Community

My column this week is a bit different. I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past week to celebrate my BF Amy MacDonald’s 50th birthday and her success at beating breast cancer.

First it was the state, now it’s federal—the Miller Red Barn at Gilroy’s Christmas Hill Park has made it onto the National Register of Historic Places.The cavernous barn, located next to playing fields and recently used as storage for the Garlic Festival was built by Henry Miller, the cattle king of California and at one time one of the largest landowners in the West.According to research conducted by the Miller Red Barn Committee, a volunteer organization formed when the barn was at risk of being demolished, the structure was built by Miller in 1891 when he was 64 years old to store and process fruit.Part of the Glen Ranch property Miller bought in the 1880s, there were 26 acres of fruit trees, peaches, apples, pears, prunes and later wine grapes. Miller’s orchard was planted all the way to Hanna Street.Before Miller’s death in 1916, a portion of Glen Ranch was leased to Las Animas Winery. Wine production boomed in that period and the Southern Pacific ran a train line directly to the winery. A connection to the California Wine Association was forged during this time, which gives added historical importance to the land. In 1941, the ranch was sold to the Filice family to raise wine grapes for the San Martin Winery.For the MIller Red Barn Committee, the national designation is a crowning achievement, but there is still work to be done.“The stunning thing about preservation is you begin with something that already exists and therefore is already by definition ‘local,’” said committee member, Gary Walton. “Repairing what has been neglected over time is actually the easy part of any preservation project. We’ve come to understand that only a small part of preservation is about looking backward; it is more about looking forward, paying homage to earlier cultures and mentalities to which you can add a new dimension, a new function, a new beauty or appeal.”He added: “Ultimately, the success of the Miller Red Barn preservation effort will be judged by how well we develop the ideas, partnerships and funding to accomplish that goal.”On Sept. 24, the barn committee hosted a fundraiser dinner at the Gilroy VFW Hall with more than 80 people attending. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, benefactors and members of the community, the event raised enough to cover Phase I of the rehabilitation project, said committee member, Kathy Chavez.“Phase I will include securing the barn against animals and birds and repairing the roof,” she said. “The biggest challenge to the clean-up of the barn was the biohazard waste from birds and bats, which encouraged the feral cats to take up residence outside the barn. The roof of the barn is in serious disrepair and needs securing against the elements, especially the wind forces which can literally raise the roof.”Chavez added: “The barn is now cleared of debris which blocked the view of the foundation and siding. The architects and building experts can better assess next steps for future phases of rehabilitation. The funds will go toward architectural drawings and future phasing of the work.”All the funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous grant from the L’Aiglon Foundation, she said.  

Uesugi Farms’ pumpkin patch in San Martin has grown like one of its prize-winning pumpkins.

The Gilroy Dispatch is celebrating its move downtown with a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration with food and drink Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

There’s nothing quite like a stage full of kids dressed as starfish, sea anemones and seagulls singing and dancing their little hearts out to lift one’s spirits these days. And the cast and crew of South Valley Civic Theatre do a charming job of it in their current children’s musical production of The Little Mermaid Jr. in Morgan Hill through Oct. 22.The story, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairy tale and adapted into a Disney movie and then a musical, involves a young mermaid, Ariel (Emily Pember) who falls in love with a human prince (Gannon Janisch) and is tricked into giving up her lovely singing voice to an evil sea witch (Jenna Hernandez) in exchange for legs so she can walk on land. She is surrounded by a cast of hilarious characters including the woebegone crab Sebastian (Tegan Leong) charged by Ariel’s father (Paul Maack) with keeping her safe.As the little mermaid of the title, Pember does fine work singing while managing the tricky aspects of swimming gracefully through the air (with flight direction by Jason Chamberlain). Unfortunately, her voice is sometimes overwhelmed by the recorded soundtrack on “Part of Your World.”As Ursula, the sea witch—in a wonderful costume of purple velvet and satin with sequined octopus’s tentacles—Hernandez has no such problems. She’s got a big voice and knows how to use it to best effect on “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”Stealing the show every which way is the spark plug Tegan Leong as the crab Sebastian, who knocks everyone out with a fish ensemble in “Under the Sea” and really tears things up in the sassy calypso “Kiss the Girl,” well supported by an undersea cast of seemingly thousands.Among the numerous other characters, well directed by Colleen Blanchard, Catherine Drayton stands out as the lead seagull, Scuttle (in a terrific costume, designed by Alice Gracey). Set designers Blanchard, Larry Tom and Jason Leong have created a wondrous undersea world, all wavering watercolors studded with bubbles and seaweed.The Little Mermaid Jr. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright. Directed by Colleen Blanchard at South Valley Civic Theatre, Morgan Hill. Final performance is Oct. 22. For tickets call (408) 842-SHOW or visit www.svct.org. 

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Two-year-old Wyatt Catalano, better known as Wyatt the Warrior, is already a celebrity in his hometown and on social media.

The idea of having lived a past life may seem unbelievable, but for local resident Ann C. Barham, it’s a reality, and a career.

On one side of the Gilroy Garlic Farm Travel Center, hundreds of truckers from all over the country fill 150-gallon tanks with diesel at $2.63 a gallon, while locals and travelers pay a bargain $2.53 for regular gas.

In the tradition of the excessive parties thrown by Jay Gatsby—the character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby—The Gilroy Foundation named its 27th annual dinner and auction, held on Oct 1, after that famous book and encouraged guests to indulge and give generously. The foundation has been raising funds for local charities and providing scholarships for local students since 1980.