Evelyn Pedroia, Founder
PART 2
First published June 2023
by Chris Pattillo
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Russian River Historical Society, I plan to write a column about the society for each issue. This article is about Evelyn Pedroia, who founded the society in 1983.
The first meeting of the Russian River Historical Society, then known as the Monte Rio Area Historical Society, took place on July 15, 1983 – 40 years ago next month. Initially, the group of founding members met in the Monte Rio library. Shortly thereafter they moved to the Koret Club. Other known founding members were listed in the March issue.
Evelyn Ownie Pedroia was a third-generation Sonoma County native. She grew up on a 100-acre ranch in Petaluma that her grandfather, Frank Silva, purchased in 1853.i Her father Joseph William Silva inherited the land from Frank. Joseph was born in Petaluma in 1879 and married another local, Corina “Cora” Ownie Garzoli, in 1911. ii. Cora was born in Tomales in 1863. Evelyn’s grandfather and great grandfather, Manuel Antonio de Padua were both born in Portugal and both died and are buried in Petaluma. Her grandfather Frank and father Joseph both appeared on the 1880 census of Petaluma. Evelyn has deep family roots in Sonoma County.
Evelyn was born on the ranch and grew up there. She attended Wilson School and graduated from Petaluma High School in 1933. In her youth Evelyn was active in artistic endeavors. She was in the St. Vincent’s Church choir and the Petaluma Theater Guild.iii The Silva family appeared on the 1920 and 1930 censuses listing Joseph as a farmer. Evelyn was 15 when the 1930 census was taken and they were living at 3864 Skillman Lane in Petaluma.
In 1940 Evelyn married Edward Hobart Pedroia. Edward was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Pedroia of Duncans Mills. His grandfather John B. Doda was an early settler in Fort Ross. Edward graduated from Analy High School. iv Evelyn and Edward had one daughter, Constance. Prior to their marriage, Evelyn worked as a bookkeeper at Clines Furniture Company in Petaluma. During World War II she worked at the Red Cross headquarters, also in Petaluma.
During the war Evelyn and Edward moved to Monte Rio with their daughter. Evelyn joined the Monte Rio Catholic Church and was part of the choir along with Margaret Torre, Nancy Burke, Barbara Jenkins and Larry Laird. Helen Cherry was the organist.v In 1955, the Monte Rio Mother’s Club honored Evelyn for her eight years of service volunteering as secretary and treasurer.
For a time, Evelyn worked at Burke’s Garage, which was owned by her son-in-law. What she was most known for was the 27 years working at the Monte Rio Post Office, 23 of which were as Post Master.vi In a 1968 column, Bob Wells wrote about how Evelyn recounted the character of Monte Rio by describing the number and breeds of dogs who frequented the post office during her tenure.vii She retired from the Post Office in 1980.
Chis Canelis, whose mother worked with Evelyn at the post office said, “Evelyn was a pillar of our community. She was a very nice woman who taught me the importance of volunteering and providing service to the community.”
Evelyn was very active in community affairs her entire life. In the 1960s she hosted a meeting to plan a St. Patrick’s Dinner at Angelo’s for St. Catherine’s Guild. She was an officer of the guild in 1968, installed at their annual dinner meeting at Negri’s in Occidental.viii In 1972 she became President of the Guild, at another dinner meeting, this time at the Union Hotel. The other officers that year were Mrs. George Van Oorschot, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. Louis Putallaz, Vice President, Mrs. Patrick Jennings, Recording Secretary and Mrs. Lawrence Del Bucchia, Treasurer.
Evelyn and Edward were divorced in 1965. He died in 1987 and is buried at the Duncans Mills Cemetery along with other family members. ix
In 1967 Evelyn was honored for having signed up 100 students who purchased savings bonds. She was commended by Glen R. Johnson, National Director of the US Saving Bonds Division for “promoting the habit of thrift and preparing young people for some of the responsibilities they have as American citizens.” x
Evelyn was active in the Monte Rio Chamber Women’s Auxiliary hosting meetings, chairing the Sunshine committee in 1971, and planning a fashion show and tea for the chamber in 1972, which was held at the Highland Dell Hotel in Monte Rio. Evelyn was the emcee for the evening. xi She worked on the Monte Rio Water Carnival multiple years in different capacities. She chaired a committee in 1969 and in 1970 was in charge of floats. xii In 1973 she emceed the carnival program. In 1972, Evelyn and Mrs. Jay Dry were recognized as life members of the Mother’s Club of Monte Rio Elementary School. xiii
When Evelyn retired from the post office, her fellow employees hosted a retirement party at Eve’s Restaurant. That is when she started to immerse herself in the history of the Monte Rio area by compiling a history of the town. In November of 1982 Evelyn ran an ad in The Paper inviting members of the community to start a historical society. Ruth E. Marra from the Conference of California Historical Societies responded and supported the idea.
