The Stories of Milpitas Parks: Delano Manongs Park
The Milpitas Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Commission (PRCRC) recently voted to name our city’s two newest parks, still in development, after two people who were important to our city’s development in very different eras and ways.
First Park Named for Bob McGuire
The November 2015 issue of the Milpitas Muse stated that of the two new parks being planned for Milpitas, one is to be named for Bob McGuire (1930-2012), the first Director of Parks and Recreation for Milpitas, a longtime member of the PRCRC, and the late husband of our current Events Director Harriett McGuire.
PRCRC Voted & Second Park Initially Named for Captain Calvin Valpey
The PRCRC also voted to name another, much smaller, new park was to be named for Captain Calvin Valpey, (1806-1880) who sailed produce from the Santa Clara Valley to San Francisco. He owned land and warehouses in Warm Springs and at Dixon Landing, Milpitas. He lived there until his death in 1880.
Further research, however, revealed that Captain Valpey’s home, most of his holdings, and most of his time spent were in Warm Springs, not Milpitas.
Second Park Renamed for O.H.P. Vennum—not Captain Calvin Valpey
This newsletter reported that a park once slated to be named after Captain Calvin Valpey, (1806-1880) was instead going to be named for O. H. P (Oliver Harrison Perry) Vennum who was a prominent farm owner and the first Justice of the Peace for Milpitas Township starting in 1861. He farmed in the eastern area of Milpitas and is believed to be buried at Laguna Cemetery.
The 1895 photo, taken by famed local photographer and painter Andrew P. Hill, shows a field of mammoth pumpkins at the Vennum farm on Lundy Road.
City Rejects PRCRC Choice of Vennum Name: Second Park Named for Larry Itliong
However, in an unprecedented move, the city rejected the PRCRC’s suggestion of the
Vennum name and made the decision to rename the park for Larry Itliong (1913-1977) who was a Filipino-American labor leader who was important in organizing Filipino farm labor.
He rose to prominence in 1965 when he was among the organizers of what became known as the Delano Grape Strike, which was one of the first times when Mexican and Filipino workers struck together. That strike brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW).
City of Milpitas Renames Second New Park as Delano Manongs
Itliong was one of the main people featured in the recently released film “The Delano Manongs,” about the pivotal role Itliong and other Filipino leaders played in that important event. However, that was the only connection Itliong had with Milpitas.