Volunteers Sought to Compile Local History

Oak Park’s Municipal Advisory Council is seeking volunteers to help assemble an archive to safeguard the community’s history.

“We want to put together something so people who live here will know how we got here,” said council member Todd Haines, an attorney based in Encino who is leading the effort to put Oak Park’s archive together.

“We want a history of how the area developed and why it did,” he said.

Haines said the archive, which will be composed of documents, photographs and a narrative outlining key events in Oak Park’s history, will be especially useful for students at local schools and new residents.

“If kids want to know about Oak Park, they’ll have a place to find out,” Haines said.

“I’m also hoping that everyone moving here will have an interest in the history of Oak Park.”

Haines said the archive will be in the community’s long-awaited library expansion on the campus of Oak Park High School, 899 N. Kanan Road, and should be open within a year.

Volunteers interested in assisting in the archive’s assembly may call Haines at (818) 990-4890 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Students majoring in history or political science who are interested in writing about the development of Oak Park are also encouraged to call.