As reported in the Sept. 19, 1973, issue of the Town Crier, three Los Altos Persian cats - Tubalove, Shawnee Princess Ermine of Inca and Inca's Prince Tornas - had become repeat winners at Cat Fanciers Association shows around the country.
Perhaps one secret of such success was the relaxed and speedy rides the Persians had to each out-of-town competition. Their owner, Pat Gladney, an instructor at the Duncan School of Flying in Palo Alto, flew her cats to many CFA shows in the west. The Persians traveled by commercial airlines when a longer distance wasn't practical in a small plane.
The price of milk went up again in the Los Altos School District, effective Sept. 17, 1973, with children paying 7 cents per half pint and 8 cents for one-third of a quart. The use of pre-paid milk cards, which had shown a loss, was discontinued in favor of a pay-as-you-go program.
Claire Pelton, English Department chairwoman at Los Altos High School, was appointed to the College Entrance Examination Board Committee for the national English achievement test. She was the only high school teacher in the nation, as of 1973, to be appointed to the five-member committee.
50 years ago in the Los Altos News
As reported in the Sept. 16, 1948, edition of the Los Altos News, the application for a use permit by Shell Oil Company to establish a service station on the Main Street/San Antonio Road point was once again before the county planning commission, the result of an appeal by the property owner. It seemed probable that it would be allowed since all zoning and legal requirements had finally been met by the oil company.
Superintendent Ardis Egan announced that the school board had leased the McKenzie School of Private Instruction on Miramonte Avenue. It served as Loyola School until the time the new Loyola School was completed in 1949, and it accommodated kindergarten through fifth grade.
The public was invited to attend a recital on Sept. 19, 1948, at Los Altos Episcopal Church on Orange Avenue, featuring dramatic soprano Pauline Maria Pappas, winner of the 1948 Atwater Kent singing contest, and W. J. Trevorrow, organist and choirmaster.
The program was presented by Madam Ernestine Schumann Heink's oldest living son, Henry. It was also an opportunity for the townspeople to see and hear the new organ that had been purchased by the church.
- Ellen Shaw of the Los altos History House Association