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Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Friend, Volunteer, Neighbor, Christian, Cancer Survivor.
"She was a lot of woman."
No stranger to hardship, Arline grew up as an Italian American during the Great Depression, the fifth of nine children, in Mountain View, California. She married her husband Jacob and had four children, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. Jacob built their home in our South of Forest neighborhood in 1950. Unfortunately Arline became an early widow when her husband passed away from ALS when he was only 46 years old. She had a cosmetology school degree, but she went back to college to earn her A.S. degree in Culinary Arts to support her family. Arline worked up until her mid 80s.
Arline loved to help others and volunteered at O’Connor hospital for 46 years. She started in 1942 on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift as an operator. When she was 93, she was honored for 10,000 hours of service. Most of that time spent in the Emergency Room. She was also a Eucharistic Minister at her beloved St. Martin Parish Church, member of the Italian Catholic Federation, member the Mountain View Historical Association, History San Jose and Gold Star Wives. Arline also volunteered at the Skills Plus Stroke School helping classmates and fund-raising.
So when Arline wasn’t so busy being generous and taking care of others, what did she like to do? Arline loved to cook, and she loved her garden. You still could not get her off of a ladder picking fruit in her back yard up until she was about 95 years old. She made some powerful apricot brandy and could can the best peaches and apricots in town. She liked to have friends over for dinner. Arline loved to go to and have yard sales. She was a devout Catholic and attended Mass each morning and every Saturday.
Arline was a member of the California Assn. of Porcelain Artists and a gifted china painter. She loved dolls and was a member of the Garden City Doll Club. Her favorite doll was the Kewpie. When she was 90 years old she and her friend Bunny, 92 years old, drove to Branson, Missouri, to attend the “Kewpie Convention.” They were gone for two weeks. She also did some travel to Europe in her younger years.
She had many friends both young and old and never missed any of our neighborhood events. Arline always helped with the National Night Out annual event. She loved to eat polenta at Tony & Alba's and cherished our annual birthday celebrations for her there. She never said no if you invited her to dinner or over for a glass of wine. Many of us have spent a lot of time with Arline over the years. Time that is cherished and will not be forgotten. Until we meet again Miss Arline….you are missed
Starting in early October, the neighborhood voted to select the board to lead SOFNA in 2021. With the Pandemic in full force, SOFNA offered on-line, at-home, and in-person voting. The official count was: 6 voted in-person on Oct 6th, 4 voted at-home and dropped off their completed ballots, and 21 voted on-line using SurveyMonkey.com, for a total of 31 valid ballots cast.
With the ballots counted, the board for 2021 will include Cindy Baldanzi, Keith Bowman, Charlie Federmann, Royanna Gazlay, Jon Hennig, Tracie Johnson, Charleen Korfman, Roland Schulz, and John Shores.
At the first board meeting in 2021, via Zoom, the new board was installed. With only nine names to fill eleven available slots, the board entertained a motion to add Audrey Lovato to the board, giving SOFNA ten board members for 2021.
One of the first acts of the new board was to elect officers. The board unanimously selected the following officers for 2021. President -- Tracie Johnson, VicePresident -- Cindy Baldanzi, Secretary -- Royanna Gazlay, and Treasurer -- John Shores. Thank you to all the neighbors who participated in the election and congratulations to the new board and officers.
By Royanna Gazlay
Tony & Alba’s Pizza and Pasta has been family owned and operated for 3 generations since 1982. Al and Dianna Vallorz own and operate Tony & Alba’s Pizza and Pasta on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Interview with Dianna Vallorz, April 23, 2021.
The pandemic in the South Bay officially began in March, 2020. Tony & Alba’s never closed their doors. When they were told there would be no more indoor dining, they just continued with delivery and started curbside pick-up. They only made minimum modifications to their menu, were able to retain their staff, and supported the community in many ways. Did you know that prior to the pandemic, not only did they support the annual South of Forest Neighborhood Association fundraiser, they supported well over 100 other fundraisers?
During the pandemic, they also donated bag lunches to staff of all of our local hospitals: Kaiser, Valley Med, Good Samaritan, O’Connor, El Camino Hospitals in both Mt. View and Los Gatos and the Public Health Department. In addition, they donated to St. Vincent De Paul, Blue Star Moms and the Italian Christian Federation, and gave away free pizzas to 70+ seniors. On Mother’s day they had a “special” and the line for pick-up trailed all the way out to Winchester Boulevard. I am sure Al has a picture of that on Facebook.
Tony & Alba’s was used and still is used as a “store-front” to support other businesses as well. Roma Bakery, Holy Cannoli Bakery, Sonya’s Sweet & Spicy Jalapenos, Mike & Nicki’s Honey, Girl Scout Cookies, and Jodi By Golly Face Masks.
I asked Dianna, how many changes they had to make to their business operations during the pandemic. She said that they added more ways to order on-line to minimize the use of credit and debit cards, and handling money for safety reasons. Al and Dianna used Chow Now and Door Dash prior to the pandemic, but added Seamless, GrubHub and Uber Eats. What about the pandemic way of business will they keep? Curbside Pick-up. When will indoor dining be available? When owners and staff have all been fully vaccinated.
