W e e k l y COLTON COURIER
Vol 146 , NO. 44
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Octo ber 18, 2018
South Colton Oral Histor y Project of fer s glimpse of 1890-1970 Mexican society tory of South Colton was at risk of disappearing. Dr. Tom Rivera, eager to fill in the historical blanks and record the stories of the community, collaborated with fellow retired educators Frank Acosta and Colton native Henry J. Vásquez to interview those who lived in the community from 1890 - 1970.
THIS WEEK Gloria’s Cor ner Pg. 3
Yellowjackets football
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By Maryjoy Duncan
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acism, segregation and poverty characterized Colton from the 1890s – through the mid 1950s, yet a small Mexican community in the
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southern part of the city thrived amid culture, family and self-sufficiency.
yet there are very few, if any, recorded accounts of the “Mexican” side of town.
The 1.3-square-mile area, referred today as South Colton, was rich in history and heritage,
As the older generation who lived during the turn of the 20th century started to perish, the his-
The ongoing South Colton History Project was initiated in 2013 with the support of Cesar Caballero, Dean of the California State University, San Bernardino Pfau Library. To date the trio has conducted over 70 interviews, one hour to one-and-a-half hours in length. 25 of those videos have been successfully transcribed and are now History, cont. on pg. 2
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DR. TOM RIVERA
Crestmore Elementar y students have “code” to success
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Gloria’s Corner
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The South Colton Oral History Project, a collaborative effort of Cal State San Bernardino Pfau Library, California Humanities Foundation and the Colton Area Museum, is led by a three-member volunteer research team of retired educators, pictured from left, Henry J. Vásquez, Dr. Tom Rivera, and Frank Acosta. The project is producing a record of life in South Colton, a 1.3 square-mile ethnically segregated Mexican American community in the era from 1890 to 1970. Interviewees are life‐long residents of the area whose parents or grandparents settled there during the study’s time period. In digitally recorded interviews, they shared personal stories and perceptions of life in South Colton. 25 of the 70 recorded interviews are available to the public.
“Time is the enemy of any study attempting to capture what is ‘locked up in the minds of the few,’ for each passing day, those few become fewer and fewer,” stated Dr. Rivera, a South Colton native. “Many of the potential interviewees already identified for this project are in their 80’s, a handful are in their 90’s and 13 have passed away. In South Colton’s case, there are few historical records that can offer insight into what life was like for past generations.”
M
onday afternoons at Crestmore Elementary school are a time of innovation. That’s when Yvette Mezzanatto’s classroom is transformed into the Crestmore Coding Club, a place where 3rd, 4th and 5th graders come to learn and experiment with coding. Mezzanatto developed the club last year with her third grade students and has since expanded it to include fourth and fifth graders. On one recent fall afternoon, students are working on developing their own video games using a program called “Scratch.” Mezzanatto has given her students a challenge: To create a boat race game in which you have to avoid objects. Students deftly take on the challenge; creating boats of various designs, crafting a “course” and introducing objects that might get in the
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Crestmore Elementary School Coding Club participants meet every Monday afternoon. boat’s way. Those who are more adventurous even program sounds for the ship to make when it crashes into the obstacles.
Garrett Lundgren, 9, explains that “coding is where you go into the brain of a game and make it move and do cool stuff.”
CJUSD
“It’s kind of hard,” noted 8year-old Natalie Vasquez, but Coding, cont. on next page