San Gabriel Valley boasts deep roots

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted 7/24/2013

The San Gabriel Valley has deep roots. That is how Wayne Ratkovich, President of the Ratkovich Company and past chair of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, describes the region. Mr Ratkovich knows. He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, graduated from UCLA and built his business in Southern California.

Many of us are transplants. We came from somewhere else and happily adopted the San Gabriel Valley as our home – including me. We didn’t take the eighth grade civic class that would have taught us about California and the role San Gabriel Valley played in making California a great state, so many of us don’t know about the region’s rich history. 

The first mission in the Los Angeles region - the San Gabriel Mission - was in the San Gabriel Valley. This was the region of orchards. The region where Los Angeles businesses expanded, turning it into a job producing major manufacturing center. You just cannot tell the history of California without talking about the San Gabriel Valley.

There are many famous people associated with the San Gabriel Valley - George Patton, Jackie Robinson, Mark McGuire, Julia Childs and Father Junipero Serra just to name a few.

If I stumped you on that last name you are probably not a native. In all fairness Serra was actually not from the San Gabriel Valley, but he had a huge impact on the San Gabriel Valley and California.

Born in 1713 into a humble family in Spain, Serra was ordained as a Franciscan priest at the age of 16. He served as a professor of theology for six years. He turned to missionary work at the age of 24 - first in Mexico where he preached, heard confessions and helped at the Mexico City College of San Fernando.  

In 1769 he became head of the missionaries in Baja California. He spent the rest of his life founding nine of the 21 California missions including the San Gabriel Mission. His work is not without controversy. Three hundred years later, his treatment of native Indians falls far short of the standard of human rights we defend today. 

Beginning August 17, there is a great opportunity for natives and transplants alike to learn more about California history, the San Gabriel Valley and Father Junipero Serra when an exhibition about his life opens at the Huntington Library, Arts Collection and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. Paintings, books, artifacts, writings and prints will tell the story of this defining time in California history. The exhibit is about the rich and complex history of Serra and the California Missions.  

Wayne Ratkovich is right. The San Gabriel Valley has deep roots. It is authentic California. The Huntington exhibit is a great way to learn about our roots. Don’t miss it.