MEET THE DUVENECKS

Hidden Villa today is the result of the vision and dedication of the Duveneck family. Frank and Josephine Duveneck first saw the Hidden Villa valley in 1924 on a family drive through the Santa Cruz foothills. A few months later, when they saw a “For Sale” sign hanging by the entrance, they were sure they had found the perfect place to raise their family. After getting settled into the valley, one of the first things the Duvenecks did was swap the “For Sale” sign for one that read, “Welcome!”

Over the years, the Duvenecks continually found creative ways to share their farm in the valley with their community. In the 1940’s during World War II, Frank and Josephine became extremely upset by the increased levels of distrust and discrimination. In response, they welcomed both Jewish refugees escaping Europe from Hitler’s Nazi army and Japanese-Americans recently returning from the U.S. internment camps who needed a place to stay while figuring out how to put their lives back together after experiencing extreme discrimination from others.

The Duvenecks decided that more needed to be done to teach children at a young age to respect others. The Hidden Villa summer camp was one of the first of its kind that sought to bring together kids from different cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. At first, people warned the Duvenecks that their idea would never work. Frank and Josephine, however, had a strong belief in the power of nature to bring people together. With the help of many other dedicated community members, the Duvenecks were able to make the summer camp a success.

During their lifetimes, Frank and Josephine created many other innovative programs at Hidden Villa. They also used the resources of their home to support the movements of many other who were fighting for a more just society. For example, Cesar Chavez, a very important figure in the struggle for farm workers' rights, was welcomed to use Hidden Villa as a secret meeting place.

Before they passed away, Frank and Josephine decided to leave Hidden Villa not just to their own children, but to all children in their community by placing Hidden Villa in a non-profit trust. This means that there is a board of community members that helps make the decisions about how to run Hidden Villa in a way that benefits children. Because of the immense generosity of the Duveneck family, Hidden Villa continues to be a place of natural beauty and human kindness where all are welcome.