Take 25 to Hollister

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Chasing a Rainbow

I saw the rainbow just as we were driving by Save Mart on Meridian Street. The green of the mountains did not hit me until a few blocks later. By the time we reached the end of Meridian, the rainbow was fading. What a view, though. What a view.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Tough Landing

Was it the pretty lady that got Santa confused in San Juan Bautista? Or, the fact that today is 12/12/12?

This Saturday (December 15) is Visions of San Juan—A Holiday Stroll Through Time. It will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A Hodgepodge of Announcements

Benito Link

Check out a new free source for local news. It's called Benito Link, an on-line web portal created by Vision San Benito. Already, I've learned that the new Hollister Mayor was sworn in on Monday; Immaculate Conception, the Catholic Church in Tres Pinos, celebrated 120 years; and the San Benito Homeless Shelter has been open since November 1. The site just recently went up, so give it time to develop and grow. It's nice to have another source of news and coming events and such for our community. Buena fortuna, Benito Link.

Click here to go directly to Benito Link.
Click here to go to Benito Link's Facebook page.

Holiday Events

December 11: Oriana Chorale Carols and Lullabies. 7:30 p.m. at San Juan Bautista Mission.
December 15: Visions of San Juan—A Holiday Stroll Through Time. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., San Juan Bautista.
December 15: Annual Filipino American Christmas Ball, 6 to 11 p.m, Veterans Memorial Building, Hollister.
December 21: Winter Solstice at the Mission. About 6 a.m. at the San Juan Bautista Mission
December 21: Annual Holiday Bonfire/Hayden Christmas Celebration 6 p.m., Community Hall, San Juan Bautista

Support Local Businesses

The Holiday Arts and Crafts Boutique is going on at Blak Sage Gallery until December 15, 2012. It features arts, crafts, cards, and gifts made by local artists and craftspeople, including Shannon Grissom, Jane Rekedal, Carole Belliveau, Kent Child, and Kathleen Sheridan, among others.

Wednesday Night Lights
Several shops on the 600 block in downtown Hollister are doing a "Wednesday Night Lights". Tomorrow, December 12, and next Wednesday, December 19, the following shops will be open until 7:30 p.m.

Holiday Shopping Hours
Many local shops and businesses have holiday hours for our convenience. They're keeping their doors open later one or more days during the week. For example, Holliwood, a new shop in downtown Hollister (748 San Benito Street), has late hours. Some Hollister shops and most, if not all, San Juan Bautista shops are open on Sundays. So, if you haven't had a chance to check out local shops, here's your chance this year.

Don't know what shops, restaurants, businesses, and such are in our county? Check out these links:

You can also find a listing of some shops and restaurants at this Take 25 to Hollister post.

A note to FCC: Just so you know, no one has paid me to mention any of the above businesses. Just call me alturistic, I suppose.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Meandering on Comstock Road

On Saturday, the Husband and I did the Shop Hop. How about you? Which shops did you check out?

We only visited a few participating businesses, two of which were first times for us. On our way to M&M Garden Mart, we missed the Spring Grove Road turn so ended at the next road which was Comstock Road. Instead of turning around immediately, we decided to meander its full length. That is, to drive until we hit a dead end. It was probably only a few miles more after the houses, but it surely seemed like forever. A nice forever of wandering.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

150 Years of Celebration

The Hollister United Methodist Church is the familiar red brick edifice on the corner of Fifth and Monterey Streets. This weekend (December 1 and 2), it is celebrating its 150th anniversary. Wowza!

The husband and I visited its open house yesterday afternoon to see what the stained glass windows looked like. They are just as beautiful as we imagined they would be, just from looking at them from the outside. Reverend Ardyss Golden and another member of the church told us some interesting notes of both city and church history.

The church was started in 1862. It held its first services in Colonel Hollister's home, which is the site of new San Benito County courthouse. And, for us old timers, where Fremont School once stood.

Col. Hollister constructed a church building for the congregation in the middle of town. Where precisely, the Rev. Golden did not know. Nor did she know why it was moved to its current location.

The original church, built in 1872, was a wooden structure. Today's social hall was the first sanctuary. The brick building was constructed in 1910. If I remember correctly what was said, the parsonage used to stand where the preschool is today. The parsonage was moved to Tres Pinos.

Many of you, dear readers, may remember the ivy that climbed the brick walls. The ivy had to be removed because it was eating into the grout and destroying the building. The ivy, we learned, was a clipping of ivy from the University of Pacific in Stockton, and the college took its clipping from the Westminster Abbey in London.

At one time, there were two Methodist congregations in Hollister. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South was located at the current spot, while the Methodist Episcopal Church was a couple blocks away.

For more about the Hollister United Methodist Church, check out these pages:
• Hollister United Methodist Church Facebook page
• Web page at United Methodists of the California–Nevada Annual Conference

Pages