Celebrating 150 years by Weeklys

Celebrating 150 Years

March 2018

the

< Newspaper exposes corruption < Who was John Watson? < Evolving technologies < Notable people from Watsonville

The City of Watsonville

150 Years

The News Leader for

How did Watsonville get its name?......................Page 13 Watsonville is incorporated .................................Page 14 Newspaper wins highest honor ............................Page 20 The center of the city .........................................Page 23 Register-Pajaronian moves to 1000 Main St. .........Page 26

The quake that changed everything ......................Page 28

1868 - 2018

WAT S O N V I L L E , C A

Former editor recalls experiences ........................Page 32 Watsonville timeline ........................................Page 34 Newspaper technology through the years ............Page 36 Register-Pajaronian timeline .............................Page 38

A paper boy’s memories ...................................Page 40 Athletes who hit the big time ............................Page 42

Acknowledgments: Pajaro Valley Historical Association Watsonville Public Library Historical Newspaper Archive Register-Pajaronian Archives

Watsonville 150th Celebration Committee City of Watsonville S. Martinelli & Co. Suryel Vasquez Mike Wallace Chanel Escobar Abigail Acosta Charles Birimisa

For more photos and history, visit www.watsonville150.org

Tarmo Hannula • Staff Photographer (831) 761-7330 thannula@register-pajaronian.com

Marketing Associates Mark Pezzini (831) 761-7351 Jazmine Ancira Guerrero (831) 761-7326

Erik Chalhoub • Managing Editor (831) 761-7353 echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com

Tony Nunez • Sports Editor (831) 761-7335 tnunez@register-pajaronian.com

Tina Chavez • Marketing Director (831) 761-7359 tchavez@register-pajaronian.com

Reporters Todd Guild (831) 761-7328 Johanna Miller (831) 761-7303

Design and Layout Mike Lyon Daryl Nelson Rob Chalhoub

150 Years

Business Office/Circulation Alanna Anderson Rosa Vizcarra

©2018 Watsonville Newspapers LLC No portion may be reproduced without written permission from Watsonville Newspapers LLC. Register-Pajaronian 100 Westridge Drive Watsonville, CA 95076 (831) 761-7300 | Fax (831) 722-8386 www.register-pajaronian.com

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In this 1910 photo, the Pajaronian was a daily and weekly newspaper operating out of downtown Watsonville. | Photo courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association

Main Street in Watsonville in 1879, looking south from the Mansion House with the Plaza at the left. The Weekly Pajaronian had recently been purchased by W.R. Radcliff and was being published in the Snodgrass block, one of the buildings across Main Street from the Plaza. | Photo courtesy of Chester G. Nohrden

A Long, Distinguished History

any people and places figure in the 150-year history of Watsonville newspapers to which today’s Register-Pajaronian traces its origins, beginning with the first issues of the weekly Pajaronian, which appeared on Thursday, March 5, 1868. We should back up a bit, however, and note that the history of newspapers in Watsonville should not overlook the threeyear existence of a newspaper — the Pajaro Times — which first appeared on April 25, 1863, with M. Kearney, Jas. B. McQuillan, and William A. Duchow listed as owners. A history of Watsonville, written in 1878, reports the Times was founded mainly to espouse the cause of a railroad connection to Watsonville. The Southern Pacific didn’t bring its track to Watsonville Junction from San Francisco until 1871 and the Watsonville-Santa Cruz line, subsidized by the county, wasn’t completed until 1876.

The City of Watsonville

When the weekly Pajaronian was established, that cause and the question of whether county taxpayers should support a bond issue for railway purposes continued to be prime editorial material. When J.A. Cottle, the first owner, editor and publisher, established the Weekly Pajaronian, it was printed in the Snodgrass Block, at 313-315 Main St. It was a fourpage, six-column newspaper and was published every Thursday. After about a year, Cottle sold the paper to R.A. Ankeny, and in the early 1870s, Charles Cummings became the owner. In 1876, the Pajaronian came into the possession of W.R. Radcliff, after whom Radcliff Elementary School on Rodriguez Street was named. In 1898, the Pajaronian moved its location to the second floor of “the new Bockius block opposite the post office” — which was just north of the Snodgrass building and later became known as the Rappe building.

THE PAJARO TIMES — which first appeared on April 25, 1863, with M. Kearney, Jas. B. McQuillan, and William A. Duchow listed as owners. 150 Years

Frank F. Orr became editor of the Register-Pajaronian in 1948, a position he would hold for 36 years. Orr was to lead the Register-Pajaronian in its years of greatest growth and was the editor when the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1956. | Contributed

Legendary editors

t was in 1902 that James G. Piratsky, the first in a line of distinguished editors who were to make the Pajaronian a respected newspaper across the state, appeared on the local scene as editor. He and George Radcliff purchased the weekly when W.R. Radcliff decided to devote his time to banking. Not long afterward, the Pajaronian began publication of a daily newspaper — the daily Evening Pajaronian, which first appeared on April 7, 1903. (The Weekly Pajaronian was not discontinued until 1914.) In the meantime, the Pajaronian was not without competition. The Weekly Transcript, forerunner of the Morning Register, was established in 1876 by Jones & Co. and the first issue hit the streets on July 1. It was a “Democratic sheet.” S.A. Jones was the first editor and publisher, but the Transcript was to have several proprietors in its early years. After a year, Jones sold it

150 Years

to Robert S. Forbes, who owned it for only two weeks before selling it to William H. Wheeler, who had been a typesetter on the famed Territorial Enterprise of Virginia City, Nev. On Jan. 5, 1881, the Transcript was bought by George W. Peckham. On June 5, 1894, the Transcript’s name was changed to the Register and it became a daily paper, nearly 10 years before the Pajaronian went daily. At that time, the Transcript/Register was being printed on the second floor of the Hildreth block, which was adjacent to where the Fox Theater now stands and was dismantled after suffering heavy damage in the 1989 earthquake. On Feb. 28, 1901, the Daily Register was purchased by C.W. Clough, who sold it two years later to the Prisk brothers, who also owned newspapers in Pasadena and Long Beach. E.H. Haack, who came to Watsonville with the Prisks, later acquired controlling

interest in the Register. It was from Haack that Fred W. Atkinson bought the Register in 1919 and developed it from a small, six-column paper of eight pages to an eight-column paper. When Atkinson bought the newspaper it was being printed at 450 Main St. Within a year the lease had run out and the landlord refused to renew it. (The early morning press run disturbed the sleep of occupants of upstairs living quarters. Atkinson then bought the property at 452 Main St. and established the newspaper there, where it prospered.) •••

Piratsky retires

In 1930, the Register and Pajaronian joined forces. In that year, Piratsky — who had edited and co-owned the Pajaronian since Continued on page 10

Continued from page 8

1902 and had earned a reputation throughout the state as a fearless and fiery editor — reluctantly decided that his failing eyesight meant he would have to relinquish his career at the age of 80. (He was to live to within two months of his 99th birthday.) So Atkinson purchased the Pajaronian and continued to publish it as an evening paper and the Register as a morning paper. The Pajaronian offices were moved from a building on Wall Street (now West Beach

Street) opposite the Appleton Hotel to the 452 Main St. property. In the meantime, in 1927, Atkinson had built a building at 18 East Lake Ave. to house the printing facilities for the Register. With the acquisition of the Evening Pajaronian, the one printing plant was used for both papers, but the two maintained their own news and advertising offices — the Register at the new East Lake Avenue building and the Pajaronian at the 452 Main St. property. The two properties adjoined across an alley at the rear of each, making traffic from one to the other easy. When Atkinson died in April 1937, the Register and the Pajaronian entered a new chapter in their history. Shortly after Atkinson’s death, the two properties were purchased by the John P. Scripps Newspaper Group, which had been started some 10 years previously with the purchase of the Ventura Star by John P. Scripps, a grandson of the founder of the Scripps Howard newspaper chain, E.W. Scripps. Fred W. Jenkins was appointed editor and in the fall of 1937, publication of the Morning Register was discontinued and the afternoon publication became the Register-Pajaronian. That was the signal for another competitive era in Watsonville newspaper history. John N. Hall established the Morning Sun, converting the old Opera House on Third Street into a newspaper plant. The Morning Sun first appeared on Nov. 17, 1937. It struggled for a

James G. Piratsky

Fred W. Atkinson, shown in 1925, bought the Register in 1919. 10

150 Years

year under Hall’s thinly financed ownership, and finally was refinanced by a group of local businessmen. Sam Hawkins, a former Watsonville resident, was brought in as a publisher. He continued the Sun, with the financial aid of the new owners, for another two years. But the day when any but the largest cities could support more than one newspaper had ended. Stockholders in the Sun were called upon for additional transfusions of money in an attempt to keep it afloat, and the books of the Register-Pajaronian were not filled out entirely in black ink either. One had to give. So, in October 1940, the Sun was sold to the Register-Pajaronian. The Morning Sun continued to publish until, with the start of World War II, shortages of newsprint and supplies forced its suspension. •••

Pulitzer Prize era

When Jenkins retired as editor of the R-P in 1948 (he later served as Watsonville postmaster), he was succeeded by his managing editor, Frank F. Orr. Orr was to lead the Register-Pajaronian in its years of greatest growth and was the editor when the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1956 — the highest honor that can be bestowed on an American newspaper. In 1969, the Register-Pajaronian moved into the plant at 1000 Main St. When Orr died in January 1985, after 36 years at the helm, he was succeeded by the man who had been managing editor since 1951, Ward Bushee. When he retired in January 1989, he was in turn succeeded by Managing Editor Mike Wallace.

Continued on page 12

Changing owners, management Continued from page 10

When Wallace left in 1991 to start his own newspaper consulting business, the management structure of the R-P was changed from the traditional configuration of having an editor in charge of all news operations and a business (or general) manager in charge of all other functions, to a system in which a publisher is in charge of the overall operation of the newspaper. Fred F. Skill, who had become general manager in February 1986, became the newspaper’s first publisher and James E. “Bud” O’Brien, the managing editor, assumed the direction of the editorial department. In 1986, John P. Scripps Newspapers, owners of the Register-Pajaronian and several other community newspapers in California and Washington, merged with the E.W. Scripps Co., thus becoming part of the ScrippsHoward Newspaper organization, which, as was noted earlier, had been founded by John P. Scripps’ grandfather. Just as had the editors, the business managers of the R-P tended to have long tenured after a number of them had held the position in the early years of JPSN ownership. Larry McKeown took over the business manager’s office in 1945 and held it until his retirement in 1962. He was succeeded by Jack Banks, who left in 1971. Page Gilman served as business manager from 1971 to 1983, when John Ferguson took over and served until Skill assumed the office in 1986. On Feb. 3, 1995, Rochelle, Ill.-based News Media Corporation, which owns a number of newspapers across the country, announced that it had purchased the Register-Pajaronian

from Scripps-Howard. Douglas M. Leifheit became the newspaper’s publisher, a position he held until 2004, when he was succeeded by Tom Cross. After 35 years located at 1000 Main St., the R-P announced in 2004 that it sold the building to the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, and entered into a lease on 100 Westridge Drive. The newspaper finished its move in 2005, and is still located there today. The Main Street building currently houses Grocery Outlet. •••

The current era

Citing the effects of the Great Recession, with a number of major advertisers going out of the business, the Register-Pajaronian announced in 2009 that it would cut its publication dates from six days a week to three in an effort to reduce printing costs. At the same time, the paper’s primary coverage focus shifted to local news, with national and international coverage taking a back seat, and its website began posting breaking news in a more timely fashion. In 2013, the Register-Pajaronian joined other newspapers around the area and moved its printing operations to San Jose, removing its onsite printing press, which had been the last in Santa Cruz County. Competing against newspapers across the state with similar circulation in the 2015 Better Newspapers Contest, put on by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Register-Pajaronian received second place for General Excellence, first place for Best Sports Section, first place for Best Artistic Photo, and second place for Best News Photo. In 2016, the Pajaro Valley Chamber of

The Register-Pajaronian’s current home on 100 Westridge Drive.

150 Years

The Register-Pajaronian received second place for General Excellence in the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s 2015 Better Newspapers Contest.

Commerce and Agriculture announced the Register-Pajaronian as its business of the year for its annual awards. The award was given to the paper for its coverage of local news, while also sponsoring many local events, including Watsonville Relay For Life, Day of the Child, Watsonville Film Festival and more.

Press operators keep the press rolling at the Register-Pajaronian in 2009. The press was removed in 2013.

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atsonville got its name from one man who had a questionable reputation. John Howard Watson was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania in 1814. His father was a wellknown physician and was anxious for Watson to attend the United States Military Academy. At the age of 16 Watson was admitted, but left the academy for unknown reasons after five months. John Howard Watson was a large man who stood at 5 feet 10 inches. It is also said he was a ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; man who had a reputation for using smutty language, bad temper and devious business dealings. By the 1840s, he had lived in Georgia and was living in Texas when he decided to move west to California. In November of 1849, Watson was elected to the California State Legislature. He would resign three months later.

Watson arrived in the Pajaro Valley in 1851. By 1852, he proceeded to lay out a township near the Pajaro River by purchasing a $4,000 portion of land. The land, which Watson claimed to have rights to, had been previously awarded to Sebastian Rodriguez and his brother Alejandro Rodriguez in 1837. At that time, Henry Parsons was the undersheriff of Santa Cruz County, and referred to the area as Watson-ville. The name stuck. After many years in court, Watson ultimately lost his claim to Sebastian Rodriguez, and in 1862, Watson left Watsonville and moved to Nevada to venture into mining. Three years later, he moved to Idaho. Watson returned to Nevada in 1870. In 1881, he became ill and died on Aug. 2, 1882. At the time of his death, it was believed he was a pauper. 150 Years

Watsonville Fourth of July parade, circa 1895, with Mansion House still on the corner of Beach and Main before being moved to make room for the Lettunich Building, the old Ford’s building across Main, and the wooden bandstand in the Plaza before being replaced by the current structure. | Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

From humble beginnings to an expanding population

n Oct. 10, 1769, Fray Crespi and Miguel Costanso, a member of Portola’s expedition, described crossing a river that the soldiers named “Rio del Pajaro” because they had seen a large grass stuffed bird. The town became known as Pajaro, and was settled in 1852. In 1851, Judge John H. Watson arrived in the Pajaro Valley because he claimed to own some of Sebastian Rodriguez’s property in Rancho Bolsa del Pajaro. Watson laid out a township near the Pajaro River. A Santa Cruz County under-sheriff referred to the area where Watson lived as Watson-ville and the name remained. Watson ultimately lost his claim against the Rodriguez family but he stayed in the area. Sometime in 1862, Watson left Watsonville and moved to Nevada. Watson never returned to Watsonville. •••

Growth and incorporation

On March 30, 1868, the California State Legislature approved a request to incorporate Rancho Bolsa del Pajaro into the Town of 14

150 Years

Watsonville, a town that had a population of just more than 1,000. The bill set the boundaries of the town: “The area of said Town of Watsonville shall be one mile square having for its centre a stake placed in the centre of Pajaro street, one half mile from the centre of Pajaro River, where the present San Juan and Santa Cruz stage road now crosses said river, the boundary line parallel and at right angles with said Pajaro street as now laid out between Third street and the Pajaro river.” Pajaro Street was later renamed to Main Street. The incorporation allowed for a board of trustees of five members. Pay of the trustees was $1 a year. By 1870, about 2,000 people lived in Watsonville. According to the March 3, 1870 edition of the Pajaronian, it had “four churches and four flourishing societies — Masons, Odd Fellows, Red Men and Sons of Temperance; a public school house, the largest in the county, and two private schools. It also has one flour mill, a lumber yard with planing mill, two soda works, two breweries, four carriage shops, two machine shops, four

blacksmith shops, three paint shops, four billiard saloons, ten liquor saloons, two drug stores, one hardware store, three hotels, one tin shop, 15 assorted stores, six boot and shoe stores, a first-class engine and engine company, five doctors, three lawyers, two dentists, two millinery establishments, two livery stables, one paint store, one oyster saloon, one gunsmith shop, one newspaper, a prosperous journal called the Pajaronian, and other businesses too numerous to mention.” In 1903, Watsonville was granted a charter. Richard Quinn was the first mayor to be elected under the new city charter. However, Howard Trafton, the runner-up, demanded a recount, which eventually showed that he had actually won by four votes. Trafton was sworn into office in July 1904. On Feb. 16, 1960, voters approved a mayorcouncil charter. Besides substituting a council of six members and a mayor for the previous eight aldermen and mayor, it allowed for the appointment of a city manager. Fred Flodberg was elected mayor under the new charter, and C.W. (Bill) Masonheimer was appointed as the first city manager.

