These films were taken, fully or in part, in destinations at least a four-hour drive from Palm Springs, California. The captions in [brackets], whenever possible, include labels from the original item in “quotation marks.” We add estimated dates and other details. For best viewing experience, choose the 720p or higher setting on the player.
WBH#2 [“June Mountain Promotional Film,” ca. 1968 (or 1974 as Per Notes).] 16mm. Color. Optical Sound. William ‘Bud’ Hayward family films. Further description forthcoming.
#121. [“Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, Cliff Palace,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Various park signs (“Mesa Verde National Park”, “Spruce Tree House”) and lots of trees, a shot of the ancient Puebloan heritage site Spruce Tree House (too dark to make out, unfortunately), shots from above perhaps the nearby Marcos River?, various shots of ancient Puebloan Cliff Palace as seen from the Cliff Palace Overlook, touring the site, climbing to the top of the mesa and viewing the canyon below, touring and posing around the Mesa Top Ruins (“First city on this site, 900 AD”), heritage site. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#79. [Solvang, Calif., ca. late 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. A woman and young girl climb down the steps of the Solvang Windmill (aka the Paaske Windmill), then lots of panning shots of the Danish-style facades of various shops and eateries along the streets of Solvang, including the original Danish Inn restaurant and windmill (now known as the Solvang Brewing Company windmill). We scanned this — could look better! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#55. [“Arizona,” ca. late 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. POV from the side of the road Arizona mesas/landscapes, overhead shot of the Hoover Dam, filmmaker zooms from below up to a woman and toddler posing atop a mesa, more of the Dam, POV along Interstate 15 (looks like through Virgin River Gorge), vista overlooking the Grand Canyon, a small plane flies through the Canyon in the distance, filmmaker playing with zoom again, nice shots of the surroundings, nice close-up of plant and insect life, the family poses at one of the Grand Canyon overlooks, then more shots of the canyon. This filmmaker experiments a lot with the camera’s zoom function. We scanned this in-house, so it could look better. Still fun! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#209. [“San Francisco with Myrna, 1964.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Includes wonderful opening and closing titles and great images of San Francisco.
#443. [“Boulder (Xmas), etc.,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Mytinger Family Home Movies. Crosslisted on the “Holidays, Special Events, Parties, & Weird Stuff” page. Search for more Mytinger Family films throughout the website. An older couple drinking at Rolling Hills, group posing for the camera; a big anniversary dinner party at home: singing along with the piano, man with a parrot, dancing, older couple cutting the cake; a man putting up a silver Christmas tree with decorations; family posing by the tree, nice outdoor decorations; a woman playing with a poodle and a pile of presents; Christmas morning; more posing by the tree; outdoor decorations by the pool lit up at night. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#306. “Etna, Menlo, Noyo – Charlotte Party,” 1930s.] 16mm. B/W. Silent. These are probably Etna and Menlo Park, California, as well as Noyo Headlands Park, also in California. Family outing at a park in Etna, kids diving into a pool, goofing off for the camera, and playing tennis on a court, family posing, boy in cowboy outfit, POV from the water of San Francisco harbor, family on a ship or ferry, big group of kids playing tug of war, more family posing, kids in costumes in a big front yard bowing and curtsying, outdoor birthday party celebration. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#358. [Tourists Visit Taos Pueblo and Church, Film the Community, ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This film seems to start with a couple visiting the man’s office at a secondary school or college; then they continue to Taos Pueblo where inhabitants go about their business; Taos Church, landscape, etc.
#356. [Tourists in Monument Valley, Local Young Woman Visits on Mule, ca. late 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Tourists visiting Monument Valley and Gray Whiskers Butte, practicing zoom function, young Diné (most likely) woman on horseback rides into the parking lot, gets a drink of water from the tourists and poses on horse.
#300. [“SF,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Group posing yard, aboard a fishing boat and hauling in a huge catch (swordfish?), demonstration of an old-fashioned diving suit in a tank, harbor shots, piers, Coit Tower, cable car turning around outside what is now the Cable Car Museum and again down at Powell.
