The Cupertino Courier
News
Hooked on Fishing
By MICHELLE MAGHRIBI
It's an event with a special hook--so to speak. For more than 40 years, the Cupertino Lions Club has hosted a fishing day for children and adults with disabilities.
The annual Fish-A-Thon takes place at a private stocked pond at the Stevens Creek Quarry. And each year, the number of those attending grows.
This year's event, May 13, drew more than 100 anglers; some were in wheelchairs, some developmentally delayed, some visually impaired.
In the beginning, the fishing day was just for blind children. Two lifelong Cupertino residents were the catalyst for that first fishing derby nearly a half-century ago.
Peter Camarda, now 87, listened when his brother, Joe, now 73, told him about the blind children picked up by buses in the Cupertino Union School District. Joe was working as a bus dispatcher for the district--the only district in the '60s that offered an education to the blind, Peter recalls.
Serving the blind is a community service mission of the Lions Club, which also collects used eyeglasses, distributing them to those who can't afford to buy a pair.
Together with another longtime Cupertino resident, now deceased, Tony Voss--who owned the Stevens Creek Quarry at the time--the brothers put together that first Fish-A-Thon. Peter says the year was 1964.
"Tony Voss, who was not a Lions club member, agreed to provide a pond at the quarry for the kids to fish in, and my brother, Joe, was responsible for all of the transportation of the blind kids to and from their homes out to the quarry," Peter said.
Three generations of the Voss family, owners of the Stevens Creek Quarry, have continued to provide and prepare the small pond (including handicap access) for the annual event.
Pete, too, has been actively involved for its entire tenure--except for a five-year period during which a landslide on the property put the derby off. Thanks to a donation Pete secured from a family friend this year, the Lions Club was able to stock the pond with about 1,000 pounds of rainbow trout. "The fish are big, between 1 and 3 pounds apiece," he says proudly.
"Over the years, it has been well worthwhile, every dime we have spent," he says. "[We[ give it all to the kids."
Peter Camarda was recognized as Cupertino Citizen of the Year in 1983.
Longtime resident
Pete was born on his parents' prune ranch in Cupertino on Blaney Avenue in 1918 and, with his wife of 63 years, Evelyn, still lives on another piece of property purchased by his parents in 1925.
"My sister and I thought we had died and gone to heaven when we moved to the second house," Pete said. "We had electricity and indoor plumbing."
Joe worked for the Cupertino Union School District for 26 years.
He was an active member of the Lions Club for more than 40, and is a life member of Lions International. He remembers how supervising the transportation of the blind kids to and from the event to their residences during the early years was quite a responsibility.
"We had 10 to 12 mini-buses for the event," Joe remembers, "and I stood there as the drivers would arrive. I helped supervise the kids during the event and then made sure that all of the kids got on the buses to go back home.
"Now, the participants provide their own transportation."
The brothers are as enthusiastic about the event today as when it started. Joe says, "When you see these kids and adults, some of them squeal and laugh in excitement when they catch a fish and hold it," he recounts, smiling. "It makes you forget all of your problems; it is a true joy."
Once an angler, now a volunteer
Lions Club member and Fish-A-Thon volunteer Matt Sondeno, 32, is a great role model when it comes to helping others. He is not afraid to touch a fish and if you are apprehensive, he will gladly hold it for you so you can get a better look.
"I can help bait the hook, and I am not afraid to hold the fish," Sondeno said.
Sondeno was born with Down syndrome and lives in a group home in San Jose.
He has been a member of the Lions Club for about two years.
Matt's father also belongs to the Lions Club. Matt visits his parents, former Cupertino residents who have moved to Jackson, several times a year.
"I like to help people," Sondeno said. "I like to fish and I like to help cook them, too." Sondeno is no stranger to angling and goes fishing and camping often with his parents.
He first started coming to the Fish-A-Thon as an angler a decade ago, and for the last three years, has volunteered.
About the Fish-A-Thon
The Lions Club annual Fish-A-Thon is open to anyone with special needs. More than 130 volunteers took part in this year's event. They helped those fishing bait their hooks, cast their lines, unhook the fish, clean and pack them; plus supervised traffic and parking.
Club members, family and friends of the participants, family members of one-time quarry owner Tony Voss, Boy Scouts from Troop 270, Stevens Creek volunteer firefighters, Santa Clara County firefighters, members of the Leos Club from Cupertino High School and quarry employees were all on hand to help the anglers have a memorable day.
Far more, 107, were fishing in 2006 than in 2005, when 65 tried their luck. In 2004, 94 cast out lines.
Each must register, but no license is required. The limit for the number of fish each can catch is five.
Asked why he thought the derby has proven to be so popular, event chair and longtime Lions Club member Jim Isaacson said, "It's a relaxing thing to do in a safe, beautiful environment. Many of the participants probably don't get the opportunity to do this very often, so I think they really enjoy it." He added the participants find out how ready or reluctant they are to touch the fish.
Complimentary breakfast and lunch are served to all who attend.
This year, the Lions Club fed more than 300 people.
About the Lions Club
Cupertino Host Lions Club was chartered in 1951 and established the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center in 1953. It hosted the De Anza Lions Club in 1969 and, over the years, the club has contributed services to Cupertino residents, the Silicon Valley as a whole, and globally through the Lions Club International.
The Cupertino Lions Club's next fundraiser--the annual chicken, corn,and sausage feed--will be held Aug. 12 at Blackberry Farm in Cupertino. Funds that are raised will be donated to a variety of Lions Club beneficiaries, including Cupertino Community Services, Special Olympics, Camp Costanoan--a residential camp for those 5 and older with physical or developmental disabilities--and scholarships for Cupertino High School students. For more information, contact Vernon Etter at 408.873.8503 or Jim Isaacson at 408.278.7077.