The Rodgers House and its water tower are on the right of this 1890s photo, taken with East Lake Avenue still unpaved and being traveled by horse-drawn wagons. In 1992 the house, next to East Lake Village, held the Sassafras gift shop before being relocated to its current home at the county fairgrounds. | Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

The original Pajaro Valley Bank building at Peck and Main Streets, circa 1900. Its 1939 replacement building was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1962 to become its current downtown branch. | Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

The City of Watsonville

150 Years

The quake that shook the state The landscape of Watsonville was forever changed on Oct. 17, 1989, when the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake struck at 5:04 p.m. The quake, centered at Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, shook for 15 seconds, but killed 67 people (one in Watsonville) and caused $6 billion in damage across California. Among the damages in Watsonville, the Struve Slough Bridge on Highway 1 collapsed, and the downtown Ford’s department store experienced a large crack down the front of the building, forcing it to be demolished later. About 250 homes in the city were destroyed, and 800 damaged. •••

The modern era

Today, Watsonville boasts a population of roughly 54,000 people from a diverse range of backgrounds. It is host to a number of festivals and community events that draw thousands of people, from the Watsonville Strawberry Festival, Santa Cruz County Fair, Monterey Bay Birding Festival, Cinco de Mayo

Construction of the 1915 Pajaro River bridge viewed from Pajaro side as concrete is being poured in its pilings. Across the river is Front Street and the Palmtag Brewery. | Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

celebration and its newest offering, Fire in the Sky. Centered in the middle of the Monterey Bay, Watsonville is known for its rich agricultural

area that offers visitors a number of amenities ranging from agriculture tourism to days at the beach, and from wine tasting to rugged hikes.

On Jan. 23, 1966, the city limit sign states that Watsonville’s elevation is 29 feet — which probably hasn’t changed much. However, the population was 13,293. | Register-Pajaronian file

150 Years

The City of Watsonville

150 Years

Charles Moore, the youngest district attorney in California, shown in the mid-1950’s. Register-Pajaronian file

Newspaper wins highest honor

n the Register-Pajaronian’s long history of reporting the news of its community, no accomplishment can compare with the one that was announced on May 7, 1956. On that date, the board of trustees of Columbia University chose the Register-Pajaronian as the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for meritorious public service during the year of 1955. Winning a Pulitzer Prize is the highest honor that can be bestowed on an American newspaper. When the R-P won the award, it was the smallest daily paper to be so honored. In fact, at the time only two other California newspapers, the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times, had won the Pulitzer gold medal. The Register-Pajaronian was awarded the

20 150 Years

medal for, in the words of the Columbia trustees, “Its courageous exposure of corruption in public office, which led to the resignation of a district attorney and the conviction of one of his associates.” A brief summary of how Watsonville and its newspaper fought into the history books with the prize awards is perhaps appropriate on the occasion of the newspaper’s 150th birthday. The year 1955 produced a ruckus in Santa Cruz County never before equalled in the political history of the community. Charles L. Moore Jr., just 26, had won election as district attorney on a promise to “clean up the vice in Watsonville.” That sounded fine, except that, as the record later showed, Watsonville — in earlier years well-known for its gambling and houses of prostitution —

had already done a good housecleaning job. Nevertheless, the newspaper initially defended Moore on a number of occasions in the course of the feuds the young DA engaged in with the county Board of Supervisors, the City Council, private citizens and the publisher of a small weekly newspaper in Santa Cruz. But the newspaper also kept a close watch on his activities and defended citizens who were threatened with prosecution for being critical of the district attorney. The only “vice” that Moore could find in Watsonville was the existence of card rooms, which were in fact legal under state law, and some pinball machines whose illegality he was unable to prove. But he ordered the card rooms closed nonetheless because of an old city ordinance that prohibited playing games for money. In following these events, the newspaper noted that before the City Council repealed that old ordinance, one of Moore’s principal campaign backers and his chief adviser had opened an establishment in Freedom at which — evidence later showed — illegal gambling conducted. The newspaper also checked into the backgrounds of “special investigators” appointed by Moore to look for crime and discovered some of them were ex-convicts. In his campaign against illegal pinball machines, Moore inspected several machines owned by a Santa Cruz man, who left $1,500 on the district attorney’s desk with a note explaining it was because “you are a nice young boy.” Moore immediately returned that money, using as intermediary his adviser who owned the Freedom gambling establishment. When the newspaper and the grand jury began asking questions about the $1,500, Moore charged in a television speech that Watsonville city officials were supporting the gambling interests. Invited to submit proof to the grand jury, Moore countered by accusing three grand jurors of having “connections”

with vice, although he presented no evidence of such connections. At 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 26, 1955, the RegisterPajaronian got a tip that Moore’s car — its license plate covered with a newspaper — was parked in the driveway of the owner of the Freedom gambling establishment. R-P photographer Sam Vestal and reporter Bill Kennedy went to have a look. They were confronted and held at gunpoint by Moore’s associate, who ordered Vestal’s camera smashed. But Vestal had saved the plate holder and slipped it to editor Frank F. Orr, who had just arrived at the scene. The picture was proof of the presence of Moore’s car. Moore denied he was there until confronted with the pictorial evidence. Attorney General Edmund G. Brown sent two top investigators to Santa Cruz County. Their evidence was presented to the grand jury. Moore’s adviser was indicted for bribery conspiracy. The district attorney was the subject of a grand jury formal accusation of “willful and corrupt misconduct in office,” in that he had mishandled investigative

funds and permitted his adviser to use the “color of his office” to extort money. The adviser was convicted on four felony conspiracy counts and went to state prison. Moore, who had announced before the criminal trial that his adviser was innocent, resigned his office, and his trial on the misconduct accusation — which would only have removed him from office — was called off. The Pulitzer medal was the most prestigious but not the only award for excellence or public service given to the RegisterPajaronian through the years. There have been other state and national citations. Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalistic society, also gave the R-P its medal for public service in journalism in 1956 — the first time in history that both Pulitzer and Sigma Delta Chi medals had been awarded to the same newspaper. 1964 photo of Sam Vestal holding the tool of his trade. Register-Pajaronian archives

The photo that started it all: Charles Moore’s blue Pontiac parked in front an illegal gambling house at 1 a.m. — his license plate camouflaged by a newspaper. Sam Vestal/Register-Pajaronian file

The remains of the Speed Graphic camera that was smashed are seen. Register-Pajaronian file

congratulates the Register-Pajaronian for 150 years of exceptional news and community support!

