Local Luminary Ladies, Part 3

March 30, 2022 Alexandra Schindler

Los Gatos has been home to many artistic and cultural luminaries over its history, many of whom were and are women. This year, for National Women’s History Month, we are highlighting just a few of these notable women.

Carolyn Cassady was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1923. At the age of nine, her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where Carolyn developed a lifelong passion for fine arts and theater arts. She began formal art lessons upon arriving in Nashville, and sold her first painting, a portrait, at the age of 14. When she was 12, she joined the Nashville Community Playhouse, where she won numerous awards for her set designs, and worked her way up to head of the makeup department at only 16 years old. Carolyn studied art and drama at Bennington College in Vermont, and after graduating, became an occupational therapist for the US Army in Palm Springs, California during WWII. After the war, Carolyn moved to Denver, where she began studying for her master’s degree in fine arts and theater arts, and began working at the Denver Art Museum, establishing its theater arts department. It was also in Denver that Carolyn met her future husband Neal Cassady, and his friends Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, all preeminent members of the Beat Generation. Carolyn and Neal moved out to San Francisco, where Neal found work as a brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Their marriage was often tumultuous, with Neal often leaving for long periods of time to travel with Kerouac. In the early 1950s, Carolyn and Neal moved to Monte Sereno with their three children, where they often played host to their Beat Generation writer friends. Carolyn was heavily involved in the local arts community; she became the costume designer and makeup artist for the Los Gatos Academy of Dance, the San Jose Opera Company, the San Jose Light Opera Company, and the drama club at the University of Santa Clara. She also continued painting portraits. Later in life, Carolyn moved to England, where she died in 2013 at the age of 90. An artist in her own right, Carolyn served as the inspiration for many characters in Jack Kerouac’s novels, and published her own memoirs about life in the Beat Generation in 1990 entitled Off the Road: Twenty Years with Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg.

Sara Bard Field. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Sara Bard Field was born in 1882 in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of 18, after graduating from high school, Sara married her first husband, minister Albert Ehrgott. After traveling through India and having their first child, Sara and Albert returned to the United States, settling in Cleveland, where Sara started a kindergarten, as well as a soup kitchen, and was introduced to famed lawyer Clarence Darrow. In 1910, the Ehrgott family, now including a daughter, moved to Portland, Oregon, where Sara joined the Oregon College Equal Suffrage League and began touring the state, advocating for women’s suffrage. It was also in Portland that Darrow introduced her to author, artist, and activist C.E.S. Wood, who would become her lover and eventually, second husband. In 1913, Sara moved to Nevada, where she continued her suffrage work, advocating for Nevada women to gain the right to vote, and where she also secured a divorce from Albert. She also became a part of the national women’s suffrage movement, joining the National Woman’s Party. After participating in the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, Sara and other NWP suffragists drove a reported 500,000 signature petition across the country to deliver to President Woodrow Wilson, demanding a federal suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She continued traveling the country advocating for women’s right to vote until she moved to San Francisco with Wood in 1918. In 1923, the couple moved to Los Gatos, where they built a large estate nicknamed “The Cats,” and often hosted their many artistic friends, including Ansel Adams, John Steinbeck, and Langson Hughes. It was here in Los Gatos that Sara embarked on her own literary career, publishing two collections of poetry and one epic poem, Barabbas, which earned her a gold medal from the Book Club of California. She and Wood eventually married in 1938 after the death of his first wife. After Wood’s death in 1944, Sara moved from Los Gatos to Berkeley to live closer to her daughter. Sara died there in 1974.

Nana Ruth Gollner was born in El Paso, Texas in 1919. At the age of two, she was stricken with infantile paralysis, which severely affected one leg. A doctor recommended that Nana Ruth should walk in sand to make her legs stronger, and as she began to recover, the doctor also recommended ballet lessons. She began taking ballet, and by the age of eight, almost all signs of her past paralysis were gone. In the late 1920s, the Gollner family moved to Los Gatos, and Nana Ruth continued her ballet practice, and was cast as a Blossom Princess in the Saratoga Blossom Festival in 1929. She began her career as a professional ballerina at the age of 14, and went on to dance for the American Ballet Theatre, the Ballet Russe, and the London-based International Ballet. She became the first American ballerina in the 20th century to achieve prima ballerina status in a European Ballet Company, and appeared on the cover of March 20, 1944 issue of Life magazine. In 1952 she moved to Belgium with her husband, Danish dancer Paul Eilif Peterson, where she lived until her death in 1980.

Local Luminary Ladies, Part 2

March 23, 2022 Alexandra Schindler

Ruth Comfort Mitchell was born in San Francisco in 1882. She spent the summers of her childhood in Los Gatos, where her parents and grandparents had summer homes. Ruth’s literary career began at the age of 14, when the Los Gatos Mail published her first poem. She would go on to have a long and illustrious career as a writer, and wrote numerous novels, short stories, plays, and poems throughout her lifetime. Due to both her success as an author and her husband, State Senator Sanborn Young, Ruth had connections to many influential political and artistic people, including President Herbert Hoover, Gertrude Stein, Fremont Older, and Senator James Phelan. The couple often hosted these friends at their Los Gatos home, the Yung See San Fong House, which means “Young’s Home in the Heart of the Hills,” and was aesthetically inspired by Chinese architecture. Ruth was an active participant in Republican politics, participating in numerous campaigns, and twice serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Perhaps her greatest known work was her novel, Of Human Kindness, published in 1940 in direct opposition to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. Ruth’s husband had become a rancher when he retired from politics, and they felt that Steinbeck’s novel did not tell the whole story; thus, she wrote her novel to tell the landowner’s side of the Dust Bowl migration story, highlighting the trials and tribulations landowners faced that were brought on by migrant workers and union organizers. Ruth was an active member of the Los Gatos community her entire life, and was involved with the Los Gatos Pageant, the Los Gatos History Club, and the Christian Science Church of Los Gatos. She died in her Los Gatos home in 1954.

Carol Henning Steinbeck. Courtesy of The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University.

Carol Henning Steinbeck was born in San Jose, in 1906. She met her future husband John Steinbeck in Lake Tahoe in 1928, after he left Stanford University and was working as a tour guide. The two fell in love instantly, and got married in 1930, forming a creative partnership that would result in many of John’s great novels. Carol and John were reportedly well-suited, and had a very symbiotic relationship; she was outgoing and inquisitive where he was shy and introspective. She was creative in her own right, producing whimsical artwork and poetry, and she left her job as a secretary in San Francisco to become her husband’s typist, editor, and intellectual partner; together they worked and struggled to bring forth John’s novels that addressed their common social causes. The two built a home and briefly lived in Los Gatos beginning in 1936, when John wrote The Grapes of Wrath - which Carol named, taking inspiration from Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic. However, once The Grapes of Wrath and John Steinbeck became successes in equal measure, and the goals of both Carol and John had been achieved, their marriage began to suffer. Carol and John divorced in 1942, and although Carol later remarried, not much is publicly known about her life post-John Steinbeck. Carol died in 1983, and thanks to recent scholarship, is receiving more recognition and credit for the role she played in producing some of the greatest American literature of the 20th century.

Marcellite Garner Wall was born in 1910 in Redlands, California. In 1930, she began working at the small, 35-person Walt Disney Productions studio. Marcellite started out as a cell painter and inker in Disney’s ink and paint department, and six months later was selected to be the voice of Minnie Mouse; because Minnie was scheduled to play a Mexican character in an upcoming film, the character need to be able to speak Spanish, and Marcellite was the only Disney employee who could both speak Spanish and sing. Thus began Marcellite’s 10 year and 40 film career as the voice of Minnie Mouse, being credited with defining Minnie’s personality and character. However, her roles as Minnie Mouse were just a side gig at Disney, for which she received $15 per film, while she continued to do most of her work in the art department. After Marcellite left Disney in 1941, she and her family moved to Los Gatos, where she and her husband, Richard Wall, worked on small theatrical and operatic stage productions with the Los Gatos Bowl Association, a group that put on a variety of cultural productions in the 1940s. She performed as part of a vocal trio called the Los Gatos Harmonettes and continued her illustrative career by producing the comic strip El Gato for the Los Gatos Times-Observer. Marcellite died in Grass Valley in 1993.

NUMU’s past exhibit Mitchell vs. Steinbeck delved deeper into the authors’ conflicting narratives on the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Local Luminary Ladies, Part 1

March 16, 2022 Alexandra Schindler

Los Gatos has been home to many artistic and cultural luminaries over its history, and many of whom are women. This year, for National Women’s History Month, we are highlighting just a few of these notable women.

Anne Brigman. Courtesy of The Alfred Stieglitz/Georgia O’Keefe Archive, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Anne Brigman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1869. Her family moved to Los Gatos in 1886, but the lush landscapes and culture of native Hawaiians would continue to influence and inspire Anne for the rest of her life. Her parents ensured that she received a classical education, and in addition to nature, literature was often a source of inspiration for her work. Anne had a lot of free time to pursue her artistic endeavors while her sea captain husband was away, and she established many friendships with Bay Area artists. Her own artistic practice spanned many mediums, including painting, printing, drawing, photography, poetry, and theater. However, by the early 1900s Anne’s focus turned solely to photography. Her images often depicted nude women in the natural environment – one of the first times such subjects were shot by a woman, rather than a man. The results were empowering depictions of the modern woman. Anne joined Alfred Stieglitz and his Photo-Secession group, which promoted craftsmanship in photography and sought to show that the newly-emerging art of photography was a distinctive fine art. She was the first and the only woman to be a part of that group. Her photographs were exhibited nationally and internationally to great critical acclaim, winning numerous awards. Anne continued her photography practice and writing poetry until her death in 1950, in Southern California.

