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 About three and a half years ago, I joined Intero Real Estate Services in Los Gatos. My manager, Brian Crane, knew that in life before real estate, I was a teacher (secondary religious education, to be precise). Figuring that I wasn't afraid of public speaking, and knowing that I live in town and am a Santa Clara Valley native, Brian asked me to occassionally share a little "local history" at office meetings. So I did some research, collected some stories, and began doing short talks on the history of the area from time to time.
 One of my favorite stories, or series of stories, was of mountain vintners who fought fire with wine.
That's right. The as the fires raged, water ran out, so they used the wine to fight the fires.
That might seem shocking initially - after all, it's the loss of a year's work. But if the vines were consumed by fire, it could take 20 years to get them back to their previous level of productivity.
And can you imagine how the townsfolk felt when the Los Gatos Creek ran red from Cabernet or Merlot or Claret? They probably thought it was the end of the world!
.jpg) I think it is in line with the entrepenurial spirit of our valley that even in fighting fires, these folks were truly thinking outside the box. They were willing to try something offbeat to protect the future.
Last Sunday was Earth Day. And it got me to thinking about what we can do. . . .
I know that we in Los Gatos can help create innovative solutions to ecological problems. Sometimes the answer is right in front of us and we only have to be thinking differently to recognize it. The townsfolk care about solar energy and other conservation approaches. "Fighting fire with wine" was a great concept that worked - twice. I think it's time for the creativity of Los Gatos to emerge to help solve the problems of the land in a new era. What are the solutions to today's environmental crises that are at our fingertips but we're just not recognizing yet?
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For 150 years, Spring has meant "yardwork" in the lush Santa Clara Valley, as agriculture was - and still is - important.
But the garden has some natural enemies. Roses can get rust. Trees can get infections and weep sap. And below ground, gophers can terrorize a garden.
My grandparents, Michael and Eleanor Buckley, lived just over "the hill" in Pasatiempo near Santa Cruz in their retirement years, where my grandfather presided over a half-acre brimming with lawn, shrubs, roses and fruit trees. He composted (and they recycled) back in the 60's, before it was fashionable, and the yard was the richer for the effort. Love for the garden was only just behind faith, family, country, duty, and education. And I remember granddad's language turning a little ugly when his yard became a habitat for gophers. He became a warrior against the burrows.
 The Almond Grove District of Los Gatos was once an almond orchard, and it, too, was threatened by gophers from time to time. In fact, the cute critters (have you ever seen them? they are, actually, quite adorable - even as they eradicate your prized plants like something out of a bad slapstick cartoon) nearly destroyed the Almond Grove orchards more than once.
With "necessity being the mother of invention" in all times, Zephyr Albert Macabee invented and patented an effective gopher trap in October of 1900 and built it at his home at 110 Loma Alta Avenue, Los Gatos. The Z.A. Macabee Gopher Trap Company was enormously successful, producing as many as 4,000 traps a week.
What is amazing, with all the developments of technology since then, is that the same trap is still being manufactured and sold today. And the descendents of Zeph Macabee are involved with it. And even more, that very same trap is still being manufactured today at the same address. Just like in 1900.
What we have here is living history.
You expect to find the same thing happening in the same place over great expanses of time in a house of worship. That's what ritual does - it is a glue throughout time of the most important things a community believes in. But you do not expect to find it in a home-based business. That is truly remarkable.
May 5th there will be a History Walk in Los Gatos. I didn't attend last year's - I think it was the first - but I do plan to attend this year's. Los Gatos is so full of history it can't all be included, but it sure would be great to have this window into the past with the gopher trap company on the tour too. Don't you think? And if not this year...maybe next?
If you'd like more information on the history of this company, a very detailed article was written just before the company's 100th anniversary (with photos). And if you'd like to order the trap, contact Ron Fink at (408) 354-4158.
 At our house, we do have fruit trees and we have rose bushes. So far, we haven't needed to order the gopher trap, thanks to our black lab, Bella. Each time she sees a squirrel or bird in the yard, she nearly crashes through the glass. So I think that for now, the gophers know better. And if that changes, I know where I can go to get some help....
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Date: Apr. 18, 2007
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Los Gatos is full of very cool, very interesting history - and I don't just mean haunted houses! On May 5th, the town will host another History Walk through downtown. There will be three walks with performances, one at 1pm, one at 1:15pm and one at 1:30pm. I will be there and hope to see you join in the fun as well!!
