Clarese Anderson’s first impression of Manteca wasn’t what one might call favorable.
It had nothing to do with the people, the economy, or its climate.
It had everything to do with how it wasn’t living up to its “visual” potential.
Clarese came to town when her husband Stewart took over managing Spreckels Sugar. All three have since passed on - Clarese, her husband, and Spreckels Sugar.
She devoted a good amount of her energy to trying to encourage people to experience the arts as well as to dress up themselves and their town.
One of her biggest undertakings was trying to add color to Manteca’s barren parcels that once were plentiful along Yosemite Avenue and Main Street.
Her game plan was simple. Disc under weeds in the early winter and spread a liberal amount of California Golden Poppy seeds. She enlisted a small army of volunteers - youth group, service organizations, and individuals.
The Johnny Appleseed approach had limited success back in 1995. That first spring there was a smattering of poppies along the city’s two main drags. By the second year, though, there was a blaze of gold that lasted about five weeks that replaced the normal dirt and weed scenery.
Clarese’s big ambition was to use the community spirit the poppy effort had kindled to eliminate what she viewed as Manteca’s most prominent ugly scar - the Highway 99 and East Highway 120 interchange.
She wanted to replace weeds, dead trees, and barren ground with grass, colorful shrubs and trees.
Clarese figured if Manteca’s front door looked more inviting people’s first impressions of the community would be much better. She also believed it would help Manteca attract more business by projecting a more positive image.
Her effort ran into a stone wall at City Hall. The bureaucrats of the day encouraged it, but they insisted the cost of all the water lines and sprinklers should be borne by the volunteer effort as well as the landscaping itself. Clarese figured she could tackle that task. But then the bureaucrats said the volunteers would have to pay for the water as well. That started making some of the service group representatives that Clarese had cobbled together in a coalition to beautify the community to start having second thoughts. Then the city dropped the bomb. They also wanted the service clubs to foot the bill for a $50,000 main water line that would provide additional water pressure.
The undertaking quickly wilted.
It was one of Clarese’s most frustrating moments.
That’s why she’d be thrilled if she were alive today to see the thousands of colored flags stuck in the ground up and down the 120 Bypass and the Highway 99,
They are part of a $2.3 million undertaking that involves planting over 5,400 trees, 3,900 shrubs, and as much as 500,000 square feet of hydro seed for grass plus planting vines along sound walls along the two freeways passing through Manteca.
They will replace weeds and help mask man-made blemishes.
The project is being paid for with stimulus money that Congress authorized specifically for highway landscaping projects and nothing else. The City of Manteca saw an opportunity and put together what is one of the largest - if not largest - landscaping projects ever undertaken in California along established freeways.
That is in addition to a “mini-woodlands” planted last year at the 120 Bypass/99 interchange. It is a major departure from usual Caltrans interchange landscaping and it was made possible through money secured by Manteca.
It was done at the same time Manteca’s front door at Yosemite Avenue and 99 was interchanged.
Civic leaders believe it will make Manteca more inviting for firms looking to locate regional operations and that means jobs.
But it also will do what Clarese spent her time in Manteca trying to do - invoke civic pride and transforming an ugly duckling into its full potential as a beautiful swan.
This column is the opinion of managing editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Bulletin or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA. He can be contacted at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com or 209-249-3519.
Ugly duckling transformation for Manteca is now under way


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