Marian Coronado Remembers - Part Two

This is a continuation of the September 12^th post where cousin Gary Coronado interviewed our Aunt Toots on April 16, 1984 about her early life in the Coronado family in Vallejo, California.[1]

Q. Where did you kids go to school? What was it like?

A. Frank, Celia and I went to Vallejo High.  We also went to Saint Vincent’s.  I can remember walking along the railroad tracks to school.  Our parents made us walk this route because it was safe.  It would take about two hours.  We would stop to meet classmates at Flosden Acres.  After school we would go to visit Jimmy and Juanita[2] on Kentucky Street.  Sometimes, if it was late we would stay overnight.  Most of the time, however, Papa would pick us up in the afternoon and drive us home.  And sometimes, he would drive us to school in the morning.

Q. What special memories do you have? What did you do for family fun? Vacations?

A. The ordinary things that families do.  I loved Christmas.  Because Dolph[3] was a young and successful businessman, he would make things special for us.  He would dress as Santa Claus, dropping off candy, a stack of bananas, oranges, etc.  In particular, he would take great care to see that Celia and I had a special day.

Since the restaurant and bar was part of our home, there was never any mystery to drinking.  Papa would say, “You can have anything you want to drink.”  Celia and I never liked the taste of liquor.  I did, occasionally like the taste of a Creme de Menthe drink.

Jimmy and Juanita would take Papa, Mama, and us to Monterey for a holiday.  We would stay in a hotel.  I also recall travelling to San Luis Obispo for a vacation.

Q. Was our family poor? Wealthy?

A. Well, Gary, Papa was a very able businessman.  The fact was, however, he had ten kids.  He had to be successful in order to provide for us.  Most of our needs were provided for by our ranch.  We had chickens to provide us with eggs, ducks, a milk cow, peacocks, canaries, and a garden.  He also butchered his own meat.

We always had plenty to eat.  We had beans for breakfast, bean sandwich for lunch and more beans for dinner!  That was all right with me because I liked Mama’s beans!

Q. Any particular event in your young life that comes to mind?

A. When I was about fifteen, we had a tragic fire.  It completely destroyed the Inn.  It was caused by defective wiring.  While the Inn was being rebuilt, we had to live in a tent near an orchard.  The new Inn was smaller.  Later, Papa built a home on our property.  It was north of the Inn.

Q. Did you ever go to the Sulfur Springs Hotel[4] to visit our relatives?

A. Indeed.  It was a glorious place.  There was a stage that transported tenants from town.  Manuel Madrid was the owner.  He was a nice, pleasant Spanish man - quiet, soft spoken.  A perfect host and businessman.  He and his wife had a very good business sense.  They were very successful.

They also bottled and sold mineral water that came from the Blue Rock Springs.  It had medicinal qualities.  They shipped it all over the U.S.  It didn’t have a sulfur taste to it.  It really tasted very good!

All of the Madrid family lived on the resort grounds: Babe, Frank and Manuel.  Also the girls, Angelina and Carmelita.

Many “big shots” gathered and stayed there.  Also prize fighters used the hotel and facilities for training.

As kids we often visited for family gatherings - mostly, picnics.  We always enjoyed the excitement of the resort.

Q. What was your first business venture?

A. I opened a restaurant a short distance from Papa's Inn.  It was south of our home, toward Vallejo and on the opposite side of the Napa Road.  It evolved into a good business in a short time.  I called it “Toot’s Barbecue”.  People enjoyed coming for dinner.  I served good, hearty meals.  Twenty-five cents for breakfast!  It was good experience for my future restaurant venture at Russian River.

O. What was Paul like when he was young? Kay? Johnnie Junior?[5]

Toots' daughter, Kay

None of the cousins wanted their picture taken!
Back row: Juanita & John Jr.
Front row: Jane, Jim, Kay, Paul [6]

A. They were all wonderful kids. Paul was the reliable one.  He was very protective.  He would wind the clock and lock all the doors at night. Sometimes, Kay would come home late and not be able to get in!  I had to chase all the boys away from Kay.  We always had to wash Junior’s hands and face.  He liked to play in the dirt!  Mama would not allow him to have dinner until he washed.  They all got along well together.

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[1] Adapted from The Coronado Newsletter, May 1994

[2] James (Jimmy) Coronado was Toots’ brother.  Juanita was Jimmy’s wife.

[3] Dolph Coronado was Toots’ oldest brother.

[4] The Sulfur Springs Hotel was a few miles from the Coronado family property and was owned and operated by Manual Madrid & his wife Angelita Coronado Madrid.  Angelita was the oldest child of Loretto and Guadalupe Coronado and the sister of Mariano Coronado, my grandfather, and Toots’ “Papa”.

[5] Paul and Kay (Kathleen) are the son and daughter of Marian (Toots) Coronado Orsi.  John Junior was the son of John (Doc) Coronado, Toots’ brother.

[6] Juanita, Jane and Jim are children of James (Jimmy) and Juanita Coronado.  John Jr. was the son of John (Doc) Coronado.  Kay and Paul are the children of Toots.  Photo was taken by James Coronado about 1933.

