Shirlie Alice Montgomery June 9, 1918 – November 5, 2012

Shirlie Alice Montgomery was born on Chapman Street in San Jose on June 9, 1918. She was an only child. To her friends and neighbors she was a treasure trove of history. Shirlie remembered it all. She remembered the Great Depression as a child, the Second World War as a young woman, and eventually the transformation of the Santa Clara Valley from a moderately sized agricultural town to the hustle and bustle of modern Silicon Valley. The majority of her memories were supported by the thousands of photographs in her collection.


She was the surviving grandniece of San Jose’s forefather T.S. Montgomery. Shirlie lived a colorful life but professionally she photographed it with a 4X5 Speed Graphic in B&W. She was a celebrated photographer that shot Hollywood stars, U.S. Presidents and pro wrestlers. Although Shirlie did work for the S. F. Examiner and the San Jose Mercury, her works remain some of the best representations of pro wrestling from the 40’s thru the 60’s. When asked about her penchant for shooting professional wrestlers she would answer “I always liked the big boys.” Such stories Shirlie had!


She will never be forgotten. God rest her soul. (Obituary by Joe Holt, neighbor and friend.)

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Carl Pacheco's Bar - 352 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose

Carl Pacheco's on W. Santa Clara Street 1960 (Shirlie Montgomery)
Carl Pacheco had one of most swingin' bars in downtown San Jose in the 1950s and early 1960s. Shirlie loved this place. Her bars of choice seemed to be Pacheco's, Glenn Neece's Ringside Bar, and later Sam's Log Cabin. Alas, today these are just faded memories.

I am not sure who the couple is in this 1960 photo, but the Chrysler Imperial with those super-streamlined features and the spectacular fins steals the whole shot!

Pacheco's was torn down, along with a bunch of other old-time buildings to make way for the Park Center Plaza, a developers dream that never really got developed. Too bad ... we lost icons for the dreams of re-development.

Please take me home! Carl Pacheco's - Cocktails - Food - Fun.

Ad for the 1960 Chrysler Imperial

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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousNovember 23, 2014 at 9:21 AM

    I love this stuff, I love Sweet Shirlie. Wonderful memories. James in Morgan Hill neverending1958@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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