A RECEPTION on Sept. 15 for the new "137 Years of Schools in the Los Gatos Area" exhibit at Forbes Mill Museum drew a crowd of more than 100, many of them former teachers, school officials and pupils. Among the 36 schools in the exhibit, Lexington School, the area's oldest, got the most attention. Among the interested visitors was former Lexington Superintendent Don Eddy. Others included Ron Harder, who attended Los Gatos schools and recently retired as Van Meter principal; Ellis Crosby, who was first principal of Lexington at its fourth and current location, build in 1954 after the reservoir was constructed; and the fifth generation of the Shore family, Glen Shore and his dad, Knowlton, who went through the local school system. A guest was Robin Clements, headmaster of Hillbrook.
"There were four schools in private homes before any public school was built," said curator Mary Foster, who, with a team, spent five months in research. "Two of the houses still stand, one on Loma Alta, then called Market, and Vineland School on Los Gatos Boulevard."
Local restaurants furnished refreshments, and wine from a vineyard at the old Burrell School on Summit Road was served.
THE OLD lumberyard at University Avenue and Andrews Street, last used by El Gato Building Materials, is being converted into a clubhouse for the sport of bocce ball and is expected to open by the end of the year. Members and guests at Campo di Bocce will enjoy food and drink amid an atmosphere of Old Italy. A group of Los Gatos residents and visiting bocce enthusiasts led by construction industry men Tom Albanese and Gary Filizetti are backing the $2 million project. They hope to popularize bocce with the six-court venue. The game is currently played single courts in a few public parks or at the homes of aficionados.
"The game is very easy to learn and is played by people of many ethnic backgrounds," Albanese said. "We've had a league in Los Gatos for seven years that consists of about 50 players who compete at members' homes. We'll offer leagues that are co-ed, all men's or all women's or seniors. Anyone 12 or older can play."
The restaurant and bar will offer Italian cuisine, beer and wine for members.
Campo di Bocce is being built on a site of just under an acre that was vacated three years ago by El Gato Building Materials, which was there since the 1960s. The 11,000-square-foot building being remodeled for the clubhouse was built in 1928 to manufacture dehydration equipment.
LOS GATOS Yacht Club will hear guest speaker Paul Cayard at its meeting Oct. 8 at Los Gatos Lodge. He is the skipper of the St. Francis Yacht Club's America's Cup entry, America One. In 1995, Cayard was helmsman/strategist aboard Stars & Stripes and Young America.
THIS IS a delayed report from the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Ed Burke of Los Gatos Athletic Club is proud of the fact that that two young hammer-throwers he trained here did well at the games. One of 36 who tossed the hammer, Kevin McMahon of Los Gatos, placed 12th, and David Popejoy of Monte Sereno was 14th, with throws of 242 and 239 feet, respectively. "The crowd really cheered them on," says Ed who, of course, was present. "It's not easy when the pressure is so intense. They both showed a lot of poise."
Incidentally, Shirley Burke mentioned that a writer who has been shopping around a television script about the Burkes for several years has now drawn some interest from the Hallmark Hall of Fame. So, while nothing is certain in televisionland, there could be a show some time.
ALSO WITH reason for pride are Los Gatos Mirassou Winery and graphics designer Rick Tharp. Tharp's Mirassou labels won a gold medal for the winery in an international packaging competition at the 39th Vinitaly in Verona, Italy.
TELEPHONE swindlers are a serious threat to the economic security of older Americans, according to the American Association of Retired Persons, which puts the fraudulent telemarketing take at a $40 billion drain on American pocketbooks, with many of the victims older. Some fraud victims are too ashamed and embarrassed even to tell their own children about their loss.
Seniors should be especially skeptical of any offer or a prize or award that calls for a fee to be paid up front. If you have doubts about a call, phone the Fraud Information Center at (800) 876-7060 for advice about what to do when the next call comes.
SPEAKING of author John Steinbeck as we did here a couple of columns back, the fourth International Steinbeck Congress next March 19-22, 1997, is expected to pull scholars from various countries to San Jose and Los Gatos. Sponsored by the Steinbeck Research Center, Steinbeck Society of Japan and various Monterey groups, the congress includes workshops and tours. Susan Shillinglaw of Los Gatos heads the research center at San Jose State University.
BONG, BONG, calling Dr. Whozis. Nurses rushing along corridors. Hundreds of eye drops, dozens of pills. I've had my fill of hospitals and clinics the last number of weeks in a struggle to gain control over a detached retina in the left eye. Two operations were flops as were laser treatments, which didn't hold the retinas in place. A blue-eyed child, I didn't have enough pigmentation for the laser to grab on to. Now the docs have injected silicone, which is supposed to do the trick. Let us hope.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, September 25, 1996.
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