Profile: Barbara Kapsalis Is A Force Of Nature

Barbara Kapsalis is a force of nature. She can be seen at nearly every volunteer event in town, working tirelessly to help the smooth running of such events as the Martinez Education Foundation Run for Education, Main Street Clean Up Day, the Italian Street Fair, and others.

Kapsalis was born and raised in Martinez, and recalls going to school at Martinez Elementary, which is now home to City Hall, the Police Department, and the Martinez Boys and Girls Club. After graduating from Alhambra High, she attended East Contra Costa Jr. College in Pacheco, which eventually became today’s Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.

“I left Martinez in 1956 to work in San Jose for Pacific Bell,” she said. “I got married in 1957 and moved many times.”

Her husband Leon was in the Army, so the couple moved to Germany and back to San Jose. 

“We moved a few more times while he worked for AAA, and back to Martinez in 1992,” she said. “I would come back often to help the family and still be a part of ‘The Place,’ as it was called. My favorite memories are, as a child, being raised by my Dad and grandparents, and riding on the back of Grandpa's plow horse Chubby, as he plowed the fields for corn or wheat. Milking was an everyday chore and I got the first drink of fresh milk.

A not-so-great memory from that time was collecting eggs from the chicken coop.

“The chickens did not like me,” she said. 

The Martinez of her childhood was a different place than now.

“There was a lot to do back then,” Kapsalis recalls. “I had a great childhood here. There were only 10,000 people here. We had roller skating at the rink on Estudillo next to the Masonic Hall. There was Kirk’s Drive Inn on what is now Highway 4. There were the State and Avalon theaters.”

Kapsalis is retired from her job at the County Office of Education. So why spend the many hours volunteering now?

“Volunteering and working events is my payback for some really great times in this special city we live in,” she said. “Being a Kiwanian I like to help at Loaves and Fishes. When we returned to Martinez in 1992, (her son) Chris and I saw a need to clean some areas in town and the creek. What once was a swimming hole was now full of trash and oil slicks. Thus we joined the Friends of Alhambra Creek. That was the start of it all. When you volunteer, you become part of your community. Volunteers make events and the community a success and people can take pride that they played a part in its growth and charm.”