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P u b l i c a t i o n Feature: Family Business Profile: Coach Larry Owens Ovation: Inside St. Anthony's Kitchen
ISSUE SEVENTY ONE • JULY • 2021
Pro Soccer Comes to Redwood City
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Check out the daily news and read Climate Magazine at: www.climaterwc.com Some of the local businesses where you can pick up a copy: Fox Theatre Fox Forum Stuff on the Square Powerhouse Gym La Tartine restaurant Ralph's Vacuum Nick the Greek Peet's Coffee
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2 · CLIMATE · June 2021
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR•
This month’s feature about multiple-generation family businesses has been on Climate’s list of possible topics for a long time, and it was a matter of finding the right, knowledgeable writer. Kathleen Pender, a business columnist, editor and reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle for 36 years, wrote her first story for Climate in March—on the impact of the Covid on business—and she returns this month with an informative look at local family firms which have been handed down for at least two generations. When I think of working in my late dad’s swimming pool store or trying to run it with my two sisters—perish those thoughts—it’s even easier to appreciate the family firms which have managed to survive and even prosper. There are a lot of them actually. In addition to those Kathleen profiled for her story, I had no trouble adding to the list—Bianchini’s Market, Davies Appliance, Clock Tower Music, Mayers Jewelers, Nielsen Automotive —and I’m sure you could come up with others as readily. These family businesses contribute so much to our community, and let’s hope they’ll still be around for a next generation. The story begins on page 8. Dan Brown, who is senior editor/writer for The Athletic SF, wrote this month’s Profile on longtime CSM football coach Larry Owens and his wife, Tisha. Larry has left an indelible imprint on countless student athletes as a mentor, prodder, and motivator, but has applied those same skills in the difficult rehab of his wife following a medical crisis. It’s a beautiful story of love and commitment and I don’t want to spoil it for you by revealing more. Just go to page 18 —I’ll wager you’ll read it more than once. As this month’s cover proclaims, professional soccer has come to Redwood City. Bay Cities F.C. scheduled a few games in June and two more will be played at Sequoia High School this month. Writer Mike Aldax gives us the background on the very long fermentation process that has brought soccer to the Mid-Peninsula, and the enthusiastic people behind the drive. Also in this issue, writer Nancy Mangini brings us the story of St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, which has been providing free, no-questions-asked meals to all comers for almost 50 years. That’s quite a feat, and volunteers are essential to making it happen. If you’re looking for an opportunity to serve, check it out. Finally, Climate has for several years followed the efforts of Tony Gapastione, a pastor with a strong calling to direct and produce films, and the BraveMaker nonprofit he established to that end. Last month Tony and a crew of actors and behind-the-scene talent began work on his first feature film. It’s gratifying to see someone with talent and dedication pursue his dream—and we’re delighted to share his accomplishment with our readers. Please enjoy the July issue!
Janet McGovern, Editor
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FEATU RE
Family Business
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PROFILE
Coach Larry Owens
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Soccer Comes to Town
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St. Anthony's Kitchen
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AROUND TOWN ���������15 MICRO CLIMATE.............16 HISTORY......................30
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Celebrate the summer with us! Join the Sequoia Hospital Foundation this summer as we gather to raise awareness and support for Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital’s mission, people and programs. Hearts of the Hospital is happy to announce that we will be gathering together live and under the stars at a private residence in Atherton. Guests will dine on local fare, while enjoying a stage production featuring Summer Brennan and Alex Lucero. There are a variety of table sponsorship opportunities available, ranging from $275 - $25,000, with special benefit packages that will offer you and your guests a fabulous experience from start to finish. Don’t wait – saddle up and register today for this incredible celebration in support of Sequoia Hospital’s Women’s Health Center.
Steven San Filippo Memorial Invitational Golf Tournament Monday, September 13, 2021 Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club Join us for a day of play at the Sequoia Hospital Foundation’s 36th Annual Invitational golf tournament, as we raise funds to support the Imaging for Tomorrow campaign to bring a dual-source CT scanner to Sequoia Hospital. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
In response to the nation’s urgent call to address health equity for all, the Sequoia Hospital Foundation is launching a new fundraising initiative - Sequoia Health Equity Partnership to address the needs of those most vulnerable in our community. This significant effort will be highlighted by a virtual benefit Concert for Humankindness - on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - showcasing amazing acts of kindness as well as a diverse mix of Grammy award-winning/nominated artists who believe in a healthier tomorrow.
For more information and to register for these upcoming events visit sequoiahospitalfoundation.org. This ad was provided as a courtesy of
July neighbors 2021 · CLIMATE ·5 Neighbors helping - since 1938
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CLIMATE M A G A Z I N E Publisher
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In the heart of the Theatre District, Redwood City.
Janet McGovern janet@climaterwc.com Creative Director
Jim Kirkland jim@climaterwc.com Contributing Writers
Kathleen Pender Dan Brown Nancy Mangini Janet McGovern Jim Clifford Photography
Jim Kirkland Editorial Board
Spring is here! We invite you to visit us to wine & dine al fresco, enjoy a movie or pamper yourself with a personal service.
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6 · CLIMATE · July 2021
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Volker Staudt with wife Maryann and son Grant.
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From Mom and Pop to Kids and Grandkids Multiple generations keep family-owned businesses going
By Kathleen Pender
Like many people who grow up in a family business, Volker Staudt worked in his parents’ German grocery and gift shop in Redwood City as a kid. But when they were ready to retire 13 years ago, neither he nor his sister were interested in taking it over. Volker’s advice to his parents: Sell it. When they couldn’t find a buyer, he reluctantly assumed the mantle. To his own surprise, Volker and his wife Maryann transformed what began in 1975 as a flower shop into a popular restaurant, Gourmet Haus Staudt & Biergarten.
