A Tool Shed, Inc.: Expanding Post-Pandemic, By Edita McQuary

By Edita McQuary

A Tool Shed, Inc.

Expanding Post-Pandemic

Somewhere in heaven, greatgrandparents Robert and Geneva McArdell are extremely proud of Robert and Barbara Pedersen and their kids, Rob W. and Meghann Lovlein, owners and operators of the 77-year-old family business which they founded in 1945. In spite of tough times, the Pedersens are adding another store to their list of seven South Bay area stores, this time in Greenfield in Monterey County.

The Greenfield store will open soon with seven employees to serve the expanding housing and agricultural communities there and in the surrounding cities. It is located right off Highway 101.

The front of the store with its sign is visible to 101 traffic – a great advertisement.

“We felt this was a good time to expand our business into this underserved area. As we do at all of our locations, we are proud to serve the public and are looking forward to becoming part of the Greenfield community,” said Robert.

A Tool Shed, Inc. has stores in Campbell, Morgan Hill, Hollister, Salinas, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Watsonville. They carry a full range of construction, agricultural, and landscaping equipment.

Whether you need an air compressor, backhoe, chain saw or log splitter, they have these tools as well as trucks, trailers, auto tools, generators, forklifts, manlifts, light towers, reach lifts, and mixers. If you need it, they likely have it!

For those living in south Santa Cruz County, their Watsonville store is located at 285 West Beach St., telephone 831-722-0334.

This family-owned and operated business prides itself on honesty and excellent customer service. They have a total staff of just under 100 employees, most of whom are long-term employees.

They are also a community-minded company and support Veterans Foundations in Campbell and Los Gatos, The American Cancer Society, The Autism Society, as well as Roaring Camp Railroad, Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, the San Jose Giants, and the Santa Cruz Warriors.

In this area, A Tool Shed Equipment Rentals is located at 3700 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, at the corner of 17th Avenue across from Staples, telephone 831-4777133. Hours: Mon-Sat 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Check their website for other locations: www.AToolShed.com n

Rob & Meghann hold an old photo of A Tool Shed, at the intersection on the left.

“Fair Barns” from page 14

Fairs in Salinas Valley and Chowchilla have invested in new event centers.

New construction at the fairgrounds in Watsonville would allow for a service road wider than what exists.

Kegebein sees this as an opportunity to reduce the odds of a mass shooting like the one at the 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival where the gunman used bolt cutters to cut through a wire fence and evade security screening.

He also sees a new facility as a revenue generator, rented for equestrian events, trade shows and other activities while being available for emergency housing for livestock, as needed during the 2020 CZU lightning fire. (Santa Cruz County has a contract with the fair for emergency housing.)

Rental demand is high at the Santa Cruz County fairgrounds, with bookings full for the rest of the year, according to Kegebein.

In the spring, the fairgrounds hosted Burning Man Santa Cruz, attracting a reported 3,000 attendees for laser light shows, art, music and camping.

Members of the fair board’s livestock committee recommended temporary facilities for this year’s fair and pursuing a new multipurpose building for the future.

For Kyle Middleton, safety is the top priority.

“We’ve got to move with the times,” said Danny Naranjo.

The 4-H youth showing pigs, sheep and goats will have to provide their own water this year, a requirement at some fairs elsewhere.

Removal of the barns was estimated to cost $25,000 if done by fairgrounds foundation volunteers with rental tents at fair time estimated to cost $10,000 to $20,000 a year.

Critics

Not everyone supported Kegebein’s proposal.

Phillip Carranco, whose daughter raised 300 chickens in Aromas for the fair, had concerns about the accuracy of the scale to weigh animals for market, which requires calibration on a steady surface, which the barns provided.

Aptos resident Becky Steinbruner wants the California Construction Authority, which provides finance, design and construction services for health and safety and other projects at fairgrounds and evaluates risks and potential issues, to be involved.

In May, Randy Crabtree Jr., executive director of the California Construction Authority, emailed her to say, “Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds and the State of California is ultimately responsible for construction scheduling and facility planning. CCA remains ready to assist when requested by any of these bodies.”

Steinbruner also wants the fair board to have a public discussion on proposed agreements between the fair and the county Board of Supervisors on a 38.5-acre property at 188 Whiting Road next to the fairgrounds where the County intends to create equitable access to athletic fields, hiking, and healthy recreation. The price is $2.31 million, with a 12-month purchase option ending Nov. 12, 2022.

As for her concerns about emergency housing during fires and other evacuation scenarios, Kegebein told the fair board that there are plans to provide emergency shelter for animals should disaster strike.

Disaster struck Thursday with the Anzar fire in Aromas, a rural community of 2,600 that straddles the borders of San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

At noon Friday, Jessica Ayala, who lives in Aromas with a home address in Santa Cruz County and San Benito County at the foot of her property, emailed Santa Cruz County officials of her safety concerns relating to the Anzar fire.

“The people on the Santa Cruz County side have not received any instructions on what to do if we need to evacuate, have we been forgotten? We live across the street from each other and live in two different county’s,” she explained. “If we need help and are evacuated, is our designated evacuation facility the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds?”

She added, “Many slept with their animals in their trailers over night in fear of last-minute evacuation, some don’t have trailers to evacuate their animals.”

