Items · A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive

Sam Coyazo with Redlands Snow

Sam Coyazo Jr. in front of his home on Calhoun Street in 1949 during a rare season where Redlands received snow. On the photograh is written "Sam M. Coyazo Redlands Jan 1949."

Redlands Mexican Philharmonic Orchestra

1920s black and white image of the Redlands Mexican Philharmonic Orchestra. Not much is known about the group, led by Professor Juan Balderas (center, holding cornet). Juan Balderas was a musical arranger and conductor who organized the first philharmonic orchestra of Los Angeles. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1893 and traveled trough Southern California, teaching and forming musical groups. Epimenio Guzman was a musician who played in the group, his granddaughter Connie McFarland recalled, "That's the band right there, that's my Grandpa with the saxophone [seated second row, fourth from left]. He said they used to play at the old opera house at the corner of Orange and Colton Avenue. It was called the Wyatt House."

Lincoln School Class Photo, 1935

Black and white fourth-grade class photograph of Lincoln school in Redlands, California taken in 1935. This was the classroom of Nellie Hernandez. In the photograph Nellie has labeled some students.

Construction of Highway 99 near Richey's Garage

Black and white photograph of road construction on Central Ave right in front of Palmer Leland "Richey" Richardson's Garage. Across the street is the La Posada Hotel. On the back is written, "Richey's Garage. 17 W Central ave on left, Redlands Calif. looking West. Preparing for Hwy 99 which took off front half of garage. Looking West. Palmer Leland Richardson owner took foto." Highway 99 was once the road that is now Redlands Blvd. Highway 99 was established in 1926 as a route that ran from the Mexican border all the way to Washington state. The road was decommissioned in 1964 after the creation of the 1-10 and I-5 freeways and redesignated as Redlands Blvd.

Redlands Head Start

Black and white image of Redlands' first Head Start preschool in 1968. From left to right: Carlos Ojeda, Bobby Gonzales, and an unidentified University of Redlands student work together to assemble a playset.

Sunday Concerned Group Congratulations to Oddie Martinez

This letter, dated March 12, 1978 is from the Sunday Concerned Group. The Sunday Concerned Group, also known as the Menudo Club was a civil rights coordinating committee based at Impact Presbyterian Church. This letter offers their congratulations to Oddie Martinez on his election to Redlands City Council. Martinez later became mayor of Redlands. The letter reads: "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for your successful campaign to gain a seat on the Redlands city council. I belive the people of Redlands made it clear that they want people of high ideals and willingness to serve the community on the city council. In you, they found such an individual. Throughout your career, you have demonstrated the attributes of the finest leadership. Your involvement in social and civic groups further shows how concerned you are with bettering the community. Once again, congratulations! We look forward to working with you in the coming months. Sincerly yours, Augie Medina."

St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico of Redlands 20th Anniversary Performance

A six page program for the St. Mary's Ballet Folkorico 20th Anniversary Performance at Glenn Wallichs Theater on July 23, 1994. The program includes an introduction, group profile, roster of the dance company and the program of the event. The event includes 11 dances, most named for geographic area of origin within Mexico: Guerrero, Michoacan, Veracruz, Musica Nortena, Oaxaca, La Revolucion, Tamaulipas, Spanish Influence, Sinaloa, Chiapas, and Jalisco. The program was done in memory of Jose Pepe Roa, Antonia Ramirez-Chavez, Juan Jose Ruiz de la Torre, Jaime Espinoza, and Robert Ramirez, Jr. St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico was esablished at the behest of parents by Petra Lopez, Mary L. Hernandez, Juan Jose Ruiz de la Torre, and Jose Pepe Roa in 1974. Originally the group was supported by St Mary's Catholic Church but later relocated to Orangewood High School. Since 1974 the group has performed across Southern California.

Oddie Martinez Interview

Interview with Oddie Martinez on April 18, 1994. Oddie discusses his life growing up in Redlands, California, his experience serving in the Navy during World War II, the Redlands citrus industry, his career in education, his local activism, and his involvement in local politics (first Mexican Mayor of Redlands, 1978-1982).