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Family businesses that do endure can create jobs, and in some cases great wealth, for generations to come. Depending on how narrowly or broadly defined, they account for 14% to 59% of U.S. private-sector employment and 14% to 54% of private Gross Domestic Product... In the tech-heavy Peninsula, where glitzy new companies may capture attention and then vanish like shooting stars, it’s easy to overlook the importance to the economy of family firms handed down through multiple generations. Surviving isn’t easy: One often-quoted statistic has only 30% enduring past the first one, 13% past the second, and only 3% past the third generation. Although that figure was based on a limited sample, it’s true that the “Transition never gets easier as families move through the generations,” says Daniel Van Der Vliet, director of the Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell University. Most don’t make it because they fail to adapt to changing business conditions, sell out to satisfy heirs who don’t work in the business, or—in a growing number of cases —“the kids just aren’t interested. Kids today are going to college, have access to the world, don’t want to live in the town they grew up in,” he adds. Family businesses that do endure can create jobs, and in some cases great wealth, for generations to come. Depending on how narrowly or broadly defined, they account for 14% to 59% of U.S. private-sector employment and 14% to 54% of private Gross Domestic Product, according to a 2021 study led by University of North Carolina professor Torsten Pieper. The narrowest definition of a family firm includes companies such as Walmart, which is publicly held but controlled by descendants of founder Sam Walton and accounts for 2.5% of GDP. Van Der Vliet says the average family firm lasts 24 years, longer than the average publicly held firm, perhaps because fami-
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lies hang on longer before shutting down. “The biggest fear of any family-owned business is that the company fails on your watch,” he adds. Gourmet Haus Staudt & Biergarten The reluctant restaurateur When Staudt’s parents asked him to take over their store, he was enjoying his career supervising construction projects for Silicon Valley companies. But this was 2008, and no legitimate buyers surfaced. Rather than let her in-laws’ life’s work go down the drain, Volker’s wife Maryann convinced him to quit his job and try running it with her. Staudt’s parents, Joe and Lucie, had moved to Redwood City from Germany when Volker was a baby. The couple opened their flower shop in 1975, later expanding next door to sell German food and gifts. They eventually added a few tables where people could order sausages and a beer, bought the entire building and stopped selling flowers. Volker and Maryann sunk a fair amount of money into turning the place into a bustling beer garden. They began opening at night, expanded the menu and added local craft beers to their German brews. They tried to create a convivial Bavarian bierstube vibe where customers sit at communal tables. It quickly took off, attracting tech workers flooding into downtown Redwood City. In 2010, it became the center of worldwide media attention when an Apple engineer left a prototype for the iPhone 4, disguised as an iPhone 3, on a barstool. An-
other customer found it and took it home. Word got out and Volker was besieged by news crews. He let them film but never disclosed the name of the Apple engineer, who was a regular. (His name got out through other sources.) The free publicity helped, a lot. “We were in the New York Times three times that year,” Volker says. As the restaurant grew, Volker and Maryann closed the gift shop and rented that space to a nail salon but still sell German groceries. Volker, 62, recalls that when he took over the business, his parents initially resisted the changes he wanted to make. “That was the hardest part, getting my parents to realize, ‘You wanted us to do it, we have to do it our way,’” he says. His parents remember it differently, saying they welcomed the changes. In either case, today “We are the proudest parents in the world,” says Lucie, who worked there for free until Covid-19 hit. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for the Staudts, who took a fresh look at the business they felt was controlling them. They brought in some new management and were able to expand outdoor dining into an adjacent parking lot. Now, for the first time, they feel in control of the business. And a third Staudt generation? Son Grant, who started working there seven years ago, has become more involved. The Staudts are grooming their 30-year-old son, who co-owns a Santa Cruz bar, to take over in a few years. They appreciate changes he’s made, such as using his liquor contacts to bring in spirits and updating the point-of-sale and scheduling systems.
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Brother and sister team Tim and Robin Maffei of Granara's Flowers.
Balancing family and business Most family operations, like the Staudt’s, are small and medium size. But a 2003 study published in the Journal of Finance estimated that 35% of the public companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index are “family firms,” meaning members of the founding family or families own at least 5% of the stock and/or hold at least one board seat. The authors wrote that “Contrary to our conjecture,” these family firms perform better than nonfamily firms, perhaps because they “have longer horizons than other shareholders.” Franklin Resources, a major investment firm based in San Mateo, is a family business by this measure. Descendants of founder Rupert Johnson, Sr., owned at least 42% of its stock as of December and three are board members including Chairman Gregory Johnson and his sister Jennifer Johnson, who succeeded Gregory as president and chief executive. “Family firms on average have far more women in leadership positions than non-family firms, and this goes through all the echelons of the organization, not just the top,” Pieper says. No matter their size, most family firms face similar joys and pains, espe-
cially balancing the needs of relatives and business. “There is such a complex mix of relationships and emotions and decisions that are inherent in families that generally are not inherent in a nonfamily business,” Van Der Vliet says. In San Mateo County, many have battled competition from chain stores, cheap imports or the internet, and struggle to find employees who can afford to live here. On the plus side, many have loyal customers who like to patronize family firms, and some get free or discounted rent because a previous generation bought the business property decades ago. Many still get help from parents who “retired” years ago and rely on the younger generation to keep up with technology and social media. Asked what successful family firms have in common, Van Der Vliet said, “They love what they do and they love each other. I don’t know how to quantify that.” Here’s a look at how some small family-run businesses on the mid-Peninsula are beating the odds. Granara’s Flowers Second-generation florists Siblings Robin and Tim Maffei grew up in a family of eight children. “One
thing my dad always taught us, don’t hold a grudge,” Tim says. That’s a lesson they still live and work by at Granara’s Flowers in San Carlos. Their deceased dad Primo “Jim” Maffei started working there in 1950 and bought the business —including the building—from Romeo Granara for $100,000 in 1979. Tim, 65, started working there the same year. Robin, 56, joined in 1981. The duo bought it from their parents in 1994. None of their other siblings work at Granara’s, although their oldest brother Pat owns a floral business in San Anselmo. Forty years ago, the store was “nonstop funerals,” thanks to a funeral parlor that was next door, Robin says. As more people opted for cremation, that business declined. Then Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Costco started selling flowers. “They buy in bulk. They get it dirt cheap. We can’t even compete” on price, says Robin. Where they can is on quality, design and service, like providing a last-minute prom corsage. During the last big recession, a line of credit and free rent kept the business afloat until the economy improved. When FTD and Teleflora began charging higher fees on orders they sent to independent florists, Robin and Tim reluctantly cut ties, fearing they’d lose business. But it turns out they made more money without them. Then Covid hit. There were no more weddings, funerals or corporate events. A sales-awards banquet that would have brought in $20,000 canceled overnight. Astonishingly, the shop did better in 2020 than it did the year before. Robin had spiffed up their website, and internet orders more than doubled. “People couldn’t go visit so they sent flowers all the time,” says Tim. “Mother’s Day was triple a normal year.” This year has been good too, with social events returning. Robin arranges flowers for weddings, Tim does funerals and they share other jobs. They sometimes have “silly arguments, sibling stuff,” says Tim. But they July 2021 ·
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also like to joke around. “Once we were trying to use every swear word in the world and a customer walked in,” Robin says. “Luckily it was someone we knew.” Dehoff’s Key Market Second- and third-generation grocers Dehoff’s Key Market in Redwood City has survived by “going back to its roots,” says President Chris Dehoff. He and his four siblings grew up in the grocery business and all except one still work there. Patrick is in produce, Mike is in the meat department and sister Jackie Funaro does accounting. Chris says he became president because when he took over grocery buying, he worked most closely with his dad Jack Dehoff, who died last year. Jack started working at grocery stores in high school. He bought the Key Market in Redwood City in 1972 and by 1992 had purchased four more stores on the Peninsula. As competition moved in or neighborhoods changed, the family sold all of them except the original. “In the 80s and 90s we were pretty conventional in our marketing. As time has gone on, we have gotten a lot more natural and organic and specialty focused. That niche has proven to be what the customer wants,” Chris says. The store carries a wide variety of craft beer, finer wines and trendy products such as jackfruit. It added a full-service deli and meat counter and upgraded its beef selection. At Thanksgiving, instead of buying “a truckload of Foster Farms turkeys, nowadays we focus on specialty brands such as Willie Bird and Diestel and organic, free-range heirloom birds, which are more genetically similar to turkeys the pilgrims ate,” Chris says. Dehoff’s is within 1.5 miles of a Whole Foods, Safeway and Lucky Supermarkets, but people “seem to appreciate our store more than they used to. They like to support a local, long-time, family-run market.” As a small, independent family-owned company, “We can react quickly
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Left to right: Mike, Kirsten, Chris, Josh and Pat Dehoff of Key Market.
to change. We’re on the same page, feel the same way about investing in the future,” Chris says. But, he adds, “Waters have to be treaded more carefully with differences of opinion. You are still caring for family members you have close personal relationships with.” He has three kids from high schoolto college-age who work part-time at the store. “My parents have 11 grandkids. If all goes well it will be around for future generations,” he says. Gordon Aatlo Designs Third-generation jewelers When Gordon Aatlo died in 2012, his children had to redesign his business. Their San Carlos store, Gordon Aatlo Designs, was built around his one-of-a-kind jewelry. To keep the doors open, his children also began selling non-custom jewelry and custom work from other designers including Kelly Allen, Aatlo’s stepson. Allen, 57, learned the trade from Aatlo, who learned it from his dad Hilmar Aatlo, who immigrated from Norway. Some of Allen’s designs are modern takes on Gordon Aatlo pieces, says Christine Thoresen, 67, who owns and runs the store with Allen, who is her brother.