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The City of Watsonville

150 Years

This photo from 1900 shows (from right) the building at the end of Union Street which would later house Watsonville Bowl, until it was lost in a 1963 fire, after which Union was extended through to Brennan Street. To its left is the Odd Fellow’s Building, lost in the 1989 quake and replaced by Plaza Vigil. Left of it is the Mansion House, before it was moved around the corner to Main Street, making room for the 1911 construction of the Lettunich building. Across Main on the far left is the old Ford’s building. The Plaza’s central bandstand wasn’t built until 1906. | Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

The Center of the City

Watsonville acquires plaza year after incorporation

Watsonville acquired its city plaza on June 4, 1869. That’s the date of record of the deed by which Don Sebastian Rodriguez transferred title to the 271-by-225-foot parcel of property, then practically in the center of the mile-square town, laid out in 1852 by Judge John Watson. It was a welcome gift, but one which presented some problems to a board of town trustees working on a pretty limited budget that left little for the “frills” of park beautification. For years the plaza provided a favorite subject of complaint by newspaper editors, who regularly pointed out that it was time to cut the plaza’s “annual crop of weeds” or suggested that the practice of grazing cattle on the plaza be discontinued. Eventually, women’s organizations took up the challenge and gradually, after soil had been hauled in, the 1.3-acre gift of Don Sebastian took on the appearance of a real plaza. The weed crop gave way to grass and trees were planted — trees such as palms, a Norway pine, coast redwoods, Sequoia and more. Time took its toll of many of the original trees and there have been other changes over the years. The original bandstand, a wooden structure, was replaced by a bandstand of stone construction in 1906. That was a major decision for Mayor W.A. Trafton and such aldermen as Tim Horgan and H.C. Weisenburger. W.H. Weeks, the architect, had estimated the cost at $1,150, without lights. The only bid received, from Granite Rock Co., was for $1,590. A.R. Wilson, representing Granite Rock (he was the founder Continued on page 25

The City of Watsonville

Watsonville's Plaza bandstand taken before a 1916 decision to provide it with a roof. Union Street is in background. | Betty Lewis photo collection

Watsonville Plaza is shown on Aug. 24, 1959. Note the bandstand without a roof. | Register-Pajaronian file

150 Years

Continued from page 23

of the company which in later years split into Granite Rock and Granite Construction Co.) told the aldermen the bid might be cut to $1,480 if San Jose sandstone was used instead of Colusa sandstone, and if a bench were eliminated. The members of the board thought that “as the structure was to be permanent in its nature, and an ornament to the city, the very best materials should be used even if the cost ran as high as $2,000, which it will if the proposed elegant cluster of lights are added.” The contract was awarded to Granite for $1,590 with provision that $200 be deducted for the bench, which was to be added later at cost. And the “elegant cluster of lights” also were added, only to be replaced later by the single bulb standards, installed in 1922. The bandstand didn’t have a “hat.” That wasn’t added until 1916. A contract was awarded in August 1916 to Ole Christensen to construct a covering for the bandstand according to plans prepared by Ralph Wyckoff. Christensen’s bid for this job was $456. And the P.J. Freiermuth Co., which did the sheet metal work on the new “hat” recently added to the bandstand, also was a subcontractor in Christensen’s bid. That first “hat” lasted until 1955. It eventually got to be pretty tacky and aldermen finally decided it would have to go. It was removed, but they didn’t do anything about replacing it. It wasn’t until 1946 that concrete pathways were laid in the plaza.

This early day photo shows the City Plaza in Watsonville before the center bandstand was built. Photo from the Betty Lewis collection

An aerial photo shows the Watsonville Plaza as it looks today. | Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian

A hand-colored image of the 1924 Christmas decorating of a downtown Plaza tree by members of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Presidents and Mayors of Watsonville E.F. Wyckoff 1897-1900

Dr. W. J. C. Ramsay 1953-1959

Al Alcala 1996-1997

Luis A. Alejo 2009-2010

William A. Trafton 1900-1903

Louis Gluhan 1959-1960

Dennis Osmer 1997-1998

Daniel Dodge 2010-2011

Mayor, City of Watsonville

Fred W. Flodberg 1960-1967

Oscar Rios 1998-2000

Eduardo Montesino 2011-2012

Geo A. Trafton 1881-1885

Richard Quinn 1903-1904

William P. Murphy 1967-1971

Charles E. Carter 2000-2001

Lowell Hurst 2012-2013

A. Atteridge 1885-1888

William A. Trafton 1904-1907

William “Bill” Johnston 1971-1983

Betty Bobeda 2001-2002

Karina Cervantez 2013-2014

Geo W. Peckham 1888-1889

James A. Linscott 1907-1909

Ann M. Soldo 1983-1987

Richard de la Paz, Jr. 2002-2003

Nancy Bilicich 2014-2015

Geo A. Trafton 1889-1890

Dr. P. K. Watters 1909-1911

Betty M. Murphy 1987-1989

Judy Doering-Nielsen 2003-2004

Felipe Hernandez 2015-2016

J.S. Yoacham 1890-1890

James A. Hall 1911-1913

Todd McFarren 1989-1991

Ana Ventura Phares 2004-2005

Oscar Rios 2016-2017

E. H. Madden 1890-1892

William A. Trafton 1913-1921

Oscar Rios 1991-1993

Antonio Rivas 2005-2006

Lowell Hurst 2017-

Henry Jackson 1892-1894

Fred W. Atkinson 1921-1927

Lowell Hurst 1993-1994

Manuel Quintero Bersamin 2006-2007

James Ingham 1894-1895

C. H. Baker 1927-1951

Anthony “Tony” Campos 1994-1995

Kimberly Petersen 2007-2008

A.B. Chalmers 1895-1897

Dr. P. B. Marinovich 1951-1953

Betty Bobeda 1995-1996

Antonio Rivas 2008-2009

President, Board of Trustees Chas Thomas -1877 Ed Martin 1877-18

The City of Watsonville

150 Years

1000 Main St. was once the site of a Safeway store (large building, lower left). Located at the corner of Highway 1 (now Main Street, running bottom to top) and Arthur Road, the Safeway closed in 1968 and the building was occupied in 1969 by the Register-Pajaronian. | Photo courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association

Time of expansion A

R-P moved to 1000 Main St. in 1969

fter a century in a variety of quarters — from upstairs rooms to an entire building — the Register-Pajaronian moved to the largest newspaper plant Watsonville had ever seen in 1969. Watsonville Newspapers Inc., which publishes the newspaper, paid Safeway $275,000 for the property and building at 1000 Main St. The property included 2 1/2 acres of land and a steel and concrete building constructed

26 150 Years

by Safeway 11 years prior, which was easily converted into a modern newspaper plant. The building, containing 20,425 square feet, had a fire protection sprinkler system and was fully air conditioned. The parking lot was paved and lighted, and had space for 231 cars. The newspaper bought the two acres on Arthur Road in 1966 as an eventual site for a new building, before Safeway decided to relocate and its property became available.

The Register-Pajaronian moved to 1000 Main St. in 1969. Photo by Tarmo Hannula Grocery Outlet on 1000 Main St. is shown under construction in 2010 shortly before it opened. (Page 26 bottom right) | Photo by Tarmo Hannula

feedhope.

