 |
| Home |
| About OMVNA |
| Emergency Preparedness |
| Newsletter |
| OMVNAtalk E-mail list |
| Coming Events |
| Meeting Minutes |
| Steering Committee |
| Links |
| Advertisers |
November 2001
Volume 13, Number 7
Emergency Response Team Seeks Donations for Trailer
A New Tradition: Holiday Lights at Mercy-Bush Park
New Group Seeks to Save Our Historic Buildings
The Downtown Beat: City to Decide Fate of 902 Villa
Newsletter Delivery Team Deserves Thanks from All
Tune in to Neighborhood News with OMVNAtalk
History Corner: Pvt. Leon Robart, Mtn. View Hero
On Oct. 14 the members of OMVNA elected these officers:
Chair: Bruce Karney
Vice-Chair: Anita Grossman
Treasurer: Aaron Grossman
Secretary: Tim Johnson
News. Editor: George Harris
Comm. Liaison: Valerie Harris
At Large #1: Alison Hicks
At Large #2: Julie Wrobel
Bruce returns to the Chair after serving in that capacity for two
years in the early 1990's. This will be his 6th year as an officer. Last
year he was the Newsletter Editor.
Anita returns to the Steering Committee after a one-year absence. She previously served three years as Newsletter Editor.
After the birth of her second child in August, Alison requested a less demanding role and has moved from Vice-Chair to "At Large." This will be her 2nd year on the Committee.
Tim and Aaron return to the roles that they have filled so capably in past years. Tim is the Committee's longest serving member, and is beginning his 8th year of service. Aaron is beginning his 5th year.
George and Valerie Harris and Julie Wrobel are first-time officers. We will profile them in future issues of the Newsletter.
We bid a fond farewell to those who are leaving the Committee: Julie Lovins (5 years service); Jean McCloskey (3 years, 1 as Chair); Garth Williams (3 years, 1½ as Chair); and Philippe Habib (2 years).
Two important roles are not part of the Steering Committee. Our new Webmaster is Maarten Korringa. Julie Lovins continues to lead the Newsletter Delivery team.
By Jean McCloskey, OMVNA Chair
In the past 4 years that I have been associated with the OMVNA, I have
been inspired by the commitment and work of those members who have tirelessly
served our community in what is often a thankless role. Community work requires
lots of compromise and lots of patience; hard to find commodities in Silicon
Valley life.
When I started in the role as Chairperson last year, I did not fully understand
what would be involved. I had a fair amount of trepidation about the job
after watching the previous Chair, Garth Williams, handle so many
things with apparent ease. Working to serve the community while tracking
the politics of the city is no easy task. I have increased my respect for
those of you who work effectively in such a capacity year in and year out.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have met such a large number of concerned
and interesting citizens.
We accomplished a lot this year. Our neighborhood is getting a great service from individuals who have made commitments on top their already busy lives to ensure that our neighborhood is prepared in the event of an emergency. Tim Johnson, Aaron Grossman, Julie Wrobel and Twana Karney organized and built an emergency response team and secured emergency provisions that are trailered at Landels School. Additionally, we improved our internal processes and strengthened and our linkage with the city. We learned about the architectural characteristics that contribute to the charm of Old Mountain View.
I am disappointed that we had to abort our neighborhood preservation efforts and that we did not provide enough support to open space issues as we could/should have.
Most of the complaints I have received lately have to do with the amount and type of development downtown, the loss of historic buildings and the threat to open space for development as well. Due to the actions of residents, these matters are getting some attention from City Hall -- resident involvement is what is required; keep it up! Moving forward, I expect OMVNA to continue to build a strong neighborhood spirit, by listening and involving all OMV residents and by staying focused on preservation and community improvement.
This is my home and community, and I wish everyone success in helping to maintain the charm and character that makes me proud to be a resident.
Emergency Response Team Seeks Donations for Trailer
The CERT Trailer is in place behind Landels School and will soon be operational as an emergency ham radio station and rescue equipment depot. This is all thanks to grants from the City of Mountain View, the Peninsula Community Foundation, and Community Foundation Silicon Valley.
Items already purchased include HD combination locks, 2 ham radios, 6 FRS radios and batteries, a generator, shelves, 4 backboards, 3 trauma kits, and 2 long pry bars.
However, many more Items are still needed beyond the scope of our grants, including crew kits, hand tools, tarps, tents, table, chairs, space blankets, lights, first aid kits, radios, sterile water bottles, fire extinguishers, medical gloves, covered clip boards, and a dry erase board. Donations of useable items or money to purchase them are needed to complete the trailer. For more details, call Aaron Grossman at 969-4031 or e-mail him at aaronlgh@home.com
A New Tradition: Holiday Lights at Mercy-Bush Park
Please join your neighbors at 4:30 pm on Sunday December 2 for what we
hope will become a new tradition -- decorating Mercy-Bush Park for the holidays.
The City has given OMVNA a grant to buy holiday lights -- now all we need
are some helping hands to hang them. We will have enough lights for the
fence and about 8 trees of various sizes. The lights will be on timers and
operate from dusk to 10 pm through January 4.
You are also welcome to bring decorations to hang in one of the smaller trees -- but please note that these cannot be made of glass or any other breakable material, and tinsel is not allowed. Please don't bring any ornaments you aren't willing to lose. Handmade paper ornaments, popcorn garlands, and cloth or plastic ornaments would be ideal.
Our event is timed so that we can all walk over to City Hall Plaza at 6:00 pm for the lighting of the City's Tree. For more information or to offer your suggestions, call Bruce Karney at 964-3567.