#257. [Grand Canyon In Color, Driving Through Mountains (Around Flagstaff?), Dancers at Hopi House, ca. 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Nice views (nice color) from Grand Canyon overlook, POV from a car driving down a tree-lined road (likely CA Highway 89 towards Flagstaff then out into Arizona desert past mesas, quick shots of the Colorado River, the Navajo Bridge sign (though not the bridge itself), overlooking the Grand Canyon, a bit of Hermit’s Rest, a performance by Hopi (and perhaps other Native) dancers doing the hoop dance and performing ceremonies for tourists at the Hopi House. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#190. [Yosemite, In-camera Edits, Zooms, ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This filmmaker uses a lot of in-camera edits and zooms: a quick zoom-in shot of the Ahwahnee Hotel, a woman and young boy on a rocky overlook in Yosemite National Park, a woman holds up a Planters Peanut Bar to the camera, lots of panning shots of the park and the Yosemite mountains with waterfalls in the distance, a pair of rock climbers scaling the side of a mountain, a POV shot through a tunnel of a gorgeous landscape including Bridalveil Fall, a woman with binoculars looks out over the park. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#220. [“Las Vegas,” ca. 1962.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Beautiful shots of Fremont Street-era neon signs at night.
#354. [“Calif. Trip,” ca. 1940s] 8mm. Color. Silent. Silver Spring (Maryland) family. Devin Orgeron collection. Footage of a family trip to various California locations and other nearby sites: view of the desert and mountains,“La Siesta Motel” sign, a stop at Tunnel Rock near Sequoia National Forest, near family posing in a grove, trees, views of distant mountains, a view over a bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, a look into a canyon and the Hoover Dam, “Gregg’s Trail” sign. To watch more of Devin Orgeron’s collection of home movies, see. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#363. [Group At Hoover Dam, Down Colorado River, ca. 1941.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Group of travelers at the Hoover Dam admiring deco winged bronzes and base which reads, “It is fitting that the flag of our country should fly here in honor of those men who, inspired by a vision of lonely lands made fruitful, conceived this great work and of those others whose genius and labor made that vision a reality.” Then the group has an open-air sit-down and one sketches another, then they spend an afternoon on a speedboat on the Colorado River near the dam. [Note: Same filmmaker at #364 at right.]
#364. [San Luis Obispo, CA, Camp San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach, ca. May 1942.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Filmed by A.A. Arnold from Fullerton, CA. A young woman attempting to introduce a kitten to a baby in a chair outside on the sidewalk, Camp San Luis Obispo soldiers, officers and others posing for camera, two men in golf attire getting their clubs ready, and Avila Beach. Camp San Luis Obispo is where the California Army National Guard started, but during WWII it was used by the U.S. Army it was used by the U.S. Army.
DR#1. [“Len AIDS benefit, Castro Street Fair, 1990” + House Party, Fulton Street and San Francisco Apartment.] VHS. Color. Sound. 18+ In this video, David Root captured a house party, and the 1990 Castro Street Fair in San Francisco, CA on October 7th — including a USO drag performance for AIDS charity by his friend Len. He then walks around Folsom Street, and returns to relax in a San Francisco apartment. You can catch a glimpse of Root at 01:28:00 in the reflection of a car’s rear window.
[Note: Why no full nudity is depicted, there is still partial on occasion, and so it may not be ideal for viewing at work. (We suppose that depends on where you work!)] To learn more about David Root, see DR#2 and DR#5 under “Publications & Resources,” and search for more of his videos by name throughout the website.
UPDATE March 2023: Deserted Films donated the David Root videotape collection to the GBLT Historical Society in San Francisco. Here is a link to the finding aid.
DR#3. [“Letter from California, March 1980.”] VHS. Color. Sound. In this video, David Root, sometimes accompanied by his friend or boyfriend John, shows his family around his new home and property in Concord, CA, in this lovely video letter to folks back home.
>Around 28:30, Root and John show us what he’s shooting the video with – a portable Quasar VH5200RQ video cassette recorder and mic (powered by a car battery they carry around with). Sadly, we could not find any tapes he claims he was going to shoot “next week” in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Root did end up moving here though in about 2000.
What also makes this video particularly fun is at about time code 01:33:10 Root addresses his family’s inquiry about how they might view their old 8mm home movies. He discusses the various options — one being he could bring his video camera when he next visits and they could project them on the wall and chat about them while he records the conversation. See DR#2 for when they did just that on the “Publications & Resources” page. On that same page, DR#5 is another example, but Root alone narrates his own home movies shot after he left home. Also search for more of his videos by name throughout the website. UPDATE March 2023: Deserted Films donated the David Root videotape collection to the GBLT Historical Society in San Francisco. Here is a link to the finding aid.
