Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Sister City group can leave passports at home

ALASKA ANYONE?: Saratoga Sister City is sponsoring a 12-day tour to Alaska June 28-July 9 on Holland America's Statendam. After several trips touring China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, the group is sticking closer to home this time, and John Tauchi is hanging up his tour guide hat. This time ports of call will be Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Seward, Denali and Fairbanks. This time Sister Cityites won't have to worry about passports or language discrepancies.

Don't have to be a Sister City member to enlist in the tour, but you are asked to join if you sign on. Sponsors of the trip are Ed and Chick Porter of Saratoga and Travel Advisors of Los Gatos. The trip is limited to 32 people, and cost is roughly $2,900. A deposit of $350 is due by Feb. 8. Call Denny Huff, Travel Advisors, 354-6531, or Ed Porter, 867-0872, for more details.

HEARTS & POETRY: "The Heart of Poetry" is the theme for the West Valley Welcomers Valentine dinner Feb. 13 at Manhattan Restaurant in Azule Crossing, starting at 6:30 p.m. Poetry presenters will be Richard Le Clair, winner in the National Library of Poetry contest; Betty Normandin, first-place poetry winner in the Cupertino Community Center contest; and Fran Schmidt, also a National Library of Poetry winner.

Le Clair's poem is about his granddaughter. He is a retired aviation professor and engineer who lives in Los Gatos. Normandin's prize winner is called "Contemplation"; and Schmidt's is "Happiness in Bloom," about the Saratoga garden of Glenna Colistra.

Normandin will also read a haiku piece, and Schmidt's other offering will be "Internet Baby," about her grandchild born in Argentina, whose photo was recently beamed over the Internet. Schmidt is president of the 106-member Welcomers club. Ideas for intriguing new programs should be directed to Dianne Guisinger at 867-2221.

ACHIEVER'S RECEPTION: The Santa Clara Chapter of the National League of Pen Women will hold its Achievers Award luncheon Feb. 21 at Manhattan Restaurant in Azule Crossing. The reception starts at 11 a.m. Some 10 people will be honored, including Dale Lee of Los Gatos, who designs antique hats out of old materials. She works at West Valley by day and makes hats by night. The San Jose Children's Musical Theater will entertain with "A Visit to Old Broadway." Auction items will also be on the agenda.

UNFORGETTABLE 40th: Laddie and Jan Petrucha's daughters and son-in-law surprised them with a stretch limo, a gourmet dinner in San Francisco, Irish coffee at the Buena Vista and a glorious finale with view at the Top of the Mark--all to commemorate the Petruchas' 40th wedding anniversary. Daughters Sharon Vaughan and Leslie Maham and Sharon's husband, Edgar, even put together a taped photo montage of the highlights of the Petruchas' life together. Wasn't a dry eye in the house, reports Jan, when the group viewed the video.

JAPANESE GARDENS: The art of the Japanese garden will be taught by Bob Yoshito Abe in a Tuesday session of six meetings from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Hakone starting Feb. 17 and continuing through March 24. Abe is a landscape designer and builder of meditation rockscapes. He'll demonstrate how symbolism and the spirit of Zen are woven in with nature in the Japanese garden, with the use of bamboo, stone, lanterns, fences, ponds and pathways. Hakone's number is 741-4994.

SEA BATTLE VETERANS: The battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest sea battle in history, and Saratogan Miles Rankin was part of it. Rankin was featured speaker at a recent Los Gatos Rotary Club meeting, along with Los Gatos Rotarian Karty Armann.

Both men were part of the 285,000 who took part in the battle for the recapture of the Philippines in WWII. Both of them were on ships that were destroyed, and they floated for hours, not knowing whether they would be rescued.

Rotarians were disappointed that the video showing left no time for questioning or hearing the personal perspectives of these two veterans of the historic event. Incidentally, in a less life-threatening area, Rankin has a record of perfect attendance in 37 years of Saratoga Rotary.

BRAZIL BOUND: David Grant, son of Jack and Lynda Grant, will spend two years in Brazil doing community service work for the needy as part of his LDS mission. Because David's father was with the Department of Defense, David was born in Germany, and through the years the family has hosted four exchange students, two from Germany and two from Brazil.

David earned the $7,000 needed for his mission work by working for Dr. Greg Fox and doing home construction work. He plans to become an airline pilot.

Y TASK FORCES: Pat Wolf, director of special programs at the Southwest YMCA, is setting up task force groups to explore programs for seniors and single parents, among others. Wolf is at 370-1877. The Active Older Adults group has already met once.

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