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It’s been more than 150 years since Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, to officially declare slavery abolished, a long two and a half years afterPresident Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation into law. It was Friday, June 19, 1865, the first celebration commemorating an end to slavery, which would later become known as Juneteenth.Still, the majority of Americans are unaware of Juneteenth and its relevance in African American culture. Only in the last 50 years, following the civil rights movement, has its observance seen a resurgence.Despite having legal rights as “free citizens,” the obstacles blacks faced would continue.Living in a post-slavery era didn't mean blacks had an even playing field. And yet there are stories of prominent African Americans having overcome great odds.One gentleman named Sam McDonald is an example of such success. McDonald was born free in 1884 in Monroe, Louisiana, and was part of one of the first African American families in Gilroy.In an interview at the Gilroy Historical Museum, Gilroy native Mack Sacco shares the life of this black pioneer in Gilroy and his experience knowing McDonald while he was a child in the 1940s. As Sacco grew into adulthood and finished a career in working in nonprofits across the globe, he became more intrigued by the personal story of this man he once knew in his youth. Sacco recalls a man who made an indelible mark on his life, although he’d known him only a short time. The excitement with which he recalls McDonald is palpable.McDonald’s father, a Methodist minister, decided to try his hand at agriculture and arranged to move from Louisiana in 1890 to pursue sugar beet farming in Southern California with his wife and two sons.After intensive monoculture left the region’s soil depleted, they planned to head north to Gilroy in 1897. McDonald’s mother had passed and he traveled along with his father and brother to find new beginnings. They took up in Old Gilroy, near Soap Lake, an intermittent lake in what is now known as the Pajaro River floodplain. They were among the first black families to live in Gilroy. But, Sacco says, their stay in Gilroy was brief. After their crops went bust, they made ends meet by working at the old Gubser Dairy off Frazier Lake Road. McDonald also learned much about dairy farming and raising horses during his time in the South Valley. The McDonalds stayed in the area for three years and they were well-received by the community. McDonald enjoyed an education up to the seventh grade, which was the extent of his formal schooling, according to an autobiography in the Stanford Press publication, Sam McDonald’s Farm.The family headed toward Washington. When the trio crossed the border into Oregon, McDonald, then 16, told his father and brother that he wanted to stay in California. It was there that he left them and returned to make his life in the Santa Clara Valley.McDonald had trouble finding work because he was so young and “at once became 21.” He got a job working on a steamboat that would travel in and around the Sacramento area. Eventually, McDonald made his way back to the Santa Clara Valley and Sacco says he heard they were hiring at the horse farm at Stanford University. McDonald became a teamster and in 1903 began working as a ground superintendent at Stanford.He was known as an expert at preparing the surfaces of athletic areas, says Sacco. “He was like a consultant. He would consult all over the United States.”McDonald’s contribution to athletics was far-reaching; it’s still visible today in the signature criss-cross pattern mowed into lawns so well known to football fans.Sacco, who met McDonald when he was a patient at the Stanford Home for Convalescent Children, says McDonald had a strong relationship with the “Con Home,” as it was called. Sacco had been treated for rheumatic fever and lived in the home from age five to age eight. From 1947 to 1949, Sacco recalls McDonald came in to see him everyday and would spend hours visiting with the children.“People would come in and do lots of projects with us and [McDonald was] one of the people that would show up and talk to us and sing to us.”McDonald lived on the Stanford campus for the rest of his life, Sacco says. He got permission to build on the property and he lived there when he was a grounds administrator. Sacco remembers McDonald had about 400 sheep that would help maintain the grounds, where he also operated a dairy.“He was just one of those people that just stood out,” he says. Sacco fondly remembers partaking in a barbecue every year on campus and that McDonald would prepare and serve lamb. McDonald had planted a victory garden to feed the children in the “Con Home.” Any of the proceeds from the barbecue would help support the children.Sacco says that there were so few blacks in the area at the time and McDonald gained people’s respect. He was the first African American appointed as an administrator of a major university. He was responsible for all of the athletic grounds. “At one point they gave him a part-time job for security at the games and he would hire off-duty police officers to be at the games and keep order,” says Sacco.During his career at Stanford, McDonald also purchased over 400 acres in La Honda, where he was an active community member on the weekends. McDonald was also a steward of that acreage and wanted to maintain it as an animal refuge. He created a wildlife sanctuary and refused to allow logging on his property.McDonald was well liked and visited with many dignitaries, even Stanford graduate, President Herbert Hoover and the first lady, Lou Henry Hoover, who, McDonald writes, would meet with him to discuss gardening and farming.McDonald was held in such high esteem that in 1941, a road was named after him on the Stanford campus. While he was alive, Stanford President Ray Lyman Wilbur praised McDonald’s popularity. "I wouldn't want to run against Sam for president because I'd be sure to lose," he said.McDonald is remembered as a smart business person, who lived as a modest man and died a bachelor.It’s people like Mack Sacco who have maintained a legacy—a present-day connection to the past—and whose work allows us the chance to preserve our local history. They provide a view through a window in time to the everyday lives of historical figures.In Santa Clara Valley, in McDonald’s day, the color line was not absent, but it was far more subtle than in the South. In San Jose and the valley as a whole, de facto racial discrimination, while without legal standing, was institutionalized and pervasive. This included redlining, which kept African Americans restricted to certain communities. Still, according to UC-Santa Barbara scholar Clyde Woods who wrote: Black California Dreamin': The Crises of California's African-American Communities, professionals and entrepreneurs like McDonald, made up a small portion of the African American community that was unparalleled in the United States.This year marks the 35th Juneteenth celebration for the city of San Jose and the 66th anniversary for the celebration in San Francisco.Milan Balinton, executive director for the African American Community Service Agency in San Jose, which puts on the Juneteenth celebration as part of bayareajuneteenth.org, says the festival originated as an African American community event, but that he considers it a festival for all people seeking freedom. He says that through the civil rights movement, African Americans established themselves as selfless pioneers, “today we try to make way for senior citizens, women, children and all people to pursue the American Dream.”

