2026-05-13T17:54:55Zhttps://escholarship.org/oaioai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3z90g5b52026-04-15T09:32:42Zqt3z90g5b5Howell Rommel: The 1955 Santa Cruz FloodRommel, HowellCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1973-05-31In 1955 Santa Cruz suffered a major flood which led to the San Lorenzo River flood-control project and the redevelopment of a large portion of the downtown area. Howell Rommel, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, recorded the rising flood waters and the subsequent damage in a series of 61 slides. This volume contains prints of those slides which are accompanied by his explanatory comments and his responses to the interviewer's questions.Santa Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3z90g5b5https://escholarship.org/content/qt3z90g5b5/qt3z90g5b5.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt949077n92026-04-13T15:47:46Zqt949077n9Red Clay, Blue Hills: An Oral History of Professor John Brown ChildsChilds, John BrownVanderscoff, CameronUCSC Library, Regional History Project2026-04-01application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/949077n9https://escholarship.org/content/qt949077n9/qt949077n9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8q9754b02025-05-27T15:03:02Zqt8q9754b0Saving the Peregrine: An Oral History of the UCSC Predatory Bird Research Group with Glenn R. StewartStewart, Glenn R.Rabkin, Sarah2025-05-26application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8q9754b0https://escholarship.org/content/qt8q9754b0/qt8q9754b0.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2t34p7rh2024-09-26T11:45:08Zqt2t34p7rhGreg Tabasa interviewed by Una LynchTabasa, GregLynch, Una2023-02-28In this interview, originally recorded over the phone, Gregorio "Greg" Dionisio Tabasa speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Una Lynch. Greg begins the interview by talking about his father, Jesus Torrente Tabasa, who immigrated from the Aklan Province in the Philippines to Hawai'i and eventually to the Pajaro Valley where he worked as a labor contractor. Gred also discusses his mother, Rosita "Rosie" Dionisio Tabasa-Estrada who also immigrated from Aklan and eventually owned and operated a restaurant in Watsonville. Her restaurant was first called Oriental Cafe and later Philippine Gardens. Greg explains the restaurant's significance to the Watsonville Filipino American community. He describes it as a "gathering place" for the Filipino community to connect and eat together. Greg also discusses his parents' roles as community leaders and their participation in organizations like the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville. He also reflects on the personal impacts of his father's and how other Filipino men helped to raise him and his brother, Danny. He explains that after Jesus's death Rosie continued community and restaurant work through the 1980s. Greg closes the interview by reflecting on a housing and public art project titled Tabasa Gardens that honors his mother and her impact on the Filipino American community. Tabasa Gardens is an apartment community located on Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville. Half of the apartment units will be reserved for farmworkers. In addition to being named for the Tabasa family and their restaurant. The complex features a mosaic mural depicting Rosie Tabasa and her eldest son, Jess Tabasa.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2t34p7rhhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2t34p7rh/qt2t34p7rh.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt86z2t9hb2024-09-26T11:41:25Zqt86z2t9hbTony Baniaga interviewed by Markus Faye PortacioBaniaga, TonyPortacio, Markus2022-07-10In this interview, originally conducted via Zoom, Tony Baniaga speaks with Markus Faye Portacio, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Tony discusses his father Eusibio "Chevy" Margarin Baniaga's migration history including his experience in Hawai'i working in the sugarcane fields and working in the continental United States as a migrant farm laborer. He explains how Eusibio served in the Filipino Infantry Regiment during World War II. He also discusses his mother, Maxima "Sima" Vea Baniaga's experience working in Pajaro Valley agricultural fields alongside Eusibio and her job at Watsonville Canning Company. Tony describes his experiences growing up in the Pajaro Valley including attending Pajaro Elementary and Watsonville High School and working in agricultural fields throughout his adolescence. Tony also reflects on his time in the navy from 1969 to 1975, his service during the Vietnam War, his experiences while he was stationed in the Philippines and racial dynamics in the US military. Throughout the interview, Tony discusses the various Pajaro Valley farms where his relatives worked, this included West Coast Farms, Crosetti Farms, Sears Brothers, and Driscoll.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/86z2t9hbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt86z2t9hb/qt86z2t9hb.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt28x418zm2024-09-26T11:38:12Zqt28x418zmSamuel "Sammy" Yoro interviewed by Hana YamamotoYoro, SamuelYamamoto, Hana2023-03-23In this interview, originally recorded in person, Samuel "Sammy" Yoro speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Hana Yamamoto. Sammy begins by discussing how his father, Sabino Ivanos Yoro came to the United States from the Philippines and eventually settled in Watsonville to work in the lettuce fields. Sammy talks about how he began working with his father harvesting produce in high school and he describes how working in the asparagus fields helped him become a better track and field athlete in high school. Sammy goes on to describe how the agriculture industry evolved over the years and notes the influence of Cesar Chavez on farm labor strikes. Sammy discusses his involvement with The Independent Farmworkers Union. Sammy also talks about his mother, Gregor Otero, who came to Watsonville from New Mexico to start a family and work in the canneries. Sammy reflects on how growing up in a multiracial community affected his views on his parents' interracial marriage, and he remembers his mother's involvement in Filipino community organizations.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/28x418zmhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt28x418zm/qt28x418zm.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0j54t3h22024-09-26T11:35:08Zqt0j54t3h2Ruth Tabancay interviewed by Maia MislangTabancay, RuthMislang, Maia2023-05-21In this interview, originally recorded over Zoom, Ruth Tabancay speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Maia Mislang. Ruth is a Bay Area-based textile and fiber artist. Ruth explains how her mother Esther Galicia immigrated to the United States from the Philippines to attend Hartnell College in Salinas. Esther's immigration to the US was sponsored by her aunt, Paula Galicia. Ruth discusses Esther's twenty-five years of experience working at Green Giant cannery in Watsonville. Ruth also explains that her father Benny Tabancay worked in the dry cleaning business rather than in the agricultural fields like many other men. Throughout the interview Ruth reflects on her time growing up within the Filipino American community in Watsonville, as well as how her identity and experiences impact her current art practice. She fondly recalls participating in Filipino folk dance classes, wearing traditional Filipiniana clothing, playing street games with neighborhood kids, and making decorations Fourth of July parade floats with her mother and other members of the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0j54t3h2https://escholarship.org/content/qt0j54t3h2/qt0j54t3h2.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1gf079nv2024-09-26T10:57:03Zqt1gf079nvRuby Baniaga Kaldonis interviewed by Markus Faye PortacioBaniaga Kaldonis, RubyPortacio, Markus2022-08-12In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom Ruby Baniaga Kalidonis speaks with Markus Faye Portacio, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Ruby shares her family's migration experiences in Hawai'i and Watsonville, California. She recalls how her family arrived in the US and explains how her father Romeo Veo Baniaga and her mother Betty Magarin Baniaga, met. She discusses Romeo's and Betty's work in the agricultural, industrial, and domestic sectors. She also discusses Romeo's affinity for gardening and Betty's skills in strawberry picking. Ruby talks about the community networks her family established in Watsonville and her relationships with her relatives that live in the Philippines. Additionally, Ruby reflects on her experience growing-up mixed-race and her "Mexipino" identity.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1gf079nvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt1gf079nv/qt1gf079nv.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt24m625hb2024-09-26T10:53:41Zqt24m625hbRosario Lopez interviewed by Hana YamamotoLopez, RosarioYamamoto, Hana2023-03-09In this interview, originally conducted in person, Rosario "Rose" Magdalena Lopez speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Hana Yamamoto. Rose describes how her father, Arsenio "Archie" Soblechero Lopez traveled by ship from the Philippines to California and eventually began working in the fields in Watsonville. She further explains how Archie became sick with tuberculosis from pesticides like DDT that were commonly sprayed in the fields where he worked. His illness led him to quit working in the fields and open a barbershop in Santa Cruz on Mission Street. Rose vividly describes Archie's barbershop, including the smell of Ilokano Food being cooked for lunch and Filipino men gambling, smoking, and even trading produce in the Ace Cardroom that Archie ran in the back. Rose remembers singing Filipino songs at her father's band, Archie and the Islanders. She goes on to speak about her mother, Margaret Yepez Lopez, a Mexican American woman who worked for the canneries and was an outspoken figure in union organizing. Rose details her parents' wedding ceremony in Watsonville in 1948. She reflects fondly on the tight-knit Filipino and Mexican communities in Watsonville, remembering the Filipino social dances, gatherings at the labor camps, and the Filipino men her parents would house and take in as family.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/24m625hbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt24m625hb/qt24m625hb.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7mt5c0652024-09-26T10:50:10Zqt7mt5c065Raymond Gonzalez interviewed by Una LynchGonzalez, RaymondLynch, Una2023-02-06In this interview, originally recorded over Zoom, Raymond "Ray" Gonzalez speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Una Lynch. Ray talks about his mother, Margaret Sanchez, a Mexican woman who moved from Texas around the country to search for work. He explains how she eventually settled in Salinas, working in agriculture and as a cook in the labor camps. Ray goes on to talk about how his mother met his stepfather, Benito Acosta Nerona, while working in the canneries. Benito immigrated to Watsonville from the Philippines to work as an agricultural laborer. Ray speaks about the hardships his stepfather endured while working in the fields, and he describes the union meetings his parents would host at their family home. Though Ray is not ethnically Filipino, he shares his feelings of respect and pride for the Filipino community in Watsonville that his stepfather passed down to him. Ray also reminisces about being involved in the Filipino Youth Club and the tight-knit Filipino and Latino communities while growing up in Watsonville.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mt5c065https://escholarship.org/content/qt7mt5c065/qt7mt5c065.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7jz1m7172024-09-26T10:13:57Zqt7jz1m717Lorraine "Rain" Bongolan interviewed by Una LynchBongolan, LorraineLynch, Una2023-04-05In this interview, originally recorded in person, Lorraine "Rain" Sipin Bongolan speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Una Lynch. Rain talks about her father, Felix Hidalgo Bongolan's immigration from Santiago, Ilocos Sur, Philippines to Oahu, Hawai'i where he worked as a foreman for Dole pineapple plantations during the 1940s. She shares how Felix met Irene "Inning" Sipin. They communicated via letters until Felix was able to travel back to the Philippines to marry Irene in 1951. Rain also talks about her mother, Irene's life growing up in the Philippines during Japanese occupation. Rain explains how her parents eventually settled in Watsonville, where Irene's brothers were already living. She describes Felix's work as a camp cook at a Filipino labor camp on Lee Road in Watsonville and Irene's involvement with Filipino community events. Rain also elaborates on how notions of assimilation and the American nuclear family impacted her experience growing up in Watsonville.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7jz1m717https://escholarship.org/content/qt7jz1m717/qt7jz1m717.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8ft0t8fm2024-09-26T10:10:41Zqt8ft0t8fmJuanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Part 2 of 2Sulay Wilson, JuanitaSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2023-01-29In this interview, originally recorded in person, Juanita Sulay Wilson speaks with Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. This interview is focused on Juanita's mother, Virginia Alice Viner, and her membership and role in the Watsonville Filipino Women's Club, as well as Juanita's own foundational role in the Watsonville High School Filipino Youth Club. Throughout the interview, Juanita describes the events and services the Filipino Women's Club provided to the community in Watsonville. She explains the racial dynamics within the club and community, including how white women like her mother were accepted into the organization. Juanita recalls how her mother saw herself within the community and discusses changing community dynamics when Filipino migrants arrived in Watsonville, especially after 1965. She also details the development of her own identity as a mixed-race person, explaining the ways members of the Filipino Women's club and her mother –thought about race. Then, Juanita explains the creation and activities of the Filipino Youth Club. She explains the connections between the founding of the Youth Club and other Filipino community organizations in Watsonville. Juanita emphasizes that she and other members of the Youth Club felt it was important to claim and celebrate their Filipino identities.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8ft0t8fmhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8ft0t8fm/qt8ft0t8fm.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1kb5g2r72024-09-26T10:06:42Zqt1kb5g2r7John Marquez interviewed by Katrina PagaduanMarquez, JohnPagaduan, Katrina2022-10-20In this interview, originally recorded in person, John Marquez and his mother, Evelyn Marquez talk with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Katrina Pagaduan. John primarily speaks about his grandfather, Leon Custodio Ventura, who served in the U.S. military and then immigrated to the United States. Evelyn describes her experience traveling by boat from the Philippines to California as a young child. John speaks about his grandfather's experiences harvesting apples and strawberries for Jenson & Son Company in Watsonville. He recalls his time working in the fields with his grandfather when he was younger. He talks about his family's experiences within the Watsonville Filipino American community and remembers that his grandparents taught other Filipino migrants how to navigate U.S. processes including citizenship, Social Security, and banking.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1kb5g2r7https://escholarship.org/content/qt1kb5g2r7/qt1kb5g2r7.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8971f3jv2024-09-26T09:56:19Zqt8971f3jvFred "Freddie" Leo Castillo interviewed by Ian Hunte DoyleCastillo, FredHunte Doyle, Ian2023-03-09In this interview, originally recorded in person, Freddie Leo Castillo speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Ian Hunte Doyle. Freddie details his father Doroteo Lafer Castillo's immigration to the United States from the Philippines through Hawai'i, where he worked on the sugarcane plantations until eventually moving to the mainland to work seasonal agricultural jobs. Freddie explains how Doroteo settled in Watsonville and worked as a sharecropper. Freddie remembers growing up in Watsonville, where he and his sister were raised by his father, Doroteo Lafer Castillo. Fred recalls joining the Filipino Youth Club with his childhood friend Raymond "Ray" Gonzalez, who he refers to as his brother. He also describes working in the fields with Ray throughout high school. Fred talks about growing up half-Filipino and half-Mexican, and he explains how his father introduced him to Filipino culture, primarily through food and cooking.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8971f3jvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8971f3jv/qt8971f3jv.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8nj5k20s2024-09-26T09:52:47Zqt8nj5k20sFred Tejada interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsTejada, FredSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2023-02-11In this interview, originally recorded in person, Fred Tejada speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Meleia Simon-Reynolds. Fred talks about his father, Godofredo "Godo" Tana Tejada, who immigrated from the Philippines to the United States. He discusses how his father worked various jobs in Seattle and California, and he details his father's work as a foreman for the Bracero Program. Fred goes on to explain how his father met his mother, Meady Dalisay Solomeo in the Philippines, and how his parents moved to Watsonville together shortly after marrying. Fred talks about his father's work harvesting strawberry, lettuce, and brussel sprouts, and he discusses his mom's work in the fields during the day and at the pajama factory at night. Fred remembers helping his father in the fields throughout his adolescence, as well as he recalls his family housing many manong while they lived in Watsonville.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8nj5k20shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8nj5k20s/qt8nj5k20s.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3zq9154s2024-09-26T09:46:27Zqt3zq9154sFrancine Tabasa Lopes interviewed by Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-ReynoldsTabasa Lopes, FrancineLynch, UnaSimon-Reynolds, MeleiaAyson Plank, Christine2023-05-01In this interview, originally recorded in-person at Paradise Villa Assisted Living and Memory Care in Live Oak, California, Francine Tabasa Lopes speaks with Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds, members of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Francine shares stories about her parents, Jesus Torrente Tabasa and Rosita "Rosie" Dionisio Tabasa-Estrada. She explains how her parents migrated to the United States from the Philippines during the 1920s and 1930s and eventually settled in Watsonville. Francine discusses Jesus's agricultural labor and the restaurants and other businesses both of her parents owned and operated in Watsonville. She provides details about Rosie's restaurant business, Philippine Gardens (originally Oriental Cafe). She describes the restaurant's various locations in downtown Watsonville and the gambling operations that existed within the restaurant. Francine also reflects on her experiences growing up under the care of her maternal grandmother, Benita Carpio Dionisio.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zq9154shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3zq9154s/qt3zq9154s.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9j52c8j42024-09-26T09:41:50Zqt9j52c8j4Elizabeth "Liz" Tana interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsTana, ElizabethSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2022-04-30In this interview, originally recorded in person, Elizabeth "Liz" Taytayon Tana speaks with Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Liz shares memories of visiting the Philippines with her family, the various homes and neighborhoods in the Pajaro Valley that she and her family lived in, gatherings with her families' extended kinship network which included the Tejada, Taytayon, and Cawaling families, and Filipino dances organized by the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville and the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang. She talks about the relationship between father, Clemente Vargas Tana, her mother, Estelita "Lita" Taytayon Tabios, and her step father, Dioscoro Tabios. She also explains their work as strawberry farmers in Watsonville and Lita's job in the canneries. Throughout the interview, she discusses the ways in which her family, most notably her mother, cared for the manong and integrated them into their family as "uncles."application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9j52c8j4https://escholarship.org/content/qt9j52c8j4/qt9j52c8j4.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9k6518132024-09-25T15:34:57Zqt9k651813Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Part 3 of 3Fallorina, DanielSimon-Reynolds, MeleiaAyson Plank, Christina2023-07-05In this interview, originally conducted in-person, Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team members Meleia Simon-Reynolds and Christina Ayson Plank. Dan reflects on his parents', Mariano Doctor Fallorina Sr. and Angelina Nicolas Fallorina, home gardening practices. He describes the produce Mariano grew at home using the skills he honed as an agricultural laborer and the flower gardens Angelina tended throughout her life. Dan explains that gardening was a way his parents relaxed after long days working in Watsonville agricultural fields and canneries. He also discusses how his parents shared the products of their gardens with friends and members of their community. This interview is part three of a series of three interviews conducted by the Watsonville is in the Heart team with Dan Fallorina.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9k651813https://escholarship.org/content/qt9k651813/qt9k651813.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2pc4q4g62024-09-25T15:31:37Zqt2pc4q4g6Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina interviewed by Ian Hunte Doyle Part 2 of 3Fallorina, DanielHunte Doyle, Ian2023-05-31In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Daniel "Dan Kerubin Fallorina speaks with Ian Hunte Doyle, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. In the interview, Dan describes his mother, Angelina Nicolas Fallorina's career in Watsonville's food processing industry from 1963 through 1987. He explains that Angelina worked for United Foods and in the Green Giant-Pillsbury factory. Dan shares that while working in food processing, Angelina was a member of the Teamsters Local 912 union. In addition, Dan discusses Angelina's work in agriculture. He describes Angelina's work harvesting produce as well as her role overseeing bookkeeping while the Fallorina family sharecropped strawberries with Reiter Berries during the 1960s. Dan also reflects on Angelina's involvement in Watsonville First United Methodist Church and her love for gardening. This interview is part two of a series of three interviews conducted by the Watsonville is in the Heart team with Dan Fallorina.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2pc4q4g6https://escholarship.org/content/qt2pc4q4g6/qt2pc4q4g6.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7q16t3hn2024-09-25T15:20:16Zqt7q16t3hnAnthony "Tony" Bernard Tapiz interviewed by Ian Hunte DoyleTapiz, Anthony, Jr.Hunte Doyle, Ian2023-03-14In this interview, originally conducted in-person, Anthony "Tony" Bernard Tapiz, Jr. speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Ian Hunt Doyle. Tony primarily talks about his grandfather, Arsenio "Archie" Soblechero Lopez, who immigrated from Villaris, Pangasinan, Philippines to California in 1929. Tony begins the interview by providing a description of Archie's barbershop, Manila Barbershop that was located on Mission Street in Santa Cruz. He explains that Filipino men would gather in the Ace Cardroom, which Archie operated behind the barbershop, to gamble. He also describes how the barbershop smelled of his grandfather's Ilokano cooking. Tony remembers attending Filipino community dances as a kid, where Archie's band, Archie and the Islanders, would perform. Tony also speaks about his grandmother, Margaret Yepez Lopez, and her involvement in the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville. He touches on his grandparent's interracial marriage and the obstacles they had to overcome to marry. He also reflects on his experience being Filipino and Mexican or "mestizo." This interview took place at Upper Crust Pizza on Mission Street in Santa Cruz, California. This used to be the location of Archie Lopez's barbershop. In the interview, ambient noise and the voices of other customers can be heard.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7q16t3hnhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7q16t3hn/qt7q16t3hn.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7w87p82g2024-09-25T15:14:16Zqt7w87p82gAnastacio Asunción interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsAsunción, AnastacioSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2023-02-09In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Anastacio "Stosh" Asunción speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Meleia Simon-Reynolds. Stosh starts by telling the story of his father, Anastacio Polistico Asunción's life in the Philippines, his migration to the United States through Hawai'i, and his involvement in both World Wars before eventually settling in Watsonville, California where he worked as a sharecropper for Reiter Berry Company. He discusses his father's hobbies of gardening and fishing and remembers his mother, Paula Montelongo Asunción's cooking. Stosh reflects on how growing up within a multiethnic community at a labor camp located on San Andreas Road impacted his early views on his parents' interracial marriage. He describes how he explored his mixed-race identity in college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He discusses reading Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart and his experience writing an undergraduate research paper titled, "Watsonville's Filipino Bachelor Community" in 1970. Stosh talks about his experience working in the strawberry fields as a child, and reflects on the long term effects agricultural pesticides had on his father and other workers. He also provides vivid details about cockfights that were held in the Pajaro Valley. Stosh ends the interview by reflecting on fond memories of spending time with his parents, including going fishing with his father and having picnics with his mother.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w87p82ghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7w87p82g/qt7w87p82g.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt20x6c4jc2024-09-25T14:40:50Zqt20x6c4jcShirely Ancheta interviewed by Dr. Steven McKayAncheta, ShirleyMcKay, Steven2022-02-16In this interview, originally conducted in person, Shirley Ancheta speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Shirley describes her father, Julio Ancheta's immigration from the Philippines to Kauai, HI in 1927 to work on the sugar plantations and his subsequent move to California where he worked as a migrant agricultural laborer. She provides an overview of his military service in the First Filipino Regiment during World War II and discusses how Julio met and married a Filipina named Delfina Rivera. She speaks about her family's small farm in Watsonville, her father's career in construction, and his passionate involvement in the AFLO-CIO union. Shirley also shares memories of manong who she came to know by visiting the labor camps and participating in Filipino dances. Throughout the interview, Shirely also speaks about her relationship with her life long partner, Jeff Tagami. She describes how she and Jeff developed their political and intellectual consciousnesses through ethnic studies education as well as through participation in Third World liberation struggles and social justice activism. Additionally, she speaks about her and Jeff's careers as writers, specifically their poetry inspired by their upbringing in Watsonville, stories of the manong, and the histories of working-class people of color in the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/20x6c4jchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt20x6c4jc/qt20x6c4jc.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8hh4z69m2024-09-25T14:36:44Zqt8hh4z69mMaurice Carrillo interviewed by Nicholas NasserCarrillo, MauriceNasser, Nicholas2021-12-07In this interview, originally recorded in person, Maurice Carrillo speaks with Nicholas Nasser, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Maurice describes his childhood, specifically memories of traveling with his father, Pacifico "Frank" Cabegon Carrillo, as he engaged in seasonal migrant agricultural work, staying in labor camps with his father and other Filipino men, and living with other mixed-race Filipino families while his father was away working. He also discusses the other white women his father had relationships with after separating from Maurice's birth mother, Ethel Patheal. Most notably, he talks about his step mother, Louella Carter, who was the primary caretaker for Maurice, his brother, James, and three other children from mixed-race, Filipino families whose parents had separated. Throughout the interview, Maurice reflects on his mixed-race identity as well as experiences of exclusion from the Filipino Community of Watsonville due to his identity. He also discusses his passion for community service which began with his involvement in the Filipino Youth Club during high school and continued throughout his life through leadership roles in organizations including but not limited to the Rotary Club of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz AIDs Project. Finally, Maurice shares stories regarding his business career in downtown Santa Cruz, his extended family, and coming out as a gay man in 1986.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8hh4z69mhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8hh4z69m/qt8hh4z69m.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2gf9c0mc2024-09-25T14:32:45Zqt2gf9c0mcLydia Tumbaga Brumblay interviewed by Toby BaylonTumbaga Brumblay, LydiaBaylon, Toby2021-05-20In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Lydia Tumbaga Brumblay speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Toby Baylon. Lydia speaks about her father, Benny Tumbaga's experience migrating to the United States from San Fernando, La Union, Philippines in 1926. She describes Benny's and his relatives' work in restaurants in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco as well as Benny's experiences as a musician. Lydia also discusses her own experiences growing up and going to school in Watsonville followed by her decision to move to Hawai'i later in life. Throughout the interview, Lydia shares her perspective on the shifting racial dynamics and demographics in Watsonville during the early twentieth century, the 1960s and 1970s, and the 1990s and early 2000s. She also discusses her "colorblind" approach to race which she states was instilled in her through her father and her multicultural upbringing in Watsonville. Lydia's analysis of contemporary migrant communities in Watsonville is informed by her perspective of the racial reckoning during the summer 2020.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2gf9c0mchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2gf9c0mc/qt2gf9c0mc.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3p2881wk2024-09-25T14:02:37Zqt3p2881wkLoren Cawaling interviewed by Dr. Steven McKayCawaling, LorenMcKay, Steven2022-01-13In part one of the interview, originally recorded in person, Loren Cawaling speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Throughout the interview, Loren and Steve discuss various photographs from the Cawaling Family Collection. In these conversations, Loren shares memories of various members of his family's extended kinship network, including many manong. Loren emphasizes the close, familial relationships he and his family had with many manong. In the interview, Loren also discusses his father and mother, Florencio and Aladina Cawaling's migration from the Philippines as well as their agricultural and cannery labor. He also speaks about his father's and other Filipino men's hobbies including purchasing cars, fishing, cockfighting, cooking, and gardening as well as his family's leisure activities such as going to local beaches, visiting the labor camps, and attending family and social organization gatherings. At the end of the interview, the recording abruptly ends. It begins again in the second interview "Loren Cawaling interviewed by Dr. Steve McKay Part 2 of 2."In part two of the interview, Loren and Steve pick up their conversation from "Loren Cawaling interviewed by Dr. Steve McKay Part 1 of 2." In this interview, Steve uses "photo elicitation" to provoke Loren's memories through photographs of his family which are a part of the Cawaling Family Collection. He speaks about his manong "uncles," Disgracias Inguillio and Salvador Maagma. He also discusses his mother, Aladina Cawaling's love of gardening as well as his parents' labor in agricultural fields.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3p2881wkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3p2881wk/qt3p2881wk.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7mc6d8hf2024-09-25T13:54:19Zqt7mc6d8hfEstelita Tabios interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsTabios, EstelitaSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2022-02-03In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Estelita Tabios speaks with Joanne de los Reyes-Hilario, a close family friend, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a Watsonville is in the Heart team member. Estelita shares memories of her childhood growing up in Makato, Aklan, Philippines; the story of how she met and married her first husband, Clemente Tana; and details of her month-long journey to the United States via steamship in 1956. She discusses settling in Watsonville with Clemente and developing a network of relatives and close friends— including the Cawaling, Taytayon, and Tejada families. Estelita describes her and her family members' labor in agricultural fields; her work on the assembly line at Green Giant from 1962-1966; her job in the laundry department at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, CA; and finally her career as a caregiver for the elderly. She also speaks about her involvement in the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville, the Filipino Catholic Association, and the Aklanon Association. Notably, Estelita provides first-person accounts of Filipino Women's Club members' various responsibilities and their efforts to build the local Filipino community. Throughout the interview, Estelita emphasizes her dedication to supporting the manong that she came to know in Watsonville as well as her family members in the United States and the Philippines.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mc6d8hfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7mc6d8hf/qt7mc6d8hf.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1kq8j3w02024-09-25T13:51:21Zqt1kq8j3w0Frank Madalora interviewed by Olivia SawiMadalora, FrankSawi, Olivia2021-05-04In this interview, originally recorded over Zoom, Frank Madalora speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Olivia Sawi. Frank discusses his parents, Santiago Madalora and Apolonia Sagaysay and both of their families' origins in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. He describes Santiago's immigration to Hawai'i to work in the plantations followed by his migration to Watsonville, California where he worked as a migrant agricultural laborer. Frank discusses how his parents' met while Santiago was serving in the army during World War II. Frank also describes his own experiences as a young child in Bacarra before immigrating to the United States with his mother in 1957. Throughout the interview, Frank provides memories of leisure and labor he and his family participated in while living in Pajaro, CA; his family's dynamic including the challenges that his parents faced in their marriage; and his own experiences navigating class and racial stratification in the Pajaro Valley region. Finally, Frank speaks about his educational journey and his various careers.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1kq8j3w0https://escholarship.org/content/qt1kq8j3w0/qt1kq8j3w0.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8064h80f2024-09-25T13:33:29Zqt8064h80fErlinda Taytayon Heebner interviewed by Dr. Steven McKayHeebner, ErlindaMcKay, Steven2021-06-04In this interview, originally conducted via Zoom, Erlinda Taytayon Heebner speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Erlinda discusses her father, Eliseo Tapia Taytayon, and her mother, Rosalinda Mendoza Taytayon and their experiences migrating to the United States from the Philippines. She shares that Eliseo migrated to the United States alongside his cousin Florencio Cawaling in 1929 and worked as a farm laborer until he retired at age 75. She explains that Eliseo and Rosalinda met and married as a result of an arrangement facilitated by the Cawaling family. After their marriage, Rosalinda migrated to Watsonville where she worked in the canneries. Erlinda discusses her experiences growing up in Watsonville including the class and racial dynamics of the various neighborhoods where her family lived and the schools she attended. Throughout the interview, she also describes the various Taytayon family homes as places where many relatives and community members congregated to enjoy her father's cooking and purchase clothing from her maternal grandmother who worked as a seamstress.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8064h80fhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8064h80f/qt8064h80f.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt62b018mz2024-09-25T12:42:29Zqt62b018mzDana Sales interviewed by Nicholas NasserSales, DanaNasser, Nicholas2021-06-03In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Dana Sales speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Nicholas Nasser. Dana discusses his experiences growing-up and working on a rural farm outside of Watsonville as well as the differences between rural and urban areas of the Pajaro Valley in regards to his experiences attending primary and secondary schools in both settings. Dana provides an overview of his father, Florendo Macadangdang Sales' migration and labor histories— these include immigrating from the Philippines in 1929, working as an agricultural laborer, serving in the US Navy, and eventually opening his own barbershop on Main Street in downtown Watsonville. He also speaks about his mother, Dora Esther Tomlinson's work in Watsonville canneries and her family's experiences as migrant laborers during The Great Depression. Throughout the interview, Dana reflects on race and racism including his parents' silences about discrimination they faced and his own experiences with systemic racism during high school and when he attended the Naval Academy. Finally, Dana provides in-depth insight into the urban redevelopment of downtown Watsonville during the 1980s which destroyed many minority-owned businesses including his father's barbershop. Dana speaks about his efforts to stop urban development and preserve agricultural spaces in Watsonville through his careers in real estate and his tenure on the Watsonville City Planning Commision.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/62b018mzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt62b018mz/qt62b018mz.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4x7791g52024-09-25T12:37:46Zqt4x7791g5Bobby Mariano interviewed by Dr. Steven McKayMariano, BobbyMcKay, Steven2022-01-10In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Bobby Mariano speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Bobby describes his father, Marcelino "Bob" Mariano's immigration and labor histories including his migration from the Philippines to Hawai'i then from Hawai'i to California and his lifelong work in agriculture first as a migrant laborer and eventually as a foreman. He also discusses his mother, Hazel Maxine Bickle, whose family immigrated to Watsonville from Oklahoma during the 1920s. Bobby discusses his parents' interracial marriage as well as the other mixed-race families in Watsonville that he knew growing up. He also describes his father's military service during World War II and his own experience enlisting in the Army during the 1960s. Bobby shares memories of going to cockfights with his father and his experiences in school. Throughout the interview, Bobby expresses that his parents shielded him from experiences of racism and economic hardship as well as his childhood perception of Watsonville as a multicultural community without racial or class divides. Additionally, Bobby discusses his parents and other families in Watsonville who overcame experiences of racism and poverty. In doing so, he articulates beliefs about Filipinos in Watsonville that align with the model minority narrative.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4x7791g5https://escholarship.org/content/qt4x7791g5/qt4x7791g5.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt38d300n92024-09-25T11:09:07Zqt38d300n9Albert "Bert" Thomas Nabor interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsNabor, AlbertSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2021-07-14In this interview, originally recorded in-person at University of California, Santa Cruz, Albert "Bert" Thomas Nabor speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Meleia Simon-Reynolds. Bert discusses his father, Alberto Nabor's background in La Union, Philippines; his migration to Hawai'i where he worked in the sugarcane fields and the pineapple plantations; and his migrant farm work throughout California and Arizona. Bert also speaks about vivid childhood memories of his whole family accompanying Alberto on the migrant trail. Additionally, Bert discusses Alberto's and his own participation in a late 1970s strike at Carl Dobler and Sons in the Pajaro Valley as well as Alberto's experiences as a member of the First Filipino Regiment during World War II. Throughout the interview, Bert reflects on his father's work ethnic and the values he passed on especially in regard to struggles with racism and discrimination. Bert goes on to discuss his father, Alberto Nabor's involvement with Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and the Filipino Catholic Association. He remembers going to dances and community events with his family as a young child. Bert also discusses his father's marriage to Erlinda Aragon, a Mexican American woman from Colorado. Bert reflects on his father's life and the values that he instilled. Finally, he discusses his experience attending UC Santa Cruz in the 1980s and how the school has changed over the yearsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/38d300n9https://escholarship.org/content/qt38d300n9/qt38d300n9.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4rj1t0w42024-09-25T09:36:57Zqt4rj1t0w4Manuel Bersamin interviewed by Dr. Steven McKayBersamin, ManuelMcKay, Steven2021-05-06In this interview, originally recorded on Zoom, Manuel Bersamin speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Dr. Steve McKay. Manuel discusses his father, Eulalio "Max" Bersamin's migration history— including his early life in Bangued, Philippines and his labor migration to Hawai'i and California. He describes Max's over fifty year career as a migrant farm laborer in Central California. Manuel explains how his father married Victoria Quintero, a Mexican woman who he met in Mexicali. After migrating to Watsonville with Max, Victoria helped many other family members immigrate to the US resulting in a large, mixed-race family unit. Manuel discusses his and his families' mixed-race, "mestizo" identity. He also reflects on the manongs' experiences as they endured racism and poor labor conditions. He discusses their leisure activities including gambling, cock fighting, and cooking. Finally, Manuel speaks about his father's disillusionment from the "American Dream" as well as his resilience and resistance. Notably, he discusses Max's passionate involvement in the United Farm Workers (UFW). Throughout the interview, Manuel explains the ways that Max's resistance and union participation influenced his own activism and careers as a Watsonville City Council member (2003-2012), mayor of Watsonville (2006-2007), and currently as a grant program director at Hartnell Community College.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rj1t0w4https://escholarship.org/content/qt4rj1t0w4/qt4rj1t0w4.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt56x6w1jj2024-09-25T09:36:14Zqt56x6w1jjModesto Orlando and Rita Louise Tuzon interviewed by Kathleen "Kat" Cruz GutierrezTuzon, ModestoTuzon, Rita LouiseGutierrez, Kathleen2021-05-16In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon speak with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez. Modesto Orlando and Rita discuss their father, Modesto Tuzon Sr.; his migration to the United States to pursue music education during 1926; his work as a farm laborer in central California; his experiences playing music at Filipino events, small venues, and for his family; and his marriage to their mother, Linda Ardell Craner in 1954. They provide an overview of their mother's family's migration to central California from Idaho and her career as a reading specialist at Hall School in Las Lomas, California. Modesto Orlando and Rita also speak about their extended family and friend network in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley and reflect on their differing experiences growing up mixed-race. Finally, Modesto Orlando discusses interviewing his father about the 1930s Watsonville Race Riots and Fermin Tobera for a paper he wrote as a college student. They go onto discuss their mother, Linda Ardell Tuzon's integration into the Filipino community and culture through food and music as well as her feelings of exclusion from the Filipino community as a white woman. Modesto Orlando and Rita also discuss their father, Modesto Tuzon's band, the genres of music he played, and the Filipino songs they learned to sing as children. Additionally, they speak about Modesto Tuzon's farm labor and the families' exposure to dangerous agricultural pesticides. Finally, they reflect on community silences surrounding the 1930s Watsonville Race Riots; their fathers' and other manongs' opinions of the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement; and undocumented migrants who worked in Pajaro Valley fields alongside Filipinos.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/56x6w1jjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt56x6w1jj/qt56x6w1jj.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt40w9t3c42024-09-25T09:20:22Zqt40w9t3c4Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina interviewed by Meleia Simon-ReynoldsFallorina, DanielSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2022-02-08In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina and his wife Anna Kammer Fallorina speak with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Meleia Simon-Reynolds. Dan discusses his father, Mariano Doctor Fallorina Sr.'s early experiences in the Philippines, his migration to the United States in 1927, and his early farm work in Gonzales, Soledad, and other areas in California. He also details Mariano Sr.'s military service in the First Filipino Regiment as well as his mother, Angelina Nicolas Fallorina's experiences of World War II as a teenager in the Philippines. Dan tells the story of how his parents met while Mariano was on leave during the war and how they both migrated back to the US in 1952. Dan also provides vivid memories of his family's life, labor, and leisure while sharecropping for Reiter Berries and living in labor camps off San Andreas Road in Watsonville. He also discusses moving into town, his parents' jobs—Mariano's continued work for local agricultural companies including Jensen Apples and C&V Farms and Angelina's night shifts at United Foods and Watsonville Canning. Dan shares memories of fun with friends while growing up in Watsonville and the many jobs he had as a teen, including working in strawberry fields. Finally, Dan discusses his career in the tech industry, how he met Anna, and how he learned about the Watsonville race riots late in life.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/40w9t3c4https://escholarship.org/content/qt40w9t3c4/qt40w9t3c4.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4vw1636z2024-09-24T16:30:08Zqt4vw1636zMary Florendo Perry interviewed by Steven McKayFlorendo Perry, MaryMcKay, Steven2021-06-01In this interview conducted in person, Mary Florendo Perry speaks with Dr. Steven McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Perry discusses her family's immigration story from the Philippines and Mexicali. She also discusses their labor working in the agricultural fields and canneries. Perry also talks about her time in college at Vassar College. She also offers memories of her uncle who lived in a camp with other Filipino bachelors. Lastly, she discusses her knowledge of the Watsonville Race Riots.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vw1636zhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4vw1636z/qt4vw1636z.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt18x8k9302024-09-24T12:55:00Zqt18x8k930Mariano "Mario" Tolodro Sulay interviewed by Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz GutierrezSulay, MarianoGutierrez, Kathleen2021-06-18In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Mariano Sulay speaks with Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Sulay recounts his experience growing up in the Pajaro Valley after the 1960s. Sulay recounts memories of his father at the end of his career as an agricultural worker. In addition, he shares memories of his mother's engagement in social clubs such as the Filipino Community and the decline of her involvement later in life. He also discusses his experience growing up as a mixed-race Filipino and learning about the Watsonville Riots later in his life.Farmers -- California -- Santa Cruz CountyPajaro River Valley (Calif.)Migrant agricultural laborers -- CaliforniaMigrant labor -- CaliforniaInterviewsFilipino AmericansOral history -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Archivesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/18x8k930https://escholarship.org/content/qt18x8k930/qt18x8k930.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt95k7z58n2024-09-24T12:34:50Zqt95k7z58nJoanne de los Reyes interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynoldsde los Reyes Hilario, JoanneSimon-Reynolds, Meleia2021-05-05In this interview conducted in person, Joanne de los Reyes Hilario speaks with Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. De los Reyes details her family history arriving in the United States from the Philippines. In particular, she discusses the relationship between the Ibao and de los Reyes family and the history that led up to her adoption. In addition, she discusses the way her parents petitioned their family to come to the United States and how they housed them on their property. She also discusses her mother's participation in various cultural and social clubs including the Filipino Visayans, Filipino Community, and Filipino Women's Club. De los Reyes also discusses her mother's collection of Maria Clara dresses.Farmers -- California -- Santa Cruz CountyPajaro River Valley (Calif.)Migrant agricultural laborers -- CaliforniaMigrant labor -- CaliforniaInterviewsFilipino AmericansOral history -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Archivesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/95k7z58nhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt95k7z58n/qt95k7z58n.pdfnon_textualoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7mt2z0rz2024-09-24T11:53:26Zqt7mt2z0rzDioscoro "Roy" Recio Jr. interviewed by Toby Baylon and Nicholas NasserRecio, Dioscoro, Jr.Baylon, TobyNasser, Nicholas2021-05-01In this interview recorded via Zoom, Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. speaks with Toby Baylon and Nicholas Nasser, two members of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Recio details his experience growing up in Watsonville in the late 1960s and 1970s. In particular, he discusses his experience growing up with a disability in a low-income, working class neighborhood of Watsonville known as Mesa Village. He also discusses his father's immigration history from the Philippines to the United States to pursue work as an agricultural laborer. Recio details his mother's experience as a mixed-race Filipina who grew up in an orphanage. He also details his work as a community organizer in San Francisco working for the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, San Francisco Veterans Equity Center, and the Displaced Airport Screener program. Recio explains how his trajectory led him to founding The Tobera Project and establishing the Watsonville is in the Heart research project with the University of California, Santa Cruz.Farmers -- California -- Santa Cruz CountyPajaro River Valley (Calif.)Migrant agricultural laborers -- CaliforniaMigrant labor -- CaliforniaInterviewsFilipino AmericansOral history -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Archivesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mt2z0rzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7mt2z0rz/qt7mt2z0rz.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt21k6p4rw2024-09-24T09:50:43Zqt21k6p4rw Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz GutierrezSulay Wilson, JuanitaGutierrez, Kathleen2021-05-04In this interview, originally recorded in person, Juanita Sulay Wilson and Alan Wilson speak with Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team, and her father, Hermes Gutierrez. Wilson gives an overview of her family's history settling in the Pajaro Valley and her father's experience working in the fields along the California coast as migrant workers. She details her parents' experience navigating race relations in the Pajaro Valley as a mixed-race couple. Wilson also discusses what it was like growing up in the Pajaro Valley as a mixed-race woman and the desire of her extended family to shelter her and her siblings from the racism they experienced as Filipino agricultural laborers. She also discusses the development of Watsonville alongside the changing Filipino demographics after the 1950s. Joined by her husband, Alan Wilson, they discussed how they met and moved up to San Francisco. Lastly, Wilson discusses her extracurricular activities including hula and archiving her family's personal materials.Farmers -- California -- Santa Cruz CountyPajaro River Valley (Calif.)Migrant agricultural laborers -- CaliforniaMigrant labor -- California InterviewsFilipino AmericansOral history -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Archivesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/21k6p4rwhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt21k6p4rw/qt21k6p4rw.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4kt717w12024-09-20T15:06:54Zqt4kt717w1Antoinette Yvonne DeOcampo Lechtenberg interviewed by Olivia SawiDeOcampo Lechtenberg, Antoinette YvonneSawi, Olivia2024-09-20In this interview, Antoinette Yvonne DeOcampo Lechtenberg speaks with Olivia Sawi, a member of the Watsonville is the Heart project team. Lechtenberg discusses her family background and immigration from the Philippines and Texas to Watsonville and later Aromas. She also discusses her experience growing up in a working-class, mixed-race family. She remembers her father's difficulties navigating the 1965 Delano Grape Strike as a foreman. Lechtenberg also talked about the effects of pesticides on her family's health and her turn towards herbalism and holistic medicine. She details her relationship with food as a product of her father's love for eating.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4kt717w1https://escholarship.org/content/qt4kt717w1/qt4kt717w1.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5kf4j9vh2024-08-09T10:07:06Zqt5kf4j9vhVeronica Hernandez interviewed by Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda GambanHernandez, VeronicaRecio, Dioscoro, Jr.Gamban, Amanda2024-08-09In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Veronica Hernandez speaks with Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio, Jr. and Amanda Gamban who are members of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Hernandez gives a broad overview of her family's immigration history and experience living in the Pajaro Valley as agricultural workers. She discusses her father's immigration from the Philippines to the United States in 1928 and her mother's experience moving from Texas to California. Hernandez details memories of working in agricultural fields with her parents. She also discusses her experience growing up as mixed-race and her encounters with racism. Lastly, she discusses how working in the fields inspired her to pursue a career as an ESL teacher and her employment after leaving the fields in her 20s.InterviewsPajaro River Valley (Calif.)Filipino AmericansOral history -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Archivesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kf4j9vhhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5kf4j9vh/qt5kf4j9vh.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0fv7k27n2024-08-09T10:04:10Zqt0fv7k27nPaul Phillip DeOcampo interviewed by Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz GutierrezDeOcampo, Paul PhillipGutierrez, Kathleen2024-08-09In the first part of this three part interview, Paul Phillip DeOcampo speaks with Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. DeOcampo briefly discusses his father and mother's migration history and their relationship. He briefly recounts a trip he took back to the Philippines at the age of eleven. Lastly, he details his experiences growing up in the small town of Aromas, California, and the racial demographic of his school.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0fv7k27nhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0fv7k27n/qt0fv7k27n.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4772q1qc2024-08-08T14:02:29Zqt4772q1qcEva Alminiana Monroe interviewed by Christina Ayson PlankAlminiana Monroe, EvaAyson Plank, Christina2021-05-01In this interview conducted in person, Eva Alminiana Monroe speaks with Christina Ayson Plank, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Monroe discusses her father's immigration story and the establishment of his barbershop in Watsonville called The Universal Barbershop. She also discusses her father's enlistment in the First Filipino Infantry Regiment and her mother's work as a nurse during World War II in the Philippines where they met. Monroe recalls memories of growing up in Watsonville and the events that her mother organized in association with the Filipino Women's Club. She also discusses her uncle's work in the agricultural fields, experiences with racism, and memories of other manongs in the community.BarbequesBusinessesCourtshipDancesFilipino Women's Club of WatsonvilleFoodLaborLeisureMain StreetManongsMigrationMusiciansOral HistoryParadesRaceRiotsUniversal BarbershoppubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4772q1qcmultimediaoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt75v443mg2022-08-04T10:12:30Zqt75v443mgCynthia Sandberg: Love Apple FarmSandberg, CynthiaRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Cynthia Sandberg is proprietor of Love Apple Farm—an establishment unique among Central Coast small farms in its combination of biodynamic techniques, an exclusive supply relationship with a single high-end restaurant, a focus on heirloom tomatoes, a rich public offering of on-farm classes, and a successful Internet-based marketing strategy.Love Apple occupies two productive acres in Ben Lomond, in Santa Cruz County’s San Lorenzo Valley. Sandberg farms according to the biodynamic principles developed in the 1920s by Rudolph Steiner, and is seeking certification for Love Apple through Demeter USA, the country’s only certifying agent for biodynamic farms. In addition to shunning synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, a certified biodynamic farm must also be managed, according to Demeter’s website, as if it were “a living organism,” minimizing waste and external inputs.As the kitchen garden for upscale Manresa restaurant in nearby Los Gatos (Santa Clara County), Love Apple enjoys a symbiotic business relationship with the two-Michelin-star restaurant and its executive chef-proprietor, David Kinch, who often visits the farm. While Sandberg grows a wide variety of produce for Manresa and for sale in her seasonal on-site farm cart, she specializes in heirloom tomatoes, of which she produces more than 100 varieties. (Locals sometimes refer to her as “The Tomato Lady.”) She sells tomato starts every spring, and teaches popular classes on a wide variety of topics including growing tomatoes from seed, building tomato cages, and gardening in containers. And she has cultivated an effective online marketing strategy centered on her blog/website.Farming is a second career for Sandberg, a former attorney. She unwittingly launched her new life in the early 1990s, when, hoping to improve her rudimentary gardening skills, she enrolled in horticulture classes at Cabrillo, Santa Cruz County’s community college. A few years later, her early-spring gardening preparations proved unexpectedly successful, and she found herself puzzling about what to do with 290 excess tomato seedlings. She arrayed them in the driveway along with a sign and an honor-system money jar—and passersby quickly snapped them up. Thus was born Love Apple Farm.“Love apple” is an old French name for the tomato, historically associated with aphrodisiac qualities. The farm’s name also commemorates Harry Love, a former Texas Ranger who led the attack on Mexican Robin-Hood figure Joaquin Murrieta and his band of outlaws in San Benito County in 1853. Sandberg has been told that the house she inhabits, now surrounded by garden beds and greenhouses, was built with Love’s reward money.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Cynthia Sandberg on the back porch of Sandberg’s Love Apple farmhouse in Ben Lomond, California, on March 9, 2009.Cynthia Sandbergbiodynamic farmingorganic farmingsustainable agriculturewomen farmersheirloom tomatoesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/75v443mghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt75v443mg/qt75v443mg.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7818q87k2022-08-04T10:11:43Zqt7818q87kWendy Krupnick: Pioneering UCSC Farm and Garden Apprentice, Educator, HorticulturalistKrupnick, WendyFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Wendy Krupnick was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1953, and grew up in Crestwood Hills, a progressive, cooperative community in the Santa Monica Mountains. Over the past thirty-five years she has been involved in nearly every aspect of sustainable agriculture. Her oral history, conducted over the telephone by Ellen Farmer on August 15, 2007, provides a broad perspective on the evolution of this movement.Krupnick came to UC Santa Cruz as a transfer student from UC Santa Barbara in 1973 and majored in biology. She volunteered in the Chadwick Garden (under Steve Kaffka) as a student, and then returned in 1976-77 as an apprentice at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden. Later she served as the garden coordinator for the Farallones Institute’s Integral Urban House in Berkeley and the Institute’s Rural Center in Sonoma County. At the same time, she worked with pioneering organic farmer Warren Weber at Star Route Farm in Bolinas, California. Through Weber, Krupnick joined the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and was the first secretary of that organization.Krupnick cultivated farm-restaurant connections in the Bay Area, collaborating with Rosalind Creasy on the book Cooking from the Garden, tending a restaurant garden where she grew produce for Jessie Ziff Cool’s Flea Street Cafe and Late for the Train restaurants on the San Francisco Peninsula, and helping organize the Tasting of Summer Produce festival at the Oakland Museum. Still later, Krupnick managed the trial garden and did outreach and marketing at Shepherd’s Garden Seeds in Felton, California. At the time this interview was conducted, she was coordinating the four-acre educational market garden for the Santa Rosa Junior College Sustainable Agriculture Program.Wendy KrupnickCalifornia Certified Organic FarmersAlan ChadwickUCSC Farm and Gardensustainable agricultureorganic farmingTasting of Summer ProduceShepherd's Garden Seedsfarmers' marketsSanta Rosa Junior College Sustainable Agriculture Programapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7818q87khttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7818q87k/qt7818q87k.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt20b910992022-08-03T12:30:38Zqt20b91099Hayden White: Frontiers of Consciousness at UCSCWhite, HaydenVanderscoff, CameronUCSC Library, Regional History Project2013-02-05Hayden White was born in Martin, Tennessee in 1928. During the Depression he moved with his family to Detroit in search of work, where his father became a union organizer in the automotive world. This urban scene of workers’ struggles to organize in the face of sometimes-violent corporate opposition was a watershed moment in informing White’s political consciousness.After a stint in the military, he used the GI Bill to go to Wayne State University. White went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan. Dr. White spent a full twenty-three years teaching at other institutions before 1978, when he found a fertile space for his interdisciplinary conception of scholarly work as the chair of the University of California Santa Cruz’s History of Consciousness program.In this oral history, White relates that history of consciousness gradually came to occupy a shifting territory that ranged from deep in the artistic side of the humanities well into the social sciences, and served as a haven for people interested in studying unconventional or cutting edge topics that weren’t at home in disciplinary graduate programs. The program actively recruited both gay students and students of color, seeking traditionally devalued perspectives, and ultimately, according to White, had a higher percentage of non-white students than any other humanities doctoral program anywhere. By late 80s and early 90s it was one of the most renowned humanities Ph.D. programs in the country, with an annual acceptance rate of five to six students for three to four hundred applicants. In a field where competing private schools and more well-funded public schools could offer big fellowships, histcon students had little to no fellowship money, but in spite of this fiscal obstacle the program built an international reputation, and had an unusually high rate of post-degree job placement for its students. In these interviews, White candidly charts the personalities and ideas and debates that gave shape and direction to this flagship humanities program, including those perspectives that changed the program—and him personally—in ways he hadn’t anticipated, like feminist studies and cultural studies.In these sessions White discusses not just histcon and UCSC, but illuminates their broader contexts, discussing at length the fiscally slashed state of the humanities, the changing academic scene and wider geopolitical issues. More personally, he reflects on his philosophies on teaching, which he terms “a nobler designation,” and discusses his own writing and the historiographical subject matter that has inspired so much of his work. These interviews provide a vehicle for White to track the relationship of metahistory (the subject of his landmark book of thesame name) to history, and explain his conception of moral relativism and different means of interacting with the past. History of ConsciousnessUniversity of CaliforniaSanta CruzHayden Whiteapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/20b91099https://escholarship.org/content/qt20b91099/qt20b91099.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9g96h7782022-08-03T09:55:40Zqt9g96h778Carter Wilson: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Wilson, CarterReti, Irene H.Lowgren, Andrea2004-04-01Carter Wilson was interviewed on the afternoon of the 14th of March 2002, in his home in Aptos, California. He was a professor of community studies at UCSC from 1972 to 2002.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9g96h778https://escholarship.org/content/qt9g96h778/qt9g96h778.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt95n9b3mj2022-08-03T09:55:04Zqt95n9b3mjTchad Sanger: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Sanger, TchadReti, Irene H.2004-04-01Tchad Sanger was interviewed on February 27, 2002 in the Regional History office at McHenry Library. Tchad was a UCSC student from 1989 to 1993, and a staff member from 1993 to present. He currently works at Stevenson College as an academic adviser. Tchad has been a member of the GLBT Concerns Committee and co-chair of the UCGLBTA. He has been a webmaster for both groups since 1994. He was co-organizer of the UCGLBTA 'Exposed' conference in 1998. Tchad has also been honored by a Mayor's proclamation for his service to the Santa Cruz community.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/95n9b3mjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt95n9b3mj/qt95n9b3mj.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7d59d4f92022-08-03T09:54:24Zqt7d59d4f9Nancy Stoller, Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Stoller, NancyReti, Irene H.2004-04-01While researching colleges in the Orange County Public Library, I stumbled across an essay detailing Nancy Stoller's impact on UC Santa Cruz. I was awestruck by the institutional changes resulting from her tenure lawsuit. After reading the essay, I knew that if UCSC was the changed campus the essay said it was, then UCSC was the campus for me. As my adviser, Nancy assisted in my journey through the community studies major and the writing of my thesis on queer youth in Dallas, Texas. Because of scheduling conflicts, I interviewed Nancy first on January 24, 2002, and again on May 15, 2002. The long break allowed careful consideration on both what to add and what to clarify in the next interview. Both interviews took place in her office at College Eight. For me, the interview shed new light onto someone who is not only a great professor, but also an amazing activist, and an innovator in the LGBTQ movement.--Jesse SilvaNancy Stollerapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d59d4f9https://escholarship.org/content/qt7d59d4f9/qt7d59d4f9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5928586n2022-08-03T09:53:53Zqt5928586nGwendolyn Morgan: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Morgan, GwendolynReti, Irene H.2004-04-01Gwendolyn Morgan came to UCSC as a re-entry student in 1989. She graduated in 1991 with a B.A. in classics. She then worked at campus housing, and afterwards was chosen as one of four multicultural outreach facilitators in affirmative action for one year, and then was appointed coordinator of the Diversity Education Program for staff until 2000. I first met Gwendolyn in the McHenry Library, where I was the women's studies/reference librarian. She and I became friends. We also worked together on many diversity events about women's issues and gay/lesbian issues when she was the coordinator of diversity education. I did this interview on January 5, 2002, at her home in Castro Valley, California, where she lives with her partner Gail, and their dog and bird.'Jacquelyn Marieapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5928586nhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5928586n/qt5928586n.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt38m7b9kr2022-08-03T09:52:13Zqt38m7b9krDeborah Abbott: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, SAnta Cruz, 1965-2003Abbott, DeborahReti, Irene H.Brashear, Regan2004-04-01Deborah Abbott is a writer, health activist, teacher, river guide and current director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at UCSC. Since assuming her position in November of 1997, she has given new shape and direction to the Center. As an American studies major, I was eager to interview Deb Abbott. Deb Abbott to learn more about the queer history of UCSC, as well as about her work within two local feminist health organizations: the Santa Cruz Women's Health Collective and WomenCARE (which she cofounded in 1992). I had read several of Ms. Abbott's essays on pursuing her passion for river rafting, despite her physical disability, and these had deeply resonated with me, as I had been struggling to reconcile my own physical health problems with my dreams for the future. We met at the GLBT Center on the rainy afternoon of February 7, 2002. The Center hums with the richness of the many hours of mental and physical labor'by student volunteers and paid staff'that have gone into creating a place where all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer-identified people and their allies can take refuge. UCSC's reputation for being one of the most 'queer-friendly' campuses in the U.S. is easily understood when one enters the Center. Colorful posters brighten the walls, along with flyers announcing upcoming queer events and numerous lists to get involved with the many, diverse, queer-related groups on campus. An exhibit on GLBT African Americans hangs in the gallery. The enticing library of books and films, and the inviting couches that look out into the redwoods all serve to foster an atmosphere of welcome, creativity, and dynamic engagement.'GayLesbianBisexualTransgendered issues in higher educationUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyGLBT student resource centersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/38m7b9krhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt38m7b9kr/qt38m7b9kr.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2z54d5cb2022-08-03T09:50:33Zqt2z54d5cbAlan Sable: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa CruzSable, AlanReti, Irene H.Espino, Michelle2004-04-01I am graduating from UCSC in the spring of 2002 with a degree in women's studies. Through the course of my studies, my interest in oral history has grown. Alan Sable was a professor at UCSC from 1970 to 1977; he was the first openly gay faculty on campus, and was denied tenure. Alan is now a therapist specializing in queer issues and lifestyles; he runs his practice out of his home in San Francisco. Alan and I first agreed to conduct the interview in my apartment in Santa Cruz. We had a great visit, and ended up having a long conversation where we got to know each other better. Yet, when I went to transcribe, I realized that due to technical problems more than half the interview was not properly recorded. We rescheduled a time to meet, and the second half of this interview was done weeks later in Alan's home in San Francisco. It was interesting to conduct the interview in Santa Cruz and in San Francisco; both locations are very important places in the narrative. The second opportunity to meet gave Alan and me a chance to think about the previous interview and discussion. This provided Alan with more time to re-visit what had happened in the past, and led to a more in'depth discussion about his feelings around his case and experience teaching at UCSC.