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Leonard McKay leaves legacy of local history

By Mary Gottschalk

San Jose historian Leonard McKay's death has left a large void. As family and friends mourn his Oct. 17 passing and prepare for his Oct. 26 memorial service, they are conscious of the loss of a man not just a historian, but also a good person.

"Leonard had an encyclopedic knowledge of San Jose," says Tom McEnery, former mayor of San Jose and a close friend.

"He was like what the Irish call a seanachi ­ an oral historian. He was such a great raconteur and storyteller. He was so busy helping other people he didn't put down a lot in writing of what was clearly in his head and heart.

"Without Leonard there is a monumental void."

Fellow historian Pat Loomis, who collaborated with McKay on a tour of Oak Hill Cemetery just two weeks before his death, says she has lost a close friend as well as a professional resource.

"Leonard was a wonderful guy, and we worked on a lot of things together," Loomis says.

"When you thought about history, you thought about Leonard. He knew everything."

Historic consultant Bonnie Bamburg says she was shocked when she heard of McKay's death.

"Leonard certainly taught me a lot about history, but more importantly how important history is in everyday life. He exemplified that by all that he did through his businesses, all his publishing and all his time that he gave so freely to anyone who had a question, wanted to know something or wanted to hear what the valley was like."

Bamburg says after she joined San Jose Rotary Downtown, she started serving on the history and archive committee that McKay chaired.

"I'd see Leonard every week, and we'd often talk and walk together."

The two were working on two projects together--the reconstruction of Pellier Park in downtown San Jose and the Almaden Winery.

With his signature Abe Lincoln beard, which he started sporting around 1970, and a fondness for suspenders, McKay looked like he came from a different century.

In reality, he was born in San Jose on Oct. 21, 1921.

In a 2005 interview with the Rose Garden Resident, he said, "I was sick as a young child and wasn't expected to live past the age of 10. My family moved to Los Gatos for my health."

His father, Leonard McKay Sr., commuted by bus to downtown San Jose to work at Smith & McKay Printing, which he founded with his mother, Bessie C. Smith and his stepfather, Clifford Smith, in 1919.

After graduating from Los Gatos High School, McKay went on to Santa Clara University.

World War II interrupted his studies, and he joined the U.S. Army First Infantry Division in Germany after the Battle of the Bulge.

After his discharge, McKay returned to San Jose and completed his degree in accounting and advertising at the University of Santa Clara.

McKay always valued education and often emphasized its importance to his children, says son Chris McKay.

"He wrote a letter to his grandchildren where he said education wasn't just high school and college, it was a lifelong endeavor. It was very important to him," Chris McKay says.

Three days after graduation, McKay joined Pan American Airways and spent the next seven years in the Pacific Basin.

He returned to San Jose in 1953 and continued with Pan Am in San Francisco, until he was fed up with the commute.

"I drove the Bayshore Freeway one day and said, 'That's it.' It was all stop signs, and it wasn't a freeway," he said.

McKay's father was ill at the time, so he returned to the family business. After his father's death, he bought his grandmother's interest in Smith & McKay Printing Co. in 1956.

In 1983, McKay sold the business to his son David, who operated it until his death in October 2004. McKay then closed it.

The same year he sold the business to his son, McKay opened Memorabilia of San Jose next door to the business, specializing in postcards and old books dealing with Santa Clara County.

McKay willingly shared his personal collection with visitors interested in doing serious research.

For less serious visitors he had tales to tell, and for the very young, he had a basket of real arrowheads and old skeleton keys he sold for $1 each.

McKay also worked closely with fellow historian Clyde Arbuckle on his definitive History of San Jose, published in 1986. He worked with Arbuckle on the project for more than 15 years, finally editing the extensive writings into a single, comprehensive book.

Even before he closed Memorabilia in 2002, McKay told friends he was working on a book on "the seamy side of San Jose."

Along with collecting books, maps and other history memorabilia, McKay was a serious art collector.

"My collection was based on San Jose and Santa Clara County," he said. "I'd always felt our artists had never been properly recognized."

It was his dream that his collection of watercolors and oil paintings of 20th-century Silicon Valley artists would be kept together and put on display.

His son Chris recalls him turning down substantial offers from people wanting to buy his Andrew P. Hill painting of a giant redwood in what is now Big Basin Park. Hill founded the Sempervirens Club environmentalist group, and his photography and painting are credited as having helped save Big Basin from development.

When buyers weren't willing to promise to keep the painting in San Jose and display it, they were sent away.