When the store had to shut down for three months last year, “I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The rent, the overhead still needed to be paid,” Thoresen says. “We started putting a lot of work into photographs, advertising for curbside service, marking things down to keep the lights on.” But business came roaring back this year and is the best it has been since her parents passed away. Thoresen says there has been “tremendous growth in the industry with the addition of Etsy” and other outlets for independent designers. But the profession is losing some skills, such as hand engraving and fabrication, as more people make jewelry using design software and 3D printers. Current trends in jewelry include the “neck mess,” five or six necklaces worn at once; multiple mismatched earrings (some suppliers are selling single earrings for this purpose); colored gemstone engagement rings; and two or three colors of gold on the same ring. Sometimes a customer will bring in a ring for cleaning, sizing or repair that Gordon designed 40 years ago. “It’s a little bittersweet,” Thoresen says. “Sometimes I will remember when it was made, or sometimes it’s something I’ve never seen.
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Charlie Shamieh stands before a mural showing the original location in San Francisco in 1928.
It’s a benefit when you create something that will last more than a lifetime and has a tremendous amount of meaning to the person who will receive it.” Roman Marble Shop Third- and fourth-generation countertops When Charles “Chuck” Arceo ran Roman Marble Shop with his wife MaryAnn, they tried to draw a line between business and family life. “When we came home, we didn’t talk about work,” Chuck recalls. But when his two grandsons—cousins Jimmy Ornelas, 43, and Adrian Arceo, 32—came into the firm, the line blurred. “We were always in everybody’s business,” Jimmy says. “If me and my wife would have an issue,” his grandma would find out and the next day grandpa would bring it up at work. His grandpa often had good advice, so Jimmy didn’t mind much. His cousin Adrian concurs: “We’d try to keep stuff at the house but somehow we would always hear about it.” Chuck and MaryAnn, both 84, started the Redwood City company, which fabricates and installs stone countertops, in 1964. Their son Raymond worked for them but retired early. About four years ago they gave the business to their two grandsons.
Roman Marble does mostly residential and some commercial work. The business took a hit in the early 2000s when the Chinese started bringing in prefabricated countertops that cost about one-fourth what the shop charged to buy and fabricate custom slabs. Chuck initially resisted installing the imported ones, but eventually agreed to when customers demanded it, according to Jimmy. Then in 2008, the housing market nearly collapsed and the shop went from eight employees to two or three. Since then, housing has rebounded and tariffs brought in under the Trump administration raised the price of the imported countertops closer to custom slabs. Today the shop is back to eight employees including yet another generation—Jimmy’s sons Jeremiah, 18, and James, 21. The cousins enjoy getting repeat business from their grandparents. “We did a kitchen seven years ago, my grandpa did it 25 years ago,” Jimmy says. His cousin adds, “Our grandfather pushed us to produce a quality product, that way we take pride in what we do. It’s not just a company, it’s a family we put out there.”
It’s It Ice Cream Second- and third-generation dairy treats It’s It Ice Cream hasn’t changed much since 1974, when the late Yousef Shamieh; his sons Charles, Bill and Shawki; and his two brothers-in-law A.L. McDow and Isa Zaru, purchased the name and started making their iconic chocolate-dipped ice cream sandwiches from a plant in San Francisco. In 1976, they moved the manufacturing facility to their current location in Burlingame. Charles Shamieh, 74, is president. Over the decades, more second- and third-generation family members became involved. Everyone has a separate job title, but if someone wants to leave for a week or a month, someone else will take over. “It’s run as a family more than a straight business. The employees we have feel they are part of the family,” Charles says. The company makes its own preservative-free ice cream, buys cookies from a company owned by Charles’ cousin Nader Shamieh, and buys chocolate from an unrelated supplier. The recipe hasn’t changed since 1974, except for the introduction of a few new flavors such as cappuccino and green tea. It’s It distributes in eight states, but most sales come from the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The company has been approached by potential buyers but “it is not for sale,” Charles says. “From generation to generation, we keep it.” Avenue Auto Service Father-son auto repair Fixing cars has changed a lot since Dennis D’Amico, 77, graduated from high school in 1963 and got a job with Avenue Auto Service in San Carlos. D’Amico became a partner in 1971 and bought it when the former owner retired in 1974. The next year, D’Amico began doing mechanical as well as body work and towing. The business grew from eight employees to 42 at its peak in the early 80s. “Back July 2021 ·
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• then I never worried about what was being spent, business was that good,” he says. But today it’s down to 22 employees and its towing fleet has shrunk by roughly half to five trucks. Around 2000, insurance companies started steering customers who got in a wreck to body shops in their “direct repair networks,” saying they would guarantee that shop’s work, says Aaron D’Amico, 48, who joined his dad’s business after graduating from college in 1995. Insurance companies paid companies in these networks less than the D’Amicos were making on their own, and they declined to join any except one, Aaron says. That decision cost them a lot of business. Avenue Auto also faces increased competition from large chains such as Caliber Collision, a private-equity-owned company that is buying up independent shops. Avenue Auto still has loyal customers who like patronizing family-owned businesses, Aaron says. But they come in less frequently for service because “People here have newer cars, they don’t break down as much,” and with electric cars, “there is not a ton of maintenance.” When something does need repairs, it can be very costly because of all the new safety features and fancy equipment such as LED headlights. The D’Amicos spend thousands of dollars a year on hardware and software to scan diagnostic codes from car manufacturers and other high-tech equipment. “What made it really hard to operate was the tech boom. Employees got priced out. They moved to Hayward, then Concord, then Modesto,” Aaron says. “Most people who are body men could be plumbers or electricians,” which pay more once you get in a union. “Every year it gets worse and worse attracting talent.”
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Aaron and Dennis D’Amico of Avenue Auto Service.
Aaron has to push his dad sometimes to adapt to the changing environment. “The younger generation knows you have to change to survive,” says Aaron. “The resistance to change is what hurt us in the
late 90s, early 2000s.” Fortunately they own their four buildings. “If we didn’t, we would not be in business anymore,” Aaron says. C
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Signs of Life: Businesses Reemerge The Bottle Shop at 2627 Broadway in Redwood City opened its doors in Feburary 2020 — just in time for the pandemic to arrive and close them down. "We hung in by a wing and a prayer with some good luck," said co-owner John Graham-Taylor. "That and a little subsidy from the government," added co-owner Tom Boriolo. On June 12 they celebrated reopening with a rib cookoff between themselves and good friends Brock Beale and Pratik Verma (for bragging rights). The event was sponsored by a rather uniquely bottled wine out of Napa — in cans — called Belly Draggers Wine. Results came in in favor of the challenger, (Beale and Vema) but Graham-Taylor vows to take it to the next level; a rib cookoff open to all Redwood City residents. The event is in the works for a date to be held at Courthouse Square. For details go to admin@thebottleshoprwc.com.
