Kathleen Helen Manning

Kathleen, known to her family as “Kitty,” was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 1, 1939, to Frank and Helen (Gooder) Manning, the fourth of their six children. Her mother was a registered nurse, and her father was Chief Engineer of Bridges and Structures for the Pere Marquette Railroad. She fondly recalled riding the PMR Streamliner to visit her grandmother in Grand Rapids, beginning a lifelong love of trains. Her love of history was sparked by an exceptional high school teacher, inspiring Kathleen’s passionate curiosity and hands-on approach well beyond the classroom and into everything she went on to do.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Detroit and a master’s degree in social studies, with a minor in economics, from Wayne State University. She then taught American history, European history, economics, and government to students in grades 7 through 12.

In 1968, while living in Detroit, Kathleen met her future husband, Bill Hall. The couple moved to San Francisco in 1972, and in 1973, Kathleen founded her business, Manning’s Books & Prints. The brand evolved into Prints Old & Rare, a mail-order business selling only original maps, prints, books, and ephemera. Its clients included picture framers, galleries, designers, universities, museums, libraries, government institutions, and private collectors across the country and around the world. She moved the business to Pacifica in 1990 and permanently made her home there in 1996.

Kathleen’s expertise was widely respected in the trade. For decades, she was a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, the American Historical Print Collectors Society, the California Map Society, and the Ephemera Society. In an industry that was overwhelmingly male, she was one of the few women, and she built her standing on knowledge, persistence, and an eye for what was worth preserving. She was also featured in multiple segments of The History Channel’s Pawn Stars Do America S1E3: “San Francisco Treats".

Kathleen was a founding member and later president of the San Francisco History Association. In July 1982, she was among a group of collectors exhibiting their collections at the first San Francisco Fair at Moscone Center, where she displayed part of her collection of maps, prints, and ephemera of the city. Sharing a collective passion, the group formed what was first called the San Francisco History Collectors Association. As it grew to also welcome history enthusiasts, it became the San Francisco History Association (SFHA). Kathleen started its grant program, which supported schools, organizations, and individuals in preserving and sharing local history. She remained a longtime supporter of the association.

Kathleen served for many years as president of the Pacifica Historical Society (PHS). Alongside her fellow volunteers, she led the effort to save the Little Brown Church, which reopened in 2015 as the Pacifica Coastside Museum. She ran the PHS fundraising tours of the Sam Mazza Castle, with members dressed as costumed screen actors, and she created and produced the award-winning community television show Footprints of Pacifica.

After discovering that Jack cheese traces back to Pacifica’s Mori Point, she was determined to re-establish the recipe to its local origins. She enlisted a Bay Area cheesemaker to produce the original recipe of Pacifica Jack, which became a popular fundraiser and continues to be sold at the museum gift shop. In 2004, she helped rescue Ocean Shore Railroad Car 1409, the last passenger car of the line, and spent more than 20 years raising funds to restore it and permanently establish it in Pacifica.

Kathleen was also a published author. Her limited-edition portfolio San Francisco: Early Prints 1848-1900 (Windgate Press, 2002) brought together 20 reproductions of significant San Francisco prints, some from her own collection, and included a booklet of her writing featuring additional prints exclusively from her collection. She wrote San Francisco’s Ocean Beach (2003) with Jim Dickson, and Half Moon Bay (2005) and Pacifica: Then & Now (2010) with Jerry Crow. She also wrote the historic captions for San Francisco: Views of the Past & Present (2007), and she was quoted on the history of Pacifica Jack cheese in Ruth Carlson’s Secret California: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure (2021).

Kathleen loved a good garage sale. For decades, she and her friends spent their Saturdays combing neighborhoods all over San Francisco, and joining them was a guaranteed good time. She collected everything from fine antiques to quirky junk that made her laugh.

She is survived by her nieces and nephews, Steve Merring of Hastings, MI; Daniel Merring and his wife, Ann, of Grand Rapids, MI; Tina Cavallaro and her wife, Yeli Sanchez, of Oakland, CA; Louie Cavallaro and his wife, Bridget, of New Braunfels, TX; Fletcher Manning and his wife, Kristina Virtue, of Gillette, WY; Sandy Cavallaro and her partner, Tyler Reed, of San Francisco, CA; and Hannah Manning and her partner, Jeff New, of Livonia, MI; her stepdaughter, Anne Hall, and her husband, Mark Brady, of Newport, RI; her sister-in-law, Chris Manning, of Ypsilanti, MI; many great-nieces, great-nephews, and great-great-nieces; and a wide circle of friends who counted her as family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Helen Manning; her husband, Bill Hall; and her siblings Mary and her husband, George Merring; Jane and her husband, Lou Cavallaro; Joan Manning; Frank Manning; and Jay Manning.

In honor of Kathleen, please consider donating to the restoration of Pacifica’s Ocean Shore Railroad Car 1409.

https://gofund.me/e1d561dce