--Michelle Espinogay professorsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2z54d5cbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2z54d5cb/qt2z54d5cb.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt23p415sf2022-08-03T09:50:20Zqt23p415sfDavid Kirk: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Kirk, DavidReti, Irene H.Della Ratta, Stella2004-04-01I chose to interview Dave Kirk primarily because I believed he possessed a wealth of information waiting to be unleashed, much like how I perceived my own grandfather. I was drawn to the Out in the Redwoods project in spite of my heterosexuality, because I felt, as a Latina woman, the repressed voice and struggles experienced by gay persons which I have witnessed firsthand. I wanted, as an undergraduate anthropology major, to contribute to the historical and present understandings of gays in the community, more specifically, my community at UCSC and in Santa Cruz. Having only lived in California for three years and migrating from the South, I strongly believe that the discursive and pervasive stereotypes surrounding gays are harmful to everyone in society. David has dedicated a large portion of his life to help counteract those stereotypes, and even now in his retirement he is a lifelong contributor supporting gay rights. Dave and I interviewed on the sunny Valentine's Day of 2002 in the parlor of his home warmed by a gas fireplace, and sliding glass doors allowing a peering into the outdoors. I remember the birds jubilantly chirping outside and an overwhelming sense of welcome and peace.gay menUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/23p415sfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt23p415sf/qt23p415sf.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5x2442k12022-08-03T09:43:50Zqt5x2442k1Alison Kim: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Kim, AlisonReti, Irene H.Marie, Jacquelyn2004-04-01Alison Kim, a Chinese-Korean lesbian, graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Women's Studies/Art in 1989. As the women's studies librarian at McHenry Library, UCSC, I met and worked with Alison on her research about Pacific/Asian lesbians. I recommended she submit her essay to the library's Book Collection contest; she won second place. In 1987, she edited and published an anthology of Asian/Pacific Islander lesbians' writings entitled, Between the Lines, which included an early version of her bibliography. In the same year, with a UCSC Chancellor's Undergraduate Fellowship, she traveled across the United States gathering Asian/Pacific Islander lesbian newsletters, writings, and other memorabilia. The entire collection, with her finding aid and bibliography was donated to the University Library in 2001. Alison now resides in San Francisco with her partner, Christiane, and their twins. She is, in her words, a 'double virgo, proud mama, and always a UC Slug.' This oral history was conducted December 20, 2001 at Alison Kim's home.Asian American lesbiansAsian Pacific lesbiansapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5x2442k1https://escholarship.org/content/qt5x2442k1/qt5x2442k1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5m73r0qn2022-08-03T09:43:18Zqt5m73r0qnDavid Thomas: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Thomas, DavidReti, Irene H.2004-04-01David Thomas was interviewed on November 8, 2001 at the Regional History office in McHenry Library. Thomas was a professor of politics at UCSC from 1966 to 1999. He taught Sexual Politics: Gay Politics , the first regular gay course taught by a faculty member at UCSC, and one of the first in the United States.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5m73r0qnhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5m73r0qn/qt5m73r0qn.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4vg303m62022-08-03T09:41:33Zqt4vg303m6William Shipley: Out in the Redwoods, Documeting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Shipley, WilliamReti, Irene H.2004-04-01William Shipley was interviewed on September 25, 2001 at his home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At age eighty, he was the oldest person interviewed for the Out in the Redwoods project, and his experience of gay life extends back to the 1930s.Shipley was a professor of linguistics at UCSC from 1966 to 1991. He was a student of Alfred Kroeber's at UC Berkeley and is well known for his pioneering work with the Mountain Maidu Indians of California.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vg303m6https://escholarship.org/content/qt4vg303m6/qt4vg303m6.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4hr367502022-08-03T09:41:00Zqt4hr36750Wendy Chapkis: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Chapkis, WendyReti, Irene H.Bennett, Elizabeth2004-04-01Wendy Chapkis was an undergraduate at UCSC from 1973 to 1977, a graduate student in sociology from 1985 to 1995, and lecturer in women's studies, politics and other departments. She was a co-founder of the Bulkhead Gallery, and is a queer activist and writer. Her book Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance was published by South End Press in 1986, and Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor by Routledge in 1997. She is currently a professor of women's studies at the University of Southern Maine.GayLesbianBisexualTransgender studieshigher educationUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruzhistoryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4hr36750https://escholarship.org/content/qt4hr36750/qt4hr36750.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt45z3r2cg2022-08-03T09:40:19Zqt45z3r2cgScott Brookie: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa CruzBrookie, ScottReti, Irene H.Letellier, Patrick2004-04-01Scott Brookie was interviewed on August 27, 2002 at UCSC, at Scotty's Santa Cruz home. Scotty and I sat at his kitchen table, drank apple juice and talked for a couple hours. It was a relaxed and, at times, quite entertaining interview. Despite working on the same campus for a year, I didn't know Scotty prior to interviewing him. I had worked for the past year as the Program Coordinator at UCSC's GLBT Center, but our paths had not crossed. Before coming to UCSC, I worked as a freelance writer, a counselor, and an interviewer on AIDS studies, so I was comfortable turning on a tape recorder and asking him lots of questions. Scotty seemed to enjoy the process as well. He was generous with his time and his work: I left that night with an armload of Lavender Readers that he retrieved from a back closet. They are a treasure I have since passed on to the GLBT CenterGaylesbianbisexualtransgendered studieshigher educationUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/45z3r2cghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt45z3r2cg/qt45z3r2cg.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3p09d8pv2022-08-03T09:39:45Zqt3p09d8pvRobert Imada: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered History at the University of California, Santa CruzImada, RobertReti, Irene H.2004-04-01Robert Imada was interviewed on March 18, 2002 in the Regional History office at McHenry Library. Imada was a student from 1998 to 2002. He was a organizer for Queers of Color and the GLBT Network, as well as a Queer CUIP [Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program] intern. He was a recipient of a Queer Youth Leadership Award in 2000. He was a co-chair of the UCGLBTA and a member of the GLBT Campus Concerns Committee. Imada is a workshop leader, activist, and writer. He is also a color guard dancer.GayLesbianBisexualTransgendered studieshigher educationUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3p09d8pvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3p09d8pv/qt3p09d8pv.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3289v4jt2022-08-03T09:39:06Zqt3289v4jtJohn Laird: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Laird, JohnReti, Irene H.2004-04-01John Laird came to UCSC in 1968, and graduated in 1972. In 1983, Laird was elected mayor of Santa Cruz, and became the first openly gay mayor in the United States. He was also a founding member of the Santa Cruz AIDS Project (SCAP). In 2002, Laird was elected to the California State Legislature as one of two of the first openly gay men to be elected to the Assembly. Laird was interviewed on September 13, 2001 in his office at the Santa Cruz County building. The timing of this interview was significant because it took place two days after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.gay legislatorsgay politiciansapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3289v4jthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3289v4jt/qt3289v4jt.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt311893v22022-08-03T09:34:26Zqt311893v2Ekua Omosupe: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Omosupe, EkuaReti, Irene H.2004-04-01Ekua Omosupe was interviewed on February 22, 2002 in Santa Cruz, California. She was a graduate student in literature at UCSC from 1985 to 1997, and received her Ph.D. in literature. She has been a faculty member in the English department at Cabrillo Community College since 1992. Ekua's poems and essays are published in various journals and anthologies. Her first book of poetry, Legacy, was published by Talking Circles Press.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/311893v2https://escholarship.org/content/qt311893v2/qt311893v2.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2kk2t10g2022-08-03T09:33:17Zqt2kk2t10gZiesel Saunders: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Saunders, ZieselReti, Irene H.Chazan, Alana2004-04-01On February 22, 2002 I interviewed Ziesel Saunders at her home in Santa Cruz, California. I had never met Ziesel, and I had only briefly corresponded with her by email and telephone. Given that I identify as a feminist, an activist, a Jew, and as queer or a dyke, I felt that Ziesel and I shared some basic characteristics. Yet because each of these identities is so broad and fluid, and there is a generation gap between Ziesel and me, I did not expect us to be extremely similar in our outlooks on the world either. While in many respects my premonition was correct, during the interview I was also struck by how many things have not changed.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2kk2t10ghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2kk2t10g/qt2kk2t10g.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1q86c6zb2022-08-03T09:02:45Zqt1q86c6zbRahne Alexander: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Alexander, RahneColliau, ErinReti, Irene H.2004-04-01Rahne Alexander was interviewed on February 11, 2002 and February 25, 2002 in Santa Cruz, California. Erin is a theorist and activist dedicated to transgender, feminist, anti-racist and anti-classist issues, and a personal friend of Rahne Alexander's. Rahne has been a student, activist, and workshop leader at UCSC and in Santa Cruz since the mid- to late-1990s. She is a tranny femme, MTF [Male to Female] activist.transgender identityapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1q86c6zbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt1q86c6zb/qt1q86c6zb.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1jc1w0nw2022-08-03T09:02:02Zqt1jc1w0nwJean-Marie Scott: Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Scott, Jean-MarieChase, Valerie J.Reti, Irene H.2004-04-01Jean-Marie Scott has been an administrator at UCSC since 1993. In 2000, Scott became the Associate Vice Chancellor for Housing, Dining and Child Care Services, making her the highest-ranking out lesbian administrator at UCSC. She was interviewed on August 30, 2002 in her office at UCSCapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1jc1w0nwhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt1jc1w0nw/qt1jc1w0nw.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5495w3cp2022-08-02T15:33:35Zqt5495w3cpHeidi Skolnik: Pioneering Apprentice, UCSC Farm and GardenSkolnik, HeidiFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Heidi Skolnik grew up in California and graduated from Santa Cruz High School. At age nineteen, she volunteered at the Chadwick Garden on the UC Santa Cruz campus, working with Alan Chadwick and Steve Kaffka in the very early 1970s. Her memories of the Garden, as well as of the neighborhood buying co-ops, buying clubs, and natural food stores of that time, are detailed, conjuring up the early history of organic foods distribution. When the Student Garden Project expanded to include a farm at the base of campus (on the great meadow), Skolnik and a group of students and non-students who called themselves “The Home Farmers” lived in teepees on the Farm. In this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer at Skolnik’s home on the San Francisco Peninsula on May 17, 2007, she shares her recollections of these early years of the Farm and the Garden, as well as her time with Santa Cruz Trucking, a wholesale organic food distribution company associated with the natural foods collective Community Foods.Later, Skolnik trained as a health psychologist. She believes there is a strong connection between access to healthy food and the health of individuals and communities, thus connecting her years in the garden and trucking around organic food with her current career.Heidi SkolnikAlan Chadwickorganic farmingsustainable agriculturenatural foods industryCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5495w3cphttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5495w3cp/qt5495w3cp.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt64h5802x2022-08-02T15:22:47Zqt64h5802xBob Scowcroft: Executive Director, Organic Farming Research FoundationScowcroft, BobReti, Irene H.2010-05-01If we had to choose one individual who most inspired us to undertake this historical project about sustainable agriculture, it would be Bob Scowcroft, currently the executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. In 2005, as we were beginning to explore the roots of this movement, we came across the transcript of a speech that Scowcroft had recently made at the Ecological Farming Conference (Eco-Farm). Scowcroft challenged the audience:One can’t focus on the future until one has a solid grasp of the past. One of our collective failures has been the lack of attention paid to our written and oral history. Only two or three of the participants in the “Asilomar Declaration” [a statement in support of sustainable agriculture that was drafted at a three-day congress immediately before the 1990 Eco-Farm Conference and ratified by the 800 individuals who attended that conference] discussion are here today. Several have passed away. Others have left the sustainable-agriculture universe. Who has collected their papers? Where is the Center for Organic [Farming] History Research? Who is collecting the oral histories of these and many other important attendees?Who is Bob Scowcroft? we wondered, and the rest is history, or rather the documentation of history.An activist, Bob Scowcroft first joined the environmental movement to work on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in the early 1970s, and later became a national organizer on pesticide issues for Friends of the Earth (FOE). As organizer for FOE, he set up a table at the Natural Foods Merchandiser Trade Show, advocating a ban on Agent Orange because of the drift of that herbicide onto nearby farms. Barney Bricmont (also the subject of an oral history in this series) and two other organizers from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) paid a visit to his table, and introduced Scowcroft to the organic farming movement. Scowcroft soon became the first professional environmentalist to attend and present at the Ecological Farming conference, then held at a muddy church camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains.Scowcroft moved from the Bay Area to Santa Cruz, and in 1987 was hired as executive director for CCOF. He led that organization through tremendous expansion during the exponential growth of the organic industry over the next few years. In 1992, Scowcroft left CCOF to found and direct a spin-off organization, the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), whose goals are to “sponsor research related to organic farming practices, to disseminate research results to organic farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production systems, and to educate the public and decision-makers about organic farming issues.” He has served as executive director of OFRF for the past seventeen years.In 2006, the Ecological Farming Association awarded Scowcroft the prestigious “Sustie” award for lifetime achievements in sustainable agriculture. He has been engaged in nearly every political development in the national organic and sustainable agriculture movement in the past twenty years—from the controversy over the contamination of apples with the pesticide Alar in the late 1980s, to the fight to pass the California Organic Foods Act of 1990, to battles over federal standards for organic certification in the 1990s, to recent lobbying efforts to secure more funding for organic farming research in the Farm Bill. This in-depth oral history with Scowcroft, conducted by Irene Reti on December 18, 2007, and January 11, 2008, at her house in Capitola, California, provides a vivid, “in-the-trenches” perspective on the history of this social movement that is transforming the agricultural and cultural landscape of the United States.Bob ScowcroftOrganic Farming Research FoundationCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureorganic farming policyfarm billnatural foods industryFriends of the EarthPesticide Action Networkapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/64h5802xhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt64h5802x/qt64h5802x.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3j2694282022-08-02T15:20:27Zqt3j269428Jim Rider: Bruce Rider & SonsRider, JimRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01As a grower and shipper of organic fresh market apples in Santa Cruz County’s Pajaro Valley, Bruce Rider & Sons is currently a rarity. Pressured by the apple industry’s shifting economics of scale, many of the valley’s formerly abundant orchards have given way to berry fields; others now supply apples only for juicing and processing. Jim Rider grows seventy-five acres of Mcintosh, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, Fuji, and other varieties well suited to the local climate, while his brother Dick runs the company’s packing operation, handling some seventy-five percent of the organic apples in California.A fifth-generation orchardist and experienced horticulturalist, Jim Rider enjoys a reputation as a savvy, innovative grower. He is an adept and enthusiastic grafter, and has made strategic selections to produce a succession of varieties that ripen on the Central Coast when customers in other climates crave them. He saves on labor and equipment by growing on rootstock that yields smaller trees and by keeping the orchards pruned to a maximum of seven or eight feet tall, averting the need for ladders during pruning, thinning, harvesting, and other operations.Accustomed to making frequent proactive adjustments to ever-changing market and environmental conditions, Rider converted all of his orchards to organic production in the wake of the public awareness over the spraying of Alar on apples in 1989. Rider collaborated with UCSC entomologist Sean Swezey in ten years of organic field research trials; together they pioneered a pheromone-based mating-disruption system to control codling moth infestation. He has also experimented with hedgerows as a method of enhancing biological pest control.In this interview, conducted by Sarah Rabkin on March 6, 2008, at Jim Rider’s Watsonville office, he discussed apple production in the Pajaro Valley, his conversion to organic production, the changing markets for organic apples, his orchard management techniques, the flower business he and his wife ran until recently, and other aspects of his operation.Jim Riderorganic apple growingorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3j269428https://escholarship.org/content/qt3j269428/qt3j269428.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9nj9r5xx2022-08-02T15:19:51Zqt9nj9r5xxMaría Luz Reyes and Florentino Collazo: La Milpa Organic FarmReyes, María LuzCollazo, FlorentinoRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01María Luz Reyes and her husband, Florentino Collazo, run La Milpa Organic Farm on land they lease from the Agriculture & Land Based Training Association (ALBA) near Salinas, California. They grow 5.5 acres of mixed vegetable crops that they sell at farmers’ markets in the Salinas, Monterey Bay, and San Francisco Bay areas.Collazo was born in 1963 in the municipality of Purísima del Rincón, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. He studied agricultural engineering at the college level in Mexico. Reyes was born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in 1965. Due to difficult economic times in Mexico, they decided to immigrate to the United States under the Amnesty Law of 1985. Collazo worked harvesting and packaging lettuce in Yuma, Arizona, and in the Salinas and Imperial Valleys of California. Reyes worked off and on at an asparagus packing facility. Eventually Collazo enrolled in a six-month course at the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association known as the Programa Educativo para Pequeños Agricultores, or PEPA, in 1995. In 2003, Reyes also enrolled in that program. After graduating, Collazo worked for eight years as the field educator/farm manager for ALBA, and Reyes continued to farm on land she leased from ALBA.Collazo left ALBA to farm full time with Reyes on ten acres of land they purchased together in southern Monterey County. They have run La Milpa Organic Farm for the past six years and are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. The financing to purchase their land in South Monterey County came through the help of an Individual Development Account organized by California FarmLink and a beginning-farmer farm loan through the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Reyes and Collazo also continue to farm 5.5 acres of land they rent from ALBA.On their farm—named La Milpa in tribute to traditional MesoAmerican methods of growing many diverse crops closely together—Reyes and Collazo cultivate over thirty crops, including fifteen varieties of heirloom tomatoes; seven varieties of squash; two varieties of cucumber; two varieties of beets; cilantro; two varieties of onions; rainbow chard; celery; four varieties of chili peppers; fennel; purple cauliflower; broccoli; romaine; strawberries; raspberries; golden berries; green peppers; corn; onions; basil; carrots, and green beans.Collazo and Reyes have raised three sons; one is studying chemical engineering at UC Santa Cruz and another is studying microbiology at UC Berkeley. They both help with sales at La Milpa. Their youngest son is in fourth grade.Collazo and Reyes have a deep respect for the land that they farm and take pleasure in the crops that they produce. Collazo said, “I love to work the land. I don’t like using gloves, because . . . it’s like taking a shower with an umbrella, you understand, putting an umbrella over yourself when you wash. When I want to work, I want to feel the earth. When I pull the weeds, I want to feel my fingers penetrating the soil, feel that I’m pulling them up, that I’m doing it myself. My hands and my mind are linked. I really love to look around, walk up and down observing, surveying it all and saying, ‘Wow.’ That’s what fulfills me. When I’m at the farmers’ market, when people are arriving, reaching for the produce, and then later passing by, I feel like my self-esteem really rises. . . . But when you arrive over there and they tell you, ‘These are the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted, I’m going to take them’ — that is, they flatter you, ah, it makes you feel a light in your soul, you know?” Reyes added, “Like yesterday, when they had that festival and all of these people came out to buy, a man said to me, ‘I’ve never touched the sky, but with these strawberries I just did.’ So, how do you think that made me feel?”This oral history was conducted in Spanish at La Milpa Farm on July 26, 2009, by Rebecca Thistlethwaite. Thistlethwaite, Collazo, and Reyes know each other from Thistlethwaite’s work as program director for the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association. The interview was transcribed and sent to Collazo and Reyes for their edits and approval. Then it was translated into English. The transcript appears here first in English, and then in the original Spanish.María Luz ReyesFlorentino CollazoLatino farmersminority farmerswomen farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureAgriculture and Land-Based Training Associationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9nj9r5xxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9nj9r5xx/qt9nj9r5xx.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0kv9d59x2022-08-02T15:18:07Zqt0kv9d59xRebecca Thistlethwaite: TLC Ranch and the Agriculture & Land-Based Training AssociationThistlethwaite, RebeccaRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01With her husband, Jim Dunlop, Rebecca Thistlethwaite runs TLC Ranch on 20 rented acres in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County. The initials stood for “Tastes Like Chicken” until the ranch stopped raising meat chickens; now, in keeping with TLC’s social and environmental philosophy, it’s “Tender Loving Care.” TLC currently raises pork, lamb, and certified organic eggs—more than 200 dozen per day, from more than 3,000 pastured chickens.Thistlethwaite and Dunlop emphasize scrupulous “beyond-organic” animal husbandry and resource stewardship. They sell pasture-raised meat and eggs to local restaurants and at farmers’ markets in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Santa Clara Counties. TLC eggs are also available through several CSA programs and at a variety of grocery stores and other retail produce outlets in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas.In addition to the family business, Thistlethwaite has worked with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) as Director of Programs and as manager of the organization’s Rural Development Center and Farm Training & Research Center. Since the time of this interview, she has taken a research position with UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. And she opines regularly about farming, food, and social justice on her blog, HonestMeat.com.Thistlethwaite grew up on the fringe of a Portland, Oregon, suburb, with a love of the outdoors and an interest in environmental issues. She majored in natural resources management at Colorado State University, with a semester abroad in Belize studying ecology, biology, and sustainable agriculture. While working as a ranger in Idaho’s Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, she sampled organic produce proffered by a backpacker. That taste lured Thistlethwaite into an apprenticeship with the farmer who produced it: Mary Jane Butters, of Paradise Farms—a former wilderness ranger herself.Other farm apprenticeships followed, and then a master’s degree in international agriculture and development at UC Davis. After graduate school, Thistlethwaite worked and studied in Guatemala and Honduras, pursuing interests in tropical agriculture and biodiversity, eventually returning to the U.S. to work for ALBA. After she and Dunlop met at a California Small Farm Conference in 2002, they founded TLC Ranch.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Rebecca Thistlethwaite on July 15, 2008, at Thistlethwaite and Dunlop’s home in Aromas, California.Rebecca ThistlethwaiteAgriculture and Land-Based Training AssociationLatino farmersminority farmersorganic farmingsustainable agriculturesustainable meat productionapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kv9d59xhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0kv9d59x/qt0kv9d59x.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9ds5h7m62022-08-02T15:15:12Zqt9ds5h7m6Richard Merrill: Writer and EducatorMerrill, RichardFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Richard Merrill is perhaps best known for editing the 1976 anthology Radical Agriculture, a formative text in the sustainable agriculture movement, along with the 1978 Energy Primer: Solar, Water, Wind, and Biofuels. Merrill was born in San Mateo, California, in 1941, and earned his MS in population biology at UCLA, studying with ecologist Monte Lloyd just as the modern ecology movement gathered power. He went on to study ecology at the Ph.D. level with another eminent ecologist, Joe Connell, at UC Santa Barbara, but left the academy to dedicate his life to the community-based teaching and activism that he considered more relevant during that time of tumultuous social change. He was profoundly inspired by the writings of the anarchist social ecologist Murray Bookchin.Merrill helped start the El Mirasol urban organic farm in Santa Barbara, California. In 1975, he founded the Environmental Horticulture Department at Cabrillo College, which he directed until retiring in 2005. While at Cabrillo, Merrill mentored and inspired several generations of students, who went on to become organic farmers, gardeners, and activists in the Central Coast region and beyond.Currently Merrill runs his own environmental consulting service, Merrill Associates. He recently co-authored (with Joe Ortiz) The Gardener’s Table: A Guide to Natural Vegetable Growing and Cooking. He is now editing an anthology called The Greening of Agriculture: Creating a More Sustainable Future for our Food and Farms. Merrill spoke at The Organic Summit conference’s plenary session in Washington state in 2009.Ellen Farmer conducted this oral history with Richard Merrill at her house in Santa Cruz, California, on April 18 and June 20, 2007.Richard MerrillCabrillo Collegeorganic farmingsustainable agriculturehorticultural educationrenewable energyoral historyorganic gardeningapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9ds5h7m6https://escholarship.org/content/qt9ds5h7m6/qt9ds5h7m6.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9z85w67s2022-08-02T15:12:08Zqt9z85w67sGodfrey Kasozi, Former Apprentice, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food SystemsKasozi, GodfreyFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Godfrey Kasozi was born in 1970 in Karusandara, a small village in Uganda. He lives in the town of Kasese in western Uganda, just outside of Rwenzori Mountains National Park. He studied agriculture at a university in Uganda. In 1997, he founded the Centre for Environmental Technology and Rural Development (CETRUD) in western Uganda, which is working to create a more sustainable economy and environment within the country. In search of practical training in organic farming methods that he could use at CETRUD, Kasozi came to UC Santa Cruz in 1999 as an apprentice with the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems program. There he received valuable skills, returning to Uganda to establish a demonstration garden, and training programs in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, seed distribution, animal husbandry, and the use of traditional herbs and medicinal plants. Ellen Farmer interviewed Kasozi at her house in Santa Cruz, California on July 30, 2007, when he was in Santa Cruz speaking at the 40th anniversary (“Back 40”) celebration for CASFS.Godfrey KasoziCentre for Environmental Technology and Rural Development (CETRUD)Ugandasustainable agricultureorganic farmingoral historyCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9z85w67shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9z85w67s/qt9z85w67s.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9s51x2k82022-08-02T15:11:11Zqt9s51x2k8Beth Benjamin: HorticulturalistBenjamin, BethRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Arriving at UC Santa Cruz in the fall of 1967 for her first year of college, Beth Benjamin was immediately drawn to the colorful beds blooming on a hillside below Merrill College. By springtime, she had joined the core group of young people working in this new campus garden under master horticulturalist Alan Chadwick. One of very few women to enjoy Chadwick’s steady mentorship during this period, Benjamin eventually arranged for a leave of absence from the university to devote herself to the garden—a hiatus that became permanent when her passion for the project overtook her interest in formal schooling.Benjamin married another Chadwick protégé, Jim Nelson; in the early 1970s, the two of them moved to four sunny acres in Santa Cruz County’s San Lorenzo Valley in order to build their own blooming Eden. Still thriving in 2009 as a non-profit educational organization, Camp Joy Gardens offers, according to its mission statement, “a model for an alternative future, a trial ground to experiment with, develop and practice organic techniques and explore related philosophies and ideas.” Camp Joy sponsors farm apprenticeships, educational offerings for children and adults, and a community supported agriculture program. Locals flock to the Gardens’ annual spring plant sale and its fall harvest celebration, which features dried-flower wreaths, varietal honeys, and other Camp Joy bounty.Eventually, Benjamin and Nelson amicably went their separate ways. Since then, Benjamin has worked a number of jobs, including several years with Renee Shepherd’s garden seed company. Although she has not lived at Camp Joy in more than two decades, she remains actively connected to the enterprise. She also volunteers with the Friends of the [UCSC] Farm and Garden—sustaining the legacy she helped create more than forty years ago.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Beth Benjamin at Rabkin’s home in Soquel, California, on June 30, 2009.Beth BenjaminCamp Joy Gardensoral historyAlan Chadwickorganic farming--Californiasustainable agriculture--CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz--historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s51x2k8https://escholarship.org/content/qt9s51x2k8/qt9s51x2k8.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt99x871662022-08-02T15:07:56Zqt99x87166Stephen Kaffka: Pioneering UCSC Farm and Garden Manager, AgronomistKaffka, StephenFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Stephen (Steve) Kaffka came to UC Santa Cruz as a philosophy student in 1967 and began volunteering in Alan Chadwick’s Student Garden Project in the same year. He worked side-by-side with Alan Chadwick and eventually became the student president of the Garden in 1968. In this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer at her house in Santa Cruz, California on August 31, 2007, Kaffka shares his recollections of Alan Chadwick and the Garden in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the period after Chadwick left, when Kaffka managed the Farm and Garden and formalized the apprentice program through University of California Santa Cruz Extension.Although Alan Chadwick was deeply troubled by the specialization and fragmentation of scientific practice within the academy, paradoxically, Kaffka, perhaps Chadwick’s closest apprentice at UCSC, ended up with a distinguished career as a research agronomist. After he left UC Santa Cruz in 1977, Kaffka earned his Ph.D. in agronomy from Cornell University, and now directs UC Davis’s Center for Integrated Farming Systems. He is also director of the California Biomass Collaborative and extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. He chairs the BioEnergy Work Group for the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and participates on several advisory committees for the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board. Kaffka conducts research on water quality and agriculture in the Upper Klamath Basin, and the reuse of saline drainage water for crop, forage, energy biomass feedstocks and livestock production in salt-affected areas of the San Joaquin Valley. He has M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University in agronomy and a B.S. from UC Santa Cruz in biology. In May, 2008, Kaffka was the subject of an NPR documentary, “Are Organic Tomatoes Better?” which featured his research comparing the nutritious value of organic versus conventionally grown tomatoes.Stephen KaffkaAlan ChadwickCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food SystemsUC Santa Cruzsustainable agricultureorganic farmingoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/99x87166https://escholarship.org/content/qt99x87166/qt99x87166.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt98z5t9df2022-08-02T15:07:03Zqt98z5t9dfAmigo Bob Cantisano: Organic Farming Advisor, Founder, Ecological Farming ConferenceCantisano, Amigo BobRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01One of the most widely experienced and influential figures in California organic agriculture, Amigo Bob Cantisano is perhaps best known as the founding organizer of the annual Ecological Farming Conference, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in January 2010 and is the largest sustainable- agriculture gathering in the Western United States. Recognized among conference-goers for his adept leadership of Eco-Farm’s popular bus tour of Central Coast organic farms—and for sporting trademark shorts and sandals no matter what the weather—Amigo (a high-school girlfriend gave him the nickname) has been involved with diverse aspects of organic foods and farming since the late 1960s. In 1990 he and his wife Kalita Todd received the Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture (Sustie) award from the Ecological Farming Association.Cantisano is a ninth-generation Californian, directly descended from a lieutenant in the 1775-76 Juan Bautista de Anza expedition, which created the first land route between New Spain and Alta California. He began gardening in earnest while living on communes in Northern California. He had a stint as dishwasher and prep cook at an early San Francisco vegetarian café (Good Karma) and as an employee of the city’s first natural foods emporium (New Age)—both owned by Fred Rohé, whom Cantisano calls “the founder of the whole natural foods movement.” These experiences, plus exposure to Rodale Press’s Organic Gardening magazine and a speaker’s warnings about chemical pesticides at San Francisco’s first Earth Day celebration, clinched Cantisano’s early interest in organic food.While living on the shores of Lake Tahoe in the early 1970s, Cantisano and some friends started a natural foods buying club. This evolved into a wholesale distribution company and retail storefront, eventually introducing him to many organic growers and producers in California and beyond. He was involved in early efforts to certify organic farms and products, helping to found California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), and he collaborated in the production of an early organic-products trade journal.Cantisano has also worked as an organic farmer, growing a variety of crops over the years in a succession of California locations. His search for a reliable source of organic inputs led him to found a farm supply company, Peaceful Valley, which grew at an astonishing pace and currently operates under different owners in Grass Valley, California. His desire for better communication among organic growers in California prompted him to organize a 1981 gathering—featuring a talk by pioneering beneficial-insect purveyor Everett “Deke” Dietrick—that evolved into EcoFarm (whose organizers have recently dropped the hyphen in their moniker.). Cantisano established the first organic agriculture advising business in the country, and served for many years as the only independent organic farming advisor on the West Coast. Operating for more than two decades now as Organic Ag Advisors, he has consulted with hundreds of small and large growers of fruits, vegetables, wine grapes, grains, and other crops—advising both organic farmers and those making the transition from conventional farming.A lively narrator with vivid recollections of many significant chapters and characters in the history of California organic culture and agriculture, Amigo Bob Cantisano has countless stories to tell. Sarah Rabkin interviewed him on April 7th and 9th, 2008, in the farmhouse kitchen of his Heaven and Earth Farm, located on the San Juan Ridge in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, north of Nevada City.Amigo Bob Cantisanoorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyEcological Farming AssociationCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/98z5t9dfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt98z5t9df/qt98z5t9df.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt96m038xf2022-08-02T15:05:48Zqt96m038xfJim Leap: Farm Manager, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food SystemsLeap, JimRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Since 1990, Jim Leap has managed the 25-acre farm at UC Santa Cruz—designing crop systems, overseeing production, purchasing and maintaining equipment, teaching apprentices, supervising staff, coordinating field research, helping write training manuals, and educating students and visitors about the farm. In March, 2009, he was recognized with the UC Small Farm Program’s Pedro Ilic Award for Outstanding Educator. The honor is named for an influential Fresno County small-farm advisor who was an important mentor to Leap.With California family roots reaching back to the 1850s, Leap grew up in California’s Central Valley. His father, an independent insurance agent and anti-racism activist, wrote policies for the United Farm Workers at a time when other insurers refused the organization’s business. Growing up in the 1960s, the young Leap was exposed to UFW grape boycotts, Teatro Campesino productions, and other activities connected with the farm worker movement. As a teenager, he harvested grapes in 110-degree heat—straining to keep pace with his fellow workers, and learning firsthand about the human costs of large-scale, profit-first farm practices.After graduating from Fresno High in 1973, frustrated by the circuitous and drawn-out aspects of political activism, Leap sought to challenge the agribusiness status quo in a more direct, hands-on way. He ended up founding a successful small farming operation of his own, where he emphasized sustainable methods, drawing inspiration and guidance from innovative Central Valley growers. He also worked as crop production manager for a federally funded program that trained Native American farmers, a position that enabled him to run field trials for novel production techniques.At thirty, Leap returned to school, completing an agricultural science degree at Fresno State while maintaining his farm, and graduating with honors in five years. He envisioned continuing on to a master’s degree and eventually becoming a farm advisor. Instead, at a friend’s urging, he applied for the operations-manager position at the UCSC Farm, and was offered the job, which has been more than a full-time occupation ever since. Sarah Rabkin interviewed Jim Leap in the Regional History Project offices at McHenry Library, UCSC, on June 9, 2008.Jim LeapCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsorganic farmingsustainable agricultureUnited Farm Workersoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/96m038xfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt96m038xf/qt96m038xf.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9304v6r82022-08-02T15:05:01Zqt9304v6r8Mark Lipson: Senior Analyst and Program Director, Organic Farming Research FoundationLipson, MarkRabkin, Sarah2015-04-15Mark Lipson is senior analyst and policy program director for the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). In these interviews, conducted by Ellen Farmer at Molino Creek Farm on June 5, August 25, and December 21, 2007, Lipson describes his long and productive career working on behalf of organic farming policy at the state and federal levels.As an environmental studies major at UC Santa Cruz in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lipson focused on planning and public policy, addressing issues such as offshore oil drilling on the California coast. While he was a student, he helped found a student housing co-op, and served as president of Our Neighborhood Food Co-op, a natural foods store that eventually morphed into New Leaf Community Market. After graduation, this involvement with the co-op movement inspired Lipson to help organize Molino Creek, a co-operative farming community located in the hills above the ocean near Davenport, California. Molino Creek pioneered the growing of flavorful, dry-farmed tomatoes (grown without irrigation).Seeking organic certification for Molino Creek, Lipson began attending meetings of the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). He soon became CCOF’s first paid staff member, working there from 1985 to 1992, steering the organization through the establishment of a statewide office as well as several key historical events that awakened the American public’s interest in organic food. The Organic Center calls Lipson “the primary midwife” of the California Organic Foods Act (COFA) of 1990, sponsored by then-State Assemblymember Sam Farr. Recalling his work with Lipson on COFA, Sam Farr remarked (in his oral history in this series), “I tell the world that the organic movement started in California, in Santa Cruz County, and the guru of that is Mark [Lipson].”Over the past two decades with OFRF (an organization which he helped to found), Lipson shepherded several historic changes in agricultural funding through Congress, such as a 2008 Farm Bill that secures a five-fold increase in government funding for organic research (though this still represents only one percent of the USDA’s research budget). He is perhaps best known as the author of the 1997 study Searching for the ‘O-Word’, which documented the absence of publicly funded organic research at a critical political moment in the trajectory of the organic farming movement.Lipson chaired the California Organic Foods Advisory Board from 1991 to 1998. In 1992, he received the annual Sustie (“Steward of Sustainable Agriculture”) Award, presented at the Ecological Farming Conference, and in 2009 Nutrition Business Journal gave him their Organic Excellence award.Mark LipsonOrganic Farming Research FoundationCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farming policysustainable agricultureCalifornia Organic Foods Actapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9304v6r8https://escholarship.org/content/qt9304v6r8/qt9304v6r8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8bs3g09v2022-08-02T15:02:42Zqt8bs3g09vJo Ann Baumgartner and Sam Earnshaw: Organizers and FarmersBaumgartner, Jo AnnRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Jo Ann Baumgartner directs the Wild Farm Alliance, based in Watsonville, California. WFA’s mission, as described on the organization’s website, is “to promote agriculture that helps to protect and restore wild Nature.” Through research, publications, presentations, events, policy work, and consulting, the organization works to “connect food systems with ecosystems.”Sam Earnshaw is Central Coast regional coordinator of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. Working with CAFF’s farmscaping program, he helps farmers plant hedgerows and create grass waterways, improving production while increasing biodiversity and wildlife habitat on their lands. In 2009 Earnshaw was awarded the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s Pollinator Advocate Award as part of an international effort to promote public awareness of bees, bats, butterflies, beetles, and other animals that enable the reproduction of over seventy-five percent of flowering plants. In 2008 Earnshaw and Baumgartner received the Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture (Sustie) award from the Ecological Farming Association.Baumgartner and Earnshaw met in the early 1980s while working on a five-year research project using reclaimed wastewater for crop irrigation in the Salinas Valley. Alarmed by the toxicity of the conventional agricultural environment, the couple became interested in organic production; when they left the research project in the mid-1980s, they started their own organic Neptune Farms, in Santa Cruz County. During this period they were involved with the development of California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and with the early days of the Ecological Farming Association (EFA). In the early 1990s, Earnshaw began working for CAFF’s predecessor, California Action Network, with its newly founded Lighthouse Farm Network, organizing breakfasts for farmers to share ideas and strategies for sustainable production. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Earnshaw and Baumgartner both worked with the Campaign to Save Pajaro Valley Farmlands and Wetlands, ultimately creating a 25-year urban growth boundary in the area.Sarah Rabkin conducted this interview with Baumgartner and Earnshaw at the WFA offices on Monday, May 18, 2009. At the time, both were giving considerable attention to issues related to food safety—a pressing concern in the wake of recent events. In the fall of 2006, an outbreak of food-borne illness caused by the pathogen E. coli 0157:H7 had sickened about 200 people and killed three; the outbreak was traced to bagged fresh spinach grown in San Benito County. Industry and government leaders were calling for the elimination of farm hedgerows and other non-crop vegetation in order to create “clean” or “sterile” growing environments, despite compelling evidence that the pathogen originated elsewhere. Baumgartner and Earnshaw were working hard to educate farmers, industry and government representatives, and the general public—explaining the benefits of farm biodiversity for soil and water conservation and ecological health, and promoting best practices for keeping the food supply safe.Sam EarnshawJo Ann Baumgartnersustainable agriculture--Californiaorganic farming--CaliforniaWild Farm AllianceCommunity Alliance with Family Farmersfood safetyoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8bs3g09vhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8bs3g09v/qt8bs3g09v.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7dp5w66q2022-08-02T15:01:49Zqt7dp5w66qGuillermo Payet: Founder, LocalHarvest.orgPayet, GuillermoFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Guillermo Payet is the founder of Localharvest.org, a leading organic and local food website that maintains a public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers’ markets, and other local food sources; helps eaters find products from family farms, as well as other local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with small farms in their area.Payet grew up in Lima, Peru, in the 1960s and 1970s. His family visited small farms in the Andes and fishing villages on the Peruvian coast, where he learned to savor the taste of local food. As Payet writes on his website, “During the 1980s, Peru was victimized by two opposing forces: the dehumanizing economic colonialism of transnationals, and the misguided rage and violence of the Maoist Shining Path. These two forces wreaked havoc in the country . . . Family farms found it impossible to compete with cheap, subsidized agricultural products dumped into Peruvian markets by richer countries, and the impoverished Andean people were forced by the violence of the civil war to flee their rural villages. Millions were forced into lives of abject poverty in polluted and overcrowded cities, working for pennies in factories (if lucky enough to find a job) producing cheap products for export, helping generate profits that would never benefit them or their families.”When car bombs began blowing out the windows of his home, Payet decided to leave Peru. He came to the United States as a student, entering a computer science program at Santa Clara University, and then beginning a career as a systems engineer. He eventually started Ocean Group, a web development company. By coincidence, he rented an office location next door to the offices of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and developed a friendship with Reggie Knox [also interviewed for this project], who was working for CAFF at the time. Knox and Payet began talking about the fate of small farms in the United States, and Localharvest.org began as a project of Ocean Group in 1999.In this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer at her house in Santa Cruz, California, on October 7, 2007, Payet describes the growth of Localharvest.org. As of 2009, the company has 19,000 members, including 11,740 farms and 4,425 farmers markets, and is growing by twenty members a day. As the Buy Local movement has burgeoned, so has interest in the website, which receives 22,000 hits a day. Even since this 2007 interview took place, business has burgeoned. Payet’s goal is to “leverage the Internet and the vast array of community-owned tools provided by the world of Open Source software to help build virtual communities, and to use these as tools for achieving a sustainable future for real, physical communities.” His company attracts significant attention from Time magazine, Wired, Redbook, ABC-TV, the New York Times, and other media outlets.Guillermo PayetLatino farmerssustainable agricultureorganic farmingorganic foods distributionapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7dp5w66qhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7dp5w66q/qt7dp5w66q.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6q07m0qs2022-08-02T14:29:42Zqt6q07m0qsDarrie Ganzhorn: Director of Programs and Operations, Homeless Garden ProjectGanzhorn, DarrieReti, Irene H.2010-05-01Darrie Ganzhorn is Director of Programs and Operations for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1958, Ganzhorn studied marine biology at UC Berkeley. She worked at the Hopkins Marine Station after graduation, but when her son was born, she had an epiphany. “I didn’t want to do research anymore. I wanted to do something based on human needs. I wanted to do something that wasn’t esoteric, that was more basic and vital,” Ganzhorn said in her interview. She found meaningful work at the Homeless Garden Project, where she interned in 1991, not long after the Project was started by UCSC philosophy professor and social visionary Paul Lee. Influenced by the ideas of the radical educator Myles Horton, Ganzhorn began to edit “Voices from the Garden,” a series of newsletter profiles of homeless people who worked in the Garden. This interviewing experience infused her with an appreciation for oral history that she brought to the interview conducted by Irene Reti on February 12 and 19th, 2009, in the modest offices of the Homeless Garden Project, located in a former liquor store not far from the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz. Outside of Ganzhorn’s office, a team of women designed gorgeous flower wreaths for sale in the gift shop.Ganzhorn has held various positions as the Homeless Garden Project evolved. She provides a multi-year perspective on the development of this internationally known organization and a detailed description of the various programs they offer.Community EngagementService LearningDarrie GanzhornHomeless Garden Projecthorticultural therapysustainable agriculturefood securityapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6q07m0qshttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6q07m0qs/qt6q07m0qs.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6nq918ng2022-08-02T14:28:36Zqt6nq918ngNancy Gammons: Four Sisters Farm and Watsonville Farmers' Market ManagerGammons, NancyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Nancy Gammons is both a longtime organic farmer and the manager of a weekly downtown farmers’ market in the largely Spanish-speaking city of Watsonville. Four Sisters Farm, which she and her husband Robin named in honor of their daughters, produces a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers on five rolling acres in Aromas, California.Gammons found her way to both of these callings by following her heart. (“I’ve approached everything in my life,” she says, “in kind of a romantic way.”) After falling in love with the Spanish language in high-school classes, she went on to major in Spanish in college, spending time abroad in Spain. Her facility with the language has since enabled her to make close connections with the Spanish-speaking workers at Four Sisters, and with farmers and other vendors at the Watsonville market.In the 1960s, Gammons came across a copy of Robert Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening at a friend’s house, and was drawn to Rodale’s rhapsodizing about ‘the deep recesses of the compost pile.’ Again, it was love at first sight. She had her first professional gardening experience in 1970, as an employee of the Esalen Institute, in Big Sur, California. Starting Four Sisters in 1978 on marginally fertile land in the hills of Aromas, California, she and Robin have since built up twenty-eight inches of topsoil using compost and green manure. They grow kiwi fruit, apples, avocados, greens, and flowers.Gammons’ involvement with farmers’ markets goes back to her participation in the founding of markets in San Francisco (Alemany Market), Berkeley, and downtown Santa Cruz. The Watsonville market hired her as manager not long after its 2000 inception. Under her leadership, it now hosts some forty vendors, and provides unique income-generating opportunities for local Latino farmers and food vendors.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Nancy Gammons on Monday, January 26th, 2009, at Four Sisters Farm in Aromas, California.Nancy GammonsWatsonville--Californiafarmers' marketkiwi growingwomen farmerssustainable agricultureorganic farmingoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6nq918nghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6nq918ng/qt6nq918ng.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6jw5t4dt2022-08-02T14:27:50Zqt6jw5t4dtMaría Inés Catalán: Catalán Family FarmCatalán, María InésReti, Irene H.2010-05-01María Inés Catalán was born in Santa Teresa, Guerrero, Mexico, in 1962. She immigrated to the United States in 1986 and picked broccoli and carrots in the Salinas Valley of California. Her father was also a migrant farm worker, but her grandfather had owned land that the family farmed in Mexico. Catalán’s life took a different turn when in 1994 she entered an organic farming training program at the Rural Development Center in Salinas. (This was an earlier incarnation of what is now known as ALBA, the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association program). This incubator program helps farm workers become organic farmers by providing training in farming and marketing, and leasing them land.After graduating, Catalán became the first Latina migrant farm worker to own and operate a certified organic farm in California, and the first Latina in the country to found a farm that distributes produce through a community supported agriculture program. María Inés and her family have run Catalán Family Farms on fifteen acres of rented land in Hollister, California, since 2001. Their farm was certified organic by CCOF in 2005. The Cataláns grow kale, chard, strawberries, tomatoes, corn, onions, pumpkins, chiles and carrots, among other crops that they sell through Laughing Onion CSA and at farmers’ markets around the Salinas, Monterey Bay, and San Francisco Bay areas, including the Ferry Plaza Market in San Francisco, and the Berkeley Farmers’ Market.In addition to her farming, Catalán is also an activist who devotes herself to improving food security for low-income communities, especially Latinos. She worked with the group P.O.D.E.R. (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights), in San Francisco’s largely Latino Mission district, to deliver CSA shares to their members. Over the years her CSA project has also collaborated with schools and churches, and with the Homeless Garden Project’s CSA in Santa Cruz; it has delivered boxes to people who are home-bound, and provided information about her CSA in Spanish. Catalán set up a farm stand outside the government office in Monterey County, on the day when women pick up their WIC (Women, Infant and Children) allowances. She founded her own non-profit, Pequeños Agricultores en California (PAC), to help immigrant farmers acquire organic certification, helping them apply for grants and loans and work towards owning their own land. Catalán Farms also invites local high school and college students to visit and learn about organic farming. A group of eighth graders camps out each year for a week at a time and works the land. In 2008 Catalán was honored by the Center for Latino Farmers for “her tireless work in advocating for organic farming and assisting limited resource producers using her own funds.”This oral history was conducted on July 27, 2009, in Spanish, by Rebecca Thistlethwaite. Thistlethwaite and Catalán know each other from Thistlethwaite’s work as program director for the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association. The interview was transcribed and sent to Catalán for her edits and approval. Then it was translated into English. The transcript appears here first in English, and then in the original Spanish.Community EngagementMaría Inés CatalánAgriculture and Land-Based Training AssociationLatino farmersminority farmerswomen farmersorganic farmingsustainable agriculturecommunity supported agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jw5t4dthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6jw5t4dt/qt6jw5t4dt.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6fp9p6t72022-08-02T14:26:39Zqt6fp9p6t7Catherine Barr: Manager, Monterey Bay Certified Farmers' MarketsBarr, CatherineRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Catherine Barr manages the Monterey Bay Certified Farmers’ Markets (MBCFM), a consortium that includes the oldest and largest farmers’ markets on California’s Central Coast. Founded in 1976, MBCFM now boasts a total of more than eighty vendors at four locations, including Aptos, Monterey, Del Monte (also in Monterey), and Carmel. (At the time when this oral history was recorded, MBCFM had a now-discontinued market in Salinas, while the Del Monte location had not yet been established.) Certification ensures that the fruits, vegetables, meats, and other products available at these markets are grown or raised in California by the farmers who sell them.Barr moved in the late 1960s from the eastern US to Santa Cruz, where, she jokes, she discovered that vegetables do not originate in a can—“my first real shock as far as to where food really came from.” Her agricultural education continued when she married a fourth-generation flower grower, Jonathan Barr, and moved with him to Mexico to grow vegetables. After the Barrs returned to California in 1993, Catherine responded to a newspaper advertisement for a market manager, and beat out ninety-five other applicants.In this interview, conducted by Sarah Rabkin at the Barr home in Corralitos, California, on May 13th, 2008, Catherine Barr described the responsibilities and challenges, pleasures and pressures entailed in managing multiple year-round farmers’ markets.Catherine Barrorganic farming--Californiasustainable agriculture--Californiaoral historyfarmers' marketsnatural foods industryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fp9p6t7https://escholarship.org/content/qt6fp9p6t7/qt6fp9p6t7.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6bf3w3kx2022-08-02T14:26:04Zqt6bf3w3kxRoy Fuentes: Fuentes Berry FarmsFuentes, RoyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01As president of Fuentes Berry Farms, Rogelio (Roy) Fuentes is one of many independent growers producing organic berries for Driscoll’s—a company that was initiated more than a century ago by two strawberry farmers on California’s Central Coast, and has since evolved into an international concern devoted to research, breeding, production, sales and distribution of conventionally and organically farmed strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Driscoll’s CEO Miles Reiter and his brother Garland, CEO of Reiter Affiliated Companies, are the grandsons of Joseph “Ed” Reiter, who began growing strawberries in the Pajaro Valley with Dick Driscoll in 1904. The Reiters have a reputation for providing partnership opportunities for talented, hardworking, ambitious Mexican American farmers.Fuentes was born in San Pedro Tesistan, Jalisco, Mexico, and came to Watsonville, California, as a teenager. He spent summers harvesting the berry fields his father managed. After graduating from Watsonville High School in 1979, Fuentes worked in banking for a while, but five years later returned to the fields. He began harvesting strawberries and rapidly worked his way up to management positions. Gradually branching out into blackberries and raspberries, he also became interested, in 1994, in organic cultivation. Since 2003 he has been producing organic berries exclusively. His growing company employs some 100 workers, providing health insurance and a small number of paid holidays.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Roy Fuentes on June 16, 2009, at the Reiter Affiliated Companies offices in Salinas, California. That morning, the San Jose Mercury News had reported that an organic blackberry grower near Watsonville had lost twenty percent or more of his crop to a recent invader from Australia, the light brown apple moth—sending “a shudder” through the agricultural community. Local organic berry growers were engaging in concerted deliberations about how best to respond.Roy Fuentesorganic berry growingorganic farmingDriscoll's Berry Farmsustainable agricultureLatino farmersminority farmersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bf3w3kxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6bf3w3kx/qt6bf3w3kx.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6514s2t22022-08-02T14:25:17Zqt6514s2t2Erika Perloff: Director of Educational Programs, Life Lab Science ProgramPerloff, ErikaRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Erika Perloff directs educational programs for the Life Lab Science Program, a nationally recognized, award-winning nonprofit science and environmental organization located on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Founded in 1979, Life Lab helps schools develop gardens and implement curricula to enhance students’ learning about science, math, and the natural world. The program has trained tens of thousands of educators in more than 1400 schools across the country.Life Lab’s specialized projects include LASERS (Language Acquisition in Science Education for Rural Schools), now renamed the Monterey Bay Science Project, which trains teachers to teach language development through scientific exploration. The organization’s Waste Free Schools program helps teachers and students reduce school waste through conservation. Its model Garden Classroom, located at UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, is used for teacher training and school field trips and events.Perloff’s interest in garden-based science education began with a love of natural history. As a college student, she transferred from Carlton College in Minnesota to UC Santa Cruz, where she double-majored in environmental studies and biology. Among her formative educational experiences was UCSC’s celebrated Natural History Field Quarter. After graduating in 1983, she worked in outdoor education jobs for the National Park Service, the Yosemite Institute, and the Headlands Institute in Marin County. Eventually, desiring more sustained contact with students, she earned a teaching credential at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education.While working as an elementary science specialist in Watsonville and Santa Cruz, Perloff took a Life Lab teacher training, which inspired her to revive an old garden patch at her school. “There was nothing as exciting,” she said in this interview, “as walking into the classroom and the kids would see my keys for the garden, and they would just jump up and down and say, “El jardín! El jardín!”Perloff began leading Life Lab teacher workshops herself on weekends, and soon was flying around the U.S., funded by a Department of Education program called the National Diffusion Network, to train Life Lab teachers in other states. She joined the Life Lab board of directors, and in 1990 accepted the job of education coordinator.In this interview, conducted by Sarah Rabkin at the UCSC Science and Engineering Library on July 9th, 2008, Erika Perloff described the colorful variety of projects and initiatives that have occupied her attention at Life Lab. She also reflected on the national impact of the program, and its possibilities for the future.Erika PerloffLife Lab Science Programexperiential educationorganic farmingsustainable agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6514s2t2https://escholarship.org/content/qt6514s2t2/qt6514s2t2.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt638978322022-08-02T14:23:04Zqt63897832Jerry and Jean Thomas: Thomas FarmThomas, JerryThomas, JeanFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Jerry Thomas grew up in the Los Angeles area and attended college at San Fernando Valley College (now California State University, Northridge), where he earned a master’s degree in urban/economic geography. He is a fifth-generation Californian on his mother’s side of the family. After a stint in the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America, Jerry and his wife, Jean (who also grew up in LA), wanted to leave smoggy and congested Los Angeles. They moved to the Santa Cruz area in 1970, and became back-to-the-landers on five acres of land in the foothills of Aptos.In this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer on March 20 and May 7, 2007, at Thomas Farms, the Thomases describe how what began as a large garden grew into Thomas Farms, now one of the oldest organic farms in California. Jerry was invited to participate in Rodale’s organic certification program that pre-dated California Certified Organic Farmers, and was a founding member of California Certified Organic Farmers. He helped draft the first state organic legislation in 1979. Jerry has served as a County Farm Bureau director and as a member of the County Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee, and frequently speaks at the Ecological Farming Association’s Eco-Farm conference. He has served on the Monterey Bay Certified Farmers’ Market board of directors.Jean helps run Thomas Farms, and also teaches adult education courses in writing, science and math. A watercolor and monoprint artist, Jean serves on the Pajaro Valley Arts Council; in 2007 she curated Market Motion, an art show about the farmers’ markets in the Central Coast area.The Thomases have represented the Community Alliance of Family Farmers (CAFF) as members of the Campaign to Save Pajaro Valley Farmlands and Wetlands. They mentor younger organic farmers, and participate in many local farmers’ markets, where their booths are distinguished by a dazzling plethora of colorful sunflowers, zinnias, irises, lilies and other cut flowers.Jerry ThomasJean ThomasCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/63897832https://escholarship.org/content/qt63897832/qt63897832.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5kf5s2wg2022-08-02T14:21:49Zqt5kf5s2wgZea Sonnabend: Ecological Farming AssociationSonnabend, ZeaReti, Irene H.2010-05-01As with many members of the organic farming movement, Zea Sonnabend’s passion for organic agriculture grew out of an early involvement in the back-to-the-land and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. Born in 1951 in Brookline, Massachusetts, Sonnabend dropped out of college in Philadelphia to work on a farm. But then her interests took a more technical, scientific turn, as she returned to school to earn a BS in plant science from the University of Massachusetts and a MA in plant breeding from Cornell University. After graduation, Sonnabend came to California, and worked for several years at the Isla Vista Food Co-op and the Mesa Project demonstration garden run by the Community Environmental Council in the Santa Barbara area. At the Mesa Project, Sonnabend was mentored by ecologist and horticulturalist Richard Merrill, and by organic activist and writer John Jeavons.In the 1980s, Sonnabend farmed organic figs, peaches, and vegetables in Tehama County, California. This led to her involvement in the North Valley chapter of the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). She became an inspector for CCOF, and in 1985 began serving on the CCOF board that developed the first organic certification standards and materials list in California. She is a founder of the Organic Materials Review Institute, and worked as a contractor with the National Organic Standards Board and the USDA to develop federal organic standards. Sonnabend is also a lifetime member of the Seed Savers Exchange and teaches classes in Seed Saving at the UC Davis Student Farm and at the UCSC Farm and Garden. She works on diverse projects for the Ecological Farming Association, and until 2008 coordinated the Eco-Farm conference at Asilomar, an enormous task. Irene Reti conducted this oral history at the Ecological Farming Association’s offices in downtown Watsonville, California, on April 23, 2007.Zea SonnabendCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureEcological Farming AssociationCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kf5s2wghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5kf5s2wg/qt5kf5s2wg.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5b59d0b02022-08-02T14:20:48Zqt5b59d0b0Sean Swezey: Entomologist and Integrated Pest Management SpecialistSwezey, SeanRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01As an entomologist and integrated pest management specialist, Sean Swezey has held a variety of demanding and influential posts. He has served as associate director of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at UC Santa Cruz and director of the Davis-based University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP). He has held research and teaching appointments at UC Berkeley, Cornell University, and UC Santa Cruz. He has also worked as a consulting entomologist in Central and South America with the Organization of American States and with the Food and Agriculture Organization.Swezey has helped pioneer organic growing techniques for several important California crops, successfully challenging entrenched assumptions about the inevitability of chemical-intensive production. He wrote and edited a University of California organic apple production manual—the first such manual for any organic commodity. He has advised a series of California Secretaries of Agriculture on the implementation and enforcement of the California Organic Foods Act of 1990. With UCSC agroecology professor Steve Gliessman, he helped establish one of the first organic farm advising services based at a university. In 2000, the Organic Farming Research Foundation’s (OFRF) Third Biennial National Organic Farmers’ Survey identified Swezey as the most frequently cited “Favorite University Researcher for organic production information.”In this interview, conducted by Sarah Rabkin on November 24, 2008, at UCSC’s Program In Community and Agroecology, Sean Swezey discussed his training in biological pest control at UC Berkeley; his international advising; his research with transitional and organic apple, strawberry, artichoke, and cotton crops; his administrative work with UC SAREP; his collaborative work with farmers, and his university teaching.After the recorded interview had concluded, Swezey shared his view of California’s Central Coast as a remarkable seedbed for the development and promotion of organic agriculture, saying, “I can’t think of a place that had as many thinkers, doers, and dreamers as Santa Cruz County. This was such a center. And [it’s not just] Santa Cruz County; there was Monterey… This is a fairly unique confluence. We had markets; we had the most accomplished commodity people—super-talented, visionary scientists and growers.”Sean Swezeyorganic farmingsustainable agricultureintegrated pest managementagroecologyorganic strawberry growingorganic cotton growingorgnaic apple growingCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5b59d0b0https://escholarship.org/content/qt5b59d0b0/qt5b59d0b0.