SUNNYSIDE
Property Owners Association
ABOUT SPOA
Our Community, Our Mission
LEADERSHIP
Board of Directors
SPOA Officers & Area Representatives — Fiscal Year 2024–2025. Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 6 PM at the Sunnyside Branch Library.
Officers
President
Debbie Christian
Vice President
Jackie Grazier
Treasurer
Randy Sakamoto
Corresponding Secretary
Sue Williams
Recording Secretary
Debby McCann
Parliamentarian
Karen Musson
Parliamentarian Pro Tem
Adam Hadjinian
Directors — July 2025 to June 2027
Ron Johnson · Steve Vasquez · Stephanie Sherrell · Michell Gibbs
Directors — July 2024 to June 2026
John Carlson · Aletha Lang · Mary Montgomery (Membership)
Agenda Items
If you have an agenda item for an upcoming meeting, please contact the President, Debbie Christian, at debbie@debbiedog.com
2024–2025 Area Representatives
Your area rep is your direct connection to SPOA. Find yours below and reach out with any neighborhood concerns.
Area 5
Vacant
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Safety
Sunnyside Citizens Patrol
The Sunnyside Citizens Patrol is a volunteer organization focused on maintaining the peace and tranquility of the Sunnyside area. One of the most successful neighborhood watch groups in the San Joaquin Valley, the patrol started in June 1997.
The group's success is built on a close working relationship with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department, the support of SPOA, and the dedication of Sunnyside residents. Two-person teams can be seen driving their vehicle with a magnetic star and Sunnyside Citizens Patrol signage any day of the week — morning, noon, or night.
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Volunteers are always welcome. Contact Ron Johnson for information on joining.
Patrol Leadership
President Frank Korkmazian
Scheduler Debbie Christian
Equipment Frank Korkmazian
Trainer Ron Johnson
Membership Ron Johnson
Volunteer and Responsibilities:
The Sunnyside Citizens Patrol always need and welcomes volunteers. Potential volunteers are required to fill out an application, which is reviewed by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department. Once cleared, volunteers will meet with patrol trainer, Ron Johnson to learn the proper protocol for patrolling the Sunnyside Community.
Environment
Fancher Creek
In 1920, the Fresno Irrigation District became the successor to the Fresno Canal and Land Company, inheriting over 800 miles of canals constructed between 1860 and 1890. The section through Sunnyside is known for its large trees and wildlife.
The western side of the ditch-bank between Kings Canyon Road and Butler was converted into a tree-lined parkway in November 1993 through the leadership of Al Hammerstrom, Del Runyon, Don McCall, Mel Kazarian, and other neighborhood volunteers. It is a favorite walking area for local neighbors due to the shade and abundant wildlife.
Our Roots
The History of Sunnyside
Sunnyside was the original settling place for many of Fresno's Founding Fathers. Its rich history shaped not just a neighborhood, but an entire region.
1868
The Beginning
The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the San Joaquin Valley Land Association marked Sunnyside's first chapter. Founding families — Butler, Church, Easterby, Eisen, Roeding, Romain, Kearney — settled here, names still prominent on Fresno's streets, schools, and parks today.
1872
Water Changes Everything
Moses J. Church devised an irrigation plan to divert water from the Kings River, converting Easterby's "Banner Ranch" into a garden spot. This "miracle in the desert" attracted the attention of Leland Stanford, who ultimately chose to locate the Fresno Railroad Station near Sunnyside rather than along the San Joaquin River.
1873
The Wine Industry
Francis T. Elsen established Fresno County's first commercial vineyard on Fancher Creek. His first vintage in 1875 led to the Sunnyside Winery, and Sunnyside quickly became one of California's leading wine-growing districts. Today, the wine and grape industry generates over $500M in annual sales for Fresno County.
1890
The Name "Sunnyside"
William N. Oothout purchased 560 acres from Frederick Roeding and named his vineyard the "Sunnyside Vineyard." He planted the first Thompson seedless grapes in the Fresno area here. This is thought to be the origin of the name Sunnyside.
1911
Sunnyside Golf & Country Club
George C. Roeding, C.C. Teague, and Frank Romain purchased a portion of the old Sunnyside Vineyard to establish a golf course. The Sunnyside Golf & Country Club, the oldest golf club in California, perpetuated the historic ranch's name.
Today
A Proud Legacy
Sunnyside remains one of Fresno's finest communities with beautiful tree-lined streets, historic estates, and a proud future. Butler and Minnewawa Avenues are designated on the County's List of Historic Places, and the Senator Ray W. and Marie C. Hays Home is listed on the City of Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources.
