Community Spotlight

Melodie Hilton | Chuck Peckinpaugh | Cynthia Kirk

By Craig Smith

Melodie Hilton

Melodie Hilton It’s been a long time ago, and Melodie Hilton can’t remember exactly how many grade schools she attended. “I lost track, but I’m pretty sure it was just under thirty for my first 10 grades,” she said. Her gypsy-like mother had the family on the move all the time, from Pennsylvania to Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado, and Arizona. Looking to put down roots, Melodie left high school early and started college at 17.

A bright, creative, independent woman, Melodie has colored outside the lines her whole life. Post college, she took off for Rio de Janeiro but ended up in Southern California, and then Catalina Island where she stayed for five years. “Island life is a very special life.” It was there she met and married a man from San Francisco who had buddies in Napa, and the couple moved here. Melodie went to work for the Napa County Record, then a popular news source for locals. It was a great time for community news. There were three active weekly newspapers, one daily, and a local radio station that all reported on life in the community, and only 187 wineries.

During these years, the community enacted the WDO (Winery Definition Ordinance) and how—and if— tourism was going to play a part in the economic future of the region.

This was in the mid-90s, and friends told her that technology was the future. Melodie learned a little bit of coding and figured out how to put the Napa County Record online, long before other publications did so. These were the early internet days, and Melodie had found a new fascination. She moved from journalism to websites with NapaValley.com, and Free Run Technologies. “When we called on wineries, we had to explain the internet.”

“I still did a lot of writing and got to enjoy telling people about the emerging restaurants and wineries.”

Looking for a new challenge, she was hired into the marketing department at the Napa Valley Wine Train shortly after their beloved founders, Mr. and Mrs. DeDomenico died. “It was a business that was grieving. Many of the employees had been there with the family for decades. Things were rapidly changing in the marketplace as well, with social media (Facebook) really gaining importance and you could buy search keywords for just 5 cents!” Jumping into action, we increased revenue by 13% in the first nine months,” she said.

When the family sold the train, Melodie moved to Napa River Inn, where she still consults on digital marketing. Three years ago, she went to work for Mendicino Railway, which runs three excursion trains, including the Skunk Train. In her first year, Melodie won a prestigious marketing award for tourism with an influencer program that increased gross revenues 30%.

Currently, Melodie is exploring the nuances of TikTok by sharing her food and wine adventures in Napa Valley. She’s also on her second camper van and is learning how to travel #VanLife.

Melodie has raised two children here and is a grandmother to another generation of Napans. She loves the town deeply. “It’s been an honor to raise my kids here. Napa is a beautiful place.”  She adds that Napa has shown, “real grace, allowing me to grow as a woman, a business owner and a mom. Napa has always given me the opportunity to participate whenever I’ve made the effort.”

Chuck Peckinpaugh

Chuck Peckinpaugh is an educator, musician, artist, father, brother and grandfather. He’s lived in Napa for 21 years.

He saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan when he was 12, and knew that that is what he wanted to do. Shortly after that, he saw Bumpy Banuelos playing “I Feel Good,” surrounded by a group of adoring girls.

“It looked like a good thing to me,” said Chuck. Granted, Bumpy was only 14 at the time and Chuck still just 12, but this youngster had found his calling and his first guitar teacher. His musical career highlight might have come in 1974, when his band, The Road, came in second at the Manteca Battle of the Bands. “We played ‘All Along the Watchtower,’ and probably would have come in first,” said Chuck, with the hint of a smile, “but I started in the wrong key.”

Chuck is a humble man, who throughout this interview gave shoutouts to people who have helped him in his life’s journey. Born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1953, his family moved to Redding and then Chico, before settling in Stockton when Chuck was 12. While in high school, he drove a forklift at a cannery and did construction work. “I did grunt work, carrying hod for bricklayers.” More recently, he and his brother-in-law Mike started building fences and decks.

By 1999, Chuck had decided to return to school. After getting an AA degree at San Joaquin Delta Jr. College, he finished at UCSF with a Bachelors in Industrial Psychology. To this he added teaching credentials from Sonoma State. He taught for two years each at Napa Valley Language Academy, Cappell Valley Elementary and Valley Oak High. “It was a bit inconsistent,” he said. “I would get laid off at the end of the year, then get rehired.” After a two-year hiatus, Chuck was rehired in 2015 and taught at the wood shop in American Canyon for five years. He is currently retired from the K-12 system.

