News

Saving the Castro Adobe, One Brick at a Time

by Jessica Kusz

"One brick at a time" certainly was the process for saving the Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe as volunteers endured heavy lifting, wheelbarrowing, dirt sifting, and punching mud into wood molds to hand make the vital adobe bricks. The Castro Adobe was built in 1848-1849 by Juan Jose Castro, son of Jose Joaquin Castro (an original De Anza party member). It is the largest two-story adobe rancho building constructed in the Monterey Bay Region, containing the only "Fandango Room" outside of Monterey. Purchased by adobe conservationist, Edna Kimbro and her husband Joe in 1988, it was severely damaged in the 1989 earthquake and was purchased by the California State Parks in 2002. The authentic early-California building and its setting possess tremendous potential for interpretation of the rural lifestyle and culture of Mexican California. The production of the bricks was an essential step in stabilizing the building for future interpretation. Guided by Tim Aguilar, expert adobe brick maker, and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks board and staff, and over 150 volunteers were able to make 2500 bricks in July and August 2007. It was truly remarkable to see the dedication of volunteers and board members who joined together to produce the adobe bricks on site. Although the brick making project was fairly streamlined by the time the volunteers arrived, it was a bumpy road to finding the right components for the project.

Who would think finding the right dirt would be such a dilemma? It was. Jim Toney, FSCSP board member and Jessica Kusz, Staff Project Manager, spent much time searching and testing to find the perfect dirt composition and compression. Ultimately, the best dirt for the project was from a local source, Central Home Supply. Owner of Central Home Supply, Rick Santee, was extremely helpful and provided much assistance in procuring and delivering the right dirt for the project. After receiving a front-page article in the Register Pajaronian which interviewed Castro descendant, Charlie Kiefer, the volunteer applications flooded into the Friends office. We were amazed at the number of interested community members who wanted to work. Now, we had our volunteers and the site had to be readied for the work to begin.

The Friends staff and board provided their help with clean-up and set up for the first day. Joe Kimbro was kind enough to allow us to use his land for making and drying of the bricks and served as our unofficial brick guardian, making sure the bricks were safeguarded during curing. The staff and board cleared the site, sifted dirt, readied the molds and even made a few bricks to jump start the project. On July 27th the first 40 yards of dirt was dumped at the site and the first batch of volunteers arrived on Saturday, July 28th, ready to work. After a brief orientation, the volunteers were off and making bricks. Board members helped keep things running smoothly. Barney Levy, jack of all trades, managed to sift dirt, run the mixer, dump mixed dirt into wheelbarrows, wheelbarrow dirt to the molds, and still keep a smile on his face. We had to order him to take breaks! Tim Aguilar bounced from each work station imparting his expertise to each volunteer. Jim Brownson and Jim Toney utilized their management skills to keep everything running like clockwork while also sifting dirt and making bricks. Board members Lani LeBlanc and Linda Hoff greeted volunteers, delivered a delicious lunch, and worked making bricks too. Charlie Kiefer kept everyone entertained during lunch by giving a talk on the history of the Castro Adobe. If volunteers were unable to do heavy lifting then they were assigned to covering the bricks with large pieces of paper and watering the bricks. To prevent cracking, the bricks had to be watered approximately three times a day for seven days to keep them fairly damp during the slow drying process. Thankfully, a close neighbor, Cathy Rose was able to help us by watering in the early morning and early evening. Our first volunteer day we made 250 bricks! It was an incredible start to a truly outstanding project. In between the volunteer days, the California Conservation Corps (CCC), worked on the project and bricks and provided outstanding service to the Castro Adobe. Organized by Brenda Herrmann and supervised by crew chief, Sharon Hazel, the CCC crew was instrumental in the creation of over half the bricks needed for the project. They learned the art of brick making and also got to know certain board members who volunteered during the week. Lani was a big hit with the CCC and she had them convinced that she had worked as a drill sergeant in the pastOewe are still researching that one and have neither been able to confirm or deny.

The following two Saturdays were also volunteer days, August 4th and August 11th. The work moved along smoothly and were able to make approximately 500 bricks total on both days. Once the bricks were stable, they were stood on their side to cure completely. The bricks were quite large, 14 inches x 28 inches and weighing over 75 lbs! The CCC and Friends board members had the difficult job of standing the 2500 brick for drying. Although it was hard work, the visual of so many bricks standing, waiting to be utilized made the team members proud.

In total, the project took just over three weeks to make 2500 bricks with less than 14% breakage. With the help of Tim Aguilar, volunteers, business members, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks board and staff, the Castro Adobe will be saved! Edna Kimbro, the founding catalyst behind the preservation of the Castro Adobe passed away in 2005, and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks is pleased to continue her mission. We are currently in the process of loading the bricks onto pallets to be stored for later use. The California State Parks is charged with maintaining, restoring, and stabilizing the historic building. They will utilize the bricks in the stabilization of the historic adobe and the bricks sit on pallets awaiting their final destination! We hope that all of the hard work has paid off and that work on the building can begin as soon as possible.

Special Thanks to:

Joe Kimbro
Charlie & Pat Kiefer
Bill Fitzgerald
Fred Webster
Tim Aguilar
Carol Brownson
Charlene Duval
Rick Santee
Neighbors of the Castro Adobe

Thank you volunteers!

Alice Bourget Amy Murakami Andi Murakami Andrew Jowers Andy Wilson Ann Bernal Stea Ann Jenkins Audrey Dillon Ben Riordan Betty Vyeda Betty Gray Bill Fitzgerald Bonny Hawley C Toyota Murakami Carolyn Kiernat Charlotte Alexander Cherly Van De Veer Christine Smith Colin Lovett Corri Jimenez David Anaya David Castro David Miller David Rafael Castro

David Tirri David Vyeda Dawn Conniff Dick Yeo Don Neilsen Emil Gumper Emily Abbink Erin McCloskey Forrest Deardorff Frank Remdie Frank Shields Fred Keeley Fred Menge George & Kathleen Fitzgerald Hal williams Harold & Shirley Hoyt Heidi Morgan Jack Johnson Jane Stillinger Jeannie Kegebein Jenn Murakami Jim Brownson Jim Toney John Bost

Joshua Murakami George Medeiros Kathleen RoseLeonard Foreman Leslie Couvillion Lisa Marie Cazel Lise Peterson Lyn Lauria Lynn Campbell Lynne Caldwell Magdalena McCann Margaret Facchino Marianne Hurley Mark Huber Mark Huck Martha Nitzberg Matt Twisselman Megan E. Glynn Mike Ford Monica Pevzner Norm Beeson Pat Fitzgerald Pat Kieffer Patricia Paramoure Paul Bernal

Paul Schuellhamer Penny Chesluk Peter Cole Rafael Rangell Rebecca Fogel Rebecca Rentschler Rich Sucre Richard Winterhalder Robert Corcel Robert Gingg Sean Fine Simons Young Stan Stevens Stephanie Camacho Susan Renison Szuszi Tyroler Tak Stewart Thomas Nawrocki Tim Murakami Tim Reynolds Tracy Domyanovich Veronica Silacci Virginia Ray