March 12, 2007

Residents were saddened by the passing of two former and one current Sunolian this past month. Long time Sunolian Norma Jo “Dusty” Davis Adams passed away in Oklahoma on February 6; Paul Gronley of Livermore, who grew up here and whose family members still reside in Sunol, passed away on February 14 and Bart Stillman who was currently residing in Kilkare Woods with wife Pat, passed on February 19. A memorial service will be held for Bart on March 18 at 3:00 p.m. at The Little Brown Church of Sunol. Pat would also like to extend an invitation to anyone who wishes to join her immediately following the memorial service at the Kilkare Woods Clubhouse for a celebration of Bart’s life.

Sunol Boy Scout Troop 912 held their Court of Honor at Sunol Glen School on February 24. Congratulations to Cord Zale and Abel Martinez for bridging from Webelos to Boy Scout rank. Also promoted to Scout rank were Shawn Winders, Sage Frye, Robert Santucci and Jeremiah Santucci. Jovan Beard was promoted to Boy Scout Star rank and was also chosen to receive a scholarship to the Brown Sea Leadership Camp and Colton Sehmsdorf will be celebrating his Eagle Scout Award on March 17.

Tickets are still available for Sunol Repertory Theater’s melodrama “Taming the Wild, Wild West In A Dress...or Let’s Give the Villain the Slip”. The play written by Billy St. John is directed by Klay Kunkel; producers are Paige Mendicino and Kelly Sandlin. A few weeks ago I listed the entire cast of characters in my column but the crew who works behind the scenes are equally important. Big thanks go to Derek Johnson, Lynn Kozma, Irv Tiessen, Bill Webster, Steve Shorten, Tom Loitz, Grare Davis and piano accompaniment by Allen Schell for all their hard work and dedication. Tickets are $12.50 per person and can be purchased at Elliston Vineyards during the weekends only.

Congratulations to Sunol Glen Schools Color Guard Team for capturing a first place win at the Winterguard competition at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara on March 2. Team members include Cali Bachelder, Jake Bachelder, Danika Beard, Charlotte Boag, Katelyn Merrill and Amanda Strachan. The group’s prize was accepted by eighth grade team member Danika Beard. Stop by the school’s office to check out their outstanding award. Coaching the team is Kat Bunker and Leanne Drake and the Manager is Jan Cornish. Their next competition will be held on March 17 at both Livermore and Granada High Schools.

The Sunol Business Guild’s first annual crab feed held on February 25 at the Sunol Event Center was a huge success. The hungry crowd of 140 guests ate approximately 500 pounds of crab. That’s a lot of crab folks! The event netted approximately $6,000 which the Guild plans on putting back into downtown beautification such as more landscaping and possibly repairing the wooden Sunol sign at the west entrance to Main Street that was recently vandalized.

Another event to be sponsored by the Sunol Business Guild is an emergency preparedness educational meeting on May 12 at the Sunol Train Depot. ”We need to become self sufficient during a disaster and we need an actual plan for Sunol” said Guild member and Sunol Postmaster, Joan Hall. More information will follow as we get closer to the date of the meeting.

For all you rail fans out there, Niles Canyon Railway will be holding their Triple Tanks Steam fest on Saturday and Sunday. This will be the first time in history that all three steam tank engines, the Robert Dollar No. 3 built in 1927, the Quincy Railroad No. 2 built in 1924 and the Granite Rock No. 10 built in 1942 will be running at the same time in Niles Canyon. Tickets are available at both the Sunol and Niles Depots and trains will depart for this special event only at the Niles Station. Advance reservations are strongly recommended due to limited seating. Please call 925-944-5883 for more information.