What kind of place is Gilroy? I ask myself that question often,
and the answer does not always come easily.
There is unity among us. The outpouring of support following the
tragic deaths of two young Gilroyans this past year showed us just
that. Everyone in Gilroy mourned the deaths of Erin Kinkel and
Jeramy Ailes. For all of us, it was a death in the family.
What kind of place is Gilroy? I ask myself that question often, and the answer does not always come easily.
There is unity among us. The outpouring of support following the tragic deaths of two young Gilroyans this past year showed us just that. Everyone in Gilroy mourned the deaths of Erin Kinkel and Jeramy Ailes. For all of us, it was a death in the family.
Every summer, we work together as volunteers at Christmas Hill Park and invite more than 100,000 people to our annual Garlic Festival. The continuing success of our summer food festival is only possible because the whole community manages to pull it off with grace and improve upon itself every year.
There may still be some opposition to the large retail complexes that we have in Gilroy, but the truth is that almost all of us will shop or dine at these centers from time to time. I have often thought that the arrival of Costco was symbolic of a new era for the city of Gilroy. After all of the new stores have opened, maybe we can stop asking “are we there yet?” And what will our city be when the last of these stores is in place?
I am conflicted as my desire to not have to leave town to buy what I need actually fuels my desire to leave town. And I like having two bookstores in town, a real department store and another option for my morning latte. But something is lost of our small town feel as First Street and Tenth Street start to look more and more like Blossom Hill Road and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
I believe that most people will continue to do the bulk of their food shopping at Nob Hill and Safeway even after the Super Wal-Mart starts selling groceries. I’m sure that those among us who avoid the Outlets like the plague don’t really mind the tax revenue generated by these stores. We can all agree that it is better to live in a city that isn’t on the brink of financial ruin.
Sometimes we manage to forge a meeting of the minds among a disparate group of citizens. The Hecker Pass Task Force is one such group that was able to work together and come up with a workable plan for growth. The Alliance for Academic Excellence is another example of local citizens of widely varying political and personal beliefs coming together to improve our public schools.
During the holiday season, we manage to feed, clothe, shelter and provide gifts for our fellow Gilroyans who are less fortunate than most of us. There is no hidden agenda in our collective charitable nature; I think we all give because we feel thankful that we have the ability to give.
I suppose that Gilroy used to be a fairly conservative city. Gilroy is changing. Gilroy still has a number of John Birch Society folks, but many newcomers to Gilroy probably never even heard of John Birch. Gilroy may still be a home to many struggling migrant workers, but it is also home to a growing population of the immigrant middle-class, many of whom speak limited English. We are also seeing an influx of true diversity in Gilroy as more Asian, Filipino and African-American people make our little city their home. I welcome all newcomers, because Gilroy welcomed my family when we moved here. There are places you can move to without ever feeling like you belong. I know this because I have moved to places where I felt like an uninvited guest. In Gilroy, you can become involved whether you have lived here 50 years or 50 days.
It is true that in some ways, we are divided in Gilroy. We are not of one mind when it comes to the very issues underlying the latest presidential election. People in Gilroy are split on the issues of same-sex marriage, abortion, stem-cell research and the war in Iraq. That should be obvious to everyone who reads the letters to the editor in this paper.
The beauty of Gilroy is that it doesn’t matter in the end if you’re a born-again Christian, a Woman in Black, or you just sprang out of the closet. Chances are that next July, you might all be sweating it out together in Gourmet Alley for the love of your city.