In September of 1983, shortly after founding the historical society, a Press Democrat article wrote about her efforts to begin to collect material for the historical society. Evelyn urged community members not to throw things out but instead to donate them to the society. She requested “artifacts, articles, old photographs, journals, maps, manuscripts, portraits, genealogies and other items that reflect the history of the area.”xiv The first meeting took place at the Koret Club in July of 1983 and shortly thereafter Evelyn was elected president. In August of 1983 the new organization adopted the first draft of their bylaws.
Ten years later an article in the Sonoma West Times and News noted that Evelyn had served as Past President and Treasurer of the Monte Rio Area Historical Society, which was celebrating its tenth anniversary. “The society was founded mainly to preserve what was ignored or destroyed when people passed away”(xv) At that time, they were seeking someone with cataloging experience who could help set up systems for keeping track of donated materials and displaying them. The article described a small museum room and display cases in the Koret Club.
News articles from the 1990s wrote about programs that were being hosted by the society including speakers, pot luck dinners, picnics, and other fundraising efforts. In August of 1996 Evelyn gave a talk on the History of Labor, Mills and Railroads of the Russian River Area. Apparently, the society hosted no activities in 1998 but an article the following year explained that they were reactivating the society and seeking new members. Evelyn was identified as the person to contact. So, it seems she was the driving force behind the society for many years. The article noted that the society was about more than just Monte Rio history.
Evelyn served as President in 1983, ’84 and ’85. In 1986, Evelyn took on the role of Treasurer when Joan Fontaine became President. She held that position until 1991, when she again served as President. She was elected president in 1997, but I am not sure about the intervening years. During her time as an officer, the society hosted monthly potluck dinners with speakers of various topics of local history. They planned field trips and hosted regular book sales to raise funds for the society. Regular meetings were held at the Koret Club in Monte Rio and special events took place at local historic sites. The society acquired photographic equipment and made copies of loaned historic photographs for the archives, including a large collection of photos from the Pedroia – Silva families.
In 1988 Evelyn received the Jean Thurlow Miller award from the Sonoma County Historical Society “for your work in founding and sustaining the Monte Rio Area Historical Society”xvi In 1991 she and John Schubert were the feature speakers at the Guerneville library giving a talk on Views of the Russian River.
Evelyn O. Pedroia died two years later on April 4, 2001 having established and nurtured the historical society for seventeen years. The legacy of what she created is rich and diverse – something that others continue to contribute to currently. Evelyn moved to a retirement community in Santa Rosa in 1999 and at the time of her death she was living in Sebastopol. She is buried at the St. Catherine’s Church cemetery in Monte Rio.
i Mrs. Corina Silva 77 Native of Tomales, Petaluma Argus-Courier p. 12, 9 Dec. 1963.
ii FamilySearch Genealogical Tree, and the Pedroia-Silva marriage record.
iii Silva-Pedroia Betrothal Announced in Petaluma, Santa Rosa Republican, p.8, 5 Sept 1940.
iv Ibid.
v From an unidentified news clipping from Evelyn’s scrapbook, 25 May 1952.
vi Evelyn’s Obituary, Sonoma West Times and News. P. 7, 12 April, 2001.
vii Monte Rio – A Friendly River Recreation Town, Press Democrat, 2 June 1968.
viii Rebekah, IOOF Hold Installation Ceremony, Sonoma West Times and News p. 7, 18 Jan. 1968.
ix Find-A-Grave website, March 2023.
x Postmaster Honored, Sonoma West Times and News, p. 6, 21 Sept. 1967
xi Fashion Show, Tea Planned, Press Democrat, p. 18, 17 May 1972.
xii Water Carnival Set for July 4th Weekend, Sonoma West Times and News p. 1, 2 July 1970.
xiii Lillian Petrini’s Guerneville,