CHAPTER 9

Manteca, California,  American Town, in Growth and Practice 

Manteca is a city in the Central Valley of California, 76 miles east of San Francisco. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.8 square miles (46 km²), 99.87% of it land and 0.13% of it water.  Neighboring towns include Lathrop, Ripon, Escalon, and Tracy. Manteca is located in between the larger cities of Modesto and Stockton.

Before the first settlers came, there were few Indians living permanently here on what was then known as the “sand plains”. As the California Gold Rush subsided, permanent settlers came to the area. On the first large land holdings, the principle productions were grain and cattle. During this period this valley settlement was called Cowell Station, named after Joshua Cowell who was later known as the “father of Manteca”. Joshua Cowell crossed the plains in 1861 and took up land in what has become the center of town, locating on the corner of what is now Yosemite and Main, where the Bank of America and its parking lot now stands. At one time he owned most of Manteca with a claim to 1,000 acres and he rented another 1,000. 

In 1948 when we moved to Manteca, there were very few Mexican heritage students.  The Spanish teacher was actually Italian.   However; the demographics worked to our advantage.  My sister and I were both hired by the owner of the local movie house as a usherettes.  He was from the Middle East and wanted to learn to speak Spanish.    Interesting,  because most of the non-Anglo community were Portuguese or Italian.  He constantly carried a book around and would ask for help with pronunciation and sometimes vocabulary.  Besides seating people with a flashlight in hand, the Spanish speaking cashier, who recruited us, my sister and I were his tutors.  I was glad to be able to help, proud that someone, not of our culture, valued our language.  I was also interested in those who attended  the El Rey Theatre, really the only show in town.  Television was just growing.  Most families did not have a television. 

My sister and I did not work the same night, we alternated.  The problem with that,  was walking home in the dark by ourselves.  The streets were not well lit on the edge of town were we lived,  some streets did not have sidewalks.  

In 1902, J.J. Overshiner built the first store building which was occupied by a general store and barber shop. The residential area of the city consisted of only a few homes by 1910, with the population at about 100. Shortly after the opening of the first store, the citizens petitioned for a post office.

Cost-effective, reliable irrigation was essential for the development of the area. It was slow in coming but finally in 1909, an election was held to form the South San Joaquin Irrigation District and to authorize a bond issue. The bonds were not issued until 1913. Irrigation water was diverted from the Stanislaus River about 18 miles northeast of Oakdale. The district built all the lateral ditches and prepared to deliver water to every 40-acre tract. That was the town’s real beginning of growth.

The former El Rey Theatre, once an elegant example of the Art Deco style dating from the 1930’s, including a large triangular-shaped blade marquee spelling out the theater’s name, was a long-time fixture of downtown Manteca.  During a screening of "The Towering Inferno", ironically, in 1977, a fire started in the El Rey, and quickly gutted the entire old theater. The shell of the El Rey would stand ignored for another twenty years. It wasn’t until 1997 that brothers Shon and Joe Kelley saw the El Rey’s ruins, and decided this was where they would build their new brewery and eatery, after a $2.5 million reconstruction.

The hours were very comfortable at Smitty's: after all home games, lunchtime during the school week and Saturdays.  

Smitty's was the closes of the two creameries to the high school, so it was the most popular to the high school crowd, but could be pretty chaotic after a game.   Walking home was not a problem, either my sister or my boyfriend  accompanied me.  Ray D. lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.  He was always at Smitty's after the games and I always felt safe and comfortable with Ray around.

I enjoyed working at Smitty's.   Even though the high school was small, I felt like it kept me in touch  with everyone,  all the different groups,  all the different  interests,  all their varied backgrounds.   Saturday was particularly interesting, the local merchants came in for breakfast or lunch and chatted  about everyone, even high school rumors. I kept myself busy,  but followed every word.    It fascinated me  that they were interested in what the high school students were doing, and seemed to know more than I did.  

I realize now that is what a small town is like.    Similar to a church family, when  young couples marry,  raise families and even become grandparents, and you've seen it all.  There is a closeness, an interest, curiosity, and a softness towards those children.   

The community closeness can be damning.  Several times Ray warned me not to forma friendships with certain girls  because they had developed bad reputations.   Whether warranted or not, i did not know, but followed his advice.  Fortunately,  rumors which were started about my sister and me was squashed by the mother of one of our friends.
Pat T. mother stood up at a woman's meeting scolding the women for talking about the Lozano girls,  She told them, "Anyone of us would be grateful to have those girls as our daughters". That apparently ended it,  solidly.

Since the community was made up of Catholics and Protestants, town people and farm people, I think the thing which held the community together  was Manteca High School.  Manteca High School received amazing support in every facet of high school life.  We knew we mattered, whether it was a game, a fund raiser, a play, or a fashion show, we mattered.  The community was behind us.  The school was only 28 years old when we registered in 1948.  

Manteca’s first school was built in 1857. The name given was East Union (to distinguish from Union School in Lathrop). In 1913, the school was destroyed by fire. After many years of discussion, the first local high school classes met in huts in 1920. Previously, many students attended high school in Stockton via train. On January 26, 1923, the new high school building was dedicated and it remained a city landmark until it met the wrecking ball in 1969. 

Spreckles, was a major company in Manteca. The   Spreckles Sugar Company was constructed in 1916. Prior to the construction of the factory sugar beets had been grown in the Imperial Valley since 1932 and shipped to factories along the Pacific coast.  In the Imperial Valley, sugar-beets are planted in September of each year and harvested from April through July.   Due to excessive summer heat, sugar-beets cannot be stored in piles such as they are in the Midwest. Harvest must go on each day the factory operates, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

As recently as the 1970s, Manteca existed primarily on agriculture.  The Manteca Canning Company was organized in 1914 and was in operation almost continuously until closing in 1964.

It really makes me proud to read this about the citizens of Manteca . . .  good people. 

Manteca is the home base for the "Not Forgotten Memorial Day Event", the largest commemoration for veterans on the West Coast. The event is held the Sunday before Memorial Day every year. The event draws over 20,000 attendees.^[13]   

https://manteca.org/about-manteca/