Saratoga Avenue can be seen in the foreground, connecting to Big Basin Way, in this photo taken about 1937.
Everybody needs an attic. Not, perhaps, in the strict architectural sense, but simply as a place where one can preserve those objects that have had real meaning in one's life and are too important to discard.
The Smithsonian Institute is known as the nation's attic. Saratoga's attic is the museum in the Historical Park on Saratoga-Los Gatos Road at Oak Street. It might be said that the museum, or at least the nucleus of its collection, had its origin in the History and Landmarks Committee of the Saratoga Foothill Club. This committee, which was functioning more than 35 years before the museum came into being, met regularly to clip newspaper stories and assemble photographs and other documents. These were stored in a closet at the library, the building now occupied by the Friends of the Library. So, in a sense, that closet was Saratoga's first attic.
Two members of that committee were Florence Cunningham, who made the documenting of Saratoga history her mission in life, and Mrs. Robert L. Hogg, wife of an early town doctor and mother of the late Melita Oden, who carried the figurative torch lit by Miss Cunningham. But for the efforts of these two women, the preservation of Saratoga history would be a lot less systematic than it is.
So what's to see at this historical museum? Why bother to stop in during open hours, Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.? Well, if you're not into museums as such, you might be wasting your time. But if you are curious about things like how Saratoga got its name, or how this area looked before it became the darling of the second-mortgage industry, or what acres of orchards in bloom looked like, you just might find some things to interest you.
There are permanent displays depicting the lumbering, agricultural and resort activities that shaped the town; pictures of the Saratoga Blossom Festival, when there were blossoms, and of old business buildings when general stores were, well, general; aerial photos dating from 1937, showing the growth over the years and the disappearance of orchards; household implements from the days when women's work was never done; changing exhibits arranged by Chairwoman Lyn Johnston, highlighting such features as Saratoga's historic wine industry and prominent ranchers and civic leaders who made lasting contributions to what was then a small agricultural community. These are the kinds of things in Saratoga's attic, and you don't have to wait for a rainy afternoon to lose yourself in the milieu. In fact, a very good time would be on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 22, when the Saratoga Historical Foundation has its annual garden party in the Historical Park, from 3 to 5 p.m. Don't be surprised if you are solicited, gently to be sure, to become a member of the foundation. If your enthusiasm registers as much as 6 on a scale of 10, you might even be asked if you'd be interested in taking some active part in the foundation, which depends entirely on volunteers. Docents are always needed. So are people to assist Mrs. Johnston in organizing and filing historical material.
If you feel overwhelmed by the present, take a break and immerse yourself in the past. It has a lot going for it.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, September 4, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved