Last week I saw large military aircraft flying very low over
Gilroy. They are either large transport planes or even B-52s.
Freedom Flies
Last week I saw large military aircraft flying very low over Gilroy. They are either large transport planes or even B-52s. One was flying south, and last Wednesday, two were flying north. Gilroy hasn’t become part of the Axis of Evil has it?
Red Phone:
Dear Evil Eye:
These could be part of Gilroy Police Department’s new two-hour parking surveillance system, or perhaps they’re part of Bob Dillion’s aerial campaign for city council, or maybe the National Security Agency was checking out a suspicious increase in garlic aromas wafting out of the South County. OK, Red Phone knows the real answer. It called Moffett Field, a naval air station located in Sunnyvale, to find out if what you’ve been seeing has something to do with one of President Bush’s buzz words like “terror” or “freedom.” It found that there has indeed been an increase in military aircraft in the South Valley skies. These aircraft are part of the “Wings of Freedom Tour,” organized by The Collings Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation that creates living history events throughout the country. These activities include aviation-related events such as air shows and 30-minute flight experiences in World War II aircraft. According to The Collings Foundation’s marketing director, Hunter Chaney, this particular tour showcases a restored Consolidated B-24J Liberator, the North American B-25J Mitchell, and the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress “Nine-O-Nine,” the companion of the B-24 in thousands of wartime bombing and reconnaissance missions. You’ve been seeing them because the tour has been moving every few days and flying out of airfields in our area such as Moffett, Monterey and Hollister. The tour moves Wednesday to Sacramento skies.
Princevalle problem
As a newcomer to Gilroy, I’d like to know the correct or locally accepted version of Princevalle Street. I’ve heard it pronounced so many different ways – “Prince Vale,” “Prince Valley,” “Prince Val.” My tolerance for different versions has worn thin, and I am about to snap. Will you help, Red Phone?
Red Phone:
Dear Proper Pronunciation:
Red Phone contacted Elizabeth Barratt, a fourth-generation Gilroy resident for some help with the name. She moved into a large, Tudor style house on Princevalle Street in 1952, and her family knew the immigrant family the street was named after, who ran a grocery store. “It’s Prince-A-Vall-ey,” Barratt said, “Like you are-a-speakin’ Ital-lian.” She says the Princevalle family immigrated from Italy to San Francisco then to Gilroy.
