Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Members of Summit League make things happen

SUMMIT LEAGUE: This organization raises more money each year for its charities, spokeswoman Lorna Panelli says. "We have a lot of women well placed to make things happen. I think we're becoming more visible each year, gathering momentum. The more you do, the more credibility you gain and the more you know who to contact." Members vote on beneficiaries each year after hearing presentations from various groups. Last year $86,000 was raised for San Jose Rep, and before that, $60,000 for the San Jose Children's Shelter. Plaques commemorating the Summit League are in place at both sites. The league has 45 active members, of which Sherril Kenny is the newest. Officers are Linda Casentini, president; Eleanor Whalen, v.p.; Bonnie Pratt, recording secretary; Jan Willoughby, corresponding secretary; and Paula McHugh, treasurer. Summit is a natural next step after Junior League days and has been in existence 40 years. Its beneficiary this year is Montalvo.

LIFELINE AT MONTALVO: Montalvo sponsors an art project called LifeLines that's designed to be art therapy for those with life- threatening illnesses or for their caregivers. The workshop meets weekly at the Cancer Support and Education Center in Menlo Park, and the second series wraps up next week. Artists and poets direct some 30 people in the program, which was the brainchild of artists Lois Stuart and Nina Koepcke.

Both women realized how much art had helped them through life crises and wanted to share that help with others. Says poet Charlotte Muse, one of the facilitators, "I have never been involved in a project that showed such good effects so dramatically. People would arrive feeling sick or sad and then get so caught up in the joy of creating something that they wouldn't want to leave." Other poets involved are Cynthia Guitierrez Williams and Len Anderson, plus Gabriella Guetzkow, theater and movement artist. Whether this project will continue in 1998 depends on whether funding will be available for it. For more information, call Stuart at 395-1098.

GOURMET NOTE: When Charlie Wedemeyer heard that Marcella Callaway, owner/chef of Marcella's in Los Gatos, would be giving a demonstration at the Butter Paddle, he told his wife and other caregivers he wanted to go, since Marcella's is a favorite. After the demo, Marcella gave him a big kiss and said she'd be glad to fix him one of his favorites anytime he could come in. Since Charlie breathes through a tube, his food intake is usually in puréed form. For those who have been on another planet for the past 20 years, Charlie Wedemeyer is the former Los Gatos High School football coach with Lou Gehrig's disease whose fame has eclipsed the baseball legend's, at least locally. Wedemeyer is the individual who has lived the longest since contracting the illness.

NEW MOTHER: Saratoga paramedic Cindy Petretto is a new mother as of Oct. 26. Cindy's name may be familiar. Her husband, Gary Petretto, was the firefighter who died from a heart attack while on vacation this summer. The newest member of the family is Gary Justin Petretto, all six-plus pounds of him.

AUTHOR AUTOGRAPHS: Carol Mauldin will autograph copies of her new, self-published book, Mrs. Mauldin's Make Over Magic at the Book Market (Blue Rock Shoot) on Nov. 25. This isn't about diet and exercise so much as it is about believing in oneself, reports the author. Mauldin says she is chock-full of self-help herself, having overcome many obstacles, including an early pregnancy, a learning disorder and a child's death. She wants to give motivational talks to self-help groups and intends to become the Ann Landers of her Web site in yet another spin-off endeavor called Positive Hugs and Hopes. She is working on a second book about Saratoga.

OFFICIAL SITE: The used book store on Oak Street, the Book-Go-Round, will be one of the official drop-off points this year for "The Gift of Reading" program sponsored by the Literacy Alliance. Both new and used books in gift condition are accepted, reports Mary Jeanne Fenn of the BGR.

A TRIBUTE: Terrill Barco was outspoken on every issue, worked unceasingly behind the scenes in Saratoga politics and was forever firing off letters to the editor and campaigning on local issues. He was also a colleague of mine in a writing class at West Valley College, where he read excerpts from a memoir titled "Boy" about growing up in Florida; a mystery yarn with a female protagonist; and a cookbook, Lo, the Lovely Lemon. (The colonel loved to entertain.) What his fellow writers may not have known is that he was in the first wave to invade French Morocco and then Sicily with Patton's 7th Army. He earned the Bronze Star and numerous other medals for his work in four campaigns. He served in Greece, Korea and Singapore before retiring, starting a real estate concern and settling in Saratoga. He was the youngest colonel ever at the time he made the rank. The colonel died last month, and the world is a smaller, duller place without him.

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