Saratoga Stereopticon
A Herculean effort needed to tame a modern-day mess
By Willys Peck
In my darker moods, I find it easy to empathize with Hercules as he confronted the task of cleansing the Augean stable. Hercules, of course, was the mythological Greek hero who, in expiation of some heavy-duty offenses, undertook 12 desperate adventures, which have come to be known as the 12 labors of Hercules.
Along with slaying various monsters, Hercules was compelled to do some extraordinary janitorial work for King Augeus of Elis. It seems that the king had this stable in which he kept 3,000 oxen. Being oxen, their bodily functions occurred in the stalls, where no one had bothered to wield a shovel for 30 years. The place was a mess.
It was Hercules' task to clean it up. He did so by diverting two rivers, the Alpheus and the Peneus, so that they flowed through the premises and carried away the muck. This being the king's stable, Hercules unwittingly added a dimension to a later poker term, the "royal flush."
As to my own Augean parallel, there are a couple of rooms in my house, which, though they lack the nitrogen content of the ancient stable, bear a certain resemblance. If I were to follow through with Hercules' example, I would be trying to divert Saratoga Creek, which bisects my property, to flow through the house, but there are too many technical problems.
Besides, my Augean stable consists of newspapers, books and other documents that wouldn't lend themselves so well to this method of disposal. Recycling, yes, but I still can't part with this precious, er, debris.
For instance, how could I part with the Nov. 4, 1921, issue of the Saratoga Star, the weekly paper that my dad purchased the following year when he and my mother moved to Saratoga? The simple answer is: I can't.
Rural journalism had a certain flavor to it 80 years ago, as witness this Page 1 story about the new Saratoga Men's Club: "The chivalry of Saratoga will assemble at the club house Saturday night but not the beauty, the brave men, not the fair women. This is because it is going to be the first grand gathering of the Men's Club when the organization will be perfected. Later in the year the women will be invited to a dinner which they will provide." The article continued in its somewhat labored tongue-in-cheek style.
One ad in particular caught my attention. It was for the Saratoga Shaving Parlors, and it offered the following: "A good clean shave and artistic haircut. Repairing and cleaning of watches, clocks, broken glasses and all kinds of jewelry. Sharpening razors, scissors, knives, saws, etc. Has a pool table. When you have 15 or 20 minutes to spare while in town, come and amuse yourself for a few cents (sometimes nothing). All welcome. A.S. Alves, proprietor."
When it comes to occupying space, telephone directories are a prime candidate. Thanks to my dad's pack-rat proclivities, which I seem to have inherited, I have directories going back to 1924. Every now and then I'll get a call from someone who wants to track down an address for a resident back in the 1920s or '30s, when there was no such thing as an unlisted number. Usually I can find what they're looking for.
Sen. James D. Phelan is a good example of the everybody-gets-listed policy. The number under his name, 24, at Villa Montalvo, is even listed in the August 1931 directory, a year after his death in 1930.
Newspapers and newspaper clippings occupy quite a niche, several in fact. I have tried to save those concerning momentous events, of which we are seeing many these days. One of my prized possessions is a copy of the Germany edition of the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes, telling of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945.
Magazines, too, take up a lot of room. For instance, I started subscribing to Popular Science in April 1935, when I was 11 years old, and continued it for almost 20 years. Anyone want to read a think piece on "Can the Dirigible Come Back?" It's right there in the May 1935 issue.
Railroads and aviation are other interests that are heavily represented in periodicals and books. For instance, there is a British publication, "The Aeroplane Speaks," which my dad used in ground school when he was in the Army Air Service in World War I.
Hercules, when it comes to the Augean stable, I may feel for you, but I can't reach you.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
