Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Main Street

Mary Ann Cook

Two Helens created the Fireside Stitchers

EARLY SHOPPERS: Stealing a jump on Christmas shopping were some 326 residents and staff of the Meadows who attended the Fireside Stitchers' Christmas Boutique Nov. 13-16. It's a group led and started by two Helens--Helen Mackel and Helen Davis--with the encouragement and blessing of administrator James P. Hempler, who noted a relaxed Mackel knitting in the Fireside Room three years ago and gifted her with a box of multicolored yarns. There are now 14 in the group. On sale were sweaters, afghans, hats, slippers and purses. Funds raised were donated to the Georgia Travis Center in San Jose and the Care Center (hospital floor) of the Meadows. Other knit/purlers are Marie Tompkins, Celia Lawson, Melda Hartman, Mildred Sprouse, Louise Kelsey, Louise Coffman, Ruth Aarnham, Ruth Musgrove, Lynn Todorovic, Violet Prior, Rachel Braithwaite and Amy Van Loben Sels.

RAFFLE WINNER: Winner of the L.G.- Saratoga Soroptimist International Club raffle was Helen Burgard, who was presented with $1,500. The raffle is an annual Soroptimist fundraiser, raising money for battered women and children and scholarships. Some $4,000 was raised through the raffle this year, quite a boost from the $2,250 of last year.

The Soroptimists award scholarships to high school seniors who have served the community and to older women who need to prepare for the job market. Scholarships for re-entry women aren't necessarily for college work but for any training needed to re-enter the workforce, reports Soroptimist president Marilyn White.

WARM CLOTHING: AAUW's Committee for Homeless Women and Children is collecting winter wear to be distributed at the Georgia Travis Center. Much needed are umbrellas, raincoats, coats, jackets, blankets and towels, kitchen equipment, disposable diapers and even baby formula. Men's clothing will also be dispersed by the group, even though the Georgia Travis Center is for women and children only. The contact is JoAn Lambert at 867-6237, and there are drop-off points in both Saratoga and Los Gatos, reports Licia Thomson.

OVERSEAS FRIENDS REUNITED: Caroline Bradt Slivkoff, daughter of Don and Ginny Bradt of Los Gatos, was reunited with her best friend from sixth grade, Helen Davies Palmer of London, after a mention in this column. Helen wrote the paper asking if anyone knew Caroline's present address or phone number and giving her own. Lots did, reports Caroline, astonished to receive so many calls, the first one from her sister-in-law, Anne Slivkoff Salazar. An excited trans-Atlantic call re-established the women's connection and their friendship. "Lots of laughing and yelling" is the way Caroline describes that call. "It's my American friend," shouted Helen to her husband. Helen still has blue hair and remembers Los Gatos fondly. "This is what friendship is really all about," Caroline says.

KID LIT: Two local children's authors appear in a guidebook for teachers, School Programs by Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books. The two are Martha Kendall of Los Gatos and Joy N. Hulme of Monte Sereno. Kendall inspires children to follow their dreams, just as the people she writes about did, such as Steve Wozniak, Benjamin Franklin and John James Audubon.

Kendall plays the guitar and sings when she re-creates the story of journalist Nellie Bly and dramatizes the story of early feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who threatened to cut the laws that were unfair to women out of her father's law books. Kendall designs programs for children in kindergarten through middle school and can be reached at 353-3498.

Hulme's emphasis is on nature and mathematics, and she incorporates both in some of her books, such as Counting by Kangaroos, Sea Sums and Sea Squares. Other Hulme titles are How to Write, Recite, and Delight in All Kinds of Poetry and What If? The latter is a collection of whimsical, wondering poems about animals. Slides of Hulme's childhood home, as well as her present hilltop residence, accompany her presentations, along with slides of pages from her books. Her number is 354-3637.

RESCUED PARADERS: Along with all the children and civic groups marching in the annual Children's Christmas Parade were 40 rehab participants who wouldn't have made it were it not for the continual efforts of volunteers. These were golden retrievers, all decked out in red bells and bows and representing Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue Inc.

This volunteer group relocates dogs who need new homes because of hardship, abuse or abandonment. Dogs are available for adoption: 17 were placed in the past two weeks in SC County alone, reports Beth Gottschall. Her number: 356-9310.

SEASONAL SOUNDS: Holiday music will issue forth daily from the Forbes Mill History Museum, 75 Church St., from Dec. 12 to Dec. 23. Variety is the key: a Celtic duo, recorders, a flutist, a harpist and the band Sidesaddle. Afternoon or evenings. Call 395-7375 for the schedule.

INKLINGS: Wondering how to contact the young women whose card-design business, "ink"lings, was featured in last week's issue? Try 356-3737.

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