Armando Lopez Interview

Interview with Armando Lopez on February 9, 1995. Armando discusses his early life in Redlands, California, including the sharp divide between the Presbyterian and Catholic communities. Additionally, he discusses his career as a teacher and administrator and the struggles for equity in the public school system. Also speaks about his local activism.

Alfred Armendarez Interview

2000 interview with Alfred Armendarez in which he discusses his early life, including his earliest memory: the 1930s fire at Elephant Orchard Packing House. Armendarez discusses both citrus picking and packing in Redlands as well as his family's experience picking grapes in August. As Armendarez recalls life growing up in Redlands he briefly mentions Lincoln School, Redlands High School, Sylvan Plunge, and the House of Neighborly Service. Armendarez was drafted right out of high school and recalls his experience in the Navy and the transition into civilan life in which he went back to agricultural work for a brief time before working at Universal Rundle until they closed in 1982. Armendarez shares his songbook with old songs dating back to the 1940s and discusses some of the organizations he was involved in such as LULAC and the Menudo Club.

Eunice Gonzales and Blas Coyazo Interview

Interview with Blas Coyazo and Eunice Gonzales on community life and growing up in Redlands.

Joe Gonzales

Joe Gonzales and Lenard Torres discuss racial discrimination in the 1920s and societal changes and displacement within Redlands, California following the construction of the I-10 freeway. Gonzales and Torres also discuss the lack of representation within community involvement in Redlands, California.

Unidentified Man Infront of Barbershop

This unidentified man stands in front of a common symbol for the era, the segregated barbershop. For decades, segregation in shops and services was common in Redlands. Manasses Soto recalls: "When I'd go downtown to get a haircut I couldn't get a haircut because the signs said, 'For Whites Only' and that kind of disturbed me because I was a student going to school and I couldn't see it in school with the students too much, but the adults seemed to push it on us. The only person that would take me to give me a hiarcut was Abe. We used to call him Abe Lincoln. He had whiskers and he had a barbershop downtown, and he used to go every year when they had the Lincoln Memorial Parade and they had a celebration for Lincoln at the Bowl, he would go and give a speech and that was very enjoyable to see the guy that gave me the haircuts."

Corner - Orange and Colton Redlands, California

Black and white postcard with an image of the corner of Orange and Colton in Redlands, California. Sunset Market, Winn's Drug Store, and the Casa Loma Service Station opened at the corner of Colton and Orange, on the site of the former Wyatt Opera House in the early 1930s. Aurelia Ruiz Reyes recalled other businesses that provided goods and services to the Mexican Colonia: "Don Sabas we used to call him. Well, that little store [on Colombia Street] belonged to that man first. No, no, it belonged to Japanese people, and then he took over. Then when the war came he took his son to Mexico, and that's when Tommy [Martinez] bought it. Tommy had it for a long time, and that was the only little store. This other man had a bakery of Mexican bread right there on Lawton Street in front of the House of Neighborly Service. My brother-in-law used to have a little gasoline station on Stuart Street right across from Sam's Cafe. Oh, there was the Resbalon, a bar where they used to have food, it was a wife's help for their husbands to go."

Postcard of Redlands, California

A color postcard of Redlands, California, reading "Snow-capped San Bernardino Peak as seen from Orange and Colton Avenues." The picture also shows Winn's Drug Store, a fixture in the neighborhood. From its beginnings in the 1930s, the store had a soda fountain and grill that attracted people from all over for its pie, milkshakes, and local gossip. By the time the photograph on the postcard was taken, the freeway had created a permanent barrier between the north and south sides and made the imaginary line separating the town all too concrete and real.

1929 Redlands dieciseis de septiembre Queen and Court

Pictured here in a partially colorized black and white image are the 1929 dieciséis de septiembre queen and her court in Redlands, California. Queen Lucy Hernandez and her court, consisting of Encarnacion "Chon" Manzano (left), Mary Macias (second from left), Josefina Lara (second from right), reigned over a daylong fiesta complete with a parade, music, and dancing. September 16, dieciséis de septiembre, or Mexican Independence Day, was and continues to be a major event on the social calendar of Mexican American barrios across Southern California.

Lincoln School Class Photo, 1935

Black and white fourth-grade class photograph of Lincoln School in Redlands, California taken in 1935. This was the classroom of Nellie Hernandez. On the photograph, Nellie has labeled some students.

