See, Publisher Paula, as I used to call her, devised that
campaign for the newspaper’s 125th anniversary. People wrote in and
for 125 editions
– maybe more – we published reasons why
”
Gilroy is Great
”
on the back page. It’s still the best publisher-driven program
we’ve ever run.
It’s a typical Gilroy morning … At the coffee shop there’s Kelly Barbazette, our former city editor, with her beautiful daughter Annabelle. Her husband’s just returning from a golf trip to New Mexico with his college buddies. Then my son-in-law Steve Catalano pulls in to park with surfboard atop the auto – ah, a chef’s day off. Bump into firefighter’s union rep Jim Buessing, then chat with MayorAl who’s in the corner working on the laptop. Too bad they can’t solve the city’s fiscal crisis in that corner over coffee. Outside, it’s Russ Valiquette, former councilman always with a story to tell. Everyone’s connected. It’s Gilroy. And it all ties together nicely a few minutes later when I stop in at Nob Hill to get treats for a work meeting. A lady passes in the aisle and says, “Tell your wife I loved that chicken recipe in her column … so good.”
In the store, I’ve been thinking about Joanna Strunk, my daughter Mariah and th Spring Concert by the Gilroy High School Choirs. Joanna sings with the amazing Chamber choir – the students who recently performed at Carnegie Hall in New York – and her mom, Debra, and our former publisher, Paula Mabry, were best friends here back in the 1993ish day. So, I used to see Joanna a lot – all little-girl curls and ripe, rosy cheeks. Now she’s an incredibly talented vocalist in Phil Robb’s superb choir program, seamlessly delivering off-the-chart high notes that punctuate the performance yet blend in with precision. At the Nob Hill checkstand, I spot Manager Vito Mercado. His daughter, Monica, is a part of Mr. Robb’s all-women’s choir, Concerto Delle Donne, along with mine. We sing checkout praises of the choirs and Mr. Robb for a few moments, and then he says what I’d been thinking just a bit before: “Mr. Robb is one of the reasons that Gilroy is Great – remember that, Gilroy is Great?” Yes, indeed, and it all comes full circle. See, Publisher Paula, as I used to call her, devised that campaign for the newspaper’s 125th anniversary. People wrote in and for 125 editions – maybe more – we published reasons why “Gilroy is Great” on the back page. It’s still the best publisher-driven program we’ve ever run. When we started, Mariah and Joanna were little girls with strikingly rosy cheeks and now they’re almost grown singing in thee most successful youth program in Gilroy directed by a man who personifies the reasons why “Gilroy is Great.” And, though times are tough, Gilroy is great and we’re lucky to live in such a vibrant and generous community.
That’s important to remember as the city wades into the Herculean task of cutting the budget even more deeply and the school district struggles to keep our schools progressing through the state’s financial morass. We can sharply disagree, fight for what we believe in, but please guys, let’s keep it real, above the deck and remember that Gilroy is Great because of its people.
That brings up Gilroy is Great reason #126 … we have one of the most beautiful vineyards in the world where Day Road bumps right into Watsonville Road. The Jason-Stephens Winery Vineyards are a work of art with the wildflowers separating the grape rows and the vines tumbling back into the wooded hillsides. The light gives the vineyard an ethereal quality and owner Steve Dorcich honors the land with just the right touch. Tonight, the winery begins its summer music series reports winemaker Jason Goelz. Under the redwoods and sycamores, visitors will be able to enjoy music from homegrown artist Jeff Strametz. Bring a picnic and enjoy a glass of wine from 6 to 9 p.m. Over 21 only.
Not sure if he’s over 21, but the former co-captain of the NCAA-champion Boston University Terriers is 6-foot-1 and 198 pounds and now he’s a San Jose Shark. Would have been cool if the Sharks signed John McCarthy’s co-captain, Matt Gilroy, but we’ll take a strong, tough forward who put up career-best numbers during the Terriers’ run to the title with a 6-goal, 23-assist, 29-point scoring line.
Scoring ZERO points with this community is Caltrans which made an ugly mess of Hecker Pass Highway just south of the Gilroy Golf Course, then bolted without explanation. After mowing down trees, bulldozing half the hillside and erecting unsafe guardrails that folks coming out of the Elks Club onto the highway have to deal with, Caltrans has disappeared for the last two months. The project has to do with replacing the bridge over Uvas Creek just west of the Burchell Road and Hecker Pass Highway intersection. At this rate, though, an earthquake will take it down before Caltrans makes it quake-proof.
No big e-quakes in May, hopefully, but there’s a whole lot of shakin’ going on this weekend. Still tickets left for the delicious all-you-can-consume Crab Cioppino Feed, a benefit for Gilroy High athletics, held at Christopher Ranch. Call GHS AD Jack Daley pronto at
848-7178 for tickets. Then, there’s the Silicon Valley Open Studio weekend featuring local artists at Leedo Gallery Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 315 First St. … Oh, and the Mother’s Day charity breakfast at the Elks Club Sunday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. … And at the Gaslighter Theater, 7430 Monterey Street in downtown Gilroy Saturday night, guitarmaster Richard Gilewitz who has more than 18 CDs to his credit, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Opening will be Lynn Frances Anderson, described as having “a powerful voice who brings the tone, spirit and soul of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chrissie Hynde and Etta James in one grand package.” Well …
Mark Derry is the editor of The Gilroy Dispatch. Reach him at ed****@****ic.com.