Serving the community since 1972 www.thefoodbank.org

The QUAKE

that changed everything

This Victorian t It was ev

The Masonic Temple on Union Street, at the rear of the Fox Theater, is shown partially torn down. The quake rendered the building useless. Photo courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association

HAPPY

150TH

An inspector surveys the damage of the highway collapsed and con Slough. | Michael M

CELEBRATION! 1991

925 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville, CA 95076 (831) 722-4884 www.valleyheights.com

turn of the century home at 102 Jefferson St. lost its porch and structural stability. ventually torn down. | Photo courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association

e to Highway 1 in Watsonville where a stretch ncrete pilings burst the road surface at Struve McCollum/Register-Pajaronian file

People warm themselves over a fire in Callaghan Park where they lived in tents for months. Michael McCollum/Register-Pajaronian file

early 30 years after the Loma Prieta Earthquake rocked Santa Cruz County, cities and towns, roads and bridges have mostly been rebuilt. The quake, which struck at 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989, caused $6 billion in damage and killed 63 people statewide. Many businesses have since risen from the rubble, as have homes and other structures. Still, the temblor that measured 6.9 on the Richter scale has left its mark —a handful of lots remain empty in Watsonville. The earthquake claimed seven lives, injured more than a thousand in Santa Cruz County and caused an estimated $432 million in property damage. In Watsonville, 250 homes were destroyed and another 800 damaged. Every major road in and out of the county was closed or partially blocked and all power was out for a day and longer in some areas. Telephone service was sporadic for a week. Official shelter services were eventually established in Ramsay Park and at the fairgrounds. But for many reasons, people staying in Callaghan Park refused to leave. Within a week it started to rain, making conditions even more unpleasant, but many refused to

The City of Watsonville

A giant crack runs along the face of Ford’s department store in Watsonville. Photo courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association

Kurt Ellison/Register-Pajaronian file Watsonville Fire Capt. Jerry Keith (left) confers with Capt. Jim Norwood as a house burns on Brennan Street in Watsonville moments after the Loma Prieta Earthquake struck. A Company 1 firefighter/reserve is shown battling the fire.

leave. Some probably feared the National Guard units staying at the camp. Others said they didn’t like the food at the other

shelters, where FEMA was serving grits and other foodstuffs not normally eaten by local residents. 150 Years

This woman has her hands full tending to infants at a tent city set up at Ramsay Park in Watsonville where dozens of families lived because their homes were so heavily damaged. | Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian file

Large sections of bricks broke loose from St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church in Watsonville.

Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian file

30 150 Years

Editors list Weekly Pajaronian 1868-1914 Editors and owners — J.A. Cottle, R.A. Ankeny, Charles Cummings, W.R. Radcliff, George Radcliff, James G. Piratsky Weekly Transcript 1876-1914 Editors and owners — S.A. Jones, Robert S. Forbes, William H. Wheeler, George W. Peckham

Daily Register 1894-1937 Editors and owners — Charles E. Peckham, C.W. Clough, H.A. Main, Prisk Bros., E.H. Haack, Fred W. Atkinson Daily Pajaronian 1894-1937 Editors and owners — James G. Piratsky, George Radcliff, Fred W. Atkinson Morning Sun 1937-1942 Publisher, editor — John N. Hall, Sam Hawkins

Editors — Fred H. Jenkins (1937-1948), Frank F. Orr (1948-1985) Ward Bushee (1985-1989) Mike Wallace (1989-1991) James E. “Bud” O’Brien (1991-1995) Bill Watson (1995) Bob Stiegel (1996-1997) Douglas M. Leifheit (Publisher, 1995-2004; Editor, 1997-2001) Jon Chown (2001-2007) David Carkhuff (2007-2008) Jon Chown (2008-2012) Trisha Leonard (2012) Tom Dunlap (2012-2013) Brian Williams (2014) Erik Chalhoub (2014-Present)

...to make the next 150 years as prosperous as the last 150 years.

36 Brennan Street, Watsonville, CA 95076 831-722-9292 • pvwater.org The City of Watsonville

150 Years

From mass murders to the earthquake By MIKE WALLACE

When I came to work as a reporter for the RegisterPajaronian Oct. 16, 1972, the town had less than a third of the population it does now. None of the shopping centers on upper Main Street had been built yet, and when you got off Highway 1 at Main Street, you could drive all the way to Freedom Boulevard without hitting a traffic light or stop sign. My starting pay was $3.26 an hour, which came to $130.40 for a 40-hour week. A half-hour spent perusing the

32 150 Years

classified ads got me into a one-bedroom apartment for $125 a month — utilities included. Just out of college, and I had it made. The Pajaronian was a great place to work. Several people involved with its Pulitzer Prize in 1955, only 17 years earlier, were still there: Frank Orr, the editor; Ward Bushee, the managing editor; Howard Sheerin, the city editor; and photographer Sam Vestal. Those guys — and they were all guys then — taught me the news business better than any university ever could have.

And was there ever news! Santa Cruz County at the time was going through a rash of sensational murders that had national media dubbing us the murder capital of the world, an honorific we’re glad to be rid of now. Cesar Chavez and the UFW were active in the Salinas Valley (and to a lesser extent, here) and I got to cover that. I still recall being missed by a chair thrown from a hotel balcony during a UFW-Teamsters melee in Monterey, though the chair probably didn’t get as close as my memory places it. The big story during my time at the Pajaronian was the transformation of Watsonville to a majorityminority town. The paper didn’t cover that one as well as it could have, though reporter Steve Shender did one really good in-depth series and we did well covering some of the outward manifestations of it, like the Watsonville Canning strike and the lawsuit over district elections, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. My original plan had been to work at the Pajaronian a few years then move on to a bigger paper. It didn’t work out that way. I married a woman who grew up in Watsonville, bought a house, and 16 years after starting as a cub reporter, was appointed editor, beginning in January 1989. There were a lot of things to do that first year, and some had to be kicked over until the following year. One of those was developing a preparedness plan for publishing the paper in the event of a major disaster. The Loma Prieta Earthquake decided to happen in October 1989 instead of waiting for our plan. So we had to improvise.

The San Luis Obispo paper was part of our group, and we were able to establish a phone connection with them first thing the next morning, an unbelievable piece of luck. Our reporters did a great job of getting the information and writing stories that were sent to San Luis Obispo via primitive Radio Shack laptops. Four people drove down there, pulled the stories together, and put out an eight-page paper, all earthquake, no ads. Pilots in San Luis Obispo volunteered to fly the papers to Watsonville, and we had them delivered to most of our subscribers by 6 p.m. the day after the quake — only an hour later than usual. In the years since, a surprising number of people have told me that when they heard the newspaper hit the driveway or porch that afternoon, even as they were still without phone or power, they felt a huge sense of relief and that things would be all right somehow. It was a powerful affirmation of the importance of a newspaper to the community, and a vivid reminder of why working for the Pajaronian mattered so much. ••• Mike Wallace was editor of the Pajaronian from 1989-91 and is the author of the Quill Gordon mystery novels.

watsonville timeline 1823

Juan B. Alvarado

Spanish government gives Rancho Bolsa del Pajaro to Sebastian Rodriguez given by Governor Juan B. Alvarado

1851 Judge John H. Watson

Judge John H. Watson arrives in Pajaro Valley, and claims to own some of Rodriguez’s property.

1852 Town of Pajaro is settled. Watson rents land to farmers, and the name of the town evolves to Watsonville

34 150 Years

March 30,

1868 California State Legislature approves a request to incorporate Rancho Bolsa del Pajaro into the Town of Watsonville

1868 Stephen Martinelli introduces fermented apple cider made from apples grown on his brother’s farm, founding S. Martinelli & Company

1903 Watsonville granted a charter, and Richard Quinn becomes first mayor elected under the charter

1904

1860

July,

Watson’s claim of ownership is denied, and Rodriguez donates the plaza to the people of Watsonville

Howard Trafton sworn in as mayor after vote recount showed he actually won

Feb. 16,

1960 C.W. (Bill) Masonheimer appointed as first city manager

graniterock.com | 888.ROCK.100

Sept. 9,

1985 Thousands of workers from Watsonville’s frozen food processing industry walk out in protest of pay cuts. The strike lasted for 18 months

Oct. 17,

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake strikes California, forever changing Watsonville

May 2,

2008 Watsonville Civic Plaza opens

March 30,

2018 Community leaders gather in Watsonville Plaza to celebrate 150 years since city’s incorporation

CONGRATS ON to the City of Watsonville, the Register-Pajaronian and Martinelli’s from Graniterock

Newspaper Technology Through the Years

n a special publication commemorating the Register-Pajaronian’s 125th anniversary in 1993, staff writer Bob Smith posed this theory about the future of newspapers in an article about changing technologies: “What will the future bring? The most radical form will be new methods of delivering your daily newspaper to you. “The traditional paper-based newspaper might disappear — to be replaced by a facsimile system or maybe some form of computer or cable delivery.” Twenty-five years later, Smith was wrong about one thing: the newspaper is certainly not being distributed through a facsimile system, as fax machines are now about as obsolete as a floppy disk. But he certainly was spot-on when he suggested “some form” of computer delivery. The traditional paper-based newspaper still remains, but now, people can get their news from any type of internet-enabled device, such as a phone or tablet. This type of on-the-go, read-anywhere technology has forced the Register-Pajaronian and other news outlets to always be posting news online frequently, as modern readers expect up-to-the-second news to always be available when they view their devices.

