Photograph courtesy Scott Rose of Los Gatos, treasurer and host, San Jose Postcard Club
James Bacigalupi, who was an attorney for Bank of America when it stood at the corner of Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue, labeled the corner the "elbow of town."
'Give me liberty or give me death." That Patrick Henry fellow knew how to spout himself into history books.
Los Gatans have left their marks with quotable quotes as well. Here are some examples:
"The Los Gatos business district will never move north of Saratoga Avenue." --Fred Crisp
"Children are little savages who discipline each other." --Dr. David Lacey Hibbs
"And now, the toughest shot of all, the straight ball." --Joe Kirkwood Sr.
"Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street create the Elbow of Town." --James A. Bacigalupi
"I've got a kid here with the best hands I've ever seen on a football player." --Pete Denevi
Crisp, a local real estate agent who worked exclusively on big deals, predicted that Saratoga Avenue would act like a river that shoppers would never cross. Crisp was a dapper Englishman who flew a fighter plane in France during World War I. His prediction proved incorrect when Safeway moved from Bean Avenue to its current location on Santa Cruz Avenue north of Saratoga Avenue. It turned out to be Crisp who sold the property that Safeway purchased.
Bay Area pediatricians sent their young patients to Doctor Hibbs' Sunshine Farm atop Kennedy Road, where his wife, a registered nurse, cared for the children.
Joe Kirkwood, an Australian and golf champion on three continents, turned to trick shot exhibitions and was managed by Jim Harnett, a land promoter during the Florida boom of the 1920s. Retired and living in Los Gatos, Harnett in the 1950s enticed his old friend to do a show at La Rinconada where, working from the eighth tee, he dazzled a gallery. After performing a mix of unbelievable shots, he concluded with: "And now the toughest shot of all, the straight ball."
Bacigalupi, a retired Bank of America attorney, lived here and became a downtown property owner when he observed that the corner of Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street formed "The Elbow of Town."
Denevi, Los Gatos High School football coach in the l950s and '60s, talked of a so-so quarterback named Hugh Campbell, who had exceptional "hands." After the team lost an early game with Campbell at quarterback, Denevi worked another youngster into quarterback and moved Campbell to end, and Los Gatos won the league championship. Campbell went on to become "Gluey Hughie" at Washington State University and the Canadian pro league.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 2, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved