March 2023 Homestead Headlines

Volume 67, Issue 3 March, 2023

Download the Headlines here

March 2023 Community Center Calendar

04 | Artist Reception Christina Oldenburg |

14 | HVLT Board Mtg |

21 | HVCA Board Mtg |

28 | Sanitary District Board Mtg |

1st/3rd Weds. | Tam Design Review Board Mtg |

Saturdays | A.A. Mtg | 10:00 AM

Message from HVCA Board President

Hello Homestead Valley!

We are pleased to announce that we will have a new General Manager at HVCA. Homestead Valley's very own Jonnie Alper will taking on the role starting on March 6th. We are so excited about this new chapter and hope you will join us in welcoming Jonnie to his new role.

Jonnie was born and raised in Southern Marin and has lived in Homestead Valley with his family since 1990. He has served on the HVCA Board twice and has generously volunteered his time working on facility maintenance and grounds at the Center and has been intimately involved with the Annual Music Festival.

Jonnie retired from the Southern Marin Fire District in 2021 after an impressive 35 year career in the fire service. He has remained active working part-time as a Defensible Space Inspector and Project Manager with the fire district as well as managing local properties. He has experience in construction, hospitality and event management and almost 20 years working on a Water Rescue team.

We are so fortunate to Jonnie on board and look forward to exciting times ahead at HVCA!

Ashley MacDonald

HVCA Board President

We're Hiring

Join our Aquatics Team!

Join our fun and dynamic pool crew for the 2023 pool season! We are currently seeking full and part-time team members for weekday and weekend shifts. If you are looking for an engaging experience to work outdoors surrounded by nature, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Shifts can be after-school, on weekends, and are flexible.

Pool season begins in mid-April 2023 and runs through the end of October.

Available Positions

Pool Manager (Seasonal)
Lifeguards (Seasonal)
Gatekeepers (Seasonal)
Summer Interns (Seasonal)

Apply Now!

Local Artist Series

Artist Christina Oldenburg

Homestead Valley Community Association is excited to present the artwork of Christina Oldenburg. Christina's watercolor paintings feature landscapes of France, Mexico, and Northern California. The exhibit will run from March 1 - March 31 at the HVCA.

Please join us for an opening reception

Saturday, March 4 from 2:00 - 5:00

with music from the Mill Valley Philharmonic

Christina and her husband, Chuck Oldenburg, have been an integral part of the Homestead Valley community for sixty years. In the 1960's and 1970s they started the Bach to Mozart Players and presented Candlelight Concerts in Stolte Grove, featuring musicians from the Oakland and San Francisco symphonies. This tradition continues with our annual Homestead Valley Music Festival every August.

Christina is a former Board Member and Vice President of the HVCA. She has also served on the Homestead Valley / Marin Horizon Liaison Committee and worked with Homestead Villages. Chuck Oldenburg has written two books about Homestead Valley history and regularly contributes to the Homestead Headlines. We are very fortunate to have the Oldenburg family as part of our Homestead Valley community!

Emergency Preparedness

Semi-Annual Time-Change Drill

Sunday, March 12 at 10 am (Daylight Time)

The Homestead Valley Safety/Firewise Committee, working in collaboration with the Mill Valley and Southern Marin Fire District, and the Southern Marin Neighborhood Response Group (NRG), is encouraging your participation in the semi-annual Daylight Savings Time-Change Drill (once in the Spring and once in the Fall) as an opportunity to practice how your family and our neighborhood would react during an emergency.

It will be easy to participate. It may only take a few minutes of your time. The HV

Safety/Firewise Committee will offer a menu of alternatives from which you can choose your level of involvement.

Watch your email inbox for a more detailed announcement from Smokey the Bear.

If you can’t wait - access the menu of activities HERE

Firewise Committee

Homestead Valley Firewise Community volunteer efforts -

Please track your time!

By Steve Quarles

Homestead Valley Firewise Community coordinator

We have been a Firewise Community for several years. In order for us to renew our Firewise Community designation each year, we need to provide information to the Firewise USA administrators at the National Fire Protection Association regarding our activities during the year. One item that must be reported is our financial and “sweat equity” efforts to make our homes, property. and community better able to resist wildfire. We can count the time you and family spend preparing for a chipper day, filling a debris box, and filling your green bin with vegetative debris from your property (or a neighbor’s property). If you volunteer for any community-wide events (brush and broom removal, for example), we can also count those hours.

To this end, we are asking for your help by providing us with the time spent working on your home and property by preparing for a chipper day or filling a debris box or green bin. Please send this information to [email protected] with “Defensible Space” in the subject line – send weekly or monthly, whatever is convenient for you. We will compile this data during 2023 and use it when we submit information for renewing our designation. We will compile all efforts--names and addresses will not be used or tracked.

Thanks for your help! If you have any questions, please use the same email address.

Homestead Valley Vignettes by Chuck Oldenburg

Mill Valley Riding Club

In 1937, Edward and Gertrude Stehn bought a small house in Homestead Valley. They had been active participants in the San Francisco and Parkside Riding Schools. The house built in 1922 was on the corner of the lot close to the street. The rest of the 1.13-acre lot was mostly level — just what the Stehns wanted for their horses. They built a horse ring with lights, a stable, a barn and a tack shed. They founded the Mill Valley Riding Club. Members kept their horses there. In February 1939, the Club furnished two horses for the World’s Fair parade in San Francisco. Mr. Stehn owned and trained a thoroughbred hunter named Shasta Gold that was a consistent winner in hunting and jumping classes. On Saturday, October 8, 1939 at 8 pm, the Mill Valley Riding Club Horse Show drew an estimated 600 spectators. Mayor Bagshaw was guest of honor. A special drill of 12 skilled riders in red coats started the show to music. Then came jumping events and horsemanship contests for adults and children. The club remained active under two subsequent owners in the 1940s and 1950s. The horse ring and the related buildings were gone by the 1960’s. The property is now the Homestead Valley Community Center.