Olivia de Havilland was born in 1916 in Japan, to British parents. Three years later, her family moved to Saratoga, having left Japan for the health of Olivia and her younger sister, Joan (Fontaine, also of Hollywood fame.) She began piano and ballet lessons at a young age, and was taught to appreciate theater by her mother. Olivia attended Los Gatos High School where she participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, including field hockey, oratory, student government, and the school’s drama club. Her very first acting appearance was in a Saratoga Community Players production of Alice in Wonderland. Olivia made her Hollywood film debut in 1935 as a contracted Warner Brothers actress in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, kicking off a highly successful acting career that spanned over 50 years and included appearances in 49 movies, two Academy Award wins, and two Golden Globes wins.

Olivia de Havilland and longtime friend and artist George Dennison.

Olivia de Havilland (third from the left) in the LGHS yearbook.

But perhaps Olivia’s most important contribution to the film industry was her successful lawsuit against Warner Brothers; in the 1930s and 1940s, actors and actresses were contracted to specific studios, and had no choice in film roles. Olivia was often bored and unhappy with the roles she was given, resulting in periodic suspensions. When the studio tried to extend her contract by adding her periods of suspension to the contract length, she sued Warner Brothers, and won. Her victory changed the landscape of show business by allowing performers to have greater creative freedom, and is still referred to as De Havilland’s Law. Olivia was revered and celebrated as a trailblazing member of Hollywood’s Golden Age throughout her life, and received the National Medal of the Arts in 2008. She died in Paris in 2020, at the age of 104.

Clara “Peggy” Huntington. Courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Clara Leonara “Peggy” Huntington was born in 1878, and was the daughter of Henry E. Huntington, a railroad magnate and collector – you may have heard of his Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. While she was born in Oneonta, New York, Peggy spent most of her life living in the Bay Area, including Los Gatos, where she commissioned Julia Morgan to design her an Italian-style villa that still stands today. Peggy was a trained sculptor, having attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and studied under Leo Lentelli in New York and Arturo Dazzi in Rome. She exhibited at the Golden Gate Park Exposition in 1939, displaying a bronze statue of St. Francis. A marble bas-relief Peggy created of her father still hangs at the Huntington Library, and her bas-relief of three dancing women, which she created while in Rome, hangs in the Julia Morgan-designed Berkeley City Club. She died in San Francisco in 1965.

A Presidential Visit

February 21, 2022 Alexandra Schindler

Happy Presidents’ Day! This year, let’s celebrate by remembering the first presidential visit to Los Gatos. Do you know who it was?

President Benjamin Harrison. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

If you said President Harrison, you’d be right! Benjamin Harrison was the first United States President to visit Los Gatos on May 1st, 1891, four years after its incorporation as a town. President Harrison reportedly disliked the political intrigues of Washington, D.C., and spent as much time touring the country as possible. In 1891, former Governor Leland Stanford invited (and partially financed) President Harrison to visit California, and, in particular, to visit his newly-built namesake university. Harrison jumped at the chance, and traveled throughout California, later moving on to Oregon and Washington State.

The president’s visit to Los Gatos was brief, and consisted of him emerging from his private train onto a platform built for the occasion at the train depot. He gave a speech praising California, its people, and especially the agriculture of the mountains and hillsides. He remarked that he was surprised to find the local vineyards and orchards were as productive as those of the better-known valleys of California. Nearly all of the town’s residents, led by mayor John W. Lyndon, turned up at the Los Gatos train depot to greet President Harrison and his party. Once his speech was finished, the President returned to his train, and made his way up to San Francisco.

President Harrison speaking at the Los Gatos train depot. Courtesy of the Clarence Hamsher Collection at the Los Gatos Library.

Local Innovators

February 11, 2022 Alexandra Schindler

Every year on February 11th - Thomas Edison’s birthday - National Inventors’ Day is celebrated by remembering the inventors of the past, the creators in the present, and the builders of the future. Santa Clara County has long been an incubator for creativity and invention, a reputation that lives on in Silicon Valley. Los Gatos is a key part of that innovative spirit, and has been home to some key inventors and ideas in its history.

One such inventor is John Bean, the founder and then owner of the Bean Spray Pump Company. In the early decades of his career, John Bean and his family lived in Michigan, and later Ohio, where he received a variety of patents, including patents for a grain grinder, a straw cutter, and a type of wheelbarrow. Then, in 1883, Bean moved to Los Gatos for his health, and bought a 10-acre almond orchard to keep himself busy. Unfortunately, his orchard was infected with San Jose scale, a pest-borne disease that was sweeping through the valley at that time. The hand-operated pesticide sprayers of the time were ineffective against the pest, so John Bean invented his own continuous flow pump, which allowed the pesticide treatment to successfully reach the treetops. Bean’s spray pump was an instant hit among his fellow orchardists, and thus, the Bean Spray Pump Company was born in 1884. The museum’s permanent collection has a later model of one of Bean’s spray pumps, called a Magic Pump, which dates to around 1916; it is currently on view in our History Hall exhibition The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories.

Zephyr Macabee. Courtesy of the Joyce Macabee Ridgely Collection at the Los Gatos Library.

Another such inventor is Zephyr A. Macabee, the founder and owner of the Macabee Gopher Trap Company. Zephyr Macabee was a barber by trade for ten years, but when his health started to fail him, he began working outdoors at a cousin’s ranch. It was through this work that he was introduced to another one of the main threats to the Valley’s valuable young orchards - the pocket gopher. So Macabee invented a simple, but incredibly effective, wire trap, which he produced and manufactured in the cellar of his house at 110 Loma Alta Avenue, and sold throughout the Santa Clara Valley out of the back of his wagon. The Macabee Gopher Trap remains almost unchanged in design to this day, and is still considered one of the most effective ways to handle a gopher problem.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

Macabee Gopher Trap

Magic Pump. NUMU collection, NU 2021.178.

Fun Finds

December 13, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

An archive of Fun Finds objects featured in the LGHP newsletters. Not receiving our newsletters? Sign up here!

September 2023

While going through boxes to choose objects to exhibit in the Collections Lab, NUMU’s new Curator, Allison Railo made an exhilarating discovery of portraits depicting Charles McKiernan’s (better known as Mountain Charlie) wife and daughters! While the story of Mountain Charlie is a local legend (you can view his portrait in the museum’s History Hall), the stories of the women in his life are much less well-known.

There is almost no information to be found about Mountain Charlie’s family; very few accounts about him even mention his wife Barbara, and if they do, they only mention their marriage, not any details about their life after that. Information about his children is even scarcer; there are few mentions of their seven children, and fewer still of their names or what became of them. The most common mention is that one of their sons died very young in a gun accident. Barbara Kelley was an Irish immigrant and nurse who married one of her post-surgery patients - Mountain Charlie. Together, she and Charles had seven children, including Kathryn, Molly, and Helen (pictured). This black and white portrait photograph of Barbara was taken around 1890, after the McKiernan family had moved to San Jose from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The hand-colorized portrait of Kathryn (left), Molly (center), and Helen (right) is likely from the same time period. The LGHP team is thrilled by the discovery of these portraits, and the chance to finally put some faces to four women that history has forgotten. Hopefully, more information about them will be discovered in the future!

July 2023

Over the past month, Alexandra has been steadily working on cataloging a 2016 donation of items relating to Billy Jones. The collection was donated to the museum by his daughter and granddaughter, Geraldine Peters and Priscilla Peters respectively, and includes a wide variety of items relating to both the Jones family and the Wildcat Railroad.

William “Billy” Jones was born and raised in Ben Lomond, and began working in the railroad sector when he was just 13 years old. He ended his career with Southern Pacific Railroad in 1950, where he had been running trains along the coast for many years. While Billy was working, he discovered a one-third scale locomotive in a scrap yard. He rescued the locomotive and moved it to his property in Los Gatos where he restored it to its original glory. He opened the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad in 1943, where children and their families could ride the train for free. After Billy’s death, a non-profit corporation was formed to save the Wildcat Railroad, and the group raised funds to move the train, build a station and engine house, and lay tracks in its current location in Oak Meadow and Vasona parks. One of the Wildcat Railroad’s most famous admirers was Walt Disney, who was inspired by Billy’s operation, and even invited him to help design the Disneyland Railroad!

You can check out the items from this important donation of local history cataloged so far by searching for “Billy Jones” in our online database; new items are added weekly!

May 2023

While recently cataloging some ephemeral objects (meaning items that were not originally intended to be saved long-term), Alexandra discovered some advertisements that used whimsy as a marketing strategy, by employing optical illusions! Pears Soap is a British brand that was founded in 1807 and is still being manufactured today, currently operated by Unilever. Pears was known for creating the world’s first mass-market translucent soap, and around the turn of the 19th century, decided to release a series of advertisements using popular illusions. Local drug stores would stock these advertisements, including the Gem City Drug Store, which was located in the Beckwith Block in downtown Los Gatos.

