First Annual Casa del Herrero Docent Graduation 

Casa del Herrero held a graduation ceremony on Thursday May 25 for the volunteers who completed the docent training program. This ceremony is the first graduation held for docents to formally induct them into the docent body, and will likely continue a new tradition for the organization.

The Chair of the Docent Committee, Carolyn Williams, led the ceremony with a warm welcome and introduced each graduate to the attendees by way of reading aloud a short bio of each docent’s background, work, and volunteer work in our town. Williams: “Today welcomes and celebrates eight newly trained docents with extraordinary backgrounds, who are now ready to share with the community, the visiting public, educators, and students their knowledge of the Steedman family’s collection of fifteenth and sixteenth century antiquities, as well as the Casa’s historic Moorish style gardens. The docents completed a six-week training course covering topics related to medieval Spanish art, landscape design, Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, metalworking, and more. The trainees also shadowed public docent-led tours, and received advice from current docents about presentation, storytelling, and other techniques for docents.”

The new docents for Casa del Herrero are Sheila Burns, Anne-Marie Castleberg, Adrian Erler, Serena Ettelson, Kristi Marks, Andrew Patterson, Nick Sebastian, and Rose Thomas.

Board of Trustees President Heather Biles addressed the new docents: “There aren’t enough words to express our gratitude to this incredible group of docents who play such an important role as the first to welcome visitors to the Casa. In addition to providing engaging and informative tours of the home and landmark gardens, many take on special projects in areas of interest including everything from gardening to educational programs to archival work. We can’t thank the docents enough for supporting the cultural heritage of Casa del Herrero.” Biles then spoke for Gary Bradhering, Board of Trustees Treasurer, who was not present. Biles shared on Bradhering’s behalf that Bradhering became a Trustee of Casa del Herrero because of a docent tour he took with Williams, further lauding the importance of docents at the estate.

Each graduate received their official docent name tag, program completion certificate, and a gift bag of fresh garden fruits and herbs. The wine and cheese reception with home baked treats was organized by Reception Chair and docent Sue Skenderian. 

Guests included the current docent team of Hal Altman, Jane Defnet, David DeSelm, Lore Dobler, Sally Green, Lynda Millner, Larry Parsons, Liz Rosedale, Diane Sassen, and Pat Sheppard; and Casa del Herrero Board of Trustees Elizabeth Storm McGovern – Governance, Mari McAlister – Secretary, Janet McCann, and Bradley S. Dyruff.  

411: https://www.casadelherrero.com

Casa del Herrero’s mission is to maintain, preserve, and restore the house, furnishings, gardens, and history of the Steedman/Bass estate for the benefit of the community, visiting public, scholars, educators, and students. Docents lead 90-minute walking tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10 am and 2 pm, where they share the unique architecture, Spanish antiquities, landscape design, and California history.