McKay's dream was realized in March 2005 with the opening of the Leonard and David McKay Gallery inside the Pasetta House in History Park San Jose. The first exhibition was of 32 works from his collection, including the Hill painting.

The man who helped make that happen is Rob Bettencourt, who first met McKay in the late 1960s when he was a student volunteer at the De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University.

In addition to sharing a love of art, the two were connected by the fact that Bettencourt's grandparents, Anna and Mateo Pasetta, owned the house adjacent to Smith & McKay Printing on W. St. James Street.

After the Passeta house was saved from the wrecking ball and moved to History Park San Jose in 1984, Bettencourt says, "Leonard was always telling me what a great art gallery that house would make."

Bettencourt says with the encouragement of David Crossen, then president and CEO of History Park, he decided to fund renovation of the house and to purchase McKay's collection for exhibition there.

"He was thrilled. He was very happy with that McKay Gallery," Bamburg says.

It was McKay's request that it be called the Leonard and David McKay Gallery.

"I thought he should be remembered," McKay said of his late son. Mr. McKay also donated more than 4,000 photographs from his collection to History Park.

"Leonard would tell stories about every single photograph. A lot was in his head, and we were trying to capture everything we could," says Alida Bray, acting president and CEO of History Park. "Leonard had no boundaries. He was interested in history. He just loved it, no matter what the subject was."

McKay's willingness to share his knowledge with others was legendary.

"Whenever anybody called and had complicated questions about San Jose or Santa Clara Valley history, I often referred them to Leonard, and he was only too happy to share with anyone, which is a great thing," Bray says.

While McKay was most often thought of as a historian, to fellow residents of Morse Street, he was a good neighbor.

"Our neighborhood is in shock," says Bob Cullen. "He was one of the elder statesmen of the street. We'd have barbecues and he'd bring a sheet of information and facts on Morse Street."

McKay's closest friends and neighbors were Neil and Kaethe Lockley.

"Leonard had so many things going and so many activities," Neil Lockley says. "He went out of there every day going somewhere and he had started writing his book."

In addition to his son, McKay leaves daughters Pamela Miller and Annie O'Riley, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A service for Leonard McKay will be held Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. at History Park San Jose, 1650 Senter Road.

Fallon home once a Hotel

Leonard McKay was a frequent contributor to Tom McEnery's www.sanjoseinside.com. His postings remain on the site and cover a range of topics. McKay's last posting below was on Oct. 9.

--Editor

By Leonard McKay

Most immigrants arriving in San Jose from Italy early in the last century were quite poor, so they stayed in boarding houses that offered furnished rooms. The building now known as the Fallon House was used for a much longer time as the Italian Hotel, where single Italian men or families would stay for a reasonable time with people like themselves while they earned enough to buy a small farm or establish a business.

While the Italian Hotel was a stopping-off point, it was only one of many such places, all located within several blocks. Of these, Henry's Hi Life and the Fallon House are the only buildings still in existence.

Most of these establishments provided meals in addition to lodging. My first recollection of them was coming to the Italian Hotel with my mother. We carried a large empty kettle and walked directly into the kitchen. The year was 1932, and the Depression was at its height. Here, for 25 cents, my mother could get enough cooked spaghetti, ravioli, roast beef and French fries to feed our family of four. On special occasions, we were fortunate enough to eat in the dining room. The first course was a huge tureen of minestrone soup and a platter of French bread. Then came a green salad dressed in oil and vinegar. Another platter of bread arrived with plates of spaghetti and ravioli. The main course was baked chicken or roast beef with potatoes and overcooked vegetables, followed by a dessert of pudding or sherbet. Prohibition had recently been repealed, and a bottle of red wine would be enjoyed by the adults.

When I returned from World War II, I purchased the building previously occupied by the Louis Bakery, owned by Louis Petrino. My building abutted the Italian Hotel property at the rear. The two owners of that establishment were Al Franzino and Al Visca, affectionately known as "Big Al" and "Little Al." Little Al would rise at 3:30 every morning and hand-make the day's fresh ravioli. Big Al was the head chef, and he would alert me when the special of the day was polenta.

Big Al was always trying a promotion to improve business. He changed the name to the Italian Cellar.

The times just weren't right for the two Als, and their business failed. Manny Peirera came in just as the high-rise buildings started to go up, renamed the place "Manny's Cellar" and made a great success of it. Manny was a good operator, greeted everyone by name, and managed to get a remarkable turnover of seats. He also had a hard liquor license, and many attorneys spent their afternoons resting on the bar. The city bought the building and restored it to its 1850s splendor as early mayor Tom Fallon's residence.