Saratoga Stereopticon
Bronze plaque is about to turn golden
By Willys Peck
Half a century ago, the state of California went on a three-year centennial binge that culminated in the 1950 observance of 100 years of statehood. Centennial events started in 1948, anniversary of the discovery of gold, and continued the following year commemorating the "the days of old when we dug out the gold, the days of Forty-nine," otherwise the California Gold Rush.
The state used this period to rev up its historical landmark program, when local officials submitted documentary material to the State Historical Resources Commission, an advisory body to the State Department of Parks and Recreation. Approved sites and buildings were issued road signs designating their status and their stories kept on file and published in a booklet.
Saratoga is California Historical Landmark No. 435 and, apologies to Shakespeare, thereby hangs a tale. I have probably related this before (senior moment) but it's an episode worth retelling in view of another anniversary coming up.
When the landmark opportunity arose, Saratoga was seven years away from incorporation as a city, and the Saratoga Historical Foundation would not be established for another decade. If the town was going to get on the historical map, it would be up to individuals or some organization. We had such in the person of the late Florence Cunningham, whose Saratoga's First Hundred Years is a standard local reference work, and a high school student named William Abeloe. There may have been others working on the project but I've always thought of these two as the prime movers. Bill Abeloe helped me with some historical research when I was getting started on the San Jose Mercury Herald, now Mercury News, and doing an article on some Santa Cruz Mountains ghost towns.
Bill later became a Catholic priest and a recognized authority on California history. He died several years ago, long before his time.
That anniversary I mentioned is March 25, the 50th for the bronze plaque affixed to the Memorial Arch, designating Saratoga as State Registered Landmark 435. As I recall, the state wasn't handing out bronze plaques, only the road signs, and I believe it was the Chamber of Commerce that paid for the plaque on the arch, where it may be seen today.
It was quite an event. Assemblyman, later state Controller, Robert C. Kirkwood of Saratoga was the principal speaker, and a special guest was Joseph Knowland, chairman of the California Centennial Commission. Knowland, the father of U.S. Sen. William Knowland, was publisher of the Oakland Tribune.
The arch, of course, was not in its present location but situated in the plaza that was bisected when the highway was rerouted and widened through town in 1965. So what was so significant about Saratoga that it should share landmark status with, among others, the California missions?
The plaque mentions the Anza exploration party which passed through the area in 1776; early lumbering operations and industries such as the paper mill; the Congress Springs resort; pioneering fruit industry operations; and the origin of the Blossom Festival. As historical backgrounds go, I'd call it significant.
Perhaps it's a concomitant of old age, but anniversaries have a special significance for me, especially when they're of appreciable numbers such as 25 and 50: silver and golden. Come July 4 there's one coming up, aside from Independence Day, that I think is worth mention. It's the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the McWilliams House, the little cottage in the Saratoga Historical Park occupied by the Chamber of Commerce. The following year, 2001, will be the silver anniversary of the Saratoga Historical Museum, a subject of which I never tire, even if readers of this column might. Stand by for snooze time.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
