At the start of 2017, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and I sat down for coffee and a conversation at Roy’s Station in Japantown. The topic? Finding a way to engage San Jose residents and instill some pride in the city they call home. Having both grown up here, we knew a lot about San Jose’s quirky history, along with the hidden gems here today and fascinating people who have lived here over the years.

But, we wondered, did everyone else know that Christmas in the Park got its start at the Lima Family Mortuary? Or that Togos, Lee’s Sandwiches and Orchard Supply Hardware are all San Jose originals? Do people still remember that it snowed here in 1976? Maybe, maybe not.

“We’re blessed to live in an extraordinary community with a colorful history, a diverse cultural tapestry, and an innovative character,” Liccardo says. “In San Jose, we’re great at doing, but awful at celebrating what we’ve done. It’s time to celebrate who and what we are.”

What we came up with is “The Great 408,” an online compendium of the people, places and events that have made San Jose a place we love. We decided to launch it Nov. 29, as it’s the city’s 240th birthday — betcha didn’t know that — and that relates to our first item about San Jose’s status as the first civil settlement in California. You can read about that and the rest of the first 10 at www.Great408.org.

Bookmark the page and visit it often, as the mayor and I have put together a number of items that we’ll be rolling out on a regular basis over the coming weeks and months. But — as people are quick to remind both of us — we don’t know everything, and what we do know is often limited to our own experience.

And that’s where we need your help. The site is designed so visitors can share their own items about their neighborhoods, their memories and their accomplishments. Go to the site and click on “Tell Us What’s Cool” to submit yours. We want this to be a continuing showcase of the spirit of San Jose — past and present — that captivates the people who live in the valley, whether they’ve been here for generations or just a few months.

On that note, however, this isn’t the place to let us know that San Jose has the trashiest freeway on-ramps you’ve ever seen or that downtown used to feel a whole lot safer back when Hart’s and Hale’s were still in business. Those might be legitimate gripes and grumbles, but we’d rather know about a community effort to make a pocket of the city more beautiful or a tribute to a grand downtown store that’s faded from memory.

It won’t all be pretty, as future entries will mark tragic events in the city’s past such as the 1933 kidnapping of Brooke Hart and the subsequent lynching and hanging of the suspects. But it’s primarily meant as a vehicle for celebration and pride, and we want it to include everyone from East San Jose and Willow Glen to Little Saigon and Almaden Valley.

And while we see ourselves as a region under a bigger umbrella these days, the items for the Great 408 largely will stop at the city limits. No offense is intended to communities like Los Gatos, Sunnyvale or Campbell, but the goal here is to put a long-needed spotlight on San Jose. Will there be overlap? Sure, but every item should have a tie to San Jose.

We’re looking forward to seeing what comes in. By the way, the “408” in the title isn’t just a nod to San Jose’s traditional area code. It’s also a goal for how many entries we’d like to wind up with. I don’t know when — or if — we’ll hit that number, but the journey will be the ultimate San Jose road trip. Come along for the ride.