CalFire’s San Benito-Monterey unit was in charge and the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds was booked for a horse show July 18-25.

As the Anzar fire grew, some residents were ordered evacuate while others were under an evacuation warning.

Anzar High School at 2000 San Juan Highway, was designated an evacuation center, with San Benito County animal control providing portable kennels. The Red Cross reported 30 people were displaced.

As of Tuesday morning, CalFire reported the fire was 95% contained and residents allowed to return home. n

“Eggplant and Sauce” from page 19

When Mom started the frying, the thick, heady aroma of garlic fried in fruity olive oil floated into the dining room and the sound gave Dad and me our cover.

“Come on, Joey,” Dad finally said. “Pay attention to da game.” I felt defeated. I was getting hungrier by the minute. But if mom was still frying slices, dinner was a long way off.

“Come on, Joey,” he said. “Play.”

Just then Laura burst back into the dining room.

“When’s dinner?” Laura said as she walked over to the Victrola and pulled an LP out of its sleeve.

“Laura,” Dad said, not even turning his head to look at her. “Put on ‘Fever’ one more time and I’m gonna give you a shot in the head.” She had played her favorite song so often you could almost hear the throbbing bass line before the needle hit vinyl.

But instead, we heard the sweet and gentle groove of Julie London singing “Cry Me a River.” When Laura started to whine about dinner again, Dad said, “Shut up,” only louder this time. “We’ll eat when we eat. Ya mutha’s cookin’ her heart out. Joey and I are pitchin’ quarters.”

So, Laura turned on her heals and headed for the door.

“Where ya goin’,” Dad said. “Dinner’s gonna be ready in a . . . “

But it was too late. Laura had already slammed the door behind her and, instantly, another record clicked down the spindle and onto the turntable and the sultry voice of Peggy Lee filled the apartment. Never knew how much I loved you. Never knew how much I cared.

“I’m gonna kill her,” Dad said, sounding like a ferocious jungle cat ready to pounce. In our house you could get smacked for much less. And for what? For playing ‘Fever’ for only about the thousandth time?

The chaos drove me crazy. I often had to check out for a while, escaping into the tones and textures of our living room, the same splash and color that Mom used in her cooking. A pillow of every shape and size, covered in teal and burgundy fabric with a fuzzy fringe around the edges. Drapes of a floral design. A rug of dots and paisley.

Protected by all the textures around me, I was also hypnotized by the sizzle of eggplant frying, the sweet smell of garlic.

“Snap out of it, Joey,” Dad said, but I couldn’t budge. Finally, he tugged my arm, and taunted me with his sing-song routine: “Na, na, na, NaNa. You gotta get a leaner to beat me.”

I tried to deflect. “But what about the tomato sauce, Mom?” I yelled in to her. “Soon, Joey, soon,” Ma said. But it didn’t work to settle Dad. Or my stomach.

“Come on, Joey. It’s your turn. The game fa cryin’ out loud. Ya gotta get a leaner TA BEAT ME.”

“BEAT YOU,” I thought. It triggered an old memory and the terror those words called up. Instinctively, I raised my arm at Dad. And he exploded.

“Don’t raise ya hand to me, mister,” Dad said, reaching down to touch his belt. And the word “mister”—clothed in the steely, knife-like edge of his voice? Would it

Joe Ortiz Memoir: Episodes & Recipes

Joe Ortiz’s memoir, Pastina — My

Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s

Good Soup, became the framework for the musical Escaping Queens, which ran at Cabrillo Stage in 2012 and 2013.

In July, The Capitola Soquel Times began the exclusive publication of various episodes from the book — including a recipe that helps shape each installment. You may have read one of the pieces in the Times a few months ago entitled, “Pastina, Food for the Soul — The Night Freddie the Bookie Showed Up with the Gun.”

The idea of weaving anecdotes about food with an ongoing narrative came to Joe after reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

“Using recipe descriptions to help tell a story seemed the perfect way to weave the angst of a father’s chaotic life with the salvation of a mother’s cooking,” Ortiz explains. “For me, the soothing aromas and descriptions of my mom’s food became the salve to assuage my father’s abusive actions, and the ironic humor of it all helped to dull the pain.” n

Mom’s Simple Red Sauce

6 to 8 medium Italian plum tomatoes 1/4 cup pureed or chopped garlic 4 to 5 anchovy filets, mashed 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil

Set a pot of water over high heat. When it comes to a boil, gently drop in the tomatoes for 2 to 4 minutes, until the skins blister. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out juice and seeds and remove the skins. Crush the tomatoes with your hands into 1-inch pieces. And set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan, cook the olive oil, garlic, anchovies, and parsley over medium low heat until lightly browned (about 4 to 5 minutes). Gradually ladle in half of the tomatoes and stir another few minutes to make a dark puree. Add the rest of crushed tomatoes and cook 20 to 30 minutes on low heat. Cool before using.

be enough to make him erupt like he often did? Like a volcano?

“No, Daddy, No,” I said, trembling. I went back quickly into my trance. Suddenly, a raging white fire blazed in front of my eyes. I wanted to run to Mom. But instead, I froze.

Just then, I heard my mother speaking from the kitchen: “I’m making the tomato sauce now, Joey,” she said. “Come on in and watch. It’s easy.”

Was it Mom’s angelic voice that saved me? Or was it the sauce? n