The next meeting of the Milpitas Historical Society, at 7 pm on Wednesday, June 12, will feature a presentation on Henry M. Naglee, Civil War General and San Jose land developer, of whom there is a statue in San Jose’s St. James Park. But there’s more to his story than you might imagine, so come and hear distinguished San Jose writer and historian April Halberstadt present all the surprising details. Meetings are held in the Community Room (Auditorium) of the Milpitas Library, 160 North Main Street; free; all are welcome.

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Historians at Jenny Lind Monument Dedications

Milpitas Historical Society Meeting: Remember the Jenny Lind

The May meeting of the Milpitas Historical Society will be held at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 8, and will feature a talk by the “Jenny Lind Gang”: Chris McKay, Claire Britton Warren, and South Bay Yacht Club Commodore Russ Robinson, three historians who worked to commemorate the victims of the Jenny Lind disaster with a historic marker at the Alviso Marina. They will be presenting the full story of the explosion on the steamship Jenny Lind that took place on April 13, 1853, took many lives, and may have changed California history. The group meets in the Community Room (auditorium) of the Milpitas Library, 160 N. Main Street, Milpitas, CA. All are welcome, no charge.

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The last authentic WWII Liberty Ship, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien

The meeting is Wednesday, April 10, at 7 pm, in the Auditorium (Community Room) of the Milpitas Library.

Our presenter will be Jo Lawrence, shown below shaking hands with President Clinton in 1994, after his tour of the ship. Ms. Lawrence is a native Californian who is retired from Civil Service (30 years with the Department of the Navy) and a veteran who served in the Navy Hospital Corps at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland. She has been volunteering on the O’Brien since 1980 and will have many interesting stories to tell us about this historic ship and its adventures.

Jo Lawrence shaking hands with President Clinton in 1994

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The event was attended by three generations of descendants of the original Alviso and Sepulvida families and of the Cuciz family, who lived and farmed there later.

Milpitas Historical Society members (shown below, left to right: Joe Ehardt, Mabel Mattos, Jim Mattos, Kraig Bunnell, Joanne Sousa, Catherine Pelizzari, Roger Skuse, and Shirley Skuse) wore period costumes and served as docents to provide historical background information to visitors.

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This will be especially good to see because our May Historical Society program will feature Alviso’s South Bay Yacht Club Commodore Russ Robinson and historian Claire Britton-Warren giving us the whole story of the Jenny Lind disaster.

You can find out more about the dedication and how to get there at this site: Alviso Marina County Park or by calling (408) 262-6980. We hope you can come to this event.

County Supervisor Dave Cortese will speak, and re-enactors in historic costume will answer questions.

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Manuel Mattos and his twin brother, Joseph, were born at home in 1919 to parents Manuel and Rose on a small ranch in an area known as Wayne Station in San Jose, CA. He had an older brother, Alfred, a younger brother, Henry, and a younger sister, Edith. (His younger brother Henry, a longtime Society member and late husband of our Membership Director, Mabel Mattos, died in February). Manuel Mattos and his brothers and sister attended and graduated from the 8th grade at Orchard Elementary School on Gish Road in San Jose. The family attended the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Milpitas.

Manuel was drafted into the army in October of 1941 and was sent to Camp Roberts, CA for basic training, and upon completing that training, was sent to Yachats, OR to join the Army Signal Corps. While off duty, Manuel went swimming in the ocean on June 29, 1942, was caught in an undertow, and lost his life by drowning. He was buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in San Jose. Honored by his city, he is still loved and appreciated by his family.

There is also a Mattos Avenue in San Jose, about a mile and a half south of Milpitas off Piedmont Road. But this street was named for John Mattos, who had a large apricot ranch in that area and whose sons invented a widely-used apricot cutter. This San Jose Mattos family is not directly related to the Milpitas Mattos family, but was also descended from people who emigrated in the 19th century from the Azores Islands.

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Do you or a friend or family member have any interesting antiques, family treasures, or historic objects you could tell us about? We’d love to have one or two members or friends do a “show and tell” like Roger’s at each of our upcoming meetings. If you have any family, community, or historical treasures you could tell us about, please call Roger at 408/262-0354 to sign up for a meeting.

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May 1 – June 30, 2013

Milpitas City Hall

455 E. Calaveras Blvd.

Milpitas, CA

Milpitas Veterans and family members of passed Veterans are invited to celebrate and honor their service by loaning medals, hats, photos, certificates, letters, etc. for this exciting display.

Items should be brought to City staff member Renee Lorentzen at the Milpitas Community Center, 457 E. Calaveras Blvd., by Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

Contact staff at 408-589-3409 with any questions.

Supported by the Milpitas Historical Society and the Milpitas Veterans Commission.

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