Greetings from the Murphys!
Yes, March is our month. Our area, even with the lack of recent rain, looks nice and green and we all gather together as Irish on St Patrick’s Day so we wish you “Erin Go Bragh” and we welcome you as family and hope to tip a pint or two of Murphys with you. Friends and family are the main reasons we love to gather here in Modesto. Speaking of family, I am proud to be in a family of strong women and it is great to celebrate National Women’s History Month and turn most of this issue over to the women in our community. My wife Becky and I were laser focused on raising smart, friendly, kind and independent women in a fun and creative environment and we are proud of who they have become. They are the foundation of my life and feel so fortunate.
Sadly we lost Becky’s amazing mom Vivian McNulty last month, and she was “the Queen”. She was smart, crafty, funny, beautiful, mischievous and was, as Becky is to our family, the foundation that kept everything going smooth and financially sound. I was so fortunate to have been so welcomed by Vivian into her family family nearly 38 years ago as so much of what I am today is because of this. She fought hard against the ravages of Alzheimer’s and we will miss you Queen Vivian and your spirit will be with our family always.
As we celebrate Modesto’s 150th Anniversary this year, we are focusing on the 1920s, yes the Roaring 20s and the role of women. So much happened in that decade and it was really interesting. First, women won the right to vote and Prohibition started, but needless to say, a huge underground economy was built. This made it interesting. We are an agricultural town so you know there must have been some bathtub booze in the works. We are celebrating the accomplishments and the talent of women in this issue, our business owners, our performers, our advocates and organizers and of course those that have dedicated their talents to their family and kids as well as our turbo professionals So much has been done and we love to celebrate.
We also have to stand up, protect and understand the women in our lives and we need to learn to walk a mile in their shoes. Literally. There is no use for spousal abuse and domestic violence and we have put a team together to Walk A Mile in her shoes to raised funds for Haven Women’s Center. We all need to act to protect those when they are the most vulnerable. Check out our team info on page XX.
We hope you enjoy our look back this year and our peek into the speakeasies of the past and today. There are so many interesting things to do this month, from Civil War recreations, Irish celebrations, great musical fundraisers, more crab feeds and great stage performances and live music throughout our community and all of this wrapped up makes Modesto USA a great place to live. The month wraps up with a Beatles tribute at the State Theatre and you know that can’t be bad.
Great news for our Graffiti Classic fans! You can now donate online at our website. We would love to get your help to build this amazing Graffiti USA experience here in Modesto USA, the home of American Graffiti. You can donate right now at www.graffitiusamuseum.com<www.graffitiusamuseum.com>. Thank you for your support.
Speaking of support; we hope that you support the businesses that advertise here in ModestoView. They are the people that run our restaurants, sponsor our soccer teams and when we do this, we keep our dollars local. We can do this and make our community better with every dollar that stays in town.
Thank you for reading ModestoView and sharing our 100% positive information with your friends and colleagues.
I hope to see you out and about and hope you say Hi!
Chris Murphy
Founder & Publisher, ModestoView
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
