Main Street

Fancy footwork pays off at grape stomp

By Mary Ann Cook

PURPLE-FOOTED: The 1999 winners of the sixth annual Calaveras County Grape Stomp Competition are Los Gatans Kyle Park and Brian Royston, who beat 95 other teams to take the title. The win represents a lot of fast and fancy footwork.

Park and Royston had only three minutes to pulverize 25 pounds of grapes into liquid in each of the early heats. These heats are designed to separate the wheat from the chaff--or the juice from the grape, in this case. The Los Gatans survived the heat and the semifinals in order to become one of three team finalists.

In the finals, teams had five minutes to stomp 35 pounds of pinot grapes. Park and Royston produced 16 pounds of juice in that compact amount of time. This is the second time the duo--known as the Scumbags, which stands for Santa Clara University MBA Graduates--has entered the contest, which was held in Murphys.

Royston is the stomper. He's the one encased in the keg, stomping his heart out in Teva sandals. Park is the swabber; he's the one who engineers the juice through the strainer into the bucket. Training tips: Royston does a lot of bicycling; Park a lot of collating. Beyond that, they don't want to give any secret techniques away because they'll be defending their title in 2000. They already have rooms booked in Murphys.

Park is director of finance and operations at Simplicity, a start-up software company in Sunnyvale. Royston is a business analyst at Intend Change, a venture capital company in Santa Clara. Park's fiancée, Amy Attard, and Brian's wife, Juliana Scalise, cheered on the winning team. The two couples are next-door neighbors.

Park says he was surprised at all the adulation: Everyone gathered around to congratulate them. Murphys closed off the street and offered other entertainment, such as live music and belly dancing. The pair appeared on TV and were interviewed for the local paper.

As for any aftereffects: They hosed themselves down immediately, easily losing the purple hue on their appendages.

GRADS GIVING: Some graduates of the School of Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, contributed a day's proceeds this year to their alma mater to be used for such things as new equipment, dental work for the homeless and support for volunteer teachers.

Two who contributed were Ronald Oleson, an endodontist (root canal specialist) whose practice is in Saratoga, and his wife, Cathy Oleson, a dental hygienist who works for Los Gatos dentists Charlie Goss and Bill Frey.

In the press release from UCSF, Cathy was listed as a dentist and Ron wasn't mentioned at all, which goes to show that even institutes of higher learning can garble the goods about their grads. Cathy endured some teasing for her swift promotion after the mention here a couple of weeks ago.

IN TRAINING: Barbara Blackburn and Cheri Anderson of the Fitness Edge in Los Gatos will hold a fundraiser for leukemia research, and train for the IronMan Canada 2000 Marathon at the same time on Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The public is invited to spin along (ride an exercise bike) for one hour in return for a donation of $25 or more. The two marathoners hope to raise $15,000 for the cause. Eleven folks can participate in each one-hour cycling class.

LIONS WINNERS: The Peckler Memorial Relay was won by the Los Gatos Lions Limpers--Paul Wilson, Carol Musser, Bill Frey, Dan Hall and Carol Wilson, Paul's wife. Paul Wilson ran the longest and hardest stretch, the first leg up St. Joseph's Hill, some 5 miles in 32.53 minutes. The other participants ran in 2.5 mile stretches.

HALLOWEEN ON TAIT: Some 1,000 trick-or-treaters descended on Tait Street on Halloween night. Residents up and down the block really get into the holiday, including MarLyn Rasmussen, deputy town clerk, who hosts a party yearly.

One costumed standout this year was Molly Robson, 3, who was bedecked in signature straw hat and plaid skirt as the fictional Madeline. Molly even had the Madeline attitude down pat as she made the rounds in her no-nonsense way. Julie and Mark Robson are her parents.

A beekeeper father surrounded by little bees was another crowd pleaser. Insects were much in evidence this Halloween year. My own theory is that it's more fallout from La Niña.

KID LIT AUTHORS: Four children's authors will give presentations and autograph their books at Congregation Shir Hadash, 16555 Shannon Road, on Nov. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. The four are Martha Kendall (of Los Gatos), Marcia Diane Arnold, Susan Taylor Brown and Caryn Huberman Yacowitz.

The book sale is sponsored by the Brandeis University National Women's Committee, Santa Clara Valley chapter. A donation of $10 at the door supports the university's libraries. For information or reservations, contact Lolly at 408.270.1453 or Jean at 408.223.9892.

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