Circa 1950

Gilroy
– Before Gilroy became known as the
”
Garlic Capital of the World,
”
prunes kept the city going, so to speak.
Gilroy – Before Gilroy became known as the “Garlic Capital of the World,” prunes kept the city going, so to speak.

The city’s agriculture base and other oral histories are captured in a restored 1950s-era film featuring thousands of Gilroy residents, said Phil Laursen, a retired social sciences teacher who helped on the restoration project.

The film, “Life in Gilroy,” has only been seen one other time at the Strand Theater in downtown Gilroy in March of 1950, one month after it was shot. Now, residents have a chance to see it again Saturday afternoon.

One Gilroy resident who’s viewed the film, Kathy Laursen, spotted herself in a photo when she was in the third grade.

“My hair was so bushy,” she laughed. Kathy Laursen, now 64, attended St. Mary School, and she didn’t see her photo until two weeks ago when her husband Phil started editing the film.

There is no apparent soundtrack, but 2,000 feet of film were used and nearly one third of the city’s residents appear.

The film is in color and includes long, lingering shots of adults and probably most of the children in town. 

She wasn’t the only one who saw her childhood image.

“I was a little shocked,” said Angelou Benassi, a native of Gilroy who saw himself in a school photo in the sixth grade. “But what can I say, I’m sure it’s me. I don’t know of anyone else who looked like that.”

The film was pulled out of a garbage can rescued by Al Gagliardi. Also, Pete Burge found five reels of 16mm film that were deposited in the Gilroy Museum 30 years ago, during a renovation of the Milias Hotel. Sparked by the debut last year of The Gilroy Historical Society’s first film, Burge suggested to pull the reels out of storage and transfer them to digital media.

“We hope that there’s going to be a large turn out,” said Carol DeSantis, an active member of the Gilroy Historical Society.

So does Phil Laursen.

“If people see these things that are intriguing to them, then it becomes an icon to them, and it helps them buy into the town,” said Phil Laursen. “The more they feel a connection to their town, the more they’re going to act in a way to keep improving our town.”

Taken from the film, 900 still photos were uploaded to the Internet.

They are organized in three categories: Working, learning and playing in Gilroy. Working scenes include copies of Gilroy Dispatch articles about the film, a city council meeting, staff and equipment of the police and fire departments, the Gilroy Dispatch, Gilroy Cleaners, Jack Ronald Studebaker dealership, Golden Poppy Bakery, Sparkle Market and more. 

The schools include Brownell, Severance, and Wheeler, as well as Jordan, Eliot and St. Mary. Playing in Gilroy includes the Rotary and Kiwanis events at the Milias Hotel, a Gilroy Business and Professional Women’s Club costume party, and “Kampus Kapers” performances (band and skits) at Wheeler Auditorium.

Another album includes audience members at the Strand Theater, dancing at The Hecker Pass Inn, a Youth Center dance, the Eagles’ Anniversary Ball, and Methodist and Presbyterian Church scenes.

These scenes strike up conversations amongst many other natives such as the prune beginnings of Gilroy. Benassi, a Gilroy native, said that 49,000 acres of prunes grew in the Santa Clara County in the 1050s. The group of friends Burge, Gagliardi, Kathy and Phil Laursen along with Benassi sat together talking about the old schools and people in the footage.

“A lot of these people are gone, but the next generation will identify them,” said Burge. Their hopes are that many natives and relatives of natives will show up to this Saturday’s showing of the film to help identify the thousands of other unknown faces in the footage.

“We have a feeling this is going to hit a deeper note,” said Phil Laursen.