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt59c268gt2022-08-02T14:20:08Zqt59c268gtKen Kimes & Sandra Ward: New Natives FarmKimes, KenWard, SandraFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Both Ken Kimes and Sandra Ward grew up in Southern California. They met in the Los Angeles area, but moved to Santa Cruz in 1980. Together they founded New Natives Farm, a greenhouse-based farm certified by California Certified Organic Farmers in 1983, and located in Corralitos, California. There they tend organic sprouts, including alfalfa, wheat grass, pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, broccoli, and beans. In addition to managing their farm full time, Kimes and Ward are both outspoken activists dedicated to the sustainable agriculture movement. They are longtime members of California Certified Organic Farmers. Kimes served on the board of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) for many years, and worked for Santa Cruz Trucking, an organic foods distribution company affiliated with the local health food cooperative, Community Foods. In this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer on May 3, 2007, at New Natives Farm, Kimes and Ward share their recollections, impressions, and opinions of the organic farming movement over the past thirty years.Ken KimesSandra WardNew Natives FarmCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyCommunity Alliance with Family Farmerssprout growingapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/59c268gthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt59c268gt/qt59c268gt.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4z46m4sk2022-08-02T14:18:03Zqt4z46m4skBarney Bricmont, Founder, California Certified Organic FarmersBricmont, BarneyFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01The first oral history we conducted for this project was with Bernard “Barney” Bricmont. On March 7, 2007, Ellen Farmer set up her recording equipment on the very same kitchen table where, in 1973, six organic farmers founded the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). An earlier, one-year effort by Rodale to create a certification program for organic farmers had floundered, and Bricmont called farmers together to form a statewide organization. However, most of the farmers were too busy to take on this task and Bricmont decided to administer CCOF from his Santa Cruz home. He served as founding vice president the first two years, and then became president of the organization from 1975 to 1985. Many of our narrators acknowledged the critical contribution of Bricmont’s generous volunteer work in the founding of the organic movement on the Central Coast of California.Barney Bricmont was born in 1938 in San Jose, California, long before the valley turned from growing fruit to becoming a center for high technology. He learned to farm from his aunt, who owned an apple orchard in Saratoga and was “a Rodale Press, Prevention Magazine enthusiast.” Forty years ago, Bricmont and his wife bought two acres of land in Live Oak, California (an unincorporated community in Santa Cruz County, adjacent to Santa Cruz). They grew plant starts in 3000 square feet of greenhouse space and organic salad greens for the actress Carol Channing. Bricmont has worked as an independent irrigation contractor since 1975.Bricmont helped start the very first (post WWI) farmers’ market in the Central Coast, at Live Oak Elementary School in 1975. His position on the school board of the Live Oak school district offered an advantage in securing the support for the farmers’ market, as well the first Life Lab school garden, a project that has blossomed into national prominence and is well documented elsewhere in this oral history series. He worked closely with California State Assemblymember Sam Farr on the California Organic Foods Act of 1979.Bricmont’s dedicated career as a community organizer spans organizations as diverse as the Santa Cruz Democratic Central Committee, the California School Boards Association, the Friends of the Library, and the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.Barney BricmontCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farming--Californiasustainable agriculture--Californiaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4z46m4skhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4z46m4sk/qt4z46m4sk.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4w03k5c22022-08-02T14:17:21Zqt4w03k5c2Drew Goodman, Earthbound FarmGoodman, DrewRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Drew Goodman is CEO and co-founder, with his wife, Myra, of Earthbound Farm, based in San Juan Bautista, California. Two years after its 1984 inception on 2.5 Carmel Valley acres, Earthbound became the first successful purveyor of pre-washed salads bagged for retail sale. The company now produces more than 100 varieties of certified organic salads, fruits, and vegetables on a total of about 33,000 acres, with individual farms ranging from five to 680 acres in California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Mexico, Canada, and Chile. Earthbound Farm currently distributes its products to more than seventy percent of all US supermarkets—among them Costco, Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Albertsons—and to some international markets.In a single year, by Earthbound’s reckoning, organic production on this scale averts the use of more than 305,000 pounds of toxic and persistent pesticides and 10.3 million pounds of synthetic fertilizers, conserving about 1.6 million gallons of petroleum and significantly reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Through other conservation measures, Earthbound estimates that it also diverts more than a million pounds of solid waste from landfills annually, in addition to saving trees, water, and energy and avoiding thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions.Drew and Myra Goodman grew up in the same Manhattan neighborhood, but made their first significant connection at a Grateful Dead concert while they were both attending college in California. Drew majored in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz, while Myra earned her bachelor’s degree in the political economy of industrialized societies at UC Berkeley. After graduating, the couple embarked on what they envisioned as a single year of farming in Carmel Valley—before moving on, or so they thought at the time, to other careers.The story of the Goodmans’ whirlwind journey from novice backyard raspberry farmers to leaders of the world’s largest grower and shipper of organic produce has been widely reported. In this interview, conducted on April 22 (Earth Day), 2009, at Earthbound’s marketing and communications office in Carmel, California, Sarah Rabkin asked Drew Goodman to talk about some less publicized aspects of his career and philosophy, including his experiences at UC Santa Cruz and his thoughts about the benefits and drawbacks of large-scale organic production and distribution.Drew GoodmanEarthbound Farmorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historysalad greensapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4w03k5c2https://escholarship.org/content/qt4w03k5c2/qt4w03k5c2.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4s09j1z02022-08-02T14:16:32Zqt4s09j1z0Reggie Knox: Community OrganizerKnox, ReggieRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01As a community organizer focusing on sustainable agriculture, Reggie Knox has become a kind of Renaissance Man of sustainable agriculture, working with a remarkable number of organizations serving farmers. He currently works with California FarmLink, helping keep the state’s farmland in agricultural production while connecting farmers with technical and financial assistance as well as affordable land. He coordinated the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) Lighthouse Farm Network, connecting a statewide network of growers, advisors, researchers, and other agricultural professionals interested in reducing pesticide use; he eventually became CAFF’s state program director. He worked with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) on national standards development.Knox grew up in Davis, California, and spent summers in the Sierra Nevada, where he developed enthusiasm for natural history. As a child he worked in a backyard plot with his father; in high school, he created an extensive garden with some friends as an independent study project. As an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, Knox became interested in the intersections of agriculture and community development when he took a course with prominent California agriculture scholar Bill Friedland on the economics and politics of United States agriculture. He double-majored in earth science and community studies.Knox’s early farming experiences began during his senior year in college. Various internships and jobs connected him with influential local farmers such as Frances Corr and Dennis Tamura of Blue Heron Farm, Sam Earnshaw and Jo Ann Baumgartner of Neptune Farms, and Mark Lipson of Molino Creek Farm. He interned with Lipson in the offices of CCOF (a position that eventually became a paid job), and with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (then called the Soil Conservation Service).Knox also conducted a ten-month field study in France, working with a regional natural park. A Rotary Foundation scholarship took him to Sri Lanka to do agricultural research and consulting. He spent six months in Japan, including a visit to Masanobu Fukuoka’s model no-till grain farm. He attended an International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) conference in Burkina Faso, traveled in Northern Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Botswana, and consulted for AID in Madagascar.This interview with Reggie Knox, conducted by Sarah Rabkin in her Soquel home on December 8, 2008, reveals some of the ways in which these varied experiences and influences have informed Knox’s current work, contributing to his efficacy as an agrarian community organizer.Reggie KnoxCalifornia FarmlinkCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureagroecologyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4s09j1z0https://escholarship.org/content/qt4s09j1z0/qt4s09j1z0.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4m48k6d92022-08-02T14:15:54Zqt4m48k6d9Juan Pablo (J.P.) Perez: J&P OrganicsPerez, Juan Pablo (J.P.)Rabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Juan Pablo “J.P.” Perez founded his J & P Organics Community Supported Agriculture program in 2006, while he was a college student, with a subscriber cohort of five friends and advertisements on Craigslist and a campus electronic marketplace. Today, Perez employs his parents and siblings in his expanding farm enterprise, which serves about 300 (and growing) CSA subscribers in towns as geographically and economically disparate as Prunedale, Pacific Grove, and Palo Alto.J & P Organics offers an unusually generous roster of subscriber options, including home delivery for all customers and a choice of pay-as-you-go weekly, alternate-weeks, or monthly orders. Customers who grow their own vegetables can opt to receive boxes only during the months when their gardens lie fallow. Perez’s CSA boxes contain a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables, plus optional fresh eggs and flowers—and he has plans to include more exotic variety in future shares. He also delivers to restaurants and sells at farmers’ markets, where he creates eye-catching displays to attract customers.In his mid-twenties, Perez is one of the youngest organic farmers to run such a burgeoning enterprise. His success testifies not only to his dedication, skills, and entrepreneurial savvy, but also to the effectiveness of the program that mentored him and his father in organic farming: the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA). The son of Mexican-born parents, J.P. was born in Salinas, California, in 1983. When the young Perez was a teenager, his father, who was growing raspberries and cut flowers on five acres of leased land in Watsonville, offered him the choice of working full time with him in the fields, or concentrating on school. Fully aware of the hard work and low pay he could expect as a farmer, J.P. opted for school and opportunities for alternative employment.As it turned out, Perez’s academic career took him full circle. After trying a variety of majors at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), he gravitated toward earth systems science and policy. This field of study led him into two internships with ALBA and another at Serendipity Farms in Carmel Valley. Eventually, J.P. persuaded his father, Pablo (the “P” in “J & P”) to enroll with him in ALBA’s Programa Educativa para Pequeños Agricultores (PEPA), which trains small farmers in organic production methods and marketing techniques.Pablo and his wife, Florencia, now oversee most of the farming operation on acreage that the family leases from ALBA, while J.P. takes primary responsibility for sales and marketing. The family hopes to buy its own farmland, where they aim to raise livestock and orchards as well as row crops.Sarah Rabkin interviewed J. P. Perez on June 22nd, 2009, at Rabkin’s home in Soquel, California.Juan Pablo Perezorganic farmingsustainable agricultureLatino farmersminority farmersAgriculture and Land-Based Training Associationcommunity supported agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4m48k6d9https://escholarship.org/content/qt4m48k6d9/qt4m48k6d9.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt48g1z7zb2022-08-02T14:14:07Zqt48g1z7zbRussel and Karen Wolter: Down to Earth FarmWolter, KarenWolter, RusselFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Born in Pacific Grove, the descendent of pioneers who came to California with the De Anza party in 1774, Russel Wolter has been farming “organically” since he was fourteen, when his mother forbade him to use chemical fertilizers and sprays on their ranch in the Carmel Valley. That was in 1947, decades before organic certification, but Wolter’s expertise in organic farming methods became a valuable resource to a newer generation of farmers who began farming organically in the 1970s. After his mother’s death, Russel and his wife, Karen, farmed forty-five acres of the family ranch as Down to Earth Farm, growing a variety of crops, including sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, red and white chard, kale, collards, cucumbers, apricots, plums, winter squash, pumpkins, and fava beans. They distributed their produce through Bud Capurro’s distribution company based in Moss Landing, California, and also sold directly at farmers’ markets in the area. Down to Earth Farm was part of the original organic certification program initiated by Rodale Press’s Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine in 1971. Russel was a founding member of California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and received a Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture (Sustie) Award in 1994. Russel and Karen are now retired from farming, and lease their land to Earthbound Farms. Ellen Farmer conducted this interview with Russel and Karen at their home in Carmel Valley on March 28, 2007.Russel WolterKaren WolterCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/48g1z7zbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt48g1z7zb/qt48g1z7zb.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3vv5k4392022-08-02T14:11:20Zqt3vv5k439Scott Roseman: Owner, New Leaf Community MarketsRoseman, ScottReti, Irene H.2010-05-01Scott Roseman was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. He came to Santa Cruz in 1977 to study sociology at UC Santa Cruz. While he was a student, he joined Our Neighborhood Food Co-op, located on the Westside of Santa Cruz. After graduation, Roseman worked for the Alternative Energy Co-op, an organization devoted to renewable energy technologies. It was there in 1979 that Irene Reti, who conducted this oral history, first met Roseman while she was an undergraduate student at UCSC doing an internship in alternative energy systems. After the Reagan administration withdrew government funding for solar energy, Roseman took a position as a floor manager at Our Neighborhood Food Co-op.In this interview, conducted on February 20, 2008, at Roseman’s house in Santa Cruz, he described the evolution of the co-op into the Westside Community Market in 1985, and eventually into New Leaf Community Markets, a chain of six stores. Four of the New Leaf stores are owned by Roseman and two other partners; the other two are owned by local resident Bob Locatelli.New Leaf contributes up to ten percent of its profits annually to local nonprofit organizations. The business pioneered a sustainable-seafood labeling program named Fishwise, as well as many other marketing and educational innovations. Their newest location on the Westside, just around the corner from the original location of Our Neighborhood Co-op, opened in March 2009. As of this writing, New Leaf faces competition from two new Whole Foods stores sited only a few blocks away from two of their locations. Recorded at a key historic moment, this interview documents the corporatization and ongoing consolidation of the natural foods industry over the past twenty years.Scott Rosemannatural food industrysustainable agricultureNew Leaf Community Marketapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3vv5k439https://escholarship.org/content/qt3vv5k439/qt3vv5k439.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3t04x6x52022-08-02T14:10:45Zqt3t04x6x5José Montenegro: Farm Operations Director, Rural Development CenterMontenegro, JoséFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01José Montenegro grew up in Providencia, a small farming community in the state of Durango, Mexico. As a child, he was troubled by the impoverishment of rural life in his community. He studied agronomy in Mexico in 1988, and despite sadness about leaving his homeland, decided to emigrate to the United States. This oral history focuses on Montenegro’s period as farm operations director of the organic farming training program at the Rural Development Center (RDC). Located on a 110-acre farm eight miles south of Salinas, the RDC was originally founded in 1985 by the Association for Community-Based Education (ACBE) of Washington, D.C. The RDC initiated a ‘Farmworker to Farmer’ program where agricultural workers received training that allowed for their advancement on the job, in farm management or possibly farm ownership. In 2000, Montenegro left the RDC to begin Proyecto de Arraigo, a program that offers training and resources to farmers in rural Mexico. Meanwhile, the RDC transformed into the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA). Montenegro recently earned a master’s degree in public policy from California State University, Monterey Bay, where he met Ellen Farmer (then also a graduate student in the program). Farmer conducted this interview in Salinas, California, on January 9, 2008.Community-based LearningJose MontenegroRural Development CenterLatino farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureAgriculture and Land-Based Training Associationagriculture--Mexicoapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t04x6x5https://escholarship.org/content/qt3t04x6x5/qt3t04x6x5.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3p67k9nr2022-08-02T14:09:30Zqt3p67k9nrRoberta Jaffe, Founding Director, Life Lab Science Program, Co-Founder of Community Agroecology NetworkJaffe, RobertaFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Roberta (Robbie) Jaffe grew up in New York in the 1950s, and moved to Florida when she was sixteen. She attended the University of Florida and University of South Florida, and graduated with a degree in sociology. During and after college she was deeply involved in the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement as a field organizer and boycott organizer for the state of Florida. Jaffe first came to the Santa Cruz area with her then-husband, Jerry Kay, who was also active in the sustainable agriculture movement. They farmed ten acres near Elkhorn Slough, and in 1976, Jaffe helped start the first farmers’ market in Santa Cruz County, at Live Oak School.After that marriage ended, Jaffe studied horticulture at Cabrillo College with Richard Merrill, and took a position with a CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program called Project Blossom. As part of that program, she co-founded a school garden at Green Acres School in Live Oak, a semi-rural area near Santa Cruz, California. This was the genesis of the Life Lab Science Program, which grew into a groundbreaking nonprofit organization that works with schools throughout the United States to develop school gardens and curriculum for teaching science and nutrition. Jaffe served as founding executive director of the program for many years.Jaffe earned a second master’s degree in education from UC Santa Cruz, with an emphasis in agroecology. She met and married Steve Gliessman (also the subject of an oral history in this series). In 2001, they co-founded the Community Agroecology Network (CAN). CAN defines its goals as, “to help a network of rural, primarily coffee-growing communities in Mexico and Central America develop self-sufficiency and sustainable growing practices, and direct market coffee to consumers in the United States.”Jaffe is the co-author of “From Differentiated Coffee Markets Towards Alternative Trade and Knowledge Networks,” in Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Sustaining Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America, and many Life Lab publications, including The Growing Classroom.Ellen Farmer interviewed Robbie Jaffe on May 5, 2007, at Jaffe's house in Santa Cruz, California. Farmer’s MA thesis (in public policy) at California State University at Monterey Bay focused on the coffee crisis. As a graduate student, she worked with Jaffe at CAN, and brought her knowledge of the economics and politics of coffee growing in Latin America to the interview.Roberta JaffeLife Lab Science ProgramCommunity Agroecology Networkorganic farmingsustainable agriculturefarmers' marketsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3p67k9nrhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3p67k9nr/qt3p67k9nr.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3kx1b2g42022-08-02T14:08:06Zqt3kx1b2g4Jered Lawson and Nancy Vail: Pie Ranch: A Rural Center for Urban RenewalLawson, JaredVail, NancyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Jered Lawson and Nancy Vail make up two thirds of the founding partnership that operates Pie Ranch—“a rural center for urban renewal.” With San Francisco-based colleague Karen Heisler, Lawson and Vail began establishing this working farm in 2002 as a place where city youth could learn about food. The non-profit organization’s mission, according to its website, is “to inspire and connect rural and urban people to know the source of their food, and to work together to bring greater health to the food system from seed to table.” Mission Pie, a sister business located in the city’s Mission District and overseen by Heisler, employs local young people in baking and selling pastries concocted from the farm’s products.Perched on a coastal hillside in southern San Mateo County, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, Pie Ranch’s triangular slice of land now produces “everything you need to make pie”—from pumpkins, berries and tree fruits to eggs, milk, butter, honey and wheat. Students and teachers from urban high schools make monthly farm pilgrimages throughout the school year. Guided by Lawson and Vail and other Pie Ranch staff, they experience hands-on learning about soil, compost, weather, weeds and water; the cycles of planting, tending, and harvesting crops; the challenges and rewards of working as a group, and the pleasures of cooking and eating wholesome food from scratch.Pie Ranch also offers year-long apprenticeships, summer internships, monthly work parties and barn dances, and a variety of educational programs and cultural events. Travelers and locals can sample the farm’s wares at a roadside farm stand downhill from the farm fields, on coastal Route 1—near the historic Steele dairy lands that Pie Ranch, in cooperation with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), is working to protect.Jered Lawson and Nancy Vail both bring a wealth of experience to the Pie Ranch project. Lawson is a UCSC community studies graduate and a former Apprentice in Ecological Horticulture at the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). Between his first two college years, Lawson spent a formative summer at Stephen and Gloria Decater’s Live Power Community Farm in Covelo (Mendocino County), where Alan Chadwick—Stephen’s mentor at UCSC—had been invited to establish a garden project in 1972. Live Power had recently launched the first community supported agriculture (CSA) program in California. Lawson went on to initiate and oversee a CSA program for Santa Cruz’s Homeless Garden Project, and later did the same for CASFS. Increasingly interested in CSA as a marketing strategy for sustaining small farms, he organized a 1995 Western Region CSA conference and created a statewide CSA advocacy and outreach program campaigns for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). He also helped establish farm-to-school and buy-local programs for CAFF, and did similar work with the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley.Nancy Vail, a graduate of UC San Diego, began learning about farming in a series of post-college internships abroad. Returning to the U.S., she apprenticed with writer-farmers Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch at Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine, at Angelic Organics (whose proprietor, John Peterson, was celebrated in the 2006 documentary “The Real Dirt on Farmer John”), and at biodynamic Hawthorne Valley Farm in Columbia County, New York. Like Lawson, Vail also apprenticed in the CASFS program, eventually staying on as a second- and third-year apprentice. She went on to share oversight of the UCSC farm operations with Jim Leap, and managed the CSA that Lawson had inaugurated in 1995. After Vail and Lawson’s first child was born, she moved into a part-time position as farm-to-college program coordinator for CASFS. In early 2008, she left CASFS to attend to childrearing and Pie Ranch full-time.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Jered Lawson on March 4th, 2008, at Rabkin’s home in Soquel, with a brief follow-up interview in the Science and Engineering Library at UC Santa Cruz on March 18, 2008. Rabkin interviewed Nancy Vail in the same library conference room on March 18, 2008. These interviews covered Lawson’s and Vail’s individual histories prior to the founding of Pie Ranch. On December 11, 2008, at the offices of UCSC’s Program In Community and Agroecology and Community Agroecology Network, she interviewed Lawson and Vail together about the founding and development of Pie Ranch.Jared LawsonNancy VailPie Ranchenvironmental educationorganic farmingsustainable agricultureexperiential educationHomeless Garden ProjectCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3kx1b2g4https://escholarship.org/content/qt3kx1b2g4/qt3kx1b2g4.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3f40g7012022-08-02T13:31:54Zqt3f40g701Melody Meyer: Organic Foods DistributorMeyer, MelodyFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Conducted by Ellen Farmer on June 8 and September 22, 2007, Melody Meyer’s oral history documents the extraordinary transformation of the organic foods sector between the 1970s and the early 21st century. Meyer was born in Iowa in 1960; she was introduced to organic and natural foods at age sixteen, when she began working at a natural foods co-op in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She moved to Santa Cruz in the late 1970s and joined Community Foods, a collectively owned, collectively run natural foods store, where she stayed for six years. There she met many local organic growers who came to sell their produce in the store and through its affiliate, Santa Cruz Trucking.After leaving Community Foods, Meyer became Watsonville Coast Produce’s first woman buyer, developing an organic distribution program. Later she was hired by Ocean Organics, an organic foods distribution company located in Moss Landing, California. She moved on to work for six years for Scott Hawkins of Hawkins Associates, where she pioneered transporting organic produce from California to distant markets such as Bread and Circus, Wellspring Grocery, Mrs. Gooch’s, and other small natural food store chains in the Midwest and on the East Coast, many of which were eventually bought by Whole Foods. In 1995, Meyer left Hawkins to start her own distribution company, Source Organic. Her Jack Russell terrier, Dylan, became president of the company and had his own voice mail and e-mail account. Dylan settled under the table during the oral history, and his contented snores can be heard on the audio recording of this interview.In 2000, Source Organic became a subsidiary of Albert’s Organics, which in turn was bought by United Natural Foods International (UNFI)—a reflection of increasing consolidation in the organic foods industry. In 2006, New Hope Media awarded Melody Meyer the Spirit of Organic award, honoring organic leaders nominated by their peers in the industry.Other Food ScienceMelody Meyerorganic foods distributionnatural foods industryorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3f40g701https://escholarship.org/content/qt3f40g701/qt3f40g701.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt38b6s81k2022-08-02T13:31:11Zqt38b6s81kLyn Garling: Former UCSC Farm and Garden Apprentice Coordinator, Farmer, EntomologistGarling, LynFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Lyn Garling was the apprentice coordinator for the UC Santa Cruz Agroecology Program (UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden) from 1984 to 1992. Garling is an entomologist by profession, with a fierce passion for the insect world, ecological literacy, and human justice. Before she came to UC Santa Cruz, Garling taught ecology in Nicaragua after the Nicaraguan revolution, and conducted biological studies in Costa Rica and Mexico. At UC Santa Cruz, she designed and taught the first comprehensive science curriculum for the apprentice program, pushed the Farm and Garden to be more responsive to issues of class, race, and ethnic diversity, and managed the Farm and Garden’s roadside and wholesale marketing, among other contributions.After leaving UC Santa Cruz, Garling moved to Pennsylvania, where she became an education specialist for that state’s Integrated Pest Management program, focusing on outreach to inner city residents at risk from exposure to toxic pesticides used in urban settings. In 1997, she began running her own organic farm, Over the Moon, specializing in chickens, turkeys, eggs, beef and pork. National Public Radio featured Garling in an October 2004 special on “Female Farmers: A Growing Trend in America.” She is also quoted in a 2004 article in The Economist called “Women Farmers On the Move,” and is one of the subjects of the award-winning film by Megan Thompson, Ladies of the Land: A Film About Growing.Ellen Farmer conducted this interview (which covers not only Garling’s work at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden, but also her more recent activities) on October 7, 2007 over the telephone.Lyn Garlingsustainable agricultureentomologistsorganic farmingintegrated pest managementapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/38b6s81khttps://escholarship.org/content/qt38b6s81k/qt38b6s81k.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3862v84f2022-08-02T13:30:29Zqt3862v84fGail Harlamoff: Executive Director, Life Lab Science ProgramHarlamoff, GailRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Gail Harlamoff is Executive Director of the Life Lab Science Program, a nationally recognized, award-winning nonprofit science and environmental organization located on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Founded in 1979, Life Lab helps schools develop gardens and implement curricula to enhance students’ learning about science, math, and the natural world. The program has trained tens of thousands of educators in more than 1400 schools across the country.Life Lab’s specialized initiatives include LASERS (Language Acquisition in Science Education for Rural Schools)—also known as the Monterey Bay Science Project—which trains teachers in the region to teach language development through scientific exploration. The Waste Free Schools program helps teachers and students reduce school waste through conservation. And the organization’s model Garden Classroom, located on the Farm at UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, is used for teacher training and school field trips and events.Harlamoff grew up in a (then) relatively rural section of suburban Soquel, in Santa Cruz County, with a large garden that provided much of the family’s food. Her own struggles as a hands-on student in schools that emphasized rote memorization, and the strategies she cultivated to overcome those struggles, yielded insights that later helped her excel as elementary school teacher. In 1987, during Harlamoff’s first year teaching school, a Life Lab workshop for teachers rekindled her childhood interest in gardening, and set her on a path that led to joining the Life Lab staff in 1996 and eventually taking on the executive director position.Sarah Rabkin conducted this interview at Harlamoff’s home in Soquel, California, on July 8, 2008. Harlamoff told detailed stories about children excelling in garden-based settings who had struggled in conventional classrooms. Outside the house, goats played and rested in a large fenced area, while in Harlamoff’s kitchen, adjacent to the room where the interview was being conducted, her exuberant dogs got into occasional bouts of benign mischief.Gail HarlamoffLife Lab Science Programhorticultural educationorganic farmingoral historysustainable agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3862v84fhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3862v84f/qt3862v84f.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt33x6b6q62022-08-02T13:08:56Zqt33x6b6q6Jeff Larkey: Route One FarmsLarkey, JeffFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Jeff Larkey was born in Montreal, Canada, but his father’s family has been in California since 1849. Larkey spent part of his childhood in the Carmel Valley of California, and in Davis, California, working summers in the fields and processing plants of the conventional agriculture world. He came to Santa Cruz in 1973 to enroll in Cabrillo College’s solar technology program, where he also studied horticulture with Richard Merrill. In the late 1970s, Larkey moved onto a commune on Ivy Lane in Live Oak—an unincorporated, then still somewhat rural area of Santa Cruz County, where he and his fellow commune members grew basil and garlic as well as other crops on four acres of land, and transported them via bicycle to sell at the Live Oak Farmers’ market. These crop choices helped establish a taste among local community members for fresh pesto, creating a lasting legacy.In 1981, Larkey left that commune to farm along the fertile floodplain of the San Lorenzo River on Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz. His farming operation was certified by CCOF [California Certified Organic Farmers] in 1985, and eventually became Route One Farms. Larkey originally ran the farm together with Jonathan Steinberg (known as ‘Steiny’), but since 2002 has been the sole proprietor. Route One leases sixty-five acres of land in several locations in Santa Cruz County, including Rancho del Oso along Waddell Creek in Big Basin State Park. This oral history was conducted by Ellen Farmer on June 23, 2007, at the offices of Route One Farms in Santa Cruz, California.Jeff LarkeyRoute One Farmsorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/33x6b6q6https://escholarship.org/content/qt33x6b6q6/qt33x6b6q6.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt33p321982022-08-02T13:08:13Zqt33p32198Nesh Dhillon: Manager, Santa Cruz County Community Farmers' MarketsDhillon, NeshRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Nesh (pronounced “Naysh”) Dhillon is operations manager for the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets, which include locations in downtown and Westside Santa Cruz, Live Oak, Felton, and (added in 2009, after this oral history was recorded) Scotts Valley. All operate open year-round except the Felton market, which is open May through October.Dhillon’s parents both grew up poor—his father in a farming family in northern India, his mother in rural Oregon—but with a preference for fresh, nutritious foods, which they passed on to their son. A high-school education at a Jesuit institution in Portland, Oregon, instilled in the young Dhillon a deep concern for ethical behavior, cooperation, and justice—values that, he says, have also informed his career choices. Initially aiming toward medical school, he shifted direction when he discovered sustainable agriculture at the University of Oregon. After a stint of post-graduation employment in bars and restaurants on the Oregon coast, he relocated to Santa Cruz, where he joined the staff of a local winery before taking a job as assistant manager for the farmers’ market in 2000, eventually moving into the operations manager position.In this oral history, conducted by Sarah Rabkin on Thursday, November 20, 2008, at Rabkin’s home in Soquel, California, Dhillon discussed the emergence of the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Market out of the rubble of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake; the market’s growth and evolution over the ensuing two decades, and the pleasures and challenges of managing year-round farmers’ markets in an agriculturally rich, socially diverse, sometimes politically contentious community.Nesh Dhillonfarmers' marketssustainable agricultureorganic farmingSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/33p32198https://escholarship.org/content/qt33p32198/qt33p32198.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt32t2c0fk2022-08-02T13:07:19Zqt32t2c0fkAmy Courtney: Freewheelin' FarmCourtney, AmyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Shareholders in Freewheelin’ Farm’s community supported agriculture program enjoy an unusual perk: delivery by bicycle-drawn trailer. Freewheelin’ founder Amy Courtney, a 1997 graduate of UCSC’s Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, strives to produce fresh, healthy food while minimizing her environmental footprint. Courtney started the farm in 2002 with almost no motorized vehicles, incorporating used equipment and recycled materials wherever possible in the farm’s operations. She and her current farming partners, Kirstin Yogg and Darryl Wong, still haul all of their CSA shares by bicycle six miles into Santa Cruz.Courtney’s work as a farmer springs not only from a love of land and plants, but also from a commitment to social justice, community health, and cultural vitality. She majored in community studies as an undergraduate student at UCSC; before founding Freewheelin’ Farm, she worked with school gardens, Santa Cruz’s Homeless Garden Project, the United Farm Workers and the AFL-CIO, and an agricultural extension program in Cuba. Freewheelin’s website places the farm “at the forefront of the growing movement towards community renewal, addressing issues of environment, health, and social equity in a simple and delicious way.” The Freewheelin’ farmers have begun collaborating with “Food, What?!”—a youth empowerment program based at UCSC’s Life Lab Garden Classroom. Other cultural and educational initiatives at the farm have included an annual community art show, yoga classes, and cooking instruction with Zen Buddhist priest and Tassajara Bread Book author Edward Espe Brown.Courtney’s long, low house sits on the original Freewheelin’ acre, a stretch of cultivated land between the Coast Highway and the Pacific Ocean in northern Santa Cruz County. The house and land belong to Courtney’s friend and mentor Jim Cochran—proprietor of nearby Swanton Berry Farm, and the only organic farmer to have signed a United Farm Workers contract. Sarah Rabkin interviewed Courtney there on the late afternoon of January 16th, 2009: a day of clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine that heated Courtney’s southwest-facing living room—with its large windows looking over the ocean—to a tropical warmth. Courtney and her two farming partners were poised on the brink of big changes: they had just signed a lease for an additional parcel of land, multiplying the farm’s acreage eightfold, and they were laying plans to ramp up Freewheelin’s 40-share CSA to a membership of 100.Amy Courtneyorganic farmingcommunity supported agriculturesustainable agriculturewomen farmersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/32t2c0fkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt32t2c0fk/qt32t2c0fk.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt31z0f9382022-08-02T13:06:36Zqt31z0f938Congressmember Sam FarrFarr, SamFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01United States Congressmember Sam Farr, one of the political heroes of the sustainable agriculture movement, was interviewed by Ellen Farmer on August 23, 2007. A fifth-generation Californian, Farr was born in 1941. He is the son of California State Senator Fred Farr, who sponsored a law requiring toilets in the fields for farm workers, as well as other landmark environmental legislation.Sam Farr began his career in public service in 1964, in the Peace Corps in Colombia. Before his election to the House of Representatives in 1993, Farr served for twelve and a half years in the California State Assembly. In 1990, Farr authored the California Organic Standards Act, which established standards for organic food production and sales in California. This piece of legislation became one of the models for the National Organic Program’s federal organic standards. Farr now serves as co-chair of the National Organic Caucus in the House of Representatives, and worked with organic policy activists to increase support for organic farming research in the federal Farm Bill.Recognizing the contributions of the UC Santa Cruz Agroecology Program to the field of sustainable agriculture, Farr secured a line item for the program in California’s higher education budget. Speaking before the 110th Congress on October 4, 2007 (in remarks entered into the Congressional Record), Farr said, “Since entering Congress, I have worked hard to share the story of the UC Santa Cruz Farm's important work with my colleagues. Congress has responded with a total of over $3 million in direct appropriations to the UC Santa Cruz Farm since 2000 to assist with its important research and extension work with the rapidly expanding organic farming sector. Indeed, the UC Santa Cruz Farm’s influence has been far-reaching, inspiring many sustainable agricultural programs at other universities, including UC Riverside, Cal Poly, and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.”Ellen Farmer had some previous contact with Sam Farr through her graduate studies in public policy at California State University, Monterey Bay—a program with which Farr has close associations. She interviewed Farr at his office in Santa Cruz.Congressman Sam Farrorganic farming policysustainable agricultureCalifornia Organic Standards Actoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/31z0f938https://escholarship.org/content/qt31z0f938/qt31z0f938.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt31s282gq2022-08-02T13:05:18Zqt31s282gqDick Peixoto: Lakeside Organic GardensPeixoto, DickFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Dick Peixoto (pronounced Peh-SHOTE) exemplifies a recent type of organic farmer who, after a long career in conventional farming, transitions to organics for a mixture of reasons. Peixoto was born in 1956 in Watsonville, California, the grandson of immigrants from the Azores Islands who have been farming in the Pajaro Valley for the past 100 years. He grew up on the family ranch on Green Valley Road. His father worked off-farm for a fertilizer and pest control company in Watsonville, in addition to working on the family ranch. Peixoto spent his childhood riding around with his dad, dragging spray hoses around apple orchards in the Pajaro Valley. He dates his farming career to eighth grade, when he hired neighborhood kids to pick tomatoes on his family farm so he could market them. In 1976, when Peixoto was a senior in high school, he and his brother, Jim, began growing string beans commercially. Soon after, Peixoto began farming on his own, learning lettuce growing, as well as irrigation and laser leveling.Attracted by the organic price premium, Peixoto decided to transition to organic farming, and began Lakeside Gardens on a 55-acre farm in Watsonville in 1996. His conventional farming friends thought he had “lost his marbles,” but Lakeside Gardens has been very successful and Dick has become a spokesperson for integrated pest management, hedgerows and other organic farming methods. The company has expanded their operation to a total of 1200 acres, including fifty different parcels in the Pajaro Valley, many of which border on hospitals and schools trying to reduce pesticide exposure. Lakeside also farms on 500 acres in El Centro, making them one of the larger organic growers on the Central Coast and in California. They grow 75 different crops. All of their produce is California grown, and shipped by Albert’s Organics and other organic food distribution companies across the country to grocery stores such as Safeway and Kroger’s, as well as Whole Foods.Peixoto is outspoken on food safety, water supply, open space preservation, and other issues affecting agriculture, and is often quoted in the media on these topics. Ellen Farmer conducted this oral history on April 18, 2007, at Lakeside Organic Gardens in Watsonville.Dick Peixotoorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyorganic conversionapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/31s282gqhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt31s282gq/qt31s282gq.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2vt7k78k2022-08-02T13:04:04Zqt2vt7k78kDee Harley: Harley Farms Goat DairyHarley, DeeRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01In the village of Pescadero, forty-five minutes’ drive north of Santa Cruz, Dee Harley runs San Mateo County’s only active dairy. Harley and her staff care for a herd of more than 200 American Alpine goats, crafting the animals’ milk into sought-after cheeses (chevre, feta, ricotta, and fromage blanc) that have consistently garnered awards at national and international competitions. An increasingly popular agritourism destination for denizens of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas, Harley Farms also offers leisurely, informative tours of its entire dairy operation, from the birth of hundreds of kids each spring to the on-site sale of delicate white cheeses decorated with fresh herbs and colorful edible flowers grown on the farmstead.A native of Yorkshire, England, Harley discovered Pescadero while traveling in California as a young woman. In the gently rolling coastal landscape and in the rural community’s intimate spirit, she saw reflections of her verdant birthplace. When Harley fell in love with Tim Duarte, the local restaurateur who eventually became her husband, Pescadero became her new home.Harley took up residence on a nine-acre farmstead originally built in 1910 as a cow dairy—and shuttered, like many small local farms, after California’s industrializing dairy industry migrated to the Central Valley. She worked for a while for Larry Jacobs and Sandra Belin at nearby Jacobs Farm. In 1982, she acquired six goats from a local dairywoman. The herd began to grow; one thing led to another, and Harley Farms was born.Sarah Rabkin conducted this interview with Dee Harley on April 8th, 2009, in a private residence at Harley Farms. Outside the small cottage, guard llamas looked on while goats played atop a chicken tractor in the middle of a green pasture; small children participating in a farm tour reverently cradled newborn kids; flowers bloomed in garden beds. Dee Harley described the origins and evolution of her business and the day-to-day life of her small farm. She also articulated the values that inform her choices as a farmer and a businesswoman: deep community ties; a sense of responsibility to the local economy; dedication to the health of the herd and the land; creation of a high-quality product; truth in advertising; a sense of whimsy; a fierce resistance to unrestrained growth, and commitment to the preservation of an intimate, sustainable operation.Dee Harleygoat dairy farmingorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2vt7k78khttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2vt7k78k/qt2vt7k78k.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2cd380hc2022-08-02T12:59:32Zqt2cd380hcLarry Jacobs: Jacobs Farm/Del CaboJacobs, LarryReti, Irene H.2010-05-01Larry Jacobs is the co-founder of Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo with his wife, Sandra Belin. He was born in 1950 in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, California. As a young man, he owned and managed a tree nursery. When aphids infested some of his trees, a pesticide inspector sold him Metasystox to apply with a backpack sprayer. Jacobs temporarily became very ill from pesticide exposure. Vowing never to apply pesticides again, he searched for alternatives. Jacobs was lucky to find a mentor in Everett (“Deke”) Dietrick, a pioneer in the integrated pest management field, who taught him how to control the aphid infestation through IPM methods.Shortly after that, Jacobs left the nursery business to study soil science at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. After graduation, he moved to Vermont to apprentice with Helen and Scott Nearing, world-famous grandparents of the back-to-the-land and simple-living movements in the United States. In Vermont, Jacobs met his future wife, Sandra Belin. After a stint in Guatemala helping bring appropriate technology to the Western Highlands region, he and Sandra moved to Pescadero, California, a small town nestled in the rounded hills above the Pacific Ocean in San Mateo County, where in 1980 they founded Jacobs Farm. Jacobs Farm is now the largest organic culinary herb producer in the United States, growing sixty varieties of fresh culinary herbs and culinary flowers at seven farming locations on the Central Coast of California.In 1986, Larry and Sandra were inspired to work with a cooperative of family farmers in Baja California, Mexico, to start the Del Cabo organic growers association. Together they created an international market for organic vegetables grown in Baja California for shipment north, especially during the winter season. Jacobs Farm became Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo.Now each of Del Cabo’s farmers earns between $24,000 and $100,000 a year and receives retirement benefits and health insurance for life. Del Cabo imports nineteen million pounds of cherry tomatoes and other vegetables into U.S. markets, and as far away as Iceland and Dubai. As of 2009, Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo farms a total of 3700 field acres, and 22 acres of greenhouses.In 2008, Jacobs won a landmark pesticide drift case against pesticide application company Western Farm Service, Inc. The court found that the contamination of organic crops caused by pesticides drifting after application violated the rights of the organic crop grower. Jacobs’ narration of the events surrounding that case is a critical part of his oral history.This oral history, conducted by Irene Reti on March 11 and June 10, 2008, at the Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo offices in Santa Cruz, was conducted over several evenings at the end of Jacobs’ busy days. He is a vivid and natural storyteller.In 2009, Jacobs and Belin received the Ecological Farming Association’s (Eco-Farm) “Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture” or “Sustie” award for their lifetime achievements in sustainable agriculture.Larry JacobsJacobs Farm/Del Caboorganic farmingsustainable agricultureorganic farming--Mexicooral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2cd380hchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2cd380hc/qt2cd380hc.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt25x2g2dg2022-08-02T12:58:42Zqt25x2g2dgDale Coke: Coke FarmCoke, DaleFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Dale Coke grew up on an apricot orchard in California’s Santa Clara Valley. In 1976 he bought ten acres of farmland near Watsonville in Santa Cruz County but continued to work repairing fuel injection systems rather than farming at his new home. In 1981, a struggle with cancer inspired him to rethink his life and become an organic farmer. His neighbor, who had grown strawberries using pesticides and chemical fertilizers, asserted that strawberries could not be grown organically. Coke set out to prove him wrong. He sold his first organic strawberries at Community Foods, a local natural foods store, and began marketing berries, baby zucchini and “exotic” lettuces to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, and later other high-end restaurants across the country. Coke can be credited with the invention of the spring salad mix, an assortment of baby lettuce greens, now one of the most lucrative products sold by the organic industry. He originally rinsed his greens in an old washing machine cleverly set up to run only on the spin cycle. Coke Farms grew as salad mix caught on and began to be distributed beyond upscale restaurants and into supermarkets across the country. Today the company grows over fifty crops, including braising mix, Meyer lemons, shallots, and watermelon radishes. They also run a cold storage/shipping facility and contract with several other certified organic growers to sell and ship their produce across the country. The Organic Farming Research Foundation sent Coke to Washington, D.C. to testify at a hearing on the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement on July 29, 2009.Dale Coke was a pioneering member of California Certified Organic Farmers and received a Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture (Sustie) Award in 2009, along with his wife, Christine Coke. Coke shares his recollections of that organization’s early history, as well as the development of his farm. Ellen Farmer interviewed Dale Coke on March 21, 2007, at Coke Farm in Watsonville, California.Dale CokeCoke Farmorganic farmingsustainable agriculturesalad greens industryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/25x2g2dghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt25x2g2dg/qt25x2g2dg.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2261g6072022-08-02T12:57:47Zqt2261g607Jim Nelson, Camp Joy GardensNelson, JimRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Jim Nelson runs Camp Joy Gardens, a sunny, redwood-ringed 4.5-acre farm in Santa Cruz County’s San Lorenzo Valley. One of the Santa Cruz area’s first farms to shun chemical pesticides and fertilizers, Camp Joy was inspired by the example of Nelson’s mentor, Alan Chadwick. Employing biodynamic principles, the farm grows a bountiful harvest of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other products using home-grown hay mulch, cover crops, fertilizer from on-farm goats and chickens, and other organic inputs. A community supported agriculture program distributes weekly produce baskets to twenty-five local families.As a non-profit educational organization, Camp Joy offers tours and programs for local schools, presents workshops for adults, and hosts apprentices from all over the world. Locals flock to the annual spring plant sale and fall open house to wander the colorful orchards and gardens and to buy seedlings, fresh bouquets, dried wreaths, honey, jams, candles, and other farm products.Nelson was an early protégé of Alan Chadwick at the UCSC Garden, where he met his first wife, Beth Benjamin. After leaving the Garden, the couple briefly experimented with farming in Canada. They eventually returned to Santa Cruz, where one day Chadwick shared with them a letter he had received from a Boulder Creek landowner, Cressie Digby, who expressed interest in providing four acres for young organic farmers to cultivate. In 1971, Nelson and Benjamin established Camp Joy Garden on Digby’s landIn this interview, conducted by Sarah Rabkin in Jim Nelson’s home at Camp Joy Gardens in Boulder Creek, California, on August 20th and October 23rd, 2008, Nelson talked about the founding and early days of the UCSC Garden, his experiences with Alan Chadwick, the creation and evolution of Camp Joy, and his philosophy as a farmer-educator. Two farm dogs slept nearby on the living-room floor, and the scent of ripe pears drifted in from the kitchen, which was filled with crates of newly harvested fruit.Jim NelsonCamp Joy Gardensorganic farmingsustainable agricultureAlan ChadwickCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsoral histioryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2261g607https://escholarship.org/content/qt2261g607/qt2261g607.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1b78n0s92022-08-02T12:56:58Zqt1b78n0s9Paul Glowaski: Garden Director, Homeless Garden ProjectGlowaski, PaulReti, Irene H.2010-05-01Paul Glowaski, Garden Director for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California, was born in 1979 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During the summers, he helped on his grandfather’s grain and cattle farm. Glowaski studied Latin American history at DePauw University in Indiana, and traveled to Mexico as part of a delegation of college students to Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas shortly after the Zapatista uprising. He was part of the Chiapas Media Project in the Mexico Solidarity Network. His experiences with farmers in Chiapas affected him deeply. After graduation, Glowaski joined Americorps’ National Civilian Community Corps, and worked with people who are homeless. He continued this work at the Committee on Temporary Shelter in Burlington, Vermont. Interested in urban agriculture because it offered self-sufficiency and food security to those in low-income communities, Glowaski decided to pursue training in organic farming, embarking on a path that led first to an organic farm in Kentucky, then to an apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and finally to his current position at the Homeless Garden Project.The Homeless Garden Project runs a two-acre market farm in Santa Cruz that trains low-income and homeless community members in sustainable agriculture, also supporting a CSA that provides organic fruits and vegetables to Santa Cruz County residents. As farm manager of the Homeless Garden Project, Glowaski brings together his passions for economic, social, ecological, and food justice. With his friend Cooper Funk, Glowaski also runs Urban Eggs, a consulting business that teaches city residents how to raise chickens in their backyards. This interview with Paul Glowaski was conducted by Irene Reti on February 9, 2009 in the Regional History offices at McHenry Library, UC Santa Cruz.Paul GlowaskiHomeless Garden Projecthorticultural educationsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1b78n0s9https://escholarship.org/content/qt1b78n0s9/qt1b78n0s9.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt17s2z0tr2022-08-02T12:54:46Zqt17s2z0trJim Cochran: Swanton Berry FarmCochran, JimFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Jim Cochran was born in Carlsbad, California in 1947. He came to UC Santa Cruz in the late 1960s as an undergraduate student to study child development and 19th century European intellectual history. As a student at Merrill College (one of the UC Santa Cruz residential colleges), he lived up the hill from the Chadwick Garden (Student Garden Project) and admired the organic food and flowers grown on that steep hillside. After he graduated, Cochran took a job as an assistant to organizers of Co-op Campesina, a farm worker-owned production co-op in the Pajaro Valley, California. He later helped several farmer co-ops in Central California with marketing and financial planning. This shaped his future role as founder of Swanton Berry Farm, famous as the first certified organic farm in the United States to sign a labor contract with the United Farm Workers (UFW). Swanton Berry Farm offers their workers low income housing on site, health insurance, vacation and holiday pay, a pension, and other benefits including an employee stock ownership program. In 2006 Cochran received the Honoring Advocates for Social Justice in Sustainable Agriculture (Justie) Award from the Ecological Farming Association.Cochran began Swanton Berry Farm in 1983 because he wanted to try to grow strawberries organically. He was the first (modern) commercial organic strawberry farmer in California, and in 1987 the California Certified Organic Farmers certified his farm. Cochran’s methods became a resource for other organic strawberry growers, and in 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded him the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for developing organic methods of growing strawberries that did not rely on the soil fumigant methyl bromide. A key component of Jim’s success was his partnership with UC Santa Cruz agroecologists Steve Gliessman and Sean Swezey in on-farm research.Travelers along the North Coast of Santa Cruz County visit the Swanton farm stand on Highway One, where they pick strawberries by the sea, and savor the fabulous jams, truffles, strawberry pies, scones and other treats concocted in the kitchen. When no one is minding the store, customers pay on the honor system, a lesson in trust that Cochran encourages. A photo exhibit documenting the agricultural history of Santa Cruz County and of the United Farm Workers is displayed above long comfortable tables where customers sip coffee supplied by the Community Agroecology Network.Ever a visionary, Cochran joined the Roots of Change Council’s Vivid Picture Project, which is “daring to dream up a comprehensive vision of a sustainable food system in California.” He discusses all of these aspects of his career in this interview conducted by Ellen Farmer on December 10, 2007, at Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport, California.Jim CochranSwanton Berry Farmorganic strawberriesorganic farmingsustainable agricultureUnited Farmworkers (UFW)oral historyfarmworkersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/17s2z0trhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt17s2z0tr/qt17s2z0tr.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0t25x8c52022-08-02T12:53:56Zqt0t25x8c5Janet and Grant Brians: Brians RanchBrians, JanetBrians, GrantFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01This two–part interview with Janet Brians and her son Grant Brians, conducted by Ellen Farmer on July 19, 2007 at Brians Ranch in Hollister, California, documents their pioneering work as organic farmers and founders of California Certified Organic Farmers. Janet Brians holds a master’s degree in East Asian studies from UC Berkeley and a master’s in library science from UCLA. In 1973, she and her husband Robert (who worked in the computer industry) were living on the San Francisco Peninsula. Desiring relief from the increasing smog and urban congestion, they bought one hundred acres of farmland in Hollister, California, which came with several historic buildings that dated back to the 1860s. The Brians’ restored and preserved these structures and founded Brians Ranch, where for the past thirty-six years they have grown row and orchard crops organically. Their son, Grant, spent his teenage years on the ranch, and has been an organic farmer his entire life. Janet Brians feels a deep passion for farming and for her historic farmhouse.Today the California Certified Organic Farmers is one of the oldest and most influential organic certification and trade associations in North America. Janet Brians kept the minutes and records in the early years of the organization, and Grant became the most prolific organic certifier for CCOF in the 1970s through the mid-1980s. He is currently on the board of CCOF. An activist as well, he traveled to Sacramento to lobby for the California Organic Foods Act (COFA) of 1990. Heirloom Organic Gardens is but the latest incarnation of Grant’s organic farming activities. In the second part of this interview, Grant Brians reflects on his more than thirty years in the organic farming movement.Janet BriansGrant Briansorganic farming--Californiasustainable agriculture--Californiaoral historyCalifornia Certified Organic Farmersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0t25x8c5https://escholarship.org/content/qt0t25x8c5/qt0t25x8c5.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0q88w50t2022-08-02T12:52:49Zqt0q88w50tStephen R. Gliessman: Alfred E. Heller Professor of Agroecology, UC Santa CruzGliessman, Stephen R.Reti, Irene H.2010-05-01An internationally recognized leader in the field of agroecology, Stephen (Steve) Gliessman is the Alfred E. Heller Professor of Agroecology in UC Santa Cruz’s Environmental Studies Department, where he has taught since 1981. He earned his doctorate in plant ecology at UC Santa Barbara, and was the founding director of the UCSC Agroecology Program (now the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems). His teaching focuses on agroecology, sustainable agriculture, organic gardening, ethnobotany, California natural history, botany and ecology. He is the author of the groundbreaking textbook Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems (Second Edition, CRC 2006), and numerous other books and articles. In 2008, Gliessman became the chief editor of the internationally known Journal of Sustainable Agriculture.Gliessman’s activities in the field of sustainable agriculture are extensive. He founded and directs the Program in Community and Agroecology (PICA), an experiential living/learning program at UCSC. He heads UCSC’s Agroecology Research Group, an interdisciplinary body of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, research associates, postdoctoral researchers, and international visitors from the agroecological community. In 2001, Steve and his wife Robbie Jaffe (also interviewed in this series) started the Community Agroecology Network (CAN). CAN’s goal is to help a network of rural, primarily coffee-growing communities in Mexico and Central America develop self-sufficiency and sustainable growing practices. CAN markets coffee directly to individuals, institutions, and markets in the United States. Those who wander through the Downtown Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market can sample and purchase CAN coffee at the market, UCSC students can drink it in campus dining halls and cafes, and everyone else can order the coffee and have it shipped to their home. CAN and PICA also co-sponsor the International Agroecology Short Course, which Gliessman has taught since 1999 in venues as diverse as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Vermont.A consummate storyteller, Gliessman reflected on the diverse aspects of his life in agroecology in this comprehensive interview conducted by Irene Reti on three different occasions: April 16, May 25, and June 12, 2007, in his offices on the UCSC campus. Gliessman’s office shelves are packed with books and journals, conference programs, buttons, posters, and other archival material representing forty years of reading and publishing in his field. He assured Reti that he “never throws anything away.” He sometimes referred to these books during the interview; at one point he held up a packet of heirloom seeds from Brazil, at another a bottle of olive oil from his own organic orchard and vineyard, Condor’s Hope Ranch in Santa Barbara County, California—a place close to his heart.Other Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyStephen Gliessmanagroecologysustainable agricultureorganic farmingCommunity Agroecology NetworkProgram in Community and Agroecologyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0q88w50thttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0q88w50t/qt0q88w50t.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0q00q64k2022-08-02T12:51:26Zqt0q00q64kAndy Griffin: Mariquita FarmGriffin, AndyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Andy Griffin runs Mariquita (“Ladybug”) Farm on twenty-five acres in Watsonville and Hollister. In collaboration with Steven Pedersen and Jeanne Byrne’s High Ground Organics in Watsonville, Griffin and his wife, Julia Wiley, sell much of their produce through a community supported agriculture venture called Two Small Farms.Possessed of a quick mind and a powerful command of language, a wry and robust sense of humor, and strong opinions gleaned through extensive experience in the farming and marketing of organic produce, Griffin is also a prolific writer, blogger, and radio commentator. With farming roots reaching into California’s 1970s organic-farming renaissance, he has plenty of stories to tell.The great-grandson of California farmers and son of a plant ecologist, Griffin took agriculture classes through the Future Farmers of America program at Carmel High School, then went on to UC Davis to study range management. Disillusioned by the pesticide-heavy focus of that program, he eventually completed a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.Griffin’s practical education took place in a series of jobs on farms—including Cargill-owned sunflower fields in Davis, an organic garden that supplied produce to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse, the Straus family dairy and Warren Weber’s Star Route Farms in Marin County, and a ranch in Santa Barbara County. After stints as a produce distributor, he eventually established Riverside Farm with partner Greg Beccio. The proceeds from that successful salad-greens business funded the creation of Happy Boy Farms, now run by Beccio—and eventually helped Griffin establish Mariquita Farm.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Andy Griffin at her Soquel home on November 6th and December 16th, 2008. In addition to rollicking anecdotes, Griffin’s extensive transcript provides trenchant insights into the evolving economics of organic production, distribution, and marketing on both small and large scales.Andy Griffinorganic farmingsalad greenssustainable agricultureoral historycommunity supported agricultureRiverside Farmsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0q00q64khttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0q00q64k/qt0q00q64k.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0ng759sn2022-08-02T12:50:31Zqt0ng759snOrin Martin: Manager, Alan Chadwick Garden, CASFSMartin, OrinRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Orin Martin manages the Alan Chadwick Garden at UC Santa Cruz, where he is widely admired for his skills as a master orchardist, horticulturalist, and teacher. Martin grew up an athletic and outdoors-oriented child in Massachusetts, Florida, New York State, and Ohio—without any interest in gardening, which struck him as “an onerous chore, and kind of sissy stuff, actually.” While he was in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s, as a student at American University, he “got politicized” by current events: some 100,000 citizens marched on the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam war; Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. In 1969, exhausted and alienated after a lonely struggle to avoid the military draft, Martin followed some friends to Santa Cruz, where he heard about “this place called ‘The Garden’”—the one being cultivated by Alan Chadwick and his protégés on the UCSC campus. “I wandered up there one morning,” said Martin in this interview, “and I was just bowled over, and fell in love with it, and felt, I have to do this.” Martin had no training as a gardener. His unfinished undergraduate studies were in English; his interests leaned toward writing and literature. Suddenly infatuated with the Chadwick garden nonetheless, he attended public lectures given by Alan Chadwick on the campus and in town. In 1972, shortly after Chadwick had left Santa Cruz and the UCSC Farm had been launched, Martin began volunteering several days a week at the Farm and Garden. When the apprenticeship program there became formalized under Chadwick successor Stephen Kaffka, Martin applied; after completing the apprenticeship in 1975, he received a grant to start a community gardening program in various locations around Santa Cruz County. In 1977, UCSC hired Martin and a colleague named “Big” Jim Nelson (not to be confused with the Jim Nelson interviewed in this series) to oversee the Farm and Garden. More than thirty years later, countless productive garden beds, fruit trees, and former apprentices bear vital testimony to the effectiveness of Martin’s ministrations. In this interview—conducted on July 11th and August 29th, 2008, at UCSC’s Science and Engineering Library—Orin Martin spoke with Sarah Rabkin about his work with the Farm and Garden and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, his cultivation of an organic rose collection and orchards of citrus and deciduous fruit tree varieties especially suited to the local climate, and his mentorship of Farm and Garden apprentices.Orin MartinCenter for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systemsorganic farmingsustainable agricultureAlan Chadwickoral historyenvironmental educationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0ng759snhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0ng759sn/qt0ng759sn.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0696k2k02022-08-02T12:48:24Zqt0696k2k0Amy Katzenstein-Escobar: Life Lab TeacherKatzenstein-Escobar, AmyFarmer, Ellen2010-05-01Amy Katzenstein-Escobar was the first pilot teacher for the Life Lab Science Program. She was born in 1956 in New Jersey, and grew up in Southern California. She came to UC Santa Cruz in the mid-1970s and entered the community studies major. She received a Ford Foundation education project grant to teach migrant children from Watsonville, became a teacher, and then began teaching at Salsipuedes School, where she participated in a pilot project for Life Lab in 1980. She discusses her Life Lab work in this oral history, conducted by Ellen Farmer on July 27, 2007, in an office on the UC Santa Cruz campus.Amy Katzenstein-EscobarLife Lab Science Programorganic farmingsustainable agricultureoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0696k2k0https://escholarship.org/content/qt0696k2k0/qt0696k2k0.