Remembering Betty Maffei

‍By Traci Gibbons

The Contra Costa County Historical Society is saddened by the passing of History Center Director Emeritus, Betty Maffei. Betty passed away on June 18, 2025, at age 97.

Betty was not only the Executive Director of the History Center for many years, but she was also my dear friend. Betty and I began serving together on the Contra Costa County Historical Society Board of Directors in 1983. I also knew Betty and her mother, Amelia (Ginochio) Peel, through my work as Supervising Naturalist at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, part of the East Bay Regional Park District. 

Betty Jane (Peel) Maffei, the only child of Amelia and Samuel Peel, was born in Oakland, California in May 1928. Betty’s roots in Contra Costa County extend back to the time when her grandfather, Giovanni Ginochio, arrived in the Mount Diablo Coal Field. 

Giovanni traveled to California in the 1870s and lived in the coal mining community of Nortonville, Contra Costa County. Giovanni’s wife, Angelina, and their daughter, Marie, came over from Italy and joined him in 1883. Giovanni independently mined coal and, as Betty often said, “built the largest house in the dying town of Nortonville.” The structure included a boarding house and saloon. Betty’s mother, Amelia, was bornin Nortonville in 1892 and spent her youth there. 

Growing up, Betty heard stories about the coal mining families of Nortonville. She also met former coal field residents.

In 1981, Betty’s 89-year-old mother moved in with her and brought along all her stories and memories of Nortonville. Around the same time, Betty’s interest in Contra Costa County history was sparked when she attended a class on the history of Contra Costa County at Diablo Valley College. Her mother suggested that Betty join the Contra Costa County Historical Society. In 1981, Betty did just that.

To help prove the “Papa said" stories that her mother shared with her, Betty spent time at the History Center, researching documents from their archives. In 2014, after many years of work, Betty’s book, Amelia’s Nortonville, was published by the Contra Costa County Historical Society. The book is based on the many oral history interviews that Betty conducted with her mother.

Betty was an active volunteer at the History Center. After being elected to the Board of Directors, she was appointed Director of Operations in 1985. Betty served as president of the Society from 1987 to 1988 and eventually presided as the first paid Executive Director of our History Center, retaining the position until retiring in December 2009.

During her years as Executive Director, Betty did much for the Contra Costa County Historical Society. In addition to her daily duties of keeping the History Center open for researchers and visitors, she also established policies and procedures for the operation of the History Center, recruited volunteers, and obtained and organized numerous extensive acquisitions including the Stein, Sipes, Mutnick, and Veale Collections. Betty was also responsible for helping the Society become designated as the official historical archive of Contra Costa County.

Betty was known for going out into the community and presenting talks about the history of Contra Costa County to service organizations (such as the Lions Club, shown at left) as well as third grade, middle school, and college students. She helped facilitate the move of the History Center from its location in Pleasant Hill to a building on Main Street in Martinez. It was a monumental task!

When Betty was not at the History Center, she assisted the East Bay Regional Park District by serving as a moderator for the oral history forums that were held during the annual Black Diamond Days Celebration at the Preserve. She interviewed her mother and other former coal field residents and descendants onstage during the event.

Additionally, Betty shared information and photographs with the Park District regarding the Ginochio family and other families of the Mount Diablo Coal Field. I had the pleasure of conducting oral history interviews with Betty regarding her family and their life in the coal mining towns. Betty was a tremendous source of information, and the Park District is grateful to her for all that she has done to help document the history of the Mount Diablo Coal Field.

It is difficult to detail everything that Betty Maffei accomplished during her time with the Contra Costa County Historical Society. She did so much to acquire, document, and preserve the history of Contra Costa County and built the Historical Society into the organization we are today.

Betty’s knowledge of the County’s history is a loss to us all. We owe Betty a debt of gratitude for preserving so much of Contra Costa County’s rich history for future generations.

Betty Maffei (May 19, 1928 – June 18, 2025)