Kit Eakle

Photo of Kit EakleIf you spend any time listening to live music here in The Point – or anywhere around the Bay for that matter – you’re likely to come across violinist Kit Eakle. He plays with no fewer than four groups and jams with a multitude of others. Most recently he has organized a series of local concerts dedicated to his passion of jazz violin. The shows also highlight some of the top violinists in the world. You can catch Kit’s Point Richmond Jazz Series in the cozy and well tuned First United Methodist Church. The current run is from October (2013) through May 2014 on every fourth Friday of the month. This is the first year but with your support we can all help make this become an annual event.

While Kit didn’t formally live here in The Point until his adult years, he certainly has strong roots in the area, as you will hear in his audio postcard. After graduating high school in near-by El Sobrante, Kit headed off to college on the East Coast but ultimately graduated from UC Davis. Then in the early 1970s, he and his former wife (a Point Richmond native no less) moved to Canada to raise their family. It was in Canada that his career playing music really developed. And while Kit has obviously maintained a solid path playing in bands, he is also a well-recognized music educator. If you have children, I strongly recommend his award winning music book In My Grandmother’s Garden. But without further ado, lets hear from Kit.

…And if you like the music you hear in this episode of Stories from The Point, definitely see Kit play live some time. As always, it’s a pleasure to read your comments, so please do leave them after listening.

Visit Kit online at: www.musickit.com.

Mildred “Mid” Dornan

If you come to Point Richmond, there’s no doubt you will want to take a drive through one of California’s oldest tunnels, the Ferry Point (Dornan) Tunnel. And when you do, you will exit on to a road named Dornan Drive. The roadway is named after the in-laws of Mid Dornan, the guest in this episode of Stories from The Point. At a very healthy 90-years old, Mid is a beautiful example of living history. In the early 1900s, Mid’s father-in-law opened and ran one of Richmond’s first and most successful general stores. Moving to Point Richmond in 1946, Mid even spent some time behind the cash register at the once popular retailer.

There is no doubt that Mid has built a solid bank of knowledge about the area through her background and 67 years of residence in The Point. In addition to the many wonderful anecdotes that she shared, I was particularly touched by a more personal thread that she weaved within her recounting of The Point’s history.

In this audio postcard we are privileged to the story of how Mid met her husband and his ultimate, and very unfortunate, untimely death. I hope to be able to put together another postcard with some of Mid’s other stories. In the meantime, I think this one will give you a bit more pause as you drive through the Ferry Point Tunnel and on to Dornan Drive…it certainly does for me.

Please be sure to visit the Point Richmond History Association online (Mid is the President).  Also, I love to hear from you, so leave any comments that you may have about this episode of Stories from The Point.

 

Visit the Point Richmond History Association online: www.alkos.com/prha/