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Find out things about Covina that make our town
unique, historic, and family friendly!
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Español...En 1964, la Ciudad de Covina adoptó
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Learn more about Olmec art by visiting the following sites:
Smithsonian Institute
Wikipedia
Crystalinks
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In 1964, the City of Covina adopted former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s People-to-People Program and established a sister-city relationship with Xalapa (or Jalapa), the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Both Covina and Xalapa agreed to the terms outlined in the program: namely, to cultivate a two-way relationship built on an understanding of each other’s history and culture.
Over the course of the next 25 years, the Covina Sister City Committee worked with Xalapa to establish camaraderie and mutual support. An exchange program was developed, thus affording students from both countries the opportunity to learn about their sister city’s rich heritage. Additionally, a series of city and country events served to educate people about the partnership.
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In the 1970s, a piece of property, privately owned by the Jobe family, was acquired by the City of Covina, at which point the Sister City Committee, the Covina Redevelopment Agency, and the Jobe family worked to transform it into a public place of beauty and enjoyment for the community. The park’s redevelopment began in 1978, and following the completion of a three-phase process, it was renamed Parque Xalapa in 1981. (In 1998, the park was again renamed to be Jobe’s Glen at Jalapa Park.) Click here to see a location map.
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On the occasion of the dedication, officials from Xalapa were so pleased to learn that Covina had named a park in honor of the partnership, that they presented the city with a statue of a Jaguar God.
For more information on the Jaguar God art visit this site: Tribes
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Then, in 1989, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Covina-Xalapa partnership, Veracruz Governor Dante Delgado Rannauro donated a replica of a Giant Olmec Head (Cabeza Colossal Olmeca #5) to Covina to be displayed at Parque Xalapa. Special permission from the federal government had to be granted for this Olmec head to be replicated and exported. At this time, the piece was one of only two replicas of its type outside of the Mexican republic, and it is believed that it represents a local chief of the Olmec culture who lived between the years 1200 and 900 B.C.
Weighing in at 7.5 metric tons, the piece was the fifth Olmec head to be found in San Lorenzo, a city located in the southern part of Veracruz, during a joint expedition of the Smithsonian Institute and the National Geographic Society in 1945. Carved in basalt of the same period as the original, the sculpture is a replica of Cabeza Colossal Olmec #5. Indeed, it is an exact copy of the original.
For a period of years, the City of Covina displayed the sculpture at the Covina Police Department. Then, in 2011, the Covina Police Department began to repair leaks in the police department basement. Since the area where that Olmec head was located had to be removed to effect repairs to the foundation walls, it was an opportune time to relocate the Olmec head to its original intended destination, Jobe’s Glen at Jalapa Park. At the same time, planning began to construct a Police Memorial to be located near the entrance to the Police Department. The memorial, serving as a tribute to Sergeant Scott Hanson, the first Covina Police Department officer killed in the line of duty, will be completed in the spring of 2013.
In 2012, the Olmec Head was moved to its new home Jobe’s Glen at Jalapa Park. Covina residents who visit the park will now have the opportunity to enjoy this historical piece in its beautiful new surroundings. Educational opportunities will be present in the form of computer “qr codes” which will link visitors to websites providing specific detailed information about the Olmec statue, provided by the City of Covina, the City of Xalapa, and the state of Veracruz Mexico. Additional links will also open the doors to the City of Covina, its parks, and Jobe’s Glen War Memorial. |
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Jobe's Glen at Jalapa Park |
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Jobe’s Glen at Jalapa Park was formerly a privately-owned “memorial park” that had become overgrown and was being misused. In the early 1970s, as part of the City’s Redevelopment Program, Republic Development Company acquired the two parcels which now make up the park site from Jobe Family and the California Baptist Theological Seminary.
A portion of the site was an estate originally acquired by Charles Jobe who came from Pennsylvania in 1921. When their son, Harold, was killed in France during World War II, the Jobe family assuaged their grief by building a “living memorial” not only to their son, but to the 25 other Covina “boys” who died during the war, some are the same boys who used to play in the native wash. Intended to be enjoyed by the public, the native site was a rock wash that the Jobe children had used as a playground, but which was undistinguished except by several large native oaks, including one that used to tower with branches stretching over 140 feet across. There is a plaque at the site that reads, “This plaque commemorates the creation of this glen by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jobe as a living memorial to their son and the Covina men who lost their lives in WWII. Shown on the stone is a replica of the original plaque.”
A retired rancher, the elder Jobe, worked 16 years to transform this 2-acre area into a shaded retreat using only a pick, shovel, and wheelbarrow. The land was originally a wash land covered with cactus and weeds and several spreading oak trees. Jobe began clearing the glen soon after Harold went into service. Rocks cleared by hand were used to build retaining walls and terraces. Garden plants, swings, slides, and play equipment were added, as was a fountain and bronze plaque mounted on a family-selected 2200-pound granite boulder. They searched for a boulder that was just right for the plaque, and just as they were about to give up, they found it a few miles away at Irwindale Avenue and Highway 66. There is a plaque on the boulder that has a “Tribute from a Buddy,” which was sent to Jobe by a man in Harold’s company and reads, “Harold gave his life rather than risk the lives of his men. His bravery may never be broadcast to the world, but he will live forever in the hearts of those who knew him.” The inscription also includes, “In memory of Corporal Harold G. Jobe killed in action August 4, 1944.”
The park known as “Jobe Memorial Glen” was extensively used by the local Covina residents as a picnic area and playground. User groups included the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Garden Club, and more. A patrol of Scouts of ten camped out under one tree, which branches over a circle 140 feet in diameter. Its swooping limbs, which dip onto the ground, make it ideal for climbing. The tree often swarmed with 45 boys at a time – with never an accident. Harold Glen who loved nature was also an Eagle Scout, and his younger brother Claude used to climb the sprawling oaks on the property before it was cleared.
This changed by the early 70s with vandalism and overgrowth. The City of Covina’s Redevelopment Agency and local residents had a vision to keep the park and began a three-phase process, which resulted in the Xalapa Park dedication on July 25, 1981.
Over 20 years later (1998), the City was approached by members of the Jobe’s family wishing to create an extension of the memorial of their son to have bronze plaques of all 25 Covina “boys” killed in World War II. In addition, the family requested that the park name include some wording of the original park name. The City agreed and worked with the family, and now the park is known as Jobe’s Glen at Jalapa Park. The 25 bronze plaques are mounted on one of the existing rock walls of the park and can be easily viewed by all park visitors.
Today, in addition to the World War II Memorial, the Olmec Head and Jaguar God statue, park features include beautiful hiking trails, bridges, picnic areas and a playgound.
For a complete listing of features of Jobes Glen at Jalapa Park,
as well as other Covina parks, click here .
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Public Transportation is Available to Jalapa Park
Starting at COVINA LIBRARY
Ride Metro Local Line 190 [CAL POLY POMONA] heading east
From: BADILLO ST/CITRUS AV SW corner Lv: 07:26AM
To: WORKMAN AV/2ND AV SW corner Ar: 07:30AM
Pay $1.50, Monthly Pass: $75.00, EZ Pass accepted |
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