When I was a kid...

I am mostly English, German and Irish with a little French and Portuguese thrown in there for fun. When I was a kid in school, it seemed like once a year we were asked to do some sort of a project involving something to do with our family heritage such as a traditional food, some sort of clothing, a holiday ritual, etc. I went to school in downtown San Jose in a community of people most of who were relatively new to the U.S. and brought with them very strong cultural traditions from their previous homelands. Even the kids whose families had been here for several generations had a strong singular lineage that was an integral part of their daily lives.


I was a mutt and it bummed me out. Sure, we had our “family traditions” but they were in no way a part of our cultural heritage. Our traditions were built around birthdays, holidays and vacations mostly. With that being as it was, I came to the conclusion that what my family had decided to do with their culture was just let it fade away. They chose to become “Americans.” What did that mean to me? Didn’t they didn’t care about where they had come from? Were cultural traditions really not that important?

It wasn’t until recently that I came to understand that my family had been in the U.S. for quite a lot longer than I had assumed. They came here almost 400 years ago. I wasn’t raised with strong cultural ties to another country’s heritage because this country is my heritage. My ancestors settled on the east coast in 1632. Eventually, they pulled up roots and ventured out to the densely forested wilderness of Northern California’s coastal mountains. My great great grandfather was one of the first settlers in Mendocino, CA in 1853. He built a home and a mercantile and had a cattle ranch there. His home still stands and there is even a street in town named after the family. Eventually, he moved to San Francisco, was a successful businessman, raised a family there and took his last breath there.

So after almost 400 years of family history in the U.S., I suppose my family heritage and cultural traditions come from the things that truly represent who my family is and where we have come from. My culture is one of pioneers, inventors, builders of towns and cities, teachers, artists and caregivers. We are lovers of all things in nature and all of the wonders of creation, invention. Our traditions revolve around being together in places that have significance for us and with people that are significant to us. I’ll take that any day over a style of dress, a particular dish served at dinner or a holiday ritual. My heritage is American and, even more importantly, Northern Californian. :-)

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