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Published on 07/01/1996 All articles from this issue

Pages of the Past

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25 years ago in the Town Crier

The July 7, 1971 edition of the Town Crier reported that open space lovers gathered at the Duveneck Ranch in Los Altos Hills to marshal support for establishing a Mid-Peninsula Regional Park District.

The hope was to buy open space in the foothills to help contain runaway development. Efforts to create a park district rose from the failure of existing governments to provide open space for future generations, according to Assemblyman Dixon Arnett.

A balanced budget of $14,189,700 for the year 1971-1972 - with no tax increase - was approved by the El Camino Hospital District Board of Directors. The budget was expected to provide a net gain. El Camino Hospital was in a stable position compared to other hospitals, said James R. Witham, hospital controller.

Eagle Scout honors were awarded to two members of Los Altos Boy Scout Troop 39.

Dave Smallhouse, a sophomore in fall 1971 at St. Francis High School, was on the Squaw Valley ski team, and was a carrier for the Palo Alto Times. For his project, he made three prone boards for use in an orthopedic handicapped unit.

John Zoglin, a fall sophomore at Los Altos High School, was on the school's tennis and basketball teams. For his project, he organized the circulation of questionnaires regarding improvements for the local library.

50 years ago in the Los Altos NewsThe July 4, 1946 edition of the Los Altos News reported that the county planning commission was considering a proposal that a residential zone in the Fremont Avenue and Springer Road area be reclassified as a commercial zone.

The reclassification was favored by the Wilder Company whose subdivision in the area had been approved earlier by the county.

The apricot season opened approximately July 5 in 1946 and the crop was very large. Ranchers were urged to apply for help early and workers were able to obtain information regarding fruit work at the Farm Labor Office.

Men and teen-age boys could register for picking the fruit. Women and all children over the age of 12 with work permits were needed for cutting the apricots.

Sitting on a loaded gun was an unfortunate way to celebrate the Fourth, as Mrs. Barbara Morris of Los Altos learned. She suffered a painful and inconvenient injury as a consequence. Morris returned home after a day of target practice and had thrown the fateful weapon on her bed. She sat down on it a minute later, planning to remove her shoes. When she reached for the gun to move it, she touched the trigger instead. A friend rushed her to the hospital. The ribbing she received from the county newspapers was almost as painful.

- Researched by Ellen Shaw

of the Los Altos History House Association.