A Birthday NOT Held in the Backyard Westy Somerville turned six on June 12. Sometime later in life he may look back and tell his children how lucky he was to have had his birthday take place at La Petite Playhouse at 1264 Oddstad Drive, Redwood City instead of on a Zoom call.
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It’s a Wonderful Life for a Director Whose Dream Comes True Three years after leaving a full-time job as a pastor to pursue a film-making dream, Tony Gapastione can’t quite believe it’s actually happening. And wonder compounding wonders, one of the stars of a hit television show he grew up watching agreed to take a part in his super-low-budget feature film. Without agent involvement. Working for a very small day rate. She even dug into her own closet for “costumes” to keep the cost down. Alley Mills, famous as Norma Arnold in the beloved show, “The Wonder Years,” is also playing the part of a mother in Gapastione’s first full-length feature film, which is about suicide and the impact on those left behind. “I lost my husband last year, so it’s the first thing I’ve said ‘yes’ to, just because it’s kind of about that,” Mills says. “And I also loved that he’s a pastor. That kind of piqued my interest.” Mills was in Redwood City in June filming scenes with Allison Ewing, her “daughter” in “Last Chance Charlene.” Both characters are grieving the loss of Mills’ “son” Dominick, who died by suicide nine months earlier. Gapastione got his script before Mills thanks to a mutual friend, Jeremy Valdez, who appears with her on the long-running “The Bold and the Beautiful” soap opera. Gapastione was looking to cast the part of “Lorenna.” Readily acknowledging how big the favor was, he asked Valdez if he’d approach Mills. (Valdez plays “Raul” in the film.) “The business is really all about those relationships,” Gapastione says. “If I had sent my script cold, who knows where that would have gone. … But because she knows Jeremy and loves Jeremy, she said she’d read it. She read it within two days and got back to me.”
16 · CLIMATE · July 2021
A Call to Remember Just as Gapastione was getting ready to go to bed one night, in fact, Mills texted him and asked, “Are you a night owl? You want to talk about the script?” The telephone conversation went past midnight. “It was so cool,” Gapastione says. “We instantly connected. We’ve been chatting for two months straight, texting, calling. I mean she really did a lot of digging into this character, both she and Allison.” Gapastione had been on the staff at Peninsula Covenant Church in Redwood City for 20 years when he took the proverbial leap of faith in 2018 to follow his dream. The Redwood City resident, who had directed tons of short films and was well-known in the local creative community, founded a nonprofit called BraveMaker, which encourages and promotes filmmaking and other arts. Some BraveMaker team members are working on the production. Gapastione, 46, had long wanted to write and direct a movie about suicide because of the profound impact on him after a family member took her life. He wrote “The Thorns We Live With,” which has a bigger cast and was budgeted at over $3 million. Fund-raising was slow. To get a feature film under his belt, Gapastione finally decided to explore the same issues but with a smaller budget. Much. “Last Chance Charlene,” which he wrote in six weeks, has a $55,000 budget, though it would be about $15,000 higher were it not for donations of crew meals, lodging, the use of locations and so on. Filming has gone ahead, although about $20,000 still needs to be raised to complete it, and more fundraising is likely for post-production costs like sound design and composing. Among the locations, Gapastione filmed at Cyclismo Café, in an office build-
ing at 500 Arguello St. and at three Redwood City homes (including his own). A Movie Set at Home He needed a location for the mother’s house and asked Eileen Clark, who he’d known from church, if she’d be willing to let him use her Emerald Hills residence. “It was actually so much fun,” she says. “Everybody was so respectful of my house.” People coming inside had to wear booties. Because Mills’ character has been grieving her son’s death, the house needed to be messy, but Clark keeps a tidy home. “It was the weirdest feeling because I kept wanting to go around and pick up after them,” she says. When it came to housing, the undemanding Mills was happy to stay at Clark’s home. “How am I going to get my house ready for a star,” she fretted, but when Mills arrived, “from the minute she walked in, she was like my best friend. We had such a good time together.” Mills was married for 30 years to the actor, comedian, writer and producer Orson Bean, who died in February 2020 at the age of 91. He was crossing the street to join her at a theater where she had volunteered to usher and he was struck by two cars. “He was ready for another 10 years,” she says. “Easily.” With Covid restrictions, the only acting she’d done since then was a Zoom production of Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” in December. Since her husband’s death, “different things have meaning to me and I can pick and choose what I damn well please. And I read this and thought, ‘I want to do it.’” Lorenna—the mother she plays—has been a church secretary for 23 years. The Charlene of the movie, who is a screenwriter, is undone by the loss of her brother and separates from her husband. On top of that, Lorenna’s pastor tells her that he can’t
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The Lead Role The Charlene character’s frenetic pace masks a wound-up woman who hasn’t come to terms with her brother’s suicide and how to make sense of life. Gapastione had originally planned the central character to be a man, but had worked with Ewing before and decided to revise it as a female story and cast her. She has had lead film roles before but not with as much dialogue to learn as comes out of the mouth of the verbal Charlene. A San Mateo resident, Ewing also grew up loving “The Wonder Years” and was “freaking out” when she found out that Mills would play her mother. “I told everyone. I shouted it from the rooftops. I got to spend some time with her yesterday (reading and blocking.) And then to work with her? I have to pinch myself.” Cameron James Matthews, 32, plays “Dino,” a character who helps Charlene see a way to deal with life’s challenges. “He’s definitely a glass half full type of guy, all about optimism and like I’m sure he smells the flowers and looks at rainbows on his free time. He’s a guy who likes to have a smile on his face and tries at every moment to put smiles on other people’s faces as well.” A Sacramento native, he lives a nomadic actor’s life and has done both film and television and is in a movie called
Photo courtesy BraveMaker
honestly say in the memorial service that Dominick went to heaven. “So I’m in the midst of a faith crisis too,” Mills says of her character, who is running on fumes. “It’s like everything at one time. And then trying to get my daughter back on her feet cause she’s not on her feet. She’s left her husband and she’s just flailing.” Mills, who is a Christian and attends church, says her character doesn’t solve her faith issues by the end of the movie, “but you get the feeling she will.” Alley Mills and Allison Ewing are playing the mother and daughter in director Tony Gapastione’s film.
“Notorious Nick,” which is to come out in the fall. It’s more than a walk-by part. “You don’t gotta stop the film and rewind and zoom to see me,” he says. Ideally, Gapastione would like to get the film edited in time to apply in September for the Sundance Film Festival, but he also dreams of a hometown movie premiere next February. He shot the film using industry-standard cameras so it could be shown on all the streaming platforms.
