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ENGLISH SECTION
15 de Abril de 2011
California Chronicles
Ferreira Moreno
T
he name given to the town of Walnut Creek, in Contra Costa County, is a translation from the Spanish name of the creek, recorded in 1810 as Arroyo de los Nogales (creek of walnut trees), later renamed Arroyo de las Nueces (creek of walnuts). Apparently, in the early days, there were plenty of black-walnut trees growing along the creek. The land grant, awarded in 1834 by Governor Jose Figueroa, to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, was called Rancho Arroyo de las Nueces y Bolbones. (Bolbones was the name of a Native American tribe in the vicinity of Mount Diablo). The townsite, named after Arroyo de las Nueces, became Walnut Creek when the post office was established there in the 1860's. However, the town's original name was The Corners, "because roads converged here from Lafayette and Oakland to the west, from Martinez and Concord to the north, and from Livermore and Hayward to the south." (Historic Spots in California). According to Robert Daras Tatam, (Old Times in Contra Costa), "native black walnut trees grew profusely in the valleys and along the creeks in Centra, Contra Costa.
Early farmers realized that walnuts could become a cash crop. After wheat farms lost their profitability in the 1890's, mile after mile of walnut orchards appeared in the area, developing rapidly after World WM I.� As Tatam further pointed out: "In 1920 the local farmers organized the Contra Costa County Walnut Growers Association. A plant was built in Walnut Creek to process and pack the nuts for shipment. The plant processed 250 tons the first year. Production increased year by year as more members came into the association, while the plant was expanded in successive years, making it necessary to build a second plant in 1937 and another in 1951. Later the packing operations were moved to a plant in Stockton, but the Wlnut Creek plant was kept for grading, sizing, and bleaching. However, all this would soon change when the walnut orchards in Contra Costa gave way to tracts of ranch-style homes." Recently I had the opportunity to visit one of Walnut Creek's notable features, which has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. I am referring to the
Youthful Thinking
Monica Soares
msoares2@student.yosemite.edu
O
n Friday March 11, 2011, many young showmen went out to Tulare for a dairy show. There were numerous great cows shown in various classes. In the registered show, Marissa Soares had first place in the Jr. 3 year old class, second place in the Sr. 3 year old class and second place in the 4 year old class. All of these cows went on into the final round of registered cows and Marissa ended up receiving Honorable Mention. In the grade show, Sr. 2 year old class Monica Soares received first in the class. Monica also had first place in the Sr. 3 year old class and first place in the Aged Cow class. All three of these cows also went on into the Final round
Walnut Creek Memories Old Borges Ranch, located at 1035 Castle Rock Road. The Borges Ranch comprises seven main buildings, including the lovely one-story farmhouse built by Francisco and Maria Borges in 1899. The site is a prime example of a rural cattle ranch from the period of the late 1890's and early 1900' s. The property has remained in the Borges family for four generations, and is still an active, working cattle ranch today. Contra Costa County acquired the Borges Ranch (a 700-acre spread), along with, 2,300 acres of meadow and woodland, and designated it as an Open Space Area. It is operated today by ,the City of Walnut Creek as part of the park system. In his book "Walnut Creek, Arroyo de las Nueces", published in 1999, George Emanuels dedicated an entire chapter to the Portuguese, who, like Francisco Borges, were natives of the Azores Islands. As stated by Emanuels, "all through the early growing years in Walnut Creek, Portuguese immigrants or their descendants made a mark on the town. Their industry, foresight, thrift and business acumen made their heritage a valuable adjunct to the community. Among their number is the town's first banker, two early auto-
mobile dealers, many successful farmers, a city mayor, and Walnut Creek's pioneer real estate broker.� Unfortunately, Emanuels committed a horrendous and inexcusable gaffe when he inferred that the religious basis for one of the Portuguese most treasured and cherished traditions (the Holy Ghost annual celebration) dates back to a great famine in Portugal in the 18th century. Emanuels wrote: "Hunger and starvation were so widespread that Queen Isabella (sic) promised in her prayers to deliver her crown of jewels for food, when a storm came up and blew food-laden ships, which, had been becalmed for weeks, into port (sic). The Queen had the food distributed free to all the suffering people," In closing, let me assure you that Emanuels was mistaken, and such events never took place. Actually, Queen St. Isabel (canonized as Saint in 1625) did promote devotion and festivities in honor of the Holy Ghost, but she died in 1336, hundreds of years before the 18th century.
Dairy show in Tulare
for grade champion. The Sr. 3 year old was named Reserved Champion and the Aged Cow was the Grade Grand champion. This Aged Cow went on to compete against the Jersey who won the Jersey show and ended up winning Supreme Grand Champion. It took a lot of time preparing for this show and all of the hard work and dedication really paid off. Congratulations to Monica and Marissa. A special thank you goes out to Manny Azevedo, Joseph Silva and their parents Germano and Jacinta for all of their support, help and devotion.
Upper: Marissa Soares and the "Reserved Champion", Monica with the "Grand Champion" Below/left: honorable mention in the registered show. Right: Grade Sr. 3 - Reserved Grand Champion.