San Benito County Historic Park

San Benito County Parks Celebration

11 am - 2 pm

July 28th

The SBCP had a Gas Engine and Tractor Show
Victorian Games
Antique Car Display
Scavenger Hunt (through the historic village)
"Flash Mob" (Group Dance)
Drawings for Park Passes
Food and Drinks for sale

Movie Night on the Green

I arrived at about 5:30pm. The "Company" that puts on this Movie Night on the Green, is a one-man-show. Driving a van with a trailer, full of high tech "movie" stuff and an inflatible screen, he sit up at 6:00pm and was "putting down" at 11:45pm. Long night.

It was breezy. It was cold in he Stable. The night navy blue with an abundance of stars displayed across the horizon. The ridge was crowned in silver clouds and a half moon beaming down from above. The airline jets blinked across the sky.

About 60 people sat in the darkness in the Green next to the Mission. The Mission hallway was lit up in yellow, cut out like scoops of ice cream the Mission was lit up with its outline in dark blue sky.

The loud system was loud and clear as Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and Peter Pan battled through a chilly night in San Juan.

We sold alot of hot co coa and pop corn.

Pictures of the Musical "Big River" Showing in Hollister

Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I drove from Kingsburg to Hollister, California. I had taken in a Music in the Park night in Kingsburg, listening to the Kingsburg Community Band (my sister plays Bass Clarinet) with my 90 year old Mom.

From 102 degrees weather (at starting time of 7 oclock "PM") to the cool evening of Friday July 20th
in downtown Hollister. I drove my gf and her best friend Bree to the musical. In the entrance of the theater a lady had some cards to send to the cast to encourage them and make comments.

After being seated we sat in the middle of the auditorium, listening to the brass and string band playing the music of the time (Pre Civil War Era America) and out come the singers and actors and "dang" if not one but two of them Ive known for some 17 years, Tony and Jeanette Schneider. Tony played Judge Thatcher (that means Tony plays Becky Thatchers Dad). Is that cool or what! Later on after the musical I got to meet Michael Frelier, who plays Tom Sawyer. That means I got to met Tom Sawyer.

At the Intermission I got to send a message to Tony and Jeanette and afterwards in the street where the audience got to meet the cast, Jeanette acknowledged she and Tony had received my note to them.

And I got to introduce them to my gf and Bree. That was alot of fun.

The music was really good and the singing was very good. Robert Summers (who plays Jim) has a great voice and Tyler Savin (who plays Huckleberry) did a great job dancing, singing, and acting. There is alot of enthusiasm in "Big River" and I highly recommend it. They sell pop corn with seasoning too (the same assortment as at the local movie theater). Directed by Sarah Smith and produced by Anne Hall.

This is the Granada Theatre at 336 Fifth Street in Hollister.

Great Fun!

Note: This is Jeanette Schneider in the foreground behind the Castro-Breen Adobe at the San Juan Bautista History Park.

Plaza History Association Newsletter

July 28 San Benito Parks Celebration 11am-2pm San Benito County Historical Park
Need volunteers to help with the San Juan Bautista SHP "booth"
Movies on the Plaza "Hook" At Sunset, bring blankets and chairs.
Need volunteers to sell "goodies"

Volunteer BBQ (The date has been changed to October, because too many people are going to be absent in August.)  First Saturday in October.

Highlights in the Spring: First Donation of compost, Carol Verbeeck noted the piano needs tuning,
"Movies onthe Plaza" started in June, painting on the adobe wall, and the "Bennie Benitoite Campaign (call 831-636-2068) to volunteer.

Early Days (feedback) Its went well, setting a new record for 194 "paid" admissions on Fathers Day.
The LULAC raised money for scholarships. More volunteers are asked to participate on this weekend.

Awesome Pictorials and Video of the Saloon

Flickr "Loving the Light, Plaza Hotel, San Juan State Historic Park" and Vimeo: Bettina and Uwe Steinmueller "San Juan Bautisa Plaza Hotel"

Both these sites (which are on Goggle) are awesome sites to see the Plaza Hotel and our "Saloon".

