Published in the March 2-15, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Robert Airoldi

Sean Geber gives a loving smooch to Obie during the "Kiss a Pig" contest.

Sean Geber gives a loving smooch to Obie during the “Kiss a Pig” contest.

Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

To raise funds for activities in the Live Oak High School FFA club, three teachers had a kissing contest with a hog, placing their lips on the snout of a pet mini-pig named Obie.

Alyssa Kasden, a Live Oak freshman and a member of the campus’s Future Farmers of America club, said about $170 was collected for the Feb. 10 for-fun fundraiser. Students put dollars and coins in placed jars in various classrooms of participating teachers to pay to see their instructors smooch the swine in front of a crowd of students and teachers in the Live Oak quad.

“It’s FFA National Week which means it’s the week that we celebrate FFA as a whole at our school,” Kasden said. “And all week we’ve been having lunch activities. One of the fun ones that we started earlier in the year was kiss a pig. So, we have our three teachers, and they are kissing the pig.”

The teachers who braved a kiss with Obie were Kayla Wood in third place, Darcy Foster in second place, and Sean Geber in first place.
Good job, FFA, in creating a fun event to introduce educators and other students to one of your barnyard friends.
• • •

MH Historical Society President Kathy Sullivan, left, and Margaret Rodrigues, who was honored.

MH Historical Society President Kathy Sullivan, left, and Margaret Rodrigues, who was honored.

Kudos to the Morgan Hill Historical Society for its popular school field trip program. The society had a special lunch Feb. 23 to unveil with a plaque in its rose garden several people who helped create the program in 2010. Those honored with their names on the plaque are the late Loritta Bonfante-Johnson, Margaret L. Rodriques, Jennifer Tate and youth advisors Cole and Caitlin Meusel who helped “add reality to what kids would want to do on field trips,” said society president Kathy Sullivan.

With the special field trip program, which is held in the spring, children in local elementary schools visit the Villa Mira Monte property and tour the history museum and Morgan Hill House to discover the history of the Native Americans who lived here long ago, as well as learn about the pioneers who helped establish what grew from a small village into the city of Morgan Hill.

“Although too numerous to mention all of the volunteers that make this program possible, it takes a lot of work to put this program on. It’s a labor of love,” Sullivan said. “Bringing history to life for local students leaves an indelible memory and inspires a sense of community in the children’s lives.”

Sullivan estimated that every year an average of about 900 students visit the site on their field trips, so about 4,500 students have participated as well as parent chaperones and the teachers who accompany them.

“We hope that they will come back and remember their field trips and appreciate more what they have in their home town,” Sullivan said.

We do, too, Kathy.
• • •
The Cut-A-Thon held in honor of Jake Peters at Sola Salon last month was a huge success, according to Rebeca Alvarez.

“The generosity was way beyond our expectations. We doubled our goal and total donation was $8,700 and money continues to come in as our clients are still donating on the caring bridge.com/Jake Peters website and www.gofundme.com/jakepeters site,” she told us. “All volunteers worked tremendously hard and had a wonderful time doing what they love.”

The beauticians are thankful for the owners of Sola for allowing them to make this event happen. The Cut-A-Thon was a huge success so they are grateful to clients, friends and families for opening up their hearts and souls to help this young man, Jake Peters, and his family, Alvarez said.