OXNARD : Late Educator Is Honored at Tree Dedication

Friends and admirers of Madeline Miedema, the late Oxnard historian, educator, librarian and community leader, gathered at the Oxnard Library on Tuesday as a local beautification group dedicated a tree in her honor.

Miedema, who died last year at age 85, was remembered as a fountainhead of Oxnard lore and a civic crusader who fought for the city’s libraries and parks. She was a member of theOxnard Library’s board of trustees at the time of her death and was also serving as president of the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board.

“If you look at all the beautiful things we have in Oxnard, there is a touch of Madeline Miedema in all of them,” said Michelle Izay, an administrator in Oxnard’s recreation and community services department. “Madeline was a mentor. She was a friend.”

About 30 people attended the ceremony, which ended with the unveiling of a Miedema memorial plaque next to the white crepe myrtle tree. It was sponsored by Oxnard Beautiful, a volunteer organization that plants trees and cleans up roadside litter in the city.

Most in attendance were former or current employees of the Oxnard Union High School District, where Miedema had a distinguished career as teacher, vice principal, administrator and school board trustee. Miedema also worked as a librarian at the former Carnegie Library, now an art museum.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez and council members Dean Maulhardt and Bedford Pinkard also participated in the gathering. Lopez recalled Miedema as a person who could always be counted on to provide even the most arcane Oxnard knowledge.

“I think all of us who knew Madeline had very good memories of her,” Lopez said. “. . . I know that all of us who are here miss her dearly.”

Pinkard, who had Miedema as a teacher and then served with her on the Oxnard Union High School board, recounted her help when he was seeking information about Oxnard’s First Baptist Church during its 75th anniversary several years ago.

Miedema, he said, showed him a picture of herself as a little girl when she attended the meeting of the Baptist congregation with another church. Her father was a pastor of the other church.

“She was the kind of person who wanted to help you make things right,” Pinkard said.

Lorraine Chaparro, who took over as president of the Oxnard Library board after Miedema passed away, said she and the other board members were amazed with Miedema’s encyclopedic knowledge of Oxnard.

“I always thought I knew everything about Oxnard,” Chaparro said. “As soon as Madeline came on board, she set me straight.”

Friends of Miedema plan to write her biography and are seeking information from her friends and acquaintances.