A house that was once was a home

BY: JON CHOWN

Santa Cruz artist Michael Leeds crafted his vehicle (at left) from a 1941 Seagrave hook and ladder fire truck. At right is Watsonville car collector and author Jack Passey’s 1933 Lincoln. The two vehicles were part of a small collection of classic cars on display at the Apple Annual Sunday at the Redman-Hirahara farmstead on Lee Road.

Many notable people were strolling the lawn of the Redman-Hirahara House on Sunday at the Apple Annual, a wine glass in one hand and the other used to articulate a point. Sitting on the sidestep of his 1933 Lincoln, author and car collector Jack Passey of Watsonville talked about his passion with Santa Cruz artist Michael Leeds, who is known for transforming old “junk” into futuristic designs.

Leeds drove his one-of-a-kind invention to the party, a 12-cylinder purple beast that used to be a 1941 Seagrave hook and ladder firetruck. Leeds had been working on the car for 37 years.

“It’s a vehicle that is from yesterday, here today and for tomorrow,” he said.

The same could be said of the vision for the Redman-Hirahara House. The people behind the restoration effort see the home and surrounding farmstead as a vehicle from the past, here today and for the future — a vehicle to promote the region and what is has to offer the millions of people driving by each day.

“That is what we are here for today,” said Geoff Scurfield, board president of the Redman Foundation. “This house has a lot to offer this community.”

The Apple Annual, Watsonville’s first in nearly a century, was a fundraiser to finish the foundation for the house, which was lifted more than a year ago. Perched above the crowd, two sisters looked up at it, remembering when they lived inside its walls.

“We were a family of 13, so the kids spent a lot of time playing outside,” said Eiko Nishihara, 82, who still lives in Watsonville. Eiko and her sister Yoshiko Nishihara, 81, were part of the Hirahara family that owned the home and were forced to leave it during World War II when all Americans of Japanese descent were ordered detained and forced into prison camps further east. The Hiraharas were moved to Arkansas.

The two girls spent their years in high school in one camp or another while in Arkansas before finally returning to Watsonville around 1948.

“My father and brother went home first to make sure it was safe,” said Yoshiko.

In 1950, the two women married brothers and moved out of the house. The years after the war were not easy for the Hiraharas. Local merchants would not sell them gas for their tractor and the sisters’ brother Fumio had to go to Monterey for it. Local outlets for their produce were also cut off, but distributors from Los Angeles welcomed the bounty of the Pajaro Valley.

“We had other Japanese families living here and working on the farm,” Eiko said. “And we sold a lot of vegetables in L.A.”

Aki Hane, 72, was a member of one of those families. He was 8 or 9 and lived with his family in one of the dormitories that had been created in the barn.

“It wasn’t the best accommodations,” said Hane. “There were quite a few families in there. We had a whole community of Japanese people here with nowhere else to go — no money. Those were hard days.”

Hane remembers playing outside and working on the farm for a couple of years after returning to Watsonville. Ping-Pong was the most popular pastime for the kids and the table was near the front of the house.

“The house had gorgeous stained-glass windows and the front door was very ornate with a lot of cut stained-glass. The banister was beautiful,” Hane said.

“I am glad that they are going to restore it,” Yoshiko said. “There’s a lot of things missing.”

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*

(Published in 10/13/08 edition)

Apple Annual blossoms Sunday

BY: TODD GUILD

A variety of apples thrive at the Redman House on Lee Road at West Beach Street where an Apple Annual fundraiser will take place Sunday.

As the season slides slowly into autumn, the green trees are yielding to yellows and reds, while fallen leaves crunch underfoot. The sun, which has a little more trouble breaking free of the misty mornings, gives way more easily every day to cool, crisp evenings.

For many, the autumn weather is a perfect backdrop for the harvest festivals that usher in the winter.

One such festival is the Apple Annual, which for years was a Watsonville tradition, and a salute to a time when when the fruit dominated Pajaro Valley’s agricultural scene and the area boasted more than a million trees on 14,000 acres.

The event, which will take place Sunday, will feature food and beverages from several local providers, including S. Martinelli & Co., Monterey Bay Catering and Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria. The apples will be provided by Watsonville farms.

The Pajaro Valley Historical Association will have a table set up with Apple Annual memorabilia. Additionally, several items donated from Santa Cruz County businesses will be auctioned.

So far, organizers have sold 50 tickets, and expect about 150 people will attend the event.

“A big part of our vision is to provide a community-based venue,” said Barbara Powell, director of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation.

Powell added that the celebration has room for 300 attendees.

The festival, which was launched in 1910 by the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce, honored Pajaro Valley’s apple growers. Organizers hoped to bring in $100,000 annually.

The success of the first festival exceeded expectations, with 40,000 people coming from all over the country, but after three successful years, the Apple Annual moved to San Francisco. It eventually faded away when World War I began.

