Wilma Ash and Bill Agler receive awards for their service to the
community
San Martin – Seniors Wilma Ash and Bill Agler are no ordinary citizens. During their lifetimes, they have not only enriched the lives of San Martin’s youth, they have also kept community spirit alive.
Members of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance have selected Ash as Senior Woman of the Year and Agler as Senior Man of the Year for their service to the community.
The two were honored during the group’s annual Spaghetti Social last Saturday at the San Martin Lions Club. Other “Old-Timers” were also recognized. A feeling of community, camaraderie and family pervaded the celebration.
Ash, who moved to San Martin in January 1960 from San Jose, regrets San Martin’s gradual loss of its agricultural feel. The orchards that she grew to love when she first moved to San Martin, she said, have been replaced more and more by urban growth that has brought homes to the small rural community.
But despite the decline of the orchards, Ash still cares about San Martin and the people who live in it.
“I’m happy to be able to do whatever I can,” she said of her years of involvement in San Martin 4-H Youth Development Organization and other programs.
For 44 years, Ash has been a San Martin 4-H project leader helping others with projects involving rabbits, home food preservation, sewing and photography. She said she is still lending her expertise in sewing and home decorating.
A retired school nurse, Ash continued her service to the community as a volunteer at Wheeler Hospital in Gilroy and with the Headstart Program.
She said she takes pride in her work in introducing young people to the different aspects of life that the 4-H program offers them.
“I like to help the kids, and I really look forward each time to working with them,” she said.
She likes to stay active, she said, and reaching out to her community, she said, is a good way to do that.
Agler, a World War II veteran, has been active in the community over the years. He retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he became involved with many local groups, including the Elks, the Morgan Hill Grange, the Morgan Hill Unified School District and the Santa Clara County Health and Welfare Commission.
He was recognized by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce in 1968 as Citizen of the Year.
Agler was co-owner of the San Martin Country Store, and he is charter president of the San Martin Lions Club.
The day of the Spaghetti Social was coincidentally Agler’s 90th birthday. He said all of the Aglers, except his two brothers, attended the event.
“Three came from Seattle, my son and his wife came from Idaho and my granddaughter and her friend came from L.A.,” he said.
After 62 years of marriage, Agler’s wife died more than two years ago, he said. He’s been spending his time helping others, but that started long before he became a widower.
“I like to keep busy,” she said. “I enjoy woodworking; most of the furniture in my den I made.”
In his volunteer work, Agler works with boards of a different kind. He was one of the original trustees when the Morgan Hill Unified School District was formed, and he was on the Wheeler Hospital board of directors, then the South Valley Hospital board of directors until it was purchased by Saint Louise Regional Hospital, he said.
The local fire department also benefited from his guidance. When it was Morgan Hill Rural Fire District, then when it merged with Gilroy to become the South Santa Clara County Fire Department, he was a part of the committee, which he said was similar to a board of directors, that served as an oversight committee for the budget.
The SMNA has approximately 500 members. It’s been in existence for six years and holds monthly meetings.
SMNA President Sylvia Hamilton said the event’s silent auction and raffle, with $8 ticket prices, will not raise a lot of money, possibly $3,000.
“It’s about all getting together to enjoy each other’s company and to honor those who have supported our community,” she said.
The “little bit of money” SMNA raises each year, Hamilton said, will go towards the approximately $150,000 the group will need for its efforts to incorporate the community.
“Obviously, that’s a large chunk of money to raise at one time,” she said.
The group, however, can’t do much about incorporating the city, until Assembly Bill 1602, proposed by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, is approved. The measure would allow communities incorporated after 2004 to receive a portion of vehicle licensing fees.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
