Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Everyone got into the act at this wedding

EIGHTY wedding attendants? Don't you mean guests? No, when Susan Sporleder, director of Foothill's after-school child-care center, announced she was getting married, everyone wanted to get into the act. So excited were the youngsters that a mock wedding was enacted May 30 on the Foothill School lawn to accommodate all 80 of 'em.

That's how Sporleder and her bridegroom-to-be, Brian Sawyer, acquired 15 ring-bearers, 16 groomsmen, 25 bridesmaids and 30 flower girls. The background was authentic: an arbor, and music wafting from the accomplished hands of a pianist, flutist and harpist.

A wedding cake? But of course. And a DJ. The children crafted the bride's headdress.

And transportation was no problem: An antique fire engine served. The bride's father, a county fire chief, brought that. Real-life wedding coordinator Lori Smith arranged the entire thing. The actual wedding, something of an anticlimax, will be in August at the Byington Winery with presumably a more subdued number of attendants.

FIVE HIPS? Yep, that's how many Mary Lou Taylor has had--though not all at once. The Intrepid One has had both hips replaced, but one replacement didn't take, so she recently had to undergo another operation to replace the replacement. Besides her recuperative abilities, pluck and patience, M.L. is justly famous as a voluminous volunteer, donating countless hours to worthy causes.

Former president of San Jose Center for Poetry & Literature, on the board of San Jose Museum of Art and active with Eastfield Ming Quong, she currently chairs the literary division of Montalvo. Besides that, there's the Naomi Writers, Jacaranda Press, Brookside Tennis Club, church choir--well, you get the idea.

All this action reaps a corresponding pyramid of friends who are standing her in good stead during this time when she's not standing (much). A food chain produces dinner for the Taylors nightly. One crony reports it took her a month to get a date to be a donor. Just one of the perils of being so popular. Dare we give Ms. Taylor a hip, hip, hooray, or do you suppose she's had enough?

THE EASTFIELD Ming Quong Tennis Marathon raised approximately $20,000 for the home for troubled children. This is the 13th year for the event, and of the 570 who participated, several Saratogans were in the winners' circle. Doubles winners were Judi Gingerich and Joan Lynch, Tiebreakers Division; and Lisa Cone and Debi Justice, Hotshots Division.

Rina Stewart won in the singles division. Helene Karcher was one of the five people chairing the event. You don't have to belong to a club to enter the event, the entry fee is $30, and the marathon runs from September to May, nearly a match a month. Stewart and the other winners had to be victorious in seven different matches to claim the title. The Lynch/Gingerich duo won this event at least once before; they've been playing together for 20 years, 10 of them competitively. Together so many years? Can it be neither of them ever yells "Yours!"?

The color photography of Ronnie and Mel Rabedeau, longtime Saratogans, is featured through the month of June at Aegis Gallery of Fine Arts. Avid travelers, the Rabedeaus have captured scenes from Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland and the U.S. They call their show "Highlights and Hidden Gems." Closed Mondays, the gallery at Big Basin and 4th is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, and till 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

ROTARY's new president is Elizabeth Challener. She's the first woman to head the Saratoga club. Women were let in just a few years ago, so this is another milestone or millstone, depending on your point of view. In her non-Rotary life, Challener heads up Villa Montalvo.

AFTER nearly 10 years, Rita Pennington, who started the Adult Day Care Center for the frail elderly, will hang up her hat. June 30 is her last day as director. A reception in her honor will be held at the center June 20, 4:30-6:30 p.m., with a dinner later at La Hacienda. When Pennington started, there were eight participants, and the center was open two days a week, Tuesday and Fridays. That's when the parking lot was least busy: That's why those days were picked. Today the center is open five days a week and has a peak capacity of 22. Four caregivers are in attendance daily, and they direct people ranging in age from 52 to 102.

Pennington says the hardest part of the job has been helping people understand the center's purpose: to keep the frail elderly from having to go into nursing homes. Pennington will stay in the field of health and aging, but doesn't know yet where she'll go next. She's taking two months off for golf, hiking, biking and a move to the country. Call the center for information about the reception, 868-1257 or 867-4392.

YOU KNOW how many products offer a disclaimer? I thought I should offer a proclaimer for this column. I'm here to proclaim the unique delights and distinctions of living in Saratoga. I look forward to hearing from you as we begin our correspondence.

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