HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 10DRAFT History Committee Meeting Minutes
January 10, 2010
Meeting called to order at LAH Parks & Rec. Building at 2:10 pm by Mary Ann
Malcolm, Chair.
Roll call
Committee Members present: Bill Downey, Les Earnest, Maryann Malcolm
Committee Member absent: Nobuko Cleary
Associate Member present: Barbara Packard
Council Liaison present: Jean Mordo
Others present: Jitze Couperus
Minutes of the 11/10/09 Committee meeting
Reviewed and approved with a correction: those minutes should show that the minutes of
the 10/20/09 Committee Meeting were reviewed and approved.
Thanks
The Committee gave thanks to Nobuko Cleary for providing a party for the Committee
on Dec. 13.
Scanning Project
Jitze Couperus reported on his experimental photographic recording of Town history
scrapbooks. He had difficulty with both the physical manipulation and curvature of the
scrapbook pages and the subdued lighting available in Council Chambers. There was
further discussion of the possibility of getting a commercial scanning service to do it.
Inventory Subcommittee. In order to assess the size of the prospective scrapbook
scanning project, Les Earnest reported that the Inventory Subcommittee will continue
cataloging page counts in Council Chambers on Tuesday, Jan. 26 beginning at 1:30pm.
Renaming Edith Park
In response to a request from the Council, the Committee considered alternative new
names for Edith Park. Couperus and Mordo suggested “Anza Park” or “Anza Corner” in
honor of the leader of the first Spanish/Mexican pioneering expedition that came to San
Francisco by a route through this area.
Downey proposed calling it “Florence Fava Park” after the early Town historian who
wrote the only book so far on Los Altos Hills history.
Earnest proposed “Juana Briones Park” given that she was a member of the Anza
expedition who subsequently operated a large cattle and farming ranch that covered much
of the land later included in Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills. She was a business success
who charitably looked after people who were less fortunate. Earnest noted that the Town
named a large park after her contemporary landowner, Juan Prado Mesa, but the only
recognition of Briones so far has been a street bearing her name.
Earnest also advocated that a more appropriate recognition of Juan Bautista de Anza
would be to designate a route for the Anza Trail through our community. Beginning
about 20 years ago the National Park Service planned a hiking/equestrian route from
Sonora, Mexico to San Francisco including a link through Los Altos Hills, but even
though adjacent communities have selected their segments, including a connection
through Windmill Meadow on the south and through the Arastradero Preserve to the
north, our town has turned up its nose on this project. That will not prevent hikers from
coming through but without a designated route they may find it difficult to find their way
and are more likely to end up in someone’s back yard. The main effect of this default is
that Federal funds available for improving and maintaining the Anza Trail are not
available to our town.
No vote was taken on alternative names for Edith Park, so the Committee has not made a
recommendation so far.
Meeting Adjourned at 2:55 PM
Submitted by Les Earnest, Secretary