We offer our congratulations to our Oakdale High School Mustang football team members on having defeated every 2011 opponent thus far this year by over 25 points. Valley Home is very proud that three of the team members are from Valley Home! Austin Jones, Jordan McCain and Nick Garza, all three young men grew up in Valley Home and attended Valley Home School.
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You can feel the excitement in the air as the Holiday Season approaches! Our Valley Home 4-H president Jenna Heaton sent word that even though the group’s Christmas Parade is still four weeks away, plans are already under way! Our Community Service 4-H group is planning a wonderful old fashioned Christmas celebration to be held on Saturday, December 10th. The group’s annual lighted Christmas Parade will usher in the dazzling Holiday event! The lighted parade will be followed by a community tree lighting in the park. Immediately after the community tree comes alive with hundreds of glistening lights, everyone is invited to the Valley Home Gym for a delicious potluck dinner. The gym will be transformed into a winter Wonderland filled with laughter and long time friendships. During dinner a very special “Santa Corner” will welcome everyone to the delights of a sparkling Christmas in Valley Home. Be sure to mark your calendars and plan to attend this special event and enjoy a delicious dinner with our 4-H members and Valley Home friends and neighbors.
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Happy Birthday to Kathy Bryhni and Vicki Dickens. These two hard working Valley Home residents were surprised with birthday festivities held in their honor on Sunday afternoon at Cindy’s Restaurant in Oakdale. The two honorees were each presented with a binder containing Valley Home history articles written by local historian, Glenn Burghardt that had appeared in the Oakdale Leader. Attending the festivities for Kathy and Vicki were Valley Home friends and neighbors, Winnie Mullins, Kate Hart, Nancy Osmundson, Tony & Claire Taro, Don Taro, Linnie Keaster, Berta Mullins and Glenn & Laura Burghardt.
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Valley Home residents were saddened to receive word that Evelyn Neubaum passed away on October 28th. Evelyn was quite active in many organizations, and taught English and reading at various times in both Oakdale and Riverbank schools. She was also quite active in a number of organizations, including the American Association of University Women since graduating from college, and also a founding member of the National Organization for women (NOW). Evelyn will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with her. A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County, 2172 Kiernan Avenue, in Modesto on Sunday, November 13th at 3p.m.
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Glenn & Laura Burghardt were taken on a trip to the Bay Area by their son, Michael and grandson, Jeff to enjoy a day of embracing their memories of the past. The first was to find the USS Iowa, a WWII battleship built in 1940 which last month had been resurrected from its home in the Suisun Bay moth ball fleet and moved to a Point Richmond pier where she would go through extensive refurbishment and restoration Over the next few months before making her way to a new home at the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro. There the Iowa will be an interactive naval museum experience that honors and illustrates the positive contribution of this battleship and its crew at critical moments in American history.
Something that large should have been easy to find but it was not. After its location was found getting close to this ship was impossible due to fencing. Seeing this last available battleship was well worth the search. Both Glenn and Laura could remember the Iowa being in the newspaper headlines during their youth years.
The second part of the day was spent at the Golden State Model Railroad Museum also in Point Richmond. Here the foursome viewed 10,000 sq. feet of model trains recreating the remembered trains and the trips of the past. Of particular interest where the models of Key System street cars that they both had used to travel to downtown Oakland and the Key System trains that crossed the S.F. bay bridge. Days of long ago jumped out at them and a wonderful day of memories had been had.
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Check out the website valleyhomecenter.org to view a collection of historic photos of Valley Home and its residents and other things going on in Valley Home.
