Traffic Lights on Main Street

No, you're not crazy. The Christmas decorations are still hanging over the main street of downtown Hollister. This photo was taken in April of this year.  Anyone  remember when the only traffic lights in town was at the intersection of Fourth and San Benito Streets?

"Prosperity Grows Here"

I came across this video a few months ago at the Web site called San Benito Now. I think it is part of the local government's efforts to bring companies into the county. What do you think? Will it do the job?

Help Win a Dog Park in Hollister!

Click to Head over
to the contest page
to vote for Tammy's Entry

Hey Hollister Dog Owners!  Want to help Hollister get half a million dollars to give a local dog park a makeover?

Tammy Ballew, a member of the Hollister Dog Owners Group, does. Evidently so much that she entered the Dream Dog Park Contest, which is jointly sponsored by Beneful, a dog food brand made by Purina, and WagWorld.com. The sponsors recently chose Tammy as one of the contest's top 10 finalists.  

Whoo-hoo! Way to go, Tammy!

If Tammy wins the contest, she will receive an in-kind donation of $500,000 to renovate the dog park next to the Hollister Airport. Now, here's where all you dog owners and dog lovers can make Tammy be the grand prize winner!

The finalist who gets the most public votes for her or his entry will receive 10% of the final score. The other 90 percent of the score will be based on what the judges say. From today until August 11, the public can vote once a day at the Dream Dog Park Contest Web site.

So, dear Hollister Readers, let's show Tammy our support. Head over to Tammy's page at the contest Web site to cast you vote. There, you can also see Tammy's winning essay and video for becoming a finalist. 

For local news reports about Tammy and the contest, check out these links:

•   "Dog Park Competes for $500K," by Melissa Flores, The Weekend Pinnacle Online
• "Possible New Dog Park in Hollister," KSBW.com

To learn more about the Hollister Dog Owners Group, click over to its Web site.

Thanks, Tammy!

What Was Once Here?

Happy New Year, One and All! 

Here I am.  Let's just say I've been in hibernation. Still am, for that matter. But, it's high time for me to start taking highway 25 to, from, and around Hollister before 2010 is over. 

This photo is for all you current and former Hollister residents.  Do you know where this is in downtown Hollister? What's missing—and I don't mean part of the fence? (Click on the photo to get a larger image, if you think that might help.)

Still don't have a clue. Check out this web page: "Hollister Courthouse"

If you want to know more about what happened to the missing landmark, check out these pages:

• "Not Possible to Save the Catalpa Tree," Hollister Downtown Association
  
• "Outreach Set Up for Local Contractors on Courthouse Project," Hollister Free Lance
  

Back on the 25!

Yeah, I know. I’ve been away much longer than six weeks. What can I say? Deadlines never cease.

So, what’s new on Highway 25?

The 25 bypass, for one! Opened a couple of weeks ago, this extension goes around the city of Hollister. It was built so that downtown would be more pedestrian-friendly and hence more people will head downtown to shop and eat.

Yes, you read that paragraph correctly. If more people use the bypass, what then is the incentive of going downtown? I dunno.

However, the next time you visit Hollister, or go through it for points elsewhere, do take the 25 bypass. It is a short scenic drive. Be aware: The bypass has several stoplights. Be sure to drive the speed limit, regardless of how fast someone may have swished by you. But, also make a point of heading downtown for an enjoyable look-see as well.

For a peek at the northern third of the 25 bypass, please click on the photo below. It will take you to the video that I posted at 1971 Balers. It’s not the best footage, but I like the music. ☺

The 25, The Bolsa—Same Difference

The route into Hollister from the north is via the two-lane Bolsa Road. California State Highway 25, to be more precise, says hubby Dick. That, I suppose, is a difference between having lived here as a kid and now as an adult. Also the difference between being an old-timer and one fresh-off-the-highway. You say "Highway 25," I say "Bolsa Road." Potay-toe, po-ta-tah. Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-tah. By the way, there are tomato fields on the Bolsa. Not the road, but the area.

Bolsa is the Spanish word for pocket. No doubt it comes from Rancho Bolsa de San Felipe, of which the route and surrounding land were part during the once-upon-the-time of Spanish and Mexican dons. I've read that this pocket of land was known for its swamp, willow grove, and ravine. During heavy rains (remember those?), Bolsa Road can get so flooded that it has to be closed. That can be maddening when you need to get in and out of town, but still the flooded plain is a beautiful sight to behold.

It's 12 miles between Hollister and Highway 101 by way of the Bolsa. Twelve miles out to the real world. Twelve miles back to living far, far away. I’m not kidding. When movers from the Bay Area drove our belongings here, they panicked at the instant sight of no buildings, no freeway exchanges, and no sound walls as they turned onto the Bolsa. One mover called his honey and said he was half-way to Los Angeles.

