Village Chat - August 15 2020
Holly Locke, a Kenwood School alumna (2000), recently graduated from U.C. Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. She took the Bar Exam last month and has been accepted by the Air Force, Army and Navy as a JAG (Judge Advocate General's Corps). Holly will be commissioned a First Lieutenant or Lieutenant JG (Navy) as soon as the bar results are known, and then attend either the Air Force, Army or Navy Officer Training school and afterwards Military Judge Advocate Staff Officers Course. Her parents, Barney and Cindy Locke, say they are very, very proud! Congratulations, Holly!
Aug. 31 will be the 100th birthday of a very special Kenwoodian, Eleanor Nixon. A Kenwood resident for over 60 years, she is, as Dee Sand writes, "a strong, generous and loving person." Eleanor moved to Kenwood in 1958 with her husband Bob and two daughters, to the old turkey ranch at the end of Kenilworth, back when it was only a gravel road with two houses at the end. Loving their fabulous view from the hill, they set out over the next 10 years to develop Kenilworth Estates. They built roads to 15 building sites on the 50+ acres and formed a road committee. Bob was instrumental in forming the Lawndale Mutual Water Company to supply water to each site, and brought water up from the valley to the storage tank at the top of the hill.
Much later the Nixons built a home in Bennett Valley. Bob passed away in 2014, and Eleanor continued to live there until the house was destroyed in the 2017 fire. She now lives in Rincon Valley.
Eleanor joined the Kenwood Community Church in the late 1950s and has been an active member ever since. The Nixons helped build the social hall at the back of the parish building. Their daughter Debbie designed and planted the garden in the back (with her parents help) for weddings and social gatherings. Eleanor has been a Sunday School teacher, a board member, a deacon, a wedding manager, and in many other supportive roles over the last 60 years.
Eleanor is visited often by her many church friends. With social distancing, best birthday wishes will be from 10-11 a.m. on the porch of her home at 184 Boas Dr. in Santa Rosa. Cards are welcome by all. Happy Birthday, Eleanor!
The ladies with P.E.O. Chapter JO in Oakmont are thrilled to learn that another of their student candidates has been awarded a P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education $3,000 grant. She's Carla Martinez, a SRJC graduate who is now a Bachelor of Nursing student at Sonoma State University. Good luck, Carla!
Lauren Feldman, daughter of Oakmonters Maureen and Joel Feldman, has finally opened her long-awaited restaurant in Sonoma. It's called Valley, and it's right on the Sonoma Plaza. This has really been a labor of love for Lauren and her fiancé Tanner Walle, along with chefs Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor, serving locally-sourced, seasonal comfort food. Lauren said that the City of Sonoma has been really great about letting restaurants set up tables outside, and they have a lovely outdoor patio. They're at 487 1st St. West, 934-8403, www.valleybarandbottle.com, and on Facebook and Instagram. Check it out!
For the first time in forever, Kenwood's own Rose Queen, Cathy Fletcher, won't return from the Sonoma County Fair with a huge handful of blue ribbons for her roses, dahlias, jellies and jams - Best In Show, Best in Class, Best in the Universe... So, the Kenwood Press hereby bestows the Best in Kenwood award on Cathy for the incredible beauty she brings to her corner of town. Congratulations, Cathy!
And here are a couple nice photos from readers. Beth Brannock was walking dogs on the Sonoma Developmental Center property when she snapped this adorable picture.
And the Glen Ellen Forum Projects Committee has been at it again, this time painting a mural featuring an egret beneath the bridge, so you'll have to search for it.
That's all for now. Thanks, everyone, for sending in your news and photos for Village Chat. It's easy to do. Just email ann@kenwoodpress.com, or call 833-5155 and chat me up! - AQP
