The Goleta Valley Historical Society officially opened the David and George Cavalletto Education Center on Sunday afternoon, in a building on the Stow House grounds that was once a packing barn.
Guests, old friends, local officials and historical society members were busy chatting, listening to the sounds of Camen Renell and the Vertigo Boys, drinking lemonade or eating the Sunday barbecue fare the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge No. 613 put out.
The barnwarming celebrated the first part of the historical society’s efforts to renovate the building, which once saw intense activity during Goleta’s commercial agricultural heyday, when the valley’s walnuts, lemons, apricots and other crops were in high demand.
According to Robin Cederlof, the historical society’s president, the building was raised, refurbished and retrofitted to withstand today’s seismic and accessibility standards.
Next up will be work toward completing the display inside the barn, dedicated to the technology and life of Goleta in the early and mid-20th century. On one wall are stamped and written the names of many of Goleta’s early families, many migrants who eventually became the backbone of Goleta’s society: Stow, Pagliotti, Bottiani, just to name a few.
“There is a lot of history in Goleta to tell,” Cederlof said. “And we’re anxious to tell it.”
The display, she said, will be modern but without losing the flavor of the time it depicts.
Funding for the $1.5 million capital campaign has come from local donors and matching grants from various foundations and endowments. The barn’s renovation is just one of the projects the Goleta Valley Historical Society intends to complete.
Click here to make a donation to the Goleta Valley Historical Society’s capital campaign or its ongoing programs at Rancho La Patera & Stow House, 304 N. Los Carneros Road.
Write to sfernandez@noozhawk.com