On the Bolsa, you drive 12 miles of flat land, first viewing row crops, next cows out standing in their fields, and then row crops again. As you get closer to Hollister, you see a few orchards too. And, yes, there used to be a lot more orchards and on both sides of the road.

Being older and having lived for many years of adulthood out in the real world of freeways and noise, tall buildings and noise, urban crowdedness and noise, I appreciate the drive through space that is the Bolsa to seemingly far, far away of Hollister. Who knows how much longer this luxury of nothingness will last. Just within the past five years different developers tried putting up an Indian casino and a Sun City along the Bolsa. There’s still talk about building a brand-new town on the Bolsa, nearer to highway 101. I don’t even want to try to imagine it.

Wanted: Rain!

On Friday, we had a rare sighting—potential rain clouds!

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a rare sound—rain!

The news reported about an 1/8 of an inch of rain for Hollister. Hardly enough. But it’s a start. And we hope that is what it is!

For a great local resource for water conservation, check out Water Resources Association of San Benito County. The nonprofit organization offers rebates to folks who buy water efficient washer-dryers, toilets, and other things. They also perform free assessments of leaks and such for residents.

An Art Museum? A Vista Point? It's Both and More!

We have million-dollar art to check out for free in Hollister. Head over to the Briggs Building, which is near the corner of San Benito Street & Fourth Street. That’s the parking garage.

That’s right, I wrote parking garage. You can't miss it. It’s a four-story structure, the tallest one in town. It was built in the 1990s for about $6 million with RDA funds. At full capacity, it can hold about 140 vehicles, so I’ve read. I know, that’s a lot of taxpayers' pennies.


Few people use the parking garage. Maybe the building is just too beautiful to park in. Seriously, the building itself is a piece of art. If I didn’t know it was a parking lot, I would say it was a school (Gavilan College does hold classes on the first floor). Maybe a government building or a fancy department store. Maybe even an art museum, which brings me back to the topic of seeing some fine art there.

Start your tour by the stairway next to the elevator on the southeast corner of the building. First, admire the aesthetics of the stairway design.

Now, start walking up the stairs. Sure, you can take the elevator but there’s more joy in suddenly coming upon each piece of art as you gaspingly reach the top of a floor.

Pause at the top of each floor for your breath. Also, take note of the beauty of the art piece telling you what floor you’re on.

On the rooftop, I noticed a few more of these art pieces telling me I’m on the fourth floor. So I assume that’s the case on the other floors.

To tell you the truth, I no longer was interested in seeing and viewing man-made art when I came out on the rooftop. I was immediately astounded by the view of Hollister and the mountain ranges that surround it. The almost 360-degree view of Hollister is worth an occasional trip to the top of the roof of Hollister’s multi-million dollar parking garage.


There you go. A parking garage that's both a free fine arts museum and a vista point. Plus, you can park there.

Happy Birthday to Time!

I could be in my car, on my bicycle, or shuffling along on my own two feet. If I’m anywhere near Fourth and San Benito Street, I look up to see what time it is. I don’t really care to know what time it is. I just like gazing at our town’s mini dome that houses time.

That's right. Hollister has its own clock tower. Not as big as the one in the Back to the Future movies, but impressive to me nonetheless. The clock tower is part of the Masonic Temple Building. And, today that building (and clock) is 100 years old. Happy birthday, edifice-dude!

The thing that makes the clock run is 20 years older. Amazing, I say. A few years ago, someone repaired the mechanism so that the clock would tell time accurately. It was about 15 minutes off.

Some locals see the timepiece as a symbol. The clock tower is part of the city government's logo after all. With some of the financial problems that Hollister currently has, the time must still be off. I can't say for sure. I don’t carry a watch.

Time Marches On

This mural, by Carol Ann Huboi and David van Hassell, depicts the agricultural heritage of San Benito County. It's one of several murals that grace the sides of buildings in historical downtown Hollister. Beautiful mural, isn't it? I believe the artists painted the peaceful scene from a photograph of a once-upon-a-time orchard in the area.

As a kid in Hollister, all I knew were orchards and vegetable fields. The town was surrounded by orchards. Apricot, peach, walnut, plum, cherry, prune and so on and so forth. Our county was particularly known for its Blenheim apricots, which beats the taste of any other apricots any day.

Since the 1980s, one by one the orchards have been sold to developers. I’m living in what was once a walnut orchard, for example.

The last of the orchards on Sunnyslope were pulled out last year to make way for the Highway 25 bypass. It’s a good thing, someone is thinking about painting murals to remind us how the world used to look for us.