INTERVIEW

By Chris Murphy

Modesto has so many wonderful people, so many wonderful cultures and best of all, so many great stories. That is really what makes us special. People really get involved and want to be a part of our community here. What we really need to so is make sure that our communities within our communities connect as well. That’s what makes it exciting and interesting.

I have been fortunate to work with and collaborate with so many interesting and accomplished people in the various roles that I play. The City of Modesto has some truly dedicated people that always find ways to be creative in their governmental positions, that operate like the business community and care about the people that they are serving and try to make them successful.

Margaret James is one of those people. She retired in 2021 as Senior Business Analyst for economic development. I found Margaret to be an innovative and intuitive economic developer who was knowledgeable, believed in teamwork, worked to connect new businesses and was passionate about finding ways to grow Modesto and make the business community more successful. Along the way, I discovered so much more about her. Margaret is not your everyday bureaucrat, but a super interesting person with a history that is amazing and I find it crazy that she landed here. She has moved on to her next chapter in life serving the community as the newly elected 2nd VP of the Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP. But wait, there’s more.

Margaret James grew up in a racially divided south, and made her way here via Greyhound bus to Oakland with her mom and her sisters to make a new life. She and her late husband Troyce Key owned the legendary Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland. Troyce was a Rockabilly guitar player from Fresno on Warner Bros Records, dated Connie Stevens back in the day and was on American Bandstand. His band was the house band at the blues club and Margaret was the manager, booked bands and even served as hostess to the economically and racially diverse customers. The club won the WC Handy Award in Memphis (now Blues Music Awards) for Best Blues Club in the country in ‘88 / ’89. And, Eli’s even hosted Comedy Nights for comics/actors who were beginning their careers in the Bay Area like Whoopi Goldberg and Bobcat Goldthwait. Margaret is honored to be included in the Troyce Key catalog at the Oakland African American Museum noting his and Eli’s contributions to Oakland’s music history.