A father of three girls one of whom just graduated from the eighth grade, this is a heady time, and Gapastione cried the first day of filming. “I just lost it because I’ve been waiting so long for it to get here. It feels so good to see it all coming to light and all the people come out to help. … When we rolled Scene 68 today, I thought, ‘I’ve never had a Scene 68.’” He laughs. “There’s 78 scenes in this film and, yeah, it’s a pretty cool dream.” C
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PROFILE •
Football Coach Engineers A Miracle Comeback:
His Wife's
CSM’s Larry Owens applies a relentless focus to her medical rehab
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PROFILE •
By Dan Brown
Larry Owens, having spent his adult life as a community college football coach, grew accustomed to taking on all the adjunct roles that come with big dreams and a modest budget. He was the head coach, yes, but also an unofficial psychologist, academic counselor, secretary, travel agent, equipment man, father figure and whatever else the College of San Mateo happened to need right now, right this instant, can you help us, coach, please?
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would tell the kids, ‘The only thing I can’t be is a banker because I ain’t got no money,’’’ Owens recalled with a laugh. But for a while, this one-man job fair became too much. The Redwood City native, and one of the most accomplished head coaches in CSM football history, stepped away for a few years starting in 2009 as his workload began eclipsing everything else that mattered in his life. After his dad died, Owens wanted to take care of his cancer-stricken mom, and Owens – rather than do the unthinkable and actually dial back his coaching hours – handed in his playbook. “I didn't want to cheat the kids I was coaching,’’ he said. Improbably, though, his break from head coaching led to the greatest coaching triumph of his career. That’s saying something considering the Sequoia High graduate went 128-90 over 21 seasons at CSM, including 10 postseason appearances. But a bigger game is underway in his San Mateo home, and his coaching skills are back in full force. His target now is not some young athlete hoping to go from CSM to Super Bowl glory, as receiver Julian Edelman did. (Edelman, so grateful for Owens believing in him then, once
took his coach out to dinner in Boston as a thank-you.) The Taskmaster at Home These days, Larry Owens is coaching the love of his life. And through his motivational needling, through his tough love and creative drills, he is helping his wife pull off a thrilling comeback from the surgery that almost killed her. Tisha Owens suffered an aortic dissection – a broken heart – on Dec. 19, 2019, and as she was rushed off to emergency surgery about 2 a.m. that dreadful night, doctors bluntly warned the couple that most patients don’t make it. She was 51. “She was calm. I was a mess. I just broke down,’’ Larry Owens recalled. “And so I remember telling myself, ‘Don't cry. Don't cry.’ And she just said, ‘I'm gonna be all right. God got me.’” The surgeons did their part, repairing a tear in Tisha’s main artery, but there were other complications. She spent nearly a week in an induced coma at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame and her journey ultimately included multiple blood clots and three strokes that still affect her left side. Tisha, an intrepid traveler before the operation, also had a bilateral amputation below the knees as the result
of circulation issues. Sitting on the couch next to Larry on a late-May afternoon, she proudly held up her hand to show three fingers are missing as well. “My heart doesn't work. It doesn't function like it used to. It's 35 percent now,’’ Tisha says, “but I'm making it.” It helps that she has one of the Peninsula’s notable college coaches helping to guide her rehabilitation. Owens likes to say that the key to coaching isn’t strategy, it’s communication, and around their home this spring the message was loud and clear. The only thing missing was the whistle. Widen your legs and establish a base! Push yourself! Lean your head over your toes! Do what they taught you! There is no scoreboard here, but there are unmistakable signs that things are starting to turn. Tisha has graduated from a walker to a cane to tentative steps on her own. She made it back to Atlanta to visit her family last Christmas. The couple recently spent two weeks in Las Vegas. She’s planning a vacation to Kenya by 2022. “It may be strenuous,’’ Tisha says, “but it's making me stronger.”
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• An Online Introduction It started with a bit of flirting. “You’re beautiful,’’ the never-married Owens wrote during his first foray into online dating in 2010. Tisha knew nothing about sports at the time but responded with the cleverness of a defensive coordinator. “On those websites, when you really want to know if somebody is serious, you say, ‘call me.’ And he called!” Tisha said. “And we just talked and talked and talked and ..." They kept talking the next day, too, when they met for dinner at Pasta Pomodoro in San Francisco. They kept talking when Larry insisted on driving her to the BART station rather than let her take the bus. They kept talking after Larry made her promise to call as soon as she got home safely. They were married within a year. Tisha on the couch next to Larry, hard to miss with her streak-of-lightning personality and her 5-foot-11 frame (she was 6-1 before her prosthetics). Tisha laughs often, tells funny stories with the speed of an auctioneer and steals glances at her husband as if they are back at Pasta Pomodoro again. It's a lot healthier than Larry’s first “marriage” – which is to say his 100 percent commitment to football. Before Tisha came along, Owens focused solely on the game, the game, the game. So much so that when he served springtime stints working in NFL Europe, for the Scottish Claymores (1996-97) and Amsterdam Admirals (200103), it never struck him to check out the sights or, you know, take some photos. As longtime friend Gary Dilley, the former CSM director of athletics, said: “Tisha brings the horizons. She brings the sunsets. She’s the beauty part of Larry’s life. Tisha brings a Technicolor presence to their relationship.”
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PROFILE •
Married to a Mentor Because they met during Larry’s hiatus as head coach, Tisha barely had an inkling of what she was signing up for as a football wife. The game was so foreign to her that she thought all kicks were field goals. (Larry used his expertise to explain that some of them are merely extra points.) But Tisha started to get the picture about what Owens meant to Northern California athletics whenever they were out in public. Larry impacted so many lives for so long that it was not unusual for him to be approached by a former player on the street. “All the time!” Tisha says, nearly jumping off the sofa. “We can't go anywhere. There’s always somebody, even if we’re out of state! And they’ll say, ‘Oh! Coach O! How you doing?’ They flag him down in cars and just all over the place. I told him he should be mayor because he knows so many people.” Larry’s career path is no surprise to those who encountered him growing up. As a boy, he spent his summers riding his bike to the Red Morton Recreation Center in Redwood City. Gilley was the recreation director at the time and remembers the kid pedaling all the way from Woodside
Road just to see whatever the playing fields had to offer that day. Young Larry would chalk the lines for the adult softball league and showed so much knowledge that they eventually made him the official scorekeeper. Owens grew up to play offensive line at Sequoia High but not well, according to one scathing scouting report – his own. “Average guy, you know,’’ Owens says now. “I wasn’t anything.” Whatever athletic future he might have had was upended during a pickup basketball game at Sequoia when he was undercut by an opposing player and wound up with a serious knee injury. That hastened his transition to coach, and the football world was better for it. With a clipboard, he was definitely not an average guy. He started on the staff at Woodside High, then became an assistant at CSM before taking an assistant job at Division II Humboldt State in 1989-90. But that’s when the head coaching job at CSM became open again, and Owens recognized his chance to come home. He threw his hat into a ring filled with applications from more experienced candidates. But Dilley, who was on the hiring committee, said Owens stood out even as they whittled the field to five or six finalists. He thought so then. He really thinks so now. “I came to believe he really was the best hire in the San Mateo County Community College District in probably 20 years,’’ Gilley said. “He became a critical person on our campus. Not only was he a knowledgeable coach … but he was tough on the kids, he was a role model and he had high expectations. “He expected the student-athletes to be successful, but he wasn’t the typical
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hard-nosed coach. He was more like a favorite uncle for some kids. He was more like a dad for other kids who didn’t have a dad. Off the practice field, he was a good friend and confidant and he could reach kids and help them grow up.” Advancing by Increments By the time he retired in 2017, he was honored by the City of East Palo Alto with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a proclamation for his years of service to the community. He has a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal State Fullerton and holds a master’s degree in administration/physical education from St. Mary’s College. All of that served as a prelude to his latest challenge, and Owens continues to use every motivational trick at his disposal. Larry keeps Tisha cognizant of her balancing techniques as she regains her mobility and is exacting when it comes to her physical therapy game plan.
