As part of our observance of Veterans’ Day in November, we look toward our Milpitas Streets that are named for US Military Veterans. Traughber Street, a residential street that crosses North Park Victoria Drive south of Jacklin Road, was named for Navy Veteran Raymond Leeland Traughber.
Milpitas People and Places
Street Name Stories
Ray Traughber was born April 3, 1919 in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Known as“Cotton” to his family and close friends, his nickname was said to have come from the snow white hair he had as a child. While he was still quite young, his parents moved their eight children to Hillsboro, Oregon, where he grew up.
At 17, Ray joined the United States Navy. The navy took him many places around the world and he visited nearly every continent. During World War II, his ships were in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He was on two ships that were sunk in battle, and in one of those incidents he received a battlefield promotion to Warrant Officer. He also served in the Korean War.
Traughber Street Map
Raymond TraughberIn 1945, Ray married another Hillsboro, Oregon resident, Lorraine Shepherd. They were married in April, 1945, in San Francisco. They moved to many different locations during their marriage: California, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Florida, and Hawaii. Their adopted daughter, Peggy, was born in 1942.
In 1959, after having served some 23 years, Ray retired from the navy, and the family moved to Milpitas, CA., where his wife Lorraine worked for many years at City Hall. Ray passed away in January, 1965, after a long illness.
Valencia Drive is a pleasant residential street a short way off Pacheco Drive, which comes off Hillview Drive a short distance north of Calaveras Boulevard.
Valencia Drive Map
Valencia Drive was named after Frank “Pop” Valencia, (1900-1962), who served Milpitas school children and teachers from 1927 to 1960 as a custodian, baseball coach, and general go-to person for anything that needed to be done, starting in the Milpitas Grammar School (now the Milpitas library building).
Mr. Valencia also served on the Milpitas Water Board and played with the Milpitas Acorns baseball team in the early 1930s.1
Valencia Family
In the photo on the left, Frank Valencia is standing in front of the Milpitas Grammar school during his time of working there. In the photo on the right, his son, Dick Valencia, and daughter-in-law, Velma Valencia, stand in front of the street sign, which was installed in 1979.
Sad to say, Velma Valencia (1928-2014), who was a former member of the Milpitas Historical Society, passed away in September, joining Dick, her husband of 55 years. The Society offers our deepest sympathy to her all her family.
1. See page 120 in Bob Burrill’s Images of America book on Milpitas.)