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Published on 12/09/1996 All articles from this issue

Pages of the Past

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25 years ago in the Town Crier

The Dec. 15, 1971, issue of the Town Crier glanced backward in local history to recount the early days of the first school in Los Altos. The one-room, one-teacher school was located on a 2-acre site near Robleda and Purissima Roads in Los Altos Hills.

Completed in 1902 on property that cost $50 an acre, the school cost $1,050 to build, plus an additional $90 for an out house. Mrs. Helen Carrol was hired as the first teacher at a salary of $50 per month with an extra $5 thrown in for performing janitorial services.

Once its days of usefulness were over, it was sold for $11,445 in 1953 to Mrs. Rita Duval and again in 1966 to the Episcopal Laymen's Group. It's still serving as St. Luke's Chapel in the Hills.

Santa arrived in Los Altos on Dec. 11, 1971, and he planned to greet children daily on downtown sidewalks and in stores until Christmas Eve. The traditional 50,000 tiny, white lights decorated both street trees and the evergreen boughs that hung from the street lamps. Carolers added further Christmas charm to the downtown village.

Roger Burgess, a fourth grade student at Springer School, was awarded an honorable mention for his age group in the 12th Annual Young America Gardens Contest. He received a hand trowel as his prize.

All contestants maintained gardens of 200 square feet and planted vegetable and flower seeds. They also completed a four-page folder answering plant and garden questions.

50 years ago in the Los Altos News

According to the Dec. 12, 1946, edition of the Los Altos News, Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies were looking for a shabbily dressed man in an old model coupe, believed to have molested several Los Altos school girls and one Palo Alto girl. He approached them as they waited for the bus or were along the roadside, offering them rides and, in one instance, forcing the girl into his car.

Herbert Sutton of Los Altos was elected vice-president of the Stanford Area Scout Council. He served during 1947 along with Frank L. Crist, elected as president.

A private in the United States Army in 1945 received an income in excess of that "enjoyed" by half the families in the United States, according to the San Jose recruiting headquarters, based on a 1946 survey. By adding in "hidden pay" in the form of free food, clothing, lodging, dental care and other benefits, the private's weekly paycheck was the equivalent of $40 as week. The survey showed that a first sergeant could retire after 30 years of service and receive $185.63 a month.

Local stores decided to stay open evenings until Dec. 23, 1946, offering potential customers an opportunity to shop at a leisurely pace. Plenty parking space and plenty merchandise were promised.

Researched by Ellen Shaw of the Los Altos History House Association