Owens with Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman on their induction into the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame.
He also keeps creating new challenges. Whenever they head out, he’ll pull the car out a little farther from the curb just to coax her into a few extra steps. In the grocery store, he’ll make her reach for the items that seem too high on the shelf.
Coach O is mostly polite with his only player. But not when Tisha says she can’t use her “bad” hand. “And he’ll give me looks: ‘Yes, you can, too! You got to use that hand! Exercise that hand! Move that hand!” Tisha said, laughing. “And I'm like, I'm not a football player! He’ll say, ‘I know who you are. I know you're not a football player. But you need to do things like that!’’’ The exhilarating progress has given her a better understanding of all those times she’s been out in public with her husband and some former player interrupts to reminisce about the old days. She gets it now that she’s been pushed and nudged and cajoled and has had her world changed because of the relentless force sitting on the other side of the couch. “They always thank him,’’ she said. “Always.” C
TOGETHER, WE DESIGN PLACES THAT INSPIRE PEOPLE
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July 2021 ·
CLIMATE · 21
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22 · CLIMATE · July 2021
SPOTLIGHT•
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SPOTLIGHT•
Professional Soccer Arrives in Redwood City
Bay Cities Football Club brings it to Sequoia High School stadium
By Mike Aldax
Sixty-five years after Italians immigrants set up a youth soccer program in Redwood City modeled after Juventus Football Club, the perennial powerhouse from their home country; the city is getting its first professional soccer club.
In
April, newly formed Bay Cities F.C. announced it will join the National Independent Soccer Association, a third-tier league for American professional soccer, and play home games in the 3,500-seat stadium on the Sequoia High School campus. The club is forming both men’s and women’s teams. Practices and matches are already in progress, but “Our first league game will be in 2022, at Sequoia High, with hopefully 3,500 fans,” said Anders Perez, Bay Cities’ co-founder and coach. Professional soccer in Redwood City was bound to happen, club officials say, citing in part the city’s central location on the Peninsula and its recent economic boom. But the seeds for such a program – and for Bay Cities F.C. in particular – were planted back in 1956 and took many years to take root.
That year, three Italian immigrants started a club in Redwood City inspired by hometown team Juventus F.C., based in Turin, Italy. One of the world’s greatest strikers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, currently plays for “Juve.” Redwood City’s version of the club – named Juventus Sports Club and adopting a sports badge strikingly similar to the professional club’s – served for a long while to bolster local youth soccer but had no affiliation with the Italian club. At the same time, youth soccer steadily grew nationally and also in the Bay Area, certainly in Redwood City. “Back in the day there was one (youth) club team every 20 miles,” said Perez. “Now, there are five club teams for every five miles. We’ve seen a real explosion.”
Unifying the Clubs Bay Cities F.C. sees its mission as the “great unifier” of local clubs, enhancing opportunities for development for all up-and-coming young players on the Peninsula, according to Perez. Now 29, he played in the Major League Soccer youth academy and at the collegiate level. Nearly seven years ago, he became a coach with Juventus Sports Club. In 2018, he moved up to general manager. He’s been around soccer his whole life. His father, Hugo Perez, is a U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, having played for the national team. Currently he is head coach of the El Salvador National Team. Anders Perez in intent on making his own mark on U.S. soccer. That mission gained steam in December 2018, when Stefano Baldassi, the parent of a player in the Juventus Sports Club, joined Perez in connecting
July 2021 ·
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• with officials in the Juventus F.C. sporting network. Baldassi happens to be a big fan of A.S. Roma, a major Juventus rival. Even so, a delegation from the Turin-based club came to Redwood City to evaluate a longterm partnership. In 2019, Juventus Sports Club became Juventus Academy Silicon Valley, and in February 2020, right before pandemic lockdowns arrived in the U.S., 60 members of the newly branded club traveled to Turin to watch Juventus’ first team play, train with the club’s coaches and play in a couple of friendlies. Perez remains general manager of Juventus Academy Silicon Valley, which is continuing the exchange of information with the Turin side. “We have (Juventus F.C.) coaches talking to our coaches over Zoom, their leaders talking to our leaders, and at the end of the day the ones who benefit are the kids,” Perez said. Training for Advancement A bolstered local coaching program and ever-rising local interest in youth soccer, adds Perez, have helped to foster top talent and plenty of interest in a professional soccer club. “There are five youth clubs, and almost 20,000 players,” Perez said, adding the Bay Area is among the top in the nation for talent feeding colleges and professional teams. “You could fill a stadium with just them.” How many up-and-coming players could follow in the cleats of Daniel Aguirre, the Redwood City midfielder who was recently signed to play for LA Galaxy II, or Cade Cowell, the 17-year-old San Jose Earthquakes forward who rose up playing against local teams? Perez doesn’t want any talent to fall through the cracks. So when soccer went on hiatus during the pandemic, he doubled down on the search for ways to maximize player development. It didn’t take long to come up with the next plan, as National
24 · CLIMATE · July 2021
SPOTLIGHT• In March 2020, U.S. Club Soccer announced that Juventus Academy Silicon Valley earned its licensing as a “Players First” organization. The distinction, shared by nearly 100 clubs in 25 states, is awarded to organizations that meet high standards for developing players both on and off the field. NISA officials read that article, which Perez believe is a big reason they contacted him about a professional team.
Photo courtesy Bay Cities Co-owner and coach Anders Perez
Perez doesn’t want any talent to fall through the cracks. So when soccer went on hiatus during the pandemic, he doubled down on the search for ways to maximize player development. Independent Soccer Association officials contacted him. They’d been reading the news about the progress of Juventus Academy Silicon Valley. In a statement, NISA Executive Vice President Josh Prutch said the organization, which features teams in areas such as Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, and also the recently-formed Oakland Roots, is focused on “re-establishing a presence in Northern California.” NISA’s invitation wasn’t solely about geography and level of soccer interest in the area. Juventus Academy Silicon Valley’s program specifically impressed them, including efforts off the field. “Bay Cities F.C. shares our perspective on growth, development, and connection with community,” Prutch said.