DR#6. [“Gold Country Trip, 05/05/1984.”] VHS. Color. Sound. In this video, David Root and a friend or boyfriend go on a road trip through California’s “Gold Country” where they head towards Tracy, Merced Falls, Mariposa City, a historical trading post in Stanislaus Country, and more. This is followed by another video letter for friends and family: his cats and a tour of his yard and changes he’s making to his home, a demonstration of puppets he made (Root’s parents were puppeteers), friends or family in the pool and hanging out, and more. You can see David Root behind the camera throughout at 01:14:16. [Note: We blurred a few seconds of full-frontal nudity —shot during a private, silly, moment between two consenting adults — so we could share this entire fun video.] To learn more about David Root, see DR#2 and DR#5 under “Publications & Resources,” and search for more of his videos by name throughout the website.
UPDATE March 2023: Deserted Films donated the David Root videotape collection to the GBLT Historical Society in San Francisco. Here is a link to the finding aid.
DR#8. [“David 1985, Hawaii, etc.” Edited by DF.] VHS. Color. Sound. This video is a great example of David Root’s familiarity with his video camera (a Quasar…), especially his understanding of its built-in title maker and other graphics settings. Root and friends go to a square dance retreat in Casadero, CA, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, a “Motorcycle Campout”, a Castro Valley teachers’ union protest, and Hawaii. At the very end, he splices in off-air television clips of commercials, of a CA lottery winner who’s awarded 2 million. [Note: For the sake of the students’ privacy, we have edited out footage of a Halloween celebration Root recorded at what looks like a juvenile treatment or detention center for girls where he taught.] To learn more about David Root, see DR#2 and DR#5 under “Publications & Resources,” and search for more of his videos by name throughout the website.
UPDATE March 2023: Deserted Films donated the David Root videotape collection to the GBLT Historical Society in San Francisco. Here is a link to the finding aid.
#339. [Neighborhood (Possibly University Grounds?) Stroll, post-1956.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Donald Ramsay Lawson family films, donated by his daughter Beth Campbell. Unidentifiable neighborhood scenes (looks like central or northern California), a cow nurturing a calf, and brief landscape scene from the perspective of a driving car. [Digitized and partially described by UCLA grad students in IS289-3 “Special Issues in Information Studies: Motion Picture Film Preservation” course, Fall 2022. See notes about the collaboration on the “Events and News” page.]
#344. [Summer Road Trip, 1952.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Donald Ramsay Lawson family films, donated by his daughter Beth Campbell. Road trip (with GREAT hand-drawn titles!) footage includes the Grand Canyon (South Rim and North Rim), Zion, and Hoover Dam. Mostly landscape shots, POV shots from the car, and Diné/Navajo dancers (and perhaps dancers from another nearby tribe) perform somewhere along the way. [Digitized and partially described by UCLA grad students in IS289-3 “Special Issues in Information Studies: Motion Picture Film Preservation” course, Fall 2022. There are some washed out areas, but overall they did a great job! See notes about the collaboration and the donor on the “Events and News” page.]
#343. [Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, 1960.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Donald Ramsay Lawson family films, donated by his daughter Beth Campbell. Sequoia and Kings Canyon 1960 title card; Buck Rock lookout sign; sky through trees; mountain views; looking down a mountain at an old truck; people on a bridge or ladder setting something up on a rocky mountain; a river; people camping; looking up at rocky mountains; Yosemite title card; looking at the famous rock faces; waterfalls; trees; two deer in an open field; camping; more views of famous rock faces; views from a platform with horizontal wire railings; bonfire set up on a platform; fire at night – presumably the famous Yosemite Firefall; trees and blue skies; framed views of El Capitan through trees. [Digitized and partially described by UCLA grad students in IS289-3 “Special Issues in Information Studies: Motion Picture Film Preservation” course, Fall 2022. There are some washed out areas, but overall they did a great job! See notes about the collaboration and the donor on the “Events and News” page.]