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt01w4f5n32022-08-02T12:47:07Zqt01w4f5n3Tim Galarneau: Activist and ResearcherGalarneau, TimRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01In its March/April 2009 issue, Mother Jones magazine called Tim Galarneau “the Alice Waters of a burgeoning movement of campus foodies.” Galarneau is a co-founder of the Real Food Challenge, a national campaign promoting sustainable food sourcing in college dining halls. In his day job with UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), he coordinates the Center’s Farm to College project. Since his undergraduate days at UCSC, Galarneau has helped spearhead numerous initiatives to transform the way the nation’s schools, hospitals and other institutions navigate the high-volume acquisition and preparation of food.Galarneau and others brought about one such transformation—now a model for other institutions—on their own home ground. Students at UC Santa Cruz look out from their hillside campus over rich agricultural lands, including the 25-acre CASFS farm in their own backyard; yet until 2005, they had little access to locally grown organic food. Now, thanks to several years of collaborative effort by students, staff, and farmers, all of the UCSC dining halls daily serve certified organic produce; they also provide coffee purchased directly from farming communities that have personal relationships with UCSC students and staff, thanks to the UCSC-based Community Agroecology Network (CAN). The campus contracts for organic produce with a consortium of local farmers; carefully developed purchasing guidelines not only prioritize the direct acquisition of local, organic food, but also emphasize equitable labor relationships, environmentally friendly farming practices, humane animal husbandry, and a university food service that is as much about education as about feeding a hungry campus population.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Tim Galarneau on March 19, 2008, in his office at UCSC’s Oakes College. He described in detail the path that led him into farm-to-institution research and advocacy; he discussed the effort to transform food sourcing at UCSC and elsewhere, the new tools and techniques for social organizing that he and others have successfully employed in service of a food revolution, and his larger vision for the future of food.Tim Galarneausustainable agriculturefarm to institutionfood systemsoral historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/01w4f5n3https://escholarship.org/content/qt01w4f5n3/qt01w4f5n3.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8165t7k82022-08-02T12:40:17Zqt8165t7k8Leading Through Transitions and Turbulence: An Oral History with Executive Vice Chancellor R. Michael TannerTanner, MichaelReti, Irene H.2019-12-01In 1971, Robert Michael Tanner [R. Michael Tanner] arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a young assistant professor, joining what was then a fledgling computer and information sciences board [department]. Attracted to UCSC by its focus on undergraduate education and interdisciplinary study, and by the beauty of the campus’s natural landscape, Tanner was hired by the legendary provost of Cowell College, Jasper Rose. Tanner remained at UC Santa Cruz until 2002; in his more than thirty years on the campus he served in a myriad of leadership roles. His first administrative position was as chair of the Committee on Admissions, Financial Aid, and Relations with Schools, working with Dean of Admissions Richard Moll during UCSC’s enrollment crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s. He later chaired the Computer and Information Sciences (1981-1988) board and the Academic Senate Committee on Educational Policy (1985-1987), where he focused on reviewing UCSC’s Narrative Evaluation System and the campus’s general education requirements. This oral history, conducted as part of the Regional History Project’s University History Series, provides Tanner’s unique perspective on thirty years of UCSC’s history from the vantage point of these diverse administrative positions, as well as a member of the computer and information science faculty and of Cowell College, where he served as a residential preceptor in the 1970s. After many years of dedicated teaching, in 1988-89 Tanner entered UCSC’s senior administration, serving first as acting dean of natural sciences from 1988-19, and then as academic vice chancellor from 1989-1992 and executive vice chancellor (a position which he was the first to occupy) from 1992-1998. In the early 1990s, Tanner played a key role in helping UCSC cope with a major budget crisis. During those years he worked with three chancellors: Chancellor Robert Stevens, Chancellor Karl Pister, and finally Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. In this oral history, he offers his firsthand impressions of these three very different campus leaders.One of the most substantial contributions of this oral history is Tanner’s incisive thoughts on UC Santa Cruz as an experimental and unique institution of higher education. He shares insightful reflections on how Dean McHenry’s centralized decision making structure during the early years of the campus impacted the campus as it began to grow; on UCSC’s innovative college system; and on the campus’s Narrative Evaluation System. Another valuable contribution of this narrative is Tanner’s on-the-ground perspectives on the development of Silicon Valley and UC Santa Cruz’s relationship with the technology industry.UC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8165t7k8https://escholarship.org/content/qt8165t7k8/qt8165t7k8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2zw5t11r2022-08-02T10:59:11Zqt2zw5t11rSanta Cruz and the Cowell Ranch, 1890-9641Cardiff, GeorgeCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1965-06-01Cardiff was a longtime businessman and civic leader in Santa Cruz. He discussed his family's move to California, his education, his work in a local grocery store, the livery company he and his brother owned in the 1890s, his lumber and building materials company which was purchased by the Cowell Company, his years on the Library Board and with the Chamber of Commerce, and his role in helping establish Santa Cruz's first modern hospital. The middle section of the manuscript focuses on the Cowell ranch and family, the Cowell Company, and the portion of the ranch that is now the campus of UCSC. In the last section Cardiff commented on a number of prominent people in the history of Santa Cruz, and on everyday life in Santa Cruz from the turn of the century through Prohibition and the Great Depression.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2zw5t11rhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2zw5t11r/qt2zw5t11r.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt20j7w1sr2022-08-02T10:25:53Zqt20j7w1srFraming the Moment: An Oral History with Santa Cruz Photojournalist Shmuel ThalerThaler, ShmuelReti, Irene H.2018-03-05For over thirty years, Santa Cruz County residents have opened up their copy of the Santa Cruz Sentinel each morning and seen their lives reflected in Shmuel Thaler’s photographs. From triathlons to earthquakes, from clam chowder cook-offs to murder trials, from burning brush to breaching humpback whales—Thaler’s images record the dynamic nature of this unique Central California coastal community that we call home. His photographs fuse a recognizable artistic, graphical aesthetic with a driving documentary impulse. This oral history photobook based on interviews conducted by the Regional History Project at the University of California, Santa Cruz Library captures the trajectory and philosophy of Shmuel Thaler’s photographic career. See the supplemental material link here for the unedited transcript of this oral history.history of photographyphotojournalismSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/20j7w1srhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt20j7w1sr/qt20j7w1sr.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt79d536j62022-08-02T10:25:03Zqt79d536j6Malio J. Stagnaro: The Santa Cruz GenoveseStagnaro, MalioJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1975-06-01Mr. Stagnaro's father, a native of Genoa, Italy, arrived in Santa Cruz in 1874 and began commercial fishing. Toward the end of the century he brought his family and relatives to Santa Cruz, and they in turn encouraged others to come; eventually sixty Genovese families comprised the Santa Cruz fishing fleet. His son, Malio, headed the C. Stagnaro Fishing Corporation's various operations (two restaurants, deep-sea fishing trips, and an excursion boat) and was widely regarded as the "mayor" of the wharf. In this volume, Mr. Stagnaro discussed the arrival of the Genovese; the Italian life in Santa Cruz; the operations of the old fishing fleet; early methods for wholesaling and retailing fish; the changes in the tourist industry from 1900 to the present; the effects in Santa Cruz of Prohibition, the Depression, and World War II; the new Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor; and the post-war development of the family corporation.Italian American immigrationSanta Cruz County HistoryfishingMonterey Bayapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/79d536j6https://escholarship.org/content/qt79d536j6/qt79d536j6.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9qv373wj2022-08-02T10:21:40Zqt9qv373wjAdalbert Wolff: The Cowell Ranch, 1915Wolff, AdalbertCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1971-12-27Mr. Wolff came to this country from Germany in 1911, and for many years was a stockbroker in San Francisco. In the years between 1911 and 1926, however, he held a variety of jobs, one of which was as a timekeeper for the Cowell Company's Santa Cruz ranch. Mr. Wolff was interviewed about the ranch at that time. He also commented on S.H. Cowell and some of the Cowell Company's employees.Cowell RanchSanta Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9qv373wjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9qv373wj/qt9qv373wj.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2t4101442022-08-02T10:20:13Zqt2t410144A Commentary on the book "South Pacific Coast" by Bruce A. MacGregorRountree, EdwardCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingJohnson, DorisRegional History Project, UCSC Library1974-01-01Mr. Rountree was a lifelong Santa Cruz resident and an avid railroad buff. He read Bruce A. MacGregor's book, South Pacific Coast, the story of the railroad that operated between Alameda and Santa Cruz in the latter years of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century, and was inspired to fill a spiral notebook with his own handwritten observations and boyhood memories of the railroad. From these notes, a manuscript was produced which is not only a detailed commentary on South Pacific Coast, but a rich source of contemporary observations of the early railroad and its effects on many aspects of life in Santa Cruz County.California railroadsSouth Pacific Coastapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2t410144https://escholarship.org/content/qt2t410144/qt2t410144.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7977g9162022-08-02T10:18:47Zqt7977g916Ernest T. Kretschmer: Reflections on Santa Cruz Musical Life, Volume IIKretschmer, Ernest T.Reti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2000-01-01his volume was the Project's second publication on Kretschmer, a notable presence in Santa Cruz musical life for more than 30 years. In this volume, Kretschmer reflected on the significant local cultural developments of the last decade and his role in those events. He described the coming-of-age of the Santa Cruz County Symphony under maestro Larry Granger, the need of the symphony and other musical organizations for a performing arts concert hall in north county, and recent efforts to establish such a facility.Kretschmer also discussed the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts, the premiere cultural venue in south Santa Cruz County, which Kretschmer was instrumental in founding.Kretschmer discusses the world-renowned Cabrillo Music Festival, which he participated in since its inception. He recalls the festival's acclaimed 1999 production of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass," and the innovative tenure of the festival's Music Director/Conductor, Marin Alsop. He also gave a lively history of Santa Cruz's New Music Works, directed by Phil Collins, which has highlighted the work of local composers, including Lou Harrison.Kretschmer's philanthropy over the years included the donation of concert grand pianos to local venues, the establishment of music scholarships for UCSC students, the support of UCSC's resident student ensemble program, and, most recently, the establishment of a permanent endowment to enrich musical archives in the University Library's Special Collections.Krestchmer's memoir demonstrated the importance of dedicated volunteers in local cultural organizations and how their contributions have created in our small community unusually diverse and thriving performing arts and musical organizations.Santa Cruz County historyCabrillo Music Festivalapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7977g916https://escholarship.org/content/qt7977g916/qt7977g916.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6jr5f1pp2022-08-02T10:16:51Zqt6jr5f1ppHubert C. Wyckoff, Jr.: Volume I Watsonville RecollectionsWyckoff, Hubert C.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1978-06-22This volume includes Wyckoff family history in the Pajaro Valley since the 1850s; Watsonville life at the turn of the century; a commentary on the differences between the communities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz.WatsonvilleCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jr5f1pphttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6jr5f1pp/qt6jr5f1pp.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt27z9z18s2022-08-02T10:15:19Zqt27z9z18sThe Martina Castro Lodge FamilyLodge, CarrieCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1965-06-01Lodge was the granddaughter of Martina Castro Lodge, holder of the largest Mexican land grant in Santa Cruz County and descendant of Isidro Castro who came to California as a soldier with the de Anza Party in 1776. Lodge related a number of stories about her grandmother handed down in the family; she also described incidents in the life of her father, Michael Lodge II, who lived from 1838-1931. Some of her comments about her own childhood provided details of family life in the 1880s and '90s.CaliforniosSanta Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/27z9z18shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt27z9z18s/qt27z9z18s.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4g9382t92022-08-02T10:13:52Zqt4g9382t9Frederick A. Hihn: Santa Cruz in the Early 1900sPalmer, DarrowCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1963-11-01Mr. and Mrs. Palmer were asked to comment on Frederick A. Hihn (1829-1913), who was one of Santa Cruz's wealthiest and most influential citizens. He played a major role in the development of the county's roads and railroads, founded the resort city of Capitola, owned and developed much of the Santa Cruz business district, owned the city waterworks, was involved in banking, and owned huge tracts of prime timberland in the county. In their youth, both Mr. and Mrs. Palmer worked for F. A. Hihn. They described Hihn and some of his business enterprises and discussed several of the major industries that were in Santa Cruz in the early 1900s.Santa Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4g9382t9https://escholarship.org/content/qt4g9382t9/qt4g9382t9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2865c93d2022-08-02T08:57:37Zqt2865c93dPaul D. Johnston: Aptos and the Mid-Santa Cruz County Area from the 1890s through World War IIJohnston, Paul D.Calciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegoinal History Project, UCSC Library1973-02-12A longtime Aptos resident who spent part of his youth in Soquel, Mr. Johnston began his interview with descriptions of turn-of- the-century Capitola, the Soquel paper mill, and the mid-county fruit industry. He then discussed the history and economy of the old village of Aptos-- its businesses, school, roads, water supply, and volunteer fire department, of which he was long an active member. He also described the men who were the large landowners in the mid-county at that time and the coming of the modern real estate developers, specifically the creation of Rio Del Mar and Seacliff. In the latter part of the manuscript he described the rum-running and mountain stills of the Prohibition era, while the concluding chapters were devoted to World War II, particularly the Civil Defense efforts in the County during those years.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2865c93dhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2865c93d/qt2865c93d.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3pq7c3g02022-08-02T08:56:03Zqt3pq7c3g0John Dong: the Cowell Ranch CookhouseDong, JohnCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1967-04-01Dong was the last of the Chinese cooks at the Cowell ranch cookhouse. He discussed the daily schedule of the ranch cook, the way he got his supplies, and the foods he most commonly prepared. He also explained the floor plan and the equipment of the old cookhouse.UC Santa Cruz historyChinese immigrantsCowell Ranchapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3pq7c3g0https://escholarship.org/content/qt3pq7c3g0/qt3pq7c3g0.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6bb2z21w2022-08-02T08:47:15Zqt6bb2z21wCiel Benedetto: A History of the Santa Cruz Women's Health CenterBenedetto, CielReti, IreneRegional History Project,UCSC Library 2000-01-01Santa Cruz Women's Health Center (SCWHC) director Benedetto traced the evolution of this unique community institution, celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of this interview in the year 2000. Founded in 1974 as a pioneering, feminist health collective, SCWHC is now a thriving health organization operating in today's complex managed care environment. Benedetto guided the center through this transition, maintaining its feminist perspective while overseeing an annual budget of more than $1 million.SCWHC is one of the country's few remaining women's health centers, providing more than 8,000 patient visits annually in general medicine, gynecology, prenatal care, family planning, and pediatrics. The agency also offered information and referral services, low-cost acupuncture, free mental health and nutritional counseling, and health and HIV education.Benedetto began her commentary with a discussion of the agency's socialist-feminist political origins as a collective and its commitment to consensus decision making. This phase eventually gave way to a more traditional organizational structure as the agency matured.Benedetto detailed the agency's myriad activities, including its highly developed volunteer training program, which produced a remarkable number of alumni over the years who became agents of change as physicians, health care providers, and women's rights advocates.Among the other activities of the center were the production of its internationally distributed newsletter and health education materials; the provision of new contraceptive methods such as the cervical cap; and its participation in breast cancer research studies. SCWHC maintained its commitment to diversity in its staff and patient population over the years and a singular reputation among international health agencies for women and children.women's healthsanta cruz historyfeminist health movementapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bb2z21whttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6bb2z21w/qt6bb2z21w.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0mp6n2rx2022-08-02T08:42:36Zqt0mp6n2rxRobert L. Sinsheimer: The University of California, Santa Cruz During a Critical Decade, 1977-1987Sinsheimer, RobertJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1996-03-11Randall Jarrell, documentary historian and head of the Regional History Project, conducted seven hours of taped interviews with Sinsheimer, UCSCs fourth chancellor during 1990-91, as part of the Project's University History series.Sinsheimer was appointed chancellor by UC President David Saxon in June, 1977. Formerly chairman of the division of biology at the California Institute of Technology where his work as a molecular biologist had earned him a distinguished international reputation. When approached with an invitation to consider heading UCSC he had come to the end of a long period of research and was receptive to a new challenge. His pre-eminent knowledge of the social implications and potential hazards of recombinant DNA technology and cloning methods in biology had deepened his concern about the necessity of promoting scientific literacy among non-scientists. Thus the UCSC chancellorship appealed to him since as a public institution it would give him a forum in which he could address these concerns.Sinsheimer was UCSC's first chancellor from outside the UC system. His predecessors included founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry who had presided over the planning and building of the innovative campus from 1961 until his retirement in June, 1974. McHenry was succeeded by Mark Christensen, a professor of geology from UC Berkeley, whose brief tenure was concluded by his resignation in January 1976, after only a year and a half as chancellor. Angus Taylor, a veteran UC administrator, was appointed Chancellor in February 1976, and during his tenure stabilized the fledgling campus while a permanent chancellor was selected.Sinsheimer arrived to find a campus in need of direction with serious systemic problems. As an outsider he saw UCSC's organization and administration undermining its relationship with the larger UC system, of which it was a small and to some, rather insignificant member.UCSC's promising academic reputation and innovative early identity had significantly deteriorated by the time Sinsheimer arrived. The outside world (as well as segments of the Santa Cruz community) had come, however wrongly, to view UCSC as a flakey, hippie school, with a questionable academic reputation. Vietnam War demonstrations, drugs, and the campus's counterculture increasingly strained town-gown relations and UCSC's reputation throughout the state. Enrollment figures were down and there were rumors (unfounded) that the campus would be closed for budgetary reasons.In this volume, Sinsheimer describes why his tenure was a critical decade for the troubled campus. He discusses the many problems he encountered -- the campus's lack of a sense of direction, its ambiguous academic reputation, its complicated administrative structure -- and the changes and reforms he initiated to solve them and bring the campus more into line with the way other UC campuses operated. He also discusses his role as chancellor and the contributions he made to the campus's development, including the Keck Telescope and Human Genome Projects. He also talks frankly about controversies engendered by the Research and Development Park Initiative, college reorganization, the anti-apartheid and divestiture movement, and student activism. His narration includes a prescient analysis of why the UCSC of the 1970s needed to be more closely related to Silicon Valley and the region's proliferating high technology industries. His goal of establishing an engineering school was not realized during his tenure, but the work Sinsheimer accomplished in reorganizing and revitalizing the campus paved the way for one day having such schools at UCSC.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0mp6n2rxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0mp6n2rx/qt0mp6n2rx.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9rq0q4g82022-08-02T08:16:04Zqt9rq0q4g8A Tour Through the House of Roy BoekenoogenBoekenoogen, RoyCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project UCSC Library1964-01-01Roy Boekenoogen collected a remarkable archive of Santa Cruz memorabilia, which ranged from sea shells to antique cameras, from bottles to butter churns. Interviewer Elizabeth Calciano described his house as a "fantasy-land for antique hunters, for historians, and for the merely curious." Many of his historical photographs were acquired by the University Library in the 1960s. In this oral history interview Boekenoogen discussed his collections and Santa Cruz history in the early to mid-twentieth century.Santa CruzCaliforniahistoryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9rq0q4g8https://escholarship.org/content/qt9rq0q4g8/qt9rq0q4g8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3zk466wx2022-08-01T16:53:02Zqt3zk466wxNick Pasqual (an excerpt)2010-05-01Many of our narrators mentioned Nick Pasqual, a Filipino immigrant. Nick is a pioneering organic farmer who helped found both the California Certified Organic Farmers, and the Live Oak Farmers’ Market at Green Acres School. Beginning in 1963, Nick sold vegetables (some of which he grew) at his stand in the Village Fair area of Aptos, California. His own vegetables were organic before the word was in popular or legal usage. When he had to close down the stand at the Village Fair, Nick helped organize the Live Oak Farmers’ Market and until very recently, Nick and his wife, Velma, sold vegetables at the Aptos Farmers’ Market at Cabrillo College. We had wanted to interview Nick, but he declined because of ill health (Nick is now in his late nineties). We are grateful to Allan Lönnberg of Cabrillo College, who granted us permission to reprint an excerpt of the transcript of the oral history he conducted with Nick in 2006; to Nick and Velma Pasqual who graciously agreed to the republication of this excerpt; and to Jerry Thomas, who called our attention to the existence of Lönnberg’s oral history with Pasqual. The complete oral history with Nick Pasqual, entitled A Very Rough Road: The Life of Nick Pasqual, is available in the Special Collections Department of the UCSC Library.Nick PasqualFilipino farmersminority farmersorganic farmingapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zk466wxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3zk466wx/qt3zk466wx.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9n34j8qv2022-08-01T16:47:32Zqt9n34j8qvHenry J. Mello: A Life in California PoliticsMello, HenryJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2000-12-07In an article summarizing his career, one newspaper characterized him as the "great graying grizzly bear of California politics," an old-style moderate Democrat whose career was animated by his dedication to his local district and his tireless efforts in behalf of its economic welfare. GOP legislator Bill Campbell once described Mello as "the only Democrat in the Senate with any experience as an entrepreneur," and one of the last of a dying breed of citizen legislators. Mello claims his approach to politics was derived partly from his mother--an openhearted, socially liberal Democrat, and partly from his father--a fiscally conservative Republican.The volume is divided into four sections, including Mello's early family life; his experiences in local politics as a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors; his election to the State Assembly; and his tenure as state senator from the 15th District.He begins the narration with anecdotes about the local Portuguese community in Watsonville, his high school years, and work in his family's apple-farming and cold-storage business. His initial foray into politics began in 1950 when he was a Democratic volunteer during the senate campaign between Richard M. Nixon and Helen Gahagan Douglas. His local public service career began when he served as a member of the California Agricultural Advisory Board and as a fire commissioner.His discussion of his early political career covers his tenure on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the issues that faced that body, including the preservation of agricultural land and related environmental issues; the founding of the UC Santa Cruz campus; town-gown relations; and his relationship with UCSC's founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry.Mello's progressive agenda has included such issues as land preservation, gay rights, an assault-weapons ban, senior citizens rights, and the environment. His reputation for "bringing home the bacon" to his district has engendered both praise and condemnation; notwithstanding the criticism, he discusses how he paid scrupulous attention to his constituents' needs, never took anything (or any election) for granted, and in a Republican district, never faced a serious election challenge.Mello served two terms in the State Assembly, where he began his long involvement in senior issues as chairman of the standing Committee on Aging and also became an influential member of the Ways and Means Committee. During his tenure as state senator, Mello had a distinctive legislative record, frequently having more bills signed into law than any other senator. His legislative legacy includes a remarkable record of initiating senior citizen programs. He authored over 120 bills dealing with seniors, including the establishment of the California Senior Legislature; the first programs focusing on Alzheimer's, including respite care, adult day health care, and multipurpose senior service programs; important changes in laws affecting conservatorship and elder abuse; funding for senior meals programs; and nursing-home reform. Seniors throughout the state hold him in high regard for his work in their behalf.He describes his role in obtaining assistance for his district after the l989 Loma Prieta earthquake, in creating a visionary plan for the conversion of Fort Ord, and his efforts in behalf of UCSC--all of which demonstrate his consensus-building skills and his great imagination in crafting bills. During his tenure, Mello carried 727 bills and resolutions, 456 of which the governor signed; many of the others were integrated into other bills.The volume also includes Mello's thoughts on the legislative process; the role of lobbyists; the use of media in campaigns; the culture of the State Senate; and his reflections on the governors with whom he worked, from Edmund G. Brown to Pete Wilson. Mello also discusses his relationship with United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez, Chavez's historical legacy, and his own views on relations between growers and migrant farmworkers.California state legislatureCalifornia politicsSanta Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9n34j8qvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9n34j8qv/qt9n34j8qv.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8tc4z47b2022-08-01T16:45:18Zqt8tc4z47bNeal Coonerty and Bookshop Santa Cruz: Forty-Six Years of Independent BooksellingCoonerty, NealReti, Irene2012-12-21In this oral history interview, Neal Coonerty, Bookshop Santa Cruz’s owner, tells a tale of creativity, resilience, humor, and persistence, a tale of how one independent bookstore has survived competition from superstores, online booksellers, e-books, a devastating natural disaster, and personal tragedy, to thrive as a nationally recognized and vibrant community business and institution.independent book sellingBookshop Santa CruzLoma Prieta Earthquakeapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8tc4z47bhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8tc4z47b/qt8tc4z47b.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt80m3p0022022-08-01T16:44:54Zqt80m3p002Ernest T. Kretschmer: Reflections on Santa Cruz Musical Life, Volume IKretschmer, Ernest T.Reti, IreneJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1992-01-01Volume I supplements the personal archive donated by Kretschmer to the University Library. It documented his remarkable contributions to the cultural life of Santa Cruz since he settled here in 1962. His thirty years as a board member of the Cabrillo Music Festival and his long-standing association with the Santa Cruz Symphony gave him a unique perspective on the evolution of these two cultural institutions. As a connoisseur of great music and an engaged generous patron, Kretschmer contributed imagination, energy, and financial support in his unstinting devotion to Santa Cruz musical life.Santa Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/80m3p002https://escholarship.org/content/qt80m3p002/qt80m3p002.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8pq1n4qt2022-08-01T16:43:33Zqt8pq1n4qtAlbretto Stoodley: The Loma Prieta Lumber Company and Santa Cruz in the Early Twentieth CenturyStoodley, AlbrettoCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1964-03-12Mr. Stoodley moved to California in 1902 and shortly thereafter began what proved to be a fifty-five year career with the Loma Prieta Lumber Company, first as a clerk, later as bookkeeper, and finally as secretary of the company. For a number of years he also owned his own retail lumberyard. Mr. Stoodley's long and varied lumbering experience is evident in the transcript of this oral history. He talked about logging, bucking, sawing, and wholesaling. He describes the old-style ox-teams and their successors, the powerful donkey engines; he gave a detailed account of the making of "split stuff" (hand-split items such as pickets, posts, and shakes) and also discussed mule packing, narrow-gauge railroads, the old Loma Prieta Village, and the effects of the 1906 earthquake on Santa Cruz County. The latter part of the manuscript was devoted to Santa Cruz life in the early twentieth century. Stoodley described the ethnic composition of the county, monetary practices, the coming of gas and electricity, the trolley system, early highways, entertainment, newspapers, the library and education.santa cruz county lumberingSanta Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pq1n4qthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8pq1n4qt/qt8pq1n4qt.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6tx194sd2022-08-01T16:39:21Zqt6tx194sdHubert C. Wyckoff: Volume 2: Attorney and Labor ArbitratorWyckoff, Hubert C.Jarrell, RandallJohnson, DorisRegional History Project, UCSC Library1985-09-18Mr. Wyckoff's education at University of California, Berkeley, Harvard Law School, and Hastings College of Law. Early years of legal career in the United States Attorney General's office in Northern California; private legal practice in San Francisco; work as Deputy Administrator for Maritime Labor in the United States War Shipping Administration, 1942-46; history of maritime labor relations and US Merchant Marine; the history of wartime and postwar labor arbitration as an emerging legal field; reflections on the practice and ethics of labor arbitration; the role of arbitration in settling disputes; comments on cases and decisions; career as attorney and arbitrator in Watsonville from 1946 to 1979.United States War Shipping Administrationhistory of legal professionUnited Statesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6tx194sdhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6tx194sd/qt6tx194sd.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt60j352zx2022-08-01T16:36:45Zqt60j352zxFrank Blaisdell: Santa Cruz in the Early 1900sBlaisdell, FrankCalciano, Elizabeth Spedding1967-01-01Mr. Blaisdell was a lifelong Santa Cruz resident who worked as a postal carrier from 1904 until 1949. His discussion of changes in the postal service during these years included delightful vignettes of the town of Santa Cruz. He also discussed the Cowell family and ranch, the California Powder Works, and described in detail everyday life in Santa Cruz at the turn of the 20th century.Santa CruzCA historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/60j352zxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt60j352zx/qt60j352zx.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4zm9j9q32022-08-01T16:34:31Zqt4zm9j9q3John C. Daly: A Life of Public Service in a Changing Santa Cruz, 1953-2013Daly, John C.Vanderscoff, Cameron2013-04-17John C. Daly is a sixty-one year citizen of Santa Cruz, and as a doctor, a family man and a former mayor he has had a central vantage point on the process of evolution and change Santa Cruz has gone through. This oral history hinges on his perspective on and involvement in the development of Santa Cruz from the small, tight-knit city he moved to in ’53 to the college town it is today, where there is a city population of ca. sixty thousand and a student population that exceeds seventeen thousand. However, the scope of the sessions go beyond his public involvement in Santa Cruz to give a broader context of his life, including his childhood, his family, and his service in World War II.Early in his career he took an opportunity to buy an existing practice in Santa Cruz, a quiet town centered on summer beach tourism. It essentially shut down for the rest of the year, leaving rents low and the businesses small. Variety came with its popularity as a convention locale, and the Miss California Pageant at the start of the summer. Daly relates the slow progress his business had in this context, which gave him time to get involved with public service organizations like the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Salvation Army. A few years later, at the urging of local businessmen, he ran for the city council. A newspaper advertisement for his campaign advertised his priorities as establishing a “wider tax base,” supporting “residents with fixed incomes,” working on “governmental agency cooperation,” an “improved storm drain system,” and “municipal wharf modernization.” He was elected and served one term as a councilman from ’59 to ’63, including a stint as mayor from ’61-’62. During those four years Daly helped support and initiate a series of key growth projects. In the late fifties and early sixties, Santa Cruz acquired the Sky Park Airport, constructed the yacht harbor, built the Loch Lomond Reservoir, oversaw downtown redevelopment, worked with a developer on a major international complex, and competed with San Jose for a University of California campus. The goal of all of this, Daly relates, was to make Santa Cruz into a “very desirable upper-middle class community with a great university,” characterized by a thriving business and convention culture. The international complex, for instance, was designed by the lead disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright and featured a glass pyramid hotel, a series of ‘courts’ showcasing the goods and products of foreign countries, and a concert hall that would show primarily non-domestic acts, speakers and films. The plans were put on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The developer estimated it would grow to have two million visitors a year. Just up the hill, the proposed UC campus was to grow to twenty seven thousand, five hundred students by 1990. Daly thought it was perfect. The town was busy in the summer, when many students were away, and then during the off-seasons there would be a robust student presence to fill the town and fuel business.While the Court never came into being due to funding issues, during John’s tenure as mayor the UC Regents unexpectedly settled on Santa Cruz as the site for their new campus. It was the culmination of protracted outreach efforts by the city, spearheaded by public officials like Daly. He was thrilled, expecting a wave of well-funded young people in sun tan pants and plaid skirts and bobby socks, like he and his fellow students dressed during his time at Berkeley. However, in the long run the university proved to not conform to these expectations. In these interviews he relates how the students increasingly became politically radicalized in the late sixties and seventies, and began to dress more casually and messily. To compound this trend, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the voting age to eighteen in ’71, and Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that made it easier for students to register to vote in their adopted college communities.The political landscape of the town gradually shifted under these factors. The professional, business culture dominant in the city in the fifties and early sixties was challenged by what Daly terms “no-growthers:” people who were (and are) consistently opposed to development on personal, environmental and political grounds. During Daly’s time on the council issues like building the Loch Lomond Reservoir were matter of course, and did not face significant opposition. During the seventies, however an attempt to build another dam, the Zayante Dam, was killed. A second effort to build a convention center at Lighthouse Point, where the Court of the Seven Seas was to have stood, was defeated by popular vote and a major public campaign. Since the sixties and seventies there have been almost no new hotels, and convention business has become marginal. In the eighties the Miss California Pageant relocated after years of protest, and the city council has become the site of increased political conflict. Today Daly feels that the town has been held back in significant and damaging ways by this shift towards a “no-growth” attitude.On personal and professional notes, Daly reflects at length about other challenges he and the city have faced, including the Flood of ’55 and the Quake of ’89. He discusses the damage, and how the town recovered from those two disasters. More intimately, he reflects on how Santa Cruz has been as a place to raise a family, and for his practice. He discusses the pros and cons of having the UC, including the prestige it has brought the town, and closes with a retrospective and prospective on his own life. He talks about what has been meaningful to him, and returns to dwell on the transformative power education has had for him and his family.city of Santa Cruzcity planningUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zm9j9q3https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zm9j9q3/qt4zm9j9q3.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4ww4v8gk2022-08-01T16:33:32Zqt4ww4v8gkFred Wagner: Blacksmithing and Life in the Santa Cruz Area, 1890-1930Wagner, FredCalciano, Elizabeth Spedding1966-04-07Wagner was born in Santa Cruz and became an apprentice blacksmith at the age of 17. By 24 he was the owner of his own shop. He discussed all the aspects of blacksmithing and horseshoeing and also gave an excellent account of the skills possessed by the jerk-line teamsters and six-in-hand drivers. In the middle portion of the book, Mr. Wagner described his boyhood years on his father's diversified farm situated at the edge of Santa Cruz--the crops raised, the foods prepared at home, the game and fowl acquired by hunting, and the family's account book at the town grocery store. He also discussed his schooling and the various ethnic groups that were living in Santa Cruz during his youth. The final third of the interview focused on Santa Cruz in the years around the turn of the 20th century. Popular forms of entertainment were mentioned, as were early travel conditions, gunfights, medical and hospital care, and city and county government. The book concluded with a tour through the portion of the Henry Cowell Ranch that is now the University of California, Santa Cruz. Wagner reminisced about the ranch as he knew it in his youth.Cowell RanchBlacksmithinghistory ofSanta Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4ww4v8gkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4ww4v8gk/qt4ww4v8gk.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt40j5k2bc2022-08-01T16:30:59Zqt40j5k2bcMichael Bergazzi: Santa Cruz LumberingBergazzi, MichaelRegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library1964-01-01A lifetime resident of Santa Cruz County, Michael Bergazzi spent the years between 1901 and 1922 working in almost every phase of redwood lumbering, both in the mills and in the woods. For the major portion of his career he was a sawyer, but he also worked as a faller, peeler, bucker, donkey rigger, log dogger, and carriage setter. He described the many procedures involved in lumbering and also commented on the life of a lumberman-- the wages, hours and working conditions. In the latter part of the manuscript he discussed Santa Cruz during the early years of the twentieth century.Santa Cruz County HistoryLumberingLumber Tradeapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/40j5k2bchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt40j5k2bc/qt40j5k2bc.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2gr3p2gm2022-08-01T16:24:08Zqt2gr3p2gmMaría Luz Reyes and Florentino Collazo: La Milpa Organic Farm2010-05-01María Luz Reyes and her husband, Florentino Collazo, run La Milpa Organic Farm on land they lease from the Agriculture & Land Based Training Association (ALBA) near Salinas, California. They grow 5.5 acres of mixed vegetable crops that they sell at farmers’ markets in the Salinas, Monterey Bay, and San Francisco Bay areas.Collazo was born in 1963 in the municipality of Purísima del Rincón, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. He studied agricultural engineering at the college level in Mexico. Reyes was born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in 1965. Due to difficult economic times in Mexico, they decided to immigrate to the United States under the Amnesty Law of 1985. Collazo worked harvesting and packaging lettuce in Yuma, Arizona, and in the Salinas and Imperial Valleys of California. Reyes worked off and on at an asparagus packing facility. Eventually Collazo enrolled in a six-month course at the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association known as the Programa Educativo para Pequeños Agricultores, or PEPA, in 1995. In 2003, Reyes also enrolled in that program. After graduating, Collazo worked for eight years as the field educator/farm manager for ALBA, and Reyes continued to farm on land she leased from ALBA.Collazo left ALBA to farm full time with Reyes on ten acres of land they purchased together in southern Monterey County. They have run La Milpa Organic Farm for the past six years and are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. The financing to purchase their land in South Monterey County came through the help of an Individual Development Account organized by California FarmLink and a beginning-farmer farm loan through the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Reyes and Collazo also continue to farm 5.5 acres of land they rent from ALBA.On their farm—named La Milpa in tribute to traditional MesoAmerican methods of growing many diverse crops closely together—Reyes and Collazo cultivate over thirty crops, including fifteen varieties of heirloom tomatoes; seven varieties of squash; two varieties of cucumber; two varieties of beets; cilantro; two varieties of onions; rainbow chard; celery; four varieties of chili peppers; fennel; purple cauliflower; broccoli; romaine; strawberries; raspberries; golden berries; green peppers; corn; onions; basil; carrots, and green beans.Collazo and Reyes have raised three sons; one is studying chemical engineering at UC Santa Cruz and another is studying microbiology at UC Berkeley. They both help with sales at La Milpa. Their youngest son is in fourth grade.Collazo and Reyes have a deep respect for the land that they farm and take pleasure in the crops that they produce. Collazo said, “I love to work the land. I don’t like using gloves, because . . . it’s like taking a shower with an umbrella, you understand, putting an umbrella over yourself when you wash. When I want to work, I want to feel the earth. When I pull the weeds, I want to feel my fingers penetrating the soil, feel that I’m pulling them up, that I’m doing it myself. My hands and my mind are linked. I really love to look around, walk up and down observing, surveying it all and saying, ‘Wow.’ That’s what fulfills me. When I’m at the farmers’ market, when people are arriving, reaching for the produce, and then later passing by, I feel like my self-esteem really rises. . . . But when you arrive over there and they tell you, ‘These are the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted, I’m going to take them’ — that is, they flatter you, ah, it makes you feel a light in your soul, you know?” Reyes added, “Like yesterday, when they had that festival and all of these people came out to buy, a man said to me, ‘I’ve never touched the sky, but with these strawberries I just did.’ So, how do you think that made me feel?”This oral history was conducted in Spanish at La Milpa Farm on July 26, 2009, by Rebecca Thistlethwaite. Thistlethwaite, Collazo, and Reyes know each other from Thistlethwaite’s work as program director for the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association. The interview was transcribed and sent to Collazo and Reyes for their edits and approval. Then it was translated into English. The transcript appears here first in English, and then in the original Spanish.María Luz ReyesFlorentino CollazoLa Milpa FarmAgriculture and Land-Based Training AssociationLatino farmersminority farmerswomen farmersorganic farmingsustainable agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2gr3p2gmhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2gr3p2gm/qt2gr3p2gm.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt20h2q1h92022-08-01T16:21:46Zqt20h2q1h9Ocean Odysseys: Jack O'Neill, Dan Haifley, and the Monterey Bay National Marine SanctuaryO'Neill, JackHaifley, DanReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC LibraryReti, Irene2012-04-01Each year schoolchildren experience a unique adventure with O’Neill Sea Odyssey, a free, hands-on oceanography and ecology program offered aboard a sixty-five foot catamaran sailing the Monterey Bay. How did a decades-long battle against offshore oil drilling in California lead to this living classroom in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary? This oral history volume tells an inspring story of environmental heroism and imagination through two interconnected oral histories conducted by the UC Santa Cruz Library’s Regional History Project. Iconic wetsuit innovator and surfer Jack O’Neill and his daughter Bridget discuss their thriving program. And Dan Haifley, now the executive director of O’Neill Sea Odyssey, tells the story of how he and a team of environmental activists won a victory against Big Oil and spearheaded the creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, protecting one of the world’s most diverse marine ecoystems.Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaryoffshore oil drillingO'Neill Sea Odysseyenvironmental educationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/20h2q1h9https://escholarship.org/content/qt20h2q1h9/qt20h2q1h9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0qn288b22022-08-01T16:20:13Zqt0qn288b2Congressmember Sam Farr: Five Decades of Public ServiceFarr, SamReti, Irene H.2017-11-15Congressmember Sam Farr (born July 4, 1941) represented California’s Central Coast in the United States House of Representatives for twenty-three years until his retirement from office in 2016. Farr also served six years as a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and twelve years in the California State Assembly. This oral history, a transcript of twenty-five hours of interviews conducted by Irene Reti, director of the UCSC Library’s Regional History Project, during the period immediately before and after Farr’s retirement from Congress, covers Farr’s political career and much of his personal history. Sam Farr was born into a family that extends back five generations in California. His father’s grandfather was the brother of Senator William Sharon, who arrived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. On his mother’s (Janet Haskins) side, Farr also has deep California roots; his mother’s father, Sam Haskins, was a regent for the University of California and a prominent liberal lawyer in Los Angeles. Sam’s father, Fred Farr, was an attorney and served as a California state senator from Carmel from 1955 to 1966. He was the first Democrat in forty-three years elected to represent the Central Coast. Senator Fred Farr was a pioneer in both social justice and environmental protection and well-known on the national political scene. While Farr was inspired by both of his parents, he had no early aspirations for a career in legislative politics like his father. He was mostly raised in Carmel, California (after the family spent some time on the East Coast and in Puerto Rico) before it became an expensive tourist town. The young Sam Farr discovered a love for the natural environment while roaming through the hills and along the beaches of the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Valley. His mother gave him a love for the outdoors and for gardening. At Carmel High School, he found a mentor in his biology teacher, Enid Larson. His life plan at that time was to study biology in college and return to Carmel to teach high school. Farr struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia during his youth and later became a passionate advocate for people with this then-unrecognized disability. He graduated from Carmel High School in 1959 and journeyed north to earn his BA in biology at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. After graduation, Farr served in the Peace Corps in Medellín, Colombia in 1964, where he honed community development skills, in an experience that was to be one of the most formative of his life. But it was also while he was in the Peace Corps that Farr’s life was forever altered by two terrible tragedies that afflicted his family. The first was the unexpected death of his mother from cancer; the second was a horrendous horseback riding accident that killed his sister, Nancy, while the family was visiting Sam in Colombia. In this oral history, Farr speaks with candor and remarkable emotional courage about the effect these two events had on his trajectory. This was the point where he had an epiphany and decided to dedicate himself to fighting the war on poverty through a career in public service, a path that eventually led him to a career as a U.S. congressmember. After a brief stint in law school at Santa Clara University, Farr worked as professional staff in the California Assembly for the next decade. He served under the longtime legislative analyst Alan Post, helping write cost-effectiveness studies of categorical education programs. Later he became staff to the Constitutional Revision Commission. While he was a staffer, in 1972 Farr helped organize a groundbreaking and now legendary coastal bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego, to raise awareness and support for Proposition 20, the Coastal Zone Conservation Act, which resulted in the California Coastal Commission. Farr was developing valuable experience as a staffer in the California State Legislature, but he yearned to return to Carmel and serve in local politics. That opportunity presented itself in 1975, when there was a sudden vacancy on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors which needed to be filled by an appointment from then-governor Jerry Brown. With humor and love, Sam tells the story of how he ended up (successfully) vying with his father for that appointment. The next year (1976) he ran for official election to secure that office. Farr served as a Monterey County Supervisor, representing District 5 from 1975 to 1980. As a supervisor, he helped accomplished many things, including writing the Master Plan for Big Sur; developing the Carmel Highlands Master Plan; the Pebble Beach Master Plan; and the Master Plan for the Carmel Valley. Farr also chaired the Monterey Bay regional planning body, LAFCO [Local Agency Formation Commission] and spearheaded the creation of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, leading a historic breakthrough in the regionalization of water management in California. During this period, Farr formed a powerful organizational alliance across the bay with Santa Cruz activists, including Santa Cruz County Supervisor Gary Patton, to stop oil drilling on the Central Coast. This alliance later blossomed into the groundbreaking effort to create the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. In 1980, another chapter began when Farr was elected to the California State Assembly, representing the 27th Assembly District. While in the assembly, Farr authored the 1990 California Organic Standards Act (COFA), which established standards for organic food production and sales in California. This groundbreaking legislation became one of the models for the National Organic Program’s federal organic standards and is one of the reasons why the international organic farming movement considers Sam Farr one of its heroes. While in the assembly, Farr also wrote one of the country’s strictest oil spill liability laws and the California Ocean Resources Management Act (CORMA). Both the Humane Society and PETA have honored Farr for his lifelong work on behalf of animal rights; while in the assembly he worked on a bill banning certain types of steel-jawed animal traps; a bill increasing state regulations on the transportation of horses to slaughterhouses; and a bill banning the purchase of dogs in California from puppy mills. During Farr’s period in the California State Assembly he also worked on issues such as banning corporal punishment in public schools; requiring the labeling of all agricultural products sold in California by their country of origin; and authorizing the installation of ignition interlock (“Breathalyzer”) devices in automobiles operated by drivers with DUI convictions. In this section of the oral history, Farr also reflects on changes during that period of California electoral politics and shares his firsthand impressions of Governors Jerry Brown, Ronald Reagan, George Deukmejian, and Pete Wilson, as well as Speaker of the House Willie Brown. An unexpected opportunity arose in 1993 when Congressmember Leon Panetta, who was representing Farr’s district in the U.S. House of Representatives, was tapped by the incoming Clinton administration to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. After days of deliberation, Farr decided to run in the special election. As state assemblymember, Farr was already deeply involved in the Fort Ord Resuse Authority (FORA), which had been targeted for closure by the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) Commission in 1991. Part of Farr’s motivation for running for Congress was that he believed that as a U.S. congressmember he would be better able to help secure a university on the site of Fort Ord. Farr would indeed be successful in this endeavor; in 1994 California State University, Monterey Bay opened on the site, an institution that is near and dear to him today. He had other visions for Fort Ord as well, some of which were realized and some of which were not, and discusses Fort Ord extensively in this narrative. This oral history provides a colorful, up-close, and sometimes painful view of the myriad of complex issues Congress engaged with during the twelve terms Farr served, including (but certainly not restricted to) the North American Free Trade Agreement, gay marriage, the terrorist acts of 9/11; the war in Iraq, the passage of Obamacare, immigration rights, organic farming standards, the U.S. relationship with Cuba, ongoing controversies over gun control, and ocean and land conservation. One of Farr’s most lasting legacies will be his leadership in the area of ocean conservation. He authored many bills on behalf of ocean health, including the Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (“OCEANS 21”) which recommended having a national policy on the oceans similar to the national policies set forth in the Clean Air Act. He shares his fond recollections of the groundbreaking White House Conference on the Oceans which took place in Monterey, California on the steps of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Farr authored the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act, to establish a program of research and other activities to aid the recovery of the southern sea otter. Through his sponsorship of the Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012, Farr created a NOAA program that uses innovative solutions to protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities from the hazards of marine debris. He introduced the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2015, to establish an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board of diverse experts to analyze and help guide policy on this important ocean issue. Farr was also a founding member and chair of the House Oceans Caucus. Both the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center have honored Farr’s lifelong contributions to ocean conservation. On shore, Farr leaves quite an extensive legacy of parks he helped establish on the Central Coast, including Pinnacles National Park, created from the former Pinnacles National Monument by legislation introduced by Farr into Congress in 2012, and signed into law by President Barack Obama in January of 2013. Someone once asked Farr what he wanted to be remembered for and he replied, “I guess, if you look at all the parks I created as a supervisor, parks I created as a state legislator, and parks I created, including a national park, as a congressman—I’m the parks guy. The John Muir of the Central Coast.” United States House of Representativespolitical sciencelegislative oral historiesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0qn288b2https://escholarship.org/content/qt0qn288b2/qt0qn288b2.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt005138wp2022-08-01T16:17:18Zqt005138wpBetty Van Dyke: The Van Dyke RanchVan Dyke, BettyRabkin, Sarah2010-05-01Born in 1932 to Croatian American farmers in the Santa Clara Valley town of Cupertino, Betty Van Dyke saw her fertile home ground transformed, in a few decades, from seemingly endless orchards to unrelenting urban sprawl. As the energetic matriarch of a popular family-run fruit-growing business, she has since participated in the region’s organic agricultural renaissance, overseeing one of the first California operations to grow and dry fruit organically (becoming certified in 1986), and playing an active role in the early days of California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). And as a member of one of the region’s noted surfing families, she built this thriving business while sustaining her love affair with Pacific ocean waves.Van Dyke Ranch sits at the base of the Gavilan Mountains in Gilroy, Santa Clara County, on a southern exposure perfectly suited for growing sweet, flavorful Blenheim apricots and Bing cherries. The ranch produces fresh fruit in season and dried apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, and persimmons throughout the year. (A rarer delicacy available to a few farmers’-market patrons are home-grown capers, the pickled flower buds of plants propagated from a thirty-year-old bush planted by Betty’s mother.) Betty Van Dyke and her three sons took over from her father in the mid-1970s. While son Peter and various grandchildren now carry most of the day-to-day responsibility for the ranch, Betty still holds down two weekly farmers’-market booths, and commutes frequently to Gilroy from her Santa Cruz home to help with ranch work during busy seasons.Sarah Rabkin interviewed Betty Van Dyke at Rabkin’s Soquel home on April 16, 2008. A lively storyteller with an easy smile, Van Dyke shared memories of picking apricots on her grandfather’s farm as a small child, working and playing alongside migrant dust-bowl refugees from Oklahoma and Arkansas, discovering surfing as a college student in the 1950s, and running an evolving Van Dyke Ranch.Betty Van Dykeorganic farmingCalifornia Certified Organic Farmerswomen farmersorganic apricot growingorganic fruit growingapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/005138wphttps://escholarship.org/content/qt005138wp/qt005138wp.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1p6409v52022-08-01T15:39:15Zqt1p6409v5An Act of Love: Serving Undocumented Students at UC Santa Cruz--An Oral History with EOP Director Pablo ReguerinReguerin, PabloReti, Irene H.Williams, Samantha2016-12-12Pablo Guillermo Reguerín currently serves as the Executive Director for Retention Services and Educational Opportunity Programs at UC Santa Cruz, providing leadership and oversight to a cluster of student services offices charged with retaining and graduating students with a focus on educational equity.Since September 2009, Mr. Reguerín has led efforts to integrate student services to develop student care teams, increased case-management of vulnerable student populations and data-driven intervention programs. These efforts have resulted in Individual Success Plans for cohorts of EOP students, intensive advising services for immigrant and undocumented/AB540 students, a newly launched Textbook Lending Library for students facing financial hardship and a Laptop pilot program for students that arrive to campus without a laptop or computer. In collaboration with faculty partners and the Office of Institutional Research, Pablo has launched an evidence-based evaluation process of the retention services units through the use of logic models to further deepen the utilization of research based practices and continuous improvement.Mr. Reguerín has worked at UCSC for over fifteen years, previously serving as the Deputy Director of the Educational Partnership Center and as a Senior Admissions Counselor with the Office of Admissions. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Cruz in Latino and Latin American Studies and his Master of Arts degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in Educational Leadership and Administration.UCSC now serves one of the largest populations of undocumented students at any college in the United States. This commitment dates back at least ten years, to the activist efforts of a group of undocumented students calling themselves Students Informing Now, who through their activism first made their challenges known to the campus community and beyond.[1]EOP’s continued services are key to the retention and success of this community of students. This oral history goes to press shortly after the election of the Trump administration. It is important to note that UCSC’s dedication to serving undocumented/AB 540 students remains steadfast. Reguerín wrote the following statement which appeared on EOP’s website in November 2016:The EOP community stands with undocumented students and marginalized communities that have been targeted and dehumanized in the political rhetoric of this election, the republican candidate and his supporters. The election outcome does not reduce our commitment or responsibility to serve undocumented students, in fact, we recommit ourselves to educational equity and social justice for all of our students and community members.The Undocumented Student Services team and initiatives have been developed with love, compassion, expertise in student success research and student initiated projects. The outcome of the election does not impact our funding, current services, and our creativity in partnering with students to overcome the injustices they face in pursuing higher education. Opportunity and equity programs like EOP are born out of the struggle for social change--we stand on the shoulders of all those that struggled in the civil rights movement. We embrace our roots as we continue our service and support to the undocumented student community. Please join us in supporting our students and standing in solidarity with undocumented students. undocumented college studentsAB 540 studentsDreamersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1p6409v5https://escholarship.org/content/qt1p6409v5/qt1p6409v5.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9kc4x0gx2022-08-01T15:37:03Zqt9kc4x0gx“Faculty and Students Together in the Redwoods” An Oral History with Carolyn Martin ShawMartin Shaw, CarolynRabkin, Sarah J.Reti, Irene H.2015-01-29Carolyn Martin Shaw joined the UCSC faculty in 1972, hired by the anthropology department and Kresge College, where she served as provost from 1991 to 1996. In selecting Professor Martin Shaw in 2004 for the Dean McHenry Award for Distinguished Leadership in the Academic Senate, the Committee on Committees noted her “intelligent, imaginative, indefatigable, and principled work to create…communities of scholarship and learning characterized by openness, fairness, and respect.” Martin Shaw’s abiding interest in the nature of human community and her dedicated efforts to help build robust communities at UCSC emerge as running themes throughout her oral history.UCSC in the early 1970s presented her with other kinds of foreignness as well, in its whiteness and in the economic privilege enjoyed by many of its students. Landing in what was “really a world that I’m not familiar with,” Martin Shaw responded by rolling up her sleeves with curiosity, clear-sightedness, and a sense of civic responsibility: “Well, let me see what this world is like. …I’ve entered into a contract, and you’ve done so with me, and we’ve got to figure out a way to talk to each other.”This attitude characterizes her discussion of many community-building challenges she engaged over the years at UCSC, in college, departmental, campus and system-wide contexts: identifying unrecognized power imbalances in Kresge’s purportedly liberating and egalitarian “touchy-feely” early culture (whose salubrious innovations she champions even as she critiques its problems); cultivating a supportive campus environment for students of color and other historically disenfranchised groups; navigating contentious periods in the evolution of the anthropology department and women’s studies program; developing sensitive and effective policies for addressing sexual harassment; obtaining faculty recognition for the dignity of staff labor and attention to the service of non-senate faculty; achieving senate support for a bold plan to revitalize the colleges as sites of academic endeavor; attempting to reduce the administration’s use of police force to quell student demonstrations.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9kc4x0gxhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9kc4x0gx/qt9kc4x0gx.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9tn727hf2022-08-01T15:35:20Zqt9tn727hfAn Artist with Shoes On: An Oral History of Founding UC Santa Cruz Professor of Art Douglas McClellanMcClellan, DouglasReti, Irene H.2014-12-19Douglas McClellan arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1970, where he taught until his retirement in 1986. He was one of the founders of UCSC’s Art Board and served as chairman from 1970 to 1975 and again in 1983. Before coming to UCSC, McClellan taught art at Scripps College/Claremont Graduate School, where he headed the art department from 1962 to 1970. McClellan’s experience in both faculty and administration in the college-based Claremont Colleges located east of Los Angeles, which were known as the “Oxford of the Orange Groves,” attracted the attention of Founding Chancellor Dean McHenry, who invited him to interview for a position in the newly created art department at UC Santa Cruz. McClellan was fifty years old when he arrived at UC Santa Cruz as an affiliate of College V (later Porter College). In this oral history, McClellan provides a narrative of the early years of UCSC’s art faculty and students, the UCSC college system before Chancellor Sinsheimer’s reorganization of 1979, and the unique flavor of the campus in its early years. University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyarts in Los AngelesDouglas McClellanapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9tn727hfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9tn727hf/qt9tn727hf.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6rv1h8fv2022-08-01T15:33:11Zqt6rv1h8fvDean McHenry: Volume III: the University of California, Santa Cruz, Early Campus History, 1958-1969McHenry, Dean ERegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library1987-01-01Dean E. McHenry was appointed chancellor of UCSC in 1961, more than four years before the campus opened its doors to the first class of 650 students. He served for 13 years before retiring in 1974, but remained an active member of the UCSC community until his death in 1998. His vision, integrity, and deep commitment to higher education played an essential role in the successful development of the campus.This is the third volume in a three-volume oral history.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rv1h8fvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6rv1h8fv/qt6rv1h8fv.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3ws3p49b2022-08-01T15:32:22Zqt3ws3p49bDean E. McHenry: Volume II, The University of California, Santa Cruz: Its Origins, Architecture, Academic Planing, and Early Faculty Appointments, 1958-1968McHenry, Dean ERegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library1974-01-01Dean E. McHenry was appointed chancellor of UCSC in 1961, more than four years before the campus opened its doors to the first class of 650 students. He served for 13 years before retiring in 1974, but remained an active member of the UCSC community until his death in 1998. His vision, integrity, and deep commitment to higher education played an essential role in the successful development of the campus.This is the second volume of a three-volume oral history.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3ws3p49bhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3ws3p49b/qt3ws3p49b.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt34r6t4d52022-08-01T15:31:33Zqt34r6t4d5Dean E. McHenry: Founding Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Volume I: Childhood and Teaching Career, 1910-1958McHenry, Dean ERegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library1972-01-01Dean E. McHenry was appointed chancellor of UCSC in 1961, more than four years before the campus opened its doors to the first class of 650 students. He served for 13 years before retiring in 1974, but remained an active member of the UCSC community until his death in 1998. His vision, integrity, and deep commitment to higher education played an essential role in the successful development of the campus.This is the volume one of a three-volume oral history.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/34r6t4d5https://escholarship.org/content/qt34r6t4d5/qt34r6t4d5.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4mw8b8vb2022-08-01T15:30:53Zqt4mw8b8vbWeaving Practice Into History: An Interview with Professor of Music, Leta MillerMiller, LetaReti, Irene H.2015-07-15The Regional History Project conducted this oral history with Leta Miller, Professor of Music, as part of its University History Series. After earning a B.A. from Stanford University in music, an M.M in music history from the Hartt College of Music, and a PhD from Stanford University in musicology, Miller arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1978. She began as a part-time lecturer, teaching a course in chamber music literature at College Eight and offering flute lessons in a tiny room with no window in the old music building. After several years teaching various classes for UCSC, including a music history survey course, in 1987 Miller applied for and was hired for a tenure-track position in the UCSC Music Department [then called the Music Board]. Miller is passionate about teaching, research, and performance. For many years she was a dedicated professional player of Baroque, Renaissance, and modern flute. Her classes at UCSC range from general education courses in music appreciation (which she confided are still her favorite courses to teach), to advanced seminars in the compositions of Lou Harrison and Renaissance performance practice. In her narration Miller also reflects on the unique aspects of UC Santa Cruz she has experienced over the past four decades: the Narrative Evaluation System, the boards of studies, the college system, the focus on undergraduate education, and the emphasis on interdisciplinary studies. She discusses the design of UCSC’s state-of-the-art Music Building, which opened in 1997. She also explores the evolution of UCSC’s Music Department, including the unique backgrounds and strengths of many of her colleagues, the birth of the MA, PhD, and DMA in music at UCSC, and the development of the UCSC Orchestra, the UCSC Opera Program, and various student ensembles. Miller found a true home in the UC Santa Cruz Music Department, which is dedicated to what Miller called “this balance between the practical and theoretical.” Miller’s scholarly interests are also diverse, ranging from Renaissance French chansons and madrigals; to music and politics in San Francisco from 1906 until World War II; to the Jewish American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. But she is perhaps best known for her scholarship on world-renowned composer Lou Harrison, who resided in the mountains near Santa Cruz from 1953 until his death in 2003. An extensive portion of this oral history is devoted to a discussion of Miller’s deep connection with Lou Harrison. This part of the oral history illuminates Miller’s writings on this extraordinary composer, whose archive is also housed at the UCSC Library’s Special Collections Department.Leta Milleroral historyUC Santa Cruz Music DepartmentLou Harrisonapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4mw8b8vbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4mw8b8vb/qt4mw8b8vb.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4j9397s92022-08-01T15:28:01Zqt4j9397s9Raymond F. Dasmann : A Life in Conservation BiologyDasmann, Raymond F.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2000-01-01
