First Wednesday Lecture Series

Mill Valley Historical Society proudly presents what has come to be affectionately known as the “First Wednesday” program. On the first Wednesday of each month, we invite a guest speaker to present to MVHS members. Generally, the talks focus on Mill Valley or Bay Area history.

Past speakers and topics have included: Local historian Barry Spitz on the history of the Dipsea Race; railroad historian Richard Torney on the many ways railroads have touched Mill Valley; historian Betty Goerke sharing her expertise on the coastal Miwoks and Chief Marin; beat poets/authors Locke McCorkle and Al Young on their early days of living and writing in Mill Valley with counter-culture icons Jack Kerouac, Alan Watts, Jack Cassady, and Allen Ginsburg.

These events are free of charge. The First Wednesday talks usually begin at 6 pm and are held in the Mill Valley public library.

Group photo from left to right front row is on the far left, slightly bent over is musician David Getz , Debra Schwartz and Doug Ferguson. Back row from left to right Huey Johnson, Martin Griffen, Robert Preatzel, musician/singer Darby Gould and musician Chris Smith. ©2020 Mill Valley Historical Society

Upcoming Speakers

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First Wednesday Speaker Program Director
Stella Perone

Longtime Mill Valley resident and past member of the MVHS Board of Directors Stella Perone returns to her role as program director for the First Wednesday Speaker Series. Stella asks that anyone with ideas for future First Wednesday speakers or programs send her suggestions via our contact email.

Explore Past First Wednesday Lectures

  • All
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2017
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2018
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2019
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2020
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2021
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2022
  • Past 1st Wed Talks 2023

Oct 11 2023

October 2023 First Wednesday Talk – This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City, with Felicia Gaston

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Aug 2 2023

August 2023 First Wednesday Talk – The Marin County Poor Farm & Cemetery with Mike Warner

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Jun 7 2023

June 2023 First Wednesday Talk – Mill Valley: The Song Heard Around the World with Rita Abrams

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Apr 5 2023

History of the Mill Valley Historical Society with Tim Amyx

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Mar 1 2023

March 2023 First Wednesday Talk – Southern Marin’s Portuguese Roots, with Mike Moyle

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Feb 1 2023

February 2023 First Wednesday Talk – History and Maritime Heritage of Belvedere and Tiburon with Dave Gotz

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Dec 7 2022

December 2022 First Wednesday Talk – Village Music with John Goddard

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Nov 2 2022

November 2022 First Wednesday Talk – Prune Music with David Kessner, Randall Smith, Bill Steele, and Larry Cragg

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Oct 5 2022

October 2022 First Wednesday Talk Video – “Ghost Ships” of the San Francisco Bay with Pat Broderick

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Sep 7 2022

September 2022 First Wednesday Talk Video – The History of Mount Burdell with Mike Warner

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Apr 6 2022

April 2022 First Wednesday Talk – What Happened at Port Chicago? with Eric Stearns and Tory Starling

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Mar 2 2022

March 2022 First Wednesday Talk – Unmitigated Gal: An Evening With mountain biker pioneers Jacquie Phelan and Friends

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Feb 2 2022

February 2022 First Wednesday Talk – The Arequipa Tuberculosis Sanatorium of Fairfax: a history and a family story, with Lynn Downey

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Jan 5 2022

January 2022 First Wednesday Talk – The Civilian Conservation Corps on Mount Tam: A Lasting Legacy with MMWD Ranger Matt Cerkel

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Dec 1 2021

December 2021 First Wednesday Talk – What Happened to the Ghost Blimp? A Bay Area Mystery with John J. Geoghegan

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Nov 3 2021

November 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Highway on the Water: Ferryboat Eureka to Marin County before the Golden Gate Bridge, with Christopher Edwards

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Sep 1 2021

September 1st Wednesday Talk – To Build a Trail with Brian Crawford

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Aug 4 2021

August 2021 First Wednesday Talk Video – By the Light of Burning Dreams with David Talbot and Margaret Talbot

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Jul 7 2021

July 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Following Alan Watts with Mark Watts

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Jun 2 2021

June 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Stairways of San Francisco, with Alexandra Kenin

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May 5 2021

May 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Indigenous Peoples of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, with David Stuart 

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Apr 7 2021

April 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Tamalpais Engine No. 9 Turns 100 with Historian Fred Runner

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Mar 3 2021

March 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Japanese Gardens with Steven Pitsenbarger

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Feb 3 2021

February 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Flying High with Big Brother and the Holding Company & Janis Joplin with Dave Getz

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Jan 6 2021

January 2021 First Wednesday Talk – Spirits of San Francisco with Gary Kamiya and Paul Madonna

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Oct 8 2020

October 2020 First Wednesday Talk: Fire On the Mountain with Mike Swezy

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Mar 4 2020

Marincello Revisited – March 2020 First Wed. Talk Video

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Feb 5 2020

The Last Tie – February 2020 First Wednesday Talk Video

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Dec 4 2019

December 2019 First Wednesday Talk – Audio Recording of The Dreamt Land by Mark Arax

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Nov 6 2019

November 2019 First Wed. Talk Video – Blithedale: The Cushing’s Place in Mill Valley by Tim Wood

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Oct 2 2019

October 2019 First Wednesday Talk – Uncharted Waters – The Story Behind the Mt. Tam Watershed

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Sep 4 2019

September 2019 First Wed. Talk Video – Mill Valley’s Secret Places – A Talk by Phil Rhodes

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Aug 7 2019

August 2019 First Wednesday Talk – Barbary Coast Trail by Daniel Bacon

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Jul 3 2019

July 2019 First Wednesday Talk Audio Recording – Shipwrecks of Marin by Brian Crawford

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Jun 5 2019

June 2019 First Wednesday Talk Audio Recording – Woman of the Dipsea Race by Barry Spitz

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May 1 2019

May 2019 First Wednesday Talk Audio Recording – Cool Gray City of Love with Gary Kamiya

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Apr 3 2019

Tilden Daken: The Mill Valley Years – A talk by Bonnie Portnoy

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Mar 6 2019

March 2019 First Wed. Lecture: The Grateful Dead and Marin County with Dennis McNally with musical guests Ted and Stuart Silverman.

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Feb 6 2019

February 2019 First Wednesday Talk – Saving Tamalpais No. 9 with Fred Runner

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Sep 5 2018

Of Marsh and Men: Staying above water at Bothin with Laurel Collins

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Jun 6 2018

Jack London with Lou Leal

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May 2 2018

It Happened in Marin with Jim Holden

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Apr 4 2018

A Broken Propeller with Betty Goerke

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Mar 7 2018

The Bolinas-Fairfax Road: 139 years of History with Brian K. Crawford

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Feb 7 2018

How a Mountain Was Made with Greg Sarris

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Dec 6 2017

Someplace to Go with Dr. Victoria Sweet

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Mar 1 2017

March 2017 First Wednesday Talk – The Crookedest Railroad in the World by Fred Runner

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