By Leslie Dixon, President 

Homestead Valley Community Association

 

Homestead Valley has a long history of volunteerism whereby residents see an opportunity to create 'a more perfect valley' and make it happen.  From the creation of the Community Association (HVCA) over a hundred years ago and the Land Trust (HVLT) in the early 70's, to a music festival in Stole Grove that then moved to the Community Center meadow and more recently an undertaking to ensure we live in a "firesafe" community with community education, tree and brush clearing and federal grant money, the spirit of community service and generosity is omnipresent in Homestead Valley.   

Each year, HVCA recognizes two of the many people who passionately give their time to make a difference in Homestead Valley. You can find a list of prior Service Award winners on our website: http://homesteadvalley.org/annual-service-awards/ . Winners are announced at the HV Annual Meeting in January.

By Kris Cann

Contributions from all ages created a community celebration as Homestead Valley's community center came to life with witches, Darth Vader and even Frida Kahlo. It was a pleasure to watch the exchange between excited children and engaged volunteers guiding pumpkin and cookie decorating and creating face painting designs.  How wonderful to see an adept kitchen crew keep the soups simmering, the tables bountiful with continuing contributions of healthy platters of foods and the wine & juice flowing. At the end of the celebration a parent commented, "I really enjoy the fact that there are so many volunteers, so good with children that I can socialize with neighbors and know my children are well-tended."

 

A warm thank you to these wonderful volunteers: to Jan MacNichols, Margaret Harding, Susan Saltzman and Christina Oldenburg for their lively centers of creative fun; to Zoe Cowan for baking dozens of her famous cookies; to Liz Bolton and Carson Cann for their flair in artistic face painting, to David Ross, Lindsey Tucker, Sarah White, Natalie Cann, Jen Hochschild and Sarah Stoelting for low-key but effective PR; to Alan Saltzman who presided over the pumpkin seed guessing contest; to an amazing set up, kitchen and clean-up crew who went to the extra mile to see that the celebration went smoothly from beginning to end: Marilyn Barrett, John Bolton, Liz Bolton, Colin Cann, Mike Cann, Marabeth Grahame, Margaret Harding, Barbara Noble, Burnett Tregoning, Marilyn Tregoning; and to the following volunteers who brought delicious food to share - Stephanie Helfrich, Mike Cann, Debra, Nejat Duzgunes, Errol Dominguez, Brad Hanson, Jen Hochschild, Barbara Noble, Kim Smith, Sarah Stoelting, Marilyn Tregoning, Lindsey Tucker, Mary Walsh and Sarah White.

 

A special thank you to the talented guitarist Megan Schoenbohm whose music charmed the young and young-at-heart, to Sarah Stoelting - Co-Chair of the Halloween Celebration and to our talented new Assistant Center Director, Summer Shapiro who provided great support in planning the event, greeting guests, organizing children for the parade, awarding prizes, sending them into an evening of trick-or-treating with lite necklaces and good wishes - and then pitching in to help clean up!

         

Finally, a special thank you to my husband, Mike Cann, who made soup, helped set up & clean up and served as a roving photographer (photos available at   https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9y1q9qr3a3zodya/AADRuvUrDhYFrBuQq9uD5PqCa?dl=0).

 

The Parks Conservancy's Habitat Restoration Team and Invasive Plant Patrol bring volunteers and expertise to Homestead each quarter to focus on our GGNRA lands. Sunday, November 4, volunteers and staff will be removing broom, cotoneaster, helichrysum and fennel in Homestead's amazing ridgetop prairie. Meet at the Homestead Fire Road trailhead on Panoramic at 9:30 am.

                                                                                  

For more information, parksconservancy.org or info@hvlt.org

 

Ingredients

1/4 pound bacon roughly chopped.

1-1/2 pounds green beans, washed and  trimmed. 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar.

1/2 teaspoon sea salt. 

Ground black pepper to taste.

2/3 cup dried cranberries.

1 (4-ounce) log goat cheese, crumbled.

1/4 cup chopped parsley.

 

Method

Cook bacon in a large skillet  over medium heat until crisp, to 7-8  minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined  plate to drain. Meanwhile, bring a large  pot of salted water to a boil. Add green  beans and cook until just tender, 3-4  minutes. Drain well and transfer to large  bowl. Toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper  and transfer to a large platter.  Scatter bacon, cranberries, goat cheese and  parsley over the top and serve. 

In 1954, Caesar Taverna opened C's Drive-In on Miller Avenue in Homestead Valley. Hamburgers cost 19 cents. Tam High students hung out there. On Saturday nights, hot rods filled the parking lot. Business declined in 1970 when a Jack-in-the-Box opened a block away (now Super Duper). In 1971, Taverna sold out to Pete Harmon of Utah who replaced C's Drive-In with a Kentucky Fried Chicken Drive-In. In September 2002, a drive-in customer asked for extra biscuits with his order of fried chicken. An employee brought the order to his car for payment. The order included two bags of marijuana instead of extra biscuits. The outraged customer renewed his demand for extra biscuits, returned the marijuana and later called the police. Undercover law enforcement personnel subsequently obtained marijuana repeatedly from the same employee, making most purchases during school hours. KFC drew many Tam High students for lunch and after school. A month later, Carlos Leonel Ayala, 26, of Vallejo was arrested on his way to work at KFC. In 2013, KFC closed for good.

The Homestead Valley Sanitary District needs you! We have had an unexpected resignation from the Board of Directors of the Homestead Valley Sanitary District and hope that other residents of Homestead Valley may be interested in serving in this important role.

 

How about it? Want to serve your community in a meaningful way by helping to guide the District and its Manager during the busy year ahead as the District continues to maintain and replace the older parts of an aging system?

 

To serve on the HVSD board you must be a resident of Homestead Valley. If you'd like more information about the Board and what it does, feel free to contact our President Al Leibof (415-302-2127) or the District Manager Bonner Beuhler (415-725-7852).

 

WE HOPE TO INTERVIEW CANDIDATES

FOR THIS APPOINTED POSITION

AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE MEETING

OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS