April 8, 2005

Paths to Evergreen

Evergreen history collection finds a permanent home

EVC library houses collection in Evergreen Heritage Room

By Bea Baechle
Editor

After years of being tucked away in boxes, Evergreen’s historical memorabilia has finally found a permanent home. About 100 people attended the grand opening celebration of the Evergreen Heritage Room on March 31 to commemorate this feat.

Councilmember Dave Cortese shares some of his memories about growing up in Evergreen.

Evergreen Valley College (EVC) hosted the event, and the Heritage Collection was displayed throughout EVC’s new Library and Educational/ Technology Center. Vicki Atherton, Library director, welcomed the visitors to the new room, which will be the permanent home of the Heritage Collection. 

Photos of old Evergreen, a family genealogy of the Antonio Chaboya Family, maps, donated paintings of early Evergreen scenes, documents and much more were on display. Photos of the Reidel Family orchard showed what the area looked like before the college was built on San Felipe Road.

“This partnership with Evergreen Valley College is a tribute to Evergreen and the many years of collection that made this day possible,” said Evergreen Historian Colleen Cortese, who has spearheaded the effort of documenting Evergreen’s unique history. “The stories and information we share are made possible because of the generous spirit of those who came before us.”

“To know who they were and how hard life was for them is important, and yet, they chose Evergreen for their home,” she continued. “They came here with dreams and hopes. They came for their families to have a future. They came to build their home, school and faith community. This small valley continues to attract people with the same hopes and dreams. Our Evergreen will always be a special place to live.”  

Special guests
Several special guests brought their own displays to enhance the Evergreen Heritage Room’s debut, including John Ramos of “El Primer Pueblo Libreria,” Evelyn Martinez, president of Los Fundadores and Susan Samuels Drake, author of “Fields of Courage, Remembering Cesar Chavez & the People Whose Labor Feeds Us.”

Former EVC trustee Dr. John Marlow, EVC Library Director Vicki Atherton and Evergreen Historian Colleen Cortese display a photo of Marlow breaking ground for Evergreen Valley College in 1973.

Leonard and Barbara Espinosa of The Villages represented Los Californianos—a group of about 600 who are direct-line descendants of the Hispanics who settled in this area from 1769 to 1848. Leonard’s lineage includes one of the soldiers who helped establish Pueblo San Jose as the first settlement in California.

“I grew up here. This is a very, very beautiful place that we live in, and we should be pleased,” said Leonard, whose parents were the last operators of the Silver Creek mine. “I’ve been to many parts of the world, but there are none with a climate like this.”

He remembers living across from what is now James Lick High School and riding his bike to an Evergreen of open fields and hillsides, flowers and fruit trees. “They say this was such a successful place to grow fruit because it was warm during the day and cool in the evening, which drew the sugar out of the fruit.”

As a permanent remembrance of the Evergreen Valley’s beauty, he even commissioned a painting of the view from his home in The Villages—as he remembered it in 1948.

Phyllis Edwards Wall, who enjoyed the opening celebration immensely, explained that she is a direct descendant of the Cottle family that came to this area from Vermont in the 1860s via covered wagon. Her grandmother was one of the pioneer family’s 11 girls.

Ken McMurry (right) discusses the history of Evergreen Valley with longtime Evergreen residents Paul and Fran Meyer. The Meyers moved to Creekside in 1968.

Today, Phyllis lives in her grandmother’s home up Aborn Road, which holds great sentimental value for her, because she and her father were born in that house. The rose bushes her grandmother planted are still there.

Councilmember Dave Cortese dropped in at the Evergreen Heritage Room’s opening celebration, too.

“Having grown up in Evergreen, I was impressed that the Heritage Room provides such an accurate portrayal of our local past for the average visitor,” he said. “For me, some of the art exhibits and old clippings were stunningly vivid. Much of it brought me back to the sights and panoramas of my childhood over 40 years ago. I hope others are inspired to use the Heritage Room as a repository for additional historic documentation about Evergreen.”

Margaret Chaboya Licon appreciated receiving copies of her family genealogy at the grand opening. “This is a great honor to have all this information available right here in Evergreen,” she noted.

Using the Heritage Room
Atherton explained that members of the community are welcome to use the Evergreen Heritage Room located in EVC’s new library. Reference librarians hold the key to the room, but she recommends making an appointment with her if you’re interested in using the room for research.

Barbara Bettencourt (Chaboya) and Councilmember Dave Cortese view photographs of Evergreen Village.

“Our goal is have an advisory committee representing different segments of the community to help generate more materials and take it to the next step of making it more available,” said Atherton.

She dreams of creating a “traveling history show” that could rotate throughout the Evergreen School District and other places interested in displaying aspects of the Heritage Collection.

Concluded Vince Cortese, “Fifty years from now—when all of us are gone who still remember early Evergreen as a village with vineyards and orchards—the things that you see here today at this event will be the only record to remind people of future generations of our heritage. This is why it is important for contributions of photos and stories of the past and present be collected for the Heritage Room.”

To make an appointment to use the Evergreen Heritage Room, call Vicki Atherton (408) 274-7900, ext. 6503, or e-mail her at: Victoria.Atherton@evc.edu.