Martial Cottle Park Newsletters - Winter 2016

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When I first started learning cooking, I had to stand on a chair. […] Tomake pumpkin pies, [my aunt] would scrape the soft pumpkin and putit in [a colander] and she gave me a big spoon and my job was to rub itthrough into a pan, a pie plate. –Walter Cottle Lester

Volume 1 Number 2 Winter 2016

Welcome to Martial CottlePark! We are now more thantwenty months into ourjourney from the Cottle/Lesterfamilies’ 150 year-old workingfarm to an operationalagricultural park whose maingoal, inWalter Cottle Lester’sown words, is to, “Inform andeducate the public about theagricultural history of theSanta Clara Valley.” Ourneighboring community hasembraced the park, and wehave an experienced staff, athriving volunteer program,weekend public programs,and engaged partners and wewill soon offer educationalprograms for school-agedchildren.

As the calendar turns towinter and the days becomeshorter, similar to years goneby when the Cottle/Lester

family would turn to repairingequipment and reconstructingbuildings and fences, staff willwork on beta testingagricultural programs forsecond graders. We expectthese to become available inthe fall of 2017. Kudos to ourInterpretive Park ProgramCoordinator, CarolynSchimandle, for leading avolunteer committee ofeducators to develop eachmodule. Many of our currentvolunteers will help with theseprograms.

Martial Cottle Park has morethan 45 active volunteers,many from our neighboringcommunity, who willcontribute more than 6,000hours this year. Thank you toour volunteer team for makinga significant difference in our

Martial Cottle Park Newsletter

From my tractor seatBy Eric Goodrich

Photo by Ron Horii

visitor experience, customerservice, and parkbeautification! We know thatthis team will grow in 2017, so ifyou are interested involunteering, please contact us.

In closing, on behalf of ourteam, I would like to thank you,our community, for yourongoing support and forvisiting the park. Whether youare going for a walk; having apicnic; taking a class; or visitingour partners, the Visitor Centeror the Farm Stand, yourinvolvement in Martial CottlePark is vital to the success ofour mission. We have many funand exciting plans for 2017 andlook forward to seeing all of youat Martial Cottle Park.

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Martial Cottle Park Newsletter Winter 20162

Westward Ho!By Dave Zittlow, Volunteer Park Lead

The development of California, “Edenvale,”and the ranch now called Martial Cottle Parkcould not have happened had not thousands offamilies decided to venture westward over thepast two centuries. Let us spend a few minutesexploring why these brave souls would leavetheir Eastern property holdings for thisunknown territory.

After two hundred years of farming andrunning businesses in New England, the landwas wearing out and rural areas werebecoming cities. Gradually families movedwest. In 1811, the Cottle families left Vermontand moved to Missouri where they wereprosperous in the cattle business. In the decadeprior to the Civil War tensions rose over thedebates about state rights, slavery, and theunity of this country. There were social andeconomic reasons to leave Missouri.

At the same time, developments in Californiaattracted people from all over our country. TheMission system had deteriorated and largeranch holdings were established for raisingcattle and wheat. The population of San Joséhad grown to over four thousand people.European orchardists had developed a methodof shipping stone-fruit cuttings and vastorchards were being established. Gold hadbeen discovered at Sutter’s Mill, as hadmercury in New Almaden. All of these eventsmade California attractive to the restless andenergetic.

In 1854, the Cottles gathered their belongingsand six hundred head of cattle and joined thewestward movement over the Oregon andCalifornia Trails. Following a six-monthjourney, they settled along the Coyote Riverand resumed ranching until they could acquirehundreds of acres from José Joaquin Bernaland establish their ranch in Edenvale. The

Sketches from the Far West–Arkansas Pilgrims by Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier

Lester families also left New England andexplored Oregon and California before finallysettling on the east side of Snell Road.

What brought you, your family, or yourancestors to California? Searching for betterjob prospects? Leaving an unsafe place?Seeking a California adventure? My familyfollowed some of the same routes mentionedabove. Like the Cottles and Lesters, theEnglish side of my family settled inMassachusetts in 1640. They moved toWisconsin in 1856, where they continueddairying. There they were joined byimmigrants from Germany, who left theircountry for social and economic reasons. Mygeneration was the first to leave Wisconsin andthe Army brought me to California.

I find that many of us arrived in California forsimilar reasons, including the Cottle andLester families, who left a significant legacy forthe people of Santa Clara County. TheCottle/Lester family had much forethought insaving records and photographs anddocumenting their life events so that thevolunteers and staff at Martial Cottle Park canshare their story with you.

Please visit the park to learn more. I invite youto investigate your family’s origin andsignificant events so that you can better knowthe legacy that you will leave.

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A new activity at the 2016Harvest Festival was“Where’s Walter.”Participants hunted for cluesto answer Cottle Ranchhistory questions and earn areward. So who was Walterand why was he the focus ofthe activity?

Walter Cottle Lester was thelast Cottle family member tolive on the ranch. While hewas just one person out of thefour generations that livedhere between 1864 and 2014,he is a very important familymember to the park becausehe is the one who donated theland to Santa Clara County.

Walter was born in 1925, thesecond child of Henry Lesterand Ethel Cottle Lester. Hissister Edith was ten yearsolder. Walter spent a lot of hischildhood creating his ownamusements. He played withhis terrier, Pal, and helped onthe ranch. He learned how tocook from his two aunts,Leora and Maybella, andenjoyed cooking throughouthis life. He was very interestedin science and technology. Hebuilt model airplanes andradios as a youth, andmaintained a subscription toPopular Science for manyyears. Perhaps he evendreamed about traveling; inhis youth he kept scrapbooks

about world destinations,though he never moved fromthe ranch where he wasborn.

Walter graduated in the firstclass at Lincoln HighSchool in 1943. Walter hadto immediately take overranch management–twoweeks shy of his 18th

birthday after his UncleMonte’s death. But since hehad been taking on ranchduties for years and had beenworking alongside UncleMonte, he was a capablemanager despite his youth. Hewas a very hard worker, oftenout working on the ranch by7:00am and continuing untilas late as midnight. He keptup on the latest developmentsin farming, and always madesure all of his equipment wasin good operating condition.

During the years that Walterran the ranch, thesurrounding Santa ClaraValley changed dramatically.In the early 1960s, EthelCottle Lester, Walter andEdith’s mother, decided thatthe Cottle Ranch should bespared development so thatfuture generations couldexperience how the valley hadbeen in its agriculturalheyday. Her children kepttrue to that vision after theyinherited the property in the

late 1970s.

Walter granted the land to thecounty in 2003, with theprovision that he wouldremain on part of it as a lifeestate until his death. Hespecified the mission of thepark and allowable uses in thegrant deed, and gave valuableinput on the park master plan.He died on January 31, 2014, inthe same home in which hehad been born. The very nextday, the perimeter trailopened–the first part ofMartial Cottle Park opened tothe public.

While Walter Cottle Lester isno longer with us physically,the ultimate answer to“Where’s Walter” is that he ishere–his spirit lives on in theopen skies and farmed fieldsof Martial Cottle Park, whichhe loved throughout his lifeand so generously shared withthe rest of us.

Who was Walter Cottle Lester?By Carolyn Schimandle

Walter as a young adult on aCaterpillar tractor.

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Christmas letter from Mary Cottle Turnbull of Troy,Missouri to Ethel Cottle Lester in December 1945 (left), agift tag for a present to Edith Cottle Lester from her UncleMartial and Aunt Florence (above, center) and aChristmas card from the Henry Lester family (above).

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Christmas on the RanchBy Lisa Pappanastos

The Cottle and Lester familiescelebrated the holidays withgifts, cards, treats and, ofcourse, a Christmas tree. As Isifted through the Christmascards and letters that thefamily kept, I began toremember the days, not solong ago, when families keptin touch by writing letters.The Cottles and Lesters livedduring the time when therewere no cell phones orinternet to communicate.Once or twice a year, friendsand family would correspondto bring each other up-to-dateon their lives, and the winterholiday season was atraditional time to send theseletters.

The letters shown belowcapture a snapshot of thesefamily updates. In 1945,Ethel’s first cousin, MaryCottle of Missouri, wrote thatshe was surprised to find outthat Walter Cottle Lester wasrunning the ranch at theyoung age of 20. In that sameyear, World War II wascoming to an end and there

was a lot of correspondenceregarding the fate of thesoldiers who had gone to war.Some family members receivedgood news; others were not solucky. In the same letter, Marywrote that her nephew, Billy,had died at Iwo Jima on thefirst day of the invasion. Beforethe digital age, you might onlyhear from distant family andfriends once or twice a year. AsMary wrote in a differentChristmas card, “If Christmasdid not come once a year Isuppose I would not stop longenough to say ‘hello; I’mthinking of you.’” Letters werean important way to keep intouch and share about life’shappenings.

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The Cottle Family Recipe CornerBy Lisa Pappanastos

In a 2007 interview with Walter Cottle Lester, Walter said his that two aunts,Leora and Maybella, had taught him how to cook from a young age.Maybella Cottle kept several handwritten recipe books. Many were dessertrecipes, shared by friends and family. The family’s kitchen was well stockedwith baking supplies.

Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Cake

2 cups of flour (sifted beforemeasuring)1 cup of sugar1/2 cup ground Ghirardellichocolate2 tsps. baking powder1/2 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1 tsp cinnamon1/2 tsp cloves1/2 tsp nutmeg3/4 cup milk2 eggs, unbeaten1/2 cup melted butter1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Sift together 3 times all the dry ingredients. Stir inthe milk, eggs, melted butter, and beat 2 minutes. Add the nuts.Bake in a loaf pan in a moderateoven (350°) for about 50 minutes.

Butter Scotch

1 cup brown sugar1/2 cup water1 piece of butter about the size ofan egg1 tsp white vinegar

Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan andcook over med-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil for 20minutes, flavor, and pour a thin layer onto a platter. Break as soon as it is brittle.

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Time flies when you arehaving fun, and we had a blastat the Second Annual HarvestFestival at Martial CottlePark. Our organic Munchkinpumpkins were the perfectaddition for our pumpkinlauncher, and attendeesenjoyed launching pumpkinsat the scarecrow targets. Thecorn maze and horse drawnwagon rides were enjoyed byall, and our organicpumpkins, gourds, andsquash found new homes.Check out our Facebook,Twitter, and Instagramaccounts to see photos postedfrom this year’s event.

The leaves are falling and thetemperature is dropping,which means winter in TheValley of Heart’s Delight ishere. With winter stormsbringing much needed rain,farm work will begin to slowdown, giving our FarmVeterans and the JacobsFarm Team plenty of time tofortify and strengthen thefarm. Our team will begin toprune the plum, nectarine,and cherry orchard,encouraging tree growth toprovide a good fruit yield inthe spring. This year, insteadof planting winter covercrops, the farm crew willfocus on eliminating weed

seed in the soil with aggressivetilling. This farming techniquewill more effectively modifythe habitat on the farm andeliminate abundant foodsources for our mostchallenging crop pests, theground squirrels. Much of ourteam’s time is dedicated todeveloping crop plans for ourspring 2017 plantings, whichwill likely include ourdelicious and flavorfulheirloom tomatoes, Dry FarmEarly Girl tomatoes, melons,and cucumbers.

At the Farm Stand this winter,be on the lookout for crops onthe farm including culinaryherbs like rosemary, sage, andthyme—all of which areperfect additions for holidaycooking. Our new crops at theU-Pick Vet Garden will beavailable to harvest in the nextfew months. The garden will 7Continued on

offer a robust selection ofFava Beans, Spinach, SugarSnap Peas, Collard Greens,Beans, Beets, and Carrots.

