May 22 , 1976 was a great day for our family … we moved to Fifth Street . Our journey to Gilroy had begun in 1974 , when we opened Digger Dan ’ s on First Street , currently the home of an urgent care facility . On our first Mother ’ s Day at the restaurant , I had finished up in the wee hours and was driving back to South San Jose . I fell asleep in the middle of the old highway 101 . Back then it was called “ Blood Alley .” When I told Judy what happened , she said , “ We are moving .” My brother had built some houses near Gavilan College and we moved into one of them . Our boys , Dave and Gregg , were young at the time . I often drove down Fifth Street when I dropped them off at Glenview School . One day I went by the house we now live in and saw that it was for sale .
On My Street
Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable faceto-face interaction among members . “ Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition . Neighbourhood is generally defined spatially as a specific geographic area and functionally as a set of social networks . Neighbourhoods , then , are the spatial units in which face-to-face social interactions occur – the personal settings and situations where residents seek to realise common values , socialise youth , and maintain effective social control .”
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G I L R O Y T O D A Y S P R I N G 2 0 1 4
May 22 , 1976 was a great day for our family … we moved to Fifth Street . Our journey to Gilroy had begun in 1974 , when we opened Digger Dan ’ s on First Street , currently the home of an urgent care facility . On our first Mother ’ s Day at the restaurant , I had finished up in the wee hours and was driving back to South San Jose . I fell asleep in the middle of the old highway 101 . Back then it was called “ Blood Alley .” When I told Judy what happened , she said , “ We are moving .” My brother had built some houses near Gavilan College and we moved into one of them . Our boys , Dave and Gregg , were young at the time . I often drove down Fifth Street when I dropped them off at Glenview School . One day I went by the house we now live in and saw that it was for sale .
We checked it out . We loved the house and loved the trees on the street . The street looked “ settled .” The first call to the realtor revealed that there already was an offer on the house . Months later the sign went up again . I called the realtor again , we made an offer , got the house and moved in .
Soon thereafter , when we came into the kitchen , there was an apple pie sitting on the table . Mrs . Melconian , using the side yard gate that we shared , had delivered it . Mrs . Melconian ’ s house and our house were built about the same time in the early 1930s . I remember thinking at the time “ this is the start of something good .”
When she moved , Jim and Andrea Habing moved in . Jim ’ s grandmother and grandfather already lived to the west of us . When Jim ’ s grandparents passed on , Jim ’ s parents moved in . Bernie Habing continues to live there today . When he and his dog “ Dogie ” are not traveling , we go to breakfast together at Sandy ’ s Café with a group that includes neighbors from the block plus a few special guests like Bennie Yamane from around the corner on Princevalle and Jim Clifford from over on Forest Avenue . We call it the Tuesday Breakfast Club .
In July of 1987 , two doors down from us , the Bevilacqua ’ s moved in . They did a beautiful remodel . Their front yard became the gathering area for 4th of July dessert and fireworks event .