THERE have been few more faithful and attentive sons than Yehudi Menuhin. The famed violinist/conductor, who spent parts of his childhood and youth with his family in Los Gatos, has always kept in close touch with his mother, even when his musical career took him all over the world.
He and Lady Diana Menuhin came from London for a Dec. 7 party with some 60 guests, many of them long-time acquaintances, to celebrate Marusha Menuhin's 100th birthday. (See related story, page 21.)
On his many travels, the much-honored musical artist often telephones his mother, and he has quite often returned to Los Gatos for visits. One Los Gatos oldtimer recalls when Menuhin instructed Dr. Horace Jones to telephone him anywhere in the world after the physician had given Mrs. Menuhin a checkup. Lord Menuhin, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth a few years ago, stunned San Francisco and New York music critics with his talents at age 7 and 8. He will receive many honors in this country and in Europe when he turns 80 on April 22.
In his autobiography, Menuhin wrote of his enjoyment in driving his car through the (then scarcely settled) Los Gatos hills.
MEG BASINSKI, Family Service Association manager at the Neighborhood Center, has reason to call attention to a planned program on home safety and fire prevention Jan. 25 at the center. While preparing breakfast at home one recent morning, a stove burner was left on and bacon grease blazed up. "These things happen so quickly," she said. "Fortunately, only a valance over the sink caught fire. Everyone needs to be reminded."
That's why she's urging attendance at the 10:30 a.m. meeting, to be conducted by the Santa Clara County Fire Safety Unit.
IT'S NOT A very distant move for this Los Gatos business. Longtime hairdresser Jerome Kotoske is moving Jerome's Hairdressing from 246 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road right next door to 413-A Monterey Ave., formerly a doctor's office. Moving with him Jan. 18 is facialist Cora Lee McFerrin. "I've been in business here 25 years and plan to go on at least another ten," says Jerome.
EVERY Saturday, starting at 8 a.m., Freddie Howell, owner of the recently opened Wild Bird Center, 798 Blossom Hill Road, leads a bird walk for anyone who wants to combine 1 1/2 to 2 hours of leisurely exercise with learning a bit about our feathered friends. The first walk Dec. 9 included the Oka Lane percolation pond near Highway 17 in Campbell. Afterward, everyone came back to the Kings Court store for coffee and bagels served by Freddie's husband, John Howell. (Freddie is short for Frederica.)
The Wild Bird Center has no live birds on the premises; it offers everything for the backyard birder. The franchised store is one of about 100 in California. It encourages environmental programs; this month, Freddie Howell is presenting a $400 check, representing a portion of October-December profits, to the Coyote Creek Riparian Station. Call 358-9453 for information.
A NOTE in Los Gatos Rotary Club's Update membership bulletin says Rotarian Marlon Smith had to pay a club fine "for not making sure the club received publicity equal to the Lions and Kiwanis clubs for participation in the Christmas Cotillion." Leaves this columnist feeling he omitted something, so here's a notice that Rotary members were in active attendance at La Rinconada Country Club on Dec. 9. (Now I bet Smith won't get his $20 back.)
THIS YEAR will mark the 50th anniversary for the Los Gatos Lions Club. The date of its charter falls in February, but the club plans a celebration to go with the installation of its next president, June 14 at La Rinconada Country Club.
FBI AGENTS on Dec. 7 arrested some 400 telemarketing-scam artists in 15 states. The FBI trap, which took two years to accomplish, was managed with the cooperation of the American Association of Retired Persons. Prime targets of these telephone crooks are people older than 65. Las Vegas is a center of "boiler rooms" from which elderly victims are lured into sending money for some prize or worthless investment. Thousands of fraudulent telemarketers are still at work, the AARP warns. They're hard to prosecute because of the time and staff needed to gather evidence.
IF YOU drop in at Len's Barbershop, 114-C Royce St., there's a wall photo of N. Santa Cruz Ave. showing the La Cañada Building as it appeared in 1900. Los Gatos historian Bill Wulf changes photos at the shop each month.
AFTER THE 1989 earthquake, Los Gatos mountain residents formed MERC (Mountain Emergency Response Corps). Working with the Red Cross, disaster classes began in the spring of 1990. Local residents established two Arks, large containers with emergency supplies, one at the Loma Prieta Community Center, the other at Redwood Estates near the fire station. Classes in basic Red Cross disaster training began this month. According to Sue Pierce in the Mountain Network News, the trouble is a shortage of volunteers. For information, call Pierce, 353-2823 or Jaci Viskochil, 353-4078.
WE MAY HAVE some trees with bare limbs and a few other signs of winter, but compared to the blizzard-bound East, we've been fortunate. Even the recent rainstorm that wreaked a lot of havoc can hardly compare. The eastern snowstorm had its effect on California, with many air flights delayed or canceled. The experts say there may be a rise in fruit and vegetable prices because of the storm in the Southeast states. We've had some lovely sunny days between rains.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, January 17, 1996.
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