36 150 Years

The Register-Pajaronian has always printed its news with the top technology of the day, beginning with its move into a new plant in 1969 and the installation of then-state-of-theart offset presses that replaced the old rotary letter press units that were the hallmark of newspapers since the 1850s. Along with the new presses came the first major changes in the production process — the switch from “hot type” (molten lead cast into raised letters and numbers by Linotype and Intertype machines). Replacing it was the first generation of “cold type” — type set photographically on long strips of lightsensitive paper that was developed and fixed, then pasted onto forms that were photographed and made into printing plates for the new presses. Originally, the new typesetters were fed with paper tape coded with local and wire service stories and headlines. Reporters still banged out their stories on incredibly ancient manual typewriters and editors still edited their stories with heavy, black-lead copy pencils. Headlines were written on half sheets of paper with editors counting out the value of each letter and number so that each line would just fill the allotted space.

The stories and headlines would then be sent to the composing room to be typeset. In the days of hot type, a galley proof would be made and the original copy and the “proof” sent to a proofreader for checking. Corrections were marked on the proof and it was sent back to the composing room where the corrections were made. Proofreaders and typesetters became surplus when the first computer systems were installed. Then, the reporters became the typesetters and the final proofreading was done by the copy editors. Once the story was released to the composing room, the computer system took over — setting headlines and stories at a rate hundreds of times faster than the fastest Linotype machine ever could. But the advancement of technology and the rise of “do-it-all” computers has drastically simplified the Register-Pajaronian’s production. Today, once the reporters finish their articles, they place their stories on a computer server. There, the articles are edited by the editor before they are placed on a page using a program called Adobe InDesign. The newspaper began its transition from film photographs to digital around 1997. Digital

Left photo by Mike McCollum. Right photo by Erik Chalhoub. Some things never change. The pen and telephone have been the reporter’s best friend throughout the years. Reporter Emilio Alvarado (left) takes down notes in 1993, which he will later use in a story he will write on a computer. Reporter Todd Guild (right) does the same in 2018. photographs are then cropped, brightened and sharpened using Adobe Photoshop. The majority of the newspaper is laid out by three people: the editor, sports editor and graphics designer. Once the pages are finished and edited one last time, they are then sent digitally to the press plant in San Jose as a Portable Document Format (PDF). There, a press operator checks the PDF to make sure it contains all the elements needed

The City of Watsonville

for a successful print run before it proceeds to the chemical-free platemaking devices. The plates, which have a image of a page “burned” onto them, are then sent to an “openweb” press, where camera systems are used to monitor and control color and registration. If there is one thing that has remained consistent throughout the history of the Register-Pajaronian and newspapers in general, it’s the reporter’s usage of a pen and

notebook while out in the field. We will pose that same question as Smith did in 1993, but with a 2018 twist: What will the future bring? The paper-based newspaper may disappear, and perhaps be fully replaced with Internet-enabled devices that deliver news when the reader wants, and how often they want it — not much different from today.

150 Years

R P timeline March 5, 1868

J.A. Cottle establishes the Weekly Pajaronian, printed in the Snodgrass Block, 313-315 Main St.

June 5, 1894

Transcript newspaper changes name to the Register

1898

Pajaronian moves just north of the Snodgrass building, to the second floor of the new Bockius Block.

1902

1930

Atkinson purchases Pajaronian, and both the Register and Pajaronian use same printing facility at 18 East Lake Ave.

April

1937

Fall

1985

Orr dies, and is succeeded by Ward Bushee as editor

Both newspapers merge to become the Register-Pajaronian

October

1940

Feb. 3, 1995

Rochelle, Ill.-based News Media Corporation purchases RegisterPajaronian

2005

Frank Orr becomes editor

April 7, 1903

2009

2016

Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture names the Register-Pajaronian as its business of the year

Pajaronian first publishes daily newspaper, the Evening Pajaronian

38 150 Years

January

1937

1948

Fred W. Atkinson purchases the Register

Atkinson dies, and both the Register and Pajaronian are purchased by the John P. Scripps Newspaper group

James G. Piratsky becomes Pajaronian editor and co-owner

1919

January 1968

May 7, 1956

Register-Pajaronian receives Pulitzer Prize for public service, the highest honor that can be bestowed on an American newspaper

March 10, 2018 Community members gather at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to celebrate the Register-Pajaronianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 150th anniversary

A group of Register-Pajaronian paper delivery boys pose for a photo sometime around 1960. | Photo courtesy of Tim Lister

Memories of newspaper routes 212 and 317 By CHARLES BIRIMISA

“A driver walked away from the scene of an accident Friday afternoon after crashing into a house on Palm Avenue. The accident occurred at 3 p.m. when witnesses said a car came out of an alley off Palm at a high rate of speed, crossed Palm and drove through a picture window of a house at 637 Palm, 200 feet west of Hill Street ... One witness reportedly asked the driver if he was alright as he left the accident and the driver said he was going to call police, who are now looking for the man ...” (Register-Pajaronian, Jan. 12 1980). I came upon the scene after the driver had left, and before police

40 150 Years

arrived. The car, a 1973 Chevy SS, was halfway in the house. Curious neighbors and passerby milled around. The police came and not long after that a car pulled into the driveway of the damaged house. A woman got out and started crying, asking, “Why?” I pedaled away and continued route 212. I took over Fred Harried’s route 317 in July of ‘76. I was told by Barry Marchisio, the Pajaronian’s circulation district advisor — still have his business card — to meet Fred in front of his house at the Palm and Lincoln intersection. From there I followed him and learned my first job. Route 317 consisted of Palm Avenue

and Lincoln to Jefferson streets and Lincoln from East Lake to California. A glance at the Watsonville Polk guide of 1977 and the route’s customers emerge out of hibernation: Esperitu, Metz, Burk, Neff, DeAiken, Borquez, Nakamura, Alaga, Baldwin, Webb, Barros, Novac, Borba, Myatt, Bennet, Silva, Tuohey, Beltran, Wimer, Oliver, Barragan, Giron, Payton, Lloyd, Espinosa, Snyder, Dahl, Waltrip, Hall, Eula Mustain, Zimmerman, Hernandez, Lopez, Rodriguez, Munoz, Dodge, and Uruea to name a few. Collecting at the end of the month was not as bad as it may seem. I’d knock, when asked who it was I’d say “collecting.” That’s how I was instructed and they’d usually open right up.

