About
Berkeley’s Cesar Chavez Park is a wonderful place. Chavezpark.org is a web meeting place for people who love the park. Its function is threefold:
- To publicize the many attractions of the park
- To educate about the history of the park and related places
- To advocate for park improvements that will benefit the public
As for improvements, the Number One betterment the park needs is to replace the porta-potties with permanent bathrooms, with toilets that flush and sinks where you can wash your hands. You can follow the campaign that this website has carried on since December 2014 by reading this thread. Any assistance you can give toward better bathrooms will be a public service.
Besides advocacy, expressing love for Cesar Chavez Park can take many forms. For instance:
- Visiting the park often
- Helping to keep the park clean
- Being a resource for people new to the park
- Observing park rules
- Respecting and protecting wildlife
- Working to protect and improve the park
- Appearing at City events where park issues are discussed
- Handling your dog in a responsible manner in the park
- Sharing personal stories about the park and its history
- Sharing photos and artwork about the park
- Doing anything else that expresses love for the park.
I, Martin Nicolaus, am the webkeeper. I’m a recently retired attorney who migrated to Berkeley from Oakland in 1992. I usually post here as “Mosey2014.” Mosey was the dog who spent many hours in the park with me and his mistress, recently retired Alameda County Schools Superintendent Sheila Jordan. 2014 is the year that Mosey died. I also maintain two other websites: nicolaus.com and duplexpress.com.
In March 2018 I changed the name and address of this website from viva-cesar-chavez-park.org to chavezpark.org. The new address is much easier to type, and the “Viva” left some readers puzzled about the site’s purpose.
You can be sure to receive a notice about new posts as they appear here by becoming a subscriber to this site. Go to the home page and at the bottom, look for the “Subscribe” window.
I would be happy to post your photos and/or stories with full credit. I will read and consider messages sent to me via the contact form, below.
You can also use the Contact Form to send files.
Pingback: A Hidden Memorial for Murder Victims
Hello-
I just saw this post today. 35 years and one day after the death of my good freind Greg Kniffin from the town of Wilton, CT.
I did not know there was a plaque for both of them.
I however did know someone who was another freind from my adolescent years that was part of that Rainbow community in Ventura. His name was Dan Adams.
As fate would have it, I met Dan again after not seeing him in years at the Bridgeport Correctional Center in CT.
in 99. Dan relayed to me that Thomas “International” ( i forget the last name) was in fact, not the murderer. Thomas owned the bus that the murderer stole the rifle from and was arrested becausehe owned the rifle. The man that did it was a guy who had a street name and nobody knew his birth name.
Years later a lawyer had contacted Dan when he was in jail somewhere in like Ohio or in the center of the U.S. while Dan was incarcerated (busted) for heroin charges while on Dead Tour, to get Thomas exonerated from Greg’s murrder on Dan’s testimony but it never came together.
After Dan told me about all of this sent me into a bit of a spiral. I know Dan was not lying but I then had a newfound compassion for a person I previously despised for decades.
Thomas died in jail about 8 or 9 years ago. I never told this story to Greg’s Mother or Sister because it has no resolve. No answers. It only leaves questions.
Dan also passed away in 2000.
Thanks for posting this article on the plaque. . I gotta say I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a bit weepy reading this 35 years and one day after it happened.
Be well!
Pingback: A New Bench on Dog Hill
Pingback: A List of Names on the Benches
Pingback: New Park Map