Community
Sunnyside Garden Club
The Kiss of the Sun for Pardon
The Song of the Birds for Mirth
I am Closer to God's Heart in a Garden
Than anywhere else on Earth
To inquire about membership,
contact Debbie Christian at debbie@debbiedog.com.
Founded in 1952, the Sunnyside Garden Club is an educational organization with a mission to study flower culture, gardening, and landscaping, and to create order, beauty, and comfort in our yards, homes, and community.
Meetings are held from October through June on the third Wednesday of each month. Membership is by invitation with annual dues of $35.00.
Sunnyside’s Historic Treescapes
Sunnyside is well known for its beautiful tree-lined streets, but did you know that two of these streets are on the County’s List of Historic Places?
Recognizing the historic significance of Butler and Minnewawa Avenues’ treescapes, the Board of Supervisors approved SPOA’s application to place Butler and Minnewawa Avenues on the County’s List of Historic Places. Butler Avenue from Clovis to Sunnyside Avenues was designated as Site #200. The treescape along Butler Avenue from Peach to Clovis Avenues, and Minnewawa Avenue from the California alignment to Kings Canyon Road was placed on the County’s List as Site #201.
The American Elms and Palms on Butler from Clovis to Sunnyside Avenues once lined the entrance to the William N. Oothout Vineyard. All the trees are in the Fresno County Road Right of Way.
The Palm and Olive Trees lining both sides of Butler, west of Clovis Avenue to Peach Avenue and on Minnewawa, south of Kings Canyon, are located in both the City and County of Fresno and on public and private property. Historians credit M. Theo Kearney with personally helping plant many of the trees that still line Butler, Peach and Ventura Avenues.
The area is historically significant because it is associated with early pioneer business families and land development in Fresno County.
Both Minnewawa and Butler Avenues are designated as Landscaped Drives in the Fresno County General Plan and as Scenic Corridors in the City of Fresno General Plan.
The Senator
Ray W. and Marie C. Hays Home
Sunnyside's newest historic landmark has been sitting in plain sight since 1937.
At a glance:
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1616 South Minnewawa Avenue · Built 1937 · 5 bedrooms, 6 baths
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Originally a 44-acre ranch running south to the Southern Pacific tracks
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The olive trees out front were designated a Fresno County historic landscape in 2000
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Now on the City of Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources
The man it was built for
Ray Hays was born in Wisconsin in 1889 and grew up on a farm near what's now Jefferson Elementary in Clovis. Berkeley for undergrad, then law school. He chased Pancho Villa with Pershing's Mexican Expedition, fought in Belgium and France with the 91st Infantry, and served in the California State Senate from 1930 to 1942 — after which he was made Adjutant General of California and finished the war a brigadier general.
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He and Marie raised four children here. When their son James married in 1951, Ray planted a deodar cedar out front. It still towers over the property.
What to look for
The house borrows freely and confidently from three traditions at once:
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Craftsman — exposed rafter tails​
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Tudor Revival — front-gabled façade bay, four cantilevered second-story windows
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Colonial Revival — low shingled roof, white paint, green shutters, that main staircase
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Other details worth catching: the brick piers holding up the entry porch, 4/4 double-hung sash windows with true divided lights, and the board-and-batten siding on the south end — a deliberate signal that the tack room and garage are the working part of the house. Around back, an enclosed second-story sleeping porch runs the length of the elevation, built for surviving Fresno summers before air conditioning.
The mystery
Nobody knows for certain who designed it. Hays family tradition credits Charles E. Butner. Other sources point to H. Rafael Lake. Still others say Taylor-Wheeler built it. Butner, Lake, Hays, and neighbor Earl Fenston were all Sunnyside Country Club members — so any of them could have sketched it over lunch.
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"Doesn't that limit what you can do with it?"
That's the first thing friends ask. It's backwards. Historic listing means we can use the more flexible historic building code, and in Fresno it makes us eligible to cut our property taxes under the Mills Act. Listing also tends to raise property values — for the house and the neighborhood around it.
Sunnyside is full of homes worth recognizing. This one just went first.
Thanks to Chris Hays, Ray's granddaughter and an interior designer, for much of the history — and to Karana Hattersley-Drayton, Fresno's former Historic Preservation Director, who came out of retirement to prepare the nomination.
Ryan Eddings and Brianne Marriott