The Watsonville Woman’s Club wants to thank the community for coming to the 100th birthday party of our Clubhouse. We had a good turnout, and wonderful appetizers from Monterey Bay Caterers. The Grocery Outlet kindly came to pour wine. Alice Bankhead arranged a wonderful party, and Roger Serpa worked hard to get us spruced up. Thanks to the Register-Pajaronian as well, especially Steve Bankhead and Erik Chalhoub, for spreading the word and taking wonderful pictures. CJ Elizabeth really helped with her great articles too.
The Woman’s Club added 13 new members this year! We are always welcoming new members, and we encourage people to get in touch with us. To inquire about renting the Clubhouse, contact Alice Bankhead at 722-2087. To inquire about membership, contact CJ at 359-5814. We have income from renting our hall, and anything left over from maintenance goes to charitable organizations and scholarship students selected by our Foundation. Come join us. Once a month we have a great meal and program.
Thanks again for coming to our party on Aug. 26.
As we wait, we see on local TV that 100 policemen and their vehicles from across Texas have arrived in Houston in a parade of compassion and selflessness showing unbelievable support for their fellow officers, a brotherhood. More police units from other states are expected by the end of the week, up to 650. Our police officers have been working tirelessly, some for 24 to 36 hours straight. They are badly overworked and understaffed. You can see the fatigue on their faces, yet they carry on. These are unsung heroes. Many have their own homes under water and have not seen their families since Friday. Others not only have homes under water but their personal cars are in the police parking lot submerged and still they carry on rescuing and helping the people of Houston, victims of Hurricane Harvey.
“Houston Proud” is a term I have come to like very much. It is inspirational, coming together putting aside differences and cultures for common cause. That is precisely what Houston and Houstonians are doing daily. We salute our law enforcement.
Today the sun came out … hallelujah! We hear cars on our street and it is music to our ears. We called to see if several businesses were open. Sadly, the person that answered said they had been flooded and were in the process of cleaning up. Now the long and painful road of recovery begins.
We decide to drive around and see what is open. Traffic is heavy and very slow. We are not the only ones who have cabin fever. Every street that was flooded has piles of trash and soaked belongings lined up on lawns for miles. Cars are parked with trunks and doors open, victims of Hurricane Harvey. Shards of furniture and personal belongings lay in piles like broken dolls no longer needed. Stores have their doors open but sadly, often not for business. You can see homes that have sheetrock torn out halfway indicating where the water stopped rising. We see families and volunteers carrying appliances and sofas out to the piles of debris. As we travel my mind flashes back to when I (Jane) was part of 2006 Katrina Hurricane Relief with Twin Lakes Church in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey struck there also! We wind up at a Brisket House barbecue that is open and see a few customers there. We notice they have the same look of disbelief on their faces that we have.
It has been a week since Harvey hit Texas. The floods came within two blocks from our home. This time our neighborhood survived. Today we start helping people from our church whose homes flooded. We will be feeding the volunteers and helping where we are needed. We have several organizations partnering with our church who will need housing. We are on the list as a host house.
What a blessing our local leadership has been. Mayor Sylvester Turner, Police Chief Art Acevedo, our Fire Department, First Responders, we can’t say enough about them. In Houston … we are a family over six million strong. Hurricane Harvey showed us that together we can make a difference in each others’ lives.