News & Notes
President ’ s Message
By Pamela Baird MVHA President
An unanticipated phone call from Emily Ramos has started a more intensive phase of my membership in the Mountain View Historical Association- that of President ! My husband and I have been MVHA life members since 2014 when we �irst joined . Out of the blue she asked me to join the Board as the President . After a bit of consideration I agreed .
This newsletter is published four times a year by the MOUNTAIN VIEW HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION P . O . Box 252 , Mountain View , CA 94042 www . mountainviewhistorical . org
MVHA Board of Directors
President : Pamela Baird Vice-President : Robert Cox Secretary : Jamil Shaikh Treasurer : Emily Ramos Past President : Nicholas Perry Historical Data : Candace Bowers Publicity : Marina Marinovich Membership : IdaRose Sylvester Newsletter : John Cortez Ways & Means : Mark Perry Director-at-Large : Lisa Garcia Director-at-Large : Gil Lane
Newsletter Copy Editor : Cynthia Hanson Newsletter Graphic Designer : Nicholas Perry
MVHA Board of Directors Email : info @ mountainviewhistorical . org Voicemail : ( 650 ) 903-6890
Pamela Baird
Although I haven ’ t previously served on the Board , I am committed to continuing the great work done by Nick Perry , the past president , and the previous and current Board members . It ’ s a great group of knowledgeable and engaged people .
My interest in the history of Mountain View is generated by my general curiosity of history , historical sites and how people make and shape their environments . I grew up in Arvada , Colorado , a suburb west of Denver . Its history isn ’ t that different from that of Mountain View .
Gold was discovered in the streams and mountains to the west . And like what happened in California , the rich bottomland soil of nearby streams convinced miners to become farmers . The laying of railroad tracks spurred the creation of the town that was later named Arvada , which became a small vibrant agricultural area . The little town had a prosperous downtown of wood framed houses and brick commercial buildings . Arvada even claimed the title “ Celery Capital of the World .”
And like Mountain View , the old downtown area deteriorated in the 1970s & 1980s when major shopping centers were built in other parts of town . But in the early 2000s an effort was made to restore and improve the old downtown district . After years of effort “ Old Town Arvada ” is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places . https :// oldetownarvada . org /
This is not to say that the same can or should be accomplished here , but that MVHA has a part to play in preserving the past and the current as well . In this issue you will �ind an article about “ History Happening Now ”, which we hope will be a regular feature . Notable current events should be recognized , as they will be considered “ history ” sometime in the near or distant future .
Last year several weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything members of MVHA met in a workshop to determine the goals of the group . A number of wonderful ideas were developed , but COVID-19 has curtailed some of the suggestions . Nonetheless , there are some things that can be a focus of our efforts as a group . New members are an important component of any organization and so we will be reaching out to other groups and individuals to increase membership and participation . Planning for interviews of more participants in the “ Oral History ” project can be done now , with interviews to be done over Zoom or in person when that is allowed . Lastly , we hope to increase community awareness of MVHA with increased postings on social media .
Please join us for the next virtual meeting on February 14 . It will be an interesting program on the past and future of the East Whisman area of Mountain View .
See you then , — Pamela
2