An interactive history day held on Saturday, September 25 was partly the celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day and partly the discovery of North Redlands past.
Community members were encouraged to bring their neighborhood stories and photos to share at the event held at the Redlands Community Center on West Lugonia Avenue.
Mario Saucedo, founder of Common Vision Coalition, which co-sponsored the event, said it is important to document historic and current neighborhood residents, actions and events for future generations.
The aim was to record “some of the reasons families have come to settle here and put down roots there, both historically and some of our newcomers to the community,” he said, ” and just understand that we are a diverse community, and give them a place and an opportunity to openly share this rich history.
Before Redlands became a town, the area started out as the settlement of Lugonia, Saucedo said, and residents were laborers, had service jobs, and started families.
As an activist and community leader, Saucedo said he tries to make known “the richness of our history”.
This knowledge, he said, “is for a lot of community pride.”
