Sometimes I wonder how the simple rain can weep
-Utah Phillips
Or why the winds a lonely child that cries itself to sleep
I’ve envied all the sunlight, the amber of its smile
And wished it could be borrowed for just a little while.
Alert! Scene Spoiler : If one were putting together a Ken Burns-type documentary called the “Peter and Erin Minett Story,” the climax of the film would be a montage of photos taken at the Nevada County Hospitality House (“Utah’s Place”) featuring dozens of kids over the years opening brightly wrapped Christmas presents while their parents, relieved and delighted, share in their joy. You wouldn’t see Peter or Erin in the Christmas photos, yet they are the ones behind this happy scene who, for the last eight years, have been borrowing lots and lots of sunlight and sharing it with the children and adults at Nevada County’s shelter for un-housed folks, making sure no child at “Utah’s Place” cries themselves to sleep at Christmas. The Minetts for years have worked with the Hospitality House staff and Democratic Party volunteers, determining first what the kids want for Christmas, then soliciting funds and gifts from the community. Younger guests at Utah’s Place have received everything from a bicycle for a teen to clothes and toys for the toddlers, with packets of gift cards and bus passes for the adults, in addition to handwritten Christmas cards with a personal message for all the Hospitality House guests, young and old. A generous, heart-warming scene, directed and produced by the Minetts, with lots of help from friends and volunteers.
Now let’s re-set the documentary to the beginning, just prior to the Nevada County chapter of the Minett story. It’s the mid- 80’s, and Erin Ruark is running a Montessori School in Los Altos, where she is training Peter Minett in Montessori teaching philosophy and techniques. [The camera slowly pans a photo of a smiling young couple, both with long, wild hair.]
As you may have guessed, these two will soon fall in love, marry, and within a few years be blessed with two fine children. Though they both have good teaching jobs in Los Altos, they are strongly attracted to the sunny foothills, where in the early 90’s, they buy a home in Nevada City. By 1994, Peter is working as a full-time kindergarten teacher at Pleasant Valley School in Penn Valley, while Erin is teaching at Tall Pines Preschool and raising their two kids.
Now because this is a documentary, not a Frank Capra Christmas movie, there are years of hard work to recount, as Erin pursues a dual career as a homemaker and as a teacher, at the Tall Pines Preschool and also with the Big Brother and Big Sister organization, serving as a recruiter/ trainer of volunteer mentors for youngsters in need of adult guidance. Meanwhile, Peter, in addition to full-time teaching, is elected faculty union rep, working with his school district administrators and board to improve the working conditions of his colleagues. In 2016, with their kids raised and after 22 years of teaching and volunteering, they opt to retire, travel, watch lots of TV, nap, and just tend to their garden. [Shot of slow sunset with “When I’m 64” playing in the background.]
CUT! NO, NO…there’s more, much more. What about Peter serving as Chair of the Nevada County Democratic Party? What about Erin being elected to the Nevada City Town Council, then serving as Mayor during the Pandemic?
Okay. Okay. Fast forward to 2017. Peter is elected Chair of the County Democrats, and by 2022, on color-coded political maps of California, Nevada County is a blue dot (Democrat) in contrast to the rest of the solidly red (Republican) foothills and valley counties. Peter’s philosophy is perhaps one key to why the party is doing so well here. “We have a great volunteer central committee,” says Peter. “And our focus is not only on winning elections, but also on recruiting candidates who will govern well on the town councils, the County Board of Supervisors, and the school boards. We follow a strategy of not targeting moderate Republicans or Independent incumbents who are doing a good job, working well with others to get things done. And our policy positions are moderate, nothing too liberal or too conservative. I believe the county electorate appreciates what our local party stands for.”
Meanwhile, in 2018, Erin is elected to the Nevada City Town Council. She is proud that during her time on the Council and then as Mayor during the Pandemic, the city votes to: hire a new city manager; allocate resources for more affordable housing; establish the Fire Advisory Committee and implement dozens of fire mitigation measures; conform to Pandemic health measures while keeping most businesses solvent; and improve green waste disposal services, further reducing the threat of wildfire.
Which brings us to Christmas, 2024. Peter and Erin still help informally with local politics and Erin still serves on the boards of non-profit organizations and is the head of the Democratic Women’s Club, but their attention this December is once more on bringing Christmas to the Hospitality House.
“If I could be the sunlight,” sings Utah Phillips, “and all the days were mine/ I would find some special place where I might shine.” For the people in the county in need of a temporary home, that special place for Peter and Erin Minett is the Hospitality House. And for the rest of us, that special place for two committed citizens to shine is Nevada County.
So, here’s to Peter and Erin Minett, who borrowed a good bit of sunlight and have been sharing it with all of us these last 35 years.