PHOTO PROVIDED BY ARIANA FILICE her siblings , children and grandchildren close by and staying active in her garden club gives her a sense of comfort of growing up in Gilroy and living in Morgan Hill .
Another person I ’ ve enjoyed meeting is ARIANA FILICE STAUBLE . Ariana described her experience of growing up in Gilroy as idyllic .
Ariana and her sister Dominique have lived in Gilroy since their early childhood . Their sister Carissa moved up to San Francisco after her school years . Ariana attended Gilroy Christian School , St . Mary ’ s , and Presentation High School , and finished her schooling at San Jose State University where she earned a Bachelor ’ s degree in Psychology .
“ I remember playing ‘ Kick the Can ’ and ‘ Pickle ’ on summer evenings with the neighborhood kids . The only rule was , we had to be home by the time the street lights went on . So we really had a sense of freedom and adventure . I remember building forts in the backyard with my sister Carissa and pretending to run a house . My mom ( Janice ) would play along and bring us lunch . My best friend was Alexis Pray-Oneal . We rode our bikes and had sleep-overs at her house on Calabrese Way .”
Ariana also remembers sliding down a nearby hill on pieces of cardboard , Girl Scout camp-outs at Mount Madonna , and fishing with her dad ( Tim ) at Sprig Lake . She couldn ’ t remember if they ever caught anything but said it really didn ’ t matter .
“ We sat on the bank and talked and Dad would have a lunch packed that included Tootsie Pops .” As a teenager , Ariana and her sister Carissa sold cherries at a fruit stand on First Street where cherry orchards once grew .
Oftentimes on Sundays they joined aunts , uncles and cousins at their grandparents ’ house on Filice Drive . The adults would have spirited discussions around the dinner table while the kids watched Mutual of Omaha ’ s Wild Kingdom on TV . During the holidays , the family tradition included making delicious Italian donuts called currillis ; fried dough dipped in honey or vino cotto ( cooked wine reduced to syrup ). Ariana said the family used to take vino cotto on ski trips and pour it over fresh snow to make what you might call an “ Italian Snow Cone !”
Ariana and her husband Gary first met at the Oakridge Mall where she was working in a store called Bare Essentuals . Gary said he needed to find a gift for his mom , but as he revealed later , that was just an excuse to meet Ariana . They both studied at San José State , minored in English , and ended up in the same poetry class .
Today , Ariana and her husband , Gary , work in the family business providing consulting services to executive recruiters . She also works as a part-time office manager at Bay Area Speech and Language in Morgan Hill .
Ariana told me that in her view , Gilroy has changed
over the years . While the city has grown , she said “ Gilroy manages to still feel like a small town . I always run into someone that I know while shopping .”
The family isn ’ t able to enjoy Sunday dinners together as they once did , but both her parents and in-laws still live in town . Ariana ’ s sister , Dominique , lives just around the comer and they see each other several times a week . Ariana said the neighborhood that she now lives in is incredibly tight .
“ We look after each other , sharing in the good times and not so good times . We have parties , progressive dinners and block parties . We do love living here and it would be hard place to leave .”
Ariana Filice and Gary Stauble
And that ’ s what I love about Gilroy .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH / APRIL 2016 gmhtoday . com
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