Birdie Boyles

The arts and crafts home at 2523 U Street was constructed between 1908-1912. In 1914, Edgar and Eva Boyles purchased the property and moved in with their 2 children. Their youngest daughter, Birdie, was born just 2-years later in an upstairs bedroom. Sadly, Eva Boyles died when Birdie was only 6-years old. The children were raised afterwards by their father Edgar, who was manager of the Sacramento River Association and a pear grower. Birdie lived for more than 90 years in the family home and was a graduate of Newton Booth School, Sacramento High School (1933) and Stanford University (1937), she excelled in academics, music and a variety of sports. She loved to play the piano, and for many years was "accompanied" by her singing dog, George. As a young girl, she was the bugler at Camp Minaluta, the Camp Fire Girls' Camp becoming the envy of generations of young people who could not duplicate her sound when challenged. At Stanford, she was on the varsity fencing team and became an expert equestrian after college, riding at the Barbara Worth Stables. During World War II, Birdie answered the call of the American Red Cross for women college graduates to join its newly formed Mobile Canteen Service ("Clubmobile"). Their morale-boosting mission was to serve coffee and doughnuts to soldiers and airmen on the front lines. Birdie's Clubmobile was first based at an 8th Air Force airfield near Bury St. Edmunds in England and later with the 63rd Infantry Division as it fought its way across Germany. She was awarded the Bronze Star for courageously driving her Clubmobile very close to the intensive fighting. Professionally, she had a demanding career as a statistician for State of California, retiring from the Department of Education in 1981. Birdie was also a skilled photographer and award-winning artist. Her distinctive wood block prints were shown in Sacramento galleries and exhibits, including the Crocker, for more than 50 years, and are in many private collections, She was a founder and active member of the Creative Arts League of Sacramento and participated as an organizer of the California Crafts Shows.

Birdie passed away at the age of 92 in 2008, after which time her niece, Christine Boyles David, inherited the family home. In 2011, the property left the Boyles family

Featured images (in order of appearace): 1) Birdie Boyles as a 5-year old pictured in 1920 in a goat cart in front of the Boyles family home at 2523 U Street, 2) The Boyles family home located at 2523 U Street in Newton Booth, circa 1912, 3) Birdie Boyles in her later years singing a duet with her beloved dog, George.