Six Gilroy seniors share their stories in Historical Society’s video
Jan. 26 Heritage Luncheon gives 120 guests a preview of historical record
By Marty Cheek
The stories of six Gilroy seniors were shared in a video shown at a special lunch hosted by the Gilroy Historical Society last month.
In the 50-minute video “Seniors Who Shaped Gilroy,” longtime residents Betty Kelly, Don Gage, Dr. James Ebaugh, Edith Edde, Estella Hoey and Ronald Guerries described life in Garlic City’s past. About 120 guests viewed it at the society’s Third Annual Heritage Luncheon held at the Old City Hall Restaurant’s banquet room Jan. 26.
The video was made by Nils Myers and Mattie Scariot of 152 West Productions. Copies can be purchased for $10 at the Gilroy History Museum located at 195 Fifth St. and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Joanie Lewis, vice-president of the Gilroy Historical Society, served as the emcee at the event. The historical society started doing video-recorded interviews with seniors five years ago to preserve the history of the city as seen by the people who helped shape the city’s culture and politics.
This year’s selection of seniors represents diverse experiences, with many of the people interviewed playing a part in the South Valley’s agricultural industry.
Dr. Jim Ebaugh
Dr. James Ebaugh, 95, was a veterinarian specializing in large farm animals. He established the Gilroy Veterinary Hospital on Monterey Road, buying the land and building the facility.
“He took care of all of South County because we didn’t have a lot of vets when I was growing up,” Lewis said. “He took care of a lot of the dairy farmers.”
Betty Kelly
Betty Kelly had a career in the phone company, helping connect people.
“When she came here to Gilroy, she was a switchboard operator, the old-fashioned one where you plug the plugs in,” Lewis said. “They could hear what people were talking about but she said they couldn’t do that because they had to do their job and not listen in on people’s party lines.”
Edith Edde
Edith Edde served in politics as well as running a shop. She was on the Gilroy Planning Commission and also the Santa Clara County Planning Commission.
“She owned a fabric store here on First Street for about six years,” Lewis said. “She was very involved in the community through the Children’s Home Society where children were adopted and they helped the adopting families.”
Estella Hoey
Estella Hoey’s family owned a 600-acre ranch on Hecker Pass. Goldsmith Seeds bought some of the land.
Ronald Guerries came from a family that owned a manufacturing company in Gilroy. The family purchased land in the city and became property owners.
Ron Guerries
Don Gage was the only senior in the video who grew up in Gilroy. His family had a prune orchard on the eastside of the city.
“Don grew up working on the fields,” Lewis said. “Then he went to work for IBM out of high school. From there, he got on the city council here in Gilroy and then he became mayor. Then supervisor for Santa Clara County and then the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s board (now Valley Water). Don has a lot of government background that he’s done.”
Don Gage
The historical society has list of names of local seniors to choose from for the next video, she said.
“We try to do the older people first because we want to get their history before they pass away,” she said.
Myers said he and Scariot enjoyed working with the historical society volunteers filming a total of about seven hours of interview time for the final video.
“Mattie and I both believe that everybody has a story, and no one has ever let us down,” he said. “We both really enjoyed doing it because it offers a window to look back on the history of our city.”