Marian Coronado Remembers - Part One

Cousin Gary Coronado[1] visited and interviewed our aunt, Marian Coronado, on April 16, 1984 at her home in Calistoga, California.  She was always known as “Toots” or “Aunt Toots” all our lives.  I don’t remember where the name came from.  She was the next to last child born to Mariano and Louisa Coronado – the 12^th of 13 children (the 9^th of the children to live to adulthood).  Toots was born 28 August 1905 in Vallejo, California, and passed away 20 July 1998 in Calistoga.

 

Young Marian Coronado as a glamorous
Senorita

Gary wrote up the interview in question and answer form and I published it in the May 1994 issue of the Coronado Newsletter[2].  This is a portion of that interview.

Q. How much do you know about our family history before you were born?

A. Not a whole lot.  I recall Mama telling the story of how she met Papa.  She was working for a wealthy family, cleaning house.  Mama met Papa in Yountville.  She used to point out the location when we drove by.  The story goes that she took a walk and met Papa near the Napa River Creek.  As you know Papa lived near Yountville.  That was the start of a long, happy, productive relationship.  They were a good team together.

Q. Where were you born?  Describe your home as you remember.

A. All of us kids were born at home.  We were all born in the old antique bed.  I believe it is still in Celia’s home.  I am number nine!

We lived in a two story home.  Our living quarters were above the Inn.  The ground floor was Papa’s place of business.  There was a bar, a dinner room and a dance hall.  We also rented a few rooms.  The boys slept in a bunk house away from the Inn.

Q. What's your earliest memory?

A. My earliest memory is of Grandma Coronado cooking and preparing dinner for our family.  I remember her flapping tortillas over a wooden stove.  There was plenty of eucalyptus wood to burn.  Alongside of the tortillas she would always have a big cast iron pot of simmering chili beans.  She would stack the hot tortillas between flour sacks to keep them warm.  The tortillas never lasted very long because they were our favorite after school snack!  There was always rich butter.  Grandpa Coronado had one milking cow.

In a large round wooden barrel with a crank, Mama would separate the cream from the milk.  The cream was made into butter, the milk into cottage cheese.  She rolled the cottage cheese into little balls, and then poured cream over them.  They were eaten with beans and tortillas.  So good!

My mother loved cooking outdoors and seldom used the kitchen in the house.  She would set aside one day a week to bake desserts.  Our favorites were large sheets of marble cake and ginger bread.  She would have to lock the desserts in cupboards so the children wouldn’t eat it all before dinner.

Q. What was Grandpa like when he was young?  Describe your relationship with him?

A. Papa had a stern, serious manner.  He was a good provider and father.  He was also an Innkeeper, rancher and a vaquero.

He left Mama in charge of the girls.  Mostly, he was in charge of the boys.  He would wake us every morning.  He would only call us once: “Get up, Toots.  Get up, Celia.”  We would respond by pounding on the wood floor with our shoe.  Sometimes, we would roll over and go back to sleep.  He didn’t care if we were late.  And he would just call once.

His pride and joy was his breeding horse, Prince.  People would bring horses to Papa in order to breed them with his prize stallion.  This was also a source of income for us.

He was political.  He liked to discuss politics with his customers.  He was a Democrat.  He wasn’t shy offering an opinion about a political issue.

Papa Coronado, relaxing outside and
getting ready for his siesta

On Sunday he would insist that we all go to Mass.  He would always attend with us.  We had our family pew near the front of the church.  It was in front of the Blessed Virgin statue.  Your father (Doc) would drive the family to church.  Imagine, a twelve year old as a chauffeur.  He wore goggles and a long coat.  We would head off in the morning, arriving about an hour before mass.  Papa was always early, never late.  Any type of gathering required an early arrival.  This was a habit for him in his business, and in his life.

Eating was his number one pastime.  He loved to eat and then, siesta in the afternoon.  Papa always slept upright in his chair outdoors.

Q. What was Grandma like when she was young?  Describe your relationship with her.

A. Mama was the sweetest, kindest lady.  She never raised her voice.  She left that up to Papa.  Mama was in charge of the girls.  She was so kindly, we never wanted to do anything to disappoint her.  Our relationship with her was one of love.

She would collect rainwater in crock-like vessels.  She used the water to wash her face.  She had a beautiful complexion.  Mama also used the water to wash her hair.

Mama’s hands were always busy crocheting and embroidering things for our church and friends.  Most of the applique and embroidery work were done on flour sacks.  She had an old Singer sewing machine, but she rarely used it.  We also had an Apex washing machine.  It was rarely used.  She washed all of her clothes by hand on a washboard in a tub.  Then, instead of hanging them on our round clothesline, she would spread them on top of bushes, alfalfa and fences to dry.