Redlands High School Students, 1940s

"Students cross Fern Street in front of Redland High School in the 1940s." (Vasquez and Carpio, 50)

Redlands Floral Plunge

This is one of the only known photographs of the Redlands Floral Plunge. Located on Oriental Avenue, the "Mexican Plunge" was built and run by the House of Neighborly Service, a Presbyterian community service orgnanization that provided everything from cultural enrichment to after school programs, childcare, and laundry facilities. Located a short distance up the railroad tracks was the Sylvan Plunge, a much larger and better-equipped facility open to Mexicans one day a week - the day the pool was cleaned. Although the Floral Plunge was used by many in the Mexican community, some parents refused to allow their children to patronize segregated facilities in a town where they "paid taxes, worked hard, and owned homes," as noted by Carl Sepulveda. In the 1960s, the aging Sylvan Plunge was desegregated, and the Mexican Plunge was turned into a private swim club for Anglo youth. By the 1980s, both pools had been demolished. In the photo is Richard Alvarez, the lifeguard who is standing with arms crossed.

Frederico Family, 1895

Black and white photograph of the Federico Family pictured in Redlands in 1895. "From left to right above are (first row) Alejito and his father, Alejo; (second row) Alejo's daughters Jesusita, Mariana, Mercedes, and Eleanor. The Federicos moved to Redlands shortly after this photo was taken. Mercedes married Quintin Verlarde of Redlands, two of their grandchildren, Rita Radeleff and Lee Richardson donated photos, documents, and interviews for this collection." (Vasquez and Carpio, 12)

1929 Redlands Dieciseis de Septiembre Queen and Court

Pictured here in a partially colorized black and white image are the 1929 Dieciseis de Septiembre queen and her court. Queen Lucy Hernandez and her court, consisting of Encarnacion "Chon" Manzano (left), Mary Macias (second from left), and Josefina Lara (second from right), reigned over a daylong fiesta complete with a parade, music, and dancing. September 16, or Mexican Independence Day, was a major event on the social calendar of barrios across Southern California.

Roque family c. 1930

The Roque children, including Felipe and his wife Bicenta (center, holding baby), are pictured in Redlands during the early 1930s. Lupe Roque Yglesias remembered: "We came into Redlands when I was about two and a half. We lived there in Third Street then we moved into the Barrio Judeo, that area, right there on Herald Street, it was the Barrio de Judeo. We had little bungalows, all on that big lot. I was eight years old when we bought the house where we grew up [1113 Herald Street]. We moved into it for $1,000. And the house is still there." Pictured: (top) Freddie Roque, Eiberto Roque, Tony Roque, Bicenta Roque, and Tomas. On the left is Fryne Roque Yglecias, Maggie Roque Castro, May Barbo, Jennie Roque, and Faith Filipe Roque.

Blas and Cruz Coyazo before World War II Deployment

Dionicio "Nicho" Coyazo of Redlands and two of his sons, Cruz "Cuni" Coyazo and Blas Coyazo circa 1943. Cruz, on the left, was killed when the B26 Marauder he was tail gunner in was shot down over Belgium. His family recieved only a telegram declaring him missing in action. They only recieved more information years after his death when a congressman found some answers in 1980, discovering that he had been killed in action and burried in Belgium after the wreckage was found in 1952. Paul Aranda has worked to document his great uncle's life and on Memorial Day 2021 Cruz was honored in Memory Lane at Hillside Memorial Park. https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2021/05/28/world-war-ii-tail-gunners-death-pieced-together-by-redlands-family/ https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2020/05/24/world-war-ii-tail-gunner-almost-forgotten-but-not-by-redlands-family/

Manuel Villegas and his nephew Donald Montgomery

Manuel "Manny" Villegas pictured with his nephew Donald Montgomery, a sailor during World War II. Both men graduated from the University of Redlands and taught in Redlands schools.

Lincoln School performance at Divine Savior Church, 1967/68

Lincoln School Choir provides a concert at the Divine Savior Presbyterian Church in Redlands, CA. The performance happened in 1967 or 1968. The black and white photograph shows 4-5-6 grades. The choir was led by Mrs. Kanfmann, Lincoln school teacher, and Mrs. Baker provided accompaniment.