Profile: Tom Bates

The retired college professor is now a docent at the Sonoma Mission and Barracks, as well as the Petaluma Adobe

March 8, 2006

Name: Tom Bates

Age: 78

Family: Married to wife Luise for 54 years. They have a son, Greg, who is married with three children and lives in Cupertino, and a daughter, Sylvia, who is married with two children and lives in Atwater.

Occupation: Retiree. Bates and Luise volunteer at the local historical California sites in the Sonoma/Petaluma State Historic Parks Association, which include the Sonoma Mission, Sonoma Barracks, General Vallejo's Home, and the Petaluma Adobe.

Background: Bates grew up in Rosemead in Southern California. He dropped out of high school to support his family while working in the San Pedro shipyards, and then enlisted in Naval Air Corps in 1944 at the age of 17 and served as a radio gunner. He later graduated from USC in philosophy and English, received a master's degree in business from San Francisco State University, and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in business and economics. He taught for 32 years at SFSU and became an professor emeritus of international business. He and Luise moved to Petaluma from Daly City in 1993. "We're crazy about Petaluma," he says.

Local groups: They are docents at the Sonoma Mission since 1994, as well as being members of the California Mission Studies Association.

What happened in Sonoma in 1846? "As a result of the war of independence of Mexico from Spain in 1821, Mexico took over [what is now] the western part of the United States. Mexico was militarily, politically, and economically incapable of handling this sort of thing, and so consequently California deteriorated very rapidly. California grew increasingly unhappy and they wanted to break loose, like Texas had done. This essentially resulted in the Bear Flag Revolt. These were a bunch of disgruntled Americans and they came to Vallejo's place in June of 1846 and declared that they were taking control of California, and they were determined to establish a Republic of California. This was called the Bear Flag Revolt, and lasted for almost four weeks. They put up the Bear Flag on the pole [in Sonoma Plaza]. During the meantime, the U.S. went to war with Mexico. The U.S. Navy came in to Monterey and declared that California belonged to the United States, and then they came up to Sonoma and ran the American flag up. The first ones to come in [to Sonoma] were the American Marines, who established themselves in the barracks. Then Company C of the New York Volunteers came in to Sonoma."

Why was the Petaluma Adobe built? "The governor gave Vallejo a grant of 44,000 acres, later extended to 66,000 acres. It covered the land that extended from San Pablo Bay up to pretty close to Santa Rosa, and between the Petaluma River or Petaluma Creek, and Sonoma Creek. He established a rancho [the Petaluma Adobe], and he started building that with the use of Indian labor. They had cattle and sheep and they grew wheat, barley, corn, etc. and they had quite a hide and tallow industry. This was the major production of the California missions -- hides and tallow."

Did Vallejo keep the land after it became American soil? "Yes, he kept the land. [But in 1846], John Fremont, who came into this area to gather forces to take south to fight the Mexican forces, went over to Vallejo's rancho, in Petaluma, and took most of the cattle and horses to be used with his troops, and they went south. Incidentally, at the time that Berkeley was considered for the University of California, the1860s, that land [in Petaluma] was also considered equally."

What happened to Vallejo then? "Vallejo was one of the representatives to the Constitutional Convention in Monterey to set up the constitution of California. In those days he was called a Californio, an individual of Spanish extraction. He was the first state senator from Sonoma. He was very pro-American from the very start. But in fact, when the Bear Flag Party came into Sonoma, they essentially took him prisoner. They said, 'We are declaring a revolution, we are establishing a republic here, the California Republic.' He was primarily for them, despite the fact that they threw him in jail. He had predicted before that time that the west, and California particularly, was going to be American. At that time, there was great concern about whether it was going to be the British, or the French, or the Russians, who had already established their fort up on the coast here."

Hobbies: Travel and reading.

Favorite books: Mostly about the history of the West and California.

Favorite author: Leo Tolstoy.

Favorite movies: "Babette's Feast" and "Separate Tables" with David Niven.

Favorite food: Mexican food.

What is your greatest accomplishment? "Meeting my wife and capturing her. We've been married 54 years. And my education -- I had to drop out of high school as a youngster and go to work in a shipyard in 1943 to support my mother and kid brother."

What is your advice to others? "Be true to yourself, I mean that in every sense of the word. Be true to yourself and honest with yourself and live accordingly."

If you had one for the world, what would it be? "Stop fighting."

-- Interview by

Dane Golden