#340. [“Butch & His School Project, Mother’s Day – 1974, 4th July Party 1974″.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Donald Ramsay Lawson family films, donated by his daughter Beth Campbell. Sacramento, CA, area. Butch’s very cool school project — a 3/4-size knight in armor he made, a trip to the a zoo (possibly the Sacramento Zoo?), and family picnics and celebrations in parks and in yards for Mother’s Day and the 4th of July, including numerous sequences featuring a very long, table-length submarine sandwich. [Digitized by UCLA grad students in IS289-3 “Special Issues in Information Studies: Motion Picture Film Preservation” course, Fall 2022. There are some washed out areas, but overall they did a great job! See notes about the collaboration on the “Events and News” page.]
#425. [Las Vegas Vacation, 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Sound (at the very end). Couples travel to Las Vegas: group at the airport, guests dancing at an outdoor restaurant, POV from a car of Fremont Street at night, Dean Martin on the MGM marquee, embarking on an airplane, interior of Caesar’s Palace, a couple posing by fountains, group posing below casino / hotel signs, panning shots of the city, a stage performance, an indoor swim-up bar, another stage performance with sound. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#543. [“New Camera, Olney’s, Swimming,” ca. 1958.] 8mm. Color. Silent. McCormick family films. Woman discusses her new camera with a man (salesperson?) out front of a camera shop; this woman, an elderly woman, an aid and a man descending front stairs and through what looks like an expensive-looking California home (that Olney family?); stopping and posing; women and a kid swimming in a pool perhaps on the same property, they and others waving at camera, others swimming.
#551. [Family Fun, Visits, Summer/Winter, ca. 1940s/early 1950s.] 8mm. B/W & Color. Silent. McCormick family films. Family fun indoors and out in the yard: playing with a baby, mothers and their babies in strollers, family gardening and goofing in the front yard, family posing outdoors, kids playing in the yard in summer, kids playing indoors, family time in the living room at Christmas, opening gifts, family shoveling snow and playing in winter, a woman picking fruit in the summer, family setting up a train set indoors, Christmas decorations, kids playing piano. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
Stumpf#32. [“Solvang, Ft. Ord #1, 1974.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #1. Band on bus, performance outside, military base – soldiers running by, band with suitcases by bus, City of Monterey, Dennis the Menace Playground. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#33. [“#2,” Music Man Band Goes to San Jose, Monterey and San Francisco, California, 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #2. Bingville sign, pond/park, the bus, San Jose: Winchester Mystery House, Monterey: Cannery Row, San Francisco: sites, POV from trolley car. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#34. [“#3 Frisco,” 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #3. Maritime Park, Marina, kite & Ghirardelli Square, the Music Man Band banner, playing in the square/audience, “Mr. Free Flower” hat, man and dog resting in grass. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#35. [“#4 Fisherman’s Wharf,” 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #4. More of the basset hound from Stumpf#34, hurdy gurdy monkey, other street performers, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 45 sign, Ferry Building, Hyatt Regency (old freeway exit still there), buildings at a school. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#36. [“#5 State Fair,” 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #5. At a school (Valley Vista Junior High in Sacramento?), 1974 California State Fair — band on stage, their banner, surroundings, performance. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#37. [“#6 Am(erican) River – #1,” 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #6. Band standing alongside bus, roughhousing, “Boogie George” belt, swimming in river/rope swing. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#38. [“#7 Am(erican) River”, #2 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #7. More fun at American River – rope swing, swimming, jumping from tree. A continuation of Stumpf#37. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#39. [“#8 – Jr. High, Sacramento,” 1974.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Music Man Band of Orange County California tour film #8. Band sleeping outdoors in sleeping bags in the Valley Vista Junior High yard, walking up, close-ups, more of the school, bus. See more of this band trip and this family throughout the website.
#484. [“Enter Sequoia,” 1964.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Views while entering and touring Sequoia National Park: a park sign, a tunnel under a fallen boulder, mountains in the distance, an overlook, a parking area in a wooded area, a family posing by some big trees, and lots of nature shots (even some deer!). Gets quite shaky near the end, unfortunately. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
FB#12. [“#2 Murphys & Angels Camp,” ca. February 1973.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie documents the Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family on a 1973 road trip to California’s Gold Country including footage of the historic mining towns Murphys (Bonnet/Compere Building and more) and Angels Camp. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. See more on “A Short Drive” (FB#4 incl. a family bio) and “Holidays, Special Events, Parties, & Weird Stuff” pages. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#34. [“Frank Brackett, Vacation – June 1961, Gold Rush Trip.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie captures a June 1961 road trip through more of California’s Gold Country including historic Coulterville (No. 332 California Historical Landmark), the Coulter Hotel (now the Northern Mariposa County History Center), Wells Fargo building ruins, and San Andreas (Calif.). At Timecode 2:10 Davida waves. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. See more on “A Short Drive” (FB#4 incl. a family bio) and “Holidays, Special Events, Parties, & Weird Stuff” pages. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
Betty Stefenel
Frame grab from one of Betty’s films.
