Helen's Park

After Cesar began organizing farmworkers in 1962, Helen Chavez cared for their eight children and over the years became a surrogate mother to countless volunteers who came to Delano and later La Paz to work for social justice. She welcomed those who could not go home for the holidays, cooked for weddings, baptisms, and large union events, and gave to the movement the same care she gave to her family. On many Saturday evenings and Sundays, she gathered with volunteers and visitors for barbecues and relaxation after long days or weeks of work, sometimes with Cesar helping grill despite being a strict vegetarian. Communal meals were often shared at the small park with the fieldstone grill pit next to the Chavez home. Helen Chavez was a quiet but powerful force who, alongside Cesar, devoted her life to organizing farmworkers in California and across America. She fought for higher wages, better working conditions, and a brighter future, managed union finances, prepared meals, marched in picket lines, and was arrested for her actions, all while raising eight children and helping lead the movement.

Keene, California · United States