Our "Voices of St. Helena" program
These oral histories have been developed by St. Helena High School students as part of the Oral History project. They span more than a decade of interviews that are a window into the past. Students have interviewed people who have contributed to the community in some way. The subjects are lawyers, activists and insurance salesmen, a librarian, a police chief, etc.
Immigration has never been more relevant than it is in 2025
Most of these interviewees describe how they came to St. Helena, and we realize how close we are to the immigration experience. Some of these interviewees are immigrants themselves. Many others are first generation, like Layla Fanucci, whose mother was French and her father was Turkish. For Norman Manzer, who grew up in Marin, “if the parents weren't speaking with an accent, the grandparents in the household were.
Others, like Placido Garcia, grew up in Parral, Chihuahua, in Mexico
He came to America with a wife and son, and “pushed himself into the work and for the pay, as we all come as immigrants.” Pursuing better economic conditions. He pursued workers’ rights, got involved with the union. He learned from Cesar Chavez who talked about the need for protection for workers.
