8/17/06 Redman House Plays Host to Community

BY JON CHOWN

The Redman House hasn’t had so many visitors in decades.

About 150 people attended a fund-raiser at the historic home on Wednesday and got a taste of some catered food, locally produced wine and what the future might hold for the house and the community.

The crowd came from all over the coast, some from Monterey County and even as far north as San Jose. Nancy Dicicco came from Soquel after a day of hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. “I told my friend that I had to be here,” she said.

“It was a fabulous turnout,” said Redman Foundation vice president Stephen Pederson. “It’s a pretty wide representation of the community.”

Among those in the community were highly visible personalities such as politicians, businessmen and longtime residents.

Dean Bassi has lived in the same Cutter Drive house all his life and was at the fund-raiser to show his support for the project. “The house has been here forever and it would be neat to see it resurrected,” he said.

Local caterer Ken Schwann provided the food and his services as a donation. “I’ve been driving by this for some 20 years,” he said. “It would be a cool thing to have a welcoming gate to Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley.”

That is the plan the Redman Foundation has for the house — a visitor’s center for passing motorists to stop at and learn what the Pajaro Valley has to offer, as well as a destination for the local community to gather.“I really support what they’re doing here, what the community is doing here,” said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ellen Pirie. “We’ve all waited a long time for somebody to step up to the plate and I’m excited to see it happening.”

Among the business community were Ramona and Chuck Allen of Landmark Realty. The couple also owns the Red Roof Inn, situated next to the house.“We’re hoping it goes through because we want to send our guests from the Red Roof Inn. People are constantly asking us about it,” Ramona said.

Ted Remde, who owns Veranda Vineyard, located near the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, has formed the Wine Cellar Group, which held its first meeting Tuesday just hours before the fund-raiser kicked off. He said about 25 local vintners, grape growers and wine distributors attended and discussed how they could get involved in the project. Plans call for some sort of wine-centered business in the basement of the house, an important component to the project becoming financially self-sustaining.“I’ve always been intrigued by this old house,” Remde said. “I’m not sure of a timeline, but we will meet again in about a month to get some answers.”

A silent auction raised $2,000. Among the high bidders was Police Chief Terry Medina, who went home with a basket full of tie-dye T-shirts, among other prizes. Medina, always a sharp dresser, wasn’t sure if he would be donning the colorful shirts his wife purchased. “Maybe I’ll wear one to Rotary,” he quipped.