We are excited to kick off theWinter Holidays Festival onSaturday, December 3rd from10am–2pm (weatherpermitting). At the event wewill offer DIY workshops,crafts for the kids, and muchmore. We always appreciateand welcome volunteers. Tovolunteer for the event,please email:[email protected]

Winter Farm Stand HoursMonday – Friday10:00am – 7:00pmSaturday – Sunday10:00am – 8:00pm

Thank you for the communitysupport! Our social media

Jacobs Farm UpdateBy Janae Clark, Jacobs Farm,Marketing Coordinator

Photo by Jacobs Farm

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Jacobs FarmContinued from 7

UCCE projects are growing fast!By Jessica SchweigerUCCE Urban Agriculture Program Manager

Like everyone else in the Bay Area these pastfew months, University of CaliforniaCooperative Extension (UCCE) staff andvolunteers at Martial Cottle Park havewelcomed the rain–and hurried to coordinateour work with and around it. As a result, wehave new residents and new structures: twosix-month old steer were moved into the 4-Hfield; the Master Gardener greenhouse waserected to host workshops and grow seedlings;and a rainwater harvesting system was addedonto the Master Gardener shed. The frenziedproduction of the summer vegetable garden inthe Master Gardener area has subsided, butthe cool, wet California winters mean there’sstill a lot to grow. Cool season veggies fill theraised beds and others are green with covercrops that will feed the soil when they areturned under. There is plenty of work to do

indoors as well, as the Small Farm andComposting Education programs plan for theBeginning Farmer Learning Hub andcomposting demonstration site to arrive nextyear, and the Master Gardeners work towardshaving a sheltered teaching pavilion to holdclasses year-round.

For UCCE, our presence at Martial Cottle Parkmeans a long-term investment in workinglandscapes that not only produce food year-round, but benefit the ecosystem in thefollowing ways. Storing plant nutrients andcarbon from decomposing plants and manurein the soil, filtering rainwater, and reducingrunoff are all services provided to ourecosystem that we depend on. So even thoughit’s raining, there’s a lot going on—come by andcheck it out!

pages are featuring amazingphotos that you have uploadedand shared with us. Check outour sites for more informationon future events and to checkout photos posted by you andyour neighbors from our farmevents.

www.JacobsFarmCA.com

Photo by Jacobs Farmhttps://twitter.com/jacobsdelcabo

www.facebook.com/JacobsFarmCA/

www.instagram.com/jacobsfarmca/

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On October 1, we joined our partners atMartial Cottle Park for the HarvestFestival. We had a fantastic time and weredelighted to share information about ourprogram. On our parcel, we hosted a FallGarden Market, where we sold hundreds offall vegetable seedling varieties, flowerseedlings, and gently used gardening tools,pots, and more. Thanks to the surroundingcommunity and other members of thepublic, the plant sale was highly successful.As with all our Garden Markets, allproceeds from the sales go directly tosupport the eleven Master GardenerDemonstration and Training Gardensthroughout Santa Clara County.

The Fall Garden Market featureddemonstrations of gardening techniques;gardening experts to answer questions anddiagnose plant problems; and classes on avariety of topics including growing garlic,composting, and gardening during the fall andwinter months.

We have been very busy, so stop by and checkout the changes that we’ve made in just thelast month! We planted a variety of covercrops to enrich the soil in the ResearchArea. Cool season flowers are thriving inthe Ornamentals area and the adjacentHabitat Garden is underway. This newgarden area showcases plantings that attractbeneficial insects.

Construction on our solar light 36 x 72 footgreenhouse is done! We are excited toinstall the growing racks and tables inside toprepare for planting at the beginning of theyear for our Spring Garden Market. Wepainted the barn and the two 750-gallon Rainwater catchment system

Photo by Ron Horii

UCCE Master Gardeners Fall UpdateBy Pam Roper, Nancy Creveling, Elizabeth EvansUCCE Master Gardener Program of Santa Clara County Co-Liaisons to Martial Cottle Park

water catchment tanks are collecting the recentrain stormwater. As we finish 2016, we will installareas to support the greenhouse and finish up theHabitat Garden.

See page 16 for classes at the Master Gardenerparcel at Martial Cottle Park. As always wewelcome you to join us and volunteer onWednesdays and Saturdays from 9:00am tonoon.

Our website has the events, classes, and detailsfor all our gardens:http://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/www.facebook.com/sccmastergardeners/

Photo by Hank Morales

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Sunset 4-H is excited for our upcoming yearhere at Martial Cottle Park with moremembers and even more projects available forthe youth to participate in. One of the youth’smost exciting new endeavors is raising beefcattle.

