Kickin’
Around with
the 50+ Crowd
Written By Robin Shepherd
ABOVE:
Heather and
Bruce Perlitch
Studies show that we’re living longer but
that’s no reason for doom and gloom.
Plenty of people pass the half-century
ABOVE: Bruce and Denise Melroy
with Debbie Vasquez from the City of
Morgan Hill and a student volunteer.
RIGHT: Karen Hill, Bill Hudson and
Donna Weisblatt.
mark with more than enough fuel in the
tank for their golden years. Why not cel-
ebrate those years as active and engaged
members of the community?
I
n South County, the cities of
Morgan Hill and Gilroy have each
won official designation as an
“Age-Friendly City.” What sounds
like a slogan is actually an initiative
launched a decade ago by the World
Health Organization to promote quality
of life for community members as they
age. Santa Clara County embraced
the initiative and called on its cities to
cultivate age-friendly communities.
A key indicator of this initiative’s
success is social in nature. It calls for
the respect, inclusion, and participation
of South County’s senior citizens in
community life. South County has
responded with a variety of programs. In
this first of several stories,
TODAY
looks at one such program.
gmh
40
El Toro Social Club
Now entering its third year, the El
Toro Social Club in Morgan Hil is on a
roll. They refer to members as “prime
lifers” who are 50-plus and want to be
part of the community, learning and doing
new things in the prime of their lives. The
club’s activities run the gamut from con-
certs to tours of local places of interest,
group hikes, wine tastings, and more.
During the 2016-17 seasons, El
Toro hosted a holiday Bluegrass Concert
performed by One Button Suit, cowboy
musician and poet Dave Stamey, and a
production of Phantom of the Opera that
toured the U.S. Now that’s variety.
Bruce and Heather Perlitch volunteer
with the club by helping to organize
many of the events. They draw on past
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
APRIL/MAY 2018
experiences of having hosted “house
concerts” in their Sunnyvale home for
about five years before they moved to
Morgan Hill.
“We booked performers, invited
friends over for a potluck and entertain-
ment and charged a door fee that went
to the performers,” Bruce said. “We
always filled the house. A lot of talented
and even world-class performers tour
on local circuits. Heather and I were
getting settled in Morgan Hill when we
discovered the Morgan Hill Community
Playhouse. What a gem… a great
location, a cozy theater, and excellent
acoustics. We shared our idea with
Morgan Hill’s Adult Services Supervisor,
Debbie Vasquez, and she was very open
to it.”
gmhtoday.com