Just as old-time businesses are losing out to growth of the Silicon Valley, the history of that change is disappearing as longtime Cupertino residents grow older and pass away. The Cupertino Historical Society is working to record that history before it disappears.

Uenaka is one of nine residents who told their stories for the oral history project, which is just completed and soon to be available at the Cupertino Historical Museum at Quinlan Community Center.

With the help of a grant from the Cupertino Rotary and assistance from Cupertino Senior TV Productions, the 90-minute interviews span from the experiences of Ron Cali, of the Cali Mill family, to James Jackson, who was the mayor of Cupertino during the time when a lot of major development began in the 1970s.

"We've done some oral history projects before, and our members have been pushing us to do more," says Kate Stober, the education coordinator with the Cupertino Historical Society. "We've been wanting to do it since last summer, but we just got the money this summer."

The one-time grant from the Rotary totaled $1,300 and helped pay for the tapes and equipment used by the production group, who taped interviews in the museum. The slate of interviewees was culled from recommendations from historical society members and initially encompassed quite a few people.

"We sent out letters and then scheduled people based on whether they wanted to participate and whether the timing fit," Stober says. The timing was key, because tapings were done twice a week with the availability of the film crew, stretching the project over seven weeks that began in June.

Uenaka, who has served on the historical society's board in addition to participating in the Cupertino Rotary, was happy to immortalize his thoughts on video. "Right now, we can be casual about recording history, but it's something we need to do," he says. "A lot of young people don't have a sense of history, so we need to bring it to them."

Living in Cupertino since 1948 gave Uenaka, 75, a great deal of fodder for discussion. His interviewer was Alotta's Deli Cafe owner Mike Mansch, and the two discussed how Uenaka's family ended up in Cupertino after spending time in Japanese detention camps during World War II. Uenaka's father was a garden maintenance worker in San Jose when he bought property in Cupertino to start a nursery and later a flower shop. Uenaka took over the business in 1958 when his father retired.

"We had a tremendous amount of community support," he says. "I sometimes wondered if people were buying just to buy because they didn't always need what we had."

His decision to take over the business wasn't made lightly--he initially started out at San José State University as an engineering major. "My father sat me down and asked me what I was doing with my life," Uenaka says. "I was feeling that my future was in engineering, but working in the nursery was my experience. I decided it was a great opportunity." With a tour of duty in Japan during the Korean War and starting a family, it took Uenaka 10 years to get his bachelor's degree in business administration--with minors in math, biology and accounting.

Uenaka stayed with the business through its various moves and then handed it over to his youngest son, Bob, in 1985. The nursery closed in the early 1990s, and the Camino Medical Group is now located in the nursery's old building. Uenaka now keeps busy with various Rotary functions and maintains an office in the back of his son's flower shop.

This is the kind of story captured by the society's oral history project, which should have all tapes finished and ready for viewing by the end of October. Stober says two tapes are complete and hopes more will be ready for screening at the opening of the Cupertino library. Transcripts will eventually be produced as well, and Stober says the society hopes to continue the project in the future. The society is continuing to take name suggestions for those whose Cupertino recollections should be captured on tape.

The finished tapes are available for viewing at the museum but cannot be taken out of the Quinlan Center.

For more information, call the historical society at 408.973.1495.