Ready to tackle the challenges of raisinglivestock in the middle of a suburbanneighborhood, the 4-H members Aimee andKiley had this to share:

The steers moved in on October 23 and aregetting used to living at the park. Theirnames are Toby and Steerius Black andthey are seven and eight months old. Theyare a Hereford-Angus mix breed and wereborn and bred right here in Santa ClaraCounty in the Santa Teresa foothills. Theyare currently eating a mixture of grain andhay, but will be promoted to grazing in thepasture once it grows. They will stay at thepark through August 2017. Club membersare raising steers to gain experience inhow to care for them and to learn how toproduce a high-quality beef product. Wewould like more kids to join us in raisinganimals at Martial Cottle Park.

The 4-H youth are looking forward to educatingany guests who pass by during chore times,usually around mid-morning and lateafternoon.

Come springtime, the public will also be able tosee new grass-fed sheep grazing the pasture, aswell as a new Pasture Poultry project where theyouth will be building a mobile chicken coopthat will be moved around the pasture behindthe sheep. As they graze, the poultry will assistwith spreading and breaking down the wasteproduced by the sheep.

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Sunset 4-H Club UpdateBy Jason Bombardier, Kiley, Carrie and Aimee Oxford and Jenel VinczeSunset 4-H Club Leaders and Members

Other 4-H members are looking into thepossibility of bringing goats onto the eight-acreparcel. One member, Carrie wants to raise amarket goat to take to the fair this summer.

I want to raise a market goat on the 4-Hparcel at Martial Cottle Park. While Ihave my goat here, I would like to walk itaround the park to answer questions andteach people everything I learn aboutgoats.

Sunset 4-H Club is now enrolling for the 2016–17 program year. This year we are offering BeefCattle, Bee Keeping, Cavies, Record Books,Outdoor Adventures, Gardening, Poultry,Rabbits, Market Rabbits, Dairy Goats, andSewing. If you are interested in joining, pleasecontact us at: [email protected]. Ourmonthly club business meetings are the 3rd

Thursday of each month, September to June,at 7:00pm. We meet at Martial Cottle Parkduring the spring, summer and fall months,and at Carlton Senior Living during the wintermonths.

Photo by Ron Horii

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Our City ForestBy Renae McCollum

Our City Forest staff andAmeriCorps servicemembers had a great time atthe Harvest Festival in earlyOctober. Thank you to thevolunteers who helped plantnew trees and shrubs on siteand to everyone that stoppedby during our mini plantsale.

Our stewardship team hasbeen coordinating weeklyvolunteer workdays everyFriday morning to help withplant care and other siteneeds. Our team is alsobeginning to prepare variousareas for our native gardenand future constructionprojects. We are still seekingfunding for furtherdevelopment as well ascommitted volunteers whoare interested in helping uswith tree and shrubmaintenance, construction,and/or irrigation at our sitein Martial Cottle Park. [email protected] sign up.

Love working with plantsand people? Sign up for OurCity Forest's Tree Amigoclass and become acommitted volunteer whilelearning about plant care.The Tree Amigo class will bea mixture of online andhands-on learning.Participants are asked to

Check out more of our available LivingHoliday Trees online. Here are a fewpopular choices for participants to choosefrom: the Arizona Cypress and the BlueSpruce.

Want to celebrate the holidays in a sustainable way? Rent-A-Tree from Our City Forest for the month of December!Reserve your tree and learn more about the program online:www.ourcityforest.org/holiday.

Reserved trees will be available for pickup at our MartialCottle site on Friday and Saturday, December 9–10 from10:00am–3:00pm.

Photo by Our City Forest

commit for the full five-week course that will run from December3, 2016 through January 14, 2017 with a two-week break aroundthe holidays. Last day to sign up is November 29. To find out moredetails and apply visit: www.ourcityforest.org/tree-amigo oremail: [email protected]. Another five-week class willbe offered in February.

See volunteer opportunities listed at:www.ourcityforest.org/calendar.


One of the most interestingitems displayed in the VisitorCenter is a de Laval CreamSeparator. Not only does itattract attention, but itgenerates great questions frompark visitors and inspiresinterest in the period. Creamseparators utilized a centrifugedevice to efficiently andthoroughly separate the lightermilk solids from the skim milk.

This process was previouslyaccomplished by gravity byallowing milk to sit for longperiods in shallow settingpans. Later, tall, narrowshotgun cans were set in coldwater to speed separation.Like oil in water, the lighterbutterfat particles slowlyrose to the top to beharvested; however, from5% to 30% of the butterfat Continued on 12

Share your farm story with us

Since opening in May 2015, wehave heard many stories fromvisitors about their ownconnections to farming. Tocelebrate our collectivememories of agriculture here inSanta Clara Valley and aroundthe world, we invite you toshare your farm memories withus by [email protected].

Individual storieswill befeatured infutureeditions ofThe CottleAlmanac andthe completecollection willbe available inthe MartialCottle ParkVisitor Center.

To kick off the series, I will share one of my memories fromwhen I was being raised on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Wemilked thirty-five cows and raised corn, oats, and hayfor our cattle. As we grew older, my brothers and Ibecame more active in helping Dad put up crops forwinter forage. After we finished baling hay, Dad wouldoften say that we boys should walk over to ShermanLarsen’s farm and help him and Edna. They wereneighboring farmers who attended the same church aswe did and Dad and Sherman served on our elementary

school board. They had no children at homeand milked about the same number of cowsas we did. I cannot speak for my brothers,but I loved this opportunity – not justbecause Sherman kept horses – no – it wasbecause in the middle of the morning andafternoon, Mrs. Larsen would walk out tothe hay field with a tray of cheesesandwiches and lemonade for all of us.Can you imagine that? Fifty years later andthat is one of the highlights of twentyyears on my childhood farm!

By Dave Zittlow, Volunteer Park Lead

What use am I?By Joyce Chesnos

Photo courtesy of David Zittlow

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The Cottle family made butterboth for sale and for home usethroughout their time on theranch. The family molded theirbutter into one-pound blocksand stamped each with a butterstamp featuring the letter “C”.(The butter stamp, butter moldand butter paddle are all ondisplay in the Visitors Center.)The Cottle familylikely fed theirexcess skim milkto their farmanimals.

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What use am I?

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According to the manufacturer, the de Laval CreamSeparator could yield the following output from 100pounds of 4% milk:

11.5 lbs. of 4% cream for making butter 5 qts. (10.75 lbs.) of milk for cooking and home use 5 lbs. cottage cheese 24.25 lbs. whey 48.5 lbs. excess skim milk that could be fed to farmanimals, such as hogs, poultry and calves

was left behind with thesemethods and milk sitting forhours was at risk of turningsour.

The use of a centrifugal forcewas first introduced in the mid-1800s to help speed thisprocess and produce higheryields. Several inventors,including Swedish engineerCarl Gustaf de Laval,introduced machines for thispurpose in the 1860s and 1870s.His machine along with itssubsequent improvements,increased production, whileleaving less than 1% butterfatbehind, saving time and labor,and improving the quality ofcream and butter.

De Laval’s Cream Separator isuniversally recognized ashaving helped to usher in themodern dairy industryworldwide. Farmers couldprocess milk from more cowsand get products to marketfaster and fresher. De Lavalwon many internationalhonors and accolades for hisinvention.

The manual crank model ondisplay in the Visitor Center isa 1930s model. It could spin themilk at thousands ofrevolutions per minute (6,000–8,000 rpm) allowing the lightercream to flow out of the upperspout while the skim milk

flowed out of the lowerspout into separate buckets.The bell on the manual unitwould alert the user whenthe handle was being turnedtoo slowly or too quickly.

The de Laval unit was madein a variety of sizes andmotorized models were alsoavailable. Various creamseparators were soldthrough Sears, Roebuck &Co. and Montgomery Wardcatalogs from the late 1890sinto the mid-1950s. Use ofcream separators largelydied out as demand forwhole milk increased.

During the mid-nineteenthcentury, Western farmerswho depended solely upongrain production weregrowing poorer, and yet,were unable to produce milkand dairy products at aprofit, using the old gravitymethods. The introductionof the cream separatorcreated opportunities toexpand business andincrease profit.