The idea to bring back the Apple Annual was launched when historians learned that the owner of the Redman House — a Victorian-style manor sitting at the corner of West Beach Street and Lee Road — was involved in the early Pajaro Valley apple industry.

The celebration will be held at the Redman property, although ongoing restoration of the house will at first hinder a larger celebration.

Organizers hope to quickly finish the house and expand the property to eventually produce a family-friendly festival.

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The Apple Annual will be held Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at the Redman House. For information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.redmanhouse.com. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the event.

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula, program cover courtesy of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association*

(Published in 10/10/08 edition)

Apple Annual gala to return

Posted: Wednesday, Jul 9th, 2008
BY: TODD GUILD

Richard Hernandez, archive volunteer at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association, views a collection of programs and promotional material Tuesday from the California Apple Show circa 1910.

It’s been almost a century since Watsonville held its Apple Annual, a harvest celebration from a time when the fruit dominated Pajaro Valley’s agricultural scene, and the area boasted more than a million trees on 14,000 acres.

Now, organizers from the Redman-Hirahara Foundation are planning to revive the event.

To kick off the planning process, organizers have announced a poster contest for the return of the Apple Annual. The winning poster will be used as an advertisement for the celebration.

The idea to bring back the Apple Annual was launched when historians learned that the owner of the Redman House — a Victorian-style house sitting at West Beach Street and Lee Road — was involved in the early Pajaro Valley apple industry.

Appropriately, the celebration will be held at the Redman property, although ongoing restoration of the house will at first hinder a larger celebration.

“We’re going to start out small, because the property we can use is limited,” said Barbara Powell, executive director of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation. “But we hope to grow it into a harvest festival. We want to keep the apple spirit alive in the valley.”

Organizers hope to quickly finish the house and expand the property to eventually produce a family-friendly festival.

The first Apple Annual will be an adults-only event featuring apples and wine, food and appetizers.

The original Apple Annual was held in the end stages of autumn, when trees fading to yellows and reds were interspersed among the redwood trees and the multihued, verdant greens of Pajaro Valley’s year-round crops. The scent of apples and fallen leaves filled the air — a bittersweet harbinger of the encroaching winter.

The festival was launched in 1910 by the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce as a way to spotlight Pajaro Valley’s apple growers. Organizers hoped to bring in $100,000 annually.

The success of the first festival exceeded expectations, with 40,000 people coming in from all over the country.

After three successful years, the Apple Annual moved to San Francisco in 1914 to be a part of the Panama Pacific International Exposition. It eventually faded away when World War I began.

Now, all that remains of the festival is found in a handful of books, a stack of programs and boxes of faded postcards, safely tucked into the file cabinets of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association.

Famed architect William Weeks designed the Apple Annual building to hold the festival. The massive structure sat on Second Street, where the fire station now stands. Despite the size of the building, a large tent had to be erected next door to hold the crowds and displays. This building became the Civic Center, where children went skating and boxing matches were held. The building was torn down in the 1960s.

The first Apple Annual was a weeklong celebration that featured more than 2 million apples from 15 counties. The fruit was incorporated into displays, food and enormous apple sculptures that ranged from buildings to boats.

The apple will join several already celebrated foods with their own annual festivals: Watsonville’s Strawberry, Castroville’s Artichoke and Gilroy’s Garlic.

“Its products, its agriculture, whatever the Pajaro Valley has to offer, we want to show it to the world,” said Powell.

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For information, visit www.redmanhouse.com.

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*Photo by Tarmo Hannula, apple annual programs courtesy of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association*

Redman-Hirahara Foundation gives progress update at weekend luncheon

By JON CHOWN FOR THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN




More than 100 people visited the historic Rancho Santa Maria in Watsonville on Sunday to hear about the progress towards the restoration of the Redman-Hirahara House, which sits at the corner of Lee Road and East Beach Street.

Rancho Santa Maria, a 10,000-square-foot home built in the 1930s and nestled in the foothills above the Pajaro Valley just off Hecker Pass, provided a stunning locale for the event, which included the classic cars from the local chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America, scrumptious food provided by Ken Schwann of Monterey Bay Catering and wine tasting by Glenwood Oaks Winery.

Sandy Lydon, Historian Emeritus at Cabrillo College, and Rob Edwards, director of Cabrillo College’s Archaeological Technology program, both spoke on the importance of saving the Redman-Hirahara House and transforming it into a community resource. Edwards talked about discoveries he made during an archeological dig around the house in 2005.

“Most people just don’t understand how important this old house is,” said Lydon, who spoke about the history of the Hirahara family, which was one of many Japanese-American families forced into internment during World War II.