Q. Tell me a story about Grandma that will give us some insight into her personality.

 

Mama Coronado with Polly

A. Well, there are many examples.  I like to think about Mama with her parrot.  She had an old, green parrot named Polly.  He perched on a eucalyptus tree near the summer kitchen.  His cage was in the tree so he could go in and out as he pleased.  She would make toast, dip it into coffee and give it to her bird.  He would like it and would say, “Polly want a cracker” for more.  Polly liked Mama, but didn’t like us kids.  His wings were clipped so he couldn’t fly.  Polly was a mimic.  When Mama called us, he would repeat what she said and then laugh.  One day he crawled down the tree and walked around the yard.  He wandered across the fence to the railroad tracks behind our house.  A freight train came by and Polly wasn’t able to get out of the way.  He was killed.  When night came Mama missed him.  She went out to look for him and found some feathers scattered around.  Then, she found him crushed by the track.  Mama felt very bad about losing her faithful companion.  She mourned her friend for many weeks.

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[1] Gary is the son of John (Doc) Coronado, the 9^th of 13 children (the 6^th of the children who lived to adulthood).

[2] I edited and published the 8-page quarterly Coronado Newsletter from 1993 to 1997.  It contained family articles, news items, and family photos and I sent it to family members.

In Memoriam

This is a celebration of the lives of 3 remarkable Coronado family members.  They enriched not only our family but the lives of those around them.  I miss them all.

Harrison McIntosh

In an earlier posting I reported on my cousin Harrison McIntosh, an internationally known ceramicist, who celebrated his 100^th Birthday in September 2014.  We visited him, his wife Marguerite, and his daughter, Catherine, and her family in Claremont, California in October 2014.  We had a wonderful time – it was like a mini family-reunion.  Harrison was in great spirits, clearly remembered a lot of family stories, and enjoyed discussing the details of making ceramics with my son, David.

Harrison died of natural causes on January 21, 2016 in Claremont at the age of 101.

He was born in Vallejo, California, on September 11, 1914.  While in high school in Stockton, California, Harrison and his brother, Robert, developed an interest in art – Robert enjoyed drawing and painting, while Harrison pursued sculpture.  After the McIntosh family moved to Los Angeles in 1937, Harrison set up a studio in his parent’s garage and took ceramics classes beginning in 1940.

HARRISON MCINTOSH
September 11, 1914 - January 21, 2016

Harrison’s education and training was interrupted when he was drafted in 1944.  Around the same time, Harrison’s first wife fell ill and died.

After he was discharged from the Army, Harrison used the G.I. Bill to gain admission as a special student to study ceramics at the Claremont Graduate School.  He met a French student, Marguerite Loyau, while studying at Claremont and they were married in 1952.  In 1958, they built a home in Padua Hills, nestled in the foothills above Claremont, with a pottery studio where Harrison would work for the next 50 years.

Harrison’s work is represented in more than 40 museum collections worldwide and his pieces have been featured in 70 publications.[1]

Betty Orsi

The wife of my cousin and godfather Paul Orsi, Betty Greeott Orsi died peacefully in the presence of her family on October 24, 2015 in Ukiah, California.  She was 83 years old.

BETTY GREEOTT ORSI
April 16, 1932 - October 24, 2015

Betty was born 16 April 1932 in Santa Rosa, California, but grew up in Ukiah, California.  It was in Ukiah that she and Paul met and were married in 1953.  I attended the wedding as a youngster and remember how beautiful Betty was and how Paul was so handsome.  Betty and Paul ran Paul’s Grocery Store in Ukiah.  Later she became Director of Medical Records at Hillside Hospital, now Ukiah Valley Medical Center.  She was actively involved with St. Mary’s of the Angel Catholic Church as organist and, eventually music director.

Betty is survived by her husband of 62 years, Paul; her five children, Janet Orsi, James Orsi, John Orsi, Julie Orsi Rus, Jeffrey Orsi; and 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.[2]

Sister Catherine Pelletier

I was recently informed[3] that my godmother, Sister Catherine Pelletier, had passed away on 6 June 2016 at Mercy Retirement and Care Center in Oakland, California at the age of 93.  She was born 2 March 1923 in Fresno, one of seven children.  Catherine grew up in Oakland.  She attended Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, and entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community in 1943.[4]

SISTER CATHERINE PELLETIER
March 2, 1923 - June 6, 2016

Not only was Sister Catherine my godmother, but my mother was her godmother.  It must have been fate that brought Catherine into the Coronado clan, for her mother walked up to my mother, Cecelia Coronado, in church and asked her – a total stranger – to stand in as the godmother for Catherine’s baptism.  Our lives were intertwined ever since.

Catherine was a Sister of Notre Dame for 73 years.  She taught at several elementary schools for thirty years and after earning a master of library studies degree, served as librarian for Notre Dame High School in San Jose, California, and as librarian for the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California.[5]  I remember visiting Sister Catherine many times over the years and she was always so wonderful to be around.  She attended two of our son’s weddings, one in California and one on the East Coast.

Our world is richer for their lives and poorer with their deaths.

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[1] American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), 21 Jan 2016, press release; Suzanne Muchnic, Harrison McIntosh, Southland artist who pushed ceramics’ boundaries, dies at 101, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2016, online obituary.

[2] Funeral memorial booklet for Betty Orsi funeral services, 3 Nov 2015.

[3] Letter from Mary Anne Pelletier Moore, 1 Aug 2016, sister of Sister Catherine Pelletier.

[4] San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Jun 2016, online obituary.

[5] Ibid.