Mekis Family
Artist: Heidi Alonzo
The mural you are looking at represents the thousands of Croatians who immigrated to the Pajaro Valley beginning in 1876. From the left, the mural depicts the region of Konavle, Croatia (south of Dubrovnik); the Mekis & Pekoch apple box label Happy Brand Pajaro Valley Apples from 1915; the book, Blossoms Into Gold: The Croatians in the Pajaro Valley, published in 2009; and a contemporary image of the Pajaro Valley. The mural was designed by local artist Heidi Louise Alonzo. The Mekis family funded and participated in placing tiles to create this mosaic which honors the Croatian diaspora as a part of the Watsonville Brilliante Project.
Marko Mekiš was the first in his family to immigrate in 1901 to work in the Pajaro Valley apple industry. Kate Korać arrived in Watsonville a few years later. Their granddaughters, Donna F. Mekis and Kathryn Mekis Miller wrote the book, Blossoms Into Gold: The Croatians in the Pajaro Valley, which tells the story of this immigrant group for the first time.
The Croatian immigrants who came to the Pajaro Valley had a tremendous impact on the culture and economy of Santa Cruz County. They offered contract pricing based on the count of apple blossoms before there was fruit on the trees. The organization they developed within the apple industry became a model for shipping fresh produce in California and throughout the nation. By the 1920s this group made up more than 20% of Watsonville’s population. Croatians dominated the apple business in California, and are credited with forming fresh fruit and produce delivery systems that are still in place today. They truly turned blossoms into gold.
We hope you’re enjoying this significant and historic public arts project which honors the diversity of our community, and was imagined and built by our local wonder, Kathleen Crocetti.
The Mekis family