This opinion was contributed by Hollister resident, Judy Gansen. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. Lea este artículo en español aqui.
My husband and I came to Hollister in 1971 when he was hired as a teacher and football coach at San Benito High School. We lived here for 35 years until after his retirement. We then spent 18 years in Eugene, Oregon. I always thought of Hollister as my home and wanted to return. After my husband’s death, I came “home.” I have been back now for two years.
A lot has changed!! Some good but most, not so good! The nice small town that Hollister used to be was changed drastically when the state started requiring rural communities to build new housing. Those houses were slapped up without the infrastructure to handle the sudden growth. Now, after many years of mismanagement at the state, county and city levels, Hollister is in a financial crisis.
I miss the Hollister I knew and loved 40-50 years ago!! I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix all the problems. It upsets me to see all the fighting and blaming of those past and present who either caused the problems or are now trying to fix them. We need people to run for office who truly love Hollister.
Hopefully we can survive the current financial crisis and come out of it once again as the thriving community that we were in years past.
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