HORSES will be clip-clopping and jingling their way along N. Santa Cruz Avenue again this Yuletide season as the Holiday Carriage Rides begin on Friday, Dec. 6--the day before the Christmas parade. The rides will be available weekends through Dec. 21. There was concern that the rides might not happen because the LGDA was financially strapped. But the group joined forces with the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce and, thanks to their efforts to raise donations from the community, the tradition will continue. Where there's a will there's a way; or in this case a "ne-e-e-eigh." You can reserve your carriage ride now by calling 395-3765. Advance reservations and payment, $10 per person, are required.
AS the December holidays draw nearer, Mary Foster, Forbes Mill Museum curator, is organizing another "12 days of Christmas" concert series at the museum, but this time it will be "12 Plus 4," as the series is extended to 16 days, beginning Dec. 9 and running to Christmas Eve. The first program, heralded by a bagpiper, will feature the Four Shillings Concert Band. Watch for our Holiday Guide on Nov. 27 for the full program. There is no admission charge for the series.
SPEAKING of the museum, volunteer docents, who welcome visitors, are badly needed at this time. A shortage of volunteers has compelled some to put in extra days; the museum may have to close days when no docent is available. Being a fairly regular Forbes Mill docent, I find it a pleasant enough task; it takes only four hours, noon to 4 p.m. Any mature person with some spare time is urged to phone 395-7375.
THERE were 87 children from special education classes made happier when the Los Gatos Rotary Club held its 17th annual Halloween picnic Oct.29 at Vasona Park. The kids were from special classes at Carlton School and the hearing-impaired program at Oster School. They enjoyed the carousel and the Billy Jones Railroad. The Rotarians had to improvise on short notice when threatened rain compelled them to move a planned outdoor barbecue under cover. Pizzas from Mountain Mike's replaced hamburgers; drawing faces on pumpkins subbed for the usual carving. Judy Stein, 1996 Union Elementary Teacher of the Year, coordinated between the club and schools; Mike Frangadakis chaired for Rotary.
FAMILY Service Association, with the help of Los Gatos restaurants and merchants, will coordinate the annual Thanksgiving dinner for seniors at noon, Nov. 23, in the Neighborhood Center. Family Service will again collect food for the St. Luke's Church Food Bank; any donated canned food will be appreciated
MEMBERS of the Los Gatos High School Marching Band are, no doubt, looking forward eagerly to a trip to London, where they'll take part in the British capital's New Year's Day parade, billed as largest in the world. Los Gatos Rotary Club has helped out with a matching grant of $750 to assist scholarship funding for financially needy band members to make the trip. Band Booster vice president Jane Herberich and band director Judy Bingman accepted the check. The Wildcat band is only the second California band to take part in the London parade's 10-year history.
WE'VE reported on some amazing long-distance bicycle journeys by Los Gatans. Here's another eyebrow-raiser. Los Gatan Scott Sitler, 43, rode his bicycle from San Diego to Charleston, N.C., a distance of 2,884 miles, in 23 days. The ride from mid-September to early October, with 50 other riders from all over the world, was organized by Pacific Atlantic Crossing Tour, which provided breakfast, lunch, rest stops and arranged lodging.
To train for the long ride, Sitler, a software designer for Tandem, rode several "double centuries," 200 miles in a day, as well as "centuries," his wife, Susan, informs us, adding that her husband rode "every mile" of the 2,884.
THE Indian Store in Old Town holds its annual open house Nov.15, from 4 to 8:30 p.m., and Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guest artists will be wooden-mask carver Ben Della, well-known in Santa Fe; silversmiths Lawrence and Griselda Saufkie and Joe Tsosie; artist Carol Snow and author-artisan Manny Twofeathers, who was featured in the store's spring open house. Indian Store owner Janice Benjamin will be hosting.
THE Historic Home Tour sponsored by the Los Gatos Museum Association Nov. 16-17 is the museums' major fundraiser of the year. While some might ask why the museum still needs to raise money after a generous bequest from a former resident, association president Peter Tiernan informed museum members by letter that the bequest doesn't solve all the group's money problems. "Reinvesting enough to cover inflation [thereby preserving the principal] leaves us about $25,000 per year, or about $2,000 per month," he writes. The town grant was reduced this year, and the museum intends to build on it. Museum members are being asked, without obligation, to purchase 10 tickets for $100. Pre-tour tickets are $12.50.
SELF Help and Resource Exchange, better known as SHARE, offers an opportunity to help others while cutting food bills. Participants pay $14 in cash or food stamps and volunteer two hours a month at a community organization of their choice. They receive $25 to$35 worth of food. Call Family Service week day mornings at 354-1514.
LOS GATOS artist-poet Carol Ann Blisard donated one of her paintings-with-poetry to KTEH-TV's annual art auction Nov. 7. She is on the Los Gatos Arts Commission.
LOS GATOS Kiwanis Club president Rusty Rinehart, in tune with the times, won a prize for best costume at a club Halloween party dressed as "Billy Bob from Hope."
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 13, 1996.
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