Not everyone seems to realize there is another vicious world war already underway--the war against the planet. It is an ecological war, and the weapons being used are more powerful everyday . . . When this war is finally won, the consequences will be as severe and irreversible as though we had fought a nuclear war." --Raymond F. Dasmann
Ray Dasmann innovated the lucid, non-political, and universally applicable idea [of] ecodevelopment . . . His impact on conservation thinking has been fundamental . . . So many eminent persons are credited with inventing new wheels, only to find that their predecessors were the originals. Ray is surely one of those, way ahead, even sometimes too far ahead, of his time. He has thought deeply, but written clearly, about the fundamentals of our relationships with, and dependency on nature." -G. Carleton RayRaymond F. Dasmann's life as a conservation biologist during a half-century embraced both groundbreaking fieldwork and the effort to delineate the concepts which are the intellectual scaffolding of modern ecology. His lifework was shaped by a passion for the natural world and the desire to solve the environmental problems which threaten the planet. Dasmann passed away in 2002.Dasmann studied at UC Berkeley under the legendary wildlife biologist A. Starker Leopold, and earned his Ph.D. in zoology in 1954. He began his academic career at Humboldt State University, where he was a professor of natural resources from 1954 until 1965. During the 1960s, he worked at the Conservation Foundation in Washington, D.C., as Director of International Programs and was also a consultant on the development of the 1969 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. In the 1970s he worked with UNESCO where he initiated the Man and the Biosphere program (MAB), an international research and conservation program, which is still ongoing. During the same period he was Senior Ecologist for the International Union for Conservation in Switzerland, initiating global conservation programs which earned him the highest honors awarded by the Wildlife Society and the Smithsonian Institution.He joined the faculty at UCSC in 1977 and was Professor of Ecology in the Environmental Studies Department there until he retired in 1989.Dasmann was one of the pioneers in developing the the conservation concepts of "eco-development," and "biological diversity," and identified the crucial importance of recognizing indigenous peoples and their cultures in efforts to conserve natural landscapes. These concepts over the last thirty years coalesced in American and international environmental thinking as "sustainable development," the key dynamic concept informing contemporary conservation efforts.The oral history volume documents the intellectual geneology of these ideas and their practical application in Dasmann's work; and his long association with some of the key American and global environmental organizations which emerged during the latter half of the 20th century.Dasmann published numerous scientific articles and books, including The Last Horizon (1963), The Destruction of California (1964), Planet in Peril? (1971), The Conservation Alternative (1973) and his classic textbook, Environmental Conservation (5th edition, 1984), all of which have had lasting influence in modern conservation thinking and policy-making. He was involved in many environmental organizations, including the Wildlife Society, World Conservation Union, Earth Island Institute, the Central California Coast Biosphere Reserve, the World Wildlife Fund. Raymond F. Dasmann's life as a conservation biologist during a half- century embraced both groundbreaking fieldwork and the effort to delineate the concepts which are the intellectual scaffolding of modern ecology. His lifework was shaped by a passion for the natural world and the desire to solve the environmental problems which threaten the planet.conservation biologyecodevelopmentapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4j9397s9https://escholarship.org/content/qt4j9397s9/qt4j9397s9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7vv2v3rz2022-08-01T15:26:41Zqt7vv2v3rzWith Conocimiento, Love, Spirit, and Community: Rosie Cabrera's Leadership at UC Santa Cruz, 1984-2013Cabrera, Rosie (Rosalee)Reti, Irene H.2015-01-15Longtime director of El Centro, UC Santa Cruz’s Chicano/Latino Resource Center, and counselor and academic coordinator at UCSC’s Educational Opportunity Program, Rosie [Rosalee] Cabrera, mentored, advised, counseled, and inspired UCSC students for nearly three decades. “I can think of no one on campus more committed to helping our students reach their full potential as young scholars, leaders, and human beings,” wrote Larry Trujillo, Executive Director of Student and Academic Support Services, when he nominated Cabrera for the Outstanding Staff Award she received in 2009. In this oral history conducted by Susy Zepeda shortly before Cabrera’s retirement in 2013, Cabrera reconstructs the political and cultural climate at UCSC over three decades, sharing her memories of key Chicano/a and Latino/a campus figures, organizations, events, and student activism.Chicano/a StudiesUC Santa Cruz historyLatin American and Latino StudiesChicana feminismapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vv2v3rzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7vv2v3rz/qt7vv2v3rz.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt36m6v5t42022-08-01T15:25:32Zqt36m6v5t4Burney J. Le Boeuf, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1994Le Boeuf, Burney JJarrell, RandallReti, Irene H.2014-05-01Burney Le Boeuf was born in southern Louisiana. He attended UC Berkeley, earning his PhD in experimental psychology in 1966. While at Berkeley, he also studied zoology and experimental biology. He arrived at UCSC in 1967 as a member of the psychology board and of Crown College. He already had a strong interest in evolutionary biology and participated in the biology board’s meetings as an outside member. He also began working with biology professor Richard Peterson on seal and sea lion research. After Peterson’s death, the biology board invited Le Boeuf to take Peterson’s place on the board, and he accepted.Le Boeuf is internationally known as a pioneer of the field of marine mammal behavior. He has focused on the social and reproductive behavior of elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), as well as their diving, foraging, and migratory behavior. Le Boeuf has conducted extensive research on the behavioral ecology and physiology of a variety of marine mammals, and also investigated the effects of environmental pollutants such as DDT on marine mammals.Much of Le Boeuf’s research on elephant seals has been conducted at nearby Año Nuevo Reserve, which is only twenty-five miles north of Santa Cruz. Le Boeuf began doing research at Año Nuevo Island in the late 1960s. A team of UCSC undergraduate and graduate students worked with him. In 1975 the first elephant seal pup was born on the mainland on a beach managed by the California Department of Park and Recreation. The presence of elephant seals, the largest males of which weigh up to 4500 pounds, fighting, mating, and giving birth on a public beach within an hour’s drive of the San Francisco Bay area was publicized by Sunset Magazine. The article quickly drew thousands of excited visitors to come see the seals, a few posed their children literally on top of the seals for photos, many approached the seals too closely for safety, and generally put both themselves and the seals in danger. The one part-time ranger assigned to the area was completely overwhelmed.Professor Le Boeuf stepped in with an offer of student help from UC Santa Cruz. He designed Natural History of Año Nuevo, a two-quarter experiential course offered through the environmental studies board. The first quarter, students studied the history, botany, intertidal biology, ornithology, geology and other aspects of the Reserve; the second quarter they served as trained docents, each leading tours one day a week for groups of visitors, including children from local schools. My time participating as an environmental studies student in 1981 in Le Boeuf’s course and docent program was some of the most rewarding I spent as an undergraduate at UCSC. Not only did I gain valuable interdisciplinary knowledge of natural history, but working as a docent built my confidence in public speaking and skills as an educator.The population of elephant seals who returned to Año Nuevo Reserve to breed grew an average of 16 percent per year between 1975 and 1995, to a high of 2041 pups born on the mainland in 1995.[1] The size of the colony has since reached equilibrium, probably because elephant seals have recolonized other areas such as Big Sur (Piedras Blancas) and Point Reyes. Meanwhile, the robust docent program, which was staffed for many years by Le Boeuf’s UCSC environmental studies students, is now staffed by trained volunteer naturalists. The State Park System remodeled one of the old dairy barns to include a new visitor’s center with extensive interpretative exhibits. Gone is the funky trailer the docents took shelter in between tours back in my student days.In addition to his research at Año Nuevo, Le Boeuf has also led expeditions to research sites throughout the world, including Mexico, Argentina, the Galapagos Islands, and Japan. He has authored over 157 peer-reviewed articles and three books. He is currently serving as the Associate Vice Chanelephant sealsAño Nuevo State ReserveUC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/36m6v5t4https://escholarship.org/content/qt36m6v5t4/qt36m6v5t4.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5dp6d4c62022-08-01T15:22:08Zqt5dp6d4c6Patricia Zavella: Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, UC Santa CruzZavella, PatriciaReti, Irene H.Zepeda, Susy2014-06-06Patricia Zavella was born in Tampa, Florida in 1949, the oldest of twelve children in a working-class family and often cared for her siblings. Her mother and father were both born in the United States and the primary language spoken in her family was English. She spoke English to her maternal grandmother who was born in the U.S. Her father was in the air force and they moved frequently when she was a child. Zavella was often one of very few Mexican-American children in the schools she attended. Teachers were often “surprised” at Zavella’s stellar performance in the classroom. When she was ten years old, the family settled in Ontario in Southern California. It was here that there were more Mexican-Americans in her classrooms; this prompted her critical thinking about race relations and the Spanish language.In 1968, Zavella went to Chaffey Community College, in Alta Loma near her family’s home. There she heard both Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez speak and became involved with the Chicano/a movement, developing into a student activist supporting some of the first classes in Mexican-American studies. Her recollections of these early days of the movement are a vital part of this oral history. Zavella participated in the Chicano Moratorium in August 1970, a demonstration of about 25,000 activists who protested in East Los Angeles against the Vietnam War. She joined MEChA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán] and began to claim an identity as a Chicana.Zavella went on to complete her BA in anthropology at Pitzer College (one of the Claremont Colleges) and then attended graduate school at UC Berkeley, where she earned her PhD in anthropology in 1982. As a graduate student, she continued to be deeply involved in and inspired by the Chicano/a movement. Her dissertation Women’s Work in Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley developed into her first book. Through Zavalla’s reflection we learn of the influence social movements had on her identity formation and search for community-centered knowledge. Zavella was one of the first scholars to analyze the intersections of race, gender, class for Chicana women workers, a research approach that emerged from feminist of color activisms of the late 1960s and 1970s.Before coming to UC Santa Cruz, Zavella taught courses at California State University at Hayward, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara and worked as a postdoc researcher at Stanford University with the Center for Chicano Research. In 1983 she was hired by UCSC’s community studies program, first for a temporary position and after a year for a permanent position. Later she transferred to the Latin American and Latino Studies department. Zavella directed the Chicano and Latino Research Center from 1999 to 2003 and was a founder of both the BA and PhD program in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz. She has also served as UCSC’s representative to the UC Committee on Latino Research.Zavella considers both her scholarship and her teaching forms of activism. Her research focuses on migration, gender and health in Latina/o communities, Latino families in transition, feminist studies, and ethnographic research methods. She has worked on many collaborative projects, including an ongoing partnership with Xóchitl Castañeda with whom she has written four articles, two in English and two in Spanish. In 2010, the Society for the Anthropology of North America awarded Zavella the Distinguished Career Achievement in the Critical Study of North America Award. She has published many books including, most recently, I'm Neither Here Nor There, Mexicans' Quotidian Struggles with Migration and Poverty (Duke University Press, 2011), which focuses on working class Mexican Americans’ struggle for agency and identity in Santa Cruz County.Chicana feminismLatin American StudiesLatino/a Studiesfeminismanthropologyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5dp6d4c6https://escholarship.org/content/qt5dp6d4c6/qt5dp6d4c6.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9rj1p3tk2022-08-01T15:21:00Zqt9rj1p3tkTeaching Writing and Rewriting Reality: An Oral History with Scholar-Activist Yolanda VenegasVenegas, YolandaReti, Irene HSherwood, Yvonne2017-01-19UCSC now serves one of the largest populations of undocumented students at any college in the United States. This commitment dates back at least ten years, to the activist efforts of a group of undocumented students calling themselves Students Informing Now [SIN], who through their activism first made their challenges known to the campus community and beyond.[1] There are many staff and faculty at UCSC who were inspired by SIN and have carried on SIN’s legacy. Dr. Yolanda Venegas, lecturer at UC Santa Cruz, is one of those people.Dr. Yolanda Venegas was born and raised in the wetlands of Tijuana, Mexico, on the U.S.-Mexico border. She earned her B.A. in Third World Studies from UC San Diego in 1992 and a PhD in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley in 2004. After earning her PhD, Yvenegas realized that her true passion was teaching writing; hence she returned to college to earn an MA from San Francisco in Teaching Composition in 2013 and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from San Francisco State in 2012.From 2006 to 2009, Venegas taught writing for UC Santa Cruz’s Educational Opportunity Program [EOP’s] Faculty Mentor Program. In 2010, she became EOP’s Faculty Mentor Program Director, Pre-graduate Programs Coordinator and AB540 Student Campus Resource. In that position, she developed pre-graduate programs aimed at increasing diversity in higher education. She designed, developed, and implemented an EOP Scholarship Class; the AB540 Resource Guide, the AB540 Slug website, and AB540 training agenda and presentations to educate UCSC staff and the campuswide community. Venegas has also taught and continues to teach for UCSC’s Writing Program and the Merrill College core course. The themes of her courses focus on immigration, undocumented students, Chicano/a identity, and feminism. She has also taught at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Santa Clara University, and San Francisco State, where she developed her course Redefining America: Undocumented Students in Higher Education.
educationundocumented college studentsUC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9rj1p3tkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9rj1p3tk/qt9rj1p3tk.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt37p6h8272022-08-01T15:18:37Zqt37p6h827Creating a World-Class Graduate Program on a Unique Campus: An Oral History with John Wilkes, Founder of UCSC's Science Communication ProgramWilkes, JohnRabkin, Sarah J.2015-01-05John Wilkes served from 1981 to 2006 as the founding director of UCSC’s internationally acclaimed Graduate Program in Science Communication, passing the reins upon his retirement to program alumnus Robert Irion. Many of today’s most distinguished science reporters, writers and editors trained under Wilkes, whose literary standards and science-trained student cohort distinguish the program he created from counterparts at other institutions. UCSC’s one-year certificate program has been lauded by New Scientist as the country’s best academic training ground for science journalism; it was ranked by Nature as the best such program in all of the US, UK and western Europe.Wilkes’ background as a faculty member is uniquely Santa Cruz-inflected. He lived in town with his family in the 1950s, attending Branciforte Junior High School while his father ran an auto-parts business, until the store’s inventory was ruined by the San Lorenzo River’s infamous flood of 1955. When the Santa Cruz campus opened a decade later, Wilkes enrolled as a transfer student, ultimately completing his BA, MA and PhD in literature at UCSC. After teaching undergraduate science-writing courses at UCSC, he spent two years inaugurating a master’s-level science-writing curriculum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the invitation of Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer, Wilkes returned to Santa Cruz in 1981, as a Lecturer with Security of Employment, to establish the science communication program. Wilkes credits UCSC’s “freewheeling liberal arts atmosphere” with the personal, intellectual and professional flourishing of his students, many of whom arrived here from “places where research is way ahead of everything else.” At UCSC, he says, they learned to “relax,” to think more expansively, and to report and write about science with curiosity and enthusiasm.For more on the careers of graduates from the Science Communication Program see:
http://scicom.ucsc.edu/students-alumni/alumni_last_name.html
Science journalismUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyscience communication programapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/37p6h827https://escholarship.org/content/qt37p6h827/qt37p6h827.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7zs703vf2022-08-01T15:16:56Zqt7zs703vfKenneth V. Thimann: Early UCSC History and the Founding of Crown CollegeThimann, Kenneth V.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1997-06-15The late scientist's oral history memoir is published posthumously. Thimann died at his home in Haverford, Pennsylvania, on January 15, 1997. Founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry made an inspired and imaginative appointment when he invited Thimann in 1965 to head what would become Crown College and to build the science faculty at UCSC. Prior to coming to Santa Cruz, Thimann was an internationally renowned plant physiologist and held the Higgins Chair in Biology at Harvard University. He was the first UCSC faculty member who was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. During his tenure at UCSC his illustrious reputation and intellectual distinction enabled him to attract to the fledgling campus top-notch scientists who would perhaps not have come here were it not for his presence. The scientists he recruited created what has become in only three decades one of the country's most distinguished group of science departments at a public university.Thimann's narration focuses on three major areas--building and developing Crown College, the campus's first science-oriented college; recruiting science faculty and creating graduate programs in the sciences; and his views on UCSC's evolution, including the narrative evaluation system, McHenry's chancellorship, and the founding of the Crown Chamber Players. Other subjects in his commentary include the decline of the college system in the 1970s, the founding of the Arboretum, and the Chicano Pre-Med Summer Program.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyCrown Collegeapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7zs703vfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt7zs703vf/qt7zs703vf.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt42j3c98r2022-08-01T15:16:24Zqt42j3c98rAngus E. Taylor: UCSC Chancellorship, 1976-1977Taylor, AngusJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1998-02-15The Regional History Project conducted three interviews with former Chancellor Angus E. Taylor on January 28-30, 1997. Taylor was appointed the campus's third chancellor in February, 1976, by UC President David S. Saxon during a difficult period in UCSC's history, when the campus's second chancellor, Mark N. Christensen, resigned amidst controversy after a tenure of barely 18 months. Saxon asked Taylor to assume the chancellorship and to stabilize the young campus while a permanent chancellor was selected.Prior to his appointment, Taylor was a professor of mathematics at UCLA from 1938 to 1966; and served in the UC systemwide administration as vice president for academic affairs from 1965 to 1970, and as University Provost from 1970 to 1975. He was a seasoned veteran of the University and its unique system of shared governance; he knew the workings of the academic senate and University policies inside out and was well acquainted with the key figures in the University's administration, all of which stood him in good stead when he became chancellor at UCSC.Taylor begins his narration with the story of his early life and family history, and his years at Harvard College. He then describes the background leading to his appointment as chancellor of UCSC in 1976. Interspersed throughout his narration are comments on many aspects of his experiences as both teacher and administrator in the UC system (his participation in avoiding a confrontation between the UC Regents and the faculty during the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley and his comments on the history of affirmative action in the University) which influenced his approach to UCSC.He discusses the campus's most pressing problems and how he addressed them-the management and organization of the chancellor's office; interaction with divisional deans and college provosts; faculty recruitment; budget allocations and the budget process; and a serious decline in enrollment. Applications to the campus were down by over 22% in 1975, and had been declining for five years.Addressing declining enrollment was his first order of business and in his opinion proved to be the most significant and difficult problem of his tenure. He made a careful analysis of the admissions office situation, aided by the Stanford committee (appointed by President Saxon), which resulted in the difficult political decision to dismiss the controversial director of enrollment, Roberto Rubalcava. He then reorganized the admissions office and created a new position, vice chancellor of student affairs, to oversee this important campus function.Taylor addresses the major issues he faced in his efforts to stabilize the campus, including the relationship of colleges and boards of studies, the campus budget, reorganizing the chancellor's office and setting up various committees which improved communication among campus administrators, fundraising, town/gown relations, the role of the colleges, and completing the campus's academic plan. During his tenure he faced two major student political demonstrations-- the first protesting his handling of the Rubalcava affair and then protests over South African apartheid and the University-wide divestiture movement, which pressured the University to sell off its stock holdings in companies doing business with South Africa. He discusses his approach to student trespassing and law-breaking and how his solution (he declined to encourage prosecution) met with some disapproval from administrators at other universities who thought Taylor was setting a poor precedent. He also reflects on the mission of the University of California, his thoughts on affirmative action, the search for a new UCSC chancellor, and his relations with University Hall and with President Saxon.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/42j3c98rhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt42j3c98r/qt42j3c98r.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt95h8k9w02022-08-01T15:14:56Zqt95h8k9w0Robert B. Stevens: UCSC Chancellorship, 1987-1991Stevens, RobertJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1999-05-21The Regional History Project conducted six interviews with UCSC Chancellor Robert B. Stevens during June and July, 1991. Stevens was appointed the campus's fifth chancellor by UC President David P. Gardner in July 1987, and served until July 1991. He was the second UCSC chancellor (following Chancellor Emeritus Robert L. Sinsheimer) recruited from a private institution.Stevens was born in England in 1933 and first came to the United States when he was 23. He was educated at Oxford University (B.A., M.A., B.C.L., and D.C.L.) and at Yale University (L.L.M.) and became an American citizen in 1971. An English barrister, Stevens has strong research interests in legal history and education in the United States and England. He served as chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the American Bar Foundation, has written a half dozen books on legal history and social legislation, and numerous papers on American legal scholarship and comparative Anglo-American legal history.Prior to his appointment at UCSC he served for almost a decade as president of Haverford College from 1978 until 1987. From 1959 to 1976 he was a professor of law at Yale University. He served as provost and as professor of law and history at Tulane University from 1976 to 1978. He also taught at Oxford University, the London School of Economics, Stanford University, and the University of East Africa.Stevens begins his narrative by describing the circumstances surrounding his appointment, and his reasons for joining a public institution. His commitment to access-- that students from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds have an opportunity to attend a UC campus-- and to the undergraduate college system which characterizes this campus, were major motives in his decision to become chancellor.In these interviews he comments on the major policy areas which he addressed during his tenure, provides a critique of the institution as he found it, and explains the numerous changes he initiated. He describes the context for the strained nature of town-gown relations he faced upon his arrival and his efforts to establish a more harmonious relationship between the University and the city of Santa Cruz. His dilemma was to meet the obligations of the UC system in providing education for its students, while mitigating the impacts-- most notably, traffic congestion and housing-- which the growing campus student population had on the city. He describes the negotiations between city and campus officials which resulted in limiting the rate of growth and the size of the campus to 15,000 students, a precedent-setting agreement for a UC campus. He also discusses in detail the history of the Long Range Development Plan and the Report to the Committee on the Year 2005.Stevens speaks about the steps he took to decentralize the campus administration, to reinvigorate and reorganize the workings of the college system, and to establish a comprehensive budget process. These reforms stood the campus in good stead in light of the severe budget cuts which affected UCSC and the entire UC system during the state's recession.He discusses the many issues which engaged him during his tenure, including multiculturalism and the undergraduate curriculum, faculty teaching loads, his evaluation of the various academic disciplines and their faculties, his administrative appointments, and his efforts at fundraising and development. He also describes his relations with students, his thoughts on student activism, the development of the performing arts complex, and how his official social life was an opportunity for outreach to constituencies on the campus and in the community.Stevens recounts how he and his staff followed the campus emergency plan during the Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989, when the campus suffered some $7 million dollars in damage, but fortunately no loss of life. When UCLA sent police and medical personnel to assist UCSC, Stevens saw that these resources were directed to the city and county of Santa Cruz in his efforts to be a good neighbor during this devastating period for the community.He described these interviews, held several weeks before he retired from the chancellorship, as a sort of de-briefing opportunity to reflect on his tenure. Stevens was unusually candid in assessing his chancellorship, freely acknowledging what he perceived as several missteps on his part as he came to better understand the culture of UCSC as a public institution.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/95h8k9w0https://escholarship.org/content/qt95h8k9w0/qt95h8k9w0.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9fj6b2qj2022-08-01T15:14:21Zqt9fj6b2qj"Chatting with Cameron": An Oral History of Professor Audrey Stanley, Co-Founder of Shakespeare Santa CruzStanley, AudreyVanderscoff, Cameron2016-08-31Audrey Stanley is a Professor Emerita of Theater Arts at UC Santa Cruz, and the founding artistic director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz. In this oral history, Stanley addresses her life and career in education and theater, which spans from her youth in England to her ongoing tenure in Santa Cruz. Her narrative begins with her childhood in Whitstable, Kent, and London, where she was first introduced to theater through pantomimes at a young age, and was soon inspired to direct her inaugural production with a cast of local friends. Stanley relates both these experiences and their larger social context, discussing her education during the bombings and defense of England in World War II, and delineating the important role that theater and art played in that time of national trial. She follows this thread of interest through her experience at the University of Bristol, where the United Kingdom’s first drama program was founded during her time as a student. As a result, Stanley emerged as one of the very first individuals in the country with a drama degree, and went to work as an educator setting up drama programs in a series of other English universities.Stanley’s engagement with theater persisted and diversified through her work in universities in England and Canada, her UC Berkeley doctoral research on theatrical sites in ancient Greece, and her engagement with UCSC, where she has spent the majority of her career. She details the small-scale, experimental climate at Stevenson College and Cowell College upon her arrival and discusses the ensuing evolution of dramatic performance and theatrical education at the young university. After starting to build a career outside UCSC as a director, working at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the Ashland Shakespeare Festival (where she was the first woman to direct a Shakespeare play), Stanley relates her decision to focus her career on the fledgling vision of a Shakespeare festival in Santa Cruz.This interview finds its heart in Stanley’s ruminations on Shakespeare Santa Cruz, which became nationally renowned for its high-quality productions, marriage of scholarship and performance, generation of opportunities for students, and the unique beauty of its setting amongst the campus redwoods. Stanley relates both the triumphs of the festival—reflecting on individual productions, key collaborators, and its longevity—and its ongoing challenges with budget shortfalls, reflecting in particular on the issues of running a theater company with immediate fiscal needs in the densely layered financial and bureaucratic context of a large university.Shakespeare Santa Cruztheater artsUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9fj6b2qjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9fj6b2qj/qt9fj6b2qj.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt33s2k55x2022-08-01T15:13:25Zqt33s2k55x"Everything was a Stage": An Oral History with Ruth Solomon, Founding UCSC Professor of Theater Arts and DanceSolomon, RuthBeal, TandyReti, Irene H.2014-09-14Ruth Solomon arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970 as a professor in the theater arts board and an affiliate of the brand-new College Five (now Porter College). At UC Santa Cruz, Solomon created a visionary program within the theater arts board that synthesized dance and theater. She taught at UC Santa Cruz until 1995. Solomon also founded and coordinated UCSC’s prestigious Summer Dance Theater Institute from 1972 until 1980.In 1953 Solomon entered Bard College’s dance program, where Jean Erdman became her teacher and major mentor. While still at Bard, she joined the Jean Erdman Dance Theater and danced with Erdman’s company until 1970. Erdman was ultimately to recommend Solomon as the right person to found a new dance program at UC Santa Cruz. At Bard College, Ruth met her future husband, John Solomon. She worked with many well-known composers such as John Cage and Lou Harrison. Her oral history captures the milieu of the dance world in New York City in the mid-twentieth century.In 1960, Ruth and John married; John joined the army and the pair moved to Puerto Rico, where Ruth started a dance program on the military bases on the island. After a couple of years they moved to Hawaii, where Ruth began a dance program at East-West Center in Hawaii and formed a dance company. In 1967, Solomon and Jean Erdman established a dance program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (then called the School of the Arts), where Solomon served as assistant director until she was recruited by UC Santa Cruz in 1970. In about 1980, Solomon widened her interests to include dance medicine. “I really needed to know what we were doing in class that could cause the damage we were seeing. Why were dancers having hip replacements? Why did they have knee problems? Why did they have back problems?” Solomon reflected. Since that time, Solomon has completed annual three-month “residencies” under the direction of Dr. Lyle Micheli at the Division of Sports Medicine, Harvard Medical Center, Boston. She tenaciously attended night school at Cabrillo College after a full day of teaching dance at UCSC, and became a certified medical assistant. After her retirement from UCSC, dance medicine grew into a major focus of her career, although she continued to choreograph productions in a diversity of locations. Ruth and John edit the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and she has served on the board of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science since its inception. She conducts dance medicine studies utilizing the dancers of the Boston Ballet as participants, teaches workshops in dance technique and injury prevention, and produced a popular video on the subject. In 2010 she was named Honorary Fellow of the Division of Sports Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical Center.Solomon has also published broadly. Her books include Preventing Dance Injuries, The New Faces of Dance Scholarship, and East Meets West in Dance: Voices in the Cross-Cultural Dialogue. The Sixth Edition of Ruth and John’s Dance Medicine & Science Bibliography, covering the literature in the field for the last 53 years and containing 3,649 citations, became available in January 2014.Ruth Solomon arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970 as a professor in the theater arts board and an affiliate of the brand-new College Five (now Porter College). At UC Santa Cruz, Solomon created a visionary program within the theater arts board that synthesized dance and theater. She taught at UC Santa Cruz until 1995. Solomon also founded and coordinated UCSC’s prestigious Summer Dance Theater Institute from 1972 until 1980.In 1953 Solomon entered Bard College’s dance program, where Jean Erdman became her teacher and major mentor. While still at Bard, she joined the Jean Erdman Dance Theater and danced with Erdman’s company until 1970. Erdman was ultimately to recommend Solomon as the right person to found a new dance program at UC Santa Cruz. At Bard College, Ruth met her future husband, John Solomon. She worked with many well-known composers such as John Cage and Lou Harrison. Her oral history captures the milieu of the dance world in New York City in the mid-twentieth century.In 1960, Ruth and John married; John joined the army and the pair moved to Puerto Rico, where Ruth started a dance program on the military bases on the island. After a couple of years they moved to Hawaii, where Ruth began a dance program at East-West Center in Hawaii and formed a dance company. In 1967, Solomon and Jean Erdman established a dance program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (then called the School of the Arts), where Solomon served as assistant director until she was recruited by UC Santa Cruz in 1970. In about 1980, Solomon widened her interests to include dance medicine. “I really needed to know what we were doing in class that could cause the damage we were seeing. Why were dancers having hip replacements? Why did they have knee problems? Why did they have back problems?” Solomon reflected. Since that time, Solomon has completed annual three-month “residencies” under the direction of Dr. Lyle Micheli at the Division of Sports Medicine, Harvard Medical Center, Boston. She tenaciously attended night school at Cabrillo College after a full day of teaching dance at UCSC, and became a certified medical assistant. After her retirement from UCSC, dance medicine grew into a major focus of her career, although she continued to choreograph productions in a diversity of locations. Ruth and John edit the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and she has served on the board of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science since its inception. She conducts dance medicine studies utilizing the dancers of the Boston Ballet as participants, teaches workshops in dance technique and injury prevention, and produced a popular video on the subject. In 2010 she was named Honorary Fellow of the Division of Sports Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical Center.Solomon has also published broadly. Her books include Preventing Dance Injuries, The New Faces of Dance Scholarship, and East Meets West in Dance: Voices in the Cross-Cultural Dialogue. The Sixth Edition of Ruth and John’s Dance Medicine & Science Bibliography, covering the literature in the field for the last 53 years and containing 3,649 citations, became available in January 2014. dance historyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyCollege FiveUC Santa CruzPorter CollegeUC Santa CruzArts DivisionUC Santa CruzRuth SolomonTandy Bealapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/33s2k55xhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt33s2k55x/qt33s2k55x.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9hr6t6b32022-08-01T15:12:13Zqt9hr6t6b3Page Smith: Founding Cowell College and UCSC, 1964-1973Smith, PageJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1996-11-23This oral history chronicles the late Page Smith's experiences as founding provost of the campus's first college and his major contributions in shaping the college system here. His narration includes chapters on student culture in the 1960s and 1970s, the pass/fail grading system, his educational philosophy, town/gown relations, campus architecture, the History of Consciousness Program, his relationship with founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry, arts on the campus and the role of his wife, Eloise Pickard Smith, in the founding of the art gallery at Cowell College which now bears her name. The volume is a candid narration which conveys Smith's contrarian perspective on higher education and the flavor of the campus in its early pioneering years.Smith joined the faculty in 1964 and embarked on the adventure of creating a new UC campus. The formative concepts shaping UCSC were an emphasis on undergraduate teaching and the creation of small human-scale colleges around which campus intellectual and cultural life would be organized. Smith became deeply involved in creating a close-knit community at Cowell College, and in promoting a number of innovations during the campus's first decade, perhaps the most significant of which was the narrative evaluation or pass/fail system, an abandonment of the old letter grade system.Smith's interviews are organized into three sections. The first includes Smith's commentary on his controversial appointment as the campus's first provost, early faculty appointments, his efforts to recruit women and minority faculty, and college life. In the second section he discusses issues he confronted as provost, administering Cowell College, establishing the pass/fail grading system, his teaching and curriculum philosophy, the conflict between boards of studies (now designated as departments), and how he defined the provost's role. In the final section, "UCSC's Development", Smith discusses campus-wide topics, including his relationship with founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry, his opinion of campus architecture, the origins of the History of Consciousness program, and town-gown relations. He also discusses the role of his wife, the late artist, Eloise Pickard Smith, in the founding of the art gallery at Cowell College that now bears her name.In the final chapters of the volume, Smith candidly discusses his resignation from the University in 1973 after his colleague and friend, Paul Lee, a professor of religious studies, was not given tenure. Smith used this occasion as a symbolic protest against what he considered the rigidity of the "publish or perish" system governing University faculty promotion and tenure. This issue was a major and paradoxical bete noire in Smith's attitude towards academic life since he himself was uncommonly prolific and published over two dozen books. His Killing the Spirit: Higher Education in America (1990) provided an elaborate critique of contemporary academic life.Smith's legacy lives on in his scholarly work, which he continued after his retirement from the University, with numerous publications, including the 8-volume People's History of the United States, in his many contributions to UCSC and Cowell College, and in his untiring work as a community activist on behalf of the homeless. He was a co-founder (with his friend Paul Lee) of the William James Association in Santa Cruz, the Homeless Garden Project, the Penny University and the Prison Arts Project.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyCowell Collegeapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9hr6t6b3https://escholarship.org/content/qt9hr6t6b3/qt9hr6t6b3.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8tt9n8pj2022-08-01T15:11:08Zqt8tt9n8pjKaren Sinsheimer: Life at UC Santa Cruz, 1981-1987Sinsheimer, KarenJarrell, RandallReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2011-09-01This short but compelling oral history with Karen Sinsheimer documents not only the unique perspective of the wife of a University of California chancellor during a period where the nature of that role was in transition, but also the founding years of Shakespeare Santa Cruz.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8tt9n8pjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8tt9n8pj/qt8tt9n8pj.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt76j649102022-08-01T15:10:36Zqt76j64910Professor Priscilla "Tilly" Shaw: Poet, Teacher, AdministratorShaw, PriscillaRabkin, Sarah J.2013-10-31application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/76j64910https://escholarship.org/content/qt76j64910/qt76j64910.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8787s3c92022-08-01T15:09:32Zqt8787s3c9Peter Scott, Professor of Physics: Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1994Scott, PeterJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-12-15Peter Scott, Professor of Physics: Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1994, is the edited transcript of a single interview conducted by Randall Jarrell on June 27, 1994. Scott received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, his M.A. from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He then taught as an assistant professor for three years at Stanford University. Attracted to UCSC because it represented an alternative to what he characterized as the machine-like educational atmosphere of UC Berkeley, Scott arrived at UCSC in 1966.In this oral history, Scott describes his early history at UCSC, both in the physics board of studies and at Stevenson College. He relates a delightful opportunity to teach innovative seminars for sophomores at Stevenson College, among other anecdotes. He discusses the groundbreaking research undertaken by UCSC undergraduate and graduate students in physics, particularly the "Dynamical Systems Collective". Finally, he offers brief assessments of controversial issues within the University of California, such as the UC management of Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos Laboratories, the narrative evaluation system, and tenure review. Above all, Professor Scott is a proponent of UCSC's interdisciplinary approach to education, remarking that, "You can't really write a thesis or write a story or create something that is not about something else."Scott's research interests have included experimental work on the optical and microwave spectra of impurity ions in crystals. In the late 1970s he became interested in dynamical systems, especially those exhibiting chaotic behavior, such as dripping faucets and various types of mechanical systems. Although he retired in 1994, Scott continues to teach courses for the physics board of studies on occasion. He also remains interested in nonlinear dynamical systems.Peter Scott is also well-known in the UCSC and Santa Cruz community as an environmental activist, becoming involved over the years in efforts, along with his wife Celia, to preserve open space lands (the Santa Cruz North Coast, the Pogonip, the Gray Whale Ranch) and to work to facilitate the awareness of our remarkable natural surroundings by members of our community. In recent years he has focused on transportation issues, with particular efforts toward reducing our dependence on the automobile. His other creative interests include songwriting, singing in choral groups and woodworking.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8787s3c9https://escholarship.org/content/qt8787s3c9/qt8787s3c9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2xg7k0gz2022-08-01T15:08:52Zqt2xg7k0gzA Lifetime Commitment to Giving Voice: An Oral History of Elba R. SánchezSánchez, Elba R.Reti, Irene H.Zepeda, Susy2014-04-04 Elba Rosario Sánchez was born 1949 in Atemajac, Mexico, a small town near Guadalajara. She is the oldest of three girls. Her father worked in the cotton mill until an accident injured one of his eyes. The accident sent him to the United States in search of work, first to Chicago, where the family had relatives, and then to San Francisco, where he worked as a bus boy at the Fairmount Hotel. After about eighteen months, he brought his family to San Francisco in 1960, where they lived at Divisidero and Pine, in a Black neighborhood. At the neighborhood elementary school, Elba was one of very few non-Black children; ironically, even as she struggled to adapt to a white-dominated country, in the racial definitions of that time she was considered white. She learned English quickly, and soon became the translator for her family.Within a few years of her arrival, the social movements of the 1960s altered the national landscape. Witnessing the brutal repression of Black civil rights protestors on television was formative for Sánchez’s growing political consciousness and her eventual activism as a young supporter of the United Farm Workers movement. Her early activism with the United Farm Workers boycott on grapes was impressive, particularly since her family did not approve of her protest. This activism grew intertwined with her passion for writing and for language. In the oral history, Elba vividly recalls that her first pieces of poetry were written on small pieces of paper that she then crumpled up and hid in a drawer. Her first poem, “The Price of Color,” was published in her parochial high school’s yearbook.After graduation, Sánchez attended San Francisco City College. There she was inspired by the Chicano activist spirit of several classmates who had been taking courses at San Francisco State College, where the student protests had shut the campus down. But after a semester and a half she dropped out of college to marry and have a child.In the late 1970s, Sánchez and her husband relocated to Santa Cruz so that her husband could attend UC Santa Cruz. Sánchez became a bilingual counseling aide at Santa Cruz High School. In search of UCSC students who could serve as English tutors at Santa Cruz High, Sánchez met Paco Ramirez, a lecturer in Spanish who coordinated the tutorial program at Stevenson College and Paul Lubeck, a professor in sociology. Both encouraged her to return to college and finish her B.A., which she did, graduating in Latin American studies from Merrill College. At UCSC, Sánchez was a nontraditional student who lived off campus with her husband and her three-year-old child. This experience, plus the class and cultural differences between her and the mostly white middle-class student body of UCSC at that time, led to feelings of alienation and isolation.Professor Roberto Crespi, Sánchez’s advisor in Latin American studies, encouraged her to go on to graduate school in literature at UCSC, which she did, earning her MA from UCSC. Crespi was one of very few Latino professors at UCSC in the early years of the campus. He was also one of the founders, with J. Herman Blake, of Oakes College. In 1979, Crespi also hired Sánchez as a tutor in the Spanish for Spanish Speakers Program (SPSS), which he had founded, and which was then only in its second year. Sánchez spent the next fifteen years teaching in, coordinating, and directing the multidisciplinary Spanish for Speakers Program. This pioneering, cutting-edge program, incorporated poetry readings, theatrical performances, cultural nights, political discussions, visual arts exhibitions, and small press publishing into its curriculum. Students studied Latin American history and literature in SPSS courses, and honed critical thinking, speaking, translation, and writing skills. Sánchez credits SPSS for higher levels of retention of Latino students at UCSC, and also for the successful careers of many of those students after graduation.Also while at UCSC, Sánchez was one of the founding and primary editors of REVISTA MUJERES, a bilingual literary and visual arts journal published at UC Santa Cruz from January 1984 to 1993. According to their mission statement, “REVISTA MUJERES: In Our Words and Work, Our Vision,” REVISTA wasdedicated to interviews, poetry, essays, as well as visual art work and set a page in the history, struggles, and contributions of Chicana and Latina undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty members…REVISTA was also envisioned and produced as a response to the lack of access in mainstream publications for Chicana/Latina bilingual, budding as well as experienced writers, whose work was unpublished. Its aim was to promote and encourage a community of writers and artists, to plant a seed of reality and creativity. Sánchez’s commitment to honor the Spanish language, teach Latin American history, and to offer a keen critique of colonization is part of her legacy on the UC Santa Cruz campus. This commitment was particularly evident in her fervent dedication to SSSP and the co-production of Revista Mujeres. In her oral history, Sánchez describes the organizational work that went into funding, editing, producing, and distributing this groundbreaking journal, which was distributed far beyond UCSC and was the first of its kind published in the state of California. Sánchez locates REVISTA in a cultural effervescence of Chicano-Latino writing and publishing in the 1980s and 1990s. Sánchez recalls that at the time of her earliest publications, there were very few Chicana and Chicano writers who were published.Sánchez’s own development as a writer flourished during that cultural flowering. She participated in a bilingual writer’s workshop in San Francisco with several other key Chicana and Chicano writers. She is the author or coauthor of several books of poetry including Tallos de luna /Moon Shots (Moving Parts Press, 1992), From Silence to Howl (Moving Parts Press, 1993) and is a contributor to many anthologies, including Chicana Feminisms: A Critical Reader (Duke University Press, 2003), Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color (Aunt Lute Books, 1990). She continues to write and is currently working on flash fiction and children’s books.Elba Sánchez was interviewed in three sessions by Susy Zepeda in several locations in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The interviews took place on February 8, 2013, March 1, 2013, and April 5, 2013. The interviews were transcribed by Irene Reti and a transcript was returned both to Zepeda, who audited it for accuracy of transcription, and Sánchez, who edited it for flow and accuracy, corrected the Spanish. Both Zepeda and Sánchez added some footnotes. We chose not to italicize the Spanish in the transcript, a political decision that recognizes that italics can “other” Spanish words as “foreign,” or non-normative. This is a style preferred by many Latino/a writers today.It was an honor and a pleasure to interview Elba Sánchez. Her storytelling was full of heart, joy, and animation. Her oral history offers a sense of her strength, vision, and dedication to forms of resistance.Chicana/Chicano StudiesLatin American and Latino Studiesfeminist studiesliterary journalsfeminist pressesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2xg7k0gzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2xg7k0gz/qt2xg7k0gz.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4xp901f22022-08-01T14:57:28Zqt4xp901f2Mike Rotkin on the Rise and Fall of Community Studies at UCSC, 1969-2010Rotkin, MikeRabkin, Sarah JuniperRegional History Project, UCSC Library2013-09-11On campus and in the Santa Cruz community, Michael [Mike] Rotkin has for several decades been a widely recognized public figure. He has served as a community organizer, a multi-term mayor and city councilmember, a board member for the Santa Cruz County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a local and statewide leader in the UC-AFT (the union representing lecturers and librarians in the UC system), and a teacher and field study coordinator in UCSC’s Department of Community Studies. This oral history focuses on Rotkin’s experiences in community studies and his reflections on the evolution of that undergraduate major from its inception in 1969 to its suspension in 2010.community studies departmentUC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4xp901f2https://escholarship.org/content/qt4xp901f2/qt4xp901f2.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8m9346m72022-08-01T14:56:48Zqt8m9346m7For a More Humane World: A Family Oral History of Professor Jasper RoseVanderscoff, CameronReti, Irene2020-02-10For many people, Jasper Rose embodied the spirit and dream of the young University of California, Santa Cruz campus. UCSC first opened its doors in 1965, and Jasper Rose was one of its founding faculty members and a senior preceptor at Cowell College. For Jasper, it meant the inauguration of a powerful shared venture, a space and a time where, as he put it, “it was as though we were a complete society.” He was passionate about that society and his place in it as an educator; animated by a reformer’s vision for change in education, he saw Santa Cruz as a place where something new and remarkable could be realized. In these pages, Jasper Rose recounts his own life journey to that place and to that vision, and shares his convictions and critiques about what has happened in the decades since at UCSC. While this oral history is Jasper’s story, it is also fundamentally a shared effort by the Rose family. Three different family members—his wife Jean Rose and sons Inigo and William Rose—joined our sessions in at various times to support him in telling his life history.Jasper Rose was born in London in 1930 to family of scholars and thinkers. His family was also “adequately Jewish,” as he put it, and the rising tide of anti-Semitism during World War II left an acute impression on Jasper as a child. His parents took in a string of Jewish refugees fleeing fascism, including leading intellectuals like Stefan Zweig, and his father worked as a prominent German language expert in the British war effort. In our interview more than seventy years after the end of the war, Jasper felt that a part of his vision for UCSC had come from his hope for “a humane postwar world”; in Santa Cruz, it mattered deeply to him that young people would have the opportunity to learn in a beautiful, peaceful, and creative environment.After the war Jasper ultimately attended King’s College, Cambridge, where he met his soon-to-be wife Jean, also a gifted artist, and studied history. He studied under some of the great minds there, such as Christopher Morris and Noel Annan, and moved in a social set that included luminaries like E.M. Forster. He went on to become a fellow at Cambridge, and wrote a celebrated study of Oxford and Cambridge, Camford Observed: An Investigation of the Ancient English Universities in the Modern World. It was at once a caring and irreverent text. Jasper was already then a passionate advocate for undergraduate education and institutional reform—the very word “Camford” was a playful inversion of the more conventional “Oxbridge”—who believed in the residential college as a dynamic learning environment. This oral history goes on to document how Jasper took these convictions with him to the United States, where the growing family moved after he secured a job at Rice University in Texas. Soon thereafter he was brought on as founding faculty at UCSC, where campus originators like Page Smith were impressed by Camford Observed and his approach to education. Jasper recounts how he threw himself wholeheartedly into the UCSC experiment. The new campus, which had a collegiate system, narrative evaluations instead of letter grades, an enthusiasm for reinventing curriculum, and which prized undergraduate education, was an ideal setting for Jasper. He left an indelible and outsize mark as a teacher, administrator, and artist. He believed in students and their ideas, and he encouraged them; he also believed in the power of education to transform outlooks and lives. Simply put, UCSC was a special place—a kind of California pastoral—where a “new vision” was possible.This oral history goes on to document what happened when UCSC then began to change. Jasper, always known for the intensity of his convictions, became an increasingly fierce critic as the more radical 60s receded into the 70s and then 80s. In these pages, he assails what he saw as an increasing “narrowness of curiosity about what education meant” as UCSC moved away from its original collegiate model towards a more mainstream research university model. Eventually Jasper, feeling like he was fighting a rearguard action, moved from Cowell to Porter College to focus on the arts from there. He retired from UCSC in 1986, when he was still in his mid-50s. This oral history concludes with a reflection on change and continuity at UCSC, and on Jasper’s life as of the time of these interviews in 2019.oral historyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8m9346m7https://escholarship.org/content/qt8m9346m7/qt8m9346m7.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7pn935072022-08-01T14:56:12Zqt7pn93507Karl S. Pister: UCSC Chancellorship, 1991-1996Pister, KarlJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2000-01-01Pister's recollections of his tenure as the campus's sixth chancellor include his perspectives on a number of issues his administration faced: the recession-caused budget cuts UCSC absorbed, the UC Regents' controversial decision regarding affirmative action, the state of town-gown relations upon his arrival at UCSC in 1991, and controversies surrounding construction projects on campus.The oral history, entitled Karl S. Pister, UCSC Chancellorship, 1991- 1996, was transcribed and edited from interviews conducted by UCSC Regional Historian Randall Jarrell.Born in Stockton, California, Pister received his B.S. (1945) and M.S. degrees (1948) in civil engineering at UC Berkeley. In 1952 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in theoretical and applied mechanics.Prior to his tenure at UCSC, Pister had spent 30 years at UC Berkeley as a faculty member and 15 years there as an academic administrator. He began his career at Berkeley as a lecturer in 1947; in 1952, he joined the faculty of the campus's College of Engineering, where he had a distinguished career as a professor of engineering. He served as dean of the college from 1980 until 1990.In his narration, Pister describes a number of institutional conflicts he encountered early in his tenure as UCSC chancellor, and he discusses his efforts to reconcile UCSC's unique college system and emphasis on undergraduate education with the university's research mission.He also described controversies over campus building projects-- the founding of Colleges Nine and Ten and a music/performing arts complex-- and efforts that his administration made to improve UCSC's capital planning process.Pister also discusses the severe budget cuts, occurring during his tenure, that had a significant impact on campus academic programs and future planning. He describes a collaborative budget process that he said helped the campus weather those budget storms, while at the same time maintaining faculty, staff, and student morale during a difficult period in the campus's history.In the oral history, Pister also describes the difficult state of town-gown relations that he faced upon his arrival at UCSC. Pister believes he succeeded in toning down the rhetoric and establishing cordial relations with the city and county of Santa Cruz, ushering in a new era of cooperation.Throughout his tenure as chancellor, Pister was a tireless advocate for university involvement in the effort to improve K-12 education in the region, and he describes UCSC's role in the Monterey Bay Educational Consortium, which has fostered collaboration between the campus and public schools. He also describes his effort to expand UCSC's outreach to the region's 13 community colleges, as well as the Leadership Opportunity Awards scholarship program he instituted that assists community college students transferring to UCSC.The narrative also includes Pister's detailed commentary on UCSC's admissions strategies subsequent to the outlawing of affirmative action by the UC Regents. He describes the role he played in joining with other UC chancellors to issue a unanimous public statement opposing the board's decision.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7pn93507https://escholarship.org/content/qt7pn93507/qt7pn93507.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1ph610j12022-08-01T14:55:29Zqt1ph610j1Jim Pepper and the Evolution of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz: An Oral HistoryPepper, JamesJarrell, RandallReti, Irene2007-09-24Recruited by the visionary geographer Richard [Dick] Cooley to join the new environmental studies program at UCSC, Pepper arrived in Santa Cruz in 1972. This oral history is part of the Regional History Project's VERIP series with professors who retired in the early 1990s. In these two interviews conducted by former Regional History director Randall Jarrell and current director Irene Reti, Jim Pepper describes UCSC's environmental studies program as one that “had both a theoretical dimension to it and an applied dimension, a program . . . that integrated theory and practice.” Pepper brought to this nascent department his practical experience and background as a professional landscape architect and planner, as well as his probing interest in the philosophical and ethical questions at the heart of environmental issues. Between 1972 and his retirement in 1994, Jim Pepper helped to build a flagship program in environmental studies at UCSC. Outside of academia, Jim Pepper has enjoyed a 45-year distinguished career in environmental planning, site planning, and urban design. His projects included the formulation of an earthquake recovery plan for downtown Santa Cruz after the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyenvironmental studieshistory ofapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1ph610j1https://escholarship.org/content/qt1ph610j1/qt1ph610j1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5kf1t3wg2022-08-01T14:54:53Zqt5kf1t3wgKenneth S. Norris: Naturalist, Cetologist & Conservationist, 1924-1998: An Oral History BiographyNorris, Kenneth S.Reti, Irene H.1999-01-01The Regional History Project conducted a series of interviews with Kenneth S. Norris, UCSC Professor of Natural History Emeritus, in the spring and summer of 1998. Halfway through the interviews, Norris, who had been in poor health, was hospitalized unexpectedly and died on August 16, 1998. Rather than publish an incomplete set of his edited interviews, the project was reconceived. We interviewed a group of his colleagues and former students who could discuss many of the topics the interviewer had not had an opportunity to discuss with him. These additional interviews include recollections of Norris’s myriad research interests (desert biology, herpetology, marine mammalogy) and his scientific legacy; his teaching philosophy and how it was so creatively manifested for almost two decades in the celebrated Natural History Field Quarter class; and his founding role in the creation in 1965 of UC’s Natural Reserve System.On October 24, 1998, at the Norris Memorial, held at UCSC, celebrating his life and work, many of his far-flung students and colleagues gathered together from around the country. During that weekend project interviewer Irene Reti, conducted interviews with Stephen R. Gliessman, Donald J. Usner, and Shannon M. Brownlee, for their recollections of the Natural History Field Quarter. Randall Jarrell conducted interviews with Robert M. Norris, William N. McFarland, William F. Perrin, and later, with Roger J. Samuelsen, and Lawrence D. Ford, who discussed the genesis of the NRS and Norris as scientist and naturalist.Norris was born August 11, 1924 in Los Angeles when Southern California was still a rural place with easy access to wild things. His mother and father relished the outdoors and were unusually encouraging of their boys’ naturalist interests. They took Ken and his older brother Robert on many family camping trips and hiking in the mountains and by the time he was about ten, Ken’s taste for natural history and collecting was already well developed.Norris graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1942 and entered UCLA. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 until 1948, when he returned to UCLA, and earned his bachelor’s degree in biology in 1948, after having almost completed his degree in geology. When he was a senior he met up with Raymond B. Cowles, who had a transformative influence on the direction of his life.Norris earned a master’s degree in desert zoogeography at UCLA in 1951, with Ray Cowles as his major professor when he wrote his thesis, “The Evolution of the Iguanid, genus Uma.” He moved from the desert to the sea when he began work towards his Ph.D. under the legendary Carl L. Hubbs, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. Two years into his doctoral work Norris was hired as the founding curator at the country’s second oceanarium, Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California, where he began his pioneering work with marine mammals during the period 1953 to 1960. He continued working on his dissertation on the opaleye, named after its lovely bluegreen eyes, a perch-like fish of the sea chub family Kyphosidae, in which he investigated the effect of water temperatures on this intertidal fish. For the groundbreaking ecological approach he developed in this dissertation, “The Functions of Temperature in the Percoid Fish, Girella nigricans (Ayres),” he received the Mercer Award of the Ecological Society of America for the best study by a young scholar in 1963.He received his Ph.D. from Scripps in 1959 and in the same year Norris returned to UCLA where he was hired as Ray Cowles’s successor and taught biology and herpetology and continued his research on desert reptiles. He was at UCLA until 1972, where he advanced to full professor of Natural History (the only professor of natural history in the UC system). In 1965, due to his efforts, UC’s Natural Reserve System was established under UC President Clark Kerr. While continuing at UCLA on a part-time basis, he became the founding director of the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii, from 1968 until 1971. In 1972, he moved north when he was appointed at UCSC and founded Long Marine Laboratory and the Institute of Marine Sciences. He was Professor of Natural History until he retired in 1990 after eighteen years at UC Santa Cruz.In these interviews Norris and his colleagues discussed the unusually varied range of his scientific discoveries and conservation activities. At UCLA his work as a desert herpetologist and ecologist led to his discoveries of the function of color changes in amphibians and reptiles and of circadian rhythms in snakes. His pioneering investigations in marine mammalogy confirmed dolphin echolocation skills in a series of elegant experiments. Much of what is now known about whales and dolphins, specifically their social and familial interactions is due to his work. His expertise in marine mammalogy also resulted in his strong influence on public policy in the crafting of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972. His leadership and research were also instrumental in the national campaign to reduce the dolphin kill in tuna fishing. Norris was the author of over a hundred scientific papers and several books on dolphins and porpoises.natural history study and teachingKenneth S. NorrisWilliam N. McFarlandWilliam F. PerrinRoger J. SamuelsenRobert M. NorrisLawrence D. FordDonald J. UsnerShannon M. BrownleeStephen R. Gliessmanoral historyenvironmental studies department UC Santa Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kf1t3wghttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5kf1t3wg/qt5kf1t3wg.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt79k9m51b2022-08-01T14:53:23Zqt79k9m51bTodd Newberry: Professor of BiologyNewberry, Andrew ToddJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2006-09-01This interview with [Andrew] Todd Newberry was conducted by Randall Jarrell, the former director of the Regional History Project, on July 18, 1994 in Newberry's office at UCSC. Todd Newberry arrived at UCSC as a founding faculty member in biology when the campus opened in 1965. He had earned a B.A. in biology from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University, where his doctoral research focused on ascidian tunicates ("sea squirts"). Other research interests included invertebrate development and reproduction and biosystematics. Professor Newberry speaks of teaching "as a form of persuasion, of launching, of getting people interested in things." Some of the other courses Newberry taught over the years included Invertebrate Zoology, The Organism in Its Environment (Biology 1A), Invertebrate Anatomy Laboratory, Morphogenesis, and California Marine Invertebrates.In this narration Newberry provides his recollections of the early years at UCSC, particularly of Cowell College. He characterizes those years as "exhilarating," and as an "improbable adventure." He also discusses the development of the biology board [now department], and his colleagues such as William Doyle, Charles Daniel, and Peter Ray.Marine ecologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/79k9m51bhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt79k9m51b/qt79k9m51b.