Saratoga News

Wilma Thompson in 1948.

A passion for history keeps Wilma Thompson on the go

Unofficial historian delights in keeping local lore alive

By Mary Ann Cook

Dark hair, firmness of voice and the curiosity and enthusiasm she has for the myriad subjects that cross her path daily belie her age. She's Wilma Thompson, part of the fabric of Los Gatos for most of her 77 years. She moved to the town at age 6 and, except for a short interval, has remained ever since.

She's Los Gatos' unofficial historian, a researcher for Forbes Mill Museum. If you have a question about local lore, ask Wilma. And if she doesn't know the answer, she'll research it. "I love the challenge of the research," she says.

She'll probably also check it out with her friend and local history crony Bill Wulf. The two meet weekly for dinner to review their current projects and share what they've learned that week and who they've heard from.

Wilma Thompson grew up on the D.W. Call apricot and prune ranch on Kennedy Road: Her father was the caretaker. Later she herself managed a small ranch on Pollard Road, where she raised prize-winning poultry and waterfowl. She exhibited for 46 years at the county fair, taking home her share of ribbons. Though she no longer raises poultry, she still does some judging at county fairs.

Indeed, she's off to the San Benito Fair for some judging this week. A few years ago at a competition, her practiced eye spotted some extraordinary ducks which she was admiring. After seeking out and chatting with the owner, she realized these beauties were probably descended from her own stock of some years back.

Thompson was involved in the local educational scene as strongly as she was rooted in its agricultural one. She taught driver's education to Los Gatos High School youth for eight years. And, she offered private driving lessons, too, for some 22 years. Paul Swanson of Swanson Ford fixed up her car with dual controls.

In addition, she was a bus driver for the Saratoga school district and also worked in the school offices in Los Gatos and Saratoga. Besides all that, she had responsibilities to her ranch and livestock. "With three jobs, I never had time to marry," she laughs heartily.

Earlier, during WWII, she worked in the Chico office of the pilot trainer depot and then at Moffett Field. Before that came a short stint at the Rosicrucian Museum office. In her high school days, she directed and played violin in a 15-piece orchestra. This was sponsored by the Methodist Church, and the group would rehearse before church services began. Her brother, Bob, played the piano for that orchestra. She introduced him to the woman he would later marry, Nadine.

Nadine died when her children were still young, and Wilma helped her brother raise them. Today Jennifer is in Manteca and Jesse in Capitola, and their aunt says, "I call them my kids." Bob and Wilma continue to live together.

Except for being bothered by arthritis, this phase of her life is as active and interesting--maybe more so--than any that has gone before, she says. She's currently helping a retired doctor track down the owner of a piece of Plymouth Rock, evidently housed somewhere in Los Gatos.

The fact was mentioned in a book called Irons in the Fire by John McPhee. And she's keeping the BBC posted about land Alfred Hitchcock once owned in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Plus she's helping research a book called The Seamy Side of San Jose.

One of Thompson's latest enthusiasms is the Internet, having gotten online three months ago. "You can find information about anything there--from czars to sex," she says.

Her interest in history evolved from her membership in the Pioneer Club, a San Jose-based group that meets at Lou's Village. She spends most mornings on the phone, answering questions. Afternoons are devoted to research. She's amazed at what she unearths. Combined with what she remembers growing up, it adds up to quite a reservoir.

To illustrate: The owner of land across from Los Gatos Memorial Cemetery had an accumulation of old cars on the property. When he decided to sell, he realized all the abandoned heaps trashed up the place considerably. So he bulldozed a giant hole and buried the lot of them. They're still there, if local lore is to be believed.

Even vacations for Thompson have a historical slant, with the focus on family history. One memorable six-week trip in the early '90s was through Oklahoma, Texas and the Midwest, including parts of Canada. She visited and was charmed by relatives and researchers she knew only through correspondence. On another whirlwind trip, she covered 14 cemeteries in two days.

She arms herself with cassette and camera, returning with photos and her vocal descriptions and impressions. Documentation is faster that way, she says, and it's a fitting way to pay homage to her forebears.

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