It’s hard to believe that, with its lunch hour traffic, expansive housing developments, and myriad big box stores, Santa Maria once housed a mere 3,500 people, a few horses, a train, and some oil drills. What’s harder to believe is that many of Santa Maria’s current senior citizens remember those days from their childhood.
The city has progressed relatively quickly in the last 100 years—from oil to retail, and from agriculture to, well, less agriculture.
Santa Maria was a different world when George Curtis Tunnell, who is now in his 90s, was younger—much younger—than he is today.
Tunnell shared some of his favorite childhood memories on the first of 14 DVDs developed by the GenSpan Foundation that retell the first 100 years of Santa Maria’s history.
The DVDs recount the lives of some of Santa Maria’s prominent and pioneering families, the city’s war years, oil years, and other important events.
Brenda Fraser, program coordinator for the GenSpan Foundation, said that the DVDs took about two years to produce.
“There was so much history about Santa Maria that I didn’t know. I was embarrassed,” she said.
The first DVD talks about Tunnell’s life—his early years and his eventual contributions as city councilman, mayor, and county supervisor.
Tunnell recalled that, when he was a boy of about 12, he was in a stubblefield adjacent to his house when a pilot landed there. Having never before seen an airplane, the amazed Tunnell ran over and was lucky enough to receive a ride. Tunnell went on to become an influential person in the shaping of Santa Maria, and the stubblefield later became home to a pilot training school formed by another influential Santa Marian, Capt. G. Allan Hancock.
Similar stories from folks who have been there and done that are found on the other DVDs. They talk about the war years in Santa Maria, the biography of Capt. Hancock, the town of Betteravia, the history of oil in the valley, and more.
The DVDs will be given to schools that GenSpan works with in order to generate student interest in the city’s history. Eventually, the DVDs will be available for sale to the public.
“We want the children to learn about the history of Santa Maria and take pride in the community they live in,” Fraser said.
GenSpan is a nonprofit that creates and supports intergenerational programs by bringing together different generations in work, play, and learning. Coordinators believe that putting together the DVD series promotes that purpose.
Producer Richard Gwyn explained that he’s had quite a time researching, interviewing, and putting the DVDs together.
“I’m the producer, which is a fancy word for the guy who does all the leg work,” he said.
The biggest challenge came in trying to get in touch with people who still remember the pioneering days of the city. But Gwyn, who has lived in Santa Maria since 1969, knows all of the history makers and has seen a lot of the city’s change himself.
The DVDs feature long-lost footage and photos of some historic events in the city’s beginnings, such as the last train ride of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad and the taking down of Old Maude oil drill.
“I think it’s going to be a great idea to preserve that it’s sort of a legacy,” Gwyn said.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is busy making her own history in Santa Maria. She can be reached at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 17-24, 2008.
