History buff Dan Keith created ‘You Know You’re Really From Morgan Hill …’
Published in the May 11-25, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Morgan Hill Life file photo
Dan Keith with some of his famous sausages at Rocca’s Market in San Martin. Keith has managed the meat and fish department since 2011 and improved the quality of the selections.
Dan Keith has spent his entire life in South County. It’s that longtime connection to the region that has peaked his passion in local history. To share the fun and friendly stories of the area, a few years ago he created a Facebook page titled “You Know You’re Really From Morgan Hill When….” The popular page joins the past with the present with historic photos, updates on projects in town and discussion from locals about what’s happening.
When a photo of the recently refurbished Granada Theater marquee was posted, someone responded: “Lots of great memories there. Glad to hear it’s not going away!”
“My father was one of the first builders here in the 1950s and ’60s and early ’70s,” the now 56-year-old father of one daughter said looking through old newspapers and documents. “I enjoy learning about the history here.”
He also learns more about the area’s history running the meat and fish department at family-run Rocca’s Market in San Martin where he knows most customers by name and they know him.
“People come in and we talk about all kinds of things in the past and what’s going on now,” he said.
Keith’s path to the working at Rocca’s began when he quit Live Oak High School as a junior to work for his father, a local general contractor. He got married in 1980 and continued in the construction business building fences, decks, and a few custom homes.
In the late 1980s he had what he called “a bout with drinking,” and in 1989 took his last drink. He regained custody of his daughter when she was 8, got his General Education Degree and has been sober for 27 years now.
After an accident cost him his driver’s license, he went to work across the street at Rocca’s Market. But he later got his contractor’s license and went out on his own. He did that until 2008 when his body could no longer stand the stress of construction. Despite suffering from degenerative joint disease having both knees and hips replaced, he still remains active in sports and walks almost daily at Harvey Bear Ranch County Park in San Martin.
Then in 2011, the Rocca brothers, Tom and Dan, recalled the good work he’d done before for them and asked if he could help out during the Christmas rush. What was suppose to be a temporary job became full-time when Keith started revamping the meat department and bringing customers more variety and a higher level of options. Among the big changes was the sausages Rocca’s sells. Before Keith, the store only sold two varieties of sausage — mild and hot Italian. Now they sell more than a dozen different flavors of sausages. Customers come from miles around to purchase them.
“I just started filling in and helping out and pretty soon I was running the meat department,” he said. “And that’s worked out well for both of us.”
Growing up he learned to raise and slaughter animals and learned to make sausages out of wild hogs.
“I had a general idea and I learned on the fly,” he said of running the department. “I really started liking it and the people I get to talk to everyday.”
Keith also has a passion for cooking that he learned quickly after his mother died when he was 11. He likes helping people out cooking their meats, whether it’s barbecuing or making a homemade meatloaf for the family, he said.
Despite his love for the area, Keith said he wants to retire to “someplace in Texas” where he can have some property to ride a four-wheeler and let his dogs roam.
“I want the country, open space and you can’t get it here any more,” he said. “I still like it here. It’s where my friends are, but I need open space.”