Amateur filmmaker Betty Stefenel (Jan. 2, 1913 – Aug. 1980) was from San Mateo, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and other cities in the peninsular part of the Bay Area. Stefenel picked up a “Bolex L-8”, “Cine-Kodak Mode E Sixteen” and other cameras to shoot small gauge films — starting in her mid-30s — from the late 1940s until at least the ’70s. She was a charter member and eventually program director of Peninsula Home Movies Unlimited (PHMU) club, a regional chapter of the Amateur Cinema League. [Continue reading… and watch her films!]
#501. [“House Boat Tour, Aug. 1965,” Sausalito, CA.] 16mm. Color. Silent. This 16mm home movie documents the May 29, 1965 “Floating House Boat Tour” held in both Sausalito Yacht Harbor (Richardson Bay, Gate 5) and at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco (not shown). It was organized by and for the benefit of the Spring Opera League (SF). Among the boats included in the movie are David Brooks’ “New Moon” houseboat and the “Vallejo” owned by Bay Area artist Jean “Yanko” Varda, cousin of filmmaker Agnès Varda who made a film about him and his houseboat — Uncle Yanco (1967), and others. (See a clip from Uncle Yanco below. En français.) The only earlier other reference to an organized house boat tour in Sausalito during this unique period was in 1959, organized by the Service League. It also includes the interior of Jean Varda’s and perhaps also David Brooks’ boats. Ends with a quick image of the front doors of The Spinnaker Restaurant. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#733. [Family on Vacation, 1972 or later.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. This filmmaker really makes you feel like you’re there with them. We haven’t found the identify of this family yet, but footage indicates they are likely a Native American family (from California we think judging by the route they take). The trio travels to the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in New Mexico, stay at the now closed Lariat Lodge in Gallup; they then cross over into Arizona and stop at Fort Courage “Home of F. Troop” to look around and pose for pictures, the filmmaker (one of the adult women we guess) pans around the lot and buildings from high up in the gun tower we think, coming down the tower, some nice POV shots out the passenger side window down a two-lane highway through Coconino National Forest, the rainy weather, some fields, stray cows, Kaibab National Forest, make a quick stop at the Flintstones’ Bedrock City, through the South Entrance of the Grand Canyon, passing Yavapai Lodge and Babbitt’s General Store, and returning to the Lodge for the night where they take nice images of the grounds and Babbitt’s parking lot, to the Yavapai Museum, the Grand Canyon itself at dusk, trees and sky, people trying to sleep in the hotel room back at the Lodge as the filmmaker takes in them and the room’s decor, a squirrel and the scenery from the rim, hiking into the canyon, sign for “The Boat ‘The Defiance’” and other attractions, hiking and resting and having a good time on their way down, the Visitor Center and Park Headquarters building, the Stone Boat, the Edith, and other examples of sea craft, horsing around in a little amphitheater, more sites in the park, dark skies, the variously named “Points” along the way through, and a helicopter landing at the Grand Canyon Helicopters Terminal.
#207. [Picnic at Millerton Lake Near Fresno, and John Kay and Steppenwolf in Concert, September 17, 1981, at Warnors Theatre in Fresno.] 8mm. Color. Silent (sadly). A family picnicking at be believe Millerton Lake near Fresno; and then John Kay and Steppenwolf in concert. Took a bit of research, but we think we are right about the details! Thank you board member Sean Savage for identifying Kay!
