The Los Gatos Library - History Collection Volunteers are excited to share historical facts and information about the Town of Los Gatos that they have come across during their work in our Local History room at the library. Each issue will highlight interesting facts about the people and events that have helped make Los Gatos such a wonderful place to live, work, and play. We hope you enjoy reading.
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Contact the Los Gatos Library 408-354-6896 Hours: Monday 11AM - 8PM Tuesday 11AM - 8PM Wednesday 10AM - 6PM Thursday 10AM - 6PM Friday 10AM - 6PM Saturday 10AM - 5PM Sunday 12PM - 5pm eMail the History Collection Volunteers history@losgatosca.gov
Local History Room 408-399-5795
Volunteer Hours: Mondays 1PM - 5PM Wednesdays (1st, 4th, & 5th) 1PM - 3PM Thursdays 1PM - 5PM
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Local History Reading Recommendations
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Los Gatos
by Peggy Conaway
Nestled in the heart of a dramatic natural amphitheater formed by the Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos serves as the gateway from the Santa Clara Valley to the Pacific Ocean. This happy accident of location allowed historic Los Gatos to witness a colorful parade of swashbuckling explorers, Franciscan padres, and hearty American pioneers, many of whom came to harvest virgin redwood forests from the mountains and grow fruit in exceptionally fertile soil.
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Los Gatos
by Stephanie Ross Mathews
The charming town of Los Gatos is nestled at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is sometimes referred to as the “Gem City of the Foothills.” It has inspired hundreds of postcard images through the years, many reflecting the area’s abundance of natural beauty. As the town and surrounding area grew and prospered through agriculture, logging, and commerce, the local architecture and landmarks became popular subjects. Glimpses of everyday life—churches, schools, houses, and businesses—further enhanced the pictorial history the postcards represent.
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In 1975, to help celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States, Mardi Gualtieri, the former Mayor of Los Gatos, formed a subcommittee to devise a program which would designate certain pre -1900 houses in Town which possessed prescribed attributes, as Bellringers. The goals were to ensure health and safety for the homeowners by updating electrical and plumbing facilities and to provide cosmetic improvement of the home by restoring authentic decorative aspects. Federal aid as well as private investment allowed these homeowners to preserve the history of some of the Victorian houses in Los Gatos in neighborhoods which were beginning to deteriorate. 61 awards were given out on July 4, 1976. Five more houses received Bellringers on July 4, 1977. As part of the celebration for the Centennial of the Town of Los Gatos in 1987, Sara Anderson continued Mardi’s work and headed a committee, Project Bellringer II, which selected 34 more houses, making 100 houses in Los Gatos to qualify for the number originally agreed upon. Mardi and Sara both worked with Ron Cassel, metal shop teacher at Los Gatos High School and Lyn Johnston, artist and sculptor, to implement the design and to fashion the brass cats which would become the emblem for the award. Funds for the project were donated by the Lions Club. A doorbell was incorporated in the design so the cats could be mounted next to the front doors of the designated houses. Most still have the plaques, which are shaped like bronze cats’ heads and which have been wired to accommodate an electric bell, affixed near their front doors. The number was never to exceed 100. There is a display of the history of the making of these plaques in the Local History section of the Library. This exhibit traces the procedures required to create the symbol which shows the vision, dedication, and cooperation of Los Gatos citizens to maintain the special quality of life that typifies the town
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The Los Gatos History Collection was started by former Librarian Peggy Conaway in 2002. Originally located in a cramped hallway of the old library, collections were not easily accessible by the public. We are now located on the second floor of the new Los Gatos Library and much more accessible to the general public. The intent of our news letter is to inform the public about the resources the History Collection contains. Each issue will have articles of interest about historic houses, interesting people, unidentified photos (or Histories Mysteries) and our agricultural heritage. The History Project is staffed by volunteers 3 afternoons a week to help find answers to History questions the public might have. The collection includes a wide variety of materials. We have a photo collection which can be accessed online, Los Gatos High School yearbooks, a clipping collection on a variety of subjects, historical maps, bound books of newspapers, information on historical houses, information about prominent families and too many other things to list. Each newsletter will highlight one of our resources
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Imagine… A brilliant tapestry spread outward as far as the eye could see, with expanses of fruit orchard blossoms bordered by verdant vineyards and rainbows of fragrant flower gardens growing amid majestic valley live oaks that dot the valley floor. Golden California poppies, wildflowers and orange groves meander up into the foothills like an overflowing fruit bowl. The Valley of Heart's Delight, a bountiful garden of nearly 100,000 acres really existed like an immense living painting against a spring blue sky. All one had to do was head up Blossom Hill Road and gaze out over the valley. Imagine… sitting in deep grassy weeds on a pleasant warm day humming with the sweet choral of birds and the dancing of butterflies. Hearing the drone of perhaps a distant motor getting closer, you were startled to see the sky tear open and a huge shadowy cloud spilling out obscuring the sky. You ran like hell and got yourself inside fast. Looking out the window you could see the bee swarm zipping around in a frenzy blackening the sky. Springtime was upon the Santa Clara Valley and thousands of honey bees were on their way to work. They were drawn like magnets to the masses of fragrant white blossoms of the prune orchard. So how did this come to be? What drove people west to the Santa Clara Valley? Yes there was the ideal weather and artesian wells and people were trickling in before the Mexican-American war of 1846 starting small family farms. But, then some interesting things happened. “On May 3, 1848, the Californian, a San Francisco newspaper, published an account of Santa Clara Valley’s agricultural potential: Corn grows well here. I have seen some grown on sandy soil, unaided by irrigation, the ears of which were fourteen inched long…. Cabbage grows the year round. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Santa Clara County became known as ‘The Eden of the World’.
The reports of the United States Commissioner of Patents for 1851 showed that Isaac Branham grew a sixty-three pound beet in addition to forty pound carrots that were three feet long. Valley farmers also harvested three pound potatoes, 22 inch onions, and 26 inch tomatoes.
The farmers had real incentives for planting orchards and vineyards, as apples grown in the old mission orchard brought one dollar each in the gold fields. By 1856 farmers tended to 106,000 fruit trees and 150,000 grapevines.” (Stephen Payne. Santa Clara County Harvest of Change. 72-74. 1987). To be continued… Comments to: sungold27@gmail.com
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Vic Collard passed away May 10, 2004; he was 82. Collard exhibited a spirit of pride and a sense of altruism throughout the Los Gatos community. A lover of nature, Collard was a founding member of the Los Gatos Trails and Bikeways Committee which was responsible for the Los Gatos Creek Trail, Los Gatos Creek Footpath and the Novitiate Park Trail. He also spent a considerable amount of time maintaining the trails to keep them safe. Collard shared his love of the outdoors with the youth by helping create the Los Gatos Youth Park and serving on the board. Collard became a guest lecturer at Los Gatos High School. He spoke on agriculture, with the goal of exciting students and engaging them in activities they may not otherwise engage in. Through his nonprofit work, Collard developed the Vic Collard Scholarship Fund for students interested in horticulture and agriculture. Friends and colleagues praised Collard for his humanitarianism, philanthropy and desire to make Los Gatos an even more beautiful place to reside. You can read the original obituary printed in the May 2004 edition of the Los Gatos Weekly Times on the library's Online History Archive Site. (three part document)
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Melissa Maglio
Librarian
History Collection
Volunteer Supervisor
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Lyn Dougherty History Collection Volunteer
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Betty Chase History Collection
Volunteer
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Trish Smalling Goldfarb History Collection
Volunteer
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Jennifer Saxe History CollectionVolunteer
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