During COVID, Chuck re-entered construction, and to this day still swings a hammer. Now in his early 70s, he is healthy and strong. His concession to age is that he only works part-time – six hours a day. He continues to teach and has been at the Napa Valley Adult School teaching Building and Construction since 2019.

Chuck met and fell in love with Suzie Steen in 2004. They have been together since. “She is the love of my life, and I am happier than I have ever been.” Between them, they have 10 grandchildren. Chuck is a deeply spiritual, sober man who places family first. He’s been part of Napa Valley Insight Meditation for 12 years, and currently serves on their board.

Those earlier mentioned shout outs include to Lacey Boatman and Colleen Peterson, his teacher-mentors, and Laura Leonard, director of Career Technical Education at Napa Valley Adult School. He and Mike Johnson have formed a musical duo and are currently building a set that includes some original material. He credits Mike with making him a better guitar player.

Chuck is the baby of his family, and he is grateful to his sister, Linda Powell, who has always taken care of him. He also honors his deceased brother John. He thanks them in part for what he remembers as a happy childhood. “I have fond memories of growing up.”

Chuck and Suzie love Napa, and are here to stay. “This is where my life is. The Napa Valley is like a paradise. Why would we leave when we are living the dream?”

Cynthia Kirk

Cynthia Kirk was born in Greencastle, Indiana. After her parents split, she toggled back and forth between Los Angels and Denver, where she finished high school. Cynthia wanted a small, liberal arts college and chose St. Olaf, in Northfield, Minnesota.

Far and away the most impactful part of her college experience was a semester-abroad study program in the Middle East. “It’s where I really learned critical thinking,” she said. Just as important to the experience were the friendships she formed with the other students in the study group. “We laughed. A lot. Since then, we’ve been getting together for a reunion every five years.”

Another study program took her to Costa Rica where she learned to speak Spanish and studied Central American politics. After her returning, she transferred to Pitzer College in Claremont, California where she finished her degree in Political Science. “Then it was off to Washington DC to ‘make my way in politics.’”

An internship for congresswoman Pat Schroeder was followed by a position at the Capitol Hill-based newspaper, Roll Call. There she “discovered” the design department. “As a kid, I used to buy magazines just to cut out layouts I loved. I would stash them in a folder under my bed. At Roll Call, watching the design department at work, I realized design was more than an interest—it was a career.

I fell in love with the design department.” Inspired, she returned to LA and enrolled in the Visual &

Communications program at UCLA. Cynthia met Charles Brooks at the brewpub where she worked while going to school. They eventually moved to SF where Cynthia began her career in publication design and Charles studied at the culinary school. Charles fell in love with food and wine pairing, and the couple moved to Napa in 1997. Napa was not exactly what Cynthia expected. “It was kind of a rinky-dink town, and jobs in publication design were practically non-existent.”

Scouring the Yellow Pages, contacting all the design firms in the area, and landed some freelance work. But her big break came when she stared working with the legendary wine label designer, Jeffrey Caldeway. From there she moved into a role at Tapp Label as the Design Liaison. It was a perfect fit.

In 2003, Cynthia faced the heartbreaking loss of her husband, Charles, to pancreatic cancer. She was devastated, yet amazed at how the wine and culinary community rallied around her. “It helped change my whole perception of Napa.” Meanwhile, she poured herself into her role at the print company, staying for 14 years.

Love found her again in longtime friend and colleague Andy O’Brien. “I can’t believe we have been together for 20 years,” she reflected. With Andy, Cynthia has rekindled her passion for travel—taking a European trip together every year to a different city in a different country. Twice a year, they visit Vancouver to spend time with his daughter/Cynthia’s stepdaughter.

In 2013 she launched Cynthia Kirk Graphic Design & Packaging (@cynthia_kirk_graphic_design). She designs wine labels for boutique, high-end wineries. “It’s not just about designing a pretty label,” she explains. “We determine the customer’s brand story, their customer, and the feel they want to convey. That’s when the design ideas just come to me. I love the process!”

She still loves what she does, but it means sitting in front of a computer all day. So, almost three years ago, she started a part-time job at Anthropologie. “Fashion is just another creative outlet, and I get to work with people face-to-face.”

Her assessment of Napa today? “I love it. It’s such a strong community. At first I thought I would be a short-timer, but now I don’t have any plans to leave. This is home. Sometimes Andy and I ask each other, if we could live anywhere, where would it be? And we always end up with Napa.”