The Redman-Hirahara Foundation is working to restore the house and turn it and the surrounding acreage into an educational and cultural center. Ten acres of the farm are being leased by local organic farmer Stephen Pederson and school children have already been visiting the farm and learning about local agriculture. The house was recently lifted off its crumbling foundation and funds are being raised for a new foundation. Eventually, the Redman-Hirahara group wants to be able to draw in some of the millions of tourists who pass by the house each year and educate them on what the region has to offer. They say that the house is the ideal site to do it.

“This house is the most recognizable landmark along this stretch of Highway 1 and it provides a really unique opportunity to promote so many things that are important to the Pajaro Valley and beyond,” said Geoff Scurfield, board president of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation.

Redman-Hirahara House gets a lift

BY: REGISTER-PAJARONIAN STAFF

Workers from Fresno House Movers prepare to hoist the 1897 Redman House skyward Monday as part of a major restoration project. Preparations are under way and the site work has begun to lift the Redman-Hirahara House onto cribbing, stabilizing the historic 1897 home until a new foundation is constructed.

The lifting of the house will begin today at 10:30 a.m. and will take several hours. Ron Campbell of Fresno Housemovers is currently on site placing steel I-beams and smaller cross beams underneath the house in preparation for the lift.
The house is recognizable throughout the region as it rests just off Highway 1 west of Watsonville at the corner of Beach Street and Lee Road. The house is significant, not only for its agricultural history, but its cultural history as well. It is the first known farmstead owned by a Japenese-American family, the Hiraharas. The family was interned during WWII and was forced to leave the home. Fortunately, local residents watched over the home and it was waiting for the Hiraharas when they returned and then the barn was transformed into a dormitory for other Japanese-Americans left homeless by the internment.

"The story behind this house is heart-wrenching and it needs to be told,” said Redman Foundation board president Geoff Scurfield.

Lifting the house is a huge step forward for the Redman Foundation, the nonprofit organization that is overseeing the restoration of the home and plans to transform the site into an educational and cultural center. Already, 10 acres of the farm are being leased by a local organic farmer and school children are already visiting and learning.

“In the 10-year history of our efforts, this is the biggest step we’ve made in restoring the house,” said Scurfield. “This is such an important project for the entire Central Coast. Highway 1 is California’s most historic highway and so many people drive by this house, millions each year. We can reach so many people.”

The approximately 115-ton, 2 1/2-story home will be hoisted up on jacks after beams have been put in place underneath. When put back down on the new foundation, the house will sit two feet higher, lifting it above the flood plain of the Pajaro River.

Redman board vice president Dean Coley said raising funds for the foundation will be the next challenge, but once that is complete, he hopes the house will be resting on a new foundation by next winter.

“This is great for the community of the entire Central Coast,” said Coley. “Millions of cars pass that house along Highway 1 each year and it could be such a wonderful showcase. We need to take pride in our history here.”

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*

Hopes rise as foundation lifted on Redman-Hirahara house

By DONNA JONES Sentinel staff writer
Watsonville

For years a banner pleading for help hung from the ramshackle mansion in a field west of Highway 1 near the Santa Cruz-Monterey county line.

But to the millions of observers who pass by annually, the decade-old effort to restore the historic Redman-Hirahara home appeared to languish.

Not anymore.

Wednesday, crews completed the first step toward bringing the mansion back to life, lifting the two-story structure off its foundation so the damaged underpinnings can be replaced.

"Lots of people wondered whether we'd get something off the ground," said Dean Coley, vice chairman of the Redman Foundation. "We're definitely off the ground now"

But not out of the woods. The next phase of the $4.2 million restoration calls for a new concrete foundation with an estimated price tag of $200,000, 10 times what the lift cost and money that's still to be raised.

Project backers are looking to this week's work to boost fundraising efforts. A benefit is in the works for late October or early November.


"We're hoping that this is going to tell people we're serious about this and hopefully make people open their wallets," Coley said.

To Coley, fixing up the mansion and turning it into a cultural and educational showcase is worth the years and dollars he and other volunteers have spent laying the groundwork for the project. The group purchased the 14-acre property from a private developer in 2004 for $1.9 million and leased 10 acres to a local organic farmer to help pay the mortgage.

The Queen Anne Victorian, designed by famed architect William Weeks, was built in 1887 for sugar beet farmer James Redman. In 1930, the property was sold to the Hiraharas, a Japanese American family who lived in the house before and after internment during World War II.

"It really is a symbol, the gateway to Monterey County, to Santa Cruz County, to the Pajaro Valley, a symbol of our pride or lack thereof," Coley said. "It's a gem and we want to restore it"

Contact Donna Jones at djones (at) santacruzsentinel.com

REDMAN-HIRAHARA HOUSE TO BE LIFTED WEDNESDAY

Preparations are under way and the site work has begun to lift the Redman-Hirahara House onto cribbing, stabilizing the historic home until a new foundation is constructed. The lifting of the house will begin Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. and will go on for several hours.
Ron Campbell of Fresno Housemovers is currently on site placing steel I-beams and smaller cross beams underneath the house in preparation for the lift.

