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Los Gatans set to rediscover Steinbeck

By Mary Ann Cook

STEINBECK READ-IN: By now copies of The Grapes of Wrath should be in various coffee shops and at the library, kicking off the town-wide read called "Los Gatos Reads Steinbeck!" Besides the read-in, the library will cap off the months-long campaign with a talk by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.

That talk, "Writing The Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck in Los Gatos," will be given March 1 in town council chambers. The next day features the third leg in the Steinbeck salute--a field trip to the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas on March 2. Los Gatan and college instructor Chatham Forbes will lead the tour.

Having been to the center recently for the first time, I can vouch for its fascinating quality. I now know what's meant by the terms "multimedia" and "interactive." One example: Visitors pick up a '30s-type phone and hear a heated conversation between a union boss and a lettuce grower.

The listener has been time-warped into the environment of Grapes of Wrath. The van Steinbeck trekked around in and wrote about in Travels with Charley is on display in the center. There's also a car from the East of Eden era: the kind where you had to crank the motor.

It was no easy chore. Each time one used the crank, there was a risk of breaking an arm, because the crank would spin back so quickly and with such force. Hats from the cast of Of Mice and Men hang on a rack. These have to be lifted up from their pegs to learn which one belongs to which character.

There were videos of people reading Steinbeck's words in nearly every one of the seven sections. And scenes from movies and plays made from his books show continually. In the video about his life I listened intently for any references to Los Gatos. I found one: the name Joe Weed.

Weed appeared in the credits because he created the musical portion of the video and lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (His wife is prominent in the next item.)

CELEBRITY LUNCHEON: National League of Pen Women will honor two Los Gatans and one Saratogan, along with five other women in the arts, at its annual luncheon Feb. 9 at the San Jose Elks Club. Marty Kendall Weed and Merikay McKenna of Los Gatos, plus Maxine McGinnis of Saratoga, were all named women of achievement.

Weed is the author of 10 children's novels. Failure Is Impossible: The History of American Women's Rights is her most recent. The American Library Association has nominated it for Best Book for Young Adults. Another 2001 release is Conflict Resolution, a collection of realistic stories that encourage children's critical thinking, problem solving and creative writing.

She teaches language arts and women's studies courses at San José City College. Weed has won numerous awards for teaching--including Best Teacher of 2001 from City College--as well as for writing.

McKenna is an artist who sculpts animal heads in varied sizes from papier-maché and fabrics, including man-made fur. Her work is sold on the Internet, at www.animalhead.com, and at arts fairs. She is active in the Mountain Art Guild, and served as president for two years.

McGinnis' focus is education: She wrote a career education grant for Mission Community College; and she was regional director of the state school board, overseeing four counties. She has served on the board of Saratoga Union School District, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District and the Santa Clara County Board of Education.

Money raised at the Pen Women luncheon goes for awards to high school seniors excelling in the arts, letters and music. Entertainment will be by Side by Side, led by Saratogan Rosalie Sogolow. Others in the musical group are Sarah Joelson, Maureen Schneider, Dahlia Blech, Kathy Sherman and Barbara Okun.

The Pen Women reception begins at 11 a.m. for bidding on silent auction items.

LEADERS OF TOMORROW: Aaron Choate, a student at Fisher Middle School, is attending the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., this week. The conference is a leadership development program for students who have shown a potential for leadership and are excellent scholars.

Students meet with government representatives and journalists and participate in skill-building exercises. One exercise is called "If I Were President," in which students act as president and Cabinet members responding to an international crisis. They examine actual U.S. Supreme Court cases.

WEEKEND GETAWAY: Reserving a hotel room in the Monterey area may help the homeless. For every reservation made from the San Jose area through March, Monterey Peninsula Reservations will donate three cans of food to the City Team Rescue Mission in San Jose.

Brian Borgia, who owns MPR, is a Los Gatos native who attended Los Gatos High School and Santa Clara University and whose first job after graduating was as sales manager of the Toll House Hotel. His company offers a room-finding service free with a choice of 7,000 hotel rooms. The website is www.montereyhotdeals.com, and the phone number is 888.655.3424.

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