After eight years and 250 "Getting Out" columns, I have learned the local trails. Logging miles on any trail is a time well spent, but there is no question that some are sweeter than others. Here are my four favorites.

A steady stream of music is coming to the South Valley this summer. Fifth Street Live returns to downtown Gilroy Friday, June 17 and Morgan Hill’s annual Friday Night Music Series returned June 3.

The long lazy days of summer are here and so is summer vacation. For parents searching for ways to keep their kids entertained, help has arrived. The South Valley offers exciting summertime events for kids of all ages.

Yoga Festival

As education officials and growth experts predict an increasing need for more schools in South County, one developer that has tried to build a new private high school in Morgan Hill for several years was recently shot down, again, by a local land use authority.   

Stolen vehicleA thief or thieves stole a black 2002 Cadillac Escalade from the 100 block of Cochrane Road. The crime was reported 7:12 a.m. June 7.Someone stole a Volvo SUV from the 17400 block of Calle Mazatan. The driver of the rented vehicle left the keys inside the vehicle and the doors unlocked before it was stolen. The crime was reported 1:28 a.m. June 8.A thief or thieves stole a black Ford Explorer from San Pedro Avenue. The theft was reported 1:19 p.m. June 11.Grand theftSomeone stole a television from a room at Executive Inn & Suites. The crime was reported 12:21 p.m. June 4.Traffic accidentSomeone drove a vehicle into a tree for an unknown reason near Cochrane Road and DePaul Drive. The driver complained to paramedics that he had pain in his chest, but refused medical treatment. The accident was reported 3:21 p.m. June 10.BurglaryA resident of Tilton Avenue came home to find a house window broken and the home rummaged. The crime was reported 10:39 a.m. June 7.A thief or thieves broke into a home on the 17800 block of Crest Avenue by entering through a ground-floor bedroom window. Among the stolen items was jewelry. The crime was reported 6:19 p.m. June 6.VandalismSomeone threw eggs at a home on Black Walnut Court. The crime was reported 7:28 p.m. June 7.FraudSomeone stole a tax refund check from a residence on the zero block of West Edmundson Avenue, and cashed the check by forging the owner’s name. The crime was reported 7:51 p.m. June 7.Auto burglarySomeone smashed the window of a Chevrolet Equinox and stole a purse. The vehicle was parked on the 17000 block of Walnut Grove Drive. The crime was reported 2:36 p.m. June 4.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

The preliminary hearing for two suspects accused of murdering Morgan Hill resident Cody Flores in 2015 was delayed until late this summer.Spencer Smith and Chase Benoit—both 21-year-old Morgan Hill residents at the time of their arrest—will head back to court Sept. 19 so the judge can set a new preliminary hearing date, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Pandori. The preliminary hearing—a common criminal court procedure in which a judge determines if there is enough evidence for the defendants to face trial—was originally scheduled for June 6, but was delayed.Smith and Benoit are accused of stabbing Flores to death in a field in east Morgan Hill May 31, 2015, according to authorities. Both suspects were arrested shortly after Flores’ death, and have remained in custody on a murder charge since then.The stabbing incident happened in an empty field near the intersection of Diana Avenue and Ringel Drive, according to police.The suspects pleaded not guilty at a previous hearing.The D.A.’s office and Sheriff’s investigators have revealed few details about the late-night stabbing incident and the suspects’ possible motive. The court file on the case, which is held at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, does not contain police reports or other narrative of the incident.The file does include a judge’s order sealing police reports, witness information and other information related to the investigation from public view. A June 3, 2015 application by Sheriff’s Sgt. Julian Quinonez to deny defense attorneys’ request for witness information says, in part, “It is..my belief and experience that violent homicide suspects and their associates are known to intimidate, threaten and possibly harm witnesses. Additionally, the ongoing investigation may reveal additional crimes and witnesses.”The Sept. 19 hearing will take place at the Hall of Justice.

A Live Oak High School student suffered major injuries after he collided with a vehicle while riding a skateboard in east Morgan Hill the morning of June 10, according to police.About 8:15 a.m., the 15-year-old skateboarder was riding east on East Main Avenue toward Condit, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Carlos Guerrero. As he skated downhill from the U.S. 101 overpass on East Main Avenue, he crashed into a vehicle that was traveling north on Condit Road through the intersection.The skater allegedly failed to stop at a red light on East Main Avenue, Guerrero said. Other vehicles at the intersection were stopped at the signal in both the eastbound and westbound lanes on East Main.Police added that witnesses said the teen was traveling “full speed” as he skated down the hill.The teen, who police declined to identify because he is a juvenile, was flown to San Jose Regional Medical Center with major injuries, Guerrero said. He underwent surgery, and Guerrero declined to comment further on his condition other than to clarify that the teen remains alive.The teen was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.The vehicle involved in the accident received significant damages, but the motorist was not injured.