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Published on 03/23/1998 All articles from this issue

Pages of the Past

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25 years ago in the Town Crier

As reported in the April 4, 1973, edition of the Town Crier, a nonprofit educational corporation, Nature Expeditions International, was formed by two Foothill College professors, David Roderick and Glenn Moffat. Their primary purpose was to provide an extension of the classroom by conducting expeditions emphasizing natural history, anthropology, archaeology or nature photography.

Prior to taking off on one of the expeditions, travelers were prepared through short courses and lectures, gaining an in-depth understanding of the people and natural history of the country they then visited. Expeditions for 1973 included East Africa, Baja California and England.

Santa Clara County's powerful Local Agency Formation Commission decided to postpone future discussion on the controversial 16.8 acres known as El Retiro land. The delay afforded both Los Altos and Los Altos Hills time to research their files for any earlier agreements reached between the two municipalities that had placed El Retiro in Los Altos' sphere of influence.

The land, of both historical and archaeological significance, had just received state historical-site status for a portion of acreage.

50 years ago in the Los Altos News

The April 1, 1948, edition of the Los Altos News reported that Josephine Duveneck of Los Altos Hills was honored as "First Lady of Palo Alto" by the Beta Sigma Phi sorority in recognition of her outstanding humanitarian work. As chairman of the local Fair Play committee, she was a vigorous worker in the interracial field and sponsor of an annual summer camp for children of all races at the Duveneck's Hidden Villa Ranch.

She was also vice-chairman of the California Federation for Civic Unity, a statewide organization comprised of approximately 50 Civic Unity and Fair Play groups.

The Los Altos School Board of Trustees urged voters to visit the local elementary school and see firsthand the actual crowding that existed. It also offered them an opportunity to discuss the April 9, 1948, bond election.

There was inadequate space and facilities for the children who attended the school and a critical shortage was foreseen for its immediate future. Principal Ardis Egan invited interested voters to tour the school with him and to discuss the master plan for the future.

The Varsity Theater in Palo Alto announced its next new attraction, starting April 1, 1948, was "Gone With the Wind," starring Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh and Leslie Howard.

- Ellen Shaw of the Los Altos History House Association