Community Partnerships Juventus Academy Silicon Valley offers various off-the-field programs, including a college mentoring program that guides athletes with fulfilling college requirements and filling out admissions and financial aid forms. The club also has a partnership with Stanford University, where sports physicians treat the young athletes. NISA expects a professional club within its league to conduct community engagement and partner with local organizations. The connections are already there. A few months ago, Perez reached out to Ivan Martinez, executive director of the Redwood City Police Activities League, the nonprofit that serves underserved local youth through partnerships with the Police Department, school districts, the city and community organizations. Perez asked Martinez to take on the role of community engagement manager for Bay Cities F.C., calling him the club’s “moral compass.” Perez and Martinez have known each other for a couple of years. Martinez said he grew up in North Fair Oaks hungry for opportunities like many of his peers. “When I grew up here, it wasn’t the Redwood City we see today,” Martinez said. "I have a lot really great, talented friends, people not just in the soccer community. We just lacked the opportunities.” Martinez says his focus with Bay Cities F.C. “is on the 10,000 kids not going to make the professional club, what we can do for them.” He sees the soccer club as having the potential to inspire communi-
• ty programs that equip local youth with skills they’ll need as young adults, whether through grants, scholarships, proceeds to nonprofits and presence on school campuses and in community centers. Martinez cited a need for more programs serving young people in their late teens and early 20s. Much like local soccer, he points out, there is plenty of interest and talent, but not enough development for young people after they’ve left high school. “We want to be recognized as the Peninsula’s elite soccer club,” but also as a club that goes deep into the community, from school campuses to community centers, “to transform lives,” Martinez said. Bay Cities F.C. aims to establish a community advisory board so that its efforts are community-driven, Martinez said. “We are welcoming folks to reach out to us and we are going to have some sort of interview process,” he said. The Digital Pitch Bay Cities F.C. has already picked up a few star players – except they don’t come from a sports background. K.C. Watson, whose kids are going through the Juventus Academy and had previously spoken with Perez about the
SPOTLIGHT•
need for professional soccer in the Peninsula, is the club’s Business Strategy Lead. He comes with Silicon Valley pedigree: He’s co-founder and former CEO of Sherpa Digital Media, a Silicon Valley enterprise SaaS company, and more recently co-founded Listo, a special education software startup. Watson enlisted help from Don Kianian, who worked with Watson on a startup and agreed to join Bay Cities F.C. as its marketing/digital lead. The pair see the demand for a soccer club not just in Redwood City, but one that connects the rich soccer communities across the Peninsula and other parts of the Bay Area. Local communities want a team in their backyard, not just up in San Francisco or San Jose, Kianian said. “Most soccer clubs and franchises have a set way of doing this,” he said. “What Anders wants to do is build a soccer club that is more than the team itself, but a community.” Kianian envisions a pandemic-free future that allows for parades and fan processionals from downtown Redwood City to the Sequoia High stadium, gameday parties and events, and other opportunities to bring fans closer to the team, trans-
lating into fan ownership and fan sponsorship opportunities. Thus far, Kianian said they’ve been focused on building the digital side of the club – helping fans tune in from afar. Bay Cities F.C’s new website (www.baycitiesfc. com) shows off a slick new jersey and logo promising to “Bridge the Bay,” revealing that while this is Redwood City’s home team, the club has have a wide reach. “There are a lot of things we want to do. We have ambitious plans in motion,” Kianian said. “We’re going to start with Sequoia High and the summer tour, continue to build the team and grow from there.” The Slow Pitch Bay Cities F.C. is coming together as quickly as a Juventus F.C. counter attack. But the game of soccer is about patience as much as it is about hustle and speed, which Perez says he’s keeping in mind. “Time will open and close doors,” he said. And when obstacles come in his way, all he has to do is remember what three Italians started in 1956. “I bet they would be proud of where we are today,” he said. Imagine what could happen 65 years from now. C
Co-owner K.C. Watson
On the schedule for this month, Bay Cities F.C. men’s side will play two home games at Sequoia High in the NISA Independent Cup, including July 10 versus Cal Victory F.C. and on July 24 against Space United. Both games kick off at 5 p.m. July 2021 ·
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PROFILE•
Feeding the Po
26 · CLIMATE · July 2021
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oor for 47 Years
By Nancy Mangini
We Feed the Poor:” It’s a mission statement, a commitment, and a way of life for everyone associated with Saint Anthony’s Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park. Located on Middlefield Road behind Garfield School, just across the Redwood City limit line; the dining room serves hot, nutritious meals free of charge to all who come to the door. “We have been in continuous operation for 47 years, six days a week, 52 weeks a year,” said Operations Manager Max Torres. “We never ask who you are, what brings you to our dining room, or why you may need food. You are our guest and we offer you a meal with no questions asked.” July 2021 ·
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• Begun in 1974, the Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park is a program of Saint Anthony’s Parish in San Francisco and is supported by tax-exempt donations just like its more well-known sister to the north. Their finances are entirely separate, so contributions to the Padua Dining Room go the Menlo Park organization, according to Torres. In addition to donations of money and supplies, the dining room depends largely on volunteers who faithfully perform jobs such as delivering supplies, chopping vegetables, preparing meals and greeting guests. Pre-Covid, at least 40 volunteers per day were involved in preparing and serving the sit-down, indoor lunches. Over a year ago the pandemic forced a shift to packaged, hot takeaway meals, which, for safety reasons, meant using more paid staff and fewer volunteers. At the same time, the demand tripled. “The number of guests we serve went from 100 to more than 300 per day,” Torres said. “When the pandemic ends and the county health officials give us new protocols for keeping everyone safe, we hope to reopen our indoor dining program and will welcome back more of our family of volunteers.” Torres says a shared belief that all human souls deserve good food and a welcoming place to receive it motivates the dedicated volunteers who are essential to the program. The Tuesday Team One of them is Gini Dold, a retired San Francisco teacher and education administrator, who volunteers every Tuesday morning. “I was aware of the St. Anthony’s program in San Francisco, then heard about this one near Redwood City, so I came to check it out and fell in love with what they do. We are the Tuesday Team,” she said proudly, referring to the half-dozen volunteers working in the kitchen before the
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PROFILE• “Not only is it a good cause,” he said. “It’s pure charity.” Torres has a simple answer for how St. Anthony’s has been able to keep up with a significantly higher demand, serving meals every day except Sundays, without skipping a beat: “Because of our mission. We feed the poor.”
Max Torres
“The number of guests we serve went from 100 to more than 300 per day.” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. takeout meal distribution program starts. “It’s a great group of people. The work we do here is important and the need is growing during the pandemic.” Chuck Martin, a retired structural engineer who also volunteers with Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity, came to help out at the dining room five years ago. “It’s fun,” the Menlo Park resident said, while rinsing handfuls of chopped peppers. “I like the people a lot. We’re like a small family in the kitchen.” Kate Parnes, a retired Santa Clara County special education teacher who lives in Emerald Hills, had been volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank helping people sign up for food stamps. The Tuesday morning service she does at St. Anthony’s “offered more hands-on work,” she said. “So I came here. And you know, when you do this kind of volunteer work, you get back so much more than you give. I just love it.” Henry Wilder is a retired venture capitalist from Woodside who volunteers in the kitchen on Wednesday mornings.
Who Are “The Poor?” In San Mateo County, the definition of “poor” can range from the income needed to be eligible for federal food assistance programs to the amount it takes to be financially self-sufficient. Between these two standards, more than 250,000 individuals in the county are considered to be food insecure, meaning they have limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods. They don’t qualify for federal food assistance programs because their income is higher than the federal poverty level but less than the amount it takes to cover basic needs in this very expensive area. To be eligible for food assistance from state and federal programs such as CalFresh, SNAP, and SCRIPT (food stamps), a family of four consisting of two adults and two children must be able to prove a net annual income of less than $26,500 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2021 Federal Poverty Guidelines. At the other end of the scale, the net annual income needed in Silicon Valley by that same family to pay for the basic needs of housing, utilities, groceries, healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other necessities, without additional help, is currently estimated to be $110,000 - $160,000 per year, according to the Insight Center, an arm of the Population Resource Bureau in Washington D.C.
