Interpretations Fellow

San Lorenzo Valley Museum

Jake Davison

Hi! I'm a recent transfer from Foothill College and I'll be graduating in 2026. I'm a history major and an Oakes affiliate.

About The San Lorenzo Valley Museum

Mentor: Lisa Robison, President

The San Lorenzo Valley Museum opened in 1999 in Boulder Creek. Located in a century-old, redwood timber, gothic-style church, the museum embodies the history of its mountain home. Its mission is to preserve and share the history of the San Lorenzo Valley, using its collections and archives to educate the community. Through this education, the museum hopes to instill a sense of belonging and connectedness in its patrons with the goal that this will lead to stronger civic engagement.

Click the link to find out more.

How does this internship apply to your academic journey in the humanities?

As history major, working in a museum is a dream come true. I get to work on my research skills, explore new resources, learn from professionals, and even get my hands on real historical artifacts. My work at the museum has made be a better history student and I have learned to communicate effectively with many different audiences in mind (teachers, students, the general public, etc.) It is especially rewarding to be able to use my skills as a historian (in training) to create materials that the public can actually use!

Teaching Buried History

My work has centered around creating resources for educators in the San Lorenzo Valley to teach their students about local history. The project is called "Teaching Buried History" because the students will learn about their community's past through the lives of the people buried in the Boulder Creek cemetery. Students can learn how individuals from their community made an impact on its history, learning about larger historical trends through the people who live before them. Instead of viewing history in an abstract way, this project aims to give students a concrete connection to their community's past.

George D. Cress

George was one of the early businessmen in Boulder Creek. He ran the livery stable, and when cars came onto the scene, he built the town's first gas station! His life before Boulder Creek is equally fascinating, as he was a pioneer in the Alaskan gold rush, adventuring to the northern frontier at the turn of the 20th century.

Vesta Hesse

Vesta was born in Boulder Creek in 1911. Her mother, an early advocate for women's education, instilled in Vesta a love for learning. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1924, Vesta became one of the preeminent scholars of the flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

CC Rodgers

C.C. Rodgers

C.C. Rodgers is another fascinating figure. Arriving in California during the gold rush, C.C. spent his youth in mines, where he contracted Rheumatoid Arthritis. Despite dealing with this debilitating disease all his life, Rodgers acted as a Justice of the Peace in La Honda and founded The Mountain Echo, Boulder Creek's newspaper from 1896-1917.

For some of my research, I visited UCSC's special collections to look at original copies of The Mountain Echo - some were over 125 years old, and very delicate!

Another part of my work entailed visiting the Boulder Creek cemetery - a beautiful place hidden in a redwood grove above town. Here is the headstone of Joseph Peery, who helped establish what would become Boulder Creek.

I also looked through the museums photo collections, finding many interesting pictures in the process. Above is one on the set of the 1923 film, Soul of the Beast, starring Annie Mae the elephant. Annie Mae stayed in the Boulder Creek stable during the film's production.

Reflections on working with SLVM

What impact has this internship experience had on you?

This internship has given me an opportunity to translate the skills I've obtained in the classroom to the professional world. Instead of researching and writing for myself or my teachers, I am doing so for a wider public audience. While this can seem daunting, as my work now has real-world consequences, it has forced me to grow as a communicator and researcher. Because I am creating materials for classroom use, there is an added sense of responsibility, as my work is directly influencing how young children are learning history. This also makes the work more rewarding -- the more effort I put into it, the more useful and impactful it will be.

What were some of your most powerful learning moments?

One of my most powerful learning moments was when I sent out a questionnaire to local teachers, asking them what resources they would want when teaching their students history. Their responses were surprising, and I learned that what I had been working on would not be useful for them, so I had to change directions and reformat all of my research. I learned the danger of making assumptions and the benefit of understanding the wants and needs of your audience in order to communicate effectively with them.

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