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9636r3cj2022-08-01T14:52:45Zqt9636r3cjMichael Nauenberg, Professor of Physics: Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1996Nauenberg, MichaelJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-10-29Michael Nauenberg, Professor of Physics: Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1996, is the edited transcript of a single interview conducted by Randall Jarrell on July 12, 1994. Nauenberg received his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1960. Prior to his appointment as a professor of physics at UC Santa Cruz in 1966, he was an assistant professor at Columbia University and a visiting associate professor at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Stanford University.At UCSC, Nauenberg served as department chairman of physics from 1970 to 1972, and again from 1983 to 1985. He was instrumental in developing both Stevenson and Crown Colleges, but in 1973 shifted his focus to building a graduate program in physics. He also founded and served as the director of the Institute of Nonlinear Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.Nauenberg's primary research interests are in particle physics, condensed matter physics, and nonlinear dynamics, and he is the author of numerous publications in these areas. His most recent work is on a new quantum mechanical treatment of neutrino and neutral meson oscillations and on the dynamics of wave packets in weak external fields. He has had a long standing interest in the history of physics and mathematics, particularly during the seventeenth century, and published about a dozen articles on the works of Hooke, Newton and Huygens, and several reviews of recent books on Newton's Principia. He has a particular interest in the history of physics and has helped to bring historians of science and physicists together.In this oral history narration, Nauenberg shares his impressions and critical evaluation of UCSC as an experiment in public higher education, particularly the tensions between the college-based model and the pressures of the faculty tenure system within the large research University of California system. He points out that the founders of UCSC appear to have overlooked or underestimated the demands building graduate programs would make on faculty members' time. He discusses faculty appointments in the physics department, as well as other key faculty members on campus. He provides a sweeping and cogent assessment of the strengths and achievements of the physics department, and describes the struggle to establish the very successful Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, as well as his frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful political battle to attract the Institute for Theoretical Physics to UC Santa Cruz. This oral history is an invaluable and insightful historical contribution by a senior faculty member with an extensive and distinguished history on the Santa Cruz campus.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9636r3cjhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9636r3cj/qt9636r3cj.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3bz3s3t52022-08-01T14:52:14Zqt3bz3s3t5Crossing Borders, Crossing Worlds: An Oral History with UC Santa Cruz Professor Olga Nájera-RamírezNájera-Ramírez, OlgaReti, Irene H.Zepeda, Susy2014-04-11Olga Nájera-Ramírez was born in 1955 and raised in the small town of Davenport, California. She is the fourth of six children. In the early 1950s, her parents came to the United States from the state of Durango, Mexico, part of a migration of Mexican-Americans to the North Coast of Santa Cruz County. Her father worked in the fields and at the Davenport Cement Plant. When Nájera-Ramírez was eight, her father died and her family labored in the fields along with finding other jobs to support themselves. Her mother worked in packing sheds and canneries in several places in Santa Cruz County. This oral history begins with Nájera-Ramírez’s recollections of growing up in Davenport. Nájera-Ramírez’s early labor as a farmworker and the importance she placed on creating familia within the community in Davenport grounds her later vision of facilitating access to the university system for people of diverse locations.Even as a small child in Davenport, Najera-Ramírez was interested in becoming a teacher. Her high school counselor held what Nájera-Ramírez’s termed “a paternalistic view of the minorities” and discouraged her from pursuing an advanced education in academia. But Nájera-Ramírez persevered, and despite a lack of mentors or even financial advising, became the first in her family to attend a four-year college, entering UC Santa Cruz as a student in Merrill College in 1973.As a UCSC student, Najera-Ramírez danced with Los Mejicas which galvanized what would become a lifelong interest in conducting research on the dance and traditions of Mexico and Mexican folklore. She earned a dual degree in history and Latin American studies from UC Santa Cruz in 1977. Nájera-Ramírez remembers the Chicano/Latino graduation feeling like a family party—this speaks simultaneously to the small numbers of Chicanas and Latinos graduating in 1977, as well as to importance of music, food, and cultura within a university setting to sustain people of color. Her recollections of Chicano/a Latino/a life at UCSC in the 1970s, as well as her faculty mentors and classes, are an invaluable contribution to a little-documented aspect of UCSC history.Najera-Ramírez's involvement with Los Mejicas during her undergraduate career in 1976 gave her the opportunity to meet Rafael Zamarripa, a well known folklorico maestro, in Colorado. As a result of this life-altering meeting, Najera-Ramírez decided to attend University of Guadalajara and further study dance. After three years, she returned to the United States and attained her MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas in 1983. She also married her husband, Ronaldo Ramírez in that year. In 1987, Najera-Ramírez earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of Texas, with a specialization in folklorico studies.Nájera-Ramírez is perhaps unique among UCSC faculty in that she is a native of Santa Cruz County who attended UC Santa Cruz, and then returned to her alma mater for a lifelong career as a tenured professor. In 1989, Nájera-Ramírez was hired by UCSC’s anthropology department, where she has now taught for twenty-five years. She is also a founder of UCSC’s Latin American and Latino Studies department and has directed the Chicano/Latino Research Center (CLRC). Striking in Nájera-Ramírez’s interview is her dedication to communities of color who are producing knowledge of “Greater Mexico” and beyond. This is evident primarily through her mentorship of graduate students of color, active guidance of Los Mejicas, and participation in cross-border projects of the CLRC.Along with being a published writer, Olga is a film producer who has created two major films, La Charreada: Rodeo a la Mexicana and anza Folklórica Escénica: El Sello Artístico de Rafael Zamarripa (Mexican Folkloric Dance: Rafael Zamarripa’s Artistic Trademark). She describes the making of these two films in her oral history and demonstrates her dedication to visual arts and culture.Najera-Ramírez has also served as the faculty advisor for Grupo Folklórico Los Mejicas of UCSC since 1997, which has been dancing folklorico since 1972. Los Mejicas fosters a strong sense of community at UCSC, thereby helping with the retention of Chicano/a and Latino/a students. The group performs at public schools throughout California and in the process does outreach to potential UCSC students of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds.Olga Nájera-Ramírez was interviewed in three sessions by Susy Zepeda at her home in Santa Cruz County. The interviews took place on May 2, May 16, and May 30, 2013. Nájera-Ramírez’s articulate reflections, warmth, and intellect facilitated powerful storytelling that offered a unique perspective from a lifelong connection with Santa Cruz County. The interviews were transcribed by Irene Reti and a transcript was returned both to Zepeda, who audited it for accuracy of transcription, and Nájera-Ramírez, who edited it for flow and accuracy. We chose not to italicize the Spanish in the transcript, a political decision that recognizes that italics can “other” Spanish words as “foreign,” or non-normative. This is a style preferred by many Latino/a writers today.Copies of this volume are on deposit in Special Collections and in the circulating stacks at the UCSC Library, as well as on the library’s website. The Regional History Project is supported administratively by Elisabeth Remak- Honnef, Head of Special Collections and Archives, and Interim University Librarian, Elizabeth Cowell.—Irene Reti, Director, Regional History Project, University Library—Susy Zepeda, Interviewer, Regional History ProjectUniversity of California, Santa Cruz, April 11, 2014Chicana feminismChicana studiesUC Santa Cruz historyfolkloricoapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3bz3s3t5https://escholarship.org/content/qt3bz3s3t5/qt3bz3s3t5.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1z90c0c22022-08-01T14:49:21Zqt1z90c0c2Kenneth Campbell: Life on Mount Hamilton, 1899-1913Campbell, KennethCalciano, Elizabeth Spedding1971-05-06Kenneth Campbell was a noted research engineer from Ridgewood, New Jersey. His father, William Wallace Campbell, was Director of the Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. This oral history includes descriptions of living conditions on Mount Hamilton at the turn of the century-- the Mt. Hamilton School, water supply, plumbing, food supplies, mail and banking, health care, nine-hole golf course, hunting and fishing, baseball, hiking, funerals and church attendance, and early automobiles. Campbell also discusses early Lick telescopes, eclipse expeditions around the world, and sketches of early Lick astronomers as Campbell remembered them from his youth.Lick ObservatoryUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyastronomical observatoriesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1z90c0c2https://escholarship.org/content/qt1z90c0c2/qt1z90c0c2.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0c00c5xb2022-08-01T14:49:07Zqt0c00c5xbFrom the Mysteries of the Universe to the Mysteries of the Univers-ity: An Oral History with UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George BlumenthalBlumenthal, GeorgeReti, Irene H.2021-05-19George R. Blumenthal arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1972 as a young faculty member in astronomy and astrophysics. Thirty-five years later, on September 19, 2007, he became UCSC’s tenth chancellor, after serving as acting chancellor for fourteen months. Blumenthal dedicated thirteen years of his life to being chancellor of UC Santa Cruz. This oral history was transcribed from forty interviews recorded between June 2018 and July 2019 and encompasses Chancellor Blumenthal’s long and distinguished career at UC Santa Cruz and with the University of California system. Long before he became chancellor, Blumenthal served the campus in diverse capacities; he was the faculty representative to the UC Regents (2003-05); chaired the UC Santa Cruz division of the Academic Senate (2001-03); and served as chair of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department twice. But not only does this oral history cover almost fifty years of UCSC’s history—from the early years of Oakes College under Provost J. Herman Blake, to the impacts of the defunding of public higher education in more recent years—it is also infused with Blumenthal’s insider’s viewpoint on the University of California system that he gained as vice-chair of the UC Academic Senate (2003-2004); chair of UC Academic Senate (2004-05); and experience serving on many other UC-wide committees and endeavors. In 2010, Blumenthal received the Oliver Johnson Award for Distinguished Leadership in the Academic Senate, the top UC honor for service at both the systemwide and campus levels. This volume is thus both an oral history of UC Santa Cruz and of the University of California system as a whole and is an invaluable primary resource for those seeking to understand the history of both this unique campus in the redwoods and the intricate political history of the University of California system.UC Santa Cruz historyhistory of the University of Californiahistory of astronomyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0c00c5xbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0c00c5xb/qt0c00c5xb.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7fc7q3z82022-08-01T14:48:39Zqt7fc7q3z8Helene Moglen and the Vicissitudes of a Feminist AdministratorMoglen, HeleneReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2013-06-03Helene Moglen was hired for the position of dean of humanities and professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the fall of 1978. She became the first female dean in the University of California system. A natural leader with confidence and stamina, Helene Moglen dedicated herself to multiple arenas of institution building at UC Santa Cruz. She served as provost of Kresge College from 1978 to 1983, transforming and revitalizing that college into a vibrant intellectual community, which became a home for several notable academic departments, including the dynamic and expanding American studies program and the prestigious history of consciousness program. She led the division of humanities during a period of reorganization and several controversial tenure battles, and reorganized and built what was then a fledgling student-run women’s studies program into what is now a thriving and nationally prominent feminist studies department, serving as chair from 1984 to 1989.During her career, she also founded and directed two centers for feminist research, the Feminist Research Focused Research Activity (1984-1989) and the Institute for Advanced Feminist Research (2003-2006). In 1985, Moglen lobbied then-Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer to be able to use the beautiful and historic Cardiff House for a brand-new UCSC Women’s Center, which she founded and helped build into a visionary institution that bridged the campus and downtown communities. Alongside these administrative accomplishments, Moglen became a well-known feminist literary scholar.women's studiesfeminist studiesUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7fc7q3z8https://escholarship.org/content/qt7fc7q3z8/qt7fc7q3z8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4xm9n4442022-08-01T14:43:47Zqt4xm9n444Founding the Aesthetic Studies Major at UC Santa Cruz: An Oral History with Professor Pavel MachotkaMachotka, PavelReti, Irene H.2016-01-07Pavel Machotka was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1936 and grew up during the Nazi occupation. His father was a sociologist. As a boy, Machotka studied English. After his father helped lead an uprising against the Communist Regime in 1948, the family was in danger and needed to flee Prague for the United States. Fortunately, Machotka’s father had studied at the University of Chicago as a postdoc from 1934 to 1935 and was offered a position at the University of Chicago. Pavel’s English skills proved useful after this immigration, when he attended high school in Chicago.Machotka was awarded a Ford Pre-induction Scholarship to attend the University of Chicago at age sixteen, where he majored in social psychology. It was there that he saw his first Cézanne painting and fell in love with Cézanne. Cézanne was to become one of the focal points of his life’s work.Machotka went on to earn his MA and PhD from Harvard University, where his dissertation incorporated a social psychological study of aesthetics. After teaching at Harvard for a few years and then spending five years as a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Colorado Medical Center, Machotka was recruited by the University of California, Santa Cruz to join College Five (now known as Porter College).Machotka arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1970, when the campus was only five years old. He was hired by the Psychology Board of Studies and by Provost James Hall of the newly forming College Five in a time at UCSC when academic positions were jointly held between colleges and boards of studies. In this oral history Machotka describes the UCSC of the 1960s and early 1970s as “full of uncertainty and enthusiasm…. The atmosphere was one of experimentation, happiness to be here, some confusion, enormous energy for doing things. We felt we were in on the beginnings of a lovely experiment.”It was that atmosphere of possibilities which created the climate for Machotka, Provost of College Five James Hall, Jonathan Beecher, David Swanger, Ivan Rosenblum, Eugene Switkes, and a few other colleagues to design and found the innovative interdisciplinary Aesthetic Studies major, housed in College Five. Aesthetic Studies was one of several interdisciplinary majors offered by the UCSC colleges. Others offered at that time included Modern Society and Social Thought (Stevenson College); and Latin American Studies (Merrill College). The 1972-73 UCSC General Catalog includes the following description of Aesthetic Studies:It is specifically intended for students who 1) wish to devote concentrated study to certain fields of aesthetics such as art history, sociology of art, or aesthetic theory and psychology, or b) who wish to devote themselves to the practice of arts not represented by full boards of study and degree programs, or who need greater flexibility in combining the practice of several related arts. Four distinct “paths” exist within the major in Aesthetic Studies: a Studio-Performance path, an Aesthetic Theory and Psychology path, a History of the Visual Arts path, and an Art and Society path.The heart of this oral history is dedicated to a conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of this innovative major, which attracted and graduated creative, brilliant, and accomplished students and exemplified the best of UC Santa Cruz during its early period, but ultimately fell prey to some of the systemic problems with the campus at that time. Aesthetic Studies unfortunately did not survive Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer’s reorganization of UCSC in the late 1970s, which eliminated college majors and most college courses. Machotka was provost of College Five during this period of transition (1976 to 1979) and discusses some of his feelings about that reorganization and the early years of UCSC.After reorganization, Machotka continued to teach in the psychology board, becoming chair from 1988-1991. He also chaired the Academic Senate (1991-1994) and served on several Senate committees. Those activities are also covered in this narrative. Machotka took early retirement from UCSC in 1994 as part of the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program (VERIP) but continued to teach and conduct research at UCSC for several years after that, until his move to Umbria, Italy.In the early 1980s, after years in academia, Machotka decided to devote himself to the practice of painting, for which he received some mentoring from his colleagues at UC Santa Cruz, especially Professor of Art Donald Weygandt. Now an accomplished painter, Machotka has exhibited his paintings in Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Bay Area, Prague, and Italy. He has also authored many books on the psychology of art including (Painting and Our Inner World: The Psychology of Image Making (Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York, 2003); Style and Psyche: The Art of Lundy Siegriest and Terry St. John (Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ: 1999); and on the painter Paul Cézanne (Cézanne: Landscape into Art (London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996) and Cézanne: The Eye and the Mind (Marseille, Crès Editions, 2008). Since retiring, Machotka has lectured around the world, participated in international congresses, and served on editorial and advisory boards, including Ph.D. dissertation committees and two scholarly journals concerned with the psychology of artistic creativity.I conducted two oral history interviews with Pavel Machotka on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at McHenry Library on the UCSC campus. I learned that Professor Machotka was visiting UC Santa Cruz from Italy to accept the Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award. The Regional History Project was happy to interview Machotka as part of a series that we are conducting on the early history of the arts at UC Santa Cruz. While Machotka was in Santa Cruz, I also had the pleasure of hearing him give a lecture to UC Santa Cruz’s Emerti Association: “Psychology and Art, and the Case of Cézanne.” Many of Machotka’s former students attended this lecture and it was evident from the enthusiasm of the audience that Machotka is a beloved mentor. The Panunzio award honors UC emeriti professors in the humanities and social sciences. Machotka is the seventh UC Santa Cruz professor to receive this award; only UCLA and UC Irvine have as many awardees.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyAesthetic Studies UC Santa Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4xm9n444https://escholarship.org/content/qt4xm9n444/qt4xm9n444.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt98s606j32022-08-01T14:39:55Zqt98s606j3Daniel H. McFadden: The Chancellor Mark Christensen Era at UC Santa Cruz, 1974-1976McFadden, Daniel H.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2012-01-01UC Santa Cruz’s second chancellor, Mark N. Christensen, served the campus from July 1974 to January 1976. Christensen arrived at UCSC during a tumultuous point in the campus’s history. Founding Chancellor Dean McHenry had brought to fruition his singular vision for UC Santa Cruz as an innovative institution of higher education which emphasized undergraduate teaching centered in residential colleges, each with a specific intellectual theme and architectural design. McHenry oversaw the planning and building of UCSC from 1961 until his retirement in June 1974. In the early years, UCSC drew high caliber students and earned a reputation as a prestigious and unique university. But by the mid-1970s, enrollments were falling. Internally, the campus was fracturing along fault lines between the colleges and the boards of studies (now called departments), as UCSC experienced the political and economic pressures of trying to establish a decentralized, innovative campus within the traditional University of California.Christensen’s tenure as chancellor rather tragically ended in controversy after only eighteen months. Although most of the faculty liked Christensen as a person, they lost confidence in his ability to govern the campus. The Regional History Project never conducted an oral history with Mark Christensen, and he passed away in 2003. But in 1980, former director Randall Jarrell interviewed Christensen’s special assistant, Daniel McFadden, about the Christensen era. McFadden’s oral history is a perceptive and balanced reflection on the political climate of UCSC in 1976, just as what McFadden characterizes as a “Bicentennial Rebellion” was taking place.The Regional History Project published this transcript in 2012, nearly forty years after the interview was recorded (on May 20, 1976), because McFadden was only able to turn his attention to editing and approving the transcript after his retirement. Dan McFadden holds a BA and MA in intellectual history and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Pittsburgh. Before coming to UCSC, McFadden served as assistant chancellor for public affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. After leaving UCSC, McFadden held a variety of administrative positions, including deputy city manager for the city of San Jose, California.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/98s606j3https://escholarship.org/content/qt98s606j3/qt98s606j3.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3gh404x12022-08-01T14:38:36Zqt3gh404x1John P. Lynch: Campus Citizen, Community Educator, Classics ProfessorLynch, John P.Vanderscoff, Cameron2015-04-21John Patrick Lynch is a professor emeritus of literature and a formative figure in the classics program at UC Santa Cruz, as well as a former provost of Cowell College. Lynch expands on these roles in this account, providing their larger context in his work and philosophies as an educator, and discussing his hopes and priorities in his 37-year career at this institution. He makes sweeps through the personal as well as the professional, and in doing so, affirms a core vocational identity as a teacher above all else, a campus citizen above a researcher. In his work at UCSC, Lynch sought to instantiate a model of learning that is fundamentally shared between teacher and student, one that goes beyond the confines of the classroom to become an experience in community.Lynch proves to be a thoughtful commentator on what has often been called the original UCSC experiment, starting from his decision to pick up and drive cross country, having never taught a class, to accept a position in classics at the young campus in 1969. He explains, “It had some of the same prestige in its newness that places like Harvard or Yale had in their ancientness or oldness.” He illustrates this character through his own experience teaching courses like pantology (“the study of everything”), anecdotes on what he terms the cultural (rather than political) radicalism of early Santa Cruz, and through his own involvement in the collegiate model of student engagement.University of California historyCowell Collegeclassicsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gh404x1https://escholarship.org/content/qt3gh404x1/qt3gh404x1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt19j1h7b32022-08-01T14:37:27Zqt19j1h7b3Picture to Picture: An Oral History with Photographer-Teacher Norman LocksLocks, NormanReti, Irene H.2018-03-02161 pages, 2018Photographer Norman Locks was born in San Jose, California in 1947, but grew up primarily in San Francisco. His father, Seymour Locks, was a well-known abstract painter and assemblage sculptor who taught at San Francisco State University for thirty-seven years. The San Francisco art scene [Beatnik, Abstract Expressionism, and Bay Area Figurative] shaped Norman’s early life. These synchronicities of history placed Norman Locks in the Bay Area just as the West Coast Photography scene was blossoming. As a teenager, he took summer session courses at San Francisco State from Jack Welpott, who was drawn to California by the work of Edward Weston. When he was eighteen years old, he met Monterey photographer Wynn Bullock at a lecture at the San Francisco Art Institute. Bullock invited Norman to visit his home in Monterey and show him his photographs. During those years, Locks’ parents also took him camping in the Sierra Nevada and to other favorite locations in the coastal ranges of California, awakening in Norman a deep and lifelong love for the landscapes of his home state. Norman studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, where he earned a BFA in photography, and then attended graduate school at San Francisco State, where he earned his MA. His career as a photography teacher began early, as he taught art classes for the De Young Museum as a teenager, and then summer session courses and then graduate courses at San Francisco State together with Jack Welpott. After graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute, Locks was hired to direct the Ansel Adams Workshops in Yosemite Valley and Carmel, California. There he coordinated eleven to fifteen workshops a year, bringing in luminary photographers such as Imogen Cunningham, Robert Heinecken, Judy Dater, Minor White, and Linda Connor, as well as then-emerging photographers such as Jerry Uelsmann and Lewis Baltz.In 1978, Locks came to UC Santa Cruz at a time when there were only four FTE’s in photography in the entire University of California system. He was hired by College Five Provost Pavel Machotka to teach six photography courses a year for aesthetic studies, an innovative interdisciplinary major affiliated with College Five [now Porter College] that wove together the study of the psychology of creativity, art history, art criticism, philosophy and the hands-on mastery of the art of creative writing, film, photography, sculpture, and other modalities. Locks also managed the darkroom for aesthetic studies.In 1980, aesthetic studies was disbanded as part of Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer’s reorganization of the college system, which eliminated most of UC Santa Cruz’s college-based majors. At that point, Locks was hired as a lecturer in the art department. He struggled with the marginal position of a lecturer until 1990, when he was promoted to a tenure-track position in the art department. Locks chaired UC Santa Cruz’s art department twice. The final section of this oral history focuses on key developments in the art department’s history over the past several decades, covering hirings, the expansion of physical facilities, and the founding of new academic pathways within the curriculum, such as the digital arts and media program. photographyphotographic educationUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/19j1h7b3https://escholarship.org/content/qt19j1h7b3/qt19j1h7b3.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0881z51h2022-08-01T14:35:06Zqt0881z51hLeo F. Laporte: Professor of Earth Sciences, Recollections of UCSC, 1971-1996Laporte, Leo F.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1998-03-12Randall Jarrell conducted an oral history with Leo Laporte on August 15, 1994, as a part of the Project's interviews with retiring senior faculty. Laporte served as department chairman of Earth Sciences from 1972 to 1975, and dean as the Natural Sciences Division from 1975-1976. In 1980 he received the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. In his narration, Laporte discusses the building of the earth sciences department at UC Santa Cruz, how and why certain specialties were emphasized, and how the faculty was recruited over the years. His commentary also includes this thoughts on achieving diversity in the faculty, his thoughts on diversity among the student body, and the increasing prominence of women in the geological sciences. Laporte's volume also includes his reflections on teaching, his approach to working with graduate students, and his assessment of UCSC as a "hybrid institution."application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0881z51hhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0881z51h/qt0881z51h.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9zx9n3bt2022-08-01T14:34:27Zqt9zx9n3btIn the Beginning...and Beyond: Edward M. Landesman—Professor of Mathematics, UC Santa CruzLandesman, EdwardReti, Irene H.2016-04-12Edward Landesman was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He and his parents and his twin brother moved to Los Angeles when Ed was two years old, the city which was to be his home through his undergraduate and then graduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Landesman was a first-generation college student, as his parents never had the opportunity to pursue higher education. He graduated from UCLA with a BA in mathematics in 1960, earned his MA in 1961, and his PhD in 1965, all from UCLA.While at UCLA, Landesman discovered that he loved teaching, a passion to which he was to dedicate himself for the rest of his career. He was honored with several major teaching awards, including the UCSC Santa Cruz Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award in 1984, and the Mathematical Association of America Deborah and Franklin Tepper National Award for Distinguished University or College Teaching in 1996. However, his record is equally distinguished in pure mathematics research, and in research about mathematics education, both at the college and K-12 levels. And Landesman also made major contributions to administration and institution-building at UC Santa Cruz, where he taught from 1966 until 1994. He served on numerous Academic Senate committees, became UCSC’s first associate academic vice chancellor for undergraduate education, and was provost and senior preceptor for academic affairs at Crown College. He has also been a pioneer and leader in mathematics education on a statewide and national level.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz history ofmathematics educationCrown CollegeUC Santa Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9zx9n3bthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9zx9n3bt/qt9zx9n3bt.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6hw978p92022-08-01T14:31:41Zqt6hw978p9"An Intergenerational Community of Friends": An Oral History of the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society/Smith Renaissance Society with Bill Dickinson and Gary MilesDickinson, WilliamMiles, GaryRabkin, Sarah2021-01-22This oral history documents the Page and Eloise Smith Society, which offers support, advocacy, and fellowship to UC Santa Cruz undergraduates who come to the university with little or no family backing: former foster children; orphans; former juvenile delinquents; homeless and runaways. The society is the brainchild of alumnus Bill Dickinson, a member of the pioneer class who transferred to the campus in 1965 after having lived on his own since the age of sixteen. At a class reunion in 1999, Dickinson appealed to fellow pioneer alumni to help him build a scholarship fund for former foster children. Out of that initiative grew a volunteer-driven organization—the first of its kind in the US—that has, in the ensuing two decades, served hundreds of students, setting them up with mentoring, financial help, and a collegial community that many have come to think of as a surrogate family.In founding the society, Dickinson aimed to carry on the spirit of its namesakes, Page and Eloise (Pickard) Smith, who cultivated a vibrant community at Cowell College, where Page was founding provost. That community provided Dickinson with a cultural and intellectual home when he was a young man, he says, and launched him into happy adulthood. He cites Page Smith, a historian with an interest in educational philosophy, as an important mentor. He continues to espouse the pedagogical ideals he shared with Smith, who insisted that loving students is central to the art of teaching them well, and that a small, intimate community of students and teachers provides the best college education. “True learning is clearly incompatible with immensity,” Smith wrote in a passage that Dickinson has been known to quote. “Formalism, lifeless routines, bureaucratic obtuseness, coldness of heart, impoverishment of spirit are the inevitable consequences of excessive size.”For this oral history, we were also able to bring in one of Bill Dickinson’s core colleagues, Gary Miles—an emeritus professor of history and classics who created and ran the Smith Society’s mentoring program, beginning shortly after he retired from his faculty position. A beloved teacher, Miles shares Dickinson’s enthusiasm for undergraduates; his decision to retire arose partly, as he notes in the oral history, from disaffection with UCSC’s growing class sizes, which had begun to impede his ability to interact meaningfully with individual students. Working with literature professor John Jordan, Miles built a highly successful program in which every one of Smith’s Collegiate Fellows who requested an adult mentor has been matched with one. Like Dickinson, Miles emphasizes the close mentor-student relationships that have been at the center of the Smith Society’s extraordinary success. In 2018, when various newly restrictive policies threatened to undermine the society’s spirit and mission to an unacceptable degree, the society partially severed its affiliation with STARS (Services to Transfer and Re-entry Students), which had long served as its administrative home. With the enthusiastic encouragement of Cowell College provost Alan Christy, the mentoring program and other Smith components found a new home under Cowell’s aegis, with STARS retaining some important Smith functions.While this arrangement seems to be working well at present, both narrators express uncertainty about the society’s future, given that they and others who have long been central to its success are aging out of their roles. In the final portion of the interview, Dickinson and Miles speculate about whether and how the Smith Society might evolve in years to come, and about how its cost-effective, volunteer-driven model might inspire other efforts to serve the needs of UCSC undergraduates—particularly the growing cohort of students who are the first in their families to attend college. application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6hw978p9https://escholarship.org/content/qt6hw978p9/qt6hw978p9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt66q093692022-08-01T14:30:56Zqt66q09369Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David KligerKliger, DavidReti, Irene2012-12-21In 1971, David Kliger arrived at UC Santa Cruz as a young chemistry professor and affiliate of Kresge College. In 2010, he stepped down from his position as Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor (CP/EVC), although he is still a faculty member in chemistry and remains very engaged with his Kliger Research Group. Over the past forty years, Kliger has served the campus in a variety of administrative capacities: as chair of the Board of Studies (Department) of Chemistry from 1985-1988, chair of the academic senate from 1988-1990, dean of the Division of Natural Sciences (now Physical and Biological Sciences) from 1990-2005; and finally as CP/EVC from 2005-10. This oral history, conducted as part of the Regional History Project’s University History Series, provides Kliger’s unique perspective on forty years of UCSC’s history from the vantage point of these diverse administrative positions, as well as a member of the chemistry faculty and of two different UCSC colleges.UC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/66q09369https://escholarship.org/content/qt66q09369/qt66q09369.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9bw645n92022-08-01T14:30:17Zqt9bw645n9Clark Kerr and the Founding of UC Santa CruzKerr, ClarkJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1989-02-02As President of the University of California during the period 1958-67, Kerr initiated, lobbied for, and oversaw UC's greatest era of expansion. In this volume of memoirs, Kerr discusses UCSC's origins in the context of the UC system's overall growth and evolution. He addresses three aspects of the campus's history. First, he reviews the thinking and planning which led up to the establishing of three new UC campuses (UCSC, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego) and their integration into the system as equal and autonomous campuses. He explains the demographics which gave the impetus to UC's growth; the role of the UC Regents; and his own lobbying efforts within both UC and the state legislature to gain political support for this major undertaking. Second, Kerr outlines in considerable detail his own contributions to the shaping of UCSC.Two important influences were his own undergraduate experience at Swarthmore College, and his tenure as Chancellor of UC Berkeley from 1952-58, which influenced his departure from conventional thinking in the creation of UCSC as an "alternative campus" within the UC system. Conceiving of a research university built around small residential colleges, with an emphasis on undergraduate education, close faculty-student interaction, and human-scale community life, was Kerr's contribution to the UC system and not incidentally, imaginative institutional response to the contemporary student movement's critique of the multiversity as a sort of dehumanizing intellectual factory system.Kerr discusses the selection of Dean E. McHenry as UCSC's founding Chancellor and their close collaboration in campus planning and design, indicating the specifics of their shared vision as well as their differences. He describes the site selection process, the eventual selection of the old Cowell Ranch, and how decisions on campus land-use, architecture, and landscape design were integral to their overall vision. In the final portion of the memoir Kerr provides an assessment of UCSC as it has come of age, detailing its strengths and weaknesses; touching on the campus's organizational, academic, and cultural status as it continues the process of self-definition towards a mature identity. He also comments on the evolution of student activism here and how it has influenced perceptions of the campus.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyClark KerrUCSC College Systemapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9bw645n9https://escholarship.org/content/qt9bw645n9/qt9bw645n9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3s75k0n12022-08-01T14:29:39Zqt3s75k0n1“Study what is in your backyard”: Professor Virginia Jansen and the UC Santa Cruz CampusJansen, Virginia M.Reti, Irene H.2021-05-25Virginia Jansen was raised in Dayton, Ohio and attended Smith College as an undergraduate, where she earned a degree in German language and literature. She earned her PhD at UC Berkeley in the History of Art. After a few years teaching at colleges in the Bay Area, Jansen arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the fall of 1975 to teach medieval art and architecture for the Art Department (or Art Board, as it was then known), where she taught for more than three decades.In the mid-seventies, UCSC had no freestanding program in art history and Jansen helped build an art history major at the fledgling university. Her passion for delving into the history of architecture inspired her to turn to “study what is in your backyard” and focus on the unique architecture of the UC Santa Cruz campus. She soon became known as an expert on campus planning and architecture and in 1986 co-taught an undergraduate art history seminar entitled The History and Implementation of the Santa Cruz Campus Plan with the Reyner Banham, the renowned English architectural critic, who was a professor of art history at UC Santa Cruz in the 1980s. That course resulted in an UCSC exhibit and book The First 20 Years: Two Decades of Building at UCSC.Decades later, in 2015, Jansen once again contributed her knowledge of campus architecture by working with UCSC emeriti professors James Clifford, Michael Cowan, and Campus Architect Frank Zwart on another UCSC history exhibit called An Uncommon Place: Shaping the UCSC Campus. This exhibit, mounted at Porter College’s Sesnon Gallery as part of the celebration of UCSC’s 50th anniversary, “called attention to UC Santa Cruz as utopian experiment where architecture and environment conspire to create an uncommon place, a setting for teaching, research and imagination outside the bounds of the ordinary.”https://exhibits.library.ucsc.edu/exhibits/show/an-uncommon-place/constructing-the-coreUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3s75k0n1https://escholarship.org/content/qt3s75k0n1/qt3s75k0n1.pdfarticleoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5rq983882022-08-01T14:27:58Zqt5rq98388Harold A. Hyde: Recollections of Santa Cruz CountyHyde, Harold A.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2002-01-01A fifth-generation Santa Cruz County resident, Hyde has been in on the creation of organizations and institutions ranging from UCSC and Cabrillo College to the Community Foundation and the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County. His contributions to California and Santa Cruz are documented in his oral history.Following infantry combat service with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and graduate studies in business at Harvard, Hyde returned to Santa Cruz County and a career at Ford's Department Store. By the late 1950s he was chairing a committee to promote a local bond issue for higher education, had been elected to Cabrillo College's first board of trustees, and was also on a local committee helping the University of California select a Central Coast location for a new campus. All this was in addition to his position as merchandising manager of Ford's.After the UC Regents selected the Cowell property for their next campus and named Dean McHenry founding chancellor, McHenry approached Hyde and offered him the job as vice chancellor of business and finance. Hyde was responsible for the start-up of all nonacademic aspects of the new campus.Central to Hyde's work was overseeing creation of UCSC's infrastructure, including construction of the first colleges, residence halls, and administrative buildings, and the siting of campus roads. He also hired key staff. Hyde held the vice chancellor position from 1964 to 1975, a period in which the campus grew from no students and some decaying ranch buildings to an enrollment of 5,600 students with modern classrooms, laboratories, residence halls, playing fields, performing arts theaters, and administrative buildings, including those for the Lick Observatory.Hyde's commitment to UCSC continued after he returned to retailing in 1975. He was a founding member of two groups supporting UCSC, serving as the first president of the Arboretum Associates and a trustee of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation.UC Santa Cruz historyCabrillo Community CollegehistoryWatsonvilleCaliforniaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5rq98388https://escholarship.org/content/qt5rq98388/qt5rq98388.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9h09r84h2022-08-01T14:27:17Zqt9h09r84hEdges and Ecotones: Donna Haraway's Worlds at UCSCHaraway, DonnaReti, Irene2007-01-01Donna Haraway came to UC Santa Cruz in 1980 as a professor in the History of Consciousness Program (Histcon), one of the first interdisciplinary graduate programs in the United States. Her position in feminist theory within Histcon's graduate program was probably the first one of its kind in the country. While Haraway's philosophy and theories infuse this narrative, the focus and scope of this oral history is her life at UC Santa Cruz. Haraway's interest in aurality and in the interview format has inspired us to provide the recordings of her interview(s) MP3 format on the Library's website, in addition to this transcript. While Haraway lightly edited the manuscript in places, for the most part the transcript can be used as a finding aid to the oral interview.History of Consciousnessfeminismuniversities and collegesUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9h09r84hhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9h09r84h/qt9h09r84h.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7hn0655w2022-08-01T14:26:42Zqt7hn0655wProfessor Isebill "Ronnie" V. Gruhn: Recollections of UCSC, 1969-2013Gruhn, Isebill V.Reti, Irene H.2013-12-02Professor Isebill “Ronnie” Gruhn arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1969 as a member of the politics department and an affiliate of Stevenson College. Before coming to UC Santa Cruz she had been teaching at Oberlin College.Born in Leipzig, Germany, Gruhn is the daughter of a partially Jewish (mixed heritage and religion) mother; her non-Jewish father joined the resistance and helped Jews escape from Germany. He spent much of World War II imprisoned in Nazi labor camps. Gruhn’s early life was one of upheaval and dislocation; a background uncannily congruent with the interviewer’s own family heritage.Gruhn immigrated to New York City with her parents when she was nearly twelve years old. Her experiences during the war led to an interest in “knowing how the world worked.” She attended Dickinson College for her BA in politics; earned her MA in international studies from Johns Hopkins University, and her PhD in political science from UC Berkeley. Gruhn became an expert and widely published scholar in international politics and international law, who has focused on Africa, international and transnational institutions, and relations between rich and poor states.One of very few tenured women during UCSC’s early days and one of the first to serve as a high-level administrator, Gruhn was the first female dean of social sciences (1981-1983) and the first female academic vice chancellor (acting) from 1987-1989. This was during the period when UCSC was, as Gruhn calls it, “an essentially male institution.” She never affiliated with UCSC’s women’s studies (feminist studies) department, yet she consciously chose positions of leadership at UCSC because she wanted to show that women could excel in administration.Gruhn served in diverse capacities at UC Santa Cruz over the past four decades. She twice chaired the politics department (1973-1975 and 1980-1981) and was an active member of Stevenson College, including founding and teaching in Stevenson’s prestigious and interdisciplinary Modern Society and Social Thought major. In the 1990s (1994-1998), Gruhn directed the UCDC Program for UC Santa Cruz, a program that supervises and supports students who pursue internships and academic study in the nation’s capital. Most recently, she chaired the Academic Senate Committee on Emeriti Relations and has continued to teach courses for the politics department and lecture for the UCSC Lifelong Learners Program. These varieties of experience on and off campus provided her with a wide-angle lens through which to observe and consider UCSC’s trajectory from its early years as an innovative experiment in public higher education to its more recent configuration as a somewhat more conventional research university. Gruhn’s opinions on the political, cultural, and structural changes at UC Santa Cruz over more than four decades are sometimes salty but it is clear that she is critical because she cares deeply about the Santa Cruz campus as a dynamic institution.This oral history was conducted in McHenry Library on the UC Santa Cruz campus in October of 2013, in two sessions of approximately two hours each. It is part of a series of oral history interviews the Regional Oral History Office is conducting with early UCSC women faculty.CC-BY-NC-NDeScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hn0655wmultimediaoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt21s8b7xc2022-08-01T14:25:36Zqt21s8b7xcFrom the Ground Up: UCSC Professor Gary Griggs as Researcher, Teacher, and Institution BuilderGriggs, GaryRabkin, Sarah2012-12-20Gary Griggs was UC Santa Cruz’s first faculty member with expertise in oceanography. He came to the campus in 1968 at the invitation of earth sciences founding chair Aaron Waters, who had been his undergraduate mentor at UC Santa Barbara. As a young assistant professor (having completed his Ph.D. at Oregon State University in just three years), Griggs immediately began publishing professional articles at a prolific rate and developing a campus-wide reputation as a stellar teacher. Promoted to the rank of professor in 1979, he served as chair of earth sciences from 1981 to 1984 and associate dean of natural sciences from 1991 to 1994. Since 1991 he has been director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Long Marine Laboratory. The author of more than 145 journal articles, author or co-author of several books for professional and popular audiences, and writer of a regular column in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Griggs is perpetually in demand both locally and internationally as a consultant and public speaker on coastal erosion, sea-level rise, adaptation to climate change, and other issues related to coastal geology. His work as a teacher, researcher and administrator has earned numerous honors and awards, including the UCSC Alumni Association’s 1998 Distinguished Teaching Award and the 2007 Ed Ricketts Memorial Lecture for lifetime achievement in marine research and education.Institute of Marine Sciencescoastal geologyenvironmental geologyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/21s8b7xchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt21s8b7xc/qt21s8b7xc.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9hv2j5t92022-08-01T14:24:51Zqt9hv2j5t9From Complex Organisms to a Complex Organization: An Oral History with UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, 1996-2004Greenwood, M.R.C.Reti, Irene H.2014-04-03The Regional History Project conducted this oral history with UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. (Mary Rita Cooke) Greenwood as part of its University History series. Greenwood was appointed as chancellor of UC Santa Cruz in July of 1996 and served until April of 2004. While at UCSC, she also held an appointment as a professor of biology.M.R.C. Greenwood was born in 1943 in Gainesville, Florida. She graduated summa cum laude in biology from Vassar College in 1968, and earned her PhD in physiology, developmental biology, and neurosciences from Rockefeller University in 1973. After graduation, she joined the faculty in human nutrition at Columbia University’s Medical School, where she taught until 1978, when she moved to Vassar College. At Vassar she was the John Guy Vassar Professor of Natural Sciences, chaired the department of biology, and directed the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute. In 1989, Greenwood was hired by the University of California at Davis, where she was professor of nutrition and internal medicine, served as dean of graduate studies, and later vice provost for academic outreach. Her research interests are in developmental cell biology, genetics, neurosciences, physiology, women´s health, nutrition and science, and higher education policy.From November 1993 to May 1995, while on leave from UC Davis, Greenwood served as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Bill Clinton. She spearheaded the creation of two major science policy documents: “Science in the National Interest” and “Meeting the Challenge: Health, Safety, and Food for America.” In addition, she played a leadership role in coordinating interdepartmental and interagency science activities and co-chaired two National Sciences and Technology Council committees.The political savvy she developed in the White House, as well as her experience in the world of government-funded scientific research, was to greatly benefit the UC Santa Cruz campus. Under her leadership, the campus finally established its first professional school, the Jack Baskin School of Engineering, which had been planned since the days of Chancellor Dean McHenry, but cut for budgetary reasons. Her years also saw many other strides forward: the founding of the NSF Center for Adaptive Optics; an increase in the number of academic programs by 52 percent, from 63 to 96, including a 41 percent increase in graduate programs; the building and opening of Colleges Nine and Ten; the hiring of 250 new faculty members; and a doubling of extramural research support. Greenwood’s tenure also saw the construction of nearly one million assignable square feet in academic buildings for the arts, the sciences and engineering; the founding of a UC Silicon Valley Center at Moffett Field; and collaboration with NASA Ames in developing the nation´s first NASA University Affiliated Research Center, the largest competitively awarded contract ($330 million) at the University of California up to that time.In addition, under Greenwood’s leadership the campus raised more in private donations than the previous total for the campus´s entire history. She built strong bridges with the city of Santa Cruz and surrounding communities, worked to preserve what she saw as the best aspects of the UCSC residential college system, and to diversify the student body and faculty even in the wake of Proposition 209 and other backlashes against affirmative action. In this oral history she discusses her own experience as the first woman chancellor of UCSC and being part of the first generation of women to hold senior leadership positions in higher education administration.In a tribute honoring Chancellor Greenwood before the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Sam Farr said: “With the campus now reaching a regional annual economic impact of almost $1 billion, her leadership has proven advantageous not only to the students at the university, but to the local community as well.” In an editorial, the Santa Cruz Sentinel said, “Relations between the university and the local community have been excellent during her years here—and that hasn’t always been true.”The first part of Greenwood’s tenure took place during affluent years that saw a tech boom in nearby Silicon Valley, but later she encountered the budgetary challenges that continue to undermine the fiscal health of higher education. In her parting email to the campus community she remarked, “Both political pressure and budgetary constraints are making it increasingly difficult for all public universities, even the great ones like UC, to prosper. Whether California will honor the promises of the internationally revered Master Plan for Higher Education is a question we must face.” It was that deep concern for the future of the University of California which inspired Greenwood to accept the position as provost and vice president of academic affairs at the Office of the President, the second highest post in the UC system. She became the highest-ranking woman in the UC administration and the first woman to hold this position. After her time at the UC Office of the President ended, Greenwood became chancellor at the University of Hawaii. Greenwood is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she served as president in 1998 and chair in 1999. In 1996, President Clinton nominated her to serve as a member of the National Science Board, a prestigious group comprising the nation’s top twenty-four leaders in science and education, which advises Congress and the President on science policy issues. Her research on the genetic causes of obesity is recognized worldwide and she is the author of numerous scientific publications and presentations.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz--history ofapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9hv2j5t9https://escholarship.org/content/qt9hv2j5t9/qt9hv2j5t9.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6zq1v27w2022-08-01T14:23:42Zqt6zq1v27wCommunity Studies and Research for Change: An Oral History with William FriedlandFriedland, WilliamRabkin, SarahReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2013-06-05After working in the Detroit auto industry and union organizing for twelve years, William Friedland turned to a research and teaching career in sociology, ultimately becoming one of the founders of the sociology of agriculture movement. Friedland came to the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1969 from Cornell University, where he had created the Cornell Migrant Health Project, a field study program in which he and his research associate, Dorothy Nelkin, sent Cornell undergraduates to work undercover as laborers in the agricultural fields of upstate New York and assist with research on the sociology of migrant labor.Friedland built on his Cornell experience when he was hired by UC Santa Cruz to establish the Board of Community Studies, an innovative, interdisciplinary academic program that integrated scholarship and community engagement in both research and teaching and that graduated over 2000 majors until it was suspended in 2010, a decision that was greeted with much political controversy.[1] The centerpiece of community studies was its field program, which offered undergraduate students six-month field placements in community organizations, training them to be community organizers and preparing them for what often became careers in public service. Michael Rotkin directed the field program for many years; an oral history with him is forthcoming in late 2013. Unlike other college-based field-study programs, the community studies curriculum—emulating the model that Friedland had innovated at Cornell—required preparatory training before the field study as well as synthetic and analytical work following completion of fieldwork. As Friedland’s colleague, Michael Cowan, remarks in the introduction published in the appendix to this volume: “The impact of such educational experiences have often been profound and lasting . . . many community studies graduates currently serve as directors and key staff of social service non-profits and governmental agencies throughout and beyond the borders of California.”In this oral history conducted by Sarah Rabkin, Bill Friedland describes the evolution both of the community studies program and of his sociological research.community studiesUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6zq1v27whttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6zq1v27w/qt6zq1v27w.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3t26956c2022-08-01T14:22:59Zqt3t26956cTeaching Writing in the Company of Friends: An Oral History with Carol FreemanFreeman, CarolRabkin, Sarah2013-08-02In her thirty-four years of service to the University of California, Santa Cruz, Carol Freeman earned the affection and admiration of students, faculty, staff and administrators for her exceptional teaching skill, administrative acumen and visionary devotion to undergraduate education. She was awarded the UCSC Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1996 and the Dean McHenry Award for Distinguished Leadership in the Academic Senate in 2012. In nominating Freeman for the McHenry honor, the Senate’s Committee on Committees noted that “Senior Lecturer with Security of Employment Emerita Carol Freeman … personifies the ideals of collegial, creative, principled service these awards recognize,” and praised the “persistence, dedication, commitment, and above all, excellence” that characterized every aspect of her multifaceted and “powerfully influential” work for the university.As the founding coordinator and eventually chair of the Campus Writing Program, Freeman shaped it into a vibrant, nationally acclaimed undergraduate writing program with a rich lower- and upper-division curriculum—characterized by a 1985 external review committee as a “campus treasure.” Emphasizing the hiring and retention of a diverse, collegial and dedicated core faculty of lecturers who took part in both pedagogical and administrative aspects of campus writing instruction, she deftly shepherded the program through decades of campus administrative changes and financial challenges—repeatedly inventing constructive responses to potentially devastating setbacks, including a round of budget cuts that wiped out most peer tutoring and almost the entire upper-division curriculum.In this oral history, conducted over the course of three interviews in late October and early November, 2012, Freeman talks about the emergence in the 1970s of new approaches to writing pedagogy that inspired her enthusiasm and shaped her approaches to teaching; about the maturation of the Writing Program’s mission, goals and activities; about the often delicate negotiations, and sometimes gratifying relationships, with academic and administrative colleagues on which the program’s continuing existence relied; and about her commitment to providing sustainable working conditions and professional respectability for university writing teachers. writing instructionCarol FreemanUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz Writing ProgramUC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t26956chttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3t26956c/qt3t26956c.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6sq7h3w02022-08-01T14:22:19Zqt6sq7h3w0Louis F. Fackler: Founding Campus Engineer, UC Sant CruzFackler, Louis F.Reti, IreneUCSC Library, Regional History Project, UC Santa Cruz2013-02-01Lou Fackler, founding campus engineer at UC Santa Cruz, was interviewed and hired by Founding Chancellor Dean McHenry. He was the campus’s eleventh employee and began work in January of 1963. This oral history chronicles Fackler’s twenty-eight years at UCSC. He began as campus engineer, became director of Campus Facilities in August of 1975, and finally retired in October of 1990. At the time of his retirement he had been promoted to associate vice chancellor, facilities/services with multiple responsibilities including: campus physical planning and construction for projects under construction or in the planning stage; operation and maintenance of the campus physical plant; campus transportation and parking; the campus fire department; environmental health and safety; and purchasing and receiving. In his interview, Fackler details the efforts it took to design and construct the infrastructure and buildings for a new and rather unusual UC campus, and then develop and maintain fire protection, campus housing, transportation, parking and other services over the first few decades of the campus.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruzcampus planningsustainabilityapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6sq7h3w0https://escholarship.org/content/qt6sq7h3w0/qt6sq7h3w0.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7216m3332022-08-01T14:21:46Zqt7216m333Grand Opera: The Life, Languages, and Teaching of Miriam EllisEllis, MiriamReti, IreneVanderscoff, Cameron2020-08-03Miriam Ellis was born in New York City in 1927, the child of Jewish immigrants who left what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While the family struggled financially in the Depression, Miriam’s route to the world of language and interchange was laid out from an early age. As she puts it, “Our house was always open to immigrants, and so they came with all kinds of languages: German, Russian, Polish, or Hungarian, and I don’t know what all else.”Miriam fell especially in love with French language and theater through a program that was offered during WWII by the Free French government in exile; it was designed to preserve and promote French language and culture while France was occupied. When she was twenty-one, Miriam went to France for the first time to volunteer in a postwar displaced persons camp, serving refugees who had been driven from North Africa and parts of the Middle East by fascist occupation and war. After the war, she came back home with her first husband, a veteran of the Royal Air Force. With kids in tow, in 1955 they drove across the country and set up a new life in Southern California.In the forties, Miriam had completed high school prior to going overseas, but hadn’t been inspired by a brief stint in college at the time. As a mother of three, she picked back up and started taking night classes in 1957. She then spent the next twenty-two years gradually and steadfastly working through a series of degrees. She also kept up her passion for theater in these years and acted in regional productions. Miriam secured a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) and master’s degree from CSU Northridge (then San Fernando Valley State) by the mid 1960s, when she was in her late 30s. Miriam had a special passion for connecting and working with international students, and soon added another responsibility to her list: she joined the staff at the university as director of the Office of International Programs.In 1971, she came north to UC Santa Cruz as a PhD student studying primarily French and Spanish literature. In time, she and her husband divorced; Miriam found herself on a young, still-forming campus—it was just six years old at the time—where two of her children also went through as undergrads. They were all part of the incredible spark of the original UCSC experiment. Miriam has stayed ever since, and has left an outsize mark on the campus. She completed her PhD and her twenty-two-year journey as a so-called “re-entry” studentin 1979, at age fifty-one. Miriam was also a key figure in building up theater at UCSC, especially outside of the English language. She also became a protagonist in the story of opera at UCSC, working as stage director for the Opera Workshop in the 70s. From her labors for French theater to co-founding the Santa Cruz Opera Society, Inc. (SCOSI), Miriam has brought town and gown together and has been an all-around champion of the arts—launching productions, hosting talks, bringing in world-class performers, and initiating community outreach programs—including performances of theatrical and operatic selections for local schools and nursing homes. Her primary official role at UCSC has been as a longtime lecturer. She started teaching while still a grad student, and then carried on as a lecturer after her PhD in ‘79 and clear through the early 2000s. Since then, she has continued to teach classes for UCSC and for the campus’ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, most recently in 2018, when she was ninety. Along the way, Miriam has taught courses on opera, literatures across multiple languages, and many other subjects; her most consistent offering has been her French classes. She has been beloved as a teacher by generations of students, and has been an important figure in advocating for language program over the years, including helping secure six-figure National Endowment for the Humanities grants; she has also put in volumes of sweat equity in a variety of teaching, service, and leadership roles. In recent years, mostly since her nominal retirement, Miriam has remained dedicated to working for a multilingual UCSC, a place where language study is valued, and where perspectives across lingual and international borders are welcomed and celebrated. In 2001, Miriam founded what was then called the International Playhouse, a capstone for her decades of language theater work on campus. In the Playhouse, held annually, language students act out scenes and short plays in the language they are studying before a town-gown audience. It’s an expression of Miriam’s philosophy of the pedagogical power of theater. The International Playhouse was renamed the Miriam Ellis International Playhouse in recognition of her contributions.International Playhouselanguage instructiontheater and pedagogyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7216m333https://escholarship.org/content/qt7216m333/qt7216m333.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3nj8f0762022-08-01T14:20:05Zqt3nj8f076Allan J. Dyson: Managing the UCSC Library, 1979-2003Dyson, Allan J.Reti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2006-07-01Allan J. [Lan] Dyson was appointed University Librarian at UC Santa Cruz's University Library in August 1979, and retired in July 2003. This oral history, conducted as part of the Regional History Project's University History Series, is a singular contribution to the documentation of twenty-four years of history, not only of UCSC's University Library, but also of a period of extensive technological and cultural transformations in academic librarianship in the United States.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyUniversity Library Administrationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3nj8f076https://escholarship.org/content/qt3nj8f076/qt3nj8f076.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6s80c9v42022-08-01T14:19:24Zqt6s80c9v4G. William Domhoff: The Adventures and Regrets of a Professor of Dreams and PowerDomhoff, G. WilliamReti, Irene H.Rabkin, Sarah2014-02-13G. William Domhoffpower structure researchdream researchhistory of sociologyWho Rules America?application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6s80c9v4https://escholarship.org/content/qt6s80c9v4/qt6s80c9v4.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt24z7r5bh2022-08-01T14:18:35Zqt24z7r5bhA Life of Learning and Teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2000Dizikes, JohnVanderscoff, CameronRegional History Project, UCSC Library2012-01-01John Dizikes first saw UC Santa Cruz when it was still rolling hills and the buildings were only artist’s renderings. He agreed to stake his career on this new, untried campus because he understood the vision of UCSC as a place where higher education would be reformed and teaching would be a priority—and he followed through on the gamble, coming here as one of UCSC’s founding faculty in 1965. In his ensuing thirty-five-year career at UC Santa Cruz, he was a professor of history, a professor and co-founder of the American Studies Department, a provost of Cowell College and chair of the Council of Provosts, and throughout and above it all a dedicated educator and an ongoing student. This oral history was conducted in 2011 by Cowell alum Cameron Vanderscoff for the Regional History Project.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyJohn DizikesCowell Collegeapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/24z7r5bhhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt24z7r5bh/qt24z7r5bh.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5299z0012022-08-01T14:17:48Zqt5299z001Florence Richardson Wyckoff (1905-1997), Fifty Years of Grassroots Social Activism: Volume II Families Who Follow the CropsWyckoff, Florence RichardsonJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1989-08-08Families Who Follow the Crops is divided into four sections. In the opening section Wyckoff discusses her participation in the New Deal gubernatorial campaign of Democrat Culbert L. Olson and her participation in the Olson "crusade", where she became an ardent advocate in behalf of the dispossessed migrant agricultural population in California. In the second section Wyckoff chronicles her political and social life in Washington, D.C., during World War II, where she continued to lobby for migrants at the national level by fighting to maintain the existence of the Farm Security Administration and to educate congress on agricultural issues. She worked with a number of organizations including the National Consumers League, the Women's Joint Congressional Committee, the Office of Price Administration, and Food for Freedom on public education and legislative lobbying on agricultural issues. The third section begins with Wyckoff's settling in Watsonville after the war, where she became a key figure in developing health and social services in Santa Cruz County, including the establishment of the Pajaro Valley Health Council and the Visiting Nurses Association, and in influencing grassroots, community-based health and social service planning. She discusses a number of significant developments in the evolution of local social services. In the final section of the volume, Wyckoff discusses her work on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth, to which she was first appointed by Governor Earl Warren in 1948. Her tenure on this advisory committee continued under four governors during which she continued to pursue her investigations of the needs of migrant families and children. One of the most significant developments which grew out of her work on the Children and Youth's subcommittee on Children of Seasonal Farmworkers was the organizing of the five Conferences on Families Who Follow the Crops during the late 1950s and early 1960s. As a major organizer of these events, Wyckoff and her colleagues brought together growers and migrant workers, and convened as well social workers, migrant ministers, teachers, public health workers, labor officials, and members of rural county governments, all of whom were working in different ways to address the living conditions and well-being of migrant families. Wyckoff's interdisciplinary approach in the organizing of the conferences was in itself pioneering and laid the groundwork for legislation addressing migrant health needs. This legislation established public health clinics for farm workers nationwide-- along both the eastern and western migrant streams. The volume concludes with Wyckoff's commentary on the first Conference on Families Who Follow the Crops.Culbert L. OlsonFarm Security Administrationmigrant farm workersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5299z001https://escholarship.org/content/qt5299z001/qt5299z001.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3j5438d72022-08-01T13:52:44Zqt3j5438d7"It Became My Case Study": Professor Michael Cowan's Four Decades at UC Santa CruzCowan, MichaelReti, Irene2013-01-11Michael Cowan arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the fall of 1969 as an associate professor of community studies and literature and a fellow of Merrill College. By his retirement in 2004, Cowan had achieved a reputation as an outstanding campus leader who filled a variety of positions during his four decades at UCSC. These include two years as provost of Merrill College from 1978-1979; six years as dean of the Division of Humanities from 1983-1989; and multiple terms as chair of the departments of literature and American studies. Cowan is the only professor in UCSC’s history to serve two (widely separated) terms as chair of the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate, from 1979 to 1980 and again from 1994 to 1996. In 1997, he received the first Dean McHenry Award for Distinguished Leadership, given by the UCSC Academic Senate to acknowledge outstanding service.Cowan was also the founding chair of the American studies department and a national leader in that field, serving as president of the American Studies Association from 1984 to 1986. In addition, Cowan served as vice chair and then chair of the (UC Systemwide) Academic Council and Assembly from 1999 to 2001. In 2006, Cowan received the Oliver Johnson Award, which biennially recognizes a member of the UC faculty who has performed outstanding service to the Academic Senate, an honor he shared with former UCSC Chancellor Karl Pister. American StudiesUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruzhistory ofMerrill CollegeUCSCcampus planningapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3j5438d7https://escholarship.org/content/qt3j5438d7/qt3j5438d7.