Heritage Hero
As we take this day to appreciate the architectural heritage that our city has to offer, we must also look to those who have come before us from the past, to those current citizens who have worked to enrich our lives and helped to give us a sense of pride within our community. Gene Stille is one such community member.
The Stille’s were an enterprising family who did some building, farming, broke mules and horses, and started a local grocery that Gene’s father and grandfather opened in 1926. This first store was located at 416 Main Street. At the time it was a two story affair with a couple of large columns out front that helped to support the second story. Mack didn’t have a name for the store so they had a “store naming” contest. The winning contestant was a young girl whose name has long been forgotten, but her suggestion was “Nugget Market”. Reason being, those columns out front were painted green with gold flecking reminding her of gold nuggets.
In 1929 times were hard and money scarce, so having their child at the Woodland Clinic was not an option. At the appointed time Mack and his wife took the trip to Arbuckle Sanitarium for the birth of their only child Gene Stille. His parents instilled in Gene that it wasn’t “where or from what background you came, it’s who you are and what you make of yourself that is important”. This belief is evident by the many contributions that he has given of himself, and financially, to this community over the decades.
By the time Gene was five years old, he could be found at the back of the store sorting potatoes into ten pound bags. Later he graduated to bagging brown sugar. Smiling at the memory, Gene says that he would eat every clump of sugar that wasn’t broken down and wonders why he didn’t become diabetic. In the 1940’s Gibson Road was outside of the city limits and what we now refer to as the Gibson Museum (which is also on tour today) was still the home of the Gibson family. There were a couple other houses along that route but most of it was farm land and pasture. Down this road as a young child, Gene could be seen along with his uncles and grandfather herding cattle from one pasture to another. Gene’s job was to ride ahead of the herd to help break way for the cows around that rare car that would be passing by. In reminiscing of those times, Gene thought it much more exciting and fun when he was able to drive their mules and horses which allowed him to go faster and gallop the horses.
1950 to 1953 found Gene in the Air Force. He was first stationed at San Antonio, Texas, on to Biloxi, Mississippi and then in Baltimore, Maryland, where he met and married his war bride, Joan. While in Baltimore he was given a $9 dollar a day allowance, room and board for $18 a week. Gene always knew he would come home to continue the family business. But at this time they also owned a feed lot on two pieces of land in Natomas. One of these parcels we currently know as Sacramento International Airport. It was time for Gene to make a decision. Going into the construction business with his grandfather was out of the question since he wasn’t too good at hitting the nail on the head, so it was the cattle business or the grocery business. We know which route he chose.
Shortly after the war with the store at its current location, Nugget Market sponsored their first car give-away. At this time new civilian vehicles were still hard to come by in California and this event drew such a crowd that the police finally had to close Main Street, which was actually Highway 99 at that time. Another community minded event was publicized as a “live baby give-away”. A young farming couple was the lucky winners of the baby piglet that was brought out with a diaper on. Since they were in town, the couple decided to take in a movie at the Yolo Theatre. Taking the piglet with them, somehow the piglet got loose and went running amuck under the seats. Calamity ensued - the movie was stopped, lights turned on and the little pig finally captured!
Gene and Joan had three boys and one daughter. Each of these children was instilled with the same values that Gene was raised with. There was “no free lunch” and all of the children worked in the store as they were growing up. Eric, the youngest son is currently President of Nugget Corporation. The years have passed, and now numerous Northern California cities are able to enjoy the Stille family commitment to community.
Miriam Miller's first memories of Woodland start in 1922 when her brother was ill and her mother drove back and forth between their home in Glenn County and Woodland Clinic.
She remembers that she did well in math and thought of pursuing a teaching position in that capacity but women where not hired as math teachers in those days. As a result, one of her teachers gently led her towards a nursing career. After receiving her nursing degree from UC San Francisco, Miriam returned to Woodland and from 1940 to 1941 worked as a nurse at the Woodland Clinic located at Cross and Third Streets. At this time nurses were given room and board in two Victorian homes located next to the Clinic. One house was for the day shift, the second for night shift nurses. In addition to room and board, she earned $90 a month for a six day work week. Since that was about the same time that Gene was herding cows down Gibson Road, I asked what her memory was of that area. She replied that her mode of transportation then was a borrowed bicycle and the Gibson Road area was country and therefore she had no reason to go there. Late 1941 found Miriam in Berkeley as a public health nurse. In 1942 she was married to Richard Miller. Since she needed transportation as a visiting nurse they purchased a used 1938 Chevrolet. In 1946 the car dealership offered to put them on the preferred list for new cars but Richard felt that their money was better spent on further education.
1953 found Miriam at Fort Mason, boarding the Navy transport ship USS Randall, heading to Japan to join her husband. In addition to teaching English to junior high school students, in the evenings she could be found teaching young Japanese businessmen Western table manners and English. On a later trip to Japan, for four years she worked as school nurse for the American School in Tokyo.
On August 15, 1947, new flags were raised on official buildings in New Delhi and Karachi, celebrating the birth of two new independent states: India and Pakistan. The partition of Britain’s former colony led to a bloodbath costing thousands, if not millions of people’s lives in the following months. Nine years later, conditions were still intolerable and refugee camps were in abundance and 1956 found Miriam working for two years in a clinic at one of these sites. 1959 found her further East at a leper colony in Taiwan working with a women’s group finding projects that these people could earn income from. One such project was procuring supplies and marketing the beautiful embroidery work that the colonists had created.
The late 60’s brought the Millers to the University of California, Davis for a one year sabbatical. By 1971 they had a new Streng home in Davis. But having been raised in Victorian flats in San Francisco, Richard decided that he really wanted a Victorian. As he said, “Historians like Victorians” and that precipitated the move to purchase their current home in Woodland in 1974. Miriam remembers that when they bought their home, Woodland pretty much ended at Gibson Road although plans were under way for the development south of Gibson. With these expansion efforts continuing by Stanley Davis Homes to develop this area, it was the Historical Society that talked the County into purchasing the Gibson family home along with two adjoining acres. These events lead to the creation of the Yolo County Historical Museum Association which focused on raising funds for the restoration of the home that we now know as the Gibson House Museum. Miriam was part of that group and continues to give her time to the museum.
Replacing her deceased husband as Treasurer of the Yolo County Historical Society in 1977, Miriam continues to work diligently for the Society. For many years she worked with the famous Lemonade Stand that sold cupcakes and cookies at the Yolo County Fair as a way to raise funds for the organization. Through the Historical Society, Miriam has been part of the purchase, restoration and turning over of the Woodland Opera House to the State of California.
From 1978 through 1984, as a member of a five church coalition, Miriam opened her home to the relocation effort of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Iran. Many of these refugees are still a part of her life. Of her past years, Miriam says these efforts were never a burden but were fun years in her life. Quoting her, she says, “there are so many things to do – don’t just sit home and clean house!”
This woman is truly a gem in our community. The countless lives that Miriam has touched should inspire all of us to give of ourselves where and when we can.