About

In 1988, an inquisitive scholar, Theresa McCrea, produced an historic exhibit for an Emeryville brew pub. Stimulated by this interesting subject, she advocated the formation of a society to research Emeryville history. Theresa easily converted a small group of eccentric historians to her cause, and on a stormy night the Emeryville Historical Society was born.

The Emeryville Historical Society developed into a powerful force on the local history scene, creating exhibits, conducting research, collecting photographs and ephemera, and publishing a quarterly newsletter, the Journal of the Emeryville Historical Society.

A group of core members, including Vernon Sappers, Paul Herzoff, Arrol Gellner, Nancy Smith, Donald Hausler, Ray Raineri, Phil Stahlman, and Tony Molatore, became devoted to resurrecting Emeryville’s history, which over the decades had been lost, forgotten, and buried. This website intends to preserve and illuminate the rich tapestry of Emeryville history.

EHS Founding Members

Richard Ambro

Arrol Gellner

Donald Hausler

Paul Herzoff

Tony Molatore

Ray Raineri

Vernon Sappers

Sandra Sher

Nancy Smith

Phil Stahlman

Current EHS Officers

Don Hausler

President

Don is a retired reference librarian who worked for the Oakland Public Library for 32 years. Don helped co-found the Historical Society in 1988 and is still the driving force behind the quarterly printed journals and researches/writes a majority of the stories. Don resides in Oakland’s Lakeshore District.

Nancy Smith

Treasurer

Nancy Smith was a retired Oakland librarian assistant and a co-founder of the Emeryville Historical Society. For over 30 years, Nancy meticulously organized and maintained the largest known collection of Emeryville photo archives at her North Oakland home where she lived until her passing in 2022.

Joseph Enos

Vice President

Joey is an artist and historian who is a 5th generation East Bay Resident and resides in Emeryville with his wife and son. His family has a long history in Emeryville and his great Uncle, Vernon Sappers, was an original member of the Emeryville Historical Society. Follow Joey’s curated collection of Mudflat Art pics on Instagram @emeryville_mudflats.

Rob Arias

Secretary & Creative Director

Rob is a 3rd generation East Bay native and 18 year Emeryville resident who became fascinated with the city’s History while writing the hyperlocal Emeryville news website he founded, The E’ville Eye.

Arrol Gellner

Co-Founder/Director at Large

Arrol is a co-founder of the Historical Society as well as being a nationally syndicated columnist and author of three books. An architect by profession, he still maintains an office in Emeryville as well as Suzhou, China.

Ben Yee

Director at Large

Ben’s family operated “Eugene’s Ranch House” (located at the current site of Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe) serving comfort food to Emeryville’s blue collar workforce for decades. Ben lives in The Park Avenue DIstrict’s only remaining single family home with his partner and dog “Higgins.”