TWO WEEKS AGO I mentioned that my grandfather, as a boy, supposedly rode his bike to a high point and watched San Francisco burn after the 1906 earthquake, and I wondered where that high point might be. Bruce Ring, of the Shoreline/Middlefield area, answered the call:
“It’s not Mountain View,” he wrote, “but you can see San Francisco from the ridges of Arastradero Preserve near Alpine and Arastradero roads in Palo Alto.”
Thanks, Bruce — I am now left to wonder if indeed Donald B. McKean made such a bike ride. It seems likely, since other facts about him are checking out thanks to city historian Barbara Kinchen, who dug up a yearbook photo of him (Mountain View High School, Class of 1916) as well as records showing that Harry S. McKean, his father and my great-grandfather, owned a chicken farm on Berry Avenue between Springer and Miramonte.
I might add that Ms. Kinchen dug up these records out of sheer kindness (perhaps mingled with some professional curiosity), and that she might do the same for you. Curious about any aspect of this city’s past? Go visit the Mountain View History Center, second floor of the downtown library, between 1 and 5 p.m. on a Tuesday. Or call them at 903-6890. Or make an appointment by calling 903-6337. …
Speaking of generosity, it is thanks to John Caruson, of Minnesota, that we’re able to enjoy all those nice post-earthquake photos on page 13. Caruson came across a large stash of Mountain View history when he inherited an old scrapbook from a Mrs. Victor Morris Smith, nee Anna Cecilia Tombler, who has old ties to Mountain View history and is believed to be the taker of the photographs. How Caruson came across them, and the strange fate of certain Smith family members, is a long story for another time, but sufficed to say that Caruson has scanned the photos and agreed to share a few with us. He also tells me he’s going to make his discovery available via a Web site, www.dvdcharlie.com.
SOME READERS may be wondering: What happened to Sports?
Our coverage has been nonexistent for the past few weeks, spotty before that. In fact, the whole winter season was quite literally a wash.
Sadly, we journalists are subject to the same global forces as everyone else. In this case, two big ones are at work: 1) an economy which causes our writers to take other, full-time jobs, and 2) an outrageous stretch of rainy weather which has caused the delay or cancellation of pretty much everything out of doors.
In other words, blame the dot-com revolution, blame global warming, just don’t blame me. …
SPEAKING OF THINGS sports-related, anybody make it to the St. Francis High School baseball stadium last Friday evening? The stadium, part of a whole new athletic complex there, was dedicated to Mountain View resident Chris Bradford.
Bradford, who took over as head varsity baseball coach at St. Francis in 1974, is a star among coaches. He was named “CCS Honor Coach” in 1995 and “California High School Coach of the Year” in 2004. Among his kids: Eric Byrnes of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jon Gall of the Saint Louis Cardinals. …
FINALLY, Mesa de la Comunidad Mountain View has a spiffy new Web site at www.mesacomunidad.org. According to said site, Mesa began when “a small group of Mountain View residents came together in February 2005 in response to concerns about school closure proceedings at the Mountain View-Whisman School District.”
This of course is reference to the almost-closure of Castro Elementary. After pressure from groups like Mesa, the district changed course and decided to close Slater instead.
Today, with the school debate (mostly) behind us, Mesa has taken on other projects — go to the site and see what’s up next.
Don Frances is editor of the Mountain View Voice. He can be reached at dfrances@mv-voice.com.
