Fred Eyerly
From Palo Alto Wiki
Fred Eyerly (1923-May 12, 2000) was originally from Oregon, but settled in Palo Alto in 1949. He ran Eyerly's hardware store in downtown Palo Alto for many years before he retired. He then went into civic service and served on the City Council from 1975 to 1983 and as mayor in 1982. He followed that with eight years on the city's Utilities Commission.
Eyerly was described as a fair and considerate mayor, hardly in keeping with his more partisan candor as a council member.
Eyerly was first elected in 1975. He won a very divisive race that, in retrospect, marked the end of an era. The election culminated a decade and a half of great polarization on the City Council, when the residentialist and more business-oriented establishment camps were at war.
In 1996, he was awarded the American Public Power Association Honor Roll Award as the Utilities Advisory Commissioner.
A prestigious award was named in memory of Eyerly to commemorate his contributions to the City of Palo Alto Utilities. The annual Fred Eyerly Safety Award honors the highest achievements in Palo Alto's utilities.
[edit] Memories
Eyerly's memories were printed as a part of the Palo Alto Centennial in 1994.
- "I spent probably six or eight months in Palo Alto in 1947 looking for retail opportunities. In fact, I stopped by Sen. Cranston's father's office, he was in real estate here in Palo Alto. He didn't have anything to talk to me about.
- "But I dropped back a few months later and he told me about this bakery on University Avenue. The landlord wanted to get rid of that greasy environment. I borrowed money from my father to get started. That lasted five years, but the rents skyrocketed. Obviously, we couldn't handle it. A space opened up at Stanford (Shopping Center). We bought out the remnants of a hardware business. We had the space that is now occupied by the Palo Alto Coffee Roasting Co.
- "At the end of 10 years, Stanford's philosophy changed. They wanted higher-end retail. Besides, my two sons didn't seem oriented toward the hardware business. I remember when Alf Brandin told me I would have an access road that would connect Sand Hill Road to University Avenue. That it would come right to my back door. Every time I see him I remind him of that."
