The original movie in turn, was inspired by a 1949 best seller written by two of the children, who described what life was like in a 1920s-era New Jersey household where mother and father were industrial engineers, recognized pioneers in the field of time and motion studies.

Lillian Moller Gilbreth and husband Frank were the real life inspiration for the original book and movie. Library History Room files reveal Lillian, born in 1878 and raised in Oakland, was the granddaughter of Frederick William Delger, often referred to as "Oakland's first millionaire."

"She was a most unusual woman," says Library History Room Librarian Steve LaVoie, who has researched Lillian Gilbreth's long and eventful life. "We typically get requests for the 'Cheaper by the Dozen' book. It is still on student reading lists to this day.

Our files have many news clippings relating to the Gilbreth family, as well as information on their many East Bay relations. One of our recent acquisitions is Lillian's autobiography, 'As I Remember,' based on her journals and personal reminiscences. It offers an unique portrait of an Oakland childhood from the late 1800s."

How did an Oakland girl end up on the East Coast with a house full of children and a husband obsessed with shaving every extra "wasted" second off the clock?

Lillian's parents and grandparents were of German descent," explains LaVoie. "Paternal grandfather Frederick (born 1822) was one of the best known Alameda County pioneers of his day. He first came to California via a ship journey 'round the Horn,' in the early 1860s."

After amassing a sizable fortune in the 1860s and '70s from investing his earnings as a shoe and leather goods merchant into Oakland real estate, Delger bought 10 acres between 17th and 20th Streets, and Telegraph and San Pablo Avenue. He turned the plot of rolling grasslands then north of downtown into a lucrative subdivision of upscale homes. His growing family (which eventually included granddaughter Lillian, her parents and her eight siblings) were comfortably accommodated in his own rambling mansion, considered at the time to be one of Oakland's most impressive estates.

Lillian's father was William Moller, a well-to-do New Yorker, who married Delger's daughter Annie and went into business with Robert Dalziel, supplying plumbing and gas fixtures during a construction boom that "transformed Oakland from a dusty outpost to 'The Athens of the West,'" say the history files.

As a teenager, Lillian attended Oakland High School, where she was classmates with Jack London, LaVoie explains. She went on to attend UC Berkeley. She graduated in 1900 and was selected the first woman commencement speaker.

To reward her academic achievement, Lillian's family booked for her a grand tour of Europe, say the files. While in Boston, awaiting passage overseas, the young college graduate was introduced to 35-year-old confirmed bachelor Frank Gilbreth, who ran a successful construction business and who was already becoming known for his innovative labor saving construction practices.

Frank must have realized he had finally met the woman of his dreams. He impatiently awaited her return from abroad, then followed her back to Oakland so he could ask her family's permission for her hand in marriage. They were wed in 1904 and began married life in Montclair, N.J., where Frank had his business. Apparently, having a large family was part of the plan from the very beginning. "We want to teach management, so we shall have to practice it," father Frank was quoted as saying.

Not long after the youngest daughter Ann was born (in 1924), Frank died from a heart attack at age 56. Lillian was left to raise their children and to carry on her husband's engineering consultant business alone. How she succeeded was gleefully and warmly told in the 1949 book and its sequel, "Bells on their Toes." Both were then made into the popular movies.

The children grew up and went on to attend college (one daughter died at age five), and several sons served in the military during World War II. Lillian, who had by then earned a doctorate from Brown University, traveled frequently around the country and abroad, lecturing on the methods and theories of time management.

"She was also known for her concern for the disabled and infirm, and advocated for industrial designs to accommodate people in these categories," says LaVoie. A U.S. postage stamp was issued in her honor, in 1983.

Lillian made frequent visits to her relations back home in the East Bay, say the files. Whenever she was in town, invariably a news account would ensue, particularly after the popular movies based on her family were released. She died at age 92 on January 3, 1972. Her 11 children survived her, and she had 30 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

The fabulous Delger estate is no more, the property is now the site of the parking lot next to Sears and is slated for the much anticipated new "uptown" town home development, breaking ground some time later this year. The nearby honeymoon cottage belonging to one of Lillian's aunts, a Delger daughter, also named Lillie, was rescued and moved to Preservation Park where it has been fully restored.

In the Old Oakland Historic District, at Broadway and 10th Street, the retailer Smart and Final occupies the ground floor of the so-called 'Delger Block,' an Italianate-style commercial building with bay windows, originally developed by Grandpa Delger in 1880. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At one time, it housed Oakland's first newspaper, say the files.

Frederick Delger's grand Gothic-inspired mausoleum occupies a site along Mountain View Cemetery's "Millionaire's Row," a popular stop on the city's regular historical walking tours. And finally, photographs are all that are left of Lillian Moller Gilbreth's childhood home that once stood on 29th Street, near Summitt Medical Center. The large rambling house was said to contain Oakland's first elevator. It was razed in 1949 to make way for a medical building.

For more information on this local connection to "Cheaper By the Dozen," visit the library's History Room, open 7 days a week (daily hours vary, call (510) 238-3222 for times open). Learn more about the Delgers on the Oakland Tours Program walking tours (510) 238 3234 and the Mountain View Cemetery tours (offered on the second Saturday of every month).

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax##
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email

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