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Published on 01/26/1998 All articles from this issue

Those among '50 Who Made a Difference' offer their '2020' visions

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

At a party last Thursday honoring those named by the Town Crier as "50 Who Made a Difference" in Los Altos from 1947 to 1997, the honorees were invited to consider the city in the year 2020. What did they see?

The following is a list of their ideas in the order in which they were suggested:

San Antonio Road is a freeway; The city is overrun with tourists; There will be connections to the light rail that by then comes to Mountain View; There will be a high-rise (two stories) parking structure downtown; Architectural changes will come as the high price of land mandates building expensive homes; Downtown rents and the cost of doing business could mean losing quaintness, uniqueness; Downtown building renovations will change the type of businesses; Bike lanes will be everywhere; Cars will not be allowed downtown; More schooling will happen in the home; More power lines will be underground; There will be an impact from home shopping online; There will be an increase in recreational facilities.

But though the landscape of the city may change, several guests summed it up by saying: "People won't change and that's what makes the community; the values will still be there that are here now and were 20 years ago; the Los Altos spirit will be there."

Today, of the "50 Who Made a Difference," 28 still live in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills, two live in Mountain View, two in Cupertino, one in Santa Cruz, one in Penn Valley, one in Santa Rosa and 17 have died.

Of those still living, 16 were at the party last Thursday and include: George Estill Sr., Roy Dunnett, Jack Huston, LeRoy Kratzer, Lee Lynch, Billy Russell, Walter Chronert, Bob Grimm, Harry Kallshian, Lucille Liewer, Dick Henning, Ina Korek, Margaret Abe, Dodie Alexander, Marge Bruno, Claire Pelton and Jane Reed.

Dodie Alexander and her husband Dick braved four hours of traffic to travel from their home in Penn Valley, near Grass Valley, to attend the party.

"For us this is still home," Dodie said.