box 8, Folder 9

Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club. See also box 1, folders 57-601950s-1960s

Box 8, Folder 10

Golden Acorn Awards, Menlo Park1970s

Box 8, Folder 11

Menlo Park Civic Center1970

Box 8, Folder 12

Fountain, Lindenwood, Flood Estatend

Box 8, Folder 13

Menlo Park, Sherwood Hall, Hopkins Estatend

Box 8, Folder 14

Menlo Park City government1960s

Box 8, Folder 15

Alza Company1970

Box 8, Folder 16

Medicare & Social Security1960-1970

Box 8, Folder 17

Menlo Park Centennial. See also box 2, folder 31974

 

Subseries 3. Maps

Box 8, Folder 18

San Francisco1973

Box 8, Folder 19

Menlo Park, general plan1966

Box 8, Folder 20

Menlo Park1973-1974

Box 8, Folder 21

Menlo Parknd

Box 8, Folder 22

Menlo Park1988

Box 8, Folder 23

Menlo Park, "Toward 2000". See also box 2, folders 14 & 151974

Box 8, Folder 24

"How to find a library" : news article1971

 

Subseries 4. Scrapbook

Box 9

Oversize scrapbook/photo album1930s-1974