Life-long resident had impact on Rocklin

Eighty-four years ago, in the comforts of their own Rocklin home off of Pacific Street, Fred and Josephina Basque gave birth to their new baby girl, Connie. That girl, who grew up to be Connie Gayaldo, has lived, worked and gone to school on the same city block in Rocklin for her entire life.In her 84 years as a Rocklin resident, she has seen many changes in the city."It's just growing so fast," Connie said. "At one time I knew just about everybody and now everybody is strangers."Gayaldo was born Oct. 5, 1922, 11 years after her family immigrated to Rocklin from Spain. They were the owners of Rocklin Market and Service Station on Pacific Street and the house where Connie was born was in the back.Connie attended the original Rocklin Elementary when it was on Pacific Street. Because there were no restaurants in Rocklin at the time, her parents put in a small counter for patrons and started "Fred's Place," and Connie helped to serve there as a young girl. Connie used those skills later in life when she ran the "White Spot" restaurant, which is now the location of Emmanuel's Ribs.At that time, the only road that brought the weary traveler from the Bay Area to Reno was the old Highway 40, which passed right by the White Spot."People commuting to Reno would stop and have something to eat at my restaurant," Connie said. "We made everything from scratch."Connie's restaurant specialized in hamburgers, stews and homemade pies.Connie married Andres "Hank" Gayaldo in 1943 and moved across the street to the home where she still lives today. Her modest house with the little white picket fence is reminiscent of a time when Rocklin life was simple.Connie and Hank were active in everything in early Rocklin and were early developers of downtown Rocklin. They built commercial buildings on Pacific Street and ran the White Spot Restaurant from 1948-1974. Connie said she and her husband contemplated leaving Rocklin on many occasions but could never come up with a reason to leave."Our kids were raised here and we had businesses here," she said. "We said, 'where are we going to go?' and so we stayed here."She said her childhood in Rocklin was pretty simple. She remembers when she used to run up in the Whitney Hills with her sister long before any development took place up there."When I was a really young girl, a bunch of us kids would get together, it was all dirt roads back then, and play 'kick the can,'" she said.Hank and Connie Gayaldo had four children, three of whom - Nancy Tuttle, Dave Gayaldo and Danny (with his wife, Jill) Gayaldo - continue to reside in Rocklin today.Dan has been a football coach, athletic director and currently is assistant principal at Del Oro High.Jack Gayaldo of Roseville recently retired after more than 30 years of teaching and coaching football at Lincoln High School. While Connie ran the restaurant, Hank built the laundromat next door, which is still owned and operated by Hank's sons, Jack and Dan. Hank Gayaldo was a city councilman for 17 years, including two terms as mayor in 1958 and 1960. He was instrumental in bringing Sierra College to Rocklin and helping to get sewer service to Rocklin. He also worked to bring in Sunset Whitney and later Stanford Ranch areas. He helped to restore Finn Hall in 1970 and was also the chairman for the Rocklin Jubilee. At the same time, Connie was running the restaurant and raising four children while being very active in the PTA at Rocklin Elementary, holding positions such as president, treasurer and vice president. The Gayaldo's were charter members of the Chamber of Commerce and Connie was president of the Chambermaids, created in 1970 as a service organization. Connie said she does not mind how much the city has grown in her 84 years as a resident and that newcomers to the city have a lot to offer."I am happy with everything the City Council is doing," she said. "I agree with everything, I think they are doing a good job."Connie said her favorite thing about the city of Rocklin is its small town culture and environment."A lot of us who have lived here a long time, we're just quiet people," she said. "It's a friendly place to me. The weather is always good. I can go anywhere and say hello to anybody, even if they are a stranger."- Jill Gayaldo contributed to this report.