Van Nuys : Lecture on Van Nuys in the Early 1900s

Malcolm Sears remembers when Van Nuys had only 750 people, but “plenty of chickens, orchards and street trees.”

“The big plus in those days was that everyone knew everyone,” Sears, 77, said. “Yes, there was plenty of flies, but there was no violence as we know it today.”

The Van Nuys native and longtime schoolteacher is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. Monday at Valley College about Van Nuys in the early 1900s.

His presentation, “The Good Old Days and Not So Good,” is part of a free series of lectures offered by the college’s Historical Museum Assn. Sears is an association board member.

The lecture will give newcomers an idea of “what it was like in the spacious farm setting in the old days,” museum Director Austin Conover said.

The historical museum, founded in 1974, features hundreds of items, including antique clothing, documents and artifacts dating back to the 1890s. The association has sponsored a lecture series for the 20 years.

Valley College is at 5800 Fulton Ave. in Van Nuys.

More information is available by calling the Valley College Historical Museum Assn. at (805) 781-1200, Ext. 373.