NUMU has three such examples of these advertisements, but Alexandra’s personal favorite is the “Yorick’s Skull” illusion, which of course references that iconic skull in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Stare (with blinking as few times as possible) at that ‘X’ in the eye socket, in a well lit area, for 30 seconds. Then look away to another blank area, like a wall or the ceiling. The skull should slowly appear in your vision after looking away. Alexandra of course tested this illusion while cataloging the card, and can report that it does indeed work! It was great fun to discover these advertisements that used games to grab people’s attention and market their products.

March 2023

Hana has recently started cataloging the museum’s art collection, and has already made some exciting discoveries! Last month, we discussed postcards that were sent to and amongst the Rankins, a well-known family in the community’s history. This month, we’re featuring these beautiful watercolor paintings of the Carmel Dunes by none other than Margaret Rankin!

These paintings were rendered by Margaret in 1910, which happens to be same time period that the majority of the postcards in her sister, Dora Rankin’s, collection were written. From those postcards, we know that the Rankin family, especially the three sisters, traveled around the central coast of California, staying with friends and touring historic and scenic places. Could Margaret have painted these during one of these trips that she wrote Dora about in those postcards? It’s certainly probable. Part of the fun of cataloging is to continue to discover small details about the families that used to live in Los Gatos, and therefore gain a fuller picture of the past. For instance, we now know that while Dora was a teacher and columnist, and Henrianne was a librarian, Margaret was an artist!

January 2023

Postcards can, sometimes literally, provide a snapshot into the past. A recently-uncovered collection of postcards in NUMU’s permanent collection is certainly giving us a glimpse into one of Los Gatos’ most well-known families: the Rankins. Alexandra has been going through and cataloging postcards sent to and by various members of the Rankin family. Senders and addressees include: Dora Rankin, her mother, Mrs. C.Y. Rankin; Margaret Rankin, Dora’s sister; and numerous friends of the family.

The Rankin family was well-known in the Los Gatos community; Dora Rankin was an elementary school teacher and author of a column in the Los Gatos Times Observer entitled ‘As It Was,’ and her sister Henrianne was a librarian at the Los Gatos Library. Through these postcards, we have been able to learn some fun and interesting tidbits about Dora and the Rankin family, i.e. how it appears as though Dora collected postcards (which makes sense, given this cache!), and how perhaps Dora wasn’t always diligent in responding to her correspondences — “It’s your turn to answer my last letter - or last ‘several’ of them,” one postcard prompts. It’s always a fun time when you can discover more about the every-day lives of the people who once owned the objects in the museum’s care.

November 2022

The first set of items that Laura is working on cataloging during her internship is our extensive archive of material of, and related to, Frank Ingerson and George Dennison, the well-known artists, and life partners, who lived in Los Gatos in the early to mid 20th century. The couple were well-connected in the art world and within Hollywood, as they enjoyed a life-long friendship with actress and film industry pioneer Olivia de Havilland, another notable local. “The Boys,” as they were affectionately known, drove the teenaged Olivia to Los Angeles for her first Hollywood audition. And it just so happens that one of the first items that Laura came across was a photocopy of Olivia’s diary, detailing that exact trip! In it, she talks about leaving Santa Barbara, stopping in Santa Monica to see “Uncle Frank’s” sister, with the three of them figuring out which of their connections would best be able to help Olivia break into Hollywood; she also attended Frank’s birthday dinner with the Boys and their friends and family. Also in the diary, Olivia expresses her immense gratitude to Frank and George for their help and support, stating “they are the epitome of kindness and consideration” and that she will “never, never be able to repay them.” Once Frank and George get her settled in Los Angeles, Olivia continues to detail her experience, from accepting a ride from a fellow hotel guest to the supposed hotel of a Hollywood executive (her first “Hollywood adventure”), to just showing up at that executive’s office building, to her first interview with that same executive. This diary was extremely exciting to discover - it was incredible to read about Olivia de Havilland’s experience breaking into show business from her own perspective! We are so excited to have this piece of Hollywood, and Los Gatos, history in our collection!

September 2022

Last month, Alexandra and Cristiano went through and evaluated all of the objects that the museum had in quarantine. When an object experiences certain types of damage, but most particularly mold or an insect infestation - which can happen under a variety of circumstances - that object is bagged and placed in quarantine, to protect the other objects in the collection and to stifle the infestation itself. While going through these objects, most of which had successfully recovered from their issues and no longer needed to be quarantined, the duo discovered this Chinese jug. At first glance, this large, heavy ceramic jug appears fairly unremarkable. However, there was a very important note inside of it, which speaks to the object’s more remarkable provenance. The jug came from the “famous” George Miller Brown ranch in Santa Clara, which employed many Chinese laborers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Brown was born in England, and arrived in California in 1862 where he established a farm and grew such crops as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and Bartlett pears. This jug gives us a glimpse at an untold story of the ranch - the fact there were Chinese laborers, perhaps numbering up to almost 100 at a time, who worked on the ranch doing most of the labor, and who clearly had the need for a water jug. The discovery of this jug was very exciting, as one of the explicit goals of the Los Gatos History Project is to dig below the surface of the known history of the Los Gatos area, and discover the stories of people whose voices have normally been omitted from history. We look forward to learning more about this jug, and the people who used it!

July 2022

For this installment of Fun Finds, we’re highlighting an object that the LGHP team had never heard of - a self-heating, gas-powered iron! Self-heating irons were a technological step forward in at-home ironing, and were the precursors to the electric iron; no longer did someone have to go back and forth between a hot stove or fire to swap a cold, flat iron for a hot new iron, or work in a hot room, or worry about trying to keep ashes off the irons. Now, one could simply pour gasoline into a little tank attached to the iron itself, light the gasoline, and have instant, portable heat! The museum’s self-heating iron is a Coleman Model 4A, which was manufactured by the company between 1929 and 1948. This model of self-heating iron was instant lighting, and the “cool blue” handle made it very popular. The iron was sold with a variety of accessories and attachments, including a trivet, a pump, and its very own fuel can! While this iron definitely represents an evolution of iron technology, we are very glad that it continued to progress, and that we no longer have to use actual gasoline in order to iron our clothing. Especially considering today’s gas prices!

Want to see more household objects from the permanent collection? Come check out The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories exhibition on the lower floor of the museum!

May 2022

Fancy a drink? During a recent unboxing, our registrar, Alexandra, came across this (mostly full!) bottle of Prohibition-era bourbon. Prohibition was a national, constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The 18th amendment, which established Prohibition, was passed by supermajorities in the House of Representatives (68%) and the Senate (76%), and ratified by 46 out of 48 states in 1919. The amendment took effect in January of 1920, but crucially, did not actually ban the consumption of alcohol. Thus, many wealthy families were able to stockpile alcohol before the ban went into effect, and doctors and pharmacists were able to prescribe alcohol for medical purposes. This bottle of bourbon was one of those “medicinal alcohols.” The Hermitage Distillery made this bourbon in 1916, with no idea that the sale and manufacture of alcohol would be illegal four years later. When it was time to bottle this batch in 1927, at the height of Prohibition, they partnered with the American Medicinal Spirits Company, who had special permission from the Department of the Treasury to bottle medicinal alcohol; the back of the bottle features a strict warning about penalties for reusing the bottle and special stamp. Prohibition was difficult to enforce, and was becoming increasingly unpopular over the years, so the 21st amendment was passed and ratified in 1933 to put an end to Prohibition for good. This bottle in the museum’s collection has definitely been opened, and partially consumed. It’s fun to imagine what ailment it might have been prescribed for!

March 2022

For this installment of Fun Finds, we’re highlighting a recently-cataloged object that you might have played with in your childhood - a kaleidoscope! This vibrant kaleidoscope has a hand-painted cardboard tube with seashells and other assorted, colorful bits to form the interior image. This kaleidoscope is signed and dated by the artist, Peach Reynolds, 1982. Peach Reynolds and his brother Mark created original, one-of-a-kind kaleidoscopes in the 1980s as part of a “kaleidoscope Renaissance.” The duo, based in Austin, Texas, sold their kaleidoscopes at art fairs across the country, and many of their kaleidoscopes have been preserved in museums and galleries across the country. Peach left the kaleidoscope business in the late 1980s to pursue other career opportunities, but Mark has continued making them, as well as light installations, to this day. NUMU is pleased to have such a colorful, unique, and fun object in our collection!

January 2022

While cataloging many of the textile items in our permanent collection over the past couple of months, Collections Registrar, Alexandra came across a truly magnificent piece! This luxurious (and surprisingly heavy) cape is made of black velvet, and has a thick band of feathers along the bottom of the cape and a thinner band along the vertical edges. The decorative beadwork is stunning in both its intricacy and its completeness - there are hardly any beads or rhinestones missing! While we don’t know much about the manufacture of the cape (there was no tag or maker’s information on the interior), this cape is one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing we have found so far, and we wanted to share it with you as it is truly a fabulous ‘fun find.’

November 2021

For this installment of Fun Finds, we’re highlighting a treasured piece of local history recently found in our collections - this Los Gatos Soda Works bottle! Founded by Italian immigrant Luigi Mariotti in the early 1900s, the Los Gatos Soda Works was located on the corner of E. Main Street and College Avenue. The bottling plant not only produced its own very popular cherry, orange, and lime sodas, but it is also possible that it bottled wine for Mariotti’s Italian friends during Prohibition. While Los Gatos Soda Works ceased production in the late 1930s, the remaining building is currently still operating as the Los Gatos Soda Works cocktail bar and restaurant, which pays homage to its building’s past. Enthusiasts of local history collect Los Gatos Soda Works bottles and other surviving objects, but complete Los Gatos Soda Works bottles are extremely hard to find. Thus, this discovery of an intact bottle in the museum’s collection was very exciting, and we are so happy to be able to preserve just a small part of an important local landmark.

September 2021

While searching through NUMU’s archives for photos to display in the upcoming exhibition, our summer Collections Intern, Sophie Wool, happened upon something we never expected to find - a signed, black-and-white portrait of Gonzo the Great! Depicting Gonzo in a formal tuxedo, the photo has a message for Victor from Gonzo, via his longtime puppeteer, David Goelz. Gonzo made his The Muppet Show debut in 1976 in what would become classic Gonzo fashion - eating a tire to the tune of “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Throughout the years, Gonzo has become one of the most beloved of the Muppets, known for frequently trying to combine high culture with bizarre performance art. He is odd and unique (his species has never been revealed), and although we are not quite sure who Victor is, why he merited a signed photo from Gonzo, or how it made its way to NUMU, we are both surprised and delighted to have this fun item in our collection!

July 2021

NUMU collection, NU 2021.75

NUMU collection, NU 2021.38

NUMU collection, EDU 2021.1

NUMU collection, 2011.206.1

These four objects from NUMU’s collection were featured in the Footbridge Mural Project this year, and sparked lively conversations with the participating children. This wagon wheel jack, previously featured in the February newsletter’s History Mystery section, was paired with this wagon wheel, made by John Erickson, a local Los Gatos wheelwright and blacksmith, who had a shop on Main Street in the late 1800s. These objects were used to discuss how some people might have migrated to California.

This candy roller, manufactured by Thomas Mills & Bros., features removable brass rollers that were hand-cranked to produce hard candies and could have been used around the turn of the 20th century by Crall’s Palace of Sweets, a N. Santa Cruz Avenue candy shop. This object led to an in-depth discussion about function, and how manufacturing has evolved.

The basket, an item specially earmarked for use in educational activities, was used as a launching pad for a discussion about the Ohlone peoples and how they used baskets; why not many historical Ohlone baskets exist today; and the status of modern Ohlone basket-weaving.

April 2021

When we first pulled the leather-bound Album Pintoresco - Republica Mexicana out of its box, we didn’t know much about it - and we certainly didn’t expect what we found! Inside are sixteen gorgeous collages made out of a variety of materials including paint, photograph clippings, feathers, and various other natural materials. Each collage features some of the natural beauty of Mexico, including the Cascada de Tuxpango and the Puente de Atoyac, as well as chickens, peacocks, turkeys, owls, and other birds native to the country. We don’t have a lot of information about the artist or albums like this in general, but we are thrilled to have something so beautifully detailed and unique in NUMU’s collection. If you have ever come across something similar, let us know!

February 2021

It was quite a pleasant surprise to open one of our boxes and discover a beautiful, intricately designed, and very well-preserved silver service set that belonged to former Los Gatos resident, Lochie Rankin. Lochie was the first unmarried woman to be sent abroad as a missionary by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. She established a school for girls in Nanxiang, China in the late 1800s, and a school for boys not too far away, in Huzhou, in the early 1900s. In appreciation for her efforts, Lochie’s colleagues at the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society gifted her this gorgeous silver set made by renowned Chinese silversmith Luen Wo. This set was most recently displayed in NUMU’s exhibition Los Gatos: 1887 (2015-2016) and was donated by beloved townswoman, educator, and columnist, Dora Mae Rankin.

November 2020

Here’s an interesting little contraption we found as we began to open boxes in our collections room. During quarantine, while sheltering-in-place, many of us donned our aprons, channeled our inner Paul Hollywood and got to baking. Well, if you were living through the last great pandemic of 1918 you might have used this bread maker. It’s a universal bread maker, manufactured around the turn of the 20th century. A hand crank attaches to an internal dough hook, and comes complete with instructions on the lid!

History Mystery

December 13, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

An archive of History Mystery objects featured in the LGHP newsletters. Not receiving our newsletters? Sign up here!

September 2023

This month’s History Mystery object is a secret portrait! Last month, Cristiano, the Director of Exhibitions + Collections, was preparing a portrait to be hung in the Collections Lab. The portrait is a hand-painted photograph of a World War I infantryman, or “Dough Boy” that was inside of a gilded oval frame. Before installation, Cristiano removed the frame in order to clean it, and discovered… a second portrait! This hidden portrait was in the frame behind the image of the infantryman, and features a couple in formal clothing. While there is little documentation accompanying these portraits, the man in the couple portrait does slightly resemble the infantryman - it is possible that they are the same person. A note that accompanied the frame identifies “a member of the Freudenthal Family,” although now we are not certain who exactly that note refers to. If you recognize either the infantryman, or the couple depicted, or know anything about the Freudenthal family, we’d love to hear from you. You can reach out to Alexandra at registrar@numulosgatos.org.

July 2023

This month, we bring you the partial mystery of The Golden Poppy pen cap. In the museum’s collection, there is a pen cap that is easily identified as such because it is inscribed with the manufacturing information for a pen and pencil company, the E. Faber Pencil Company. On this cap is the information for a Los Gatos business that specializes in candies, fountain services, and lunch called The Golden Poppy. The Golden Poppy used to be located at 32 West Main Street, which is right behind where Icing on the Cake is today. However, Alexandra was unable to find any information about this business in her research; despite having so much information, there are still questions! Who owned it, when was it in business, and for how long? If you remember visiting The Golden Poppy, and have any information or memories about it that you’d like to share, please feel free to send them to Alexandra at registrar@numulosgatos.org.

May 2023

Recently, Alexandra discovered a small cache of cabinet cards while cataloging. Cabinet cards are a style of photography that was generally used for portraiture between 1870 and 1900. The photographs were large enough to be viewed across the room when displayed on a cabinet, which led to the name “cabinet card.” The cabinet card dominated the commercial portraiture scene for three decades, replacing photo albums. The demand for cabinet cards began declining around 1900 with the introduction of the Kodak Box Brownie camera, when people started taking their own photographs. Many of these cabinet cards were taken at local photography studios, including Souvenir Portrait Studio and Bushnell Foto Company, both located in San Jose.

Unfortunately, the majority of the people in the portraits are unidentified! Recognize anyone? We would love your help in shedding light on these unknown subjects by putting names to faces. Examples of the cabinet cards are included in this newsletter, but you can also go to our online database, select the Archives category, and search for ‘Cabinet Card’ to view all of the cabinet cards cataloged so far. If you recognize anyone pictured, please reach out to Alexandra at registrar@numulosgatos.org and let her know!

March 2023 - History Mystery - Solved!

Last March, Alexandra cataloged an object that she could only describe as a “cat figurine.” It was a small, brass cat statuette, with a tail that looped back and attached to the cat’s head. There was another jagged piece of metal sticking out of the front of the cat’s body, that was a mystery. Everything pointed to the fact that this figurine had some sort of functional purpose, but as nothing on the statue moved or budged, that function was unclear. However, recently this object was identified by our very own Jamie Donofrio, NUMU’s Development + Communications Coordinator, as a lock and key! That mystery piece of metal is actually the key, that is supposed to come out of the cat to lock and unlock the tail, in order to place around items. And many thanks to everyone who responded to last month’s History Mystery! We got multiple responses confirming our suspicions that it was not in fact a cherry pitter, but a nutcracker. That record has also been updated in our online database, thanks to the help of readers like you.

January 2023

Things are not always as they seem, and that goes for labeled objects in museum collections too! This object, recently cataloged, was labeled as a “cherry pitter.” There is no maker’s mark or other information on the object. In an attempt to date the object, Alexandra did some research looking at images of antique cherry pitters. However, most of the images she found for antique and vintage cherry pitters look nothing like this object, which does appear to be too large for typical-sized cherries. Could this object be used instead to remove the pits of other, larger fruits, perhaps the apricots or prune plums that were grown in the orchards that were once so prevalent in the Town’s landscape, and integral to its economy?

Does it have another function entirely? If you recognize this object, or know what it does, we would love to hear from you! You can email Alexandra at registrar@numulosgatos.org with any information you might have, and help us solve this mystery!

November 2022

As Laura has been cataloging items in the Frank Ingerson and George Dennison collection, the team has come across many small “history mysteries.” There are a number of photographs, for example, in which not everyone photographed is identified, or the artwork depicted is not identified as Frank and George creations (as opposed to artworks they collected). As we continue to work through the archive, we are hoping to answer some of these questions. However, if you ever see any item on our online catalog that you have information about, please feel free to reach out by emailing collections@numulosgatos.org! We love receiving missing information about the items in our collection.

As with all the items in our collection, once the cataloging process is completed, we plan on conducting deeper research with the aid of scholars and historians. Currently we are focused on the Frank and George collection, which is the largest, and most extensive, known collection in existence related to the couple. Stay tuned for exciting updates!

July 2022

This month in History Mystery, we are seeking your help! We have a mystery tool, that we are currently referring to as a “widget,” that was found in a box full of antique tools. This particular tool has no distinguishing marks or features that might hint at its purpose. While the widget is significantly tarnished, there appears to be two smaller pieces, attached with metal rivets/buttons, that could swing out. If you recognize this tool, please let us know! You can email Alexandra with any information you might have at registrar@numulosgatos.org.

May 2022

One ongoing mystery for the LGHP team is the museum’s “Burmese Collection.” Burma, currently known as Myanmar, is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia. Burma has a long history of kingdoms and empires dating from the 9th century, and was a thriving, peaceful society with a high literacy rate when it fought, and lost, three successive wars against the British, resulting in the complete annexation of Burma into the British Empire in 1886. After World War II, Burma gained its independence from the British, and governed itself democratically until a military coup d’état in 1962, when the country was renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta. Because most of these items in the museum’s collection were likely collected before 1962, when the country was still known as Burma, NUMU continues to refer to these items as Burmese. The objects in this Burmese Collection are quite varied, and include bowls, cups, dolls, hand fans, figurines, astrology tools, cheroots, and currency. The wide variety of these objects not only speaks to the rich culture of Burma, but also to the amount of trade that Burma did with other Southeast Asian and Asian countries, which would have only intensified as a part of the British Empire. We are not sure yet who collected these objects, under what circumstances they were collected, or how they got to the museum, but we are very happy to have them, and gain a small glimpse into a culture centered halfway around the world.

March 2022 - History (with slightly less) Mystery

In last November’s newsletter, we featured, in this section, a pair of high heels that had the ever-so-tantalizing bit of information indicating they were worn at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. While we haven’t been able to answer all of our questions about these shoes, we have uncovered more information about them… by unboxing this dress! Last month, Alexandra, our Collections Registrar, uncovered this gorgeous, ornately beaded dress (and its accompanying slip) that is in very good condition; there are hardly any beads missing! Not only is the dress magnificent in itself, but it too had a note: that it was worn by Jeanne Partridge, along with a pair of heels, at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles! We still don’t know exactly who Jeanne Partridge was, or how she came to be one of the thousands of people who witnessed the signing of the treaty, but we are so excited to be able to put a name to these beautiful shoes and dress! Hopefully, someday we’ll have the answers to all of our questions about these objects.

January 2022

Over the course of the Los Gatos History Project, the boxes containing the artifacts in our permanent collections have had to move around a few times, to accommodate the removal of old furnishings, the installation of new furnishings, and the reopening of History Hall. Each time boxes are moved, Alexandra and Cristiano, NUMU’s Exhibitions + Collections Manager, can’t help but peek in the boxes to see what’s inside, and get a preview of what will soon be cataloged. One of these “sneak peeks'' led to the discovery of something truly astonishing - this needlepoint sampler from 1791! Samplers in America date back to the days of the Pilgrims, but are most common beginning around 1790, when immigrants to the New World were established enough to have leisure time. Samplers began as a way to literally sample a variety of stitches that could be used as a pattern in embroidery work, and evolved to become an integral part of a young girl’s education, as well as an important decorative art.

While the colors of the embroidery thread are faded, it is still possible to make out the alphabet, a name (Franke Rikkerts) and the date (1791) at the top of the sampler, making it perhaps the oldest artifact in our collection! How this 230-year old sampler came to Los Gatos, and NUMU, is a complete mystery, but one that we someday hope to solve! If you have any information about this sampler, Alexandra (registrar@numulosgatos.org) and Cristiano (collections@numulosgatos.org) would love to hear from you!

November 2021

These gorgeous high-heeled shoes were uncovered during our recent cataloging efforts. They feature a floral black-and-gold brocade and jeweled buttons, and are in very good condition. Unfortunately, there is not much documentation associated with them, except for one very tantalizing piece of information: they were worn at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, one of history's most significant peace treaties, signalling the end of World War I. The treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 by representatives from Germany, Britain, France, and the United States in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, but not without controversy. There were a number of punitive measures in the treaty, including stripping Germany of land, requiring Germany to disarm its military, and forcing Germany to accept responsibility for the war and make reparations to many of the Allied countries. Knowing all of this important history surrounding the Treaty of Versailles, the museum has many questions about these heels, namely, who wore them? Why was that person at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles? And how did the heels find their way to Los Gatos? We look forward to someday having these answers.

If your curiosity is as piqued as ours, come see these heels in person, which are currently on exhibit in Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories!

September 2021

NUMU collection, 2011.47.1

NUMU collection, 2011.47.2

While cataloging last month, these two gorgeous clay cooking vessels were uncovered. Despite showing some signs of wear and use, both are in very good condition, without any significant damage that would compromise them structurally. They are quite possibly in exceptionally good condition, considering how old they might be, which is where the mystery comes into play. Both vessels were labeled “pre-Columbian,” which is a generalized term that means something was made by the Indigenous people of an area, before Christopher Columbus and other Europeans came to the Americas in the late 1400s and early 1500s - potentially making these vessels over 500 years old! However, besides basic geographic information (the large rounded vessel was also labeled New Mexico, while the smaller vessel with feet was labeled Panama), there is no other information in NUMU’s records regarding these items. And while having geographic information may appear helpful, in reality, it does not help the museum identify what culture the vessels might have been used by; there are currently seven distinct Indigenous populations in Panama, and 23 in New Mexico - a number which was certainly much higher before the colonization brought on by the arrival of Columbus. What cultures made and used these vessels? Are they really pre-Columbian? How did they get to NUMU? While currently we only have questions, someday we look forward to finding the answers!

July 2021 - History (with slightly less) Mystery

Many thanks to our history-loving public! In March, we posted on NUMU’s Instagram account a photo of Maud Martin who we didn’t know much about, or why the museum has her extensive doll collection. Some time later, we received a package with a plethora of material about Maud. From this information, we now know that Maud, a past resident of Los Gatos, was a photographer of some renown who traveled the world for her art and exhibited at museums such as the de Young in San Francisco! She also participated in local doll shows and exhibitions, sometimes with hand-crafted dolls she made herself.

The LGHP team is so appreciative to have received this contextualizing information for a woman whose dolls are a special part of our permanent collection. It helps us better understand what we have, and why. If you have any information you’d like to share about the people or objects featured in these newsletters or on social media, please don’t hesitate to reach out - Alexandra and Cristiano are standing by!

April 2021

For this installment of History Mystery, the object is not the center of the mystery, but the story behind the object (also called provenance)! This is a weathered and battered brass plate whose object record included a note from the late 1970s which states the plate was unearthed by a bulldozer adjacent to De Anza College, and that plate belonged to someone on Juan Bautista de Anza’s expedition. The note went on to say that because the plate was brass, it most likely belonged to an officer (an ordinary soldier would most likely have a tin-plated dish), or perhaps de Anza himself.

Juan Bautista de Anza was a Spanish military officer, expeditionary leader, and politician who led a group from Mexico up the California coast to San Francisco; this route is now commemorated as the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. There is evidence from de Anza’s journals that he did stop in present-day Cupertino, near Stevens Creek, so it is entirely possible that this plate is from de Anza’s expedition. However, besides this note, we have no other documentation verifying its origins. We would love to learn more about this plate, and about the excavation that unearthed it - if you have any information on the construction near De Anza College, or how this plate made its way to NUMU, reach out and help us confirm the mysterious and exciting origins of this humble plate!

February 2021 - History Mystery - Solved!

NUMU collection, NU 2020.38

NUMU collection, NU 2020.37

The Internet came to our aid in December, helping us to identify some objects recently moved from the Forbes Mill annex (former home to the history exhibits presented by the Museums of Los Gatos, now NUMU) that we were struggling to identify and date. Collections Registrar, Alexandra Schindler, submitted photos of these objects to a subgroup on Reddit - yes, the same platform which recently made headlines in financial news. This “sub”, r/whatisthisthing, is dedicated to the identification of odd, mysterious and random objects people find. And within hours, these helpful strangers gave us the answers we were looking for!

The first object, which truly stumped us, is an ox bow yoke pin, used to secure the yoke to the ox bow. The second object, which looked to us like some sort of jack, but that we could not definitively identify and date, is indeed a jack, but for covered wagon wheels. Both these curious objects date to the mid 1800s, and possibly could have arrived in Los Gatos with settlers on the Oregon Trail.

November 2020

You sure don’t see something like this everyday! This unique, whimsical object appears to be a hand-painted glass pitcher with a music box built into the base. Who doesn’t like a little music with their drink? We don’t have much history or provenance (a record of ownership; the place of origin or earliest known history of something) on this object. If you know anything at all about this musical vessel, please share by commenting on our blog. Don’t be shy, sometimes the tiniest details prove the most useful!

Back From Extinction: The Muwekma Ohlone, Part 4

November 30, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

In 2016, NUMU partnered with the Muwekma Ohlone, the people indigenous to this area, to create an exhibition that highlighted the history, heritage, and legacy of their tribe. Today, as NUMU renews that partnership, we are sharing the content of that exhibition again throughout the month of November -- Native American Heritage Month -- in order to celebrate the Tribe’s vibrant culture, as well as acknowledge the continued existence of the Muwekma Ohlone peoples.