The house is recognizable throughout the region as it rests just off Highway 1 west of Watsonville at the corner of Beach Street and Lee Road. The house is significant, not only for its agricultural history, but its cultural history as well. It is the first known farmstead owned by a Japenese-American family, the Hiraharas. The family was interned during WWII and was forced to leave the home. Fortunately, local residents watched over the home and it was waiting for the Hiraharas when they returned and then the barn was transformed into a dormitory for other Japanese-Americans left homeless by the internship.

“The story behind this house is heart wrenching and it needs to be told,” said Redman Foundation board president Geoff Scurfield. Lifting the house is a huge step forward for the Redman Foundation, the non-profit organization that is overseeing the restoration of the home and plans to transform the site into an educational and cultural center. Already, 10 acres of the farm are being leased by a local organic farmer and school children are already visiting and learning.

“In the 10-year history of our efforts, this is the biggest step we’ve made in restoring the house,” said Geoff Scurfield, president of the Redman Foundation. “This is such an important project for the entire Central Coast. Highway One is California’s most historic highway and so many people drive by this house, millions each year. We can reach so many people.”

The approximately 115-ton, 2 1/2-story home will be hoisted up on jacks after beams have been put in place underneath. When put back down on the new foundation, the house will sit 2 ½ feet higher than it is currently, lifting it above the flood plain of the Pajaro River.

Redman board vice president Dean Coley said raising funds for the foundation will be the next challenge, but once that is complete, he hopes the house will be resting on a new foundation by next winter.

“This is great for the community of the entire Central Coast,” said Coley. “Millions of cars pass that house along Highway One each year and it could be such a wonderful showcase. We need to take pride in our history here.”

Please call Geoff Scurfield at 818-2707 or Dean Coley at 840-1000 for more information. Media are invited to visit the site, but please call first.

8/3 Anna Caballero visits Watsonville

Anna Caballero (right), assemblywoman for California’s 28th District, asks Redman Foundation President Geoff Scurfield about the history of the Redman-Hirahara farm during a visit to the Lee Road Victorian on Thursday. Caballero was in Watsonville on Thursday visiting constituents.


State Assemblywoman Anna Caballero was in Watsonville Thursday visiting constituents, talking about what she’s been doing in Sacramento since being elected in November, and generally impressing her audience.

Watsonville senior activist Lorraine Stucki hosted Caballero for a two-hour lunch at her home before the assemblywoman toured the Redman-Hirahara House project and finished the day visiting with Watsonville High Principal Murry Schekman.

While at Stucki’s house, the former mayor of Salinas talked about her recent experiences in Sacramento and said she has taken a hard line on spending.

In her first term, Caballero has been appointed to serve as the chair of the Committee on Local Government and as a member of the committees on Appropriations; Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy; Water Parks and Wildlife; and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

“I have had some knock-down, drag-out sessions with senators who didn’t want a freshman assemblymember telling them what to do with their bills,” said Caballero. “I enjoy this job. It’s a huge learning curve.”

Caballero said she had some modest spending bills in the works, focusing on youth violence prevention and affordable housing. One bill provides money to libraries for teen literacy programs. Another bill provides funding for a pilot apprenticeship program for a vocational education police program.

“These are bills that will provide resources to communities,” said Caballero. “So many of our youth are dropping out of school, hanging out on the streets and scaring people. We need to address this with statewide programs.”

“She listened to everyone’s concerns, all of them,” said Betty Bobeda, who attended the lunch at Stucki’s. “I am impressed with her patience.”

Watsonville Police Capt. Manny Solano was also at the lunch. “It says something when you have a pretty busy assemblywoman who takes her time to come out to a home and talk to local people and get us involved and informed,” he said. “I was impressed with her availability.”

After lunch, Caballero visited with some of the board members of the Redman Foundation, who talked to her about their plans to turn the Redman-Hirahara ranch into a cultural and visitors center. The group showed her the home and then talked about their plans for restoration and efforts to raise money. Caballero offered both advice and encouragement.

“It’s amazing. I’ve driven past this house so many times and never knew,” she said. “I think there are some really good factors that bring in a lot of possibilities. I think this is a great project.”

Board members were equally excited about Caballero’s earnest enthusiasm for the project and the assistance and cooperation she showed the group.

“She’s great. I was impressed,” said Dean Coley, vice president of the Redman Foundation.

Caballero said she would be coming back to Watsonville in the coming weeks and would announce a time when constituents could meet with her.

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*Photo by Jon Chown*

(Published in 8/3/07 edition)