The Flickr site is incredible along with pictures of Mission along the Central Coast and Sacramento.

2012 Early Days

Early Days in San Juan

This picture is from the internet story of our recent Early Days at the History Park.

I arrived at about eleven o clock. On the third Saturday of June (Fathers Day Weekend) the History Park has their Early Days. It last two days. This day it was a bright day and we did well at the "Saloon." Our best day of the year was around February, when a group from CSUMB and a tour bus both brought people to the Park, combined with a hot day, and we sold alot of soda.

This month we provided some hot "home made" bread and some apple dessert, which I got a little of both. We had a couple other people helping in the Saloon, so I got out for awhile.

This scene is from behind the Castro-Breen House. Its living history so these people are dresses in period clothing from around the Civil War "post-war" era. Personally, I dress for a person travelling out West after the war.

We had dancers, and a card player in the Saloon. There was a horse drawn wagon (which was for visitors for a fee) and refreshments sold outside. But was had a great assortment of soda inside the Saloon and did better than the people in a tent selling "out on the green."

"Around 1840 a school for Spanish boys was established in San Juan Bautista. The first teacher's name was Hilario Ortiz. He had 12 pupils in his school. The school building was very small. It was made of sticks and mud. The boys began school a the age of five. They learned to read and write. Mr. Ortiz was very severe, but the boys learned in his school. The punishments used in the school were the same as Mr. Ortiz had learned when he was a soldier in the Army. One of his punishments was to strike the pupil's hand with a smooth side of the wooden mallet. There were many schools started in San Benito County in the early days. The first public school was build in 1859. This school was built near San Juan Bautista on the Rocks Road just beyond the cemetary.
     Before this school was build, the parents of the pupils rented buildings at different times. This meant the school was not always in the same place.
     In the early schools, all the teachers were men. Often these teachers were ministers and lawyers who taught school while studying. These free schools were open four or five months each year." (p. 35-36: San Benito County Long Ago and Today)

Old Mission Portland Cement Co. erected a cement plant just outside the town of San Juan Bautista in 1903. This helped keep open the Saloon in San Juan Bautista. This is one of several stories I tell the tourists and locals who come into our Saloon. A couple railroads were established to transport the lime from three locations in San Benito County. A narrowgauge railroad was establish, and later a broadgauge railroad from the plant to Chittenden on the Southern Pacific Central Railroad.
(quarriesandbeyond.org)

The information was compiled by Peggy B. Perazzo and the web master is George (Pat) Perazzo.

Charlie Parker

From a docent's point of view this is a great story. Here you have a woman who comes out West and becomes a stagecoach driver, shoots, fights, cusses, and drinks right along side "the guys" and (though she didnt grow a beard when many men did) very few people suspected she was a woman. Apparently, a family found out when she got drunk once and the son came back from helping "him" to go to bed telling the family "thats a woman!" lol

Actress Karen Kondarzian has written a novel about Charley Parker and has discussed the possibility of making it into a movie, "The Whip."

Charley Parker drove a stagecoach from San Juan Bautista to Santa Cruz. She reportedly "retired" and ran a stagecouch station in the Aptos area and finally died of throat cancer in 1879. 

Two books, "The Strange Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst" by Daniel M. Hall, and "The Coachman was a Lady" by Mabel Rowe Curtis (1959) give an interesting outlook on this legend. If she was a lady, she cussed and fought, she might have laughed at that title. She was a tough woman, thats for sure. 

Charlotte Parkhurst (reportedly) was born New England, 1812-1879, was a famous person of the "Wild West" and a local "legend". There has been alot written about "her", since he was a she. She wore pleated blouses to mask her "figure". Apparently she had quite a "woman" figure and few people knew of it until her death.

Ghosts of San Juan Bautista: My Start to Research

                                                The Zanetta House
                                           This was the home of the owner of the Plaza Hotel and Saloon. It is also
                                            where the "ghost" of Elizabeth the granddaughter of the owner has been
                                            a few times. A young girl in a white dress, who has been seen to vanish
                                            when seen or walk through walls.

