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Valle Verde Retirement Community resident archive collection
SBHC Mss 145
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Title: Valle Verde Retirement Community resident archive collection
Identifier/Call Number: SBHC Mss 145
Language of Material:
English.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
12.25 Linear Feet
(8 cartons, 3 flat boxes, 2 video recordings, 2 motion picture films)
Date (inclusive): 1960s-2021
Abstract: This collection consists of materials gathered by members of the Valle Verde resident archives, documenting the history, administration,
and member activities of the Valle Verde Retirement Community, located in Santa Barbara, California, from the 1960s to 2021.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
The collection is open for research.
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of Item], Valle Verde Retirement Community resident archive collection, SBHC Mss 145. Department of Special
Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Melissa Honig, Executive Director, Valle Verde Retirement Home, 2024.
The Valle Verde Retirement Community, a HumanGood Senior Living Community, was founded in 1965 by The American Baptist Homes
of the West (ABHOW). Located in Santa Barbara, California, in a neighborhood currently known as Hidden Valley, the 65 acre
parcel was originally a walnut grove owned by the Rutherford family.The Valle Verde resident archives was started by Marian
Abrecht, the daughter of an original Valle Verde resident. The collection and organizing of content was continued by resident
John Mandle, until 2018. In 2022 resident Walter Naumann volunteered to revitalize the archive by scanning the collection
and providing residents and their families access to the digitized materials. This work was supported by resident curators
Al and Diane Zonana, computer programmer Chuck Anderson, and several other Valle Verde residents including Philip Clark, Harriette
Hinderstein, Kevin Ryan, Joe Dobbs, and Vern Kemp, resulting in the creation of a database for the collection and the digitization
and cataloging of more than 21,000 items from the archives. In 2023-2024, the Archive Committee began the process of transferring
a selection of their archives, not including their large collection of photographs, to the UCSB Library. Valle Verde and the
Archive Committee continue to maintain the digital assets.
The arrangement of these archives maintains their original order, as established by members of the Valle Verde resident archives.
The Valle Verde Retirement Community resident archive collection documents the history of elder and senior care from the 1960s
to 2021, through the lens of this long-standing Santa Barbara institution. Materials cover the development and history of
the organization, its administration, and the many activities of its residents over the years, through administrative and
business records, agendas, minutes, reports, correspondence, committee reports, and other records.
Resident committee and other resident-generated records include agendas, minutes, correspondence, and activity files, in addition
to scrapbooks, historical files, photographs, and audiovisual materials (digitized video recordings, and two 8mm motion picture
films). Publications include resident and staff newsletters, handbooks and directories, as well as corporate publications.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Retirement communities -- California -- Santa Barbara -- Archives
Older people -- Long-term care -- California -- Santa Barbara
Older people -- Housing -- California -- Santa Barbara
Records (documents)
Business correspondence
Video recordings
Newsletters
Primary sources
Valle Verde (retirement community) (Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- Archives
Valle Verde (retirement community) (Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- History