• Growing Numbers Before the pandemic, Get Healthy San Mateo, a program of the county health department, had projected that roughly 11 percent of the population, or 81,000 people, would become food insecure in 2020. By July of that year, according to the agency’s website, that figure had risen to 30 percent, or nearly one in three residents, and was still going up. In its comprehensive report, “The Cost of Being Californian 2021,” the Insight Center attributes the catastrophic rise in this area’s food insecurity to widespread unemployment caused by the pandemic shutdown, coupled with a steady increase in the cost for basic needs. Faced with such overwhelming need by residents, San Mateo County, along with other Bay Area counties, responded by expanding existing food programs and supporting new ones initiated by the nonprofit community. With money from the San Mateo County Strong Fund, food and supply donations from businesses and philanthropic organizations, and an army of new volunteers, county residents who need food and other assistance can turn to a growing number of organizations for help. Though there are many programs offering food and general assistance, the application process can sometimes present a significant barrier to getting it. To qualify for any of the alphabet soup of government-funded food assistance programs, applicants must produce documentation that includes a state-issued ID such as a driver’s license, proof of income from pay stubs or bank statements, proof of residency from utility bills or rental receipts, and proof of immigration status. As might be expected, when many of those whose income level qualifies them for government help are Hispanic, homeless, or undocumented; producing the required “proof” is often not an option.
PROFILE•
Where Does the Food Come From? • Second Harvest Food Bank • Coast Tropical • Fresh Point • Wil’s Family Favorites • Kiwanis Redwood City Saturday Market • Palo Alto Saturday Market • Village Harvest • Graylock Partners’ local restaurants • Facebook food cartons • Safeway Markets (local stores) • Draeger’s Market • Robert’s Market • Costco • San Francisco Produce Market Hurdles to Qualifying In addition to government-funded programs, nonprofits may also have qualification requirements such as residency in a certain area of the county or a minimum age for elder-support benefits. People may have to make appointments online or by phone or be able to exchange volunteer hours in exchange for food. Finally, the hours and days when assistance is consistently available varies widely throughout the county, ranging from one or two days a week for a few hours to one or two hours a day for a few days, with weekend programs being few and far between. At St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, however, residents can reliably receive a meal—and more—no questions asked. In addition to a packaged hot, nutritious meal consisting of an entrée (such as meatloaf or chicken), vegetables, salad, fruit, bread, dessert, and a beverage; St. Anthony’s also offers guests free grocery bags filled with locally sourced fresh fruit and vegetables and many kinds of bread. On a recent day, grateful guests were lined up patiently waiting for the doors to
open. Among them was an elderly man named Illis, who was enjoying his meal at one of the outdoor tables set up near the entrance. “I come every day,” he said. “I like the food.” Yelena, a self-described retired corporate executive who came for lunch, believes the program does a lot of good but she thinks corporations should be doing more. “We should be getting the word out to the media like KCBS so that people will see what is needed and maybe try to help,” she said. Really Meaning “No Questions” Torres, who has been St. Anthony’s operations manager since 1990, tells the story of a man who used to come to the dining room regularly driving an expensive car, wearing elegant clothing, and “very good shoes.” In spite of the prohibition against asking guests any questions before offering them a meal, one day a volunteer could no longer contain his curiosity and asked the man why he came for meals when he had such an expensive car and nice clothes. The man looked down and answered quietly, “because that is all I have.” Ashamed at causing the man’s obvious embarrassment, the volunteer never again asked guests why they came and simply offered them hot meals and a welcome place to enjoy them. “You never know what troubles other people face,” Torres explained. “We all have our burdens to bear, so the best we can do is try to help others bear theirs.” Asked if all the new food assistance programs in the area might someday eliminate the need for the Padua Dining Room, Torres shook his head, repeating his mission statement and quoting from the New Testament. “We feed the poor, and the poor will always be with us.” For more information about St. Anthony’s Dining Room, including how to donate, visit www.paduadiningroom.com. C July 2021 ·
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H I S T O•R YC LbI M y A J iTmE • Clifford•
When Memorial Day was Decoration Day Redwood City’s Union Cemetery hasn’t seen a Memorial Day ceremony for two years. Today’s news filled with stories about America’s reckoning with a legacy that included slavery makes this event more relevant than ever. Perhaps it is time for Americans to remind themselves of the bloody sacrifice needed to take the shackles off men, women and children. Union Cemetery does that. Covid restrictions limited this year’s Memorial Day event to the placing of flags on graves, in sharp contrast to traditional ceremonies that included guest speakers, music and the firing of the anvil. That dramatic finale to the event involves an explosive charge, which is set off under an anvil that goes flying into the air, sometimes setting off alarms on cars parked on adjacent Woodside Road. Memorial Day, the May holiday formerly called Decoration Day, once drew thousands to cemeteries across the nation to pay their respects at the graves of Civil War veterans. Union Cemetery is a grim reminder of that cataclysmic struggle. The eastern end of the cemetery features a Grand Army of the Republic plot that has 46 headstones atop the graves of Union army veterans, their final resting place guarded by a statue of a Union soldier. It is fitting to recall President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and its line about “the brave men, living and dead” who “consecrated” the Gettysburg battlefield “far above our poor power to add or detract.” A Hardy Survivor The “brave men” President Lincoln immortalized in his famous speech included James Henry Baxter who was wounded in the neck with a sword at Gettysburg. His tombstone was the last to be erected at the GAR plot. The tombstone was placed in
30 · CLIMATE · July 2021
1984 even though Baxter died in Redwood City in 1936 at the age of 92 and was buried at the foot of the Union soldier statue. His resting place was unmarked until relatives had the stone marker placed on his grave. Men who fought in units from several states are buried in the Redwood City cemetery. Missouri, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois and New York are among the states represented. The remains in the plot include those of George Filkins, a lieutenant who fought at Missionary Ridge, Nashville and Stone River; and Lt. William Frisbie, who served with the 19th infantry of the Wisconsin Volunteers at such bloody battles as York River, Suffolk and James River. For years after the Civil War, veterans’ groups failed to hold ceremonies at Union Cemetery because no one was buried there who served in what was then called “the War for the Union.” By 1887 there were six veterans’ graves to decorate with flowers. The increase led the GAR, composed of Civil War Union Army veterans, to buy the land for the present plot.
The Tradition Begins According to newspaper accounts, former Civil War soldiers first took part in Decoration Day services at the cemetery in 1886. It didn’t take long for this practice to become a tradition. By 1927 hundreds attended observances that included marching bands. In that year, four Civil War veterans “rode in machines” during a parade “and occupied seats on the platform,” according to newspaper reports. The San Mateo County Times & Gazette’s coverage of the 1890 Decoration Day ceremonies reported a procession of patriotic citizens marched from Broadway (then called Bridge Street) and Main to the cemetery where the statue of the soldier was decorated with garlands of evergreens and roses. The statue, which over the years would be vandalized several times, was erected in 1889 and includes these words: “To the members of California’s patriotic dead who served during the War for the Union.” Near the base are the words “mustered out,” a military term meaning discharged. In 1969 vandals toppled the statue, leaving it in pieces scattered on the ground. During the next 30 years, volunteers wearing Civil War uniforms would often mount the pedestal, standing in for the missing statue. Eventually, a public fund drive raised $30,000 for a replica replacement which was erected in 1999. There’s some irony connected to the statue: The replica sculptor was the president of the Redwood City chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. C CORRECTION: The May column on the Dumbarton rail bridge said Dumbarton Point was the western terminus of the span. It is the eastern end.
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