Of course there were always a few papers in plastic bags and doing customers you’d have to keep going the route in the rain. Still, nothing can back for and trying at different times. compare to the pleasure derived from At the end of the month I’d get a bill, a particular day’s route — a day as do the computations and deposit the sunny as they come. paper’s take at Crocker Bank, which Pete dropped off the bundle around used to be where the bus depot is now. 3 p.m. On the front page was a shot Whatever was left over — and tips — of Mr. Olivera, who did our Pirates Little was mine. League practices when Mr. Radich In early ‘78, I switched routes, taking couldn’t. He was helping along a little over Paul Radich’s route 212, and Pete baton twirler who’d fallen behind in Mendoza took over as district advisor. the Fourth of July parade route. The route comprised portions of Palm From the July 5, 1978, R-P sports Avenue and Hill and California streets. page: “San Diego (Owchinko 5-7) at I remember winning contests for San Francisco (Halicki 4-2) 4:05 p.m. (All most “starts.” A start was going door- games EDT)” — Eastern Daylight Time. to-door and getting a new customer. The Giants game was already two A whopping total of three was enough hours old as I rubber-banded the for a win, and as a prize Pete drove us papers in the garage. I was listening to “start” winners — can’t remember the it on the General Electric shirt-pocket others — to the “Stick” on Sunday, Aug. AM portable radio bought by mom for 6, 1978 to watch the Dodgers beat the $3.99 at Value Giant in the Crestview Giants. Aside from that disappointment, Shopping Center in July 1972. the day was amazing. We were seated I bagged the papers in two papooses next to a true card — a Cubs fan that and finessed them on the handlebars talked about Wrigley Field and kept of my blue Wester Flyer, a Christmas us in stitches throughout. I’d venture present mom got at Western Auto, 439 to say characters like that don’t exist Main St. Watsonville50years_ad-Final.pdf 1 2/24/18 The 1:12 Padres PM anymore. had stormed back in Always a blast was bagging the the eighth and ninth innings to take a

4-3 lead. It was toward the end of the route and I had turned north on Palm. The radio was fastened and dangled from the left handlebar. Lon Simmons, the Giants announcer, was coming in crystal. The Giants were about to lose, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and no one on. Willie McCovey “worked the count to two balls and a strike.” I had just delivered Mr. Tuting’s paper at 613 Palm Ave. and was moving past 609 Palm. There was only the noise of what seemed a billion screams and “Old Man Willie!” I continued on past 605 and 601 Palm, and turned right on Brewington. “The crowd of ... 11,364 total, was in a sullen mood when ... Willie crashed a high belt pitch on a line into the football bleacher and it was bedlam.” (S.F. Chronicle July 6, 1978). •••

Charles Birimisa is a long-time resident of Watsonville.

Westview Presbyterian Church, 1898 Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 1906 Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League, 1934 We are proud to be a part of Watsonville’s 150-year history.

Congratulations to City of Watsonville, The Register Pajaronian & Martinelli’s on this significant anniversary.

The City of Watsonville

150 Years

s e t e l Watsonville h At who hit the BIG time! from

By TONY NUNEZ

Sports Editor Register-Pajaronian

KEN SEARS Watsonville tallest export, Ken Sears was a two-time NBA All-Star for the New York Knicks with a massive heart for his family, his city and those in need. A 1951 Watsonville High graduate, Sears was a standout for the Wildcatz who went on to star collegiately at the University of Santa Clara and play eight years of pro basketball with the Knicks and the San Francisco Warriors. Sears, a wiry 6-foot-9 scorer nicknamed “Big Cat,” carried Santa Clara to the NCAA Tournament three times and helped the Broncos advance to the Final Four in 1952. He was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year twice, beating NBA legend Bill Russell, then a member of the University of San Francisco, for the honor as a senior in 1955, a year in which he was also named an All-American. While with the Broncos, Sears was the first basketball player to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1954. At the time, the now global magazine was in its inaugural year of publication. The New York Knicks picked Sears fourth overall in the 1955 NBA Draft. He played six years in the Big Apple before finishing out his career in San Francisco, where Sears saw action in the 1964 NBA Finals alongside Wilt Chamberlain. He was named an NBA All-Star in 1959 and ’60, and averaged 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for his career. Sears was inducted into the Watsonville High Hall of Fame in 1989, and his high school jersey still hangs in the Goicovich Gym today. He is also a member of the Santa Clara University Hall of Fame, and was named to the California Interscholastic Federation’s 100th Anniversary Winter All-Century team joining California high school greats Gary Payton, Reggie Miller, Jason Kidd and Bill Walton. Sears died in 2017 at 83. 42 150 Years

Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

On Dec. 20, 1954, during his years at Santa Clara University, Kenny Sears became the first basketball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Pajaro Valley Historical Association archives

Kenny Sears is shown in a 1951 photo during his senior year at Watsonville High School. Register-Pajaronian

CARINA MORENO Born and raised in Watsonville, Carina “La Reina” Moreno was atop the world of female boxing world for almost a decade. From small beginnings in a cardio kickboxing class, Moreno bludgeoned her way through foe after foe at the amateur level and was named the WBAN’s Female Amateur Boxer of the Year in 2001. She completed her amateur career with a 36-2 record, and turned pro in 2003. She started off her career with a four-round unanimous decision over Cecilia Barraza at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey. It was beginning of a dominant run for the 2000

The City of Watsonville

Watsonville High grad. She won 20 of her next 21 matches, and captured titles at Flyweight, Minimumweight and Light Flyweight in the NABF, WBC and IBA. She stunned the world in her penultimate fight by knocking off German Susi Kentikian for the WBA Flyweight title. Having lost her four of her previous five fights before the bout, she earned a share of the WBAN’s “Biggest Comebacks of 2012” award. She was also named the WBAN’s Fighter of the Month. Moreno finished her professional career with a 23-6 record (6 knockouts). She was inducted into the Watsonville High Hall of Fame in 2008.

150 Years

MARK EICHHORN

The most decorated baseball player to ever suit up for Watsonville High, Mark Eichhorn was a star MLB reliever with a miraculously slow sidearm toss that stumped big leaguers for more than a decade. A 1978 Watsonville High graduate, Eichhorn made his major league debut in 1982 with the Toronto Blue Jays, but was knocked off track by a severe shoulder injury, which stripped the hurler of his fastball velocity. Eichhorn returned to the mound in 1986 with his new out-of-the-box throwing motion and was better than ever. With a deadly command

of his pitches, Eichhorn recorded a stellar season with the Blue Jays and was named the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Eichhorn also pitched for the Atlanta Braves, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles during his 14-year professional career. He won a pair of World Series (1992 and â&#x20AC;&#x2122;93) as a reliever/set-up man for the Blue Jays and All-Star closer Tom Henke. Eichhorn, now a pitching coach at Aptos High, was inducted into the Watsonville High Hall of Fame in 1987.

SHERMAN COCROFT Defying the odds again and again, Sherman Cocroft, a Watsonville High 1979 grad, is highly regarded as one of the top football players to ever play for the Wildcatz, the Cabrillo College Seahawks and the San Jose State Spartans. Born and raised in Watsonville, Cocroft earned spots in the Hall of Fame at all three schools en route to a solid five-year NFL career with stints in Kansas City (1985-87), Buffalo (1988) and Tampa Bay (1989). Cocroft was a star on the basketball court and gridiron at Watsonville, but did not receive an offer from an NCAA Division I school for either sport. He chose to play at Cabrillo for legendary coach Joe Marvin, and had immense success while with the Seahawks. In his two seasons at the junior college, Cocroft led the nation in interceptions (23) and earned a scholarship to San Jose State. Cocroft went on to record 14 interceptions during his two seasons at San Jose State. Despite the success with the Spartans, Cocroft went undrafted at the 1985 NFL draft. Undeterred, Cocroft made the team in Kansas City as an undrafted free agent. He made seven interceptions over the course of his half-decade career. Cocroft was inducted into the Watsonville High Hall of Fame in the 1990-91. He is also a member of the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 44 150 Years

More athletes who hit the big time: FRANK POST

The bad boy of the BMX world during the 1980s, Frank Post was one of the biggest personalities and strong racers of his time. After turning pro at the age of 16 in 1978, Post won his first race in his hometown a year later, finishing first in the National Bicycle Association Spring National in 1979. Nicknamed “Wildman” during the “Golden Age” of BMX, Post turned in a 12-year career and was the first racer to win the Grand Nationals of three different sanctioning bodies in the same year. He was named to the BMX Hall of Fame in 2015.

JANET COLES

Janet Coles was one of the top golfers in the world from 1977-90, playing on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour over those 12 years. Twice Coles registered wins while on tour, winning the Natural Light Lady Tara Classic in ‘78 and the Lady Michelob in ’83. She also finished fourth in the ANA Inspiration (1983) and the prestigious U.S. Women’s Open (1985). A 1972 Watsonville High graduate who went on to UCLA, Coles was a part of the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1986.