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0r64t7622022-08-01T13:51:44Zqt0r64t762James Clifford: Tradition and Transformation at UC Santa CruzClifford, JamesVanderscoff, CameronRegional History Project, UCSC Library2013-06-07James Clifford came to UCSC in 1978, and was one of two new appointments in UCSC’s History of Consciousness Program, which were the result of the first effort to structure the program with full-time, dedicated faculty. His knowledge of Michel Foucault and other figures of ‘French theory,’ acquired during his time in Paris doing dissertation research, proved to be an important common ground between Clifford and his new senior colleague, Hayden White, and in the structuring of histcon that they undertook together. They were charged with infusing the “fundamentally anarchic” program with a sense of ballast, foundation and direction. The program in time developed a cadre of dedicated and renowned faculty, and a contingent of graduate students who were exceptional for their creativity, their self-direction, and in many cases their political activism. Histcon became extremely successful, with an extraordinarily high figure of eighty-five to ninety percent of graduates getting placed in tenure-track or postdoctoral positions. The program’s interdisciplinary scope, with students engaged in wide array of topics that were too expansive/transgressive for many more traditional departments, earned it an international reputation as a place for cutting edge work. Beyond histcon, in these sessions Clifford considers his role as the founding director of the Center for Cultural Studies, a campus research institution that championed a vision of the ‘greater humanities,’ and strove to establish links both in and outside of the humanities division. He reflects on the ‘cultural studies turn’ in academia more broadly, which prioritized interdisciplinary, ground-up approaches to study. Clifford closes his narrative with a reflection on the UCSC campus as a physical space, going beyond clichés of its beauty to sketch out his vision of the land as a generative presence, as something that is fundamentally nourishing and creative in ways we don’t yet have language to articulate.History of Consciousness ProgramUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyJames CliffordCenter for Cultural StudiesUC Santa Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0r64t762https://escholarship.org/content/qt0r64t762/qt0r64t762.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2n20r98m2022-08-01T13:51:04Zqt2n20r98mDonald T. Clark: Early UCSC History and the Founding of the University LibraryClark, Donald T.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1993-04-01Donald T. Clark was the first of founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry's academic appointments at UCSC. Clark arrived in September 1962 as the founder of UC Santa Cruz's University Library. Clark described his early years in Oregon and California, his undergraduate education at Willamette University, UC Berkeley, and Columbia University, and his more than twenty years at the country's largest business library, Baker Library at Harvard University. He focused much of his oral history on his tenure at UCSC from 1962-1973. He discussed the details of architectural planning for McHenry Library, and development of the book collection. Clark was a pioneer in the area of library automation, working tirelessly to create a computerized book catalog at UC Santa Cruz in the 1960s, the first such effort in the UC system. Clark describes the University Library's special collecting areas such as Santa Cruz local history and fine printing, as well as the acquisition of the Lick astronomical library, the establishment of the Center for South Pacific Studies, the founding of the Lime Kiln Press, and the acquisition of the Norman Strouse Collection of the works of Thomas Carlyle. He also discussed his own management style, his participation in the process of upgrading the professional status of librarian, and his role as chairman of the Academic Senate from 1969 to 1971.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2n20r98mhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt2n20r98m/qt2n20r98m.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt47v1f16m2022-08-01T13:49:29Zqt47v1f16mTeaching is New Every Day: An Oral History of Science Illustration Teacher-Administrators Jenny Keller and Ann CaudleCaudle, AnnKeller, JennyReti, Irene H.2018-01-17The Science Illustration Certificate Program is internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious training platforms of its kind, this postgraduate curriculum prepares students with backgrounds in art and/or science to be professional visual communicators about scientific subjects.The year-long program involves a rigorous curriculum of classroom and studio work, guest presentations and field trips, followed by ten or more weeks of internship. Graduates work as freelance and staff illustrators for hundreds of organizations, including zoos, aquaria, museums and botanical gardens, public and private research institutes and public agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and publications such as Scientific American and National Geographic.UC Santa Cruz alumnae Jenny Keller and Ann Caudle have built, administered and taught in the Science Illustration Certificate Program since helping to establish it in the 1980s under the auspices of UCSC’s Graduate Program in Science Communication. They presided over the illustration program’s eventual migration from campus to UCSC Extension’s classroom facility in downtown Santa Cruz, and later to their current institutional home: the College of Science at California State University, Monterey Bay. In this oral history, Keller and Caudle describe the creation and evolution of the certificate program as well as their approaches to science communication, art and illustration, teaching and administration.Science IllustrationUniversity of California Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/47v1f16mhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt47v1f16m/qt47v1f16m.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9891v4hv2022-08-01T13:47:55Zqt9891v4hvProfessor Pedro Castillo: Historian, Chicano Leader, MentorCastillo, PedroReti, Irene2013-08-06Pedro Castillo was hired by UC Santa Cruz’s history board in 1976, and affiliated with Merrill College. At UCSC, Castillo collaborated with professors in other disciplines in interdisciplinary team-teaching small seminars such asStudies in the American City, which in 1977 focused on Chicago and Los Angeles, and an oral history course documenting social, cultural, political organizations in the nearby working-class and primarily Latino city of Watsonville. These courses exemplified the intimate and creative learning atmosphere of UC Santa Cruz in the 1970s. Castillo was also an early affiliate of UCSC’s American studies program and served as its chair in 1984.Castillo provides a detailed narration of the history of UCSC over the past four decades, particularly the development of the history and American studies departments and Merrill and Oakes College. He was one of the first Chicano/a professors hired at UC Santa Cruz and is now the one with the longest tenure and memory of the institution. He explores those memories in this oral history, describing the climate for Chicano/a and Latino/a faculty, staff, and students at UC Santa Cruz from the 1970s through the first decade of the twenty-first century. He discusses faculty appointments, changes in the curriculum, and student activism. In his long career at UCSC, Castillo served as a mentor and inspiration to many UCSC students, especially Chicano/Latino students, who found him accessible, attentive, and encouraging.In 1990, Professor Castillo and literature professor Norma Klahn cofounded and codirected UCSC’s Chicano/Latino Research Center (CLRC), with funding from the Office of the President, among other sources. For many years, under a series of rotating directors, the CLRC has been a dynamic and creative research institution, supporting graduate student and faculty research with mini-grants, hosting lecture series and organizing conferences, and mentoring undergraduate students in learning to do research. The CLRC is closely connected with UCSC’s Latin American and Latino Studies department, which Castillo also played a part in developing, and it is currently being revitalized after suffering recent budget cuts.From 2002 to 2008 Castillo served as provost of Oakes College. He and Shirley lived in the Oakes College provost’s house and enjoyed the direct contact with students, where they hosted students, staff, and faculty. Castillo characterized his term as provost of Oakes as the “highlight of his tenure at UC Santa Cruz.”More so than most UC professors, Castillo has stepped beyond the academy and become involved in the local communities of both Santa Cruz and Watsonville, where he has lived for many years. He served on the Parks and Recreation Commission in Santa Cruz, helping to implement the Heritage Tree Ordinance. Later he served on the Planning Commission, the Library Commission, the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust in Watsonville; the Steinbeck Center in Salinas, and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz. He has also worked to support candidates for city council and other offices in both Santa Cruz and Watsonville. He is now writing a comparative political history of electoral politics in Watsonville and Salinas, California.Castillo’s political and cultural work extended beyond Santa Cruz County. In 1992 and again in 1996 he was chosen to be a Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He was a member of the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1999 to 2004 and the California Council for the Humanities from 1999-2000. Chicano facultyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyChicano/Latino Research CenterLatinos--higher educationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9891v4hvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9891v4hv/qt9891v4hv.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4b67r8d32022-08-01T13:47:22Zqt4b67r8d3Elizabeth Spedding Calciano: Founding Director of the Regional History Project, UCSC LibraryCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingReti, IreneVanderscoff, Cameron2020-04-29This set of interviews with Elizabeth Spedding Calciano make up the rare project that is not just a life history, but an oral history of and about oral history itself. While Calciano has thrived in multiple professions and jobs, including a forty-plus year career as a lawyer, this volume focuses on her years as the founding head of the Regional History Project at UC Santa Cruz from 1963 to 1974. this volume is both a life narrative and a meta oral history, telling the story and perspective of someone who arrived to UC Santa Cruz and the oral history field at emergent historical moments.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyoral history professionapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4b67r8d3https://escholarship.org/content/qt4b67r8d3/qt4b67r8d3.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3gf2t45j2022-08-01T13:40:42Zqt3gf2t45jTelling UC Santa Cruz's Story: An Oral History with Public Affairs Director Jim Burns, 1984-2014Burns, JimReti, Irene H.2016-09-06Public Affairs Director Jim Burns retired in June 2014 after serving UC Santa Cruz for over three decades. For many of those years, as writer Kara Guzman wrote in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Burns was known as “the voice of the university.” This oral history, conducted over four sessions in July 2015, gives a sense of the person behind that voice, as well as the technological, economic, political, and cultural changes that transformed the fields of media and university public relations over the past thirty years.Burns arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1984, hired by the Public Information Office as Publications Editor. There he edited print publications such as On Campus and the UCSC Review, and he and his close colleague Jim MacKenzie became early adopters of desktop publishing technology. His office promoted much of UCSC’s most groundbreaking research, including the campus’s national role in developing and spreading organic farming and sustainable agriculture; sequencing the human genome; saving the peregrine falcon from extinction; and offering a home for the Grateful Dead Archive. In the 1990s, Burns became a key leader in developing and building UCSC’s first web site. And for the past twenty-plus years Burns served as a campus spokesperson during tumultuous demonstrations, budget cuts, the Loma Prieta Earthquake and other challenging events, a steady voice through the tenures of seven chancellors and dramatic shifts in campus culture and organization.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historypublic affairs universitiesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gf2t45jhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3gf2t45j/qt3gf2t45j.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9cf8w0f12022-08-01T13:38:56Zqt9cf8w0f1Rita Bottoms: Polyartist LibrarianBottoms, RitaReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2005-02-01Project Director Irene Reti conducted fourteen hours of interviews with Rita Bottoms, Head of Special Collections at the University Library, UC Santa Cruz, shortly before her retirement in March 2003. This oral history provides a vivid and intimate look at thirty-seven years behind the scenes in the library's Special Collections.For thirty-seven years Bottoms dedicated herself to collecting work by some of the most eminent writers and photographers of the twentieth century, including the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, photographer Edward Weston, composer John Cage, visual poet Kenneth Patchen, poet and letterpress book printer William Everson, poet and visual artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti, composer and poet Lou Harrison, singer and photographer Graham Nash, and philosopher Norman O. Brown. But her role as a curator and librarian extended far beyond acquiring collections; she developed intense and profound intellectual and emotional relationships with each of these individuals. It is her detailed and deeply personal stories of these relationships which form the heart of this volume, and provide the kind of human amplification of the library's collections which can only be captured through oral history. Bottoms' recollections of these individuals are an important contribution to the history of twentieth century art and literature in the United States.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9cf8w0f1https://escholarship.org/content/qt9cf8w0f1/qt9cf8w0f1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4m01p3bz2022-08-01T13:37:15Zqt4m01p3bz"Look'n M' Face and Hear M' Story": An Oral History with Professor J. Herman BlakeBlake, J. HermanVanderscoff, Cameron2014-12-02Dr. J. Herman Blake arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1966 as an acting assistant professor of sociology at Cowell College. He remained at UCSC for eighteen years, gaining renown both as a teacher and for his leading role in the formation of UCSC’s seventh college, Oakes. This oral history explores both the public biography of Blake’s career and the intimate biography of Blake’s own youth and education, addressing how he sought to make more room at the “table” of education for others and how he worked to get there himself.Born in urban Mount Vernon, New York, in 1934, Blake relates the challenge in finding home in the context of a “slum” and its “counter-forces,” reflecting particularly on the strength of his mother as a “protector” in their living situations, which ranged from a series of houses to an abandoned storefront divided by beaverboard. He walks through his experience in the Seventh Day Adventist educational system, his military service as a conscientious objector in France, his ultimate enrollment in New York University as an undergraduate, and matriculation in UC Berkeley as a master’s and doctoral student. Throughout, he reflects on the stepping stones of this journey towards a “life of the mind,” such as the gap between his growing ambitions and the expectations of his family, and balancing his many roles as an aspiring sociologist, a family man, and associate of the Berkeley NAACP and Malcolm X. Moving forward, Blake candidly reconstructs his career at UCSC, detailing the inspirational climate at early Cowell College and the ensuing development of Oakes College. The latter topic is a particular focus of these interviews, charting the evolution of Oakes from the initial demand for a black studies college to an ethnic studies model and to its ultimate structure, which went beyond explicit ethnic quotas and programs to embody Blake’s faith in liberal, cross-cultural education. He provides an interior perspective on the challenges, conflicts, and collaborations that characterized the early history of this groundbreaking institution, which connected with communities and individuals who had historically been marginalized, underserved, and “denied” by higher education.The sessions move to a close with discussion of Blake’s educational philosophy, exploring his decision to focus on issues of educational access and retention as the core of his life work. They conclude with a meditation on the defining themes of Blake’s personal and vocational narrative, and a reflection on gratitude and meaning in his life today.A supplemental interview focuses on the educational philosophy which Blake brought to UC Santa Cruz. This interview not only helps illuminate the history of UC Santa Cruz as a politically engaged campus with a tradition of extended undergraduate field study, but also connects the campus, and particularly Oakes College, with a larger history of grassroots education in transformational politics in the United States. Oakes CollegeUC Santa CruzAfrican Americans in Higher EducationAfrican American Studiesapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4m01p3bzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4m01p3bz/qt4m01p3bz.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4rg173mr2022-08-01T13:36:01Zqt4rg173mrThe Critical World of Harry Berger, Jr.: An Oral HistoryBerger, Harry, Jr.Vanderscoff, CameronReti, Irene2015-03-19Harry Berger, Jr.’s oral history is an account of his perspective as a professor of literature, founding faculty member at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and literary critic. Throughout, he traces the parallel tracks of his pedagogy, campus engagement, and scholarship, considering points of intersection and core philosophies, addressing themes of change, conflict and continuity at UCSC. Berger defines himself as a critic above all else, and his training in New Criticism, with its trademark methodology of close reading, proves to be a consistent note both in his writing and in his approach to teaching and working at UCSC. After providing an overview of his early biography, discussing life in New York City and New Rochelle, he turns to his two loci at UCSC, Cowell College and the literature department. At the former, he was a teacher and dedicated participant in the original UCSC collegiate experiment, and at the latter, he was a passionate advocate of close reading as a core value for the new program. He applies close scrutiny to both entities, commenting candidly on the internal debates of the department, the styles and personas of his colleagues, and his own teaching in the college. Berger applies a nuanced take to the UCSC institution as a whole, commenting on the shift of the school away from its original collegiate model but rejecting the nostalgia of the “golden agers who think everything was better back then.” In lieu of a narrative of decline or departure, he posits an ongoing growth of UCSC with a continuity of quality in faculty and students alike, and where it remains, occasional conflicts notwithstanding, “a wonderful place.”application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rg173mrhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4rg173mr/qt4rg173mr.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9r6928sq2022-08-01T13:34:43Zqt9r6928sqA Different Model for the UCSC Colleges: Colleges Nine and Ten, An Oral History with Deana Slater and Wendy BaxterBaxter, WendySlater, DeanaReti, Irene H.2017-12-21The genesis of the vision for UC Santa Cruz’s newest colleges, College Nine and College Ten, dates back to the 1988 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) which responded both to faculty members who argued that the Social Sciences Division needed academic space in the campus core, and the demographic studies that demonstrated that UCSC would be experiencing rising student enrollments and would need to house more students on campus. The 1988 LRDP thus called for planning two new colleges that would integrate academic and residential facilities.Fast forward to May of 1999, when under the chancellorship of MRC Greenwood and the vice chancellorship of Francisco Hernandez, The Colleges Nine and Ten Planning Advisory Committee issued a report entitled “Opening College IX and X.” Among its recommendations were for these two colleges to “continue the tradition of the current UCSC colleges concentrating upon community life and student affairs,” while also “being centers of interdisciplinary curricula and courses, intellectual stimulation, research, conferences, and student projects.” The proposal was also for these colleges to be affiliated with the Social Sciences Division, as per the 1988 LRDP.The authors of this report also stated, “...we have come to believe that the opening of Colleges IX and X represents a major new opportunity for UC Santa Cruz [which would build] upon the successes and learning from the failures of the past...” Embedded in this allusion to the past lies a complex, and often contentious history of UCSC’s relationship to its residential college system. In the early 1960s, the colleges were the vision and invention of founding chancellor Dean McHenry and then-University of California President Clark Kerr and were intended to make UCSC “seem small” as it grew because students would live and study in the intimate environment of their themed college. The idea was to combine the advantages of small liberal arts college (such as Swarthmore) with the resources of a major research university. Some of the inspiration also came from Oxford University and other British universities.Faculty were appointed half time in their college and half time in their board of studies, which had less institutional power and resources than a conventional department. Each faculty member was expected to teach both for the college and the board. While college teaching and service yielded a rich plethora of innovative classes and interdisciplinary collaborations that still benefits UCSC today, it was not given much weight by the traditional University of California in tenure decisions. As the relatively affluent and fiscally expansive era of the 1960s faded into the inflation, austerity, and more conservative 1970s that was less open to innovative public education and more interested in job training, UCSC entered a crisis marked by declining enrollment and financial pressures.Dean McHenry had also originally promised the Regents that the UCSC college system would not result in higher costs, but this was not proving to be the case. In addition, after UCSC opened, the funding formula allocated to the UC campuses per student was altered to allocate more money per graduate student than to undergraduates. This had a significant impact on UCSC, which had been founded with a focus on undergraduate education and had very few graduate programs. (The campus has yet to catch up in this area.) By 1974, Dean McHenry retired and was replaced by a chancellor who lacked leadership experience and left after eighteen months. Angus Taylor stepped in as acting chancellor and the search for a new chancellor began.Enter Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer, who arrived from Caltech in 1977 to a campus ringing with rumors that UCSC, which once held the distinction of being one of the most prestigious and attractive campuses in the United States, might be closed for budgetary reasons. Sinsheimer’s response (he was educated at MIT to be a problem solver) was to develop and implement Reorganization, a plan which proposed a new vision for the UCSC colleges and ultimately was approved by the Academic Senate.This plan excised most of the academic role of the colleges (with the exception of a freshman core course) and assigned the academic mission of UCSC mostly to the academic divisions. (The exceptions to this plan were Oakes College and College Eight, which retained more of the original model.) The central mission of the colleges became residential life. Faculty members were relieved of curricular obligations to the colleges.Reorganization eliminated the McHenry-Kerr model for the colleges. It was and still is criticized as part of one might call a “narrative of decline” at UCSC, the loss of a unique creative, interdisciplinary vision, a brave new model for undergraduate education in a public university. Even now, forty years later, the pros and cons of Sinsheimer’s Reorganization remain a heated topic in many of the oral histories conducted by the Regional History Project with longtime staff and faculty. In an oral history conducted in 2004, Chancellor Greenwood quipped, “Some people call it the third rail of politics at Santa Cruz. If you touch the colleges, you’re dead.”[3]The writers of the report “Opening Colleges IX and X” acknowledged this sentiment when they wrote, “While we can learn from some parts of the McHenry model, we cannot return to it. It has been rejected by the campus.” Instead they call for a third model of how colleges could work at UC Santa Cruz, which they call the Greenwood Model. This model builds on the post-Reorganization college focus on community life and student affairs and “engages faculty members and students in a way that the current colleges do not.” The writers were astute not to imply that the existing eight UCSC colleges should adopt this Greenwood Model, arguing instead that the two models could exist side by side.The vision for these two new colleges was soon realized, with the exception of the endowment for the colleges, which the writers of the report emphasized would be important to its success. To this date, these colleges are awaiting endowment. College Nine opened its doors in fall quarter of 2000 and College Ten in fall of 2002. College Nine’s webpage articulates its philosophy: “College Nine has worked hard to successfully develop a strong community, build meaningful traditions, and emphasize our theme through co-curricular programming. College Nine’s theme of International and Global Perspectives recognizes the importance of cultural competency in the 21st century. The College Nine community offers students a range of opportunities to explore these issues and to develop skills as dynamic leaders. College Ten’s website states, “Consistent with UCSC’s founding vision, College Ten creates an integrated living-and-learning environment through engaging academic and extracurricular programs focusing on the theme of Social Justice and Community.” The two colleges retain a separate identity, but work closely together and share many staff members.This volume documents some of the history of College Nine and College Ten through two oral history interviews: the first with Deana Slater, who has served as college administrative officer for both colleges since their founding and was part of planning the colleges even before they opened; and second with Wendy Baxter, director of academic and co-curricular programs for both colleges, also since before they officially opened. By focusing on the efforts of these two longtime dedicated staff members in founding and building these new UCSC endeavors, we also pay tribute to the sometimes invisible contributions of staff to this enterprise of higher education.In this oral history Slater and Baxter discuss some of the key elements of the structure, philosophy, and programs at Colleges Nine and Ten, including the Co-Curricular Center (The CoCo), the Leadership Certificate Program, the Practical Activism Conference, the International Living Center, Alternative Spring Break and other service learning programs; The Garden Project, and the relationship with the Social Sciences Division. [1] Long Range Development Plan, 1988. Available in the UCSC Library’s Special Collections Department.[2] A digital copy of this May 1999 report, “Opening Colleges IX and X” is in the College Nine and Ten University Archives at Special Collections at the UCSC Library. [3] See Randall Jarrell and Irene Reti, From Complex Organisms to A Complex Organization: An Oral History with UCSC Chancellor MRC Greenwood, 1996-2004. (Regional History Project, UCSC Library, 2014). See p. 52 for a discussion of College Nine and College Ten. Available in full text at https://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/from-complex-organisms-to-a-complex-organization-an-oral-history-with-ucsc-chancellor-mrcUC Santa Cruz historyCollege Nine UC Santa CruzCollege TenUC Santa CruzCocurricular learningapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9r6928sqhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt9r6928sq/qt9r6928sq.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt21r987zw2022-08-01T13:33:31Zqt21r987zwMurray's Universe: An Oral History with UCSC Professor Murray Baumgarten, 1966-2014Baumgarten, MurrayReti, Irene H.2014-09-12The Regional History Project conducted this oral history with Murray Baumgarten, Distinguished Professor of English & Comparative Literature, as part of its University History Series. Baumgarten arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1966 as a professor in the literature board and affiliated with Stevenson College. In 2014, as this oral history goes to press, he still teaches full time at UC Santa Cruz, which makes him the longest-serving full-time faculty member on campus. Baumgarten’s contributions to the development of UCSC are substantial and eclectic. They begin with the initiation of the Strouse Carlyle Collection at the University Library. In 1966, Baumgarten’s keen interest in the nineteenth century writer Thomas Carlyle, on whom he had written his dissertation, persuaded book collector Norman Strouse to gift the UCSC Library with his personal collection of rare and unusual materials by and about Carlyle. While collaborating with other scholars on the literary study of Carlyle in the late 1960s, Baumgarten made innovative use of what was then brand-new mainframe computer technology in order to compare different versions of the same Carlyle text. He later served as the founding editor-in-chief of the University of California Press’s Carlyle Critical Edition. From his early adoption of computer technology to study both Thomas Carlyle and Charles Dickens, to his recent online course on Coursera, Baumgarten has pioneered the digital humanities.In the early years of the campus, Baumgarten also was the first chair of UCSC’s (and now dissolved) Modern Society and Social Thought major offered through Stevenson College. Modern Society and Social Thought eventually provided the first home for Baumgarten’s groundbreaking course Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry, one of the first college courses on the Holocaust on any college campus, now offered online through Coursera as the campus’s first MOOC [Massive Open Online Course]. Baumgarten continues to be a leader in the field of Jewish studies at UCSC and beyond. In 1999 he founded the Jewish Studies program and undergraduate minor and major at UCSC, endowed by the Helen and Sanford Diller Family Endowment for Jewish Studies. He still co-directs this program with Nathaniel Deutsch. From 1994 to 2006 he edited Judaism: A Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, published by the American Jewish Congress. In 2009 he created the Venice Center for International Jewish Studies. Baumgarten’s visionary legacy is now honored by the Baumgarten Endowed Chair for Jewish Studies.The other most visible part of Baumgarten’s career centers on Charles Dickens. In 1981, he and his colleagues, John Jordan, and Ed Eigner, a professor at UC Riverside, founded The Dickens Project, a Multicampus Research Unit, which was the first UC-wide humanities initiative. Perhaps the most popular component of the Dickens Project is the Dickens Universe, a kind of summer conference or summer camp for scholars, teachers, students, and readers with a passion for the works of Charles Dickens. This is one of the very few literary conferences which crosses the borders between the academy and the community. Holocaust StudiesJewish StudiesCharles DickensUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz HistoryThomas Carlyleapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/21r987zwhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt21r987zw/qt21r987zw.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt56h206hb2022-08-01T13:32:19Zqt56h206hbAdding a Plank to the Bridge: Julia Armstrong-Zwart's Leadership at UC Santa CruzArmstrong-Zwart, JuliaReti, Irene H.2014-05-01Julia Armstrong-Zwart was hired by Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer in 1981 as Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Matters of Informal Grievance and Affirmative Action and served as the University of California, Santa Cruz’s first ombudsman. In 1983, she stepped down as ombudsman, to assume the position of assistant academic vice chancellor for faculty relations, and continued to serve as special assistant to the chancellor for affirmative action. In addition to her work as assistant vice chancellor for faculty relations, she held the position of assistant chancellor for human resources, with responsibility for the offices of Academic Human Resources, EEO/Affirmative Action, Labor Relations, Staff Human Resources, and Title IX. She retired from UCSC in 2001.In this oral history, conducted by the Regional History Project in the summer of 2013, Armstrong-Zwart describes how she worked with other key UCSC administrators, faculty, and staff members to transform the cultural and politics of UC Santa Cruz and the University of California system. They accomplished this through vision and much hard work, strengthening existing affirmative action policies and creating innovative programs such as the Target of Opportunity faculty recruitments, establishing retention and faculty development programs, and founding a Title IX office devoted to sexual harassment prevention.UC Santa Cruz historyaffirmative actionsexual harassment policyBlack feminismAfrican American womenapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/56h206hbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt56h206hb/qt56h206hb.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3nf9m5pr2022-08-01T13:31:26Zqt3nf9m5prGrowth and Stewardship: Frank Zwart's Four Decades at UC Santa CruzZwart, FrankReti, Irene2012-12-21[Francis] Frank M. Zwart III arrived at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a student at Cowell College in 1967, when the campus was a mere two years old and the students were “walking across planks where pipe trenches were still open.” Zwart graduated in mathematics from UCSC and boarded a train east to study architecture at Princeton University, where he matriculated in 1976. After graduation, Zwart worked with architectural firms in Princeton, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Aptos, California, Philadelphia, and Carmel before returning to UC Santa Cruz in 1985 as a staff architect and project manager. Thus he commenced a long and distinguished career at UCSC that spanned the tenures of seven UCSC chancellors. Zwart became Campus Architect in 1988 and directed UCSC’s Office of Physical Planning & Construction (PP&C) until his retirement in April 2010. From 1999 until 2010 he also held the title of Associate Vice Chancellor for Physical Planning & Construction. This 420-page oral history is the result of nine recorded interviews and documents Zwart’s experience during over four decades at UC Santa Cruz—from his years as an undergraduate during the late 1960s, when the campus gained national attention as a prestigious and visionary experiment in public higher education, to his career as Campus Architect during UCSC’s expansion into a major research university.UC Santa Cruz historycampus planningapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3nf9m5prhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3nf9m5pr/qt3nf9m5pr.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4st5s13x2022-08-01T13:30:46Zqt4st5s13xA Dual Teaching Career: An Oral History with UC Santa Cruz Professor Frank AndrewsAndrews, FrankRabkin, Sarah2014-12-18Theoretical chemist Frank Andrews was hired with tenure in 1967 by UCSC’s chemistry board, where he was employed for four decades before retiring in 2006. When this oral history was recorded eight years after his retirement, he was still offering two courses annually: not for chemistry, but for Crown and Merrill Colleges, focusing on the psychology of personal growth—a field he began cultivating shortly after arriving in Santa Cruz. Notwithstanding his enthusiasm for the discipline in which he was originally trained, it is this area of inquiry that ultimately became Andrews’s primary passion as a teacher and a learner, and it is perhaps the one for which he was most widely beloved by students.Deeply interested throughout his career in pedagogical challenges and innovations, Andrews won numerous teaching awards, both on campus and from outside organizations. He also spearheaded the publication of Teacher on the Hill, a campus newsletter of “faculty conversations about teaching and learning at UCSC,” which appeared in fifteen issues between May 1977 and January 1981.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4st5s13xhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4st5s13x/qt4st5s13x.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0mz917dq2022-08-01T13:17:20Zqt0mz917dqThe Cowell Press and Its Legacy: 1973-2004Graalfs, GregoryReti, Irene2005-05-01his oral history, conducted and edited by book arts scholar and UCSC alumnus Gregory Graalfs, focuses on the history and impact of the Cowell Press at UCSC's Cowell College. It features interviews with fine printers Jack Stauffacher and George Kane, who taught at the Press, as well as with former students Aaron Johnson, Peggy Gotthold, Felicia Rice, and Tom Killion, who have gone on to have illustrious careers in the book arts. The Cowell Press shaped the careers and creative lives of many UCSC students in its thirty-year history.Far more than a letterpress print shop where students could make pretty books, the Press was a laboratory to explore the history of tangible words — whether printed, cut in stone, or calligraphed — and to address the interrelationship of word and image. In addition, the influence of twentieth-century literature and visual art on typography was considered, as well as how typography was concerned with design principles that can be applied to film, architecture, and information design. The study of bookmaking — of how thoughts and knowledge are communicated through the vital medium of a book — fit well within the parameters of the unique and experimental quality of the UC Santa Cruz campus envisioned by founders Clark Kerr and Dean McHenry.fine press printingCowell PressUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/0mz917dqhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt0mz917dq/qt0mz917dq.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1725s3512022-08-01T12:51:52Zqt1725s351Strawberry Growing in the Pajaro ValleyShikuma, HiroshiJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1986-01-01Mr. Shikuma is a prominent Nisei strawberry grower in the Pajaro Valley. In this volume he describes family life in the Japanese-American community in the Pajaro Valley during the first decades of the twentieth century. He conveys the texture of everyday family life, recalling details of housing, food preparation, education, religion, and his childhood responsibilities in a farming family.The second part of the volume describes the growth and development of strawberries as an important specialty crop in Pajaro Valley agriculture. Mr. Shikuma describes strawberry cultivation as it was carried out during the 1920s and 1930s. He traces his father's advancement from farm laborer to sharecropper to independent grower and his contributions to the founding of Naturipe Berry Growers, one of the leading marketing firms in the strawberry industry.strawberry growingPajaro ValleyCaliforniaJapanese Americansapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1725s351https://escholarship.org/content/qt1725s351/qt1725s351.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1ws3277f2022-08-01T12:50:08Zqt1ws3277fApolonia Dangzalan: Filipina Businesswoman, Watsonville, CaliforniaDangzalan, ApoloniaKnaster, MeriReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-08-01Apolonia Dangzalan, a Filipino resident of Watsonville, California, was interviewed on April 27, 1977 by Meri Knaster, an editor at the Regional History Project, as part of a series of oral histories documenting local agricultural and ethnic history. Dangzalan was born in February 1896 in San Nicolas, Ilocos Sur, northwest of Manila, on the largest of the Philippine islands. Her family owned some land on which rice and corn was cultivated by sharecroppers. Her uncle was the president of San Nicholas. Dangzalan attended school for five years but was unable to continue due to illness. Her father died when she was five years old and her mother died when she was seventeen. In 1923, at age 27, she married. A year later she and her husband immigrated to Oahu, Hawaii. Her husband worked in the sugar cane fields and Dangzalan began a small business in her house sewing clothes for the Filipino community. This was the first of many small businesses she would run throughout her long life. In 1925 she and her husband moved to San Francisco, and then to Stockton, California, where her husband worked as a laborer in the asparagus fields.Dissatisfied with her marriage, in 1926 Dangzalan divorced her husband and moved to Marysville, California, where she bought and managed a pool hall and restaurant frequented by Filipinos, Mexicans and Anglo Americans. Although she enjoyed this work, business was not too good. She heard that Watsonville and Salinas were much better places to be in business because they attracted a large Filipino community that came to work in the fruit orchards. So after five months in Marysville, Dangzalan joined her nephew, Frank Barba, in Watsonville, California. (Frank Barba is also the subject of an oral history published by the Regional History Project.) Dangzalan opened a boarding house for Filipino agricultural workers on Bridge Street in Watsonville, California, where she became known as "Mama" Dangzalan. After a few years, her nephew, Frank Barba, took over the Watsonville boarding house and Dangzalan opened another boarding house on Salinas Road in 1930. Most of the workers she housed were working for the Gary Company, and Dangzalan also served as a labor contractor, hiring men to work in the company's fields. Dangzalan was one of very few women engaged in labor contracting.Dangzalan engaged in diverse business activities besides labor contracting. She also opened a liquor store, dancing club, and pool hall on Main Street in Watsonville in 1936. During World War II she owned a house of prostitution on Union Street in Watsonville. She hired an American woman to manage it for her.In 1950 Dangzalan stopped working as a labor contractor and went into business for herself as a farmer, primarily growing strawberries. After four years of this she was tired. In 1952 Dangzalan was operated on for kidney cancer. She withdrew from all of her businesses except for the International Groceries and Liquors store on lower Main Street, which she was still running at the time of this oral history interview in 1977. At age 81 Dangzalan was still working in the liquor store until 2:30 in the morning. In her field notes, interviewer Meri Knaster described Dangzalan as "a very spry and active eighty-one year old". Dangzalan continued to operate the liquor store until 1982. She died in 1992, at the age of 96.Filipino-AmericansWatsonvilleCalifornia historyPajaro ValleyCaliforniaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1ws3277fhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt1ws3277f/qt1ws3277f.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8rb9s7862022-07-29T16:43:57Zqt8rb9s786Jack L. Debenedetti, Jr., Brussels Sprouts and Artichoke Growing on the North CoastDebenedetti, Jack L., Jr.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1997-03-28This volume documents the history of these two specialty crops in Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, and Santa Cruz's north coast. The late Debenedetti's father, known as the "Artichoke King", developed the local artichoke industry and was the first to introduce this crop to the East Coast market. The Debenedettis, large shipper/growers, farmed a thousand coastal acres from the 1880s until the 1970s.Debenedetti provides an overview of coastal agriculture during a half century, describing the varieties of crops grown, characteristics of coastal soils, pest control, capital costs, field labor, the Bracero Program, and the history of Brussels sprout and artichoke cultivation. His narration also includes chapters on the decline of family farming, the future of coastal agricultural land and the increasing pressure on farmers from land developers.artichoke growingBrussels sprouts growingNorth CoastSanta Cruz Countyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8rb9s786https://escholarship.org/content/qt8rb9s786/qt8rb9s786.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9qj4h9v62022-07-29T14:30:30Zqt9qj4h9v6The Majors Family and Santa Cruz County DairyingMajor, ThomasCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1965-01-18Majors' paternal grandmother was a member of the Castro family which held a number of land grants in Santa Cruz County during the Mexican Period. His paternal grandfather was Joseph Ladd Majors, one of the earliest Americans to settle in the Santa Cruz area. Mr. Majors mentions some interesting details about the history of his family, but the bulk of the manuscript deals with his experiences as a rancher and dairyman. He discusses the dairy industry that prospered along the northern Santa Cruz County coast between 1860 and 1930, the cheesemaking process used on his ranch and the ranch's subsequent conversion to raising beef cattle, relates a number of stories concerning the origin of county place names on the North Coast and in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and discusses turn-of-the-century teaming and quarrying. An unexpected topic was covered when Majors announced that he had learned the art of oil-divining. A chapter of the manuscript is devoted to his demonstration of his witching technique.Santa Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9qj4h9v6https://escholarship.org/content/qt9qj4h9v6/qt9qj4h9v6.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt980582fw2022-07-29T14:29:47Zqt980582fwAlvin Richardson: Family Farming, Watsonville: Early LifeRichardson, Alvin C.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-09-01Alvin C. Richardson was born on Beach Road in Watsonville, California on October 5, 1908. His grandfather had arrived in the Pajaro Valley in 1858, where he began the family farm on Beach Road. This is the place where Richardson's father was born. In the late 19th century the family raised potatoes on Beach Road. In 1890 Richardson's grandfather began to grow apples on a hundred-acre ranch along Green Valley Road. In the 1920s Richardson's father raised sweet peas on the Beach Road property, and Alvin remembered fondly the decorative tubs of sweet peas that his father provided him with on his wedding day in 1929.Richardson grew up in Watsonville, attended Watsonville High School, and spent his entire life in the Pajaro Valley. At the time of this interview in 1977 he had lived at his farm on Buena Vista Drive since 1934. Except for a brief stint at Permanente in Moss Landing during World War II, Richardson completely devoted himself to farming. He primarily raised bush berries.In this oral history conducted on May 6, 1977 at Richardson's home on Buena Vista Drive, he discusses in detail varieties of berries grown throughout the years, the labor and capital requirements of farming, and the challenges of marketing and distribution. Finally his older sister, Ruth Johnson, joined the interview to share her remarkable early recollections of the family farm, as well as describe some of the diaries and ledgers still in the family's possession.apple growingPajaro ValleyCaliforniaSanta Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/980582fwhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt980582fw/qt980582fw.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8j7604f12022-07-29T14:27:24Zqt8j7604f1J. J. Crosetti: Pajaro Valley Agriculture, 1927 to 1977Crosetti, J. J.Jarrell, RandallRegional HIstory Project, UCSC Library1993-12-14.J. Crosetti was the founder of the J.J. Crosetti lettuce growing company in the Pajaro Valley, California, which is still in operation today under his son, J.J. Crosetti, Jr. Crosetti began his career in California agriculture as a contract buyer for the T.J. Horgan Company during the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then worked as a buyer for A. Levy and Sentner Distributors in San Francisco. In 1936 Crosetti founded his own company, growing and shipping lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, apples and other crops primarily in the Pajaro Valley, but also in Arizona and the Imperial Valley of California. Crosetti describes labor operations and packing and shipping methods, including the details of the development of vacuum cooling. He discusses the Bracero Program and ethnic changes in the agricultural labor force from the 1930s to the 1970s. He describes the development of labor organizing in Central California and his own involvement in union contract negotiations. Crosetti was also active in the Grower Shipper Vegetable Association of Central California for many years, and served on the State Board of Agriculture as an appointee of Governor Edmund G. Brown from 1962-1969. He concludes the volume with a discussion of economic and technological changes in California agriculture and the increasing trend away from family farmers towards conglomerates.lettuce growingpackingand shippingPajaro ValleyCaliforniaGrower Shipper Vegetable Association of Central Californiaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8j7604f1https://escholarship.org/content/qt8j7604f1/qt8j7604f1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8ft5j84s2022-07-29T14:24:01Zqt8ft5j84sRay L. Travers: Three Generations of Apple Farming in Watsonville, California 1875-1977Travers, Ray L.Knaster, MeriJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2003-06-15In 1977 the Regional History Project interviewed Ray L. Travers, a native of Watsonville, California, and a major figure in Pajaro Valley agriculture, as part of its series of oral histories documenting local agricultural and ethnic history.Travers was born in 1921 into the thriving community of Portuguese immigrants from the Azores, who began settling in the valley during the 1870s. His paternal grandparents arrived in Boston about 1875, where they met and married. They traveled by train across the country and settled in Green Valley in Santa Cruz County in 1876, where a distant relative lived. They bought some land, planted an apple orchard, and eventually farmed 200 acres while raising a family of 13 children. Travers's maternal grandfather was a whaler and his grandmother a Monterey native.Travers's recollections begin with a description of his family's early history in the Pajaro Valley during the 1870s. He gives the details of family farming practiced by his grandfather's generation when the whole family worked side-by-side in the orchards. He discusses the many apple varieties which were then grown and how they changed over the years according to the dictates of the market. He also speaks about the Portuguese community's food, customs, and festivals in the valley and throughout the state.Travers's father was an apple grower, and one of the first farmers in the valley to grow lettuce in the 1920s. In 1939 he became partners with the Sakata family and established an apple packing shed. When a fire destroyed the shed he sold out to Sakata, who continued growing lettuce. After World War II, he rebuilt the storage plant and farmed 27 separate parcels of land, including 130 acres of apple orchards. Travers describes his father's farming practices, and the use of pesticides, which included lead, sulphur and oil sprayed with hand guns. He also discusses the various ethnic groups who have worked in valley agriculture during the twentieth century. After Travers's father and mother died he continued apple orchard farming, eventually farming 250 acres.In his narration he describes “old style” apple storage when the fruit was packed in wooden crates and stored in the shade in redwood groves. This practice was replaced in the 1930s when orchardists began storing apples in cold packing sheds. During this period, researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere attempted to find ways to maintain the quality of the apples in storage over an extended period. Experiments focused on temperature control and the sealing of fruit in poly liners. In 1935 several Watsonville growers stored 20,000 boxes of Newtown Pippins in poly liners at forty degrees but this commercial test failed to prevent spoilage.In 1956 Ray Travers was the first apple grower on the West Coast to introduce controlled atmosphere storage for apples, a technique originally pioneered in England. This was a sophisticated, scientifically-based development in preserving apples, which extended their storage life by four to six months beyond what had been possible in cold storage and eliminated browning and rotting.The Agricultural Research Department of the Gerber Products Company, purveyor of baby food, wanted to retain the peak quality of apples during a long period of processing and was interested in finding a storage method which would achieve this. The company worked with Travers and in 1956 they stored 18,000 boxes of Newtown Pippins in a gas-tight room in Travers's Watsonville cold storage house. This new technique required having a low temperature in the storage room, and maintaining a low oxygen and high carbon-dioxide content in the atmosphere. As they experimented with this new kind of commercial storage, they established the optimum temperatures and gas concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide, which eliminated internal flesh browning, and retained the nutritional value of the apples over an extended period. Subsequently, this technique has become standard in the industry.Travers's narration also includes his overview of apple farming, the introduction of dwarf apple tree varieties, and the vicissitudes and economics of farming in the 1970s-- the need for substantial capital investment, the high price of land, and the nature of the highly competitive agricultural market. His views on the growing suburbanization of the Pajaro Valley are prescient in describing the real estate trends in California where agricultural lands are at risk, being bought up for housing developments.apple growingPortuguese AmericansPajaro ValleyCaliforniaWatsonvilleCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8ft5j84shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt8ft5j84s/qt8ft5j84s.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7ss7r4d12022-07-29T14:23:15Zqt7ss7r4d1John Melendy: Santa Cruz County Farm Advisor, 1947-1976Melendy, JohnKnaster, MeriReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-10-01Melendy served as a Santa Cruz County Farm Advisor with the Agricultural Extension Service for thirty years, including ten as County Director of the Agricultural Extension Service, an administrative position. His duties also encompassed being a youth or 4-H advisor and a poultry/livestock/field crops advisor.In this oral history conducted in 1977, John Melendy discusses changes in agriculture in Santa Cruz County from 1940s through the 1970s-- how rising land prices affected the types of crops grown, the effects of mechanization, farm size, pest control and controversies over pesticide use that were only beginning to come to light at that time. A substantial portion of the interview is devoted to a detailed discussion of the rise and fall of the poultry industry in the Live Oak area.In addition to providing a history of agriculture in Santa Cruz County, Melendy's narrative contributes to the institutional history of Agricultural Extension Service itself, particularly the position of farm advisor. In 1975 the Extension Service (by then called Cooperative Extension) merged with the Agricultural Experiment Station and became the Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, which also oversees the University's Natural Reserve System.While Melendy's oral history is useful for its detailed descriptions of the methods and practices of farming in the mid-twentieth century on the Central Coast of California, it also documents the tremendous changes that swept Santa Cruz County from 1946 to 1976, as it transitioned from a largely rural, to the urban or suburban landscape it is today.John Melendy retired in December 1976, and at the time of this oral history interview in 1977 was enjoying operating a Christmas tree farm on San Miguel Canyon Rd. Oral historian Meri Knaster conducted three interviews with him at his home in Soquel, California as part of the Regional History Project's Agricultural History series. Melendy was fifty-six years old at the time.Santa Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7ss7r4d1https://escholarship.org/content/qt7ss7r4d1/qt7ss7r4d1.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6cb477tb2022-07-29T14:21:07Zqt6cb477tbMike de la Cruz: The Life of a Laboring Man, 1905-1977De la Cruz, MikeKnaster, MeriJarrell, RandallReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2002-09-01Mike de la Cruz: The Life of a Laboring Man, 1905-1977, is the story of a Mexican-American field worker, one of a dozen children, with one year of schooling, who left home in Arizona when he was about 13 years old, drifting around the country, getting work here and there, surviving as he could. In 1921 he came to Watsonville, where he worked in the fields for a labor contractor, lived in labor camps, and harvested lettuce and beets. He described himself as a drifter and hobo in the 1920s and 1930s, who could hitch, ride freights, and make do almost anywhere. In between seasons he would leave Watsonville and find work wherever he could. He described his experiences working the crops in Santa Cruz county during the Depression, when he made 12 cents an hour. His narration describes unremitting work in fields and ranches, breaking horses, planting tobacco, coal mining in West Virginia-- any work to survive and keep going. Meri Knaster, a former editor at the Project, interviewed de la Cruz, whose story illuminates a particular American life rarely documented or acknowledged in our history.Mexican-American farm workersPajaro ValleyCaliforniaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6cb477tbhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6cb477tb/qt6cb477tb.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt59n5d58b2022-07-29T14:19:43Zqt59n5d58bJose Galvan Amaro: Mexican American Laborer, Watsonville, California, 1902-1977Amaro, Jose GalvanKnaster, MeriReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-12-01José Galvan Amaro, a Mexican-American fieldworker in Watsonville, California, was interviewed in June 1977 by Meri Knaster, an editor at the Regional History Project, as part of a series on local agricultural and ethnic history. This oral history, conducted in Spanish on June 2 and June 6, 1977 at Amaro's home in Watsonville, California, focuses on Amaro's extensive experience as a laborer in California from the 1920s to the 1970s. The interview was conducted in Spanish and is provided here both as a verbatim transcript in Spanish and in English translation.Spanish-languagefarm workersWatsonvilleCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/59n5d58bhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt59n5d58b/qt59n5d58b.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4k92172s2022-07-29T14:17:25Zqt4k92172sFifty Years of Grassroots Social Activism: Volume 1 Early YearsWyckoff, Florence RichardsonJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1987-06-15Florence Wyckoff's three-volume oral history documents her remarkable, lifelong work as a social activist, during which she has become nationally recognized as an advocate of migrant families and children. From the depression years through the 1970s, she pursued grassroots, democratic, community-building efforts in the service of improving public health standards and providing health care, education, and housing for migrant families. Major legislative milestones in her career of advocacy were the passage of the California Migrant Health Act and, in 1962, the Federal Migrant Health Act, which established family health clinics for the families who follow the crops along both the eastern and western migrant agricultural streams.This volume includes a discussion of Mrs. Wyckoff's childhood in Berkeley; education and development as an artist; foreign travel; the origins and early evolution of Mrs. Wyckoff's social concerns during the depression years; her activities in the Theater Union; the 1934 General Strike in San Francisco; activities in labor organizing in YWCA Industrial Department and workers' education efforts; the individuals who inspired and influenced her course as an activist in social and economic legislative activities.California history1934 General StrikeSan Franciscoapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4k92172shttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4k92172s/qt4k92172s.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4c82b2gd2022-07-29T14:16:06Zqt4c82b2gdLuke P. Cikuth: The Pajaro Valley Apple Industry, 1890-1930Cikuth, Luke P.Calciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1967-03-15Luke P. Cikuth was born in Yugoslavia in 1873 and came to the United States in 1890. After spending several years at various odd jobs, he started an apple packing and shipping business which soon became one of Watsonville's largest packing companies. Cikuth describes his business operations and the apple industry as a whole, covering not only the packing and shipping of apples, but also the problems and techniques involved in growing apples, and the role of the various auxiliary apple industries such as the cider works, vinegar works, apple dryers, and cold storage facilities. He also discusses other agricultural crops that are, or have been, important in the Pajaro Valley and the ethnic groups that have been associated with some of these crops. In the concluding chapter of the manuscript Mr. Cikuth describes the town of Watsonville as it appeared to him in the 1890s.Yugoslavian immigrantsapple growingWatsonvilleCalifornia historyPajaro ValleyCaliforniaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4c82b2gdhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4c82b2gd/qt4c82b2gd.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt49w7r4ct2022-07-29T14:15:29Zqt49w7r4ctPorter Chaffee: Labor Organizer and ActivistChaffee, Porter MyronJarrell, RandallReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-09-01Porter Chaffee's oral history offers valuable primary source documentation on the labor struggles of the 1930s, particularly from the point of view of a Communist labor activist and WPA writer. This interview is part of the Regional History Project's Agricultural History Series conducted in 1977.Porter Myron Chaffee was born on November 26, 1900 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. He was one of six children. His father, Grant Chaffee, was a miner and also a cook in mining camps in places such as the Anaconda copper mines. As a man with a strong working class consciousness, Grant Chaffee grew impassioned about the Knights of Labor and later the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Eventually he married and moved to Oakland, California, where he worked in lumber yards. A few years later he inherited a substantial amount of money from his father, the elder Porter Myron Chaffee (for whom the narrator of this oral history is named), who had owned substantial amounts of property in Oakland. This inheritance thrust Porter's father out of the working class and into a crisis of conscience and ideals. He still identified as working class, but his wife (Porter's mother) cherished middle class aspirations. This family conflict eventually led to the family's purchase in 1909 of a ranch in Napa County on Monticello Road, where they lived for a few years. But soon they returned to Oakland, where Porter finished grammar school and then attended Oakland Technical High School.Instead of finishing high school, the restless Chaffee dropped out and joined the Merchant Marines, and spent the next three years at sea. It was there that Chaffee developed a respect for the intelligence of working class people and was exposed to Communist ideas. In 1921 Chaffee returned to California, where he harvested prunes and grapes at the Admiral Miller Ranch in Napa County. There he suffered a shoulder injury, developed tuberculosis, and almost died. In search of treatment, Chaffee, who then weighed and alarming 97 pounds, took a bus to Oakland, where he sought care from a chiropractor who may have been engaged in medical quackery. He spent that time fraternizing with Yugoslavian and Russian immigrant patients whose radical ideals further stimulated his interest in the Communist movement.After his recovery from TB, Chaffee joined the Communist youth group Friends of the Soviet Union. In 1925 he moved to Santa Cruz with his family, where he attended Santa Cruz High School at age twenty-five. There he was relentlessly teased for his hump (a result of the TB) and after a few months he walked out of Santa Cruz High, and left Santa Cruz for what he called "the hobo part of [his] life", journeying across the United States and eventually ending up in New York City in 1926, where he wrote for the leftist The New Masses magazine. He wrote an unpublished memoir about this period entitled "The Journal of a Hungry Man", which is on deposit together with Chaffee's other papers at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.Unable to work because of his fragile health, Chaffee returned to Santa Cruz County, where his parents provided him with minimal support. There he continued to be active on the Left, and founded a branch of the Communist Party in Santa Cruz in 1929. He shares his recollections of some of the socialists in Santa Cruz County, many of whom were of German heritage. He recalls organizing a hunger march up Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, past the Santa Cruz County Court House. He also describes fascist reprisals against Santa Cruz socialists.In 1933, Chaffee returned to Oakland, where he became involved in organizing for the Unemployed Councils. During this period he forged friendships with radical luminaries such as the muckraking journalist and editor, Lincoln Steffens, and the writer Kenneth Rexroth.It was at this time that Chaffee became an organizer for the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union (CAWIU), whose offices were headquartered at 81 Post Street in San Jose, California. The CAWIU was a project of the Trade Union Unity League of the Communist Party (TUUL).After a slow start, the CAWIU organized several successful strikes, including a strike in the peach orchards at Tagus Ranch near Tulare, California, which resulted in a wage increase for workers. The chief organizer was Pat Chambers. Chaffee worked closely with Chambers and discusses his recollections of him. He also talks about Sam Darcy, who was the California District Organizer for the Communist Party in the early 1930s, and organizer and speaker Caroline Decker [Gladstein], who served as secretary of the CAWIU during that period. Chaffee helped to organize a strike among the apple pickers of Watsonville in 1931 and 1932, and also founded a unit of the Communist Party in Watsonville at that time.In 1936 Chaffee decided to leave the Communist Party because he was struggling economically. He went on to write a history of the CAWIU for the Oakland office of the Federal Writers Project. According to Anne Loftis, Chaffee's history was never authorized by the WPA or published. It is preserved in the Bancroft Library and on microfiche. This oral history does not cover Chaffee's years with the WPA, but instead focuses on the rich details of his colorful life and his years with the CAWIU.labor organizingCannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial UnionAmerican Communist Partyhistory ofCalifornia labor historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/49w7r4cthttps://escholarship.org/content/qt49w7r4ct/qt49w7r4ct.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4201z1bp2022-07-29T14:14:31Zqt4201z1bpFrank Barba, Filipino Labor Contractor, Watsonville, California, 1927-1977Barba, FrankKnaster, MeriReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-08-01Frank Barba, a Filipino resident of Aromas, California, was interviewed in 1977 by Meri Knaster, an editor at the Regional History Project, as part of a series of oral histories documenting local agricultural and ethnic history.Frank Barba was born in 1898 in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, northwest of Manila, on the largest of the Philippine islands. His family owned some land on which rice was cultivated by sharecroppers; another portion was reserved for home use. Barba received a high school education during the period when the Philippines were a U.S. possession. He learned English and some American history in a school with an American principal.Barba came to California in 1924 via a short stay in Hawaii, where he joined his aunt and uncle working in the sugar cane fields. After working briefly as a busboy in San Francisco, and as a night clerk in a Stockton hotel, Barba arrived in Watsonville in 1927 to take over the management of a Filipino labor camp that had already been established by his aunt Apolonia Dangzalan. Dangzalan's oral history is also published by the Regional History Project as part of this Agricultural History Project series.Barba worked as a labor contractor from 1927, at first independently, and then for the Birbeck Company of Aromas, which grew lettuce, string beans, broccoli, and sugar beets. When the company went out of business in 1967, Barba purchased from them the property he lived on, the original site of the labor camp. At the time of this interview in 1977 Barba was 78 years old, and semi-retired, supervising school children in the fields for various growers in the area.Filipino-Americanslabor contractorsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4201z1bphttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4201z1bp/qt4201z1bp.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt41n8z6712022-07-29T14:13:36Zqt41n8z671Mary Ann Borina Radovich: Croatian Apple Farmer, Watsonville, California, 1918-1977Radovich, Mary Ann BorinaKnaster, MeriRegional History Project, UCSC Library2004-09-01This oral history, conducted with Mary Ann Borina Radovich on June 7 and June 22, 1977, focuses on Radovich's extensive experience as an apple farmer in Watsonville, California from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is also a significant contribution to the ethnic history of the Croatian community in the Pajaro Valley of California.In this oral history Radovich discusses her family's history and their emigration to the United States. She describes the early apple industry in Watsonville, and the changes that took place over the years in terms of labor, mechanization, irrigation, crop varieties, pest control, harvesting, and land use. Her detailed and reflective narration makes this oral history a singular contribution to the agricultural history of Central California.Radovich owned Borina Orchards from the 1940s through the time of this interview in 1977, and beyond. For many of those years her husband, Rafael Radovich, was her business partner, and in fact beginning in 1957 he was primarily responsible for the apple business. They had no children. In 1977 the orchard was about one hundred acres, mostly planted in dwarf apple trees. They grew Pippin and Delicious apples.apple growingCroatian Americans--historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/41n8z671https://escholarship.org/content/qt41n8z671/qt41n8z671.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt24b6174n2022-07-29T14:12:25Zqt24b6174nCharles Dick: Agricultural Regulation in Santa Cruz, 1930- 1967Dick, CharlesJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1997-03-12This is the oral history of the late county agricultural commissioner, who traces the history of California's unique system of agricultural regulation and inspection, which dates from the 1880s. Dick's overview of county agriculture includes the increasing importance of pesticide regulation (which is currently a very debated issue in the strawberry industry); mechanization, changes in local crops and acreages, farm labor and unionization, and the demise of the family farm.Agricultural regulation and inspectionSanta Cruz County Historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/24b6174nhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt24b6174n/qt24b6174n.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt01d1b4q42022-07-29T14:11:13Zqt01d1b4q4Helen Hosmer: A Radical Critic of California Agribusiness in the 1930sHosmer, HelenJarrell, Randall1992-02-14Helen Hosmer was a writer, activist, and historian of California agribusiness. Her knowledge of California's agriculture dated back to the 1930s when, as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, she worked at the Poultry Division, College of Agriculture. Later she worked for the Information Division of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which established camps for migrant workers in California. During this period Hosmer came to know FSA photographer Dorothea Lange, agricultural economist Paul S. Taylor, and many important figures in the labor movement in San Francisco. Because of her conviction that labor organizing was essential among agricultural workers, Hosmer resigned her government position at Farm Security in 1935 in order to have the freedom to work on behalf of her political beliefs. She co-founded the Simon J. Lubin Society, an organization that promoted unity between family farmers and migrant labor and exposed the anti-progressive political activities of California agribusiness. From 1935 to 1941 she published and edited the Lubin Society's "Rural Observer". The Society also issued special publications, such as Who Are the Associated Farmers? (reproduced in this volume) and John Steinbeck's Their Blood is Strong.
