Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Claravale customer and owner tie the knot

BUCOLIC WEDDING: When Collette Rosenthal and Ron Garthwaite tied the marital knot in mid-October, there were a few things different about the ceremony. The public was invited, the ceremony was held in a decorated hay barn and Assemblyman Rusty Areias did the officiating. The lowing of cattle in the background testified to the fact that, yes indeed, the setting was the Claravale Dairy Farm. Some 150 family friends and customers attended; Areias talked about the joys of farming and this particular farming couple, who met because she was a longtime Claravale customer and he was the dairyman.

Now the two are owners of the dairy, which will relocate to Corralitos sometime in early l998. They own 12 acres on that side of the hill, but they have to build a milking parlor and bring the processing plant up to milk-processing standards. The building where the milking parlor will be housed was formerly used for making pies; now most of the pies produced at the site will be cow pies. Meanwhile, the new bride, self-described milkmaid and partner in the dairy, will be starting her own business soon--as an acupuncturist, possibly in the Saratoga area. She recently earned her certification in acupuncture and will begin her practice on this side of the hill, since the Santa Cruz area is already rife with acupuncturists. Collette gives an entirely new meaning to the word "cowpoke."

ART AUCTION: Saratogans who have donated paintings to the annual KTEH fundraiser auction Nov. 5-9 are Cheriel Jensen, Therese Krassowski, Maree Lubran, Judith Marshall and Kavita Singh. Jensen's works are photographs. "Rainbows in the morning sun sweep across the tiny landscapes" is the way she describes the one done with microphotography, a special lens. "White Peony" was photographed in Kyoto, Japan, and "Blazing Star" in the Santa Clara County hills.

Krassowski's works are two watercolors titled "Winter Forest with Birches, I and II." Lubran has done watercolor portraits of such notables as Herb Caen, Maya Angelou, John Inman and Red Buttons. Marshall's contribution is a water-based monoprint on Japanese paper titled "Circle #1," and Singh's is a hand-painted silk scarf called "Silk Magnolias," done in the gutta technique.

On Nov. 7 a special viewing will be aired from the Fairmont Hotel, 8-11 p.m., with Denver station KBDI and Los Angeles station KOCE also hooked in so that all three areas can bid on the artwork. For tickets to the Nov. 7 live auction, call 795-5400.

EYE ON CELEBS: Louise Webb will be the luncheon speaker Nov. 19 at the Saratoga Senior Center. She'll recount her adventures "Behind the Scenes with Celebrities." Some of the famed she's targeted in her celebrity hunt include Oprah Winfrey, Liz Taylor and Barbara Bush. And those three are just for teasers. In other Webb weavings, Louise continues work on her book about twins, with the working title "Wombmates." Being a twin herself, Webb has firsthand knowledge.

PENWOMEN: In other scribbler news, the Santa Clara branch of the National League of American Pen Women meets the first Saturday of the month at the Saratoga Library or at individual members' homes. Carolle J. Carter spoke at the November session about her book, Mission to Yenan. Carter, a historian who teaches at SJSU, traced the route from research to publication of her book, which deals with an undercover mission in China from 1944 to 1947 with the code name "Dixie Mission." Saratoga Pen Women: Audry Lynch, Doris Phifer, Felicia Pollock, Bonnie Stone, Michelle Gabriel and Louise Webb.

AAUW GIFT: Prominent Women of the 20th Century reference books were given to the Saratoga Library recently by the American Association of University Women. Librarian Dolly Barnes said the gift was richly appreciated because the library needed more reference material on women. The idea came from Nancy Hobbs, who has chaired the educational equity committee of the AAUW for three years. Earlier, the AAUW donated books to the two high school libraries with a focus on diversity, such as a tome about the woman architect who designed the Vietnam Memorial.

NELSON MEMORIAL: A memorial for Peter Nelson, a Santa Cruz County Parks supervisor who died at age 45 of asthma complications, drew upward of 80 people, who gathered to pay tribute to the man who had been an avid Little League and softball coach for years. The service was held in a county park in Ben Lomond. Nelson coached the Los Gatos All-Star Major 12-Year-Olds this year in their winningest season, an achievement he called "a super season with super kids and super supporting parents." Roger and Virginia Nelson of Saratoga are his parents.

LIGHTS UP: Stellar theater--heart-tugging and sprinkled with laughter--was the ticket at San Jose Rep's New America Playwrights Festival at Montalvo in October. The plays are read, including the stage directions, but fear not. Professional actors and actresses weave their magic via the playwrights' words without need of anything further. Remember how radio drama grabbed you?

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