#435. [“1967 Swimming, 1968 Mardi Gras, 1968 Vacation Calif., 1968 Christmas” and Christmas 1967.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Home movie opens with a handmade title “Steve & Linda, 1967, N.O.L.A.” (Northern Louisiana), and documents a boy and girl repeatedly diving into perhaps a hotel pool; title card states “1967 Merry Xmas in Gretna” and footage includes the family spending Christmas in Gretna (La.) with visiting grandparents: the tree, opening presents and some out-of-focus close-ups, goofing around, dinner, etc.; next title reads “1968 Mardi Gras, N.O.L.A.; they then attend a Mardi Gras parade with great floats in Harvey (La.), a suburb of New Orleans (La.) near Greta, Terrytown and Algiers; attend another parade down New Orleans’ Canal Street (including at 15:09 musician Herb Alpert on one of the floats), and shots of two elaborately dressed “Mardi Gras Indians.” After a title reading “1968 Vacation to California,” footage continues with a summer trip to California to their grandparents’ house, which may be a farm, near Antioch (Calif.), fishing in a river (possibly the San Joaquin River), posing with family; plus another title and footage of “1968 Christmas in Gretna, Louisiana” where they open presents at home. Note: the filmmakers record family members opening presents exactly the same way every year. See also 434 and 436. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
JS#53. [“Vac. 1973, #4.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. Footage of a family visit to what appears to be the Ponderosa Ranch theme park just outside of Reno, NV: “Ponderosa Ranch” and “Home of Bonanza” signs, panning shots of the park, a plaque for a horse named Chub (the personal horse of Dan Blocker), and the family posing on horses. There’s also some footage of a quick visit to Mormon Station, and POV from a car driving through the desert. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
PSFam1#3. [Women on Holiday in Arizona, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Former resident of Palm Springs. See others from this filmmaker throughout the site. Women climbing large rocks around a small river (at a state park?), more rock climbing but in the desert, looking out over the desert, a view of snowy mountains from above, POV from car of men herding sheep by the side of the road, a quick shot of a fast-moving river. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
Stumpf#21. [“’71-’72, Highway #1.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Stumpfs travel down CA Highway 1 past Big Sur, Los Padres National Forest, Morro Bay, and more. See more from this family throughout the website.
#691. [“Boise to San Francisco (Via Oregon) 1935/(Powen?) Family.”] 8mm. B/W. Silent. A family vacation to Orland and San Francisco with Mom, Dad, cousin Jean, Don, and our filmmaker: title cards introduce the family members, leaving Boise, POV from car of crossing Oregon on the John Day Highway, shots of McKenzie Peak, a stop at the Alder Springs campground, driving by Coos Bay and the Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge still under construction (neat!), shots of the Pacific Ocean, visits to (probably) Humboldt Redwoods Park and a stop for clam chowder on Redwood Highway, visiting (family?) at a ranch in California, young men swimming in a canal, shots around Orland, driving over the Carquinez Bridge. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#669. [Sells Indian Hospital (Pima County, AZ, Tohono O’odham Nation), ca. December 1961-62.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Excerpt from larger reel. Exterior shots of the hospital, interior shots of hospital staff going about their work, close-up of a baby having its mouth inspected. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#771. [Big Beach Lobster and Grilling/Picnic, late 1960s or ’70s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. San Diego family. Baja California, Mexico? See others from this family throughout the site. A young girl playing on the beach with her family, a big group with pickups (Chihuahua, Mexico, and California license plates) and small campers grilling and eating near the beach, family beach fun, cooking and eating lobsters, vehicles leaving the beach, a big group dinner indoors, guests singing into a mic (karaoke?), various speeches, a fraternal club ceremony / celebration, group posing, big gathering (maybe a service?) in an unfinished building, kids posing with puppies. Please help us identify locations! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado, updated by DF.
#798. [“Trip to Arizona No. 2 with My Darling In Sept. 1948.”] 16mm. Color. Silent. Exterior shots of Hotel Last Frontier on the Las Vegas Strip, two women (who we believe are a couple based on the title and another film we saw frame grabs from, but don’t own) posing at the Hoover Dam and views of the surrounding desert, some nice panning shots of the Grand Canyon, a Native American dance performance, a woman petting a deer on the road, two women posing together at stops along the Grand Canyon, and more shots of the Canyon. We think these women might be from California, as their license plate would indicate. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado, updated by DF.
