WATSONVILLE — Former Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department park services manager Ernest “Big E” Contreras was honored Friday with his own tree in Watsonville Plaza, nearly two years after he took leave from the department.
For 38 years, Contreras worked in Watsonville parks, keeping them tidy and maintained.
Leaving his hometown only to join the U.S. Navy after he graduated from Watsonville High School in 1972, Contreras worked his way up through the city’s Parks and Community Services Department, from worker to parks manager.
He retired in December 2015, and has spent the intervening years been playing tennis, riding his bike and spending time with his grandchildren, among other things.
On Friday, a team of workers planted an akebono cherry tree in Watsonville Plaza as a way to honor his years of service.
“It’s been a while, but I really appreciate the city doing this,” he said. “I spent two-thirds of my life here.”
