Main Street

Women's music society honors Leonid Grin

By Mary Ann Cook

GRIN HONORED: An international women's music honorary presented San Jose Symphony director Leonid Grin with its highest award for men--the National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota. The honor was bestowed at a reception recently at the home of Chuck and Edie Marshall of Los Gatos.

Edie is past president of the local chapter of SAI and is the organist for the Presbyterian Church in Los Gatos. Her husband is a pianist and he too has been honored by the organization as a Friend of the Arts. Other SAI members are Ruth Fong, Sina Rhodes and Jo Chez of Los Gatos and Winifred Simpson of Saratoga.

Performing at the reception were flutist Kathleen Purcell, accompanied by pianist Marge Cassingham; cellist Lucinda Lenicek, accompanied by Doris McCune; and Sondra Clark, composer, who played three piano duets of her own composition with Marsha Rocklin. The professional women's honorary promotes people-to-people understanding through music.

CALLAHAN HONORED: Don Callahan won the 1998 Volunteer of the Year award from the Metropolitan YMCA. He has been active in both the Metropolitan and the Southwest branches of the Y. He is a Life Member and past board chairman of the Southwest YMCA and was named Volunteer of the Year for Southwest in 1986.

He served the Southwest Y from 1960 to 1990, was board chairman from 1968 to 1970. He was board chairman for the Metropolitan YMCA from 1996 to 1998. For the past seven years he's served as conference chairman for the Metropolitan Y for their annual planning session.

He has been on the Metropolitan Board of Directors since 1970 and was active in the recent capital campaign which raised $10 million for a new East San Jose center and for new swim centers at two locations, downtown San Jose and in Cupertino.

In non-Y action, Callahan is immediate past president of the Los Gatos Community Foundation; he's treasurer of the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad; he's a board member of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce; and he's a board member elect of the San Jose Rotary. Whew.

Callahan is a retired CPA with four grown children. He is a graduate of Golden Gate University. Incidentally, it was the YMCA that invented Father's Day. A Spokane, Wash., woman named Sonora Louise Smart approached the YMCA about commemorating fathers.

Her own father had been widowed and managed to raise six children, and she thought fathers should have a special day of their own. June 19, 1910, was the first celebration at the Y in Spokane and by 1924 President Coolidge had proclaimed it a national holiday.

PAN AMERICAN: The Pan American Round Table is an international organization of women whose purpose is to promote knowledge, friendship and understanding among the people of the western hemisphere, and there is quite an active chapter in Saratoga.

Lillian Barna is zone director for the alliance, which oversees Round Tables in California and New Mexico. Recently new officers were named for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Round Table.

They are Mariqueta Churchill, director; Rosa M. Winkelman and Rebecca Tompkins, associate directors; Elena Richards, corresponding secretary; Lydia Montano, recording secretary; Lilly Ruiz-Zdeneck, treasurer; Dina Maldonado, historian; and Lillian Barna, parliamentarian.

Other new board members include Olga Agee and Maria Luisa Maloney, projects; Violeta Branzuela, liaison; Fina Mayr, membership; Marta De Fazio, publicity; Noemi Rodriguez and Nieves Sato, telephone committee.

The group presented scholarships to two West Valley College students and one to a San Jose State University student. They also contribute to Flying Doctors and offer financial assistance in Honduras. The group meets the second Thursday of the month at noon. Contact number: Lillian Barna at 867-6624.

BIG BASH: Joe and Betty Zanardi hosted a mammoth party for their son's 30th birthday with a sit-down dinner for 100. Present was grandfather Amiel "Aze" Zanardi.

BEATLEMANIA: Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the Beatles were gaining full sway, say Aug. 19, 1964. On that fateful day the Fab Four were playing the Cow Palace and three Los Gatos girls presented the key to the town of Los Gatos to their idols.

Earlier, after corresponding with the Town Council, the girls learned there was no such thing as a town key, but councilmembers said if the girls produced a cardboard key, they would sign it; one signature was that of then Mayor John Lincoln. This was done and so the two 16-year-olds and one 14-year-old had their entree to flashbulb fame.

In the copy of the newspaper story about this event the names of the girls have been excised, so all we know is that one of them was named Valerie. Any information about their identity and present whereabouts would be appreciated.

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