There were two visitors, Karen Anderson and Russ Klein.
December birthday celebrants were greeted and acknowledged.
Lydia Norcia announced that one of the Rotarians, Harvey Knoernschild had passed.
Some club announcements, follow up, and updates by Andrew Stearns: Henry Vitkovich for the Presidents brunch program at December 15 meeting, Lisa Cheskin for the family giving tree, and Patti van der Burg for the upcoming WineFest. Thank you to the many club member sponsors!!
Gae La Torre also announced that there will be no first Thursday for this month. Historically and traditionally, John and Devonne Pencer host this event and welcome Rotarians at their lovely home in San Jose.
20/20
- Tina Orsi-Hartigan was so appreciative of the gift certificate given to her by the club 5 years ago. She and her husband Jim spent a nice getaway at a resort in Humboldt County
- Dan Snyder was so happy to announce that his daughter had just turned 17 - worth celebrating on the way to adulthood
- Hal Rosen shared his family’s adventure cooking the turkey on Thanksgiving Day
- Marty Fishman shared his kayaking adventure at Moss Landing
- Doug Brent and his wife just celebrated their wedding anniversary
Speaker for the day is Arturo Villareal, a San Jose native and Ethnic Studies professor.
His book, History San Jose, highlights changes to the history made by Jose Manuel Gonzales, a poblador/settler and second Alcalde Mayor of San Jose, California from 1785-1789. He talked about his political accomplishments, the off-forgotten social and political role during the Spanish Colonial era.
He also talked about the history of some of the missions in California that were built during the said period. A few historical landmarks were identified and illustrated in the history particularly the downtown San Jose area. This includes the St. Joseph’s Church on Market St. built in 1803, originally was an adobe but became a basilica-also the first church in California built of the mission.
