HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 17Historical Committee
Meeting Minutes
June 17, 2008
Meeting called to order at 2:00 pm by Mary Ann Malcolm, Chair.
Roll call
Committee members present: Bill Downey, Les Earnest, Mary Ann Malcolm, Tom
McReynolds,
Committee member absent: Bob Stutz,
Associate member present: Barbara Packard,
Council Liaison present: Jean Mordo.
Review Minutes
Committee reviewed and approved the Minutes of the May 20, 2008 meeting.
Old Business
Morrison Subdivision Street Name. The Committee unanimously recommended that
the name of the new street be Morrison Court, after the family that has owned this
property for many years.
Inventory Subcommittee Report. The Subcommittee (Downey, Earnest & Malcolm)
reported on initial cataloging of Town historical artifacts on 6/6/2008 with more to be
done on 6/26/2008. Things in the collection that appear to have no historical significance
are being set aside and other items are being assigned serial numbers (applied as Post-it
notes) and catalogued. Forty-five artifacts have been catalogued so far, including 21
aerial photos, 13 other photos, 7 drawings, 3 posters and 1 news article.
New Business
Proposed History Museum and Web Site. The Committee unanimously adopted the
following resolution.
“Whereas the Town has a number of historical artifacts that are worthy of public display
and whereas there likely are additional artifacts that residents might be willing to donate,
we recommend that the Council adopt a long range plan to make these materials
accessible through a combination of additions to the Town website and the creation of a
Los Altos Hills History Museum and in the meantime encourage the public donation to
the Town of both historical artifacts and private funding for this project, to be kept in a
separate Town account.”
Entrance Road to Westwind Barn. The Committee unanimously recommends that the
subject road be named “Margit Way.” The basis of this recommendation is as follows.
Shortly after Westwind Barn was acquired by the Town in 1975 this road was
unofficially called Old Crow Way and an informal street sign was erected with that
name. This was to honor City Manager Bob Crow, who was instrumental in acquiring
the Westwind property. However, the sign later disappeared and that name is no longer in
use.
This road, which also provides access to paths and a Town picnic area in Byrne Preserve,
arguably should be named to honor the principal benefactor of Westwind, namely
Countess Margit Bessenyey. In 1975 she donated most of the Westwind property and
sold the balance to the Town for a mere $25,000. Countess Bessenyey was financially
well off inasmuch as she was the granddaughter of Anaconda Copper King Marcus Daly.
She was also the daughter of a Hungarian Count and wife of a Hungarian Baron and was
active in the World War 2 Hungarian resistance movement during the Nazi occupation.
The Countess later became a U.S. citizen and continued her life long interest in horses by
buying Westwind Farms in 1971 and operating the Pacific School of Horsemanship in
Los Altos Hills. In 1975, after donating and selling her Los Altos Hills lands, she
continued to support horse activities at the Bitterroot Ranch in Hamilton, Montana, where
she also contributed to charitable projects. She died in 1984.
One logical name for the street under consideration would be Bessenyey Drive. However,
some English-speaking tongues might have difficulty with that. Another plausible choice
would be Countess Court. However that would be ambiguous (arguably in a good way)
inasmuch as there was another countess who donated substantial lands to Byrne Preserve,
namely Spanish Countess De Zahara, nee Byrne.
Still another possibility is suggested by the tradition in our town of using women's first
names for streets such as Arline, Beatrice, Becky, Catherine, Dawn, Dianne, Elena, Elise,
Elsie, Ginny, Jessica, Josefa, Julietta, Kate, Kriste, Laura, Magdalena, Manuella, Nicole,
Nina, Princess Eleena, Priscilla, Rebecca, Rhoda, Teresa and Ursula. Following that
tradition, Margit Way would be a good choice and is the one the Committee
recommends.
Path Names. The Committee voted unanimously to recommend that two existing scenic
paths be given names of historical significance, namely the "Wallace Stegner Path" going
from Three Forks Lane to Edgerton Road and the "David and Lucille Packard Path"
going along Purissima Creek from Elena to Taaffe Road.
The basis of these recommendations is as follows. The Committee believes that the most
scenic paths in Town should be given names, identified with signage and be named on
Town maps. Currently there are just three named paths:
Artemas Ginzton Path going through Byrne Preserve from Moody Road to
Byrne Park Lane;
Fran Stevenson Path going from Elena Road to Lupine Road, next to Saddle
Mountain;
Mary Stutz Path going from Dawson Drive along Hale Creek through Juan
Prado Mesa Preserve to Stonebrook Drive.
Each of these paths has been named for a person who played a prominent role in planning
the Town’s pathway system. Five additional paths might be considered for naming:
1. Path from Three Forks Lane to Edgerton Road, which follows a lovely canyon;
2. Path that branches from #1 and connects to both Matadero Creek Court and Via
Ventana Way following a branch canyon.
3. Path from Elena Road to Black Mountain Road, along Deer Creek;
4. Path from Moody Court to Central Drive following an old tree shrouded dirt road
along the West boundary of Byrne Preserve;
5. Path from Elena Road along Purissima Creek and up to Taaffe Road.
The Committee proposes that two be given names now and that the others be considered
for later naming.
Name Path #1 the "Wallace Stegner Path", in honor of one of the Town’s
founders who is also a world famous author and educator. This may be
controversial inasmuch as Stegner initially opposed the creation of this path going
near his home but later came to very much enjoy walking it.
Name Path #5 the "David and Lucille Packard Path" in honor of the former
owners of the land where it has been constructed, whose very successful company
made possible their major charitable contributions throughout the world.
Correcting Misspelled Names. The Committee reviewed the fact that certain street
names derived from Spanish have been misspelled, namely Manuella and Purissima, and
considered alternative ways of correcting this. The Committee decided look further
through the Town’s list of street names to see if there are any more candidates for
correction before proposing specific actions.
Topics Proposed for the Next Meeting
1. Changing the Committee’s name to “History Committee.”
2. Initiate an inventory of Town historical sites.
Meeting Adjourned at 3:20 PM
Submitted by Les Earnest, Secretary