In the late 1990s, Carlson started the Santa Paula Mural Project, organizing a group that flew to Chemainus, BC to see how that city’s murals revitalized the economy. Joyce has continued to lead the effort to create public art using Santa Paula’s rich history, culture and diversity to instill community pride: the first mural was completed in November 1998, and the fifth was recently dedicated.Murals celebrate the downtown business community circa 1900, the growth of the agricultural industry, the importance of the city to the oil industry, the Chumash through the centuries, and various modes of transportation and their impacts on Santa Paula earlier in the century.The murals are located throughout the downtown in proximity to the Depot, and have become a huge draw for tourists and residents alike. In all, 10 murals will be completed.Merson said Carlson was selected to be Grand Marshal due to her overall community activism, and “most noticeably, with the mural project. Each year the Optimist Club recognizes someone who is actively makinga difference in the community, and we wanted to recognize Joyce Carlson for her many years of diversified service to the community.”
Annual Christmas Parade this Saturday
November 23, 2001
Santa Paula News
It’s only fitting that when the Grand Marshal rides in the 2001 Optimist Club Christmas Parade on Saturday she will be passing the public art she is credited with creating: Joyce Carlson, founder of the Santa Paula Murals Project, is this year’s honoree.
The annual parade will be held Saturday, Nov. 24th at 10 a.m. on Main Street. The theme for this year’s parade is “A Christmas Wish,” said parade coordinator Ron Merson.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesIt’s only fitting that when the Grand Marshal rides in the 2001 Optimist Club Christmas Parade on Saturday she will be passing the public art she is credited with creating: Joyce Carlson, founder of the Santa Paula Murals Project, is this year’s honoree.The annual parade will be held Saturday, Nov. 24th at 10 a.m. on Main Street. The theme for this year’s parade is “A Christmas Wish,” said parade coordinator Ron Merson.A native Californian and 1999 Santa Paula Woman of History, Joyce, while studying psychology at Pepperdine College, met and married medical student Ernie Carlson. They moved to Santa Paula 52 years ago, and while Ernie delivered thousands of babies, Joyce stayed home with their own five children, but became increasingly active in numerous facets of Santa Paula.She served as an Elder with the First Presbyterian Church and in the 1960s, feeling compelled to become more involved in the community, helped found the Santa Paula unit of the League of Women Voters, started the first Head Start program in the county, served on the elementary school district board for eight years [starting the ESL program], and also was involved in starting the district’s first preschool. Joyce also founded the Ventura County Crop Walk. A pivotal member of the city’s Youth Task Force, she has advocated tutoring programs and still works to expand education opportunities.