Hosmer's memoirs also discuss California intellectual, cultural, and political life in the 1920s, and 1930s, red-baiting, the San Francisco General Strike and the Criminal Syndicalism trial, and the La Follette Civil Liberties Committee. After World War II, Hosmer temporarily put aside her political activism and spent over 25 years living in Mill Valley as a housewife, mother, pianist, and gardener. In the early 1960s she resumed her research and writing. She again turned her attention to California agriculture, writing articles for American West magazine, and serving as director for the research committee for the California Farm Reporter.Migrant farm workersSimon J. Lubin SocietyJohn SteinbeckCalifornia agricultureapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/01d1b4q4https://escholarship.org/content/qt01d1b4q4/qt01d1b4q4.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6vq3x3dm2022-07-29T13:59:21Zqt6vq3x3dmFlorence Richardson Wyckoff (1905-1997), Fifty Years of Grassroots Social ActivismVolume III: Watsonville Years 1960-1985Wyckoff, Florence RichardsonJarrell, Randall1990-08-06Florence Wyckoff's three-volume oral history documents her remarkable, lifelong work as a social activist, during which she has become nationally recognized as an advocate of migrant families and children. From the depression years through the 1970s, she pursued grassroots, democratic, community-building efforts in the service of improving public health standards and providing health care, education, and housing for migrant families. Major legislative milestones in her career of advocacy were the passage of the California Migrant Health Act and, in 1962, the Federal Migrant Health Act, which established family health clinics for the families who follow the crops along both the eastern and western migrant agricultural streams.This volume continues Wyckoff's story of the arduous political struggle for federal and state legislation providing for health services for migrants, the California and Federal Migrant Health Acts. Once this legislation was in place, Wyckoff was involved in a new battle to insure continuing budget appropriations for the migrant health programs. In her narration, Wyckoff provides additional chapters on her fifteen-year tenure on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth, including the involvement of the Rosenberg Foundation in funding pioneering migrant public health services in the San Joaquin Valley; the changing living and social conditions of migrant workers during the period 1948-58; and the organizing of farmworker communities through citizen education and political action. Wyckoff also discusses many individuals who were significant in different areas of the struggle-- Anthony Rios and the CSO; notable growers, labor contractors, and public-spirited physicians, politicians and congressional staff members. The culmination of her varied work on the Governor's Committee was the organizing of the five Conferences on Families Who Follow the Crops, held in California between 1959 and 1967.The remaining two sections in this volume focus on Wyckoff's national and local work addressing and linking the issues of poverty and citizen participation. She chronicles her membership during the Kennedy Administration on the Study Committee charged with conceptualizing policy initiatives for what later came to be known as the War on Poverty. Some of the topics in this section include the concept of mainstreaming the poor; the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth; working with urban youth and the Watts Riots; the origin of the Headstart Program; and the function of the Citizens' Crusade Against Poverty.In the volume's final section, Wyckoff discusses her philosophy of citizen participation; describes how the War on Poverty emerged in Santa Cruz County; outlines some of its political and social consequences; and indicates how the Watsonville community defined and attempted to meet the housing, educational, and health needs of the migrant families so crucial to the region's agricultural economy.War on PovertyWatsonvilleCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6vq3x3dmhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6vq3x3dm/qt6vq3x3dm.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5gb519xk2022-07-29T13:42:33Zqt5gb519xkGrace Arceneaux: Mexican-American Farmworker and Community Organizer, 1920-1977Arceneaux, GraceKnaster, Meri2003-01-02Grace Palacio Arceneaux, a Mexican-American resident of Watsonville, California, was interviewed in 1977 by Meri Knaster, an editor at the Regional History Project, as part of a series of oral histories documenting local agricultural and ethnic history.Arceneaux was born in San Martin de Bolaños, Jalisco, Mexico, in March 1920. She came with her family to San Juan Bautista, California, in 1923 during the havoc of the Mexican Revolution. The family lived on a little ranch and eked out a living farming and doing field work. Her mother died in childbirth when she was a young girl, and shortly thereafter her father died, leaving Arceneaux to care for her nine brothers and sisters. As she said, she always had a child to carry on her hip, wherever she went.Not only did her parents not speak English, they did not want it spoken in the house; Arceneaux and her siblings translated for their parents, for their father's business deals and jobs. She attended school through the fifth grade and returned to school many years later, when she was in her forties, to obtain her high school diploma at Watsonville night school, and earned a degree at Cabrillo College. Knaster wrote in her notes of these interviews: “All those years of no schooling are not manifested in either her manner of speaking or vocabulary-- she's a very articulate woman.”After her father died, Arceneaux hired out her family as a unit, working in the fields around San Juan Bautista whenever possible, and doing whatever else was available, keeping the county from separating her siblings and putting them in foster homes. Because of serious, recurring bouts of tuberculosis, she spent several years in sanitariums and was no longer able to do fieldwork due to the permanent damage to her health.Her narrative is rich in recollections of local history, of the Mexican and Filipino communities and their customs and inter-relationships. She was married at one time to a Filipino farmworker and so became a member of that community, as well. She also discusses the life of field workers, harvesting garlic and various other crops, and the role of labor contractors in agriculture. The period she spent among Filipinos is rich with details about a side of Watsonville life that is not well documented-- Chinatown, gambling, and prostitution.Her spirit of grit and determination shines through her descriptions of chronic hard times and poverty as she worked unremittingly to raise her siblings and to make a life for herself. Her life story shows how she made the transition from illegal immigrant farmworker to middle-class social activist.She speaks movingly of her marriages, work life, her precarious financial situation, and the importance of her Catholicism, as she her evolved from an unquestioning Catholic into her own self-defined understanding of her religion as it embraced activism and equality.As a mature woman she returned to school, and discovered the world of books and ideas, and gained confidence in her abilities to speak and think critically about the condition of her community, and its political and cultural marginalization. This in turn led to her involvement in community issues during which she became one of the first Mexican-American women in the Pajaro Valley to fight for bilingual education, outreach services for poor women, victims of domestic violence, and those seeking to gain educations for themselves.Knaster noted many small, telling details of Arceneaux's life when she interviewed her in her home in Watsonville. She wrote: "there is a nice back yard, where she hung laundry on her clothesline after one interview. We met in the kitchen, a remodeled expanded, large room, with a view of the yard through sliding glass doors, a room full of light, spacious. Grace always kept her hands busy-- she's one of those women whose work is never done because she does so much and is so industrious, never wasting a moment. She would wash and dry the dishes, pair socks that she had removed from the dryer or fold cloth napkins. Another time she worked on a quilt she had gotten from someone who had died. It was too big for their bed so she removed the trim and sewed as we talked."Knaster noted that in the background of the tape recordings you can often hear a tea kettle whistling, or water running as she washes dishes, as Grace's voice moves back and forth according to the activity she is engaged in. Sometimes she would get up from the kitchen table to demonstrate something-- how she used to work in the garlic fields, or how she would carry a little brother or sister on her hip. She would unabashedly let tears flow when relating especially emotional episodes in her life, lifting up her glasses as she wiped away the tears.Knaster characterized Arceneaux as a wonderfully warm, sharing, open person, and extremely informative as well. Despite the hardships in her life, her narration is not bitter or resentful. As her conversation reveals, she has a realistic understanding of ethnic and gender discrimination as it is manifest in the Mexican, Anglo, and Filipino communities, having experienced them herself as a single woman, a Mexican, and later as the wife of a Filipino with a Filipino/Mexican child. Her observations of ethnic and class distinctions in the agricultural communities of San Juan Bautista and Watsonville are a real contribution to the social history of this region.Pajaro ValleyCaliforniaagricultural laborCaliforniaapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5gb519xkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5gb519xk/qt5gb519xk.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6173d6k42022-07-29T13:41:35Zqt6173d6k4Jose Galvan Amaro: Mexican-American Laborer, Watsonville, California, 1902-1977Amaro, Jose GalvanKnaster, MeriReti, Irene2004-12-01José Galvan Amaro, a Mexican-American fieldworker in Watsonville, California, was interviewed in June 1977 by Meri Knaster, an editor at the Regional History Project, as part of a series on local agricultural and ethnic history. This oral history, conducted in Spanish on June 2 and June 6, 1977 at Amaro's home in Watsonville, California, focuses on Amaro's extensive experience as a laborer in California from the 1920s to the 1970s. The interview was conducted in Spanish and is provided here both as a verbatim transcript in Spanish and in English translation.farm workersWatsonvilleCalifornia historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6173d6k4https://escholarship.org/content/qt6173d6k4/qt6173d6k4.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt05d2v8nk2022-07-29T09:38:19Zqt05d2v8nkLiving History Circle (group interview): Out in the Redwoods, Documenting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003Reti, Irene H.2004-04-01This group living history circle was conducted on April 20, 2002, as part of the Banana Slug Spring Fair annual event for UCSC alumni and prospective students. The session was organized by Irene Reti, together with Jacquelyn Marie, and UCSC staff person and alum Valerie Jean Chase. The discussion was approximately ninety minutes and included the following participants: Walter Brask, Melissa Barthelemy, Valerie Chase, Cristy Chung, Linda Rosewood Hooper, Rik Isensee, David Kirk, Stephen Klein, John Laird, Jacquelyn Marie, Robert Philipson, Irene Reti, and John Paul Zimmer. This was also the thirtieth reunion of the Class of 1972, which is why there is a disproportionate number of participants from that period of UCSC history. The interview was taped and transcribed. Where possible, speakers are identified.'Editorapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/05d2v8nkhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt05d2v8nk/qt05d2v8nk.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4sb4j79p2022-07-29T09:26:09Zqt4sb4j79pCharles Donald Shane: The Lick ObservatoryShane, Charles DonaldCalciano, Elizabeth Spedding1969-12-04Dr. Shane was a noted astronomer and former Director of the Lick Observatory. This interview was designed as a supplement to one conducted by the American Institute of Physics in 1967, hence only a small portion of this volume deals directly with Dr. Shane's work or his administrative career. Instead it concentrates primarily on Dr. Shane's knowledge of the early years of the Lick Observatory.At the time Dr. Shane first went to Lick Observatory as a student in 1914, many of the astronomers were men who had been with the Observatory since its very early years. Dr. Shane was asked to comment upon the various men who have been Directors of the Observatory and to discuss the progress of the Observatory under each man. The final portion of the manuscript deals with various items that Dr. Shane felt should have been included in the AIP interview, specifically comments on the establishment of the Statistics department at UC Berkeley, his experience working with the University's Academic Senate, and a discussion of some of the astronomy advisory committees on which he has served both in the United States and abroad.Lick ObservatoryUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4sb4j79phttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4sb4j79p/qt4sb4j79p.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt86j5779n2022-07-29T09:23:43Zqt86j5779nSandra Kay Martz : Papier-Mache Press & the gentle art of consciousness raising 1984-1999Martz, SandraReti, Irene2001-01-01Following in the footsteps of the second wave feminist publishers of the 1970s, Sandra Kay Martz founded Papier-Mache Press in 1984. Papier-Mache Press was known for publishing accessible books which, "presented important social issues through enduring works of beauty, grace, and strength," and "created a bridge of understanding between the mainstream audience and those who might not otherwise be heard." This accessibility, combined with hard work, and savvy marketing and business sense, catapulted Papier-Mache to remarkable financial success and visibility. Of the 60,000 book titles published in the United States each year, less than one percent sell over 100,000 copies. Over 1.6 million copies of the anthology When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple were sold in bookstores and gift stores across the United States. This groundbreaking collection was one of the first non-clinical and positive books on women and aging, and was written by older women themselves. It challenged stereotypes and confronted the invisibility of older women in America. Several years later, another book in Martz's anthology series entitled I Am Becoming the Woman I've Wanted won the 1995 American Book Award. By 1998, Papier-Mache Press had published over sixty titles.In this oral history Martz discussed the successes of Papier-Mache Press, as well as the enormous changes in the book industry which took place in the late 1990s. She credited feminist culture and politics with her success, and discussed her collegial relationships with other feminist publishers in the United States and Canada, many of whom were her inspiration. She provided an astute assessment of the future of feminist and independent publishing, and discussed the implications of the changes in book publishing in the 1990s for literacy and the exchange of ideas in a free society.Papier-Mache Press is one of three presses archived at UC Santa Cruz's University Library, as part of the UC/Stanford US History and Women's Studies Consortium California Feminist Presses Project. The project is designed to preserve the output as well as the history of feminist presses in California. The other two presses collected are Shameless Hussy Press and HerBooks.feminist publishingsmall press publishingapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/86j5779nhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt86j5779n/qt86j5779n.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4wn4458v2022-07-29T09:23:06Zqt4wn4458vIrene Reti and HerBooks Feminist PressReti, Irene2001-12-05This volume, Irene Reti and HerBooks Feminist Press, is one of a trio of oral histories published by the Regional History Project documenting the history and archives of second-wave feminist presses on deposit in the University Library's Special Collections. They include Alta's history of Shameless Hussy Press and Sandra Kay Martz's, of Papier-Mache Press. The archives are part of the University of California/Stanford University History and Women's Studies Consortium California Feminist Presses Project whose mission is the preservation and documentation of feminist presses.Prior to her appointment at the Regional History Project, interviewee Irene Reti founded HerBooks in 1984. So she wears two hats in this project: she conducted the interviews with Alta and Martz; and was then interviewed herself as the founder of HerBooks, whose archive she donated to the University Library. HerBooks is a small, all-volunteer press, running on low overhead and publishing pioneering radical feminist titles. HerBooks blossomed within the milieu of feminism and lesbian literary culture and has survived with the support network of feminist presses, independent bookstores, and alternative book distribution. This volume consists of two interviews: one, by former UCSC student Martha Vickers, conducted in 1991, and the second, by Jacquelyn Marie, UCSC Reference/Women's Studies Librarian Emerita, who interviewed Reti in April 2001. As director of the Project, I edited the volume. Marie wrote me the following, describing her involvement in this project:As the Women's Studies librarian at UCSC, I initiated the California Feminist Presses Project with a colleague from UC Berkeley, as a special project within our UC/Stanford Consortium of History/Women's Studies librarians. Each campus collected the archives, including two copies of publications from all the California feminist presses. UCSC was committed to Shameless Hussy Press of Oakland, California, Papier-Mache Press from Watsonville, and HerBooks from Santa Cruz. All three publishers were interviewed. I have worked and consulted with Irene Reti through the years on writing and publishing, speaking on panels, producing bibliographies, designing posters and organizing exhibits. As a member of the feminist publishing/writing community since the 1970s, I have been particularly interested in a long-running, small press such as HerBooks. This press is especially important because of its lesbian/feminist stance. Irene has not hesitated to publish unknown lesbian writers who have highlighted a panoply of neglected and controversial issues. I was very excited to be able to interview her about her evolution as a publisher and writer.Reti graduated from UCSC in 1982 and founded HerBooks in 1984. Her path to publishing evolved quite organically as she knitted together her deep commitment to literature, her coming out as a lesbian, and her identity as a Jewish feminist. After she graduated from UCSC she held a series of nondescript jobs, one of which led her to learning typography and the mechanics of book publishing. This gave her a strong technical base as she launched HerBooks. She then became involved in the Santa Cruz literary scene and participated in several local writing groups. As she says in her oral history: "[At the time] there were a couple of literary magazines . . . I watched this process and thought . . . wait a second, I can do this! . . . the process [of publishing a book] didn't seem entirely mysterious to me anymore." She then published her first lesbian anthology and began her venture in what she describes as 'break-even publishing."In her narrative, Reti discusses the network of feminist publishers and writers with whom she has been involved, the genesis of the titles she has published over the years, her intuitive philosophy of why she publishes what she does, and her overview of the economics of small press publishing during the last two decades. She also gives an intimate overview of the singular literary community which has been thriving in Santa Cruz since the 1960s.HerBooks publications have included an eclectic variety of subjects ranging from serious feminist, lesbian political and cultural volumes (Childless by Choice: A Feminist Anthology (1992), Remember the Fire: Lesbian Sadomasochism in a Post-Nazi Holocaust World (1986), Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties (1993), Carolyn Gage's The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Other Plays (1994), A Transported Life: Memories of Kindertransport, the Oral History of Thea Feliks Eden (1995)) to more whimsical books such as Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions in Gardening (1993) and Cats (and their Dykes) (1991).The HerBooks listing reflects the zeitgeist of radical feminist cultural and political concerns when these issues came to the forefront. The latest HerBooks publication as of this writing is Reti's The Keeper of Memory: A Memoir, a contemporary American bildungsroman which weaves together personal recollection, family history, the assimilationist impulses of her Holocaust refugee parents, and the author's discovery and reclamation of her Jewish identity.The HerBooks archive is at Special Collections, UC Santa Cruz library. A finding aid to the collection is available through the Online Archive of California.feminist publishingsmall press publishinglesbian feminismapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4wn4458vhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4wn4458v/qt4wn4458v.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1fx8d5882022-07-29T09:22:29Zqt1fx8d588Alta and the History of Shameless Hussy Press, 1969-1989Gerrey, AltaReti, Irene2001-01-01Founded in 1969 during the counterculture of the late 1960s in Berkeley and the early second wave of feminism, Shameless Hussy Press was the first feminist press in the United States. One of the most important historical contributions of Shameless Hussy Press was the first publication of books by four women who later became prominent feminist writers: Pat Parker, Mitsuye Yamada, Ntozake Shange, and Susan Griffin. Alta's recollections discuss these writers, and other Shameless Hussy titles, as well as the cultural and political milieu in which she was working. In this oral history Alta also discusses her growth as a writer.Shameless Hussy Press is one of three presses archived in the Special Collections department of UC Santa Cruz's University Library, as part of the UC/Stanford US History and Women's Studies Consortium California Feminist Presses Project. The other two are Papier-Mache Press and HerBooks Feminist Press. The project is designed to preserve the output as well as the history of feminist presses in California.feminist publishingsmall press publishinghistory of feminismapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/1fx8d588https://escholarship.org/content/qt1fx8d588/qt1fx8d588.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5fq6v8fm2022-07-29T09:21:42Zqt5fq6v8fm"I Respond": Alissa Goldring's Photographs of Mexico in the 1950s: An Oral HistoryGoldring, AlissaGray, Lizzy KateRegional History Project, UCSC Library2007-11-01This oral history, conducted by Lizzy Gray of the Regional History Project, centers on the photographs Goldring took in Mexico between 1955 and 1971. It is intended as a guide and supplement to Goldring's Mexican photos, slides and negatives, now preserved in the Special Collections Department of the UCSC Library. A finding aid to that collection is available at http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9x0nd1bc/
Alissa Goldring was born Alice Berman in lower Manhattan in 1921 and knew from an early age that she wanted to be an artist. She majored in art at Brooklyn College and also studied photography and other forms of art at the American Artists' School in Manhattan. Through these years Goldring was rarely without her sketchbook, and developed a beautiful abbreviated ink style capturing the character of people, boats and buildings in Manhattan. Two of these pieces appeared in The New Yorker magazine under the name Alice Reiner. She eventually earned a Masters in Art from Teachers College of Columbia University.In 1954, newly divorced and with two children, Goldring flew to Mexico, despite not speaking Spanish, and knowing no one there. Her photography enabled her to support herself and gave her an avenue into the local culture. Initially, she did photographic portraits of children. She then worked on assignment for Mexican magazines, such as Gente and Claudia, as well as for local newspapers and non-profit organizations such as Planned Parenthood. She was sent to schools and monasteries, psychiatric hospitals and rural villages. On her own, she roamed through open markets and mountain towns with her camera, unobtrusively capturing rituals, such as children floating candles on water on the night of el Dia de los Muertes (the Day of the Dead), and services at a tiny Jewish temple in Venta Prieta. Goldring was especially intrigued by Lacondonian and Chomula cultures. She also met well-known figures such as Erich Fromm and Daiset Suzuki, and the archive contains photographs of Rufino Tamayo, Dolores del Rio, Alma Reed, architect Juan O'Gorman, and the clowns Firulais and Cantinflas.Mexicohistory ofapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fq6v8fmhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5fq6v8fm/qt5fq6v8fm.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt86z974zn2022-07-29T09:21:06Zqt86z974znJulie Fawcus: Recollections of Trianon PressFawcus, JulieJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1996-10-23This volume documents the history of the press, founded in Paris in 1947; the genesis of its extraordinary facsimile productions of William Blake's illuminated works, and its wide range of fine press volumes. Julie Fawcus, the widow of Trianon's founder, Arnold Fawcus, discusses the details of the collotype and pochoir techniques which were used by French artisans to produce the facsimiles.Fawcus's commentary includes chapters on Arnold Fawcus as "buccaneer publisher," and recollections of collaborations with Robert Graves, Marcel Duchamp, Aldous Huxley, and Ben Shahn. For students and researchers feasting their eyes on a Blake volume produced by Trianon, and who might wonder who these exquisite books came to be, Fawcus gives an insider's view of the struggles and enormous technical difficulties involved in their creation.fine press printingTrianon PressTrianon Press Archiveapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/86z974znhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt86z974zn/qt86z974zn.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt56q4h2302022-07-29T09:18:07Zqt56q4h230Esther Abbott: Photographer and Social Reformer, 1911-2003Abbott, EstherRichards, EvelynRegional History Project, UCSC Library2005-02-02In her mid-nineties at the time of this interview, Esther Abbott achieved a long and impressive career as a photographer whose work was published in Arizona Highways and other publications in the 1940s and 1950s. With her husband Charles (Chuck) Abbott, she also shaped the urban landscape of downtown Santa Cruz through her historic preservation activities, and her advocacy on behalf of the pedestrian-centered Pacific Garden Mall, which was constructed in the late 1960s. This oral history, conducted by Evelyn Richards of the University Library's Regional History Project, illuminates the life and career of this remarkable and vibrant woman.The University Library's Visual Resource Collection also has a collection of 4,700 slides of the Abbotts' photographs of architectural reconstructions of national urban and suburban landscapes in the 1960s. Their photographs of the buildings of Santa Cruz are of special importance to local patrons. In addition, Special Collections has a collection of Chuck Abbott's photographs documenting his time in World War I Europe, as well as his career from 1920 to 1935.Santa Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/56q4h230https://escholarship.org/content/qt56q4h230/qt56q4h230.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4t8949gc2022-07-29T09:07:26Zqt4t8949gcA.E. Whitford: Directorship of Lick Observatory, 1958-1968Whitford, Albert E.Jarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1995-01-23Dr. Whitford was director of the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton from 1959 to 1968. These were transitional years in the history of Lick Observatory. Dr. Whitford oversaw the completion of the 120-inch telescope, and the evolution of Lick Observatory from an independent campus of the University of California, to a sub-unit of the UC Berkeley Campus in 1958, to its incorporation as part of the new UC Santa Cruz campus on November 20, 1964. Whitford's narration not only covers the history of Lick Observatory during this period but also key figures and developments in the science of astronomy itself.Lick Observatoryapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4t8949gchttps://escholarship.org/content/qt4t8949gc/qt4t8949gc.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7xx603g82022-07-29T09:01:43Zqt7xx603g8Mary Lea Heger Shane: The Lick ObservatoryShane, Mary LeaCalciano, Elizabeth Spedding1969-01-01Dr. Shane was an astronomer, historian, and wife of the former Director of the Lick Observatory. Her association with the Lick Observatory began in 1919, when she moved up to Mount Hamilton for a year's postgraduate work, work which eventually resulted in her Ph.D. thesis. The first section of her manuscript is concerned with the workings of the Observatory in the 1919 period-- the apparatus, the astronomers, the duties of the graduate assistants-- as well as the more mundane subjects such as food, lodging, water supply, and health care. Since Dr. Shane had for years been the Observatory's unofficial historian-in-residence, she and the interviewer took an all-day trip to Mount Hamilton. The resulting eighty pages of manuscript, which form the middle portion of the volume, focus on the history of the Mount Hamilton road and development of the various telescopes. Dr. Shane also comments on a number of astronomers and observatories throughout the world. In the final portion of the volume, Dr. Shane describes the administrative and technical problems her husband, Dr. Donald Shane, faced as Director of the Observatory from 1945-1958, as well as amusing anecdotes of everyday life on the mountain.application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7xx603g8https://escholarship.org/content/qt7xx603g8/qt7xx603g8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4q3206g82022-07-29T08:59:38Zqt4q3206g8Mary Lea Shane: The Lick ObservatoryShane, Mary LeaCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1969-08-05Dr. Shane was an astronomer, historian, and wife of the former Director of the Lick Observatory. Her association with the Lick Observatory began in 1919, when she moved up to Mount Hamilton for a year's postgraduate work, work which eventually resulted in her Ph.D. thesis. The first section of her manuscript is concerned with the workings of the Observatory in the 1919 period-- the apparatus, the astronomers, the duties of the graduate assistants-- as well as the more mundane subjects such as food, lodging, water supply, and health care. Since Dr. Shane had for years been the Observatory's unofficial historian-in-residence, she and the interviewer took an all-day trip to Mount Hamilton. The resulting eighty pages of manuscript, which form the middle portion of the volume, focus on the history of the Mount Hamilton road and development of the various telescopes. Dr. Shane also comments on a number of astronomers and observatories throughout the world. In the final portion of the volume, Dr. Shane describes the administrative and technical problems her husband, Dr. Donald Shane, faced as Director of the Observatory from 1945-1958, as well as amusing anecdotes of everyday life on the mountain.Lick ObservatoryUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historywomen astronomersapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4q3206g8https://escholarship.org/content/qt4q3206g8/qt4q3206g8.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4wn6f2912021-05-19T16:04:13Zqt4wn6f291Seeds of Something Different: An Oral History of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Volume IIReti, Irene H.Vanderscoff, CameronRabkin, Sarah2020-04-01In the 1960s, a small team of innovators gathered on a stunning sweep of land overlooking the California coast. They envisioned a new and different kind of university—one that could reinvent public higher education in the United States. Through this two-volume oral history of the University of California, Santa Cruz, we hear first-person accounts of the campus’s evolution, from the origins of an audacious dream through the sea changes of five decades. More than two hundred narrators and a trove of archival images contribute to this dynamic, nuanced account. Today, UC Santa Cruz is a leading research university with experimental roots. This is the story of what was learned, what was lost, and what has grown along the way.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/4wn6f291https://escholarship.org/content/qt4wn6f291/qt4wn6f291.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt68v4q9sf2021-05-19T15:59:03Zqt68v4q9sfSeeds of Something Different: An Oral History of the University of California, Santa Cruz--Volume 1Reti, Irene H.Vanderscoff, CameronRabkin, Sarah2020-04-01In the 1960s, a small team of innovators gathered on a stunning sweep of land overlooking the California coast. They envisioned a new and different kind of university—one that could reinvent public higher education in the United States. Through this two-volume oral history of the University of California, Santa Cruz, we hear first-person accounts of the campus’s evolution, from the origins of an audacious dream through the sea changes of five decades. More than two hundred narrators and a trove of archival images contribute to this dynamic, nuanced account. Today, UC Santa Cruz is a leading research university with experimental roots. This is the story of what was learned, what was lost, and what has grown along the way.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/68v4q9sfhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt68v4q9sf/qt68v4q9sf.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7f04q4352021-04-01T16:42:29Zqt7f04q435The Empty Year: An Oral History of the Pandemic(s) of 2020 at UC Santa CruzVanderscoff, CameronReti, Irene H2021-04-01 At the University of California, Santa Cruz and across the world, 2020 was a year of not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but pandemics, plural. While the pandemic can be mapped and tracked and tallied with numbers, for it to be understood and felt for many, if not most people, we need stories. This collection of twenty-two oral history interviews, gathered in late 2020 by UCSC students under the auspices of the Library’s Regional History Project, is an impressionistic illustration of an unstable present, exploring a range of ways people have encountered and interpreted this time. Some narrators speak primarily of racism and racial justice; for others, COVID-19 is in the extreme foreground. Others raise questions of economic justice in America and more locally for graduate students at UCSC; still others address climate change, since the CZU Lightning Complex fires also exploded across Santa Cruz County in 2020 and nearly consumed the campus itself. A hardback version of this book can be purchased online from Lulu.com at:https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/irene-reti-and-cameron-vanderscoff/the-empty-year/hardcover/product-2d5q98.html?page=1&pageSize=4COVID-19 pandemicCalifornia historyoral historyUC Santa Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/7f04q435https://escholarship.org/content/qt7f04q435/qt7f04q435.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3k73500j2019-05-21T16:34:08Zqt3k73500jStudent Interviews Fifty Years Later: An Oral HistoryVanderscoff, CameronReti, Irene2018-03-01The Regional History Project at UC Santa Cruz has rich collections of interviews with generations of narrators, ranging across the administration, faculty, and staff. In the early years of the campus, founding director Elizabeth Spedding Calciano conducted two rounds of interviews focused on the student experience at what was then the newest campus of the University of California. Those interviews, conducted in 1967 and 1969 as the campus was still adding a new college every year, give a window into the original UCSC experiment, and into a time of sociocultural transformation as students responded to the Vietnam War and other social justice issues of the time. While the Project’s archive includes various individual interviews with students conducted in the intervening years, in 2016 a decision was made by director Irene Reti to launch a follow-up endeavor focused specifically on the student perspective at UCSC today. The ensuing project, Student Interviews: 50 Years Later, consists of fourteen interviews conducted in April and October 2017 in a conference room the McHenry Library. In many ways, it was a very different endeavor from the original Student Interviews. At the beginning of 1967, there were only two colleges at UCSC; in 2017, there were ten, and the student population had boomed exponentially from less than 1,000 to more than 18,000. UCSC has grown into a major research university, offering more than sixty undergraduate majors and dozens of graduate programs across the divisions. In selecting students, there were new challenges of scale, and the challenge of finding a scope of voices that could speak to meaningfully different and diverse experiences on campus became a project in itself. However, while many things have changed at UCSC, this was a venture of continuities as well. Like the original Student Interviews, we accepted from the beginning that it was neither possible nor desirable to strive for a group that could fully represent the student story at UCSC. In addition to that story being far too plural and varied, we know that surprise and singularity are as much an element in oral history work as trends and commonalities. This is a gathering of unique and powerful life histories. That said, we did seek a group that could illustrate distinct points along the range of student experience here. Taking our cue from the ’67 and ‘69 interviews, we contacted the provost of each college for recommendations, compiling a long list that we narrowed down to our final candidates. We also reached out to the directors of the resource centers, EOP, the graduate division, and selected student organizations. As a result, all ten colleges are represented here, as are many resource centers. While the group is mostly undergraduates, we do have graduate students as well. We also made certain that we had majors from all divisions, and strove for an intersectionally diverse and dynamic group, exploring relationships to place and space through the lens of racial and ethnic identity, sexuality, gender, class, and other markers of social difference. For 50 Years Later, this task was baked into our larger exploration of our narrators’ academic and extracurricular work at UCSC, as well as their life histories, inspirations, struggles, and aspirations.One notable bias of our selection process is that, since we largely relied on faculty and staff recommendations, we tended to locate students that were exceptionally involved in their residential or academic communities, and were therefore especially visible to their recommenders. There are, of course, many other students who choose different spheres of involvement, or who, especially in the context of a growing research university, may simply not find the same recognition. For those who are struck by the thoughtfulness, eloquence, and importance of the stories included in this compendium, it is our hope that this reading can be the beginning of a greater curiosity and connection with the breadth of the student experience at UCSC. These are voices that need to be heard more widely and more clearly when it comes to the present and future of this campus. An unexpected parallel between the ’67 and ‘69 student interviews and this new ’17 project came through the rise of political awareness, activism, and debate at UCSC in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump. The Sixties interviews took place in the Johnson and Nixon presidencies, a time when many students here were asking pointed questions about the priorities of their school, the Vietnam War, the nature of their education, and the future of justice in their society. These themes return in our 2017 interviews, as students share their life journeys of coming to this campus, their work finding a place here—more than one narrator describes our campus as a “PWI [predominantly white institution]”—and their hopes for how their UCSC education can shape their opportunities and outlook going forward. While some of their stories are particular to certain colleges or majors, many shine a light on deeper issues about this campus, including who is welcome here, how students adapt and make their way in their education, and what debates, dialogues, and differences mark the institution today. These are stories of community, stories of creativity, and stories of critique alike. application/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3k73500jhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3k73500j/qt3k73500j.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9nq3v1812016-04-20T15:50:34Zqt9nq3v181Crossing Borders: The UCSC Women's Center, 1985-2005Moglen, HeleneFrantz, MargeOlsen, KathieLopez-Flores, BeatrizOsborne, ArylynSnowdon, ShaneValdez, RobertaReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC LibraryReti, Irene2005-10-01Founded with a broad vision far beyond that of most academic women's centers, the UCSC Women's Center has served not only students, but also staff and faculty, as well as the surrounding community. Conceived of and completed for the twentieth anniversary, of the Women's Center, this oral history volume features seven interviews with narrators who address the vision and achievements, as well as the challenges faced by the Women's Center over time. The interviews are with two of the founding faculty, Helene Moglen and Marge Frantz, as well as five staff women who served as either directors or assistant directors, or both: Kathie Olsen, Beatriz Lopez-Flores, Arlyn Osborne, Shane Snowdon, and Roberta Valdez.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9nq3v181https://escholarship.org/content/qt9nq3v181/qt9nq3v181.pdfnon_textualoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6kk0m72p2015-07-08T15:51:09Zqt6kk0m72pThe Early History of UC Santa Cruz's Farm and GardenLee, PaulNorris, PhyllisMartin, OrinTamura, DennisHagege, MayaJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library2002-11-10The Early History of UCSC's Farm and Garden documents the emergence of the organic gardening and farming movement in Santa Cruz. It includes interviews with Paul Lee, Phyllis Norris, Orin Martin, and Dennis Tamura, who were involved in the early years of the Garden. Maya Hagege, a former Farm and Garden apprentice and UCSC alumna, conducted the interviews, which were edited by Jarrell.Established in 1967 by master gardener Alan Chadwick, the original site was a neglected 4-acre plot at Merrill College which he and his student apprentices transformed into a magnificent terraced garden. In this pioneering realization of organic gardening Chadwick taught students French intensive horticultural techniques, including the back-breaking labor of double-digging garden beds, the use of composting for enriching the soil, and the elimination of pesticides. The recollections of Chadwick describe the quixotic founder of the Garden, who inspired a generation of students who went on to launch the organic farming movement in Santa Cruz County and throughout the country. According to his friends and apprentices, his singular personality combined the qualities of a Pied Piper and a Johnny Appleseed, of a vexing and inspired visionary who taught his students to read the landscape of the Garden and to discover the interrelationships among land, climate, plants, and soil.This early campus experiment subsequently evolved into the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food systems, now a respected academic program. Paul Lee was instrumental in assisting Chadwick found the Garden, and subsequently established the Chadwick Archive at Green Gulch Farm in Marin County. Phyllis Norris describes her experiences as a leading member of the Friends of the Farm and Garden and the development of the apprenticeship program. Orin Martin, a former apprentice, became manager of the student garden project in 1977 and has initiated a number of programs linking the community and the Farm. He also describes changes in the Farm's landscape and the variety of crops and fruit trees which have been cultivated over the years. Dennis Tamura, a Chadwick apprentice and the coordinator of the apprentice program from 1978-1985, provides a detailed account of Chadwick's unconventional pedagogy, his peregrinations in founding other gardens in California, and the evolution of the Farm and Garden.UCSC Farm and GardenAlan Chadwick GardenAgroecologyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6kk0m72phttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6kk0m72p/qt6kk0m72p.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt337710482015-07-07T15:54:39Zqt33771048The Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989, A UCSC Student Oral History Documentary ProjecReti, IreneRegional History Project, UCSC Library2006-05-01On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m. a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on the San Andreas Fault shook the Central Coast of California and lasted for fifteen seconds. The epicenter of the quake lay near Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about ten miles northeast of the city of Santa Cruz, deep in the redwoods of Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. The focus point was at a depth of ten miles. This earthquake killed sixty-three people and injured 3,757 others, and caused an estimated six billion dollars in property damage. It was the largest earthquake to occur on the San Andreas fault since the great San Francisco earthquake in April 1906.While the national media covered the damage in the San Francisco Bay Area extensively, far less attention was paid to the effects of the earthquake in Santa Cruz County, where the earthquake was actually centered. In the city of Santa Cruz much of the downtown Pacific Garden Mall, composed of older brick structures located on unconsolidated river sediments, collapsed, killing three people and injuring others. Ten miles to the south in Watsonville, a largely Spanish-speaking city, buildings also crumbled and people were killed. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, landslides closed many roads including Highway 17, which traverses the rugged mountains between Santa Cruz and San Jose, and for several days traffic was allowed through only in escorted convoys.In the spring quarter of 1990 the Regional History Project sponsored a student internship class entitled, "An Interdisciplinary Oral History of the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake". Randall Jarrell, who was the project's director for many years, was the instructor for the class, which was co-sponsored with UCSC faculty members John Dizikes in history and Conn Hallinan in journalism. Five students signed up for the course. They completed eleven oral history interviews.One of the interviews is with Barbara Garcia, who was director of Salud Para La Gente, a bilingual primary health care facility serving the greater Watsonville area. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, this community organization stepped in to address the enormous problems created by the lack of bilingual/bicultural volunteers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross. Diane Chang-Wilson interviewed eleven members of a fifth grade class at Rio del Mar School in Aptos. Chang-Wilson's oral histories provide candid reflections from children on how they felt and experienced the earthquake. Other interviews include Quinton Skinner, who was a UCSC student and an employee at Universes Records on the Pacific Garden Mall at the time of the quake; seventy-two year old Mayme Metcalf, who managed a small apartment complex in the Beach Flats area of Santa Cruz; Ramona Noriega, a UCSC re-entry student and mother of four children; and several narrators who had committed to a program of recovery from addiction to alcohol or other drugs when the earthquake happened. These oral histories illuminate the diverse subjectivity of this historical event in ways that are not captured in news photos and articles, and geological or engineering reports on structural damage.Santa Cruz County historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/33771048https://escholarship.org/content/qt33771048/qt33771048.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt958665h42015-07-07T14:56:12Zqt958665h4The UCSC Arboretum: A Grand ExperimentReti, IreneRegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz LibraryHall, BrettHarder, DanielNorris, Phyllis2007-11-01The UCSC Arboretum grows nearly ten thousand plant species from around the world, has imported over 2,500 ornamentals, and enriched countless gardens by introducing native plants to the nursery trade. Arboretum staff and volunteers teach undergraduate classes, make presentations in K-12 classes in area schools, offer plant consultations to members of the community, provide legal testimony on rare species, and participate in international research efforts and local conservation initiatives. But how did this unique arboretum come to flourish at UC Santa Cruz? The UCSC Arboretum: A Grand Experiment: An Oral History addresses this question. This volume includes three oral histories, a historical introduction, a timeline, photographs, and other archival material; it chronicles the development of the UCSC Arboretum over the past forty years through interviews with Brett Hall, Phyllis Norris, and Daniel Harder, three key individuals who have shaped the Arboretum's history.UC Santa Cruz ArboretumDrought Tolerant Plantsapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/958665h4https://escholarship.org/content/qt958665h4/qt958665h4.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt6dj7r50d2015-03-09T16:55:39Zqt6dj7r50dUC Santa Cruz in the Mid-1970s, a Time of Transition, Volume II, Professor George Von der MuhllReti, Irene H.Von der Muhll, GeorgeJarrell, Randall2015-03-09On January 23, 1976, UC Santa Cruz’s second chancellor, Mark N. Christensen, resigned from office. He had served the campus from July 1974 to January 1976. This second of two oral history volumes devoted to the Christensen era, is comprised of two interviews with Professor George Von der Muhll. The first was conducted by former Regional History Project director Randall Jarrell in 1976; the second by current Project director Irene Reti in 2014. Both set Christensen’s resignation within the broader context of a tumultuous and transitional moment in the campus’s history and Von der Muhll’s incisive reflections on UC Santa Cruz as a “noble experiment” in public higher education. George Von der Muhll is now an emeritus professor of politics at UCSC. He arrived at UC Santa Cruz in 1969, affiliated with College Five (Porter College), where he was acting provost at the time of the interview conducted by Randall Jarrell in 1976. Von der Muhll earned a BA from Oberlin College; MSc from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from Harvard University. He retired in 1994. Von der Muhll shares his thoughts, not only on the Christensen administration, but also on the reaggregation and reorganization programs of the late 1970s, in which he played a central role. He also contemplates UC Santa Cruz as an experiment in public higher education, from the perspective of fifty years after the campus was founded. University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyUC Santa Cruz college systemhigher educationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/6dj7r50dhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt6dj7r50d/qt6dj7r50d.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt06p093mz2014-09-24T16:21:07Zqt06p093mzStudent Interviews: 1969, Volume IISmith, Russell E.Corcoran, Michael G.Shea, MarilynJune, Margaret ZweibackJune, Richard E. FernauCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1971-03-11A series of interviews with twelve members of the first four-year graduating class at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Among the twelve were two students who had been interviewed in 1967 and four who had transferred into the class at the junior level. As in the 1967 series, the students were asked to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the University, administration, faculty, classes, and general campus life. This they did very candidly. By happenstance, the interviews were scheduled over a two-week period that included the campus's first serious student strike and first building takeover. Thus the interviews tend to give the anatomy of the student strike as it developed. The philosophy of the students interviewed ranged from conservative to radical and their participation in the strike ranged from inactivity to leadership roles in the strike organization.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historystudent life 1960sapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/06p093mzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt06p093mz/qt06p093mz.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3h0818t22014-09-24T12:31:18Zqt3h0818t2Student Interviews: 1969 v.1Luber, LindaBulf, EllenOmatsu, GlennGentle, ThomTaub, JohnHowells, CatherineLance, Cynthia CliffCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1971-03-11A series of interviews with twelve members of the first four-year graduating class at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Among the twelve were two students who had been interviewed in 1967 and four who had transferred into the class at the junior level. As in the 1967 series, the students were asked to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the University, administration, faculty, classes, and general campus life. This they did very candidly. By happenstance, the interviews were scheduled over a two-week period that included the campus's first serious student strike and first building takeover. Thus the interviews tend to give the anatomy of the student strike as it developed. The philosophy of the students interviewed ranged from conservative to radical and their participation in the strike ranged from inactivity to leadership roles in the strike organization.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historystudent life 1960sapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3h0818t2https://escholarship.org/content/qt3h0818t2/qt3h0818t2.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt67x8j8hd2014-09-24T12:28:42Zqt67x8j8hdStudent Interviews: 1967Sward, SusanEhrenberg, Marsha AnneWolfberg, Nancy EllenSmith, Russell E.Farney, Michael N.Conradson, LeonardHunter, AllenBulf, Ellen MarieGoodman, Allan JamieFresco, MikePetrik, Susan MaeForbes, ChristinaCalciano, Elizabeth SpeddingRegional History Project, UCSC Library1968-01-01A series of fifteen- to thirty-minute interviews was conducted with eight members of the first graduating class of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and with four sophomores who were members of the first four-year class to graduate from the Santa Cruz campus. The students spoke quite candidly about the strengths and weaknesses of the University, administration, faculty, classes, and general campus life, and commented on the changes that they thought should or would occur as the campus grows larger.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historystudent life 1960sapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/67x8j8hdhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt67x8j8hd/qt67x8j8hd.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3rn6001j2014-08-26T12:18:07Zqt3rn6001jF.M. Glenn Willson: Early UCSC History and the Founding of Stevenson CollegeWillson, F.M. GlennJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1989-10-23Glenn Willson addresses campus developments from January 1965, when he joined the early faculty, until his resignation in 1975, when he returned home to England. During this period he held a number of campus appointments, including the provostship at Stevenson College from 1967 to 1975, and service as the chair of the Academic Senate; as Vice-Chancellor, College and Student Affairs; and as acting chair of the Theater Arts Committee.Willson focuses on three aspects of UCSC history in this volume. First, he provides his recollections of the complexities in building a public, residential, college-based university campus. A second major focus is the establishment and evolution of Stevenson College. Thirdly, he frames the development of UC Santa Cruz in the cultural and political context of the 1960s.University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz historyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/3rn6001jhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt3rn6001j/qt3rn6001j.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5zs7n9hv2014-08-14T14:22:25Zqt5zs7n9hvGeorge Barati: A Life in MusicBarati, GeorgeJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UCSC Library1991-01-01George Barati was a distinguished cellist, conductor, and composer. Born in Gyor, Hungary, Barati lived in the United States from 1938 until his death in 1996. His recollections include highlights of his international career as cellist, conductor, and composer spanning some 60 years, and reflections on the state of the musical arts in the United States since the end of World War II.Barati graduated from the Franz Liszt Conservatory of Music in Budapest in 1935. During the 1930s he was a member of the Budapest Concert Orchestra, where he played under the most celebrated conductors of his era. He was a founding member of the Pro Ideale Quartet and studied or performed with Bartok, Dohnanyi, and other eminent faculty members at the Liszt Conservatory. While still a student he became first cellist with the Budapest Symphony and the Municipal Opera. Barati settled in the United States in Princeton, New Jersey in 1938. There he taught cello at Princeton University and studied composition with Roger Sessions from 1938 to 1943.In 1946 Barati moved to San Francisco, where he was a member of the San Francisco Symphony during the tenure of Pierre Monteux. He was also a member of the California String Quartet and founding conductor of the Barati Chamber Orchestra of San Francisco from 1948 to 1952. Barati also began to achieve recognition for his own compositions at this time.From 1950 to 1968 Barati was music director of the Honolulu Symphony and Opera. During this period he also began an extensive international conducting career that included guest and visiting conducting appearances with some 85 orchestras on five continents, including Japan, Europe, and Latin America.In 1968 Barati returned to the mainland and became executive director of the Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts and conductor of the Villa Montalvo Chamber Orchestra in Saratoga, California. From 1971 to 1980 he was music director of the Santa Cruz County Symphony.In addition to his conducting career, he was a juror for the Mitropoulos Competition for Conductors from 1957 to 1970, and participated as a juror for both the Metropolitan and San Francisco Opera Competitions. His honors and awards include the doctor of music, Honoris Causa, from the University of Hawaii in 1955, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1965-66, the Ditson Award in 1962, and the Naumberg Award for Composition in 1959.George BaratiSanta Cruz County Symphonyapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5zs7n9hvhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5zs7n9hv/qt5zs7n9hv.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt175935jh2014-04-23T11:56:48Zqt175935jhUC Santa Cruz in the Mid-1970s: A Time of Transition, Volume I: John Marcum, Sigfried Puknat, Robert Adams, John Ellis, and Paul NiebanckReti, Irene H.Jarrell, RandallMarcum, JohnPuknat, SiegfriedAdams, RobertEllis, JohnNiebanck, Paul2014-04-23On January 23, 1976, UC Santa Cruz’s second chancellor, Mark N. Christensen, resigned from office. He had served the campus from July 1974 to January 1976. These two oral history volumes, comprised of interviews conducted between 1976 and 1980, set Christensen’s resignation within the broader context of a tumultuous and transitional moment in the campus’s history. Founding Chancellor Dean McHenry had brought to fruition his singular vision for UC Santa Cruz as an innovative institution of higher education that emphasized undergraduate teaching centered in residential colleges, each with a specific intellectual theme and architectural design, within the framework of what he envisioned as a major public research university. McHenry oversaw the planning and building of UCSC from 1961 until his retirement in June 1974. In the early years, UCSC drew high caliber students and gained considerable national visibility as an innovative university. But by the mid-1970s, applications were declining and enrollments were on the verge of falling. Internally, the campus was fracturing along fault lines created by debates over the colleges’ academic role and over the relative weight to be placed on research and teaching, while UCSC struggled to weather a variety of external political and economic pressures and to hold its own as a distinctive campus within the traditional University of California.Christensen’s tenure as chancellor rather tragically ended in controversy after only eighteen months. Although most of the faculty liked Christensen as a person, they lost confidence in his ability to govern the campus. The Regional History Project never conducted an oral history with Mark Christensen, who passed away in 2003. But former director Randall Jarrell completed a series of interviews with key faculty members and administrators who had been directly involved in the Christensen case. Jarrell decided to withhold publication of these oral histories due to their sensitive political nature at the time. Now, nearly four decades later, we are able to publish these volumes as part of the Project’s Institutional History of UCSC series.This is a two-volume publication. The five oral histories in volume one not only illuminate the painful events leading up to the resignation of Chancellor Christensen, they capture and reflect on the “McHenry years” and on a complex and challenging period in the history of what was then a young, still experimental, and somewhat vulnerable campus of the University of California. The second volume contains a brief oral history with George Von Der Muhll conducted by Randall Jarrell in 1976 and then a much longer, follow-up oral history with George Von Der Muhll conducted by Irene Reti in 2014, in which Von der Muhll shares his thoughts not only on the Christensen administration, but also on the reaggregation and reorganization programs of the late 1970s, in which he played a central role. He also contemplates UC Santa Cruz as an experiment in public higher education, from the perspective of fifty years after the campus was founded. For reasons of chronology and length, we decided to dedicate a separate volume to Von Der Muhll’s interview. A third oral history volume, Daniel H. McFadden: The Chancellor Mark Christensen Era at UC Santa Cruz, 1974-1976, also originally part of this series was published in 2012 and is available on the Regional History website.UC Santa Cruz historyhistory of higher educationapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/175935jhhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt175935jh/qt175935jh.pdfmonographoai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5d37c5gz2013-04-23T17:51:37Zqt5d37c5gzOakes College: An Oral HistoryBlake, J. HermanCrespi, RobertoRothman, DonaldCharland, RayLacy, GwenCowan, KathyShensa, RoseanneReti, IreneJarrell, RandallRegional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library2011-05-01College Seven (Oakes College) opened in at UCSC in 1972 with the vision of creating a multicultural community dedicated to the goals of equality and freedom from oppression. Student-faculty interaction was encouraged, as well as a strong counseling component, to address personal issues. Quotas were rejected in favor of recruiting a diverse studentand faculty body, and the core curriculum focused on cultural pluralism. Much of the core curriculum focused on teaching writing and science skills, both of which were neglected in the education of historically marginalized students. The idea was that students would take these acquired skills back to their home communities.These oral history interviews were conducted in 1982, ten years after Oakes College opened, by Roseanne Shensa, a UCSC student under the mentorship of then- Regional History Project director Randall Jarrell. Publication was delayed due to lack of resources for transcription.Oakes CollegeUC Santa Cruzapplication/pdfpubliceScholarship, University of Californiahttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5d37c5gzhttps://escholarship.org/content/qt5d37c5gz/qt5d37c5gz.pdfmonograph