Monthly Archives: July 2016

While the world’s top ranked female golfer Lydia Ko made her move back into contention at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, a trio of Korean competitors landed in the top three spots of Friday’s second-round leaderboard at Cordevalle Golf Club in San Martin.

The Gilroy Historical Society hosted its annual architectural award ceremony at Chitactac-Adams County Park on June 26. The event marked the society’s sixth year of honoring its recipients at a ceremony dedicated to promoting the preservation and welfare of architectural gems all across the city.At the event, five homes and one commercial building were recognized by the Gilroy Historical Society in a variety of award categories, including Historic Home and Certificate of Commendation.“You drive by these beautiful, old places that have had a facelift or a paint job and they just stand out at you,” says Kathy Hodgdon, co-chair of the architectural awards committee.Hodgson explains that the process for selecting the awards is fairly simple with the help of the community and committee members.“We have nominations [of historical properties] and each committee member goes out and takes a look,” she says. “Each member makes their observations and they cast their vote. I tally it up and there we go!”Connie Rogers, president of the Gilroy Historical Society, says the most enjoyable part of the event is getting to congratulate and compliment the building owners for all their hard work.“We are trying to raise the level of awareness of Gilroy’s history. and where our roots are because we as a community have grown fairly rapidly in the last 20 or 30 years,” she says. “People who have moved here in that time don’t know that much about us. It’s really an attempt to educate everyone, especially people who have moved here more recently, of our roots and why we are the way we are.”Rogers believes that the award winner’s accomplishments lead to an infectious sense of pride in the community.“When one owner upgrades and improves his property, the neighbors say, ‘Oh, well you know, maybe I should get mine looking better too,’” she says.While not a California native, Rogers is keen to infuse the Gilroy community with her East Coast values of architectural preservation.“My hometown is actually New England and they hardly tear down old buildings back there,” Rogers says. “They renovate, modify and improve them, but they never tear them down and start over. This is an attitude that I would like to foster in Gilroy that no matter what the age is of your property, it’s still important to maintain it and keep it nice looking.”Rogers ultimately views the upkeep and maintenance of historic buildings in Gilroy as passion projects that require both time and financial investments. The Furlong House, which won the Historic Home award this year, stands out to Rogers as a memorable recipient.“Last week at the museum, I discovered a picture of the house when it was out on the ranch,” Rogers said. “I was so surprised. It was the same house!”The Furlong House was not always located where it is currently standing today. Around 1900, the property was located east of Holsclaw Road and the creek before finding its permanent location in the city at 7311 Alexander St.Built in 1878, the Pioneer-style home is a property with distinct character that Rogers finds both funky and eye-catching. Although the original photograph she stumbled upon excludes the recent additions of two little windows situated under the eaves of the second story, it retains much of its classical charm.  It is now divided into three apartments, but the Moreno family has owned the historic building since 1961.“The son of the woman who owns the Furlong House had gotten an award two years ago for his house, so it runs in the family!”Rogers hopes that in time, more historic houses within the community will continue to find loving homeowners who not only preserve Gilroy’s historical buildings but who, in turn, preserve Gilroy’s history.Interested in learning more about Gilroy’s historical buildings and neighborhoods? Connie Rogers leads walking tours on the first Saturday of every month, excluding holiday weekends.

As a proud resident of the Silicon Valley, I’m often tempted to laud the technical and digital health-improvement initiatives of the innovation hub that we live in. Recently, however, I’ve been struck by the simplest of messages promoted by the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States: The easiest thing we can do to make both ourselves and our communities healthier is to … take a walk.

The death of a friend is devastating, but for former Gilroy resident Danielle Rhinehart, experiencing such a loss in her senior year of high school was life-altering

Kids Triathlon

Need a new phone? Looking to borrow a boogie board for a day at the beach? Tired of buying party supplies you’ll use just once? Stop. Buy Nothing instead.

 A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2016, at 10:00 A.M., at Habing Family Funeral Home, Gilroy. For online condolences visit www.habingfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Gilroyans and visitors drawn to the world-class splendor of the Women’s Open at Cordevalle are in for a treat next Friday, as downtown Gilroy comes alive with live music, full-scale dancing in the street, gourmet street food and an open-air fashion show that will inspire you to take that summer holiday you totally deserve.

The first round of the U.S. Women’s Open went off with the top golfers charging hard out of the gates, with 10 players shooting 3-under or better to open things up.