Photograph courtesy of Scott Rose

Early in the century, a smaller St. Luke's Episcopal Church stood at University Avenue and W. Main Street.

Picture from the Past

St. Luke's Episcopal Church has a long history in the town

By John S. Baggerly

Sara Powell Millar's History of St. Luke's of Los Gatos (1882-1982) arrived at this desk recently, which accounts for today's photograph of the aforementioned Episcopal church on University Avenue, a few yards north of Main Street and bordering on the old University Avenue School where Old Town now stands. Millar's book, published in 1982, coincided with the church's centennial year.

An earlier attempt to build a church in the hills was thwarted by poison oak. A wooden structure was then built on University, but was destroyed during the severe downtown fire of 1902.

In the 1940s, Sara Powell sang in the church choir. She took over the junior choir in 1944 and later married one Bryan Millar. In her book, Millar mentions two women who were "stars" in the building of the church.

One woman, named as Mrs. John Lyndon--wife of the town's major builder--gave the lot. The other was one Mrs. Thomas Evans, a woman from Germantown, Pa., who was in Los Gatos visiting her daughter, a Mrs. F. H. McCullagh. She was so disturbed by the unimpressive site of the structure that upon returning to her home parish, St. Luke's in Germantown, she began to raise funds for the Los Gatos church.

The people of the Germantown St. Luke's also sent a full communion service, chancel furniture, a Bible, prayer books and hymnals for the pews. When the church in Los Gatos was built, it was named St. Luke's in appreciation of all the Germantown group had contributed.

The Rev. David Todd Gillmor became St. Luke's rector on Feb. 16, 1930, and stayed with the parish until he was recalled to active Army duty at the start of World War II. His early time at St. Luke's was marked by several changes in parish life. During the depths of the Depression, the parish was hard-pressed for funds. However, since people could not do other things, church activities became a more important part of their lives. The guilds flourished, the senior choir gained new members, a junior choir was formed, and a young people's fellowship was organized.

Armistice Day became a big event in the parish after Mr. Gillmor arrived. Because he was a captain in the Army's l43rd Field Artillery, 40th Division, the military band from that group visited St. Luke's every year on Armistice Day. The band marched inside and played all the hymns of the service. The reader should keep in mind that the church was smaller than it is now, so the effect of "Onward Christian Soldiers" played inside the building was something one did not soon forget! The state of California later appointed Gillmor as an overseer of boxing at San Jose's old Forman Arena.

In the 1930s, a Rev. Long and family came to Los Gatos, looking unsuccessfully for a parish in the area. A daughter, Audrey, acted in Saratoga community plays and later caught on in Hollywood doing lead and supporting roles from 1944 to 1952. She then moved to her native Florida to be married.

Flashing forward to July 1999, we have the Rev. David Breuer as St. Luke's rector, a post he has held for six years. The assistant priest is Andrea Selsovanyi, a graduate of Yale University and a fifth-generation Californian.

Millar's History of St. Luke's of Los Gatos (1882-1982) is available at the church office for $10. Brief parking is available at the church's lot where the Carnegie Library once stood.

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