20TH CENTURY FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION

In the early 1980s, many Muwekma families came together to further research their tribal history and genealogy in another attempt to gain federal recognition. In 1989, the Muwekma Tribal Council passed a resolution to petition the U.S. Government for Federal Acknowledgment. On May 24, 1996, the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Branch of Acknowledgment and Research made a positive determination of “previous unambiguous Federal Recognition” stating that: “Based upon the documentation provided, and the BIA's background study on Federal Acknowledgment in California between 1887 and 1933, we have concluded on a preliminary basis that the Pleasanton or Verona Band of Alameda County was previously acknowledged between 1914 and 1927.”

THE FIGHT CONTINUES

In 1998, the tribe was placed on the BIA’s 24-year-long waiting list for the reconsideration of Federal Acknowledgment. The Muwekma Tribal Council decided this was unacceptable so the council took legal action.

On December 8, 1999, the Muwekma filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior. On June 30, 2000, Federal District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ruled in favor of the Muwekma Tribe and ordered the Department of the Interior to expedite the Muwekma’s petition. Sixteen years later, despite the expedition order, the Muwekma have not received Federal recognition and continue to fight in court.

In California, many local governments and elected officials recognize the legitimacy of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s claims for Federal recognition, and call for the U.S. government to restore their status as a federally recognized tribe, including: the County of Santa Clara, the City of San Jose, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the California Secretary of State.

CURRENT ISSUES AND PRESENT-DAY OHLONE

The Muwekma have developed strategies of empowerment and stewardship over their ancestral cemeteries and villages as these heritage sites are uncovered and threatened by development.

The Tribe created its own Cultural Resources Firm, Ohlone Family Consulting Services, in order to gain direct access to their ancestral heritage sites, conduct archaeological excavations, and participate in the analysis and publication of the findings themselves as a way to reclaim ownership of their ancestors, history, heritage, and artifacts.

The Tribe’s language committee actively renames ancestral heritage sites in the Chochenyo and Thámien languages as part of reclaiming their presence and enhancing their visibility, reversing the colonialism that sought to erase Native American culture, language, religion, and identity.

The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe eventually anticipates a positive outcome in their efforts to regain federally recognized Tribal status through the reconsideration of the evidence that was submitted in their petition but ignored by the Office of Federal Acknowledgement.

IN HONOR OF OUR LOCAL VETERANS

Even before California Native Americans legally became citizens in 1924, during World War I Muwekma men enlisted and served overseas in the various branches of the United States Armed Forces, and four of them are buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. Another is buried at the National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

During World War II, almost all of the Muwekma men served overseas in all branches of the Armed Forces in both the Pacific and European Theaters, including the 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Army Patton’s Tank Division, and 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions. Muwekma men and women continued to serve in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and more recently, three tribal members served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Army in Iraq.

We acknowledge that New Museum Los Gatos sits on the ancestral land of the Ohlone, the Tamien Ohlone, and the Muwekma Ohlone people, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. We recognize their connection to this region and give thanks for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on their traditional homeland. We pay respect to their Elders and to all Ohlone people, past, present, and future. This is one step towards creating a safe place for the community to learn from the past, dialogue about the present, and move forward.

To learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Council and how you can support the Tribe, visit their webpage at muwekma.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Back From Extinction: The Muwekma Ohlone, Part 3

November 23, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

EARLY FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF THE OHLONE

1913 map, which indicates that there were 30 Ohlones living near Pleasanton, and that they were federally recognized at the time.

In 1906, C.E. Kelsey, an attorney and activist from San Jose, conducted a special Indian census for the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Branch of Acknowledgement Research (BAR). This critical survey proved that the Muwekma Ohlone, Amah-Mutsun, and Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen had legitimate rights to the ownership of their ancestral lands, as indicated in the newly-discovered, unratified treaties of 1851.

REFUGEES IN THEIR OWN LAND

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, at least six Muwekma Ohlone communities emerged in the East Bay. These communities were located in San Leandro, Alisal near Pleasanton, Sunol, Del Mocho in Livermore, El Molino in Niles, and later a settlement in Newark. Many native arts, songs, and languages thrived at these locations for nearly 100 years. Eventually, they were forced to disperse because they had no legal claim to their lands as they were not fully recognized as citizens of the United States until 1924-1948.

Despite the dissolution of their communities, the Muwekma remained in the Bay Area and assimilated into the mainstream labor force. The Tribe maintained contact through their strong social ties, godparenting, and active culture. Members of the Muwekma Tribe maintained their legal status with the US government by registering with the BIA through the 1929 and 1971 enrollment periods.

ERASURE

In 1925, noted UC Berkeley anthropologist, Alfred L. Kroeber conducted a census of California Native Americans. Based on his limited definition of native culture at that time, Kroeber declared the Muwekma and other Ohlone tribal groups “culturally extinct.” His conclusions were influenced by the result of 200 years of Spanish colonialism, Catholic conversion, Spanish fluency, and mixed blood of California Native people.

Despite Kelsey’s census results, Kroeber’s claim of Muwekma extinction heavily influenced public, professional, and government opinion. The fallout was devastating. In 1927, the Superintendent of the Sacramento office of the BIA, L.A. Dorrington, inexplicably and illegally terminated 135 groups from the federal registration roll. These California tribes were then officially declared invisible in their homeland.

CALIFORNIA INDIAN CLAIMS ACT - 1964

In 1928, the Secretary of Interior approved the Muwekma Tribe’s pending California land claim. Over thirty years later, the decision to pay $325,000 to registered Ohlone tribal members for the “sale” of native land, specified in unratified treaties of 1851 and 1852, resulted in an allocation of $668.51 for each member. According to the government’s calculations, the land was valued at $1.25 per acre.

CHALLENGES

During the 20th century, the tribes continued to assimilate and live as a dispersed community. In addition to losing federal recognition and the benefits it awarded, the Muwekma Ohlone had to deal with the influx of indigenous people from out-of-state tribes to California due to the Relocation Program. Native Americans, of recognized tribes from elsewhere in the U.S., who relocated were eligible for federally-sponsored services, which the Muwekma Ohlone were continuously denied in their own homeland.

To learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Council and how you can support the Tribe, visit their webpage at muwekma.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Back from Extinction: The Muwekma Ohlone, Part 2

November 16, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

MISSION EXPANSION, NATIVE DECLINE

As the Spanish traveled north along the coast from Central America in the 18th century, they colonized the coastal territories that are now part of California. 80% of the indigenous population was decimated as a result of the missionization of California between 1769 and 1836.

Indigenous people of the area were housed in filthy, crowded barracks and often subjected to corporal punishment. They were forcibly converted to Catholicism, forbidden practice of their own religions, and made to work in the missions in order to sustain the Spanish conquest. As a result of Spanish colonization, many California Native Americans were stripped of their independence, identity, culture, language, religion, and ownership of ancestral lands.

POST-MISSION PERIOD & CURRENT OHLONE TRIBAL ROOTS

At least 1,000 former mission Native Americans retreated to remote areas north of Mission San Jose into the East Bay and the Central Valley to escape missionization. An indigenous community was established on the road to Alameda Creek, called Oroysom (Place of the Bears.)

After winning independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican Government acquired former Spanish mission land to return half of it to the native population. However, due to the political power of a few influential families, Spanish descendants obtained the coveted mission lands; three prominent Spanish families of this time were the Bernals, the Picos, and the Sunols.

An Ohlone named Lopé Iñigo was one of the few California Native Americans of his time to be awarded land after secularization. Under the influence of his mother, Iñigo and his family embraced Spanish conversion. This survival strategy proved to be successful, as Iñigo was appointed to a managerial position at Mission Santa Clara. In 1844, Iñigo was eventually able to secure over a thousand acres of land near present day Moffett Field—the place of his birth as well as his death. Iñigo named this historic village site Posolmi Rancho, Positas de las Ánimas.

CALIFORNIA STATEHOOD AND GENOCIDE

In 1849, approximately 300,000 gold seekers migrated to California. This massive population explosion helped California achieve statehood in 1850. It also resulted in the pillage of land, destruction of natural resources, and ushered in a wave of genocidal campaigns against the indigenous population. In 1851, California’s first governor, Peter H. Burnett, proposed a “war of extermination” with a series of laws aimed at the destruction of native Californians and their way of life.

“Indian” laws in California were among the most inhumane in the nation. With proof of heads or hands, members of the voluntary militia were paid for murdering indigenous people; a total sum of around $29.5 million dollars in modern conversion. Children of murdered California Native Americans could be taken as legal property of the murderer. Early Americans could place bids on undocumented indigenous people to bail them out of jail and keep them as indentured servants.

By the early 20th century, the Native American population had been so dramatically reduced, people believed many tribes were extinct. Due to their conversion to Catholicism and Spanish fluency, many Native Californians were able to pass as Mexican in order to survive these violent times.

To learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Council and how you can support the Tribe, visit their webpage at muwekma.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Back From Extinction: The Muwekma Ohlone, Part 1

November 9, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

For over 13,000 years, Ohlone tribal groups have inhabited the areas north of San Francisco down to Monterey County. Following multiple waves of invasion and colonization, three historic Ohlone tribal bands were federally recognized as a legitimate tribe in 1906. Then, in 1925, a misguided declaration of extinction by a prominent anthropologist contributed to bureaucratic termination. Since that time, the Ohlone have fought to regain their previous status as a federally recognized tribe and reclaim access to their ancestral homeland.

WHO ARE THE OHLONE COSTANOAN INDIANS?

The Ohlone are a group of tribes that includes the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, the Amah-Mutsun Tribal Band, and the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation. The name Costanoan is an invented English translation of the Spanish word costeños, meaning “coastal people.” In the mid 19th century, government agents merged these distinct California Indian groups based on similarities in their languages.

For over 100 years, California Indians of the East Bay and South Bay Areas have referred to themselves as Ohlones. The descriptive name Muwekma was added by the descendants of the Verona Band, and their ancestors before them at the Alisal rancheria, to distinguish themselves from other Ohlone groups. Muwekma means “the people” in Chochenyo, a language spoken by the Ohlone groups of the East Bay.

The Amah-Mutsun tribal band comes from the regions of Monterey County as well as San Benito County. The Amah-Mutsun territory includes many distinct linguistic cultures. Amah-Mutsun people were held at two different missions occupying native lands in San Juan Bautista and Santa Cruz.

The name Esselen refers to the Monterey Band of Monterey County, an indigenous group existing in this location for over 1,500 years. Linguistically distinct from other Costanoans, the Esselen Nation is thought to have descended from the Hokan culture.

PRE-EUROPEAN CONTACT

The California Indian population was the largest population of indigenous people north of the Valley of Mexico (home of several pre-Columbian civilizations), estimated between 1 million to 1.5 million before European colonization.

Prior to European contact, California Native tribes developed complex cultures that included formalized religions, ceremonies and ceremonial regalia, craft specialists in basketry and jewelry, warriors, traders, and distinct forms of government. Tribal bands lived in villages of around 500-1000 people that were completely sustained by the natural resources of their region.

To learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Council and how you can support the Tribe, visit their webpage at muwekma.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Calling All Waffle Enthusiasts!

August 24, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

Cornelius Swarthout’s patent design drawing. Courtesy of the U.S. Patent Office.

A holiday for every brunch lover- it’s National Waffle Day! These delicious, versatile treats can be served with a range of toppings from syrup, fruit, powdered sugar, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or even savory delights like fried chicken. Waffles are enjoyed throughout the world, with each region giving the waffle its own special twist. Brussels waffles, originating in Belgium, are light, crispy, and square-shaped with large pockets, while Hong Kong style waffles are large, round, divided into quarters, filled with butter, peanut butter, and sugar, and then folded in half to eat. Waffles were first introduced in America by Dutch colonists in the 1620s, and today, the American waffle and the Belgian waffle (a simplified version of the Brussels waffle) are the most popular waffle styles in the United States.

National Waffle Day is celebrated today because it was on this day in 1869 that the first patent for a waffle iron was issued. Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York, was awarded the first waffle iron patent, improving upon a concept that had existed in some form since the 14th century. What made Swarthout’s design special was the addition of a handle and clasp that would allow for the waffle to be flipped without any danger of slippage or burns.

This Crescent Waffle iron in NUMU’s permanent collection was manufactured by the Fanner Manufacturing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, and is representative of an early waffle iron design. The flippable waffle iron detaches from its base, designed to be placed over a cooking fire, which is how waffles were made before the advent of electric waffle irons in the early 1900s.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

The Art of Leathercrafting

August 15, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

Today is National Leathercraft Day, a day in which the strong artistic tradition and skill of those who work with leather is honored. Leather is such a multifaceted medium that in the hands of a talented leatherworker can be used to create almost anything from clothing and accessories, footwear, furniture, tools, and sports equipment. Traditionally, common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, and aquatic animals such as seals and alligators, but some contemporary, more sustainable alternatives include cactus, pineapple leaves, cork, apple peels, other fruit waste, and recycled plastic.

Frank Ingerson (left) and George Dennison (right). NUMU collection, NU 2021.140.

A couple of well-known Los Gatos residents who worked in leather, but were less-known for that aspect of their art practice were George Dennison and Frank Ingerson. Frank and George, or “the boys” as they were affectionately known, were both a romantic and artistic couple who made Los Gatos their home in the early part of the 20th century. They were the center of a thriving artist community in town, and welcomed many guests to their home, Cathedral Oaks, in the Santa Cruz mountains. Among their famous (and local) artistic friends were violinist Yehudi Mehuhin and actress Olivia de Havilland.

Frank and George were influenced by the Arts and Crafts revival movement, and worked in a wide variety of different mediums. The duo is most recognized for their ceramic tiles, paintings, and design work, as well as the master work, the Ark of the Covenant, commissioned for and by Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.

This chair, in the NUMU collection, demonstrates both their leather and wood-working skills. The chair is expertly carved, and upholstered in beautifully detailed green leather. The floral motifs, a staple in their other works, are delicately rendered. We can easily imagine this chair being used by beloved guests at Cathedral Oaks.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

NUMU collection, NU 2021.104

Put Your Records On

August 12, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

Break out your turntable and put on your favorite record - it’s National Vinyl Record Day! This day was founded to commemorate the day that Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. While vinyl records ostensibly left the mainstream music scene in the early 1990s, they are still quite popular with audiophiles today who maintain that the sound quality and character of vinyl records is unmatched by any subsequent technology. Major contemporary artists like Taylor Swift, Adele, and Billie Eilish still release their albums in collectible vinyl editions.

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Over at NUMU, we’ll celebrate National Vinyl Record Day by highlighting this gorgeous Victor V phonograph and collection of 10” records in our permanent collection. The Victor Talking Machine Company, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, began manufacturing this phonograph model in 1905. It was one of the best models that the company produced, as the large, standard-size round horn provided a more direct and less constricted acoustic path for the sound to follow, compared to other models; music lovers enjoyed superior clarity and volume. We can narrow down the date of the museum’s Victor V, between 1909 and 1915, based on the serial number and letter. And despite it being over 100 years old, it is in excellent condition, and still works; see for yourself below! Museum staff were able to wind up the hand crank and listen to some of the “78s,” which are mostly from The Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records and feature music from Beethoven to Amelita Galli-Curci. However, it is possible that these 78s aren’t even vinyl (shhh!). Shellac was the popular manufacturing material of choice for records prior to the 1940s, when vinyl came around. Based on the manufacturing date of both the Victor V and the music on the 78s, it is highly likely that they were made pre-1940s.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

How will you celebrate National Vinyl Record Day? Let us know in the comments!

Want to learn more about hidden histories within Los Gatos?

Join us (in-person!!) for an introduction to NUMU’s most recent endeavor to share the Town’s history with a special focus on untold stories, the Los Gatos History Project!

Inside the Los Gatos History Project will be held on Thursday, 9/2 at 5:30 PM.

Hear from Exhibitions + Collections Manager, Cristiano Colantoni, and Collections Registrar + LGHP Program Coordinator, Alexandra Schindler, as they discuss the inception of the project, project goals, and provide a status update on progress made and what’s coming up.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the collections storage and staging areas, get a sneak peek of our upcoming exhibit, and participate in a Q&A with museum staff and attendees.

Capacity is limited. Please RSVP below or click here.

Local Gold

August 6, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

If you’re anything like us, you have been eagerly consuming everything Olympics-related for the past two weeks. This summer’s Tokyo Olympics, delayed for one year due to Covid-19, has been full of excitement and accomplishment as Team USA competed with the rest of the world. Teenagers in particular took this Olympics by storm, as a trio of teens from Japan and Brazil swept the women’s street skateboarding competition, and teenagers from the U.S. won gold medals in women’s tae kwon do and women’s all-around gymnastics.

Did you know that Los Gatos has its own pair of dynamic teenage Olympians? In the 1960 Olympic games in Rome, teenagers - and Los Gatos High School students - Chris von Saltza (now Olmstead) and Lynn Burke represented Team USA in swimming. Chris, who swam for Coach Haines’ Santa Clara Swim Club, won four medals in Rome: individual gold in the women’s 400-meter freestyle and individual silver in women’s 100-meter freestyle, as well as two team golds in the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay and the 4x100-meter medley relay. Both of those relay teams set world records in the event finals! Lynn won two medals in Rome: individual gold in the women’s 100-meter backstroke (also setting a world record) and team gold in the women’s 4x100 medley relay (on the same world record-setting team as Chris!). Both Chris and Lynn retired from competitive swimming after those 1960 games, and have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as “Honor Swimmers.”

Chris von Saltza on the cover of Sports Illustrated. — Chris von Saltza on the cover of *Sports Illustrated*.

Lynn Burke and Chris von Saltza on the cover of Life. — Lynn Burke and Chris von Saltza on the cover of *Life.*

What you might not know is that Chris still has a connection with USA Swimming - through current star Katie Ledecky. Chris, who was once hailed as “the best freestyle swimmer ever developed in America,” reached out to Katie after the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The two have a lot in common - they were both teenage phenoms who had the weight of a nation’s expectations on them. Since that initial contact, they have established a close bond; Chris has been able to support Katie throughout her time on Stanford’s women’s swim team - a luxury fellow Stanford-alum Chris was unable to enjoy, as in the 1960s the university not only lacked a women’s competitive swimming team, but didn’t even allow women in the men’s competition pool. You can be sure that Chris has been cheering Katie on during these Tokyo games!

