This video is of a ceremony dedicating the Doris Foley Library of Historical Research. The event begins with Neil Lock, chairman of the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission, introducing the first speaker, Ed Tyson. Tyson, a volunteer at the library, highlights the significance of having two separate historical libraries in Nevada City, emphasizing their complementary nature and the unique value of their collections. He notes the extensive genealogical resources available and the library's popularity among researchers from around the world. The mayor of Nevada City then reads a proclamation honoring Doris Foley's contributions as an educator, historian, and writer. Madeline Helling, a former county librarian, shares statistics on Foley's impressive accomplishments, including the cataloging of thousands of books, documents, and photographs. She praises Foley's dedication and lasting impact on the community. Beryl Robertson Jr., the city manager, introduces Bob Foley, Doris Foley's son. Bob Foley expresses his gratitude for the recognition of his mother's work and shares personal anecdotes about her life and passion for Nevada County history. He concludes by thanking the city, county, and historical organizations for their tribute to his mother.

Full Transcript of the Video:

My name is Neil Lock and I'm the chairman of the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission.

And we're here to dedicate this library to Doris Foley.

I want to apologize that there are some omissions and misspellings, but we did let the proof have this program proofread by the union.

[LAUGHTER] First, speaker will be Ed Tyson, who will, in his old speech, distinguish the difference between the Searles Library and the Doris Foley Research Library.

It's really time that we finally got around to doing something like this for Doris Foley.

I met Doris two months after I had moved to Nevada City and she said, "Oh, you're a retired librarian.

You would probably like to volunteer one day a week at Searles Library.

"
So I started one day a week and then before the summer was over, I was going two days a week.

And then in October she took a vacation with some friends in Arizona and I did four days a week.

And then another volunteer had to leave because of the illness of her husband.

And so I ended up, I was here six afternoons a week and that's what's going on now.

A lot of people come here to Nevada City just for research.

I don't know whether everybody in Nevada City realizes what an industry they have here in local history.

And just this last week, well, just Friday, I had people in from Michigan, Minnesota, and two couples from Cornwall.

You know, they're having this Cornish Convention in Grass Valley this weekend.

And these people came to Nevada City two days early because they were afraid there would be a crowd over there this afternoon when I finally get it open.

So we get people from all over the country, from many foreign countries, because during the Gold Rush people came here from everywhere.

And when people really get into genealogy, they will go anyplace to settle a genealogical question.

A lot of times people do wonder why we have that library and we have this one.

And I can think of two reasons off the top of my head.

One is that that one is independent and is not under the control of the county supervisors.

The other one is that the two complement each other and we don't duplicate.

A lot of materials are not duplicated.

At Searls library, when Doris opened that, she had all of these original documents that go back into the 1850s of deeds and mortgages and marriage certificates.

And we have all of the old wills.

Over here, the stuff that is so valuable, they have all of the old newspapers in Nevada County from 1851.

And because the courthouse burned in 1856 with the first five years of Nevada County records, these old newspapers are invaluable.

Well, they're for more reasons than that, but that's a good enough reason for having them right there.

Then they also have the Nevada County Census on microfilm.

They have all of the Nevada County fire maps that show locations and houses that were made for this county.

So they're not duplicate libraries in any sense of the word.

And as I say, there are good reasons for having both.

Thank you, Ed.

Next we'll have the mayor of Nevada City who will read the proclamation, written by the vice mayor.

In addition to some of our other activities at Monday night's council meeting, we had the pleasure to issue the following proclamation.

Doris Foley, day one.

Whereas Doris Foley attended Nevada City High School while living as a teenager in the national hotel.

And whereas Doris spent her summer months away from college driving a stagecoach between Pike and North San Juan.

And whereas her youthful vigor and commitment to purpose served her well throughout her life.

And whereas for many years as an educator, historian and writer has left a legacy to be enjoyed by generations to come.

And whereas her leadership in helping to establish the Nevada County Historical Society, the Firehouse Museum, and Cyril's Historical Library has allowed the resources of local history to be made available to all who share her love of Nevada City and Nevada County.

And whereas her career and accomplishments always represented the highest standards of professionalism and personal integrity.

Now therefore, as mayor of Nevada City, county of Nevada, state of California, hereby proclaim that May 17, 1997 be proclaimed Doris Foley, day of honor in Nevada City and the city council of the city of Nevada City, urges the citizens of Nevada City to enthusiastically participate in the ceremony dedicating the old Carnegie Library on North Pine Street as the Doris Foley Library of Historical Research.

[applause] Next we'll go to the recollections and the first speaker will be Madeline Helling, who was hired in 1974 and established the current system, library system in the county.

It was very instrumental in the construction of the new library.

Madeline?
[applause] I do have to correct, I was the second county librarian.

The first one lasted a year and a half and I lasted 17 years since then.

Well anyway, it's really an honor to be here.

I have the fortune to be a part of Doris Foley's life for this length of time, until she died, both as a friend and my affiliation with her as the county librarian and the efforts to build the collection here at the Nevada City Library.

