Completion mid-July Names still sought for Farmworkers Monument
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: March 03, 2010
With plans to start construction of the Farmworkers Monument in coming months, more names of those who worked in the area’s agricultural industry are being sought for inscription on the only such memorial of its kind in the nation.
Councilman Dr. Gabino Aguirre Gabino said major donors, including Limoneira Company, have already supplied about 1,000 names of those who worked in the area’s number one industry, agriculture, over the years. “We have room for about 2,000 names” on the wall of the monument, to be located at the corner of East Santa Barbara and 9th/Davis streets in Railroad Plaza Park.
Albino Pineda of Santa Paula, a community activist who has served on area school and other boards of directors, started the effort several years ago to honor those who work in the agricultural industry, especially field and orchard laborers. Pineda worked in the fields as a youth and during leave while serving in World War II.
The approximately $250,000 monument will include life-size bronze statues of two farm laborers on either side of a sandstone wall emblazoned with rising and setting suns. The names of up to 2,000 farmworkers - from those who toiled in the fields to those who worked in packinghouses and in other aspects of the industry - will be engraved on the monument, a structure that is expected to be another attraction in a corridor rich with murals, historic buildings, The Warning statute and the Floating Granite Ball, and near art and oil museums.
The work was designed and is being completed by noted artist Hilario Galeana at his Hilario’s Fine Art Studio in Ventura.
Aguirre said that although a suggested $100 donation per name is not required for name placement on the monument, “It is suggested... but when talking about farmworkers and their incomes it’s hard to imagine” they would be able to bear the cost. In such cases, he noted, a donation is “not an expectation that will generally apply.”
Although just the name of the honored worker will be engraved, the application does include a request for a brief job history, including the company or companies the worker was employed. “That’s more for a data base for us to have for historical reference, whatever,” said Aguirre. Monument names, he added, can reflect an individual or a family.
Aguirre said last week he was on his way to a pre-bid meeting for monument construction. “It will take about 45 days for bids and approval and then, according to Deputy Public Works Director Jon Turner, another 30 days” to finalize details. “Then construction is a 45-day window,” and Aguirre said he expects the monument dedication to be held in mid-July.
When Pineda first formally proposed the monument the James Irvine Foundation pledged $50,000, and Limoneira Company agreed to match donations up to $125,000. Aguirre said he would like to raise more money for the construction, as well as up to $100,000 for an endowment that would pay for maintenance for the site, which includes a 45-foot-wide brick plaza with benches and lighting.
Aguirre hopes the nation’s first Latino astronaut, Jose Hernandez, who grew up in a family of migrant farmworkers, will attend the dedication of the monument. “We’re all excited,” including Pineda, “of course, the originator of the concept for this project,” Aguirre said. “The two statues have been cast; we’re ordering special stone for the façade” where the names will be engraved. At one time bronze plaques were considered for each name, but “It seemed to be too expensive and we wanted more of a natural look.”
Aguirre asked those who would like more information on the monument or are interested in placing names on same to leave a message for him by calling Deputy City Clerk Peggy Higgins, 933-4208. “We are very proud as a community of this project,” one, noted Aguirre, destined to add to Santa Paula’s reputation for devotion to history, culture and art.
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