THE METEOR
Historic Preservation Society of Santa Clara
Harris-Lass House Museum
Spring Edition - April 1, 2015
Open House May 16 at Harris-Lass Historic Museum
Will Kick Off Summer Season with Orchard Dedication
by Mary Hanel
Apricot Tree in bloom
Harris-Lass Historic Museum, 1889 Market Street in Santa Clara, will host an
Open House on Saturday, May 16, with a variety of events to celebrate the
site's 24th season as a public history museum. Festivities will begin at 10 a.m.
with the dedication of the museum's refurbished Heritage Orchard. "City
officials, project workers, and committee volunteers will be acknowledged for
their two-year efforts to have fruit trees once again growing at the former 13acre prune orchard," said Bob Byrd, president of the sponsoring Santa Clara
Historic Preservation Society.
New trees planted last winter include a Bartlett Pear, Warren Pear, Harrow Delight Pear, Golden
Delicious Apple, Granny Smith Apple, French Prune, Florida Prince Peach, O'Henry Peach,
Desert Delight Nectarine, Gold Mine White Nectarine, and two Blenheim Apricots. House tours
starting at 10:30 a.m. will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of the eight-room Italiante Victorian
farmhouse built and occupied in 1865 by early California pioneers Henry and Mary Harris from
San Francisco. Three generations of the Harris family lived in the house 41 years.
Retired sea captain Christian Lass and his family lived in the house from 1906 to 1987, when the
City of Santa Clara purchased the property and remaining two acres, which opened as a living
history museum in 1991. A special exhibit of the Lass family's antique musical instruments will also
be featured for house tour visitors. Guests can also stroll in the recently restored Rose Gardens,
made possible by a generous donation from the late Ray Edinger, 97, of Santa Clara, in memory
of his wife Margie, who died in April, 2013. The Tank House Gift Shop will be open for shoppers
and ice cream refreshments will be served on the brick patio.
Visitors will also be able to view the museum's DVD documentary, "The Last Harvest", in the barn
classroom. The 30-minute film details the history of the property, which was once a prune orchard.
For more information, call the museum's message line at:
(408) 249-7905 or view the website: http://harrislass.org
Joan Cabral selects an
apple tree
Greg Peacock helps to
load a pear tree
City Street Department crew
plants a peach tree
Bob Byrd watering a
nectarine tree
Page 2
Spring Edition - April 1, 2015
Janice Oda of Santa Clara Takes Pride in Contributing to
San Jose History Book on Local Japanese Community
by Mary Hanel
On November 29, 2014, at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, a beautiful 470-page coffee
table-size book – 15 years in the making – was launched and made available to the public.
The book is titled San Jose Japantown: A Journey, and the lead authors are
Kurt Fukuda and Ralph Pearce. One of the major contributors to the book is
Santa Clara resident Janice Oda, who helped with the design, production, and
assisted with the photography, research interviews, and page layouts.
“I love the personal stories of the 120 members of the Japanese community
who were interviewed for the book,” said Oda, who graduated from Piedmont
Hills High School in the Berryessa district in East San Jose. Her mother, Mrs.
Naomi Tawara, is also a Mission City resident.
Oda explained the original concept in 1999 was to put together on a CD-ROM
a
Janice Oda
multimedia presentation on the architecture, businesses, leading families, and
history of San Jose Japantown. Photos were taken, found or collected; families were interviewed;
more people became involved, and the information compiled grew and grew.
The concept for the project changed to producing and publishing a book,
which finally came to fruition and has now been published by the
Japanese American Museum in San Jose. The book has 14 chapters
and begins when the area was a Chinatown before the Japanese settled
in San Jose in 1890s.
Hundreds of pictures detail the hundred-year history and development of
Japantown during the golden years of growth from 1920 to 1941, the
World War II era when Japanese Americans were forced into internment
camps, and the redevelopment years in recent decades.
