Under the Hood: Lunch With a Vet
By Tim Carl
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The Spotlight
Welcome to Under the Hood, our exclusive Saturday series for Napa Valley Features paid subscribers.
This Memorial Day weekend, we look beyond the ceremonies and into the heart of a quiet local tradition — a series of intimate lunches helping reconnect the town of Yountville with the veterans who live just beyond its gates.
We’re also diving into the latest data from our readers’ polls and providing insights from our economic dashboard, covering local Napa Valley, U.S. and global markets.
In addition, we feature "What We Are Reading," a section with a handpicked list of recent articles that provides a variety of viewpoints on issues important to our community and beyond.
“What We Are Reading” quotes of the day:
“Remembrance isn’t just about honoring the dead. It’s about being present with the living — and recognizing the quiet weight carried not only by those who serve but by their families, friends and loved ones.” - in today’s Under the Hood.
“Our wine industry gives so much back to our community, to our nonprofits... We’ll just have to continue to have a watchful eye, to continue to collaborate.” – from Liz Alessio in "Napa County Grape Crop Value Declines," Wine Business.
"[The chef believed that the conversation] was thoughtful and engaging, and MacKenzie did as well." – from Pierre Rougier, Thomas Keller’s publicist, in "Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry. It turned into my most extraordinary night as a critic," by MacKenzie Chung Fegan, San Francisco Chronicle.
“But I am this giant store. It's a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I'll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay,” from Donald Trump, in “Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump’s ‘100 Days’ Interview With TIME,” Time.
"Scores alone are increasingly irrelevant. It's enough to make potential new younger consumers walk away from the category." – from Lisa Perrotti-Brown in "Lisa Perrotti Brown Launches TheWinePalate.com," Wine Business.
"Federal cutbacks have left the agency charged with regulating wine, beer and spirits facing a huge workload." – from W. Blake Gray, in "Cuts Could Leave AI in Charge of Wine," Wine-Searcher.
"It doesn’t matter the type of investor. If you’ve got a 36-month timer on it, you’ll be a terrible winery investor." – from Alex Ryan, former Duckhorn Portfolio CEO, in "A new type of investor is buying up California wineries. Here’s why it’s controversial," San Francisco Chronicle.
"Escalating trade disputes between the world’s top wine markets will have a profound impact on the global wine trade." – from Adam Beak in "U.S. and Canadian Wine Businesses Optimistic on Growth But Tariffs and Young Consumer Demand Are Risks," Bank of Montreal.
“There was the expression of deep grief... It’s very clear that many people were struggling.” – from Jaime Banks in "Supportive? Addictive? Abusive? How AI companions affect our mental health," Nature.
“This is still really early days... We know we have more to learn from him.” – from Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, in "World’s first personalized CRISPR therapy given to baby with genetic disease," Nature.
"‘Claude Opus 4' will often attempt to blackmail the engineer by threatening to reveal the affair if the replacement goes through.'" – from Maxwell Zeff in "Anthropic’s new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline," TechCrunch.
"Young men in the U.S. stand out not only for being more likely to feel lonely than others in their country, but also for being more likely to feel lonely than their peers in other wealthy nations." – from Benedict Vigers in "Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West," Gallup.
Lunch With a Vet
By Tim Carl
YOUNTVILLE, Calif. — Fewer than 1% of Americans serve in the military. Most of us will never know the cost of war firsthand — not the weight of gear, the sting of absence or the burdens that linger long after a tour ends.
Memorial Day isn’t just a long weekend. It’s a moment carved out of the year to remember those who never came home. But it’s also an opportunity to sit beside those who did.
In Yountville, remembering doesn’t always happen in silence or ceremony. Sometimes it starts with lunch.
At the heart of that remembrance is the Veterans Home of California-Yountville, the oldest and largest facility of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1884, the home spans more than 600 acres and provides care for nearly 800 veterans — from those living independently to those in memory care and skilled nursing. Its cemetery is one of the most historic in California, with more than 6,000 veterans and spouses interred there, including over 2,300 Civil War veterans.
But the Veterans Home has changed. In 2018, a gunman opened fire on campus at The Pathway Home, killing three dedicated staff members. Since that tragedy — compounded by the isolating effects of COVID — the facility has had to restrict access. There’s now a guard at the gate. Fewer casual visits. Less overlap between the home and the town that surrounds it.
That’s part of what makes “Lunch With a Vet” so essential.
Casually referred to as “Picnic With a Vet,” the event was the brainchild of Iren Aslanian Jenny, a longtime Yountville resident and community volunteer. It began as part of a broader coalition that she and Whitney Diver McEvoy organized to strengthen ties between town residents, businesses and the Veterans Home. While the larger group eventually disbanded, the lunches endured.
“We wanted to create connection,” Jenny said. “The town and the home are right next to each other, but sometimes it can feel like there’s a wall between them. This lunch is one way to open that up — quietly, gently, in a way that works.”
The format is simple: 20 town residents host 20 veterans. No speeches. No performances. Just food and conversation.
Councilmember Pam Reeves, who has helped with the event for years, sees it as a much-needed thread in the town’s civic fabric.
“This place isn’t just part of our town — it is our town,” Reeves said. “Yountville has changed. We’ve aged. We’ve lost our school. We don’t hear the sound of children in the park anymore. But we can still build something meaningful — starting with each other.”
At a recent lunch, James Bogart Musson, a Vietnam-era Army veteran and 21-year resident of the home, sat across from Ian Richardson, a 29-year-old Napa College student and Yountville native. Richardson is the son of Reeves and is studying mathematics and political science.
“I’ve always liked people,” Richardson said. “But more than that, I want to understand them — their histories, their experiences. You can’t make policy if you don’t know who you’re making it for.”
Musson, reflecting on his time in the Army as a musician and his years living at the home, talked about how vibrant things once were.
“We used to have fireworks, bands, parades, a working auto shop,” Musson said. “It was a real community. Since COVID, and after the shooting, it got quieter. A lot changed. But this lunch helps.”
Other residents echoed that sentiment. Laurel Roth, who moved into the home in 2022 to remain close to her husband in memory care, said, “This place is beautiful. But it’s the people who make it feel alive.”
Holly Holtzen, administrator of the Veterans Home, sees these interactions as vital to the mission of the facility.
“We’re not just providing housing or medical care — we care for the whole person,” she said. “That includes belonging. These moments of connection are essential.”
The lunches remain small by design. Iren Jenny handles all the organizing on the hosting side, personally matching town residents with veterans who have signed up from the home. Reeves helps co-host. Decorations are a shared effort. Stephanie Burdette, manager of Hotel Yountville, has played a key role since the very first event — always showing up with cookies and helping wherever needed. Local residents cook and host. Every few months strangers become tablemates — and something unmeasurable happens.
“There’s no agenda,” Jenny said. “Just people, face to face.”
This Memorial Day weekend there are many ways to connect. Whether through quiet reflection, flag placement or attending a local ceremony, here’s how to honor those who served:
Memorial Day Weekend Events – Napa Valley
All events are open to the public. Most welcome volunteers.
Saturday, May 24
Flag Placement — Veterans Home Cemetery, Yountville
8:30 a.m. – Volunteers will place flags on more than 6,000 headstones.
260 California Drive, YountvilleFlag Placement — St. Helena Public Cemetery
9 a.m. – Community flag placement for Memorial Day.
2461 Spring St., St. Helena
Sunday, May 25
Flower Decoration — Veterans Home Cemetery, Yountville
8:30 a.m. – Volunteers prepare and place flowers at veteran graves.
260 California Drive, Yountville67th Annual Memorial Service — Yountville Pioneer Cemetery
1 to 2 p.m. – Includes a traditional ceremony, refreshments and a black powder cannon.
2901 Jackson St., Yountville
Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day)
Memorial Day Ceremony — Calistoga Pioneer Cemetery
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – Hosted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
1250 Foothill Blvd., CalistogaMemorial Day Ceremony — St. Helena Public Cemetery
10 a.m. – Hosted by American Legion Post 199.
2461 Spring St., St. HelenaMemorial Day Ceremony — Veterans Home Cemetery, Yountville
10 a.m. – Main event with flyover by the Memorial Squadron around 12:30 p.m.
260 California Drive, YountvilleMemorial Day Ceremony — Veterans Memorial Park, American Canyon
11 a.m. – Community gathering hosted by local veterans groups.
2801 Broadway, American Canyon
Saturday, May 31
Flag Pickup — Veterans Home Cemetery, Yountville
8:30 a.m. – Volunteers needed to retrieve and store flags with respect
You can find a full list of events in our Napa Valley Features Weekender.
And if you do attend any of these gatherings, consider pausing for a moment. Ask someone a question. Listen to a story. Or sit quietly beside a grave marked only by a name and branch of service. Where words fall short, let the silence speak its own truth — a message of time, loss and courage.
Remembrance isn’t just about honoring the dead. It’s about being present with the living — and recognizing the quiet weight carried not only by those who serve but by their families, friends and loved ones.
One flag. One lunch. One story at a time.
If you’d like to get involved in future Lunch With a Vet events, contact Iren Jenny at 925-899-9708 or jennysrus@att.net. The next lunch is scheduled for June 25.
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Tim Carl is a veteran and a Napa Valley-based photojournalist.
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