In the meantime, I’ll provide a preview of the “mystery photo” answer, one that won’t surprise a number of Tracy residents. The photo was of none other than the late Dorothy Zanussi, who carried the distinction of being Tracy’s first woman mayor. And don’t you ever forget it!
The exclamation point is mine, but the emphasis was always Dorothy’s. She reveled in that title from the day it was bestowed on her in 1982 until the day she died in 2004. And she didn’t mind reminding me and everyone else of that accomplishment.
Acquiring the “first woman mayor” title was especially sweet for Dorothy, because she knew that Joan Sparks, a rival among women officeholders in Tracy, was angling to claim the title. Dorothy beat her to it.
Dorothy, who had been a member of the city planning commission, was appointed to the City Council in 1981 to fill the vacancy created by the death of her good friend Fred Icardi. She then won election to a four-year term in 1982 and immediately was elected by her fellow council members as mayor. That was before Tracy voters approved a city referendum to directly elect the mayor to two-year terms.
The late Clyde Bland, who served with Dorothy on the planning commission and City Council, said Dorothy, in her nine years on the council (including two one-year terms as mayor), was a strong supporter of well-planned development, especially the residential and industrial specific plans, and of City Manager Mike Locke’s push for higher development fees “so development can pay for itself.”
Clyde also noted that Dorothy, who always avoided displaying any gray hair, never revealed her age.
“I was her insurance agent, so I knew, but I also knew enough to keep my mouth shut,” Clyde said on Dorothy’s death in July 2004.
On the day her obituary ran in the Press, it was finally revealed she was 95. But Dorothy had the last say. The photo of her she selected to go with the obituary must have been a half-century old, at least — and no gray hair.
She was a grand character who enlivened life in Tracy — and also contributed a lot to our town.
Bring on the beans
The ol’ bean fest has been with us so many years — since 1987 — that it’s quite easy to take it for granted. But it will be with us today and tomorrow, and we should take time to check it out at least once over the weekend.
If the organizers at the Tracy Chamber of Commerce can match the success they made of the Fourth of July celebration in Lincoln Park, which was greatly improved over last year, then the bean fest could be a winner, as well.
Obviously, without admission revenue from a closed venue and big-name entertainment, the fest doesn’t have quite the level of excitement it did in its early years, but the quality of the musical groups has to be of prime importance, not the names.
Last year, there was a greater bean presence at the two-day festival that bears the legume name. I trust that will be case this year, as well.
Anyway, I’ll be at one of the beer booths this afternoon passing out the suds with other volunteers from the Tracy Rotary Club. It should be a beer-drinking kind of day, with warm, but hopefully not scorching, weather.
The Grand discussion
After talking about the Grand Theatre — with a focus on the future — the past couple of weeks, I’m off the topic today.
But I do believe the columns have contributed something to the exploration of the issues swirling around the reconstructed theater and adjacent hotel buildings that now make up the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts. The name is important to dwell upon, since the Grand, opened two years ago this weekend, is more than a first-class 560-seat theater — it is the center for arts activities and education in our town.
For another view of the Grand’s prospects, turn to Page 11 of today’s Voice section and learn what Jim Douglas, a Tracyite with an extensive background in regional entertainment productions, has to say.
Sam Matthews, Tracy Press publisher emeritus, can be reached at 830-4234 or by e-mail at shm@tracypress.com.
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