PBA Galleries

Includes:

• Album with approximately 140 small black-and-white photographs of Smith Robinson in Alaska. Wooden pictorial boards. Late 1940's.
• Bay Area Independent. November 17, 1960. Complimentary Copy. With article about "Smitty's Party".
• Ten loose photographs. Mostly black and white.
• Letter to Smith Robinson from the Lakeport Christian Church. Dated May 28, 1947. With envelope.

Smith "Smitty" Robinson might be one of the most famous people from Healdsburg, California. He was one of originally ten children born to Jessie and Elzora Robinson who left Georgia for California following the 1903 racial riots. They eventually settled in Healdsburg in 1920, where the seven surviving children grew up and went through school. At that time the Robinson's were the only African American family in town.

He was a big force in organizing events in the local community. "Just a few of Smitty's projects included organizing and directing a youth choir at the Federated Church which became a secure foundation and the main social outlet for many of Healdsburg's youth. He remained involved in HHS as a coach and mentor. He created a newsletter called "Smitty's Scoops" which he sent regularly and without fail to every Healdsburg soldier who fought in World War II or the Korean War. He brought the entire town together in adopting the First Battalion during the Korean War, as written up in Reader's Digest in 1953." A Tribute to Smith Robinson.