                                             This is "Downtown" San Juan Bautista near the Cutting Horse where the
                                          Ghost Walk of San Juan Bautista Pts 1-2 were filmed. The Cutting Horse
                                          Restaurant is now closed. Pictures of the interior can be seen "on-line."

                                              This is the back porch of the Zanetta House and the entrance for San Juan
                                          Bautista park visitors. In the hallway of this building Elizabeth has been
                                          seen. She is the most famous ghost on this state grounds.



Ghost Walk of San Juan Bautista: Part 1-2 and Hpi Chronicles the Ghosts of San Juan Bautista by
Paul Dale Roberts (2008) are both featured "on line" and can be seen using the Google search engine.

Basically the Rotary International supported the "Ghost Walk" hosted by Ms. Kleinsmith (2008).
Its a walk and interview of people of San Juan Bautista who have seen or have talked to others who have felt "chills" and heard "knocks" and "hoverings" around them, as "images" appear around them, sometimes in bed or seeing images in windows. The smell of smoke or breezes through the house on a calm day, that kind of things was observed.

The "Hpi Chronicles" (www.yourghostories.com) has the same events on their website as in the video on U Tube. One of our "ex rangers" was interviewed, Sheryl Neufeld, and she tells of the "siting" of Elizabeth.

I thought the one time she told me of the hearing (herself) of the (she thought) Breen children running around in the second story floor while she was on the first floor. She told me how she hear them "running back and forth."

Sheryl did show a picture of "orbs" seen in a picture in the second story room. This is in the room where the movie Vertigo was filmed, FYI.

The scaryist story Ive heard was from a park ranger who while in a second story room of the  Plaza Hotel, moved his chair up to see a video of the park with another ranger and after the viewing of the film turned around and the rest of the furniture had moved up next to them during the film. They got out of the room really quick.

                                               The Plaza Hotel and Castro-Breen House

In both of these buildings there was been seen or heard "ghost" activity. The moving of furniture in the building on the right, and hearing of childrens feet running around on the left. There was also a documented picture of a digital camera shot with a "face" appearing (on the film) of an undetermined man in the middle of the Saloon, though the door on the lower right corner of the Plaza Hotel.


         

Plaza History Association Newsletter: San Juan Bautista Historic Park

March 10: New Volunteer Orientation
School Kid Help Days: March 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 27, 29, and 30.
April 7: Next PHA Board Meeting 9:30 Plaza Hotel
April 12: Hollister Free Library 95th Birthday 5-6 pm Hollister Library

Happy 30th Anniversary PHA

Note: I realize that this is my 16th year with this San Juan Bautista History Association/Plaza Association and Ive been involved with it for over half of its existence. Only one person was present at our Annual "Mandatory" Meeting. He got a nice "hand."

There will be a New Volunteer Orientation on March 10, 2002 from 9:30-3:00 pm at the Plaza Hotel.

Orientation Break Orientation Continued Lunch on your own quick overview of history Break and a facilities tour.

There will be docent manuals for newcomers.

Contact: Nikki Combs (831-623-2753) or acombs@parks.ca.gov

First Saturday March

Our March First Saturday was well attended. We sold alot of soda and we have alot of visitors. We had a couple play music for us in the bar. Its was wonderful.

I attended the Board Meeting at 9:30, worked for the four hours in the bar and then attended the "all member meeting" afterwards. We voted for the volunteer of the year.

I sat next to our Secretary and listened to our President and various Park Rangers discuss the needs of the park. We have thousands of visitors yearly. Many of these visitors are school children.

The Plaza Association funds signs, support volunteer help with the gardens, and finance members going to state sponsored seminars. We have a reading of the previous months Minutes, listen to our Treasurer's Report, have a Ranger's Report, Park Interpreter's Report, Museum Shop Report, Membership Report, Correspondence, Old Business and New.

My blog got in the Minutes. lol

Tiburcio Vasquez

Tiburcio Vasquez was a local bandit (though he spent time in San Quentin and robbed places as far South as (today's) West Hollywood and North to Fresno. Its was local killings and his habit of sleeping with women throughout California that led to his capture and eventual hanging on March 19, 1875.