Those who wish to own a copy of the $60 book can order it from the Japanese American Museum
of San Jose, http://www.jamsj.org/ (Telephone (408) 294-3138), or can check it out of the Santa
Clara City Library through the LINK+ system.
Places to visit ... Things to do
San Jose Woman’s Club is hosting its 5th Naglee Park Vintage Home and Garden Tour on Saturday, April
25. Guests will tour six homes, three gardens, a boutique gift shop, and enjoy refreshments in a garden
setting. The location is in San Jose’s first residential subdivision east of San Jose State University. The
boutique will have 12 vendors selling jewelry, linens, antiques, collectibles, and much more. Advance tickets
are $35 and box lunches are available for $15.
For details email [email protected] or call (408) 294-6919.
A fun place to stop and browse is the Cupertino Historical Museum housed in the Quinlan Community
Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road. The museum’s collection of 3,000 artifacts spanning over 100 years of local
history relates to agriculture, home life, business, etc. Sponsored by the Cupertino Historical Society, the
museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free.
For additional information, call (408) 973-1495.
The popular Rengstorff House in Mountain View is hosting an exhibit on the Progressive Era in America
1870-1920. It will run from Tuesday, May 12, through Sunday, July 12. House tours are 1-4 p.m. Sundays,
and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Living History Day will celebrate Victorian life on June 7
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities will include lawn games, kitchen demonstrations, and clothing exhibits. The
museum is located at 3070 N. Shoreline Blvd.
For details, call (650) 903-6073.
Spring Edition - A p r i l 1, 2015
Page 3
“Early Bird” Ticket Sales for HPSSC Members Announced for
Upcoming Garden Tea and Antiques Appraisal Luncheon
by Sue Kozdon
This year’s Garden Tea is scheduled for Sunday, June 14th from 1 to 4 p.m. Guests will be served
afternoon tea in the garden before being entertained with an interactive Vintage Hat Show
presented by Trudy’s Hats. The Harris-Lass House will be open for viewing for early arrivals from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and docent led tours will be available after the Tea. The cost is $30 per
ticket and tickets are limited. Members may purchase up to two advance tickets (see the order form
included with this newsletter).
Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 16th at which time members may purchase
additional tickets. For more information, please call Jeannie at (408) 296-1525.
The Antiques Appraisal Luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, July 9th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Guests will be served a box lunch and may bring one item to be appraised by a team of local
experts on antiques and collectibles. The cost is $20 per ticket and only 55 tickets will be sold.
Members may purchase up to two advance tickets (see order form included with this newsletter).
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 2nd at which time members may purchase
additional tickets. For more information, please call Donna at (408) 241-1572.
All Roads Lead to Santa Clara Train Depot Open House April 11 – 12
Toot! Toot! The South Bay Historical Railroad Society welcomes adults and children of all ages to
their annual Spring Open House and model train display on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April
12. Activities and tours will begin at 10 a.m. at the historic Santa Clara Train Depot, 1005 Railroad
Avenue, next to the CalTrain station. Suggested donations for adults is $5 and admission is free for
children under age 18.
The society preserves local area railroad heritage. Two large model railroad layouts, a library,
artifacts, and train memorabilia will be featured. The passenger depot was the oldest on the West
Coast until the ticket office closed in 1997. The first shipment of fresh fruit -- a carload of pears from
Santa Clara – was sent to the East Coast in 1869. Closing time on Saturday will be 5 p.m., with
events on Sunday ending at 4 p.m. All weekend CalTrains stop at the Santa Clara station.
Seven Santa Clara Non-profit Groups Receive $10,000
from Preservation Society Home Tour
Checks totaling $10,000 were awarded at a City Council meeting earlier this year to seven Santa
Clara organizations who were selected as beneficiaries of the Historic Preservation Society’s 2014
Home Tour.
Co-chairs Diane Changras and Barbara Mordy presented the checks to the following groups:
Santa Clara City Library Heritage Pavilion, Santa Clara Hook & Ladder Historical Fire Museum,
Santa Clara Railroad Museum, Santa Clara Senior Center for Case Management health services,
Santa Clara Woman’s Club (Pena Adobe), City of Santa Clara for the Berryessa Adobe, and the
Santa Clara Senior Center’s permanent Historical Photography Exhibit.
It may be Spring, but the new Home Tour Committee is already working on plans for next
December’s historic house tour, which is sponsored by the Historic Preservation Society and help
from the Old Quad Residents’ Association. Lou Faria and Jeannie Mahan have been named as cochairs. House Coordinators will be Janet Stevenson and Katie Carter, Pat Pantoja and Sue Harper,
Carole Smith and Mary Hanel, and Barbara Mordy and Diane Changras.
Spring Edition - A p r i l 1, 2015
Board of Directors
Bob Byrd - President
Donna Jeler -Vice-President
Sue Harper - Secretary
Susan Kozdon - T reasurer
Joan Cabral, Franklin
Gonsalves, Mary Hanel,
Maria Lopes, Jeannie Mahan,
Barbara Mordy, and
Teresa Nemeth.
Our newsletter is
published April 1, July 1,
and October 1 by the
Historic Preservation
Society of Santa Clara.
Staff members include
Bob Byrd, Joan Cabral
Franklin Gonsalves,
Mary Hanel, Donna Jeler,
and Sue Kozdon
The Harris-Lass Museum is
located at 1889 Market
Street in Santa Clara.
The mailing address is:
HPSSC, P.O. Box 3311,
Santa Clara, CA 95055.
For other information visit
us at our web site at
www.harrislass.org or
call 1 (408) 249-7905
Page 4
Don't Toss Unwanted High School Yearbooks - Central Park
Library Wants Missing Copies for Historical Collection
by Bob Byrd
WANTED: A new home for yearbooks from Santa Clara, Buchser,
Wilcox, and Peterson High Schools. Former students or their families
can stash their trash and recycle cans, but they no longer need to
dump unwanted high school yearbooks. Mary Boyle, local history
librarian at the Santa Clara City Library, 2635 Homestead Road, is
seeking yearbooks to fill in the missing gaps in the
library's locked case reference collection.
"Yearbooks are a resource for local history and
provide the characters for telling the stories of high
school memories," said Boyle. "On the surface, there
isn't much difference between high school
yearbooks. Each one captures school dances,
football games, proms, and class plays. But below
the surface, each year has a different personality and
character all its own." The library's yearbook
collection dates to 1898 with Volume 1, No. 1, of
Santa Clara High School's former literary magazine
"The Tocsin", which through the years evolved to
become an annual yearbook.
The collection is housed in the Heritage Pavilion's
Yearbooks Case honoring Emma Fontana Kaliterna, 96, a Mission
City native and 1938 graduate of Santa Clara High School. She is
well-known business owner and benefactor for many local non-profit
organizations.The core of the collection is The Tocsin from Santa
Clara High School covering the years 1898 to 1981 and The KodiakTocsin, 1982 to the present time. Other missing yearbooks are
needed for Buchser High's The Kodiak (1958-1981), Wilcox High's
The Promethean (1963-1981) and The Phoenix (1982 to the present),
and Peterson High School's The Galleon (1965-1981).
"Yearbooks bring an emotional response from former students as
they search through old school annuals and connect memories to
former classmates," said Boyle, who noted once the unwanted
Museum House Tours
yearbooks become a part of
available 12 noon - 3:30 p.m.
the city library collection they
Sunday, May 3
will be available for patrons to
Sunday, June 7
enjoy for many years to
Saturday, June 27
come.
available 10:30 a.m. - 2:30
p.m. at May 16 Open House
Call the museum after April 1
to make reservations for a
weekday School Tour in May,
June, or September 2015.
Johanna Lass
1920 yearbook
Emma Fontana
1938 yearbook
For more information on
donating local high school
yearbooks, call librarian Mary
Boyle, at (408) 615-2909 or
[email protected].