Saratoga News

Dutro's death leaves heritage project without photographer

Historical sites were the focus

By Sarah Lombardo

The death of Saratoga Heritage Preservation commissioner Frank Dutro in January left a painful void in the lives of his family members and friends.

It also left a project he had been spearheading for the commission without a leader. Now some city officials said they would like to see the project continued as a memorial to one of Saratoga's best historians.

Dutro had been working on plans for a local heritage-context video, one that would capture historical sites in Saratoga within the context of the city throughout the years, according to commission chairwoman Beth Wyman.

"[The video] would look at the community from beginning to present and look at cultural diversity," she said.

The project is still in the very early planning stages, she added. With Dutro's death Jan. 15 at the age of 80, Wyman said, the project was put on hold altogether. But Wyman said the commission is still interested in working on the video, now with the possible help of volunteers.

"It's something that I would like to get done," she said. "The commissioners have talked about it quite a bit."

Saratoga Vice Mayor Jim Shaw said he thinks the project would be a good way to pay tribute to Dutro and his work on the Heritage Preservation Commission.

Councilwoman Gillian Moran agreed. "I certainly would like to see a volunteer come forward to offer help with the project. It's a good community project, and it's important to Saratoga," she said. "I think it would be very appropriate to dedicate the video to Frank."

Of course, Wyman said, it won't be easy to find someone who could do the job as well as Dutro, who worked as a combat photographer during both World War II and the Korean War, and worked in the motion picture department of Lockheed Missiles and Space from 1960 to 1983. A member of the Saratoga Historical Foundation and the Friends of Hakone Gardens and Friends of Villa Montalvo in addition to his commission work, Dutro had made a historical video of Saratoga in recent years.

Wyman said it is difficult for the commissioners, many of whom were good friends with Dutro and continue to be with his wife, Mary Lynn Dutro, to think of someone else doing the project.

"To think of somebody replacing him is hard," she said.

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