All images property of their copyright owners.

To Catch a Rat

July 22, 2021 Alexandra Schindler

Believe it or not, it’s National Rat Catcher’s Day! This “holiday” was originally established to commemorate the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The legend, popularized by the Brothers Grimm and Robert Browning, tells the tale of Hamelin, a small German village overrun with rats. The village hires a piper to get rid of the rats, which he does by playing his flute. When the village refuses to pay him for this service, he exacts revenge by luring all of the children away with his music and drowns them, just like the rats. However, this modern holiday serves as a celebration and way to thank all present-day exterminators.

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The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. — *The Pied Piper of Hamelin.* Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Recently found in NUMU’s collection is something that can, quite literally, be classified as a rat-catcher. According to our records, this woven basket and accompanying knife with wooden sheath is a rat knife, and was used by the Chin people in Burma (present-day Myanmar) to hunt and catch rats. Rats and other rodents were used as an important protein supplement in the Burmese diet, and a rat hunter would be able to use a basket such as this to store multiple animals at once. Hunting prowess played an important role in the Chin belief system; skilled hunters were believed to have a high rank in the afterlife.

The Chin people live predominantly in the Chin State of Myanmar, but also reside in parts of Bangladesh and India. When the British established colonial rule in Burma, they governed the Chin separately, allowing them to retain their traditional chiefs and culture. After Burma gained independence in 1948, the Chin established their own democratic government, which ended with a 1962 military coup d'etat. Today, the Chin are one of the most heavily-persecuted ethnic minorities in Myanmar due, in part, to their religious practices. In the 1800s the Chin were largely converted to Christianity by Baptist missionaries, while the remaining majority of Burma practices Buddhism.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

A Chin man and woman in traditional dress, circa 1905. Courtesy of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon.

A contemporary Chin woman, with traditional face tattoos. Courtesy of Atlas of Humanity.

It’s Wine Time!

May 25, 2021 Michèle Jubilee

Pour yourself a glass of your favorite oaky merlot or buttery chardonnay - it’s National Wine Day! Although this bottle in the museum’s collection held grape juice, it was bottled by one of the earliest vineyards in the Los Gatos area, Lone Hill Vineyards. In the 1860s, D.M. Harwood arrived in the area, and promptly planted the vineyard. By 1876, Lone Hill Vineyards was the largest vineyard in the area, with 140 acres. While this winery no longer exists, its legacy lives on; there is a Harwood Road in the Lone Hill Highlands neighborhood of San Jose, which is also home to Lone Hill Park.

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Lone Hill Vineyard, circa 1876. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library

Los Gatos has a long history of winemaking. Franciscan monks introduced viticulture - the cultivation of grapevines - to the region in 1802 at Mission Santa Clara. In 1888, Jesuit priests established the Novitiate Winery, which is California’s fourth oldest winery, and still operates today as Testarossa Winery. The Novitiate Winery was able to survive Prohibition due to the fact that sacramental wine production was still allowed - in fact, the winery was able to double its operations and production during that time! The priests would have used a stencil, like this one in the museum’s collection, to label their barrels of altar wine. In 1852, French immigrant Etienne Thée planted vineyards in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains, establishing the Almaden Vineyards winery, which still operates today in the San Joaquin Valley and lays claim to the title of “California’s Oldest Winery.” Thée’s son-in-law Paul Masson took over management of the winery in 1892, and went on to establish his own winery in 1905, which is known today as the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Cheers to Los Gatos history!

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This photograph from NUMU's collection labeled as “a typical Almaden field worker,” depicts a man of Hispanic descent picking grapes for the Almaden Winery. The agricultural past of Los Gatos is not often discussed or represented, as much of that la… — This photograph from NUMU's collection labeled as “a typical Almaden field worker,” depicts a man of Hispanic descent picking grapes for the Almaden Winery. The agricultural past of Los Gatos is not often discussed or represented, as much of that labor was done by people of Mexican descent and other peoples of color. This photograph gives a glimpse into the hidden history of Los Gatos, and the agricultural laborers that helped establish the successful businesses that led to the wealth of the Town.

Novitiate Winery, circa 1897. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library

Ships Passing in the Night (Literally)

May 22, 2021 Michèle Jubilee

Ahoy! It’s National Maritime Day! This holiday was established in 1933 to celebrate the maritime industry, and is celebrated on May 22nd to commemorate the day in 1819 that the steamship Savannah set sail for the first-ever transoceanic voyage under steam power. The Savannah, along with every other ship throughout history and even ships today, would have used navigational instruments, like these in NUMU’s permanent collection. This red navigation light, also referred to as a running light or nautical light, would have been situated on the port (left) side of its ship. The starboard (right) navigation light would have been green. These lights, always lit from sunset to sunrise, and during periods of low visibility, allowed ships sailing at night or in perilous conditions to see each other, and know what direction they were traveling in based on which navigation light (red or green) they could see.

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The maritime industry - ships and boats used for commerce, military, or recreational purposes - played an important, albeit indirect role on the development of Los Gatos. Situated between San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay, huge numbers of goods and people arrived at these ports every day. Once they came on land, these goods had to be transported to other parts of California via the railroad. The Los Gatos train depot was an important stop for both freight and passenger trains, which were likely carrying items that had originally been carried on ships. Thus, while one does not normally associate Los Gatos with the maritime industry, it undoubtedly had an impact on the town’s history.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

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This box compass from the 1870s was another essential navigational instrument for sailors, providing an accurate bearing when the stars and other astronomical cues were obscured by clouds. The E.S. Ritchie Company, who manufactured this particular compass, was an innovator in the maritime navigation industry, pioneering the liquid-filled compass design and contracting with the United States Navy in 1861.

Poster celebrating National Maritime Day, 1947. Courtesy of the National Archives

The Luxury of Indulgence

May 11, 2021 Michèle Jubilee

Today is National Eat What You Want Day, and while many of us might celebrate by indulging in a treat, this object from the museum’s collection reminds us that such indulgence wasn’t always possible. This War Ration Book No. 3 was issued during World War II by the Office of Price Administration. On it, the owner would fill out the front with their information, while the back detailed instructions on how to use the stamps within the booklet. Despite the fact that the federal government issued the ration books and oversaw the rationing system, it relied heavily on volunteers not only to distribute these books, but to educate people and businesses on how to use them; local rationing boards, staffed by volunteers, did the bulk of the work.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when the United States entered World War II, a rationing system was almost immediately put into place, restricting the sale of certain in-demand goods. Everything from rubber, to metal, to paper, and to certain foods were restricted to preserve them for the war effort while ensuring that the public still had access. Tires were the first thing to be rationed since Japan controlled Indonesia, which was one of the main suppliers of rubber to the United States. Sugar was the first food item to be rationed, followed by coffee, meat, cheese, and canned milk. These foods had a monetary cost, with a ration points cost on top of it - a person would need both enough money and enough points in order to purchase what they wanted. As expected, there were flaws in the system, and when rationing for a new product was announced, there was often a rush to go out and buy that product before it was restricted, resulting in further shortages. We all experienced this in 2020 on a much smaller scale (toilet paper, anyone?).

It is objects from the past such as these that remind us to be grateful for the ability to indulge ourselves and celebrate Eat What You Want Day.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

Office of Price Administration propaganda poster proclaiming the benefits of wartime rationing.

Aaaaaall Aboard...

May 8, 2021 Michèle Jubilee

It’s National Train Day! These hats are just a sample of the numerous railroad related objects that NUMU has in its permanent collection. They were traditionally worn by those who drive and operate the engines, and ensure that everything runs smoothly. This now-classic style was invented in the early 1900s by train engineer George Kromer and his wife, Ida. At the time, and as baseball was increasing in popularity, George took time off from the railroad industry to play semi-professional and professional baseball. When he returned to engineering, he wore his baseball caps to work, but they didn’t quite fit his needs. So he and his wife designed a more practical cap that he could wear to work, which she made out of the blue and white pinstripe pillow ticking that she had on hand.

Los Gatos train depot, 1900. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library.

Los Gatos train depot, circa 1880. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library.

George and Ida Kromer. Courtesy of Union Pacific Railroad Museum.

The railroad industry played a large role in the development of Los Gatos, which was still a small, relatively unknown community before the Southern Pacific Coast Railroad chose the town to be the site of an important freight and passenger train depot on the line connecting the Bay Area with Santa Cruz in 1876. It took two years to build the depot, and once they were done, Los Gatos became part of a busy and thriving railroad network, attracting not only industry, but tourists as well. The Los Gatos station was also critically important as a water-refueling stop for steam locomotives about to make the trek up and over the mountains to Santa Cruz.

There is more to this history we want to explore through the Los Gatos History Project. Particularly the stories of the Chinese laborers and other under-represented communities of color who were integral to the success of the railroad industry, not only locally, but nationally as well.

-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar

Train passing Los Gatos depot, 1955. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library.