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Published on 10/09/1995 All articles from this issue

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25 Years Ago in the Los Altos Town Crier

The Oct. 14, 1970 edition of the Town Crier reported that a conference, workshop and panel discussion on the effectiveness of peace-keeping activities of the United Nations was held at the Mountain View High School on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View.

The purpose of the conference was to take an objective look at the peace-keeping abilities of the U.N. and weigh alternative methods of strengthening such capabilities.

Similar conferences were held throughout the state in connection with the 25th anniversary of the U.N. on Oct. 24.

Packing their clothing for the homeward journey after a six-week study program in Africa was no problem for seven Los Altos and Los Altos Hills participants. Most of the travelers - all teachers - had given away or traded a large portion of their wardrobes to African natives who admired United States-made clothing. However, their suitcases were bulging with African artwork, handicrafts and fabrics.

The seven local residents from among 471 California teachers on the 1970 African Heritage Study Tour were Cozetta Guinn, Charlotte Kirchner, Marjorie Lins, Audrey McLellan, Millicent Rutherford, Janet Tellefson and Isaiah Watkins.

50 Years Ago in the Los Altos News

According to the Oct. 18, 1945 issue of the Los Altos News, the outstanding social event of the fall season in Los Altos was the tea at Twelveacres, given by the executive board of the local Parent-Teachers Association and the elementary school room mothers. The tea honored the school faculty and the mothers of children entering school in 1945.

Twelveacres, located at the end of Pine Lane, originally was a 20-room English Tudor mansion. Acquired by a Christian Scientist organization in 1942, it served as a home for children who were in need of a healthy, stable environment. After a fire in August 1960, new facilities were built. When the center closed in the mid-1970s, the main building became a private residence, carefully remodeled and adapted to single-family use by owners Lee and Nancy Herbert.

(An interesting side note: The staff at one time included a teenager named Peter Ueberroth as recreation director. He later served as the 1984 Olympics organizer.)

The Los Altos branch of the Santa Clara County Public Library was designated a depot for the collection of books to help restock the devastated libraries of the Soviet Union. It was calculated that at least 23,000,000 volumes had been destroyed or stolen during the war years.

Both Stanford President Donald Tressider and University of California President Gordon Sproul were chairmen of the Northern California Committee supporting the drive, part of a nationwide program.

Compiled by Ellen Shaw of the Los Altos History House Association.