www.montereycountynow.com OCTOBER 22-28, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 21 those records with the birthday greeting, researchers can connect the garden references to particular periods in his life and potentially establish when the clay artwork mentioned in the verse was made. Another card features a rabbit in green overalls, boots and a striped shirt carrying a bundle of vegetables. The inscription reads, “Happy Birthday to Budgee’s Grandma, From all the Moras.” Budgee Budgee Cottontail was a character Mora created during a family voyage aboard the Silver Willow. His daughter Patti gave the rabbit his name, a detail preserved in the family’s travel records. Though no one can say for certain, it’s speculated that naming Budgee Budgee made Patti his honorary mother, and therefore Mora’s wife, Grace, his grandmother—a charming possibility that suggests just how beloved the imaginary rabbit had become within the family. In the photographer section, Mora’s 1904 illustration of Vernal Falls in Yosemite appears alongside his photograph of the same scene. His intricate penwork captures the towering cliffs, dense evergreens and rushing water with astonishing precision. Displayed side by side, the photograph and drawing reveal just how faithfully Mora reproduced the landscape, down to its smallest details. At the John Steinbeck Library in Salinas, Susan De Lay curated an exhibition highlighting Mora’s work as an author and illustrator. Among the displays is MacMartin’s Cabin—Last Chance, a drawing of a snow-covered cabin nestled among towering evergreens, with a lone figure carrying a rifle through the snow, displayed alongside the typed manuscript MacMartin’s Ghost. The exhibition also includes A Day with the Hounds, an unpublished, handwritten story. De Lay was particularly taken with Mora’s beautiful penmanship. Preserved together in the Jo Mora Archive, these works reveal the connections between his original drawings, storytelling and published books. At Monterey History and Art at Stanton Center, the exhibit Jo Mora & Family: Through the Lens of Lewis Josselyn offers a glimpse into Mora’s life beyond the studio. Friends and fellow members of Carmel’s Abalone League baseball team, Mora and Josselyn shared a connection that extended into the community. One photograph shows Mora’s daughter Patti at the piano, with a lamp her father created and a painting inspired by his Arizona travels behind her. Both original artworks are displayed alongside the photograph. Mora didn’t just create art for a living. He made it part of everyday life, weaving his creativity into his home, his family and his community. JO MORA JO MORA JO MORA 150TH BIRTHDAY EXHIBITIONS Jo Mora 150 Year Birthday Celebration at John Steinbeck Library, 350 Lincoln Ave., Salinas. Open 10am-4pm Monday and Friday; noon-6pm Tuesday-Thursday. Free admission. Open now through Dec. 18. (831) 758-7311, library.salinas.gov. Like an Octopus: Eight Segments of Jo Mora’s Life and Career at National Steinbeck Center, 1 Main St., Salinas. Open 10am-5pm daily. $7-$15; free/ youth 5 and under. Open now until Dec. 20. (831) 775-4721, steinbeck.org. Jo Mora & Family: Through the Lens of Lewis Josselyn at Stanton Center, 5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Open noon-4pm ThursdayMonday. $10; $8/seniors, military; free/youth under 18, members. Open now through Dec. 18. (831) 649-9161, montereyhistory.org. A more staid side of Mora, with his depiction of Vernal Falls in Yosemite Valley. One of Mora’s “birthday bologneys,” a 1944 card for his daughter Patti.
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