Do you know that Al is very active on Facebook? Also, Al and Dianna have been recognized, for all their hard work and generosity, along with their staff and family. They have been named Santa Clara District 6 COVID Community Heroes (6/20/20), featured in People Magazine (April, 2020), San Jose Mercury News (3/17/20), and ABC7 news (3/17/20).
Thank you for your friendship, service, and generosity to all of us from the South of Forest Neighborhood Association.
By Tracie Johnson
Before March 13th, 2020, I would go to the Central YMCA 3-4 times a week to swim laps, take a Yoga class, or maybe use the weight room. I enjoyed the variety of activities they offered. My justification for this was to stay in shape so I could go hiking.
The hiking was only happening occasionally, maybe once a month. Now that I’m not going to the Gym, I’m actually hiking more!
So, I’m walking more… a lot more! And based on what I’m seeing, many of my neighbors are too, which is great! I try to walk the neighborhood once a day. I take different routes and sometimes walk in the North of Forest or Winchester Orchard neighborhoods. Or, I will walk to City parks such as our own Parkway Park, Henry Schmidt Park, or I even walked over to Central Park during the summer. And my partner Jane and I will go for a local hike almost every weekend.
We have hundreds of parks within Santa Clara County and surrounding areas. City Parks, County Parks, and others. Recently we walked in a new park for us, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park in San Jose near Almaden Lake. It is a beautiful city park filled with oak rees, trails, and wildlife. I’ve lived in this area my entire life, and I’m still finding parks I haven’t visited before. Exercising and being out in nature really help sleep and combat the pandemic blues.
Here are some resources to find local parks to visit. Many of them have wide fire-road trails that make passing at a distance easy, or some provide one-way trails to also help with distancing. If you drive to a new park, have a back-up park in mind in case your first choice is too crowded for your comfort. Santa Clara County, East Bay, and San Mateo all have their own “7-hike challenge” to introduce you to parks in their jurisdictions
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
California State Parks and Recreation
City of Santa Clara City Parks
The South of Forest neighborhood has experienced a lot of new construction over the summer, fall, and winter months, and with the new homes and new rental units have come a good number of new neighbors. If you have recently moved in, welcome! The Pandemic has forced the cancellation of some of the activities we rely on in normal times to meet new neighbors – the annual National Night Out barbecue and potluck, the neighborhood ice cream social, the volunteer day and picnic in Parkway Park. We look forward to holding those events later in 2021 and 2022, and to meeting new neighbors and catching up with longtime residents we haven’t seen in a while.
In the meantime, we extend a warm welcome to all of you who have joined the community over the past year. If you haven’t already joined the South of Forest Google Group and the SOFNA NextDoor community to receive neighborhood updates in your inbox, please see the notes below about how to do that. We’re glad you’re here, and we look forward to becoming acquainted!
To join the SOFNA Google Group, send an e-mail with your full name and street address to: south_of_forest+subscribe@googlegroups.com
To join the NextDoor community, send an e-mail with your full name and street address (and mention NextDoor) to: sofna.info@gmail.com
See you on-line!
Emergencies or Crimes in progress: 911
Santa Clara Non-emergency Dispatch: 408-615-5580
San Jose Non-emergency Dispatch: 408-277-8900
Graffiti Hotline: 408-615-9495
For a more extensive SCPD Contact List, click here
Use the Online Service Request to report graffiti, illegal dumping, a streetlight outage, abandoned vehicles, etc.
Community Response Team: 408-615-4745
The Community Response Team (CRT) manages a caseload pertaining mainly to "quality of life" issues and offenses. CRT cases are quite varied, usually involve neighborhood complaints or disputes, and have included such issues as drug dealing, offensive animals, and chronically loud parties or music.
The CRT works with the community to solve problems, utilizing both traditional and non-traditional means. Traditional methods include arrests and citations while non-traditional tactics can include administrative fines or mediation. In many instances, the CRT uses state and/or City public nuisance laws and regulations to hold property owners accountable for unresolved problems. The CRT works very closely with other Santa Clara Police units and City Departments, allied law enforcement agencies, State agencies, and Federal agencies to creatively and effectively solve problems.
Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) 1-800-704-0900
Focus on Outreach – Abode Services – offers housing opportunities / resources.
Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) – mental health issues (County –Behavioral Health Services
These teams respond to individuals in crisis that exhibit mental health symptoms, may be suicidal or at-risk and need an evaluation for psychiatric hospitalization. Teams are made of up licensed clinicians and therapists with training and expertise in crisis response.
Abode Services
Largest homeless housing and services provider in the Bay Area
Adobe Services: 510-657-7409
info@abodeservices.org
www.abodeservices.org/santa-clara-county
Neighborhood businesses are invited to advertise in these SOFNA Newsletters. If residents know others who would like to advertise their services, please pass on the following information. Advertisement rates are as follows:
If interested, please contact Cindy Baldanzi (see below).
Tracie Johnson -- President
Cindy Baldanzi -- Vice President
Royanna Gazlay -- Secretary
John Shores -- Treasurer
Keith Bowman
Charlie Federmann
Jon Hennig
Charleen Korfman
Audrey Louvet
Roland Schulz
All residents are welcome at Board Meetings, which are currently held on-line (Zoom). Check the SOFNA calendar for the time and dates. Board Members welcome comments or questions and can be contacted at sofna.info@gmail.com
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