collection of postcards of Morgan Hill,
about which he planned to write a book,
until one day he walked into Booksmart
in Morgan Hill. “I saw my book sitting
there, displayed in the store—written by
someone named Ian Sanders,” Brookman
explained. Booksmart owners, Brad Jones
and Cinda Meister, introduced Brookman
to Sanders, and the two writers set about
creating a second book about Brookman’s
own collection.
Next, the two men wrote about Gilroy
Yamato Hot Springs. After that, the City of
Saratoga asked them to author a book on
their own hot springs, released in 2016.
Their next book will cover Madrone Soda
Springs and Glenn Willis Hot Springs,
sitting underneath Anderson Reservoir.
As Brookman explained, “The hot
springs were a significant part of late nine-
teenth and early twentieth century culture.
He added, “They were a hotbed of social
activity.” Newspapers from that time are
filled with tales of drama and intrigue,
infidelity between romantic partners—even
murders occurring around the springs.”
From a research perspective, written
information on the various hot springs
is plentiful. Usually, Brookman finds his
information in a large historical research
library in Berkeley, the California room
in the San Jose Main Library, or in one of
several private collections.
What’s been more difficult for
Brookman and his writing partner
Sanders, is getting local residents to talk
about their own families’ histories and
their relationships to the springs and other
local landmarks. The writers have tried to
reach out to the public by posting flyers
and through other means of advertising,
which Brookman has deemed “fruitless.”
Instead, he has more luck casually
mentioning the topic of his books and
research in local bars, restaurants, and
other businesses, where he can make a
face-to-face connection with people. In
those environments, people occasionally
have their own story to tell, which may
shed light on Brookman’s research.
After meeting him, it’s not difficult to
understand why. His easygoing man-
ner and grin makes discussion about
everything from the latest Pokémon Go
phenomenon to tense political situations
palatable over coffee.
Next, Brookman would like to write
a book about various local immigrants.
For example, he has learned that a
majority of miners who worked in the
area were Italian. He also wants to explore
the history of the many local Japanese
immigrants and Japanese-Americans.
In 1840, Brookman’s own mother’s
relatives came to California from France,
and his father’s side of the family moved
from Ireland to California in search of
gold. Eventually his parents moved to
Saratoga where he grew up and attended
Prospect High School.
But he had always been fascinated by
his family’s origin overseas, and eventually,
he expanded his interest in local history to
a broader scale.
In 2003, while he was climbing Mount
Shasta—knee-deep in snow—his childhood
friend asked if he wanted to go to Spain.
“When?” Brookman asked.
“Three weeks.”
“Okay,” he said.
Before that, Brookman had never left
the country. Since then, he’s been back to
Spain five times through Gavilan College’s
immersion program, where he spent the
month of June living with a family. He’s
also been to China to visit his sister, and
to Germany and Ireland.
Brookman likes to research and
study local history before he travels to
a location. In fact, he became a certified
tour guide and planned to make that his
next career since retiring from the police
force. However, he’s since taken some
unexpected time off to care for his father
who passed away two years ago.
Through the years, Brookman has
been continuously involved with more
community service organizations than
he can list, including multiple facets of
Leadership Morgan Hill. He was part of
the organization’s second class in 1996,
maintaining involvement in many of their
projects over the years, and currently
serves on their board of directors. He
also served on the YMCA Board of
Directors when they first instituted
Project Cornerstone’s 41 Developmental
Assets. He’s been a part of CERT—the
Community Emergency Response Team.
In addition, Brookman’s been an active
member of the San Martin Neighborhood
Alliance—which serves as an informal,
citizen-run government for his small
town—and is currently the group’s
Secretary. For 20 years, he’s enjoyed volun-
teering as a docent at Gilroy Hot Springs.
Brookman explained his dedication
to community service during his years
of often demanding careers and desire to
travel: “I’m not a religious man. It’s the
Golden Rule. Do unto others—a way to
increase the quality of life that makes
things better in the place we live. And I
always got more out of it; I try to put in a
lot.” He shook his head and smiled. “It’s
such an enriching thing.”
Tom Howard, Museum Volunteer Coordinator with authors, Mike Brookman and Ian L. Sanders
at a book signing at the Gilroy Museum.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
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