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If Hanukkah or Christmas shopping is on your to-do list for the next week or two, you may want to give the gift of appreciation. That is, a gift which will deepen the recipient's fondness for our Corner of the Cats. Here are a few items which I particularly like myself:
(1) Los Gatos Observed: The History and Architecture of Los Gatos, by Alistair Dallas (photos by Peter S. Conrad). Findable at Borders and other local bookstores as well as online via Amazon. This book is a joy to flip through casually or read more in-depth. Great stories & photos.
(2) Los Gatos by Peggy Conway. This is part of the historical photographs book series, all of which I have found to be very well done. Available in bookstores and also on Amazon.
(3) Los Gatos Then & Now by Valerie Archer (DVD). This came out about a year ago. It is available on Amazon but the comments online indicate a 4 - 6 week waiting period. It can also be ordered online to support the Hooked on Los Gatos program (the library and museum project) by clicking here: http://www.lyric.com/video/losgatos/index.htm . I am not sure of their delivery time. It has been available at Border's in Old Town, so my suggestion would be to buy it there. It's a wonderful DVD, very enjoyable to watch.
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Date: Dec. 2, 2006
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The Kotani-En Japanese Garden is a well kept secret, because this national landmark is on private land - it is not open to the public. I'm a native and only learned of its existence recently! Even the plaque is on private land and sites that discuss this fascinating place admonish us to not trespass or disturb the owners.
The Saratoga Historical Foundation lists three local Japanese gardens: the well known Hakone Gardens of Saratoga and the lesser known Nippon Mura, which is halfway between Saratoga and Los Gatos and is now the site of the La Hacienda, and also Kotani-En, which is located at 15891 Ravine Rd (again, private road, do not disturb occupants or trespass).
The California Office of Historical Preservation's description of Kotani-en is the best I've found, so I will quote it here and give attribution:
"NO. 903 KOTANI-EN - Kotani-En is a classical Japanese residence in the formal style of a 13th-century estate with tile roofed walls surrounding a tea house, shrine, gardens, and ponds. Constructed for Max M. Cohen in 1918-1924 of mahogany, cedar, bamboo, and ceramic tile by master artisan Takashima and eleven craftsmen from Japan, Kotani-En represents a harmonious union of art and nature in a two-acre rustic environment. Kotani-En is a prominent example of Japanese landscape architecture in America. "
http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21522 (lists all landmarks in Santa Clara County)
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The San Jose Mercury News did a "where we live" feature story on our town earlier this year. It is a wonderful collection of slides and music or voices with beautiful photography covering some of the history of the town. One of the neatest elements is the "then and now" shots, in which you can see how certain buildings have changed - or not. The narrator also provides a little history too. It's a very pleasant way to learn about our hometown.
Click here to view slideshow: Where We Live: Los Gatos
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Welcome to Live in Los Gatos!
Los Gatos (Spanish for “The Cats”) is a picturesque town of about 30,000 located at the base of the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains, inside the Santa Clara Valley, between coastal Santa Cruz and San Jose. It is a part of Silicon Valley, enjoying a sub-tropical climate & diverse population, and is an immensely popular destination for dining, shopping, wine tasting and strolling. I was born & raised in various parts of the Santa Clara Valley, but always enjoyed a great deal of time in Los Gatos, and in 1999, we moved here at last.
Where did the name come from?
Once Mexico claimed ownership to California, as Spain had done before, it decided that the best way to cement its hold was to populate the area with settlers (which had also been Spain's strategy). Mexican land grants were issued at no cost except with one provisio: the settlers had to live on the land.
So that is just what two brothers-in-law, Hernandez and Peralta, decided to do. They were in what is now the Vasona Lake County Park area one day when they heard the screech of fighting Mountain Lions. Realizing that water had to be close by, they knew they would have everything they needed, and decided to make it home. The two dubbed this region “La Rinconada de Los Gatos” - The Corner of the Cats. That was in 1778. They got an enormous amount of land, 6631 acres (one and half leagues), that spanned the area from about what is now Lake (it was a creek then) to past Quito Road and into Campbell.
If you’d like a little more history of Los Gatos, please see this page on one of my websites: Los Gatos History.
Thanks,
Mary Pope-Handy
www.PopeHandy.com
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Live in Los Gatos:
A blog about Los Gatos real estate, homes, houses, condos, townhomes, housing market, neightborhoods, history, events, businesses, parks, schools, photos, issues, and lifestyle.
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