JOHN SIPIN

John was a star baseball player for the Wildcatz who was born and raised in Watsonville, and went on to play in the major leagues in the United States and Japan. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, but didn’t see action 46 150 Years

in the MLB until a trade sent him to the San Diego Padres in 1969. Despite playing well in the majors that season and the minors the next two, Sipin, a 1964 Watsonville High graduate, did not receive another shot in the MLB. He went on to star across the Pacific for the Taiyo Whales and the Ymoiuri Giants before retiring in 1980. He was inducted into the Watsonville High Hall of Fame in 2005.

TY SAMBRAILO

Ty Sambrailo made history three years ago when the Denver Broncos selected the St. Francis High alumnus (class of 2010) with the 59th pick in the NFL draft, making him the highest NFL draft selection from the area. Born and raised in Watsonville, Sambrailo was part of the Broncos’ run to Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, just an hour away from his first home. Sambrailo, an all-state selection on the gridiron at St. Francis and a star at NCAA Division I Colorado State, now plays tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.

CODY WEBB

Born and raised in Watsonville, Cody Webb is currently one of the top EnduroCross riders in the world. Since turning pro in 2003, the St. Francis High alumnus (class of 2007) has thrice won the AMA EnduroCross championship (2014, ’15 and ’17), while also claiming three silver and two bronze medals at the X Games. A Red Bull-sponsored athlete, Webb became the first American to score a spot on the podium

of the 2016 Red Bull Hare Scramble.

FRANCISCO GOMEZ

Francisco Gomez might be the most decorated soccer player to ever play for Watsonville High legendary head coach Roland Hedgpeth. As a Wildcat, Gomez (class of 1997) led the Black and Gold to a trio of league titles and a Central Coast Section championship during the 1995-96 season. He scored a pair of goals in the D-I championship game against North Salinas High at Cabrillo College. Gomez turned pro directly out of high school. He had a brief stint with the California Jaguars in the A-League before joining the Kansas City Wizards in the MLS in 1999. Gomez played a key role in Kansas City’s run to the MLS Cup in 2000, scoring the gamewinning goal in the quarterfinal round against the Colorado Rapids. Gomez was also a major cog for Team USA. He captained the Americans in the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship, and also played alongside Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra on the U-20 national team in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championships in Nigeria.

MARV MARINOVICH

Marv Marinovich is one of only a handful of Watsonville High athletes (class of 1958) to reach the NFL. A star offensive guard, Marinovich was part of the Santa Monica College football team

that went undefeated and won the national JC championship in 1958. He transferred to the University of Southern California and was a two-way captain of the Trojans’ 1962 national championship team. Marinovich was drafted in both the AFL and NFL drafts in ’62. The Oakland Raiders selected him in the AFL draft, and the Los Angeles Rams picked him in the NFL.

BEN JACQUESMAYNES

Watsonville’s adopted son, Ben Jacques-Maynes put together a stellar career as a pro American road cyclist from 2002 until his final race in 2015. A multiple event winner during his time on the bike, JacquesMaynes became the only rider to start all 10 Amgen Tours of California in 2015. Jacques-Maynes raced for Sierra Nevada-Cannondale (20022006), Priority Health-Bissell (2007-2012) and Jamis-Hagens Berman (2013-2015) over the course of his pro career.

JASON JESSEE

Known for, literally, wearing multiple hats, his one-of-a-kind personality and a unique style of skateboarding, Jason Jessee was named the 24th most influential skateboarder of all time by TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine in 2011. Sponsored by Santa Cruz, Brixton, Stance, Independent and others, the Watsonville native has been on the cover of The Skateboard Mag, and was named a Converse Skateboarding “Ambassador” in 2012 after a long hiatus from the world of skateboarding.

st. francis high school Salesian College Preparatory

Congratulations to the City of Watsonville, S. Martinelli & Co., and the Register Pajaronian on their 150th year celebrations. St. Francis is proud to be a part of the vibrant history of this community. Sharing in a tradition of Catholic education with roots in the Pajaro Valley since 1869.

2400 East Lake Avenue • Watsonville, California 95076 • 831.724.5933 • www.stfrancishigh.net

Pajaro Valley Shelter Services Building the Skills for Self-Sufficiency

EVERY YEAR on Mother’s Day, you run/walk to move families beyond homelessness. CADA AÑO en el Día de la Madre, ustedes corren/caminan para que familias se muevan más allá de la falta de vivienda.

Queen’s shoes&more

“Elegance is the Only Beauty that Never Fades”

734 East Lake Ave #10 Watsonville CA 95076 831-763-9491 queensshoes.net @queensshoesboutique Register

Pajaronian The News Leader for

Congratulations on 150 Years! 1868 - 2018

WAT S O N V I L L E , C A

www.pvshelter.org 831.728.5649

Notable people from Watsonville Andy Vargas

Betty Lewis

authored nine historical books of Watsonville and surrounding areas. •••

category of “Best World Music Album,” along with fellow Roomful of Teeth members. •••

Born in 1858 in Watsonville, Tote Du Crow was a Native American silent film actor originally who portrayed Bernardo in the silent Zorro films. Gene Sheldon later popularized this role for Disney in the late 1950s. Du Crow played 36 minor roles from year 1915 until his death. His last film was 1926’s “The Blue Streak.” •••

In 1987, Watsonville native Steve Lew was an organizer for the first West Coast conference for Asian Pacific Lesbian and Gays. Lew also cofounded the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Community HIV Project in San Francisco. The organization grew into a national service organization, was renamed the Living Well project, and eventually merged with the Asian AIDS project to become the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center in 1997. He is currently Senior Project Director for CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in Oakland.

Tote Du Crow

Andy Vargas

A Watsonville native is the lead singer of the worldrenowned rock band Santana. Andy Vargas was born and raised in Watsonville. He attended Moreland Notre Dame School and graduated in 1995 from Watsonville High, where he was part of the football team and the Video Academy. He deejayed at local schools, Cilantros restaurant and performed at local talent shows. And since 2000, he has toured the world with guitar legend Carlos Santana. Vargas says music has always been a part of his life. His father, Javier Vargas, often practiced with his band Mariachi California de Javier Vargas in their garage. Everything from mariachi and cumbia to hip-hop and R&B — it was embedded Andy’s life growing up in Watsonville. When Vargas was just a teenager, his mother introduced him to record producer Terry Melcher, who would eventually help launch his career. He found himself auditioning for Carlos Santana’s band in 1999, not long after the release of the group’s Grammy award-winning album “Supernatural.” Vargas describes the experiences he’s had with the band as “magical” and that he’s learned from Santana about what is most important as a performer. “Carlos always says, the goal of a concert is to have people leave the show feeling good,” Vargas said. “They need to feel liberated. They need to be happy.” He credits his early exposure to music as what kept him on the right track growing up. “We have to be proactive in our lives to make things happen,” Vargas said. “I believe the luckier you are the harder you’re working.”

Betty Lewis

•••

Betty Lewis (1925–2008) began writing historical articles for the Register Pajaronian in 1974. Her weekly column titled “That Was Watsonville” appeared every Thursday evening in the newspaper. She also wrote for various other publications, and

Estelí Gomez

Joel Fabiani

Film, television and theater actor Joel Fabiani was born in Watsonville on Sept. 28, 1936. He is most famous for starring in the British cult classic “Department S,” and also guest starred in “The FBI,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The Rockford Files,” “Starsky and Hutch” and more. He has also had recurring roles in soap operas such as “As the World Turns,” and “All My Children,” among others. •••

Estelí Gomez

Multiple Grammy Award-winning musician Estelí Gomez is from Watsonville. She is a founding member of Roomful of Teeth, who received the 2013 Grammy for “Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance,” and they also performed at the 2014 ceremony. Roomful of Teeth was nominated again in 2015 for their album, “Render.” Gomez received her second Grammy in 2017 for collaborating on the opening track of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble’s “Sing Me Home,” which won in the

Steve Lew