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Published on 10/20/1999 All articles from this issue

'Best of Class' dedicated to residents' life histories

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By Rita Jamison

Special to the Town Crier

No matter who you are, where you were born,

or where you live,

you have a story to tell."

(Fanny-Maude Evans)

"My greatest hope," said Polly Tooker, editor of the newly published book "Best of Class," "is that its readers will realize that they, too, have valuable experiences to share with family and friends."

This 200 page collection of 41 stories and poems is dedicated to all those who are writing their life histories for the enjoyment of generations to come. Each of the 27 contributors was a student in the 1997 - 98 Memoir Writing class taught by Colleen Watson at the Hillview Community Center in Los Altos.

"My role," said Watson, "has been to stimulate, encourage and occasionally inspire" the students. "They are parents, grandparents, homemakers, teachers, professors, CEOs of their own companies, engineers, military officers, artists, published writers, editors, community leaders - all older adults with much experience in living."

Watson is proud of the diversity reflected in the stories. Ann Bryson writes of her spunky 101-year-old mother; Sally Kass, of her family roots in Poland; Esmond Lyons, of his chicken-ranching enterprise in New Jersey. Then there is Dundi Moyer, who hears Hungarian and Carpatho-Rus, the voices of her childhood.

World War II memories include those of Virginia Reynolds, who served with the American Red Cross in England for two years; Jim Thomas, a resilient survivor of four years as a civilian prisoner of war in Japan; Leon Wortman, who, as a child, lived with Russian cossacks and later became an undercover intelligence agent. Eleanor Wortz ferried planes for the WASPS, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots. Vietnamese-born Peter Tranlong, who fled the French-Vietnamese War in Hanoi, planned never to marry; but, charmed with Danielle when she applied to him for a teaching position, he changed his mind. They became the doting parents of ten children.

Jean Barrick Thompson volunteered with his computer skills and adjusted to every editorial change. Mary Anderson provided painstaking last-minute proofreading. Anita Moser, assisted by her husband Andy, devoted hours of patient, careful work setting up pages and illustrations for the printer. "Whenever I got nit-picky about a detail," Tooker said, "Anita simply smiled and assured me, 'I can do that.'"

Betty Fahs, Sally Schuneman, Virginia Reynolds, and Rita Jamison assisted Tooker on the editorial committee. "Colleen Watson's support and encouragement were also critical to the completion of the project," Tooker added. "It was she who guided us through the mystical realm of administrative channels." The Mountain View-Los Altos Adult School subsidized the publication.

"It's a beautiful book," Tooker commented. "I'm proud to have been a part of the class to put together a sampling of our best writings. The stories are well worth reading and sharing."

Members of the community are invited to meet the contributors to "Best of Class" at a book signing party from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday in Room 17 at the Hillview Community Center, located at 97 Hillview Avenue in Los Altos. Copies of "Best of Class," which sell for $8.00 each, will be available for purchase.

Phone orders can be placed with Sally Schuneman, 967-8343, or Colleen Watson (408) 243-0485.