Death of Jose Castro

On the night of April 22, 1872, some 300 yards from the Castro-Breen Adobe Jose Castro was hung. Two masked men, along with 6-7 armed men, took Jose Castro, estimated at 35 years of age and hung him from a "large willow tree" some 300 yards from the Breen House. He was reported as "very heavy."

Historic Structure Report
Rancho San Andres Castro Adobe State Historic Park

www.parks.ca.gov

This is the Paicines Area near Robber's Roost or Divigios Crossing in San Benito County.

(Abov)This is the Mission from the doorway of the Saloon on the same from as the Castro-Breen Adobe. (Below) This is the picture of the Zanetta House and the Stables across from the Castro-Breen House where Jose Castro was taken and murdered.

Robbery of the San Benito Stage

"The San Benito Stage was robbed at gunpoint, persumably by the Tiburcio Vasquez gang, in the spring of 1872. On the afternoon of April 19, three men wearing hoods over their heads lay in wait behind a rock ledge (later called "Robbers Roost") just south of Cornwell's Crossing. As the southbound stage approached, the banditos moved boldly into the middle of the road; and with pistols leveled, they ordered the driver, Doc Garner, to rein up his horses. Stage passengers that day were San Benito residents George Chick and William Billings. During the robbery several trunks and mail bags were cut open and looted. Garner and the others were relieved of their watches and cash, bound with ropes; and left, face down, on the ground." One of the robbers was recognized as a visitor at the Castro home. Joe Castro was arrested the next day. Castro was detained in the old Breen house for transportation the following day to Hollister.

Note: The old Breen house is part of our San Juan Bautista Historic Park

The Picture below is taken from the intersections next to the Breen House and you can see the stable to the left and the Mission ahead.

The Plaza Hotel

"In 1813-1814, after the Mission was finished, a new barracks headquarters was built for the Spanish soldiers. These soldiers were kept to protect the Franciscan Padres in their work with the Indians. This building is now the lower floor of the Plaza Hotel. Angelo Zanetta added a second story of redwood and opened the Plaza Hotel in 1858. The hotel became famous for its excellent food and rooms. It was one of the main stops of the Coast Line Stage between San Francisco and Los Angelos."  (p. 25)


Office of the San Benito County Superintendent of Schools, 1980
San Benito County Long Ago and Today 

Why I Docent

    My name is Robert Earl Groeling. Im a volunteer docent at the San Juan Bautista Historic Park. Ive been a volunteer for over 15 years at San Juan. I decided to start a blog because Id like people to know what its like to be a docent at the San Juan Bautista Historic Park; what it take to have a successfull volunteer association and Id like to give some history of the area, hopefully get some positive attention for the park and for history of the Monterey Bay Area and San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey Counties as well.

Plaza History Association Newsletter: San Juan Bautista State Historic Park

Written by Nikki Combs

On February 4, 2012 there will be the Plaza History Association (PHA) 9:30-10:30

The Early Days Planning Meeting will be at 10:30am The meeting is in the back of the Plaza Hotel.

Feb. There is the San Benito County Volunteer Fair 12-4 pm

There will be another Board Meeting on March 3, 2012. Our meeting will go from 9:30-11:00am.
There will be a "mandatory" volunteer meeting at 3:30pm., in the Plaza Hotel.

Sunny Day in January

Its a sunny day in January, 2012.  Next week is First Saturday. Im on the Board and attend at 9:30am.
I dont know the agenda yet. I get e mails from the President and his wife. I occasionally vote online.

If the weather holds it will be beautiful.

Robert Groeling
Board Member

The Flower Garden

Money for Compost

Our next project for our Plaza Association is to raise enough money for our garden behind the Zanetta House. There is a beautiful garden of old trees, vines, and rose bushes. We have a volunteer who is willing to work in the garden. Through our "gift" shop we are raising enough money for compost to put in the garden.

This is the Zanetta House. You have to pay at the entrance of the Plaza Hotel to get a ticket to see the inside of this house. It costs only $3.00, and you get to see the blacksmithing, stable, and garden behind the Zanetta House.

First Saturday I

I will be volunteering on the first Saturday of February.

San Juan Bautista