News & Notes
President’s Message
By Patricia Figueroa
MVHA President
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
BOARD MEMBERS & CHAIRS
President: Patricia Figueroa
Vice-President: Candace Bowers
Secretary: Jamil Shaikh
Treasurer: John Figueroa
Past President: Bob Weaver
Historical Data: Eugene Sharp
Membership: June Casey
Newsletter Editor: Nick Perry
Ways & Means: Richard Espinosa
Director-at-Large: Nick Galiotto
Director-at-Large: Lisa Roquero Garcia
Hospitality: Helene Hughes
Programs: Bob Weaver
Publicity: Marina Marinovich
In Memoriam
Geraldine Weir
July 16, 1927 – February 8, 2015
Joseph Teresi
September 25, 1930 – May 14, 2015
Betty C. Monroe
October 25, 1922 – July 1, 2014
Audrey Jarvis Hoke
May 27, 2013
Richard Stern Weir
September 20, 2012
On May 3rd we had a very successful
spring event at the former Blue &
Gold Kennel Club. Thank you to Gilda
Wunderman and Toshi Kumagai for
opening the Wunderman House to the
MVHA. Our volunteer tour guides did
a wonderful job of guiding our guests
through the house. While waiting for
their tour, guests enjoyed snacks and
some great live music. Thank you to
everyone who participated in making
this event so successful —we were
able to introduce the MVHA to a great
number of Mtn. View residents.
At our last meeting, the MVHA Board voted to allocate funds for an
interpretive sign that will be located in the new Veterans’ Memorial
located at Eagle Park at 650 Franklin Street. The memorial will be
located in the colonnaded plaza near the park’s poolhouse. As many
of you know, the center of the plaza features the historic flagpole
and war memorial plaques from Mtn. View Union High School. A
few months ago, the flagpole base was removed from the site for
necessary reconstruction and a “time capsule” was discovered with a
variety of things placed there by the city employees who worked on
the Eagle Park project.
Sometimes as residents we think that when city employees are
working on a project, it’s “just another job.” But the contents of the
capsule are a nice reminder of what dedicated civil servants we have.
I’d like to share with you one of the items discovered, an “Inter-Office
Memorandum” dated November 7, 1989 (about three weeks after the
big September 1989 earthquake), which is partly transcribed below:
To: The Future ; From: Harvey Tregembo, Facilities Superintendent
As I sit here writing this note for the time capsule I am struck by how
many things this flagpole and its base really represent. It is a statement of
respect and recognition for those who have gone on before us. It is also a
symbol of the new spirit within this City, but most of all for me it represents
all of the intangible things the Facilities Department stands for. The fine
craftsmanship and care used in constructing the base speak to the limitless
abilities of this crew. The effort to actually build it is evidence of the “Can
Do” attitude that allowed this project to be a success during a time of
incredible workload. The involvement in thi s project is an example of the
strong desire to “Serve with Excellence.”
Harvey’s memo goes on to say a few kind words about each member
of his team. We don’t have the space to print the full memo here, but
their names are Larry Barton, Gary Bartos, Fay Beatty, Joe Gallegos,
Wilma Haftel, Bruce Mallory, Tom Morrisey, Ken “Sarge” Schmidtke,
Gary Spears, Dave Trotter, and Jesus Zuniga. Harvey concluded the
memo by writing, “I have never found it so easy to say good things
about people nor found a group of people I admire so much.”
Harvey, from the future – Thanks for sharing! And to his Facilities
Department crew – thanks for working so hard to preserve this piece
of Mtn. View history! We look forward to seeing the flag pole gain
even deeper meaning as part of the Veterans Memorial.
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