Time Well Spent

I mentioned yesterday I had a photo from the Pasadena Historical Society. To be more clear about it, the Pasadena Historical Society operates as the Pasadena Museum of History, which houses its archives/treasure trove in the museum basement.

It's darn near impossible to finish a project at the PMH archives in a single day because there's more information than you thought possible. But that's okay, because you'll want to spend a lot of time there. And Laura Verlaque and her impressive team of volunteers run the place like a friendly study room. It's a nice place to do your research.

Plus the volunteers know stuff. They keep it in their heads. Plus, there will be someone else, I guarantee you, who knows about the thing you're researching. Or you'll know something about the thing they're looking up. And sooner or later...

I remember that! My grandfather owned the bakery on the corner. We used to go after school and wait until my mother came to pick us up after work.

I remember that bakery, that's where all the rich people shopped.

We never saw the rich people, only their servants. Isn't that funny? The servants did the grocery shopping, too. The grocer was--what was his name?

Someone else will know and the conversation goes on from there. You leave with your head spinning. You wouldn't leave at all, but they have to close and you have to eat and sleep. You'd stay and dig in the archives and listen to more stories if only you had all the time in the world.