While there is a similarity between "curatorial" and simply "accumulating" functions, the latter is considerably messier, as visitors to my house can attest. But, back to our local museum.

On a recent docent gig, I ran across a collection of notebooks filled with newspaper clippings that had been compiled over the years, probably by the History and Landmarks Committee of the Foothill Club, headed by Florence Cunningham, a premier historian and author of Saratoga's First Hundred Years.

Here's an excerpt from one clipping collection, published in 1941 in the town's local newspaper of the time, the Saratoga Sentinel, titled "A message from one Sentinel to another," quoting an item in the Nov. 10, 1855, issue of the Monterey Sentinel. The quote reads as follows:

"McCartysville—This pleasant little village, familiarly known as Toll Gate, is situated about 12 miles directly west of San Jose, at the base of the Santa Cruz range of mountains. It is embosomed in the thickly wooded margin of a ravine, the water of which, during a great part of the year, supplies motive power to numerous saw mills, and also a good flouring mill owned by Mr. William Haun. The capacity of this mill, when there is sufficient head of water, is about 100 barrels of flour per day of 24 hours. At present, however, the creek contains but little water and the manufacture of the two chief staples of this place, lumber and flour, is necessarily rather inactive. The village contains two stores and a hotel; and it is expected that soon a post office will be added."

Haun's mill, incidentally, was later taken over by Charles Maclay, who renamed the operation Bank Mills. The location was about at the Highway 9 entrance to Hakone Gardens. Maclay went further and had the postal name of McCartysville changed to Bank Mills in December 1863. The name Saratoga was officially adopted in 1865.

Some of these other clippings stir up vivid memories on my part, especially those concerning the outbreak of World War II and subsequent developments here. Just before the fateful Dec. 7, 1941—comparable to Sept. 11 60 years later—there was another issue here, the threatened end of the Saratoga Blossom Festival.

"Are we to lose Blossom Festival?" was the headline on a Saratoga Sentinel story on Nov. 27, 1941, just 10 days before the event that was to seal the fate of the Blossom Festival and a lot of other activities. The item read in part as follows:

"From a number of sources, we have heard rumors which seem to have a reliable sound that Saratoga's traditional Blossom Festival will soon fade into past history—that it will not be presented in 1942." The culprit in this case was the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce. The newspaper solicited reader response in support of continuing the traditional observance, which dated back to 1900.

"Arguments pro and con have been both good and numerous," the article stated. "Some say the festival has worn itself out. Others say that the elements are against us. Still others say that we have never been able to hit the right date for the blossoms."

But, as I said, the question became academic with the attack on Pearl Harbor. I remember that final festival in 1941, held in the festival grounds on Saratoga Avenue where the Saratogan and Saratoga Creekside condominiums are now located, because the Los Gatos High School a cappella choir, of which I was a member, performed. With the onset of war, the festival grounds became an encampment area for some batteries of field artillery that arrived here shortly after Dec. 7 and remained for a couple of months before going on to a staging area prior to going overseas.

Those post-Pearl Harbor newspaper accounts were heavy on civil defense and things like blackouts and air-raid warnings. Our alarm was the fire siren atop the old Saratoga Garage, now site of the new fire station. The instructions were specific: "Do not use the telephone. Do not use your automobiles. Do not go into the streets. Immediately extinguish all unnecessary lights. Cover windows."

Anything here sound familiar? Let's hope we're not in for a replay with the threat of terrorism.