Tag Archives: cattle

HARD WON – Cowboy Wisdom

coe_brothers_smallPeter Coe Verbica carries many torches of tradition that are uniquely Evergreen in nature.  Mr. Peter Verbica is a member of the Revolutionary War fighting, Valley of Heart’s Delight rumor creating, dried apricot perfecting, cattle ranching, beautiful poetry writing, longtime Evergreen family, the Coes.  Today, Mr. Peter Coe Verbica is a successful businessman and a Silicon Valley author and poet, deriving inspiration from his long held family traditions.

P1310184Don’t worry if you feel a little confused about where the Coes actually come from.  You did see the Coe name in Willow Glen.  Coe Avenue runs right past Henry W. Coe’s home in “the Willows”, a town which became Willow Glen some time later.  Henry Coe, Sr., would move out to Evergreen in the 1860’s as the Yerba Buena land disputes starting settling.  After a poor year of farming in Willow Glen, Henry W. Coe would move the homestead to Evergreen, buying large tracks in Halls Valley and San Felipe Valley.  His sons would extend the grazing land further.  This cattle ranching track stretched all the way out to Morgan Hill, to Henry W. Coe State Park.

Winnifred Coe Verbica, who died on March 31, 2013, in the early 1950sP1300723This large Evergreen ranching property raised not just cattle, but generations of ranchers, or more specifically Cowboys.  It’s been rumored that Peter’s mother, Winnifred Coe Verbica, was bitten by a rattle snake as a baby on the Evergreen Ranch.  San Felipe Ranch, the main homestead, would be located at the Southern tip of Rancho Yerba Buena.  Various other homes and outposts are dotted throughout the ranching property because you’d be miles and miles away from home on a cattle run with men, dogs and horses to feed.  Mr. Verbica would be born on San Felipe Ranch, like his mother before him.  Cowboy Wisdom is something Mr. Verbica is well-versed in.

1888616_10152084007824902_1583107476_nMr. Verbica obtained his BA in English at Santa Clara University, and received his JD from Santa Clara University’s School of Law.  Though clearly well versed in city life, Peter Coe Verbica spent some time disseminating pearls in his book HARD-WON: Cowboy Wisdom.  This latest book from Peter Coe Verbica is short bursts of common sense uncommon to city-slickers.  Because of the brevity of the clips, it’s a perfect read for a busy person on the go to pick up in spare minutes.  Some of his passages made me laugh out loud in a crowded, busy place.  His snippets are in no particular order.  Mr. Verbica gives tips on cattle running, hunting, and ranch owning.  A simple kind of intelligence from self-sufficient, hardworking farmers can be gleamed throughout HARD-WON.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever daydreamt about being a cowboy and lassoing their little brothers.

image1Here are some of my favorite snippets from HARD-WON: Cowboy Wisdom:

“15.  Don’t wear too big of a buckle unless you’ve earned it.”

“60.  Rides your fences.”

“78.   If someone doesn’t believe in his heart that the West is the Best, don’t trust him.”

“137.  When in rattle snake country, wear high boots.”

“193.  Don’t make fun of a ‘C’ student.  You may have to work for them someday.”

“213.  Unfenced mine shafts are the bane deer and curious children.”

“252.  Finish what you can start, but think first about what you’re starting.”

“292.  Give a horse’s hind end an appropriate distance so that you don’t get kicked.”

“300.  Eat the game you kill.”

“305.  Don’t be too proud to copy what you neighbor does, but try to make it better. – Courtesy of Barry Swenson

“370.  Don’t pen horses with barbed wire.”

“449.  There are lots of ways to skin a cat, but the easiest way is to let someone else do it.”

“476.  Think twice before trying to save your dog from a grizzly.”

 

 

The Legacy of Antonio Chaboya

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 5.59.57 PMAntonio Chaboya’s name isn’t really well known throughout San Jose but his land holdings certainly are today.  Rancho Yerba Buena, parts at least, stayed in the Chaboya family for over a hundred years.  From all accounts, they were exemplary citizens predating the European or American immigrants.

hb896nb4gd-FID3Antonio Chaboya, born in Mexico in 1803, obtained one of the first land patents from the Mexican Government, post-Spanish rule.  Antonio and family probably came to the Santa Clara Valley with father, Marcos Chaboya, to colonize the area during the late Spanish Period.  With Mexican Independence shortly after, the Spanish Missions were decommissioned and their large land tracts were up for grabs.  The Missions once were the source of agriculture for the Spanish.  Antonio Chaboya enjoyed one of the largest tracts of land afterwards.

Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 11.30.55 AMRancho Yerba Buena raised a huge herd of cattle, hundreds horses and various crops.  Antonio Chaboya and his family enjoyed a fairly untouched version of Evergreen, not being able to cultivate it all.  Rancho Yerba Buena’s rolling hills were populated with grasslands, creek beds, spearmint and oak trees.  Yerba Buena translates to spearmint in Spanish.  Rancho Yerba Buena was over 25,000 acres, making it a high maintenance property.

P1310223Antonio Chaboya was granted the land originally in 1833 by the Mexican Rule, but had to fight to keep it through the 1860’s in the United States.  The Chaboyas and their ranch hands even fought and killed bears on their property.  The family hosted an annual rodeo at Rancho Yerba Buena for the young horsemen they employ and of the pueblo.  The Chaboyas traded a lot of cowhides with Americans and enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle.  The property was left to Antonio’s descendants in his passing in 1865.

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 6.06.18 PMAfter the Mexican American War, Antonio Chaboya again was granted Rancho Yerba Buena by the US Government in 1858, one of the first real estate cases heard over “squatters’ rights”.

Antonio’s brother, Pedro Chaboya, served as one of the first lawmen in the area under Mexican Independence.  Pedro Chaboya lead the fight when under Spanish rule to defend the ranchos of the Santa Clara Valley from Native Americans and create some peace for the ranchers.  He would maintain a much smaller land patent west of Rancho Yerba Buena, near the present day fairgrounds.

1855We will discuss Evergreen’s land fights, though we didn’t focus much on it within the artwork itself.  Rancho Yerba Buena was over 25,000 acres and hard to scout and watch at all times.  As cattle grazed throughout Evergreen, it might have been years until someone came upon a new farm or Native camp popping up.  The Chaboyas had to part with Rancho Yerba Buena in sections to provide newcomers the opportunity of the American Dream.  With this realization, Downtown Evergreen on San Felipe Road and Aborn Road was the first area densely populated with new farmers.

P1310198The Chaboya family would maintain homesteads off of Quimby Road in the center of the former Rancho.  Chaboyas would have the last names Shobolo, Shabolla, Chabolla and Chaboya, all being pronounced the same way.  Chaboya orchards were a source of pride.  The family would marry into other prosperous Mexican and American families.  They were a well-liked, hard working bunch in Evergreen into the 1940’s.  Then, the trail goes cold.

Evergreen PoppyLittle trivia: Yerba Buena and Evergreen are trying to communicate the same things about our community and land.   Spearmint is super green, and again  the forever green inspires the same.  If you get a little mint in your yard, watch out.  It’s a nuisance and a weed after a while.  Spearmint will make itself quite comfortable in your Evergreen flowerbed, as I know from experience.

The Chaboya/Chabolla story is a crucial one in our timeline because it spans our Native American Evergreen to early California Statehood Evergreen into the 20th century.  It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that Americans started purchasing large lots of land from Rancho Yerba Buena.  We find them so important, we’ve featured them several times in the Mural Walk.  Here’s what I’ve designed to honor the Chaboya Legacy.

Scan0095-copy