EXPANDING ON THE PAST MUSEUM UNDERGOING RENOVATION.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

BURBANK - She walks toward the past, through rooms where records still spin on Victrolas, where wagons sit under canvas covers and mannequins in World War II military uniforms greet visitors.

In Mary Jane Strickland's world, Burbank's history is as fragile as the lace on the Victorian dresses she carefully washes by hand and displays. And she is that history's protector.

``My parents came to Burbank in 1913 - I grew up hearing these wonderful stories about Burbank,'' said Strickland, 78. ``I used to work for the library, and all these items were once not in order.''

Strickland, a founder of Burbank's Historical Society, tends over the Gordon R. Howard museum complex that sits on Olive Avenue next to the Psychic Eye Book Shop, where the future is read by tarot or palm.

The complex, which includes the Mentzer House and thousands of pieces of Burbank memorabilia, is undergoing a $500,000 expansion to make way for a replica farm, more vintage cars and two new exhibits by the Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. studios.

``We've had an exhibit there for some time, but because the Historical Society is remodeling, we quite frankly realized that the kids are looking for something more exciting, more interactive,'' said Jim Clark, exhibits assistant for Disney's imagineering department.

``Our new exhibit will be in three times the space as the current one, and we'll feature the process of animation and animatronics, as well as Disney's historical role in Burbank,'' he said.

Clark called the museum a perfect place for the studio to feature its artifacts. ``I was surprised that somebody had taken the time taken to re-create Burbank's history, which is really rich.''

The project is expected to be completed by mid-October, Strickland said, adding that she and her volunteers couldn't wait to use the extra space to redesign some of the exhibits.

``It took us three years to raise the money,'' she said. ``We had a lot of fund-raisers.''

Open each Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., when about 25 people visit each week, the museum is largely attended by local children, sometimes 1,000 a month during the school year.

Strickland, a Burbank native, said the collection began when she wanted to preserve her father's police badge. Her father, George Cole, was named Burbank's first police chief.

The exhibits include a land map of Burbank, etched in pencil, which shows how the property purchased in 1867 by Dr. David Burbank, a dentist from Los Angeles, was divided.

Other exhibits include letters from veterans in World War II, including one by Lt. Frederich Worthen, a prisoner of war who sent his wife-to-be a piece of his parachute. His bride created her wedding dress from it, and the two were married when he returned home. That dress also is on display.

Strickland said she had fond memories of her childhood - from taking the Red Line into Los Angeles to go shopping, even to visiting one of Burbank's old burlesque shows.

During World War II, Strickland, like many other young women at the time, worked at Lockheed as one of the famed Rosie the Riveters.

``I just loved the '30s,'' she said. ``I was a child of the Depression, but we had a lot of fun.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Mary Jane Strickland, director of the Burbank Historical Society, stands in the aviation section of the Gordon R. Howard Museum, which is being expanded to house studio memorabilia from the city's early days.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer