Both of the society's paid employees have departed within the past month for other ventures, prompting the board to mount a search for both an office manager and an executive director. Former executive director Christine Jeffers left behind the starting phases of a fundraising project, which was designed to support the creation of a living history museum for the society. Jeffers says she is leaving behind a strong board and a strategic plan for the future that will have a new director taking the society in a whole new direction.

So much so, that the society is considering a permanent name change.

"People have told me that a historical society sounds like an old ladies' knitting group," said Linda Walker, vice president of the board. "If we're changing our focus a bit, our name should probably change too."

Jeffers, who says she could no longer afford to work part time, left to take a full-time consulting position. She says that with the support of the board during her two-year tenure, she is able to leave the organization's finances in the black, effectively eliminating a $34,000 deficit.

Leaving just after Jeffers, but in a more unexpected fashion, was former education coordinator Kate Stober. Stober was accepted into a graduate program at Columbia University and had to make a last-minute decision about whether to accept enrollment.

"We're pleased for both of them," Walker said. "We've had some people interview, and we'll have someone within a few months. We're still planning on going forward."

Board president Donna Austin agreed. "We're getting ready to start a big fundraiser, so we're looking for a special person," she said. The living history project will restore the Stocklmeir property with an eye toward making it the new home for the society's museum. Austin said that a recent fundraising study, which Jeffers oversaw, showed that efforts would likely yield $1 million for the project.

Jeffers says she will continue as a member and a donor to the society. She says she has a stake in the Center for Living History becoming a reality.

"I am leaving an organization that in a short period of time became so embedded in my heart," Jeffers wrote in the society's newsletter, and she encouraged more people to get involved. "The organization is one of the many hidden gems of Cupertino, and it will take many hands to polish its dazzling future."

To submit a name for consideration, mail it to the Cupertino Historical Society & Museum, 10185 N. Stelling Road, Cupertino, CA 95014.