Rock and Rolling and Crushing

When the Husband and I drive around the county, I notice interesting cuts and gouges in the mountains. I always wonder how they were formed. In other words how Mother Nature did her work. The husband almost always tells me that what I'm looking at was created by a quarry.

How many quarries are (and were) in San Benito County? Quite a lot, it turns out. Check out this list of stone quarries compiled by Peggy B. Perazzo at Stone Quarries and Beyond. The list does not include sand or gravel quarries.

Local History

In the late 1860s, when Hollister was being formed, West, East, North, and South streets were the boundaries of town. This beautiful Queen Anne house at the corner of West and Seventh Streets stood at the growing town's western edge. The house, built in 1904 or 1906 (depending on the source), was originally the residence of someone who owned a harness and saddle shop.

Other local history tidbits. 
• San Benito County just turned 138 years old. The county was created on February 12, 1874.
• On March 26, Hollister will be celebrating its 140th year as an incorporated city.
• San Juan Bautista was incorporated in 1869, about 72 years after Mission San Juan Bautista was established.

History Links
To learn more about local history, check out these Web sites:

San Benito County Historical Society
About Our Town by Hollister Downtown Association
San Juan Bautista Historical Society
City of History by the City of San Juan Bautista
Vaquero Heritage Days
New Idria
Hollister and Bikers

P.S.  For those of you who were wondering about where I was on Tuesday's post, I was standing on Wright Road, between San Felipe Road and Highway 25 (or Bolsa Road).

Where am I?

I feel like a guessing game today. On what road am I standing when I snapped this scene? Yes, it's in Hollister.  I was a few miles from the center of town, but I'm not saying in which direction. That would make it too easy.

Here's a hint: What business sells its products in blue-colored tanks?  Hmm. Did I just make it too easy?

See ya on Thursday.

Green Tripe

Green Tripe is a local business that sells, yep, green tripe and other animal innards to dog owners.

Go ahead, say eewww, but the food is nutritious--and most likely delicious--for the dogs. According to the Web site, the company only uses raw material from animals that were grassfed and were inspected and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as being organic. The tripe and et. al is safe for human consumption.

For more info about Green Tripe, check out its Web site.

Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs, a Discovery show, visited the factory in 2008. Here's some footage that was shown on TV.

Dinner Theater at Paine's

Tomorrow night (February 10) is the first of nine showings of Lend Me A Tenor, a comedy full of sophisticated craziness. The play was written by Ken Ludwig, and received several Tony nominations when it was performed on Broadway in 1989.

Hollister's production is presented by the San Benito Stage Company at Paine's Restaurant on 421 East Street. Evening performances starting at 7 p.m. will be on February 10, 11, 17,  18, 24,  and 25; and afternoon performances starting at 2 p.m. will be on February 12, 19, and 25.

Tickets include the cost of the meal. $35 at the door; $30, if bought beforehand. For more info, check out the San Benito Stage Company Web site. For the menu, check out Paine's Facebook page about the event.

Two More Saturday Events
Here are two other things happening on Saturday, February 11:

Community Volunteer Fair
Sweethearts and Memories, Dinner-Dance fundraiser for the local senior citizens center