How about a hike for the rest of us?
Your poll rated The Pinnacles first and Fremont Peak second as
the best two hikes in San Benito County. I agree, but both these
lovely destinations are an hour’s drive away for nearly all of
us.
How about a hike for the rest of us?
Your poll rated The Pinnacles first and Fremont Peak second as the best two hikes in San Benito County. I agree, but both these lovely destinations are an hour’s drive away for nearly all of us. Our county badly needs a good hiking trail close enough for kids to work off their energy after school and parents to loosen up before or after work. Ideally it would be suitable for joggers, bikes and horses as well. Also, ideally, it would be a dirt path through a natural landscape. But reality may require compromises. In my estimation, a good close-in hiking trail is the one big amenity Hollister lacks.
One possible location might be a stretch of riverbed between Hiway 156 and Tres Pinos. Perhaps another is along the railroad right-of-way north of town, or maybe PG&E has a suitable utility easement. Help would be needed from the city and county to identify likely alternatives and any legal obstacles such as liability.
The first requirement, however, would be some measure of community interest and then a group of citizens motivated enough to pursue the project and work out the many problems and complications it would involve. Is any one willing to help with this?
John Blake
Hollister
Take a second look at hotel
I read the article in the Pinnacle about the possibility of building a hotel on the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets. Admittedly the corner is the worst for traffic. In the early 1890s we built a hotel next to the Hartman Hotel where the World Savings Bank is today. Two hotels and the Model Bakery went back to where the Briggs Alley is today.
In 1935 the building was razed and was replaced by a new building that was the Purity Store. This led to a bigger store when Purity put up a larger store, one that was eventually purchased by the city of Hollister.
What this is leading to is the poor location for the proposed hotel downtown. My suggestion for the hotel would be to locate on the southeast corner of Fifth and East streets where the old post office was, much closer to the business section of Hollister between Fourth and Sixth. Plan ahead. Please do not saddle us, the taxpayers, with this hotel dream.
The Holland Hotel was a failure in the very heart of Hollister. The hotel housed a bar, barber and a bank on the bottom floor, rooms on the second floor for doctors, etc., and the top two floors for guests.
Jack O’Donnell
Hollister
A dive? That’s hardly the case
I am sure when you were composing the write ups for the Best Of articles your intent was not to paint an unflattering picture of my establishment. Calling my place a dive right off the bat was not something that I appreciated. You may think (a disreputable entertainment establishment) is a flattering description but I disagree. Just last week I waited on a man who has lived in Hollister for sixteen years and was paying his first visit to Johnny’s. When I asked him why he hadn’t come in sooner he said that he was afraid it was a dive biker bar. He told me that he was pleasantly surprised to find out what a nice place it is. After reading your article I doubt that people who have never been to Johnny’s would even consider enjoying their New Years Eve dinner here. We have candles, flowers, table cloths and linen napkins as well as some of the best prime rib, lobster or filet mignon you could ever hope to eat. Your article could very well deter new customers from enjoying my place at all. Please choose your words more carefully when describing a restaurant. The folks who voted my place the best know that it is not a dive but there are plenty of potential customers out there that do not.
Charisse Tyson
Hollister