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Upcoming Events and Programsat Martial Cottle Park

Tuesday, November 29Last day to sign up for Our City Forest’s Tree Amigo class, which begins Saturday, December 3and runs for 5 weeks. Find out more details and apply at: www.ourcityforest.org/tree-amigo oremail [email protected] to receive an application. Another 5-week class will be offeredin February.

Winter Holidays Festival at Jacobs Farm StandSaturday, December 310:00am – 2:00pmJacobs Farm will offer DIY workshops, crafts for kids, Christmas trees and holiday decor, foodtrucks and, of course, fresh organic produce. The Farm Stand is located at the corner ofChynoweth and Snell avenues. Volunteers welcome! To volunteer for the event, please emailJanae Clark at [email protected]

Rent a Live Tree for the Holidays at the Our City Forest Parcel at Martial Cottle ParkFriday and Saturday, December 9 & 1010:00am – 3:00pmReserved trees will be available for pickup. In-person rentals will be available at the CommunityNursery located at 1000 Spring Street in San Jose on Thursday through Sunday, December 1through 11 from 9:00am – 3:00pm.

Pepper Workshop at the Master Gardener Parcel at Martial Cottle ParkSaturday, January 28, 201710:00am – 12:00pmLearn about raising sweet and hot peppers from seed. Practice seeding peppers in our newgreenhouse!

Cool Season Cover Crops at the Master Gardener Parcel at Martial Cottle ParkSaturday, February 25, 201710:00am – 12:00pmStill time to enrich the nitrogen in your soil with a cool season cover crop. Learn how, when,what, and why! If it rains, we will meet in our new greenhouse.

Gardening for the Birds and Bees at the Master Gardener Parcel at Martial Cottle ParkSaturday, March 25, 201710:00am – 11:30amLearn how to attract birds, bees, and other pollinators to your home garden.

The Martial Cottle Park ExperienceEvery Saturday and Sunday2:30 – 3:30pmTake a tour of the park’s core, discovering the land’s past, present, and future. Trained staff anddocents provide answers to questions. Meet at the Visitor Center.

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ContributorsBecky AllenDiane BaconJason BombardierJoyce ChesnosJanae Clark

Nancy CrevelingElizabeth EvansEric GoodrichRenae McCollumAimee Oxford

Carrie OxfordKiley OxfordLisa PappanastosPamela RoperChuck Rose

Carolyn SchimandleJessica SchweigerSara ShellenbargerSuzanne ThomasJenel VinczeDave Zittlow

Park Hours

8:00am to sunset

Trail Hours

Sunrise to sunset

Visitor Center Hours

Saturdays and Sundays10:00am to 4:00pm

Martial Cottle Park • County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department5283 Snell Avenue • San José, CA 95136

Park Office: (408) 535-4060Reservations Office (Monday–Friday): (408) 355-2201

www.parkhere.org www.facebook.com/santaclaracountyparks

What’s in the Visitor Center?By Chuck Rose

Have you ever been to the Martial Cottle ParkVisitor Center? In it you will find Walter CottleLester’s childhood playthings and schoolbooks,the Cottle/Lester family icebox, and manydisplays and artifacts belonging to the familywho preserved their ranch so it could become apark for all to enjoy.

Whenever you come to the Visitor Center,you’ll also find volunteer docents. We engagewith park visitors whenever the center is open,and more than a few of us have a backgroundin public service, but that’s certainly notrequired. All that you need is a friendly attitudeand the desire to share your knowledge of thepark with visitors. Training is available, andyou’ll learn more as you volunteer with us. Allthe displays and artifacts have informativedocumentation and supporting citations. Weanswer questions and guide our guests aroundthe displays. We chat with folks who knew theCottle/Lester family and children that are justlearning about our agricultural past. All in all,

it’s a fun and an enjoyable way to spend amorning or afternoon. If you’re interested injoining our team of Visitor Center docents, orwant to check out the displays and familyartifacts for yourself, come by and introduceyourself to us. We would love to show youaround.

During the winter, we are open from 10:00amto 4:00pm every Saturday and Sunday. Hopeto see you soon.

Photo by Ron Horii

Martial Cottle Park Newsletters - Winter 2016

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