And as a librarian, I have to just give you some statistics about her accomplishments, which to me are just absolutely staggering for this one lady.

And she cataloged 3,500 books and bound periodicals, approximately 350,000 documents, marriage licenses, deeds, patents, lawsuits, letters, pamphlets, news clippings, etc.

240 maps and charts, 50 oral history tapes, 2,500 identified photographs and portraits, a collection of old sheet music, and a file of more than 25,500 names of people who were in Nevada County from 1849 to 1942.

And this is not even talking about her publications.

I mean this is really remarkable.

And I'm just going to close with what I wrote at the time of her death.

The legacy of this lovely lady to the heritage of this area and our nation has such value that it can never be fully appreciated or measured.

Her splendid achievements will live forever, and she will never be forgotten by those whose lives she touched.

Her modesty, wit, joy of life, dedication to excellence, commitment to her community, and unselfish willingness to assist others has been an inspiration to all.

She's really missed today.

Thank you.

The next one will be Burl Robertson Jr.

, the city manager, and he will also introduce Bob Foley.

Thank you, O'Neill.

It's a pleasure for me to be chosen to speak to you, give a little history of Bob.

I've known Bob the better part of my life, and it's a relationship that when we're young, I followed Bob one class behind him as he went through the school system, and today we get together at mutual friends at least once a year at a Super Bowl party.

Bob was born in Sacramento in 1934.

At the time, his parents were living in Allegheny.

His father was working at the 16 to 1, and his mother chose to go to Sacramento, and that is where Bob entered the world in the city of Sacramento.

He started in the local school system here and went through the elementary school up on the corner of Maine and Cottage, and their family home was immediately across the street.

In comparing notes, yesterday or the day before yesterday, we found that we had seven out of eight, we had similar school teachers in our grade school year.

Bob graduated from the Nevada City High School, the last graduating class of the Nevada City High School in 1952.

He attended one year at Sierra College and then went on to the University of California and received his degree from the University of California.

He served a couple years, he worked in personnel for Naval Supply in Oakland.

He did a short teaching period of time in Alamo, and then went to Europe where he taught for a couple years, and he taught in Germany.

He returned in 1964, and in San Jose in the Portola Valley, he served in teaching assignments where he taught German and history.

He then chose to get a degree, a master's from the Stanford University, which he received in Germany.

A short time thereafter, Bob returned to Stanford University to get a second master's degree in education.

He was a teacher and assistant principal in Portola Valley.

He was trained teacher for the Hayward School District and private school education.

He worked in 1989 as the principal of the Brandes Heilau School.

In 1991, he served, which I think is a more interesting Bob in talking to you, a period for the East Palo Alto school system.

I think it would be fair to say in listening to some of his stories, I think when he went to school there, the question might have been whether he was going to a school or perhaps a war zone, because he tells about some of the guns and etc.

that he saw on the school campus, and his Palo Alto certainly does have his problems.

He currently is the acting head of the South Peninsula Kifu Day School in Sunnyvale, and he indicates that the current student population there is 60% Israeli.

He has been married to his wife Barbara for some 29 years, and they currently make their home in Menlo Park.

It is certainly a pleasure, Bob, to be able to introduce you.

Hi, I'm Bob Foley, and due to technical difficulties, which we had in the taping of my part of the library dedication in June, we're redoing some of the comments which I made, and so I'd like to share those with you.

I wanted to thank Nevada City and Nevada County and the Historical Society and the Landmarks Commission for the very great honor that they bestowed upon my mother on that day of dedication.

I wish that she could have been there, she would have really enjoyed it.

My mother loved Nevada County and its history, and she cared deeply about its people.

She was a child of this century and a true American patriot in every sense of the word.

Her love of the land and its people were manifest in her careful historical research and her great attention to detail in her writing.

She spent many hours in this library poring over newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries, where she obtained much of the material for her articles in the Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin, for her book Gold Cities, which she co-offered with Jim Morley, and for her book The Divine Eccentric, which covered the actress Lola Montez's sojourn in Nevada County.

Doris Nightingale first came to Nevada City from Pike in Sierra County as a high school girl in 1922.

She resided at the National Hotel and kept her horse in a livery stable.

She later attended San Francisco Normal School, which is now San Francisco State University, to earn her teaching degree.

And as a teacher, met my father, Mert Foley, an electrical engineer, for the 16-to-1 mine in Allegheny, Sierra County.

Following my father's death in 1936, my mother taught school in Nevada City while raising me, and it was then that she became a member of the Nevada County Historical Society and began her writing.

She wrote in Nevada City until her death in 1982.

And although she has interred in the Nightingale family plot in the Pioneer Cemetery in La Trobe, California, I know that her spirit has its home here in Nevada County.

Her writing was her gift to the city and county she loved, and your tribute to her has been a wonderful gift on the part of the city and county to her.

On behalf of my mother, myself, my wife Barbara, my mother's nieces and nephews, and her cousins who are all here today, on behalf of all of us, I thank the city and county of Nevada, the Historical Society, the Landmarks Commission, and especially Sally Lewis, who led this effort for your truly great tribute to my mother on that day.

Thank you.

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