#799. [Horseback Riding and Other Play on Beach at Morro Bay, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. A family riding horses along the beach at Morro Bay, shots of gliding seagulls, the family sitting or walking along the beach near the water, shots of the waves. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#696. [“Opening Day Fishing, Bridgeport + Camp, Fish Lake, Swimming Pool, Tahoe + Virginia City,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Campsite, picnic; kids walking and waving, slow motion; family waving by road, looking toward mountains; park sign, not legible; driving and filming forest road, lake, mountains; men showing recently caught fish to children and to camera at camp; boy holding an unlit cigar in his mouth? Zion National Park sign, pulling up to entrance station; scenery, rocks begin to appear more red; Kolob Arch? Another park sign, not legible; parade (in Virginia City? NE of Tahoe), some slow mo; young Black women in matching dresses, white gloves and boots; men in uniform; majorette groups, Topperettes and Sparklers (teens and younger girls), kids in race carts; boy wearing Native American headdress on painted horse; woman in traditional Spanish dress, Norco Valley Riders on horses, wearing western clothes; solo rider in striking sparkly western clothes; antique car with puppet and sign: Aragon Norco Service; fun in the pool; kids on diving board, baby swimming; men at lake, fishing in a stream with waders; cabins at base of mountains, rocky peaks showing through lots of snow; car camping; sledding, building snowman; house in the woods with stone front steps; men fishing, shots of fish being reeled in toward net; chilling fish on the snow; kids at pool, some in swim caps, flippers; boy pulling toy boat on water; family on front steps of an ornate manor house, ‘The Castle;’ parked at lake shore, view of boat on water, mountains; picnic, boy wearing feather headdress’ family members on boat. Described by 2024 volunteer, Rio Maropis.
#772. [Trip to (La Paz?) Baja California, Mexico, Desert Fun, early 70s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. San Diego family. See others from this family throughout the site. (White out)…cars and men on side of mountain/dirt road, VW bug on a truck’s flatbed (has CA plates), [unclear], POV from car in desert mountains, lunch in camper, lovely desert, all parked next to some houses or tourist stop?, back in desert, campfire, stop at “Rancho Los Angeles, B.C./El Arco/San Ignacio/Sta. Rosalia” (Baja), group shot, guy hanging off VW on the back of a tow truck, working on trucks, POV from a boat (on ocean?) of shore & mountains (dusk and next day), on the street, POV through desert mountains, the ocean/beach/seaside town, drive through town, stop at home?/farm?, beach/harbor at dusk, horrible hanging steer to move off boat, people posing on boat, back on boats > sites, all the dudes/trucks back in desert, at farm again, POV of beach, a town or village. Help us ID some of these places!
#831. [Drive Around Sun City, AZ, ca. 1980.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Russell/Trendt Family films. A road trip through developer Del Webb’s Sun City, Arizona: beginning at a home, woman waves from second floor window and then at the front door, on the road: waterfront homes, Lakeview Recreation Center, Walter O Boswell Memorial Hospital, Sundial Recreation Center, etc. See others from this family throughout the site. Description by DF board member, Sean Savage.
#623. [“Cesar Romero, Laraine Day, Dick Nixon Campaigning, Dinner at Mom’s, Dale and June, Fremont Drags, Oct. 1960.”]
#627. [California and Oregon Trip: Redwood Trees, McKenzie Trout Hatchery, Beach, etc., pre-WWII.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#86. [Family Roadtrip to Garberville (Calif.) and Other Northern California Stops, 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
#72. [“San Francisco 1957.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
#267. [California Vineyard Visit, ca. 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
Sam Simnowitz Family Films
The home movies in this collection were shot by Sam Simnowitz, an older Jewish man who in retirement went on vacation with his wife, Jessie, and other members of their extended family to California. Following other family members, he and Jessie then moved to California in 1972. About her grandfather, donor Gillian Brecker writes: “The cameraman for these films was most likely my grandpa, Sam Simnowitz. A lifelong New Yorker, he moved to California in 1972 and took to the sunshine like a duck to water. He was incredibly happy to drive his giant Cadillac around being a tourist in his new home State. He had a small Cessna airplane. I think he was in his 60s when he got his license.”
GB#29. [“Sam’s Plane, Jessie, Lenny, Marion,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#30. [“Columbia Airport,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#35. [“Tahoe 1972.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#38. [“Carmel and Mission,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#40. [“S.F. Chinatown, then To Lenny’s House,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
End of Sam Simnowitz Family Films. See more Simnowitz films on our “A Short Drive” page.
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