February 20, 2020—Installation Dinner

Milpitas Historical Society Celebrates 2020 Board and Officers at Installation Dinner

The Milpitas Historical Society held its annual dinner to celebrate the installation of its new officers and board of directors on Thursday evening, February 20, 2020 at the Summitpointe Golf Club Restaurant.

Board President Bill Hare Welcomes Guests

Board President Bill Hare welcomed our unusually distinguished group of guests: Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran; California State Assemblyman Kansen Chu and his wife Daisy; District 3 Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Richard Santos; Milpitas Unified School District Board President Hon Lien; Milpitas Unified School District Board Member Kelly Yip-Chuan; Commissioner Bill Chuan of the Milpitas Planning Commission; Alternate Commissioner of the Economic Development & Trade Commission Juliette Gomez; John Agg, Chair, Milpitas Art Commission; and our special guests of honor from Oregon, Gregory Nokes, author and event speaker, and his wife Candise.

Milpitas Historical Society”s 2020 Board

The 2020 board members include (left to right): Landmarks Director Steve Munzel, Secretary Irma Munzel, Treasurer and Educational Outreach Programs Director Joe Ehardt, Vice President and Newsletter Editor Catherine Pelizzari, Hospitality Director Mary Ann Udoutch, Historian Joanne Souza, Membership Director Dan Cosper, Publicity and Public Relations Director Harriett McGuire, and President Bill Hare, with Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran to the right.

Slate of Officers and Directors for 2020*

Officers

• President: Bill Hare
• Vice President: Catherine Pelizzari
• Secretary: Irma Munzel
• Treasurer: Joe Ehardt

Directors

• Historian: Joanne Souza
• Hospitality: Mary Ann Udoutch
• Landmarks: Kraig Bunnell
• Membership: Danny Cosper
• Public Relations: Harriett McGuire
• Programs and Publications: Catherine Pelizzari
• Educational Outreach Programs Joe Ehardt
• Special Events: Harriett McGuire
• Landmarks: Steve Munzel
• Archives: Joe Ehardt

Catherine Pelizzari Presented Honorary Service Award—Newsletter & Speaker Recruitment

In the course of a brief regular business meeting, President Bill Hare presented an Honorary Service Award (with lifetime membership) to Catherine Pelizzari for producing the newsletter and recruiting speakers for the meetings for the past decade; California Assembly member Kansen Chu also presented her with a Certificate of Recognition for her services.

Author Gregory Nokes Speaks on Latest Book: “The Troubled Life of Peter Burnett”

After the dinner, journalist, historian, and author Gregory Nokes talked about the subject of his latest book, The Troubled Life of Peter Burnett.”

After the dinner, journalist, historian, and author Gregory Nokes talked about the subject of his latest book, The Troubled Life of Peter Burnett.”

Peter Hardeman Burnett was born in Tennessee in 1807, raised in rural Missouri, and was self-educated in law and government. In 1843 he joined the westward movement to move his family to Oregon, where he farmed for a while and was elected Oregon’s provisional legislature between 1844 and 1848.

In 1848, he rushed to California, along with so many others, for gold, and he made a little money. Then he made more selling land for John Sutter. In 1849, he was elected California’s first Governor, even though California did not officially become a state until 1850. In 1851, he resigned, frustrated by legislative opposition to his views, including horribly racist ones.

Burnett held a surprising number of short-term positions after that, including serving briefly as a justice in the California Supreme Court between 1857 and 1858, and as a member of the Sacramento City Council, as well as becoming a San Jose-based lawyer, and then the president of the Pacific Bank of San Francisco. He died in 1895 at the age of 87 in San Francisco.