New Group Seeks to Save Our Historic Buildings
The Mountain View Preservation Alliance is a new group seeking to preserve historic buildings in and around downtown, such as 902 Villa Street. Their website is located at: welcome.to/mvpa.
MVPA meets weekly while in its start-up phase. For information on meeting times, current priorities or to be added to the e-mail list, contact Jean McCloskey at 965-9724 or jeanmccloskey@hotmail.com.
The Downtown Beat: City to Decide Fate of 902 Villa
By Julie Lovins (964-0368, lovins@concentric.net)
Neighborhood dismay over the potential destruction of the charming 1888 house at 902 Villa (most recently inhabited by Inner Journey), has spread to the City Council. In early November, they will discuss the ramifications of the owner's application to put up a two-story building there (restaurant and offices). An article in the October 5 Mountain View Voice mentions some of the many complexities involved in trying to preserve older buildings we value.
The biggest change to downtown Mountain View we can anticipate is the one that has just been cancelled. Responding to softening demand for office space, TishmanSpeyer has decided not to seek permits for an office building, housing, and several levels of underground parking on two or three corners of California and Bryant. This bounces the downtown parking issue back to the City, where staff is exploring concepts that cover a much wider range of options than just a parking structure.
The largest new downtown building -- the six-story TishmanSpeyer project at 400 Castro -- is slated for completion next May. Construction workers are now using two levels of the building's underground parking.
When the downtown parking lots were upgraded several years ago, changing the one-way direction of some of their entrances and exits in the process, there may have been no systematic review of red-curbing next to these driveways. City Staff, with the encouragement of the Parking Committee, is now surveying all such driveways to locate visibility limitations that might pose a safety hazard when cars exit into traffic.
The Parking Committee has also asked Staff to brief them on the potential for creating streetside cafes on side streets. Would it be possible to allow conversion of a small number of parking spaces into significant downtown amenities, similar to the "sidewalk cafes" on Castro? At this point there are more questions than answers, but it's an intriguing concept.
Newsletter Delivery Team Deserves Thanks from All
It takes 60 volunteers to deliver all 2150 copies of the OMVNA Newsletter. These wonderful volunteers, many of whom have served for over ten years, deserve to be recognized. Here, in alphabetical order, are the names of the regulars and "subs" on our delivery team.
Jean Anderson, Olivia Bartlett, Pat Bennett, Brad Bettman, Kathy Bettman, Johnson Boothby, Sara Boothby, Ronit Bryant, Molly Carlson, June Casey, Joseph Cayot, Amy Davis, Greg Davis, Julia Davis, Ed Flowers, Elena Fritchle, Juliane Gorman, David Greene, Aaron Grossman, Scott Johnson, Tim Johnson, Tammy Juarez, Bruce Karney, Twana Karney, Shirley Kelley, Tim Lee, Rose Lesslie, Julie Lovins, Jean McCloskey, Don McPhail, Gretchen McPhail, Len Migliore, Susan Migliore, Robert Mullenger, Matt Neely, Bill Nitzberg, Jennifer Parman, Russ Parman, Rita Pilkenton, Karl Pingle, Bea Pollert, Allen Price, Carol Price, Jan Proceviat, Carol Pursifull, Rhonda Radcliff, Velva Rowell, Rosemary Stasek, Eric Schweitzer, Paul Stanley, Sherry Symington, Helen Turring, Anne Urban, Lainie vanDoornewaard, Charlie Weigle, Chris Whitaker, Julie Wrobel, Caroline McCormack Yarwood, Lucy Zemanek, and Lauren Zuravleff.
Tune in to Neighborhood News with OMVNAtalk
OMVNAtalk is a neighborhood e-mail list you can join if you would like to receive e-mail about issues of interest to Old Mountain View residents. It's really a great way to stay connected to neighborhood events and concerns. Only members of the list can send messages to OMVNAtalk, so you don't have to worry about spam. Read the usage guidelines and learn how to join at: www.omvna.org/omvnatalk.html.
History Corner: Pvt. Leon Robart, Mtn. View Hero
By Lisa Windes
"The world must be safe for democracy. Its peace must be founded upon the trusted foundations of political liberty." This quote could have been torn from today's headlines, but it comes from President Woodrow Wilson's April 2, 1917, speech to Congress. When Wilson asked for a declaration of war that day, America was threatened not by terrorists attacks on national symbols, but by Germany's submarine attacks on American shipping. World War I was our nation's first global conflict. With no TV or Internet coverage, Wilson recruited 75,000 speakers called "4 minute men" to give short talks on our war aims to the public at theater intermissions and other venues.
Mountain View's 4-minute man was P. Milton Smith. His speeches generated much interest in the community. The town and surrounding countryside, including today's Los Altos, had a population of 1,161.
The family of Augustus and Jennie Robart were especially interested. Their son Leon Robart and his older brothers Gus and Gene had volunteered for the American Expeditionary Force in September, 1917. They joined more than 150 other men from Mountain View who served in World War I.
The Army provided clothing, bedding, a toothbrush and a safety razor to the recruits. Their average height was 5 ft. 7 1/2 in., their weight 141 lbs. -- the same as Civil War soldiers 55 years earlier. The Robart brothers were sent to training camp in Fort Lewis, Washington. Training camp consisted of drills, fieldwork, inspection, and reviews, 6 days a week from 5:30 am to 5:30 pm. Twenty-mile hikes were routine. Gus Robart received a machine-gun marksmanship award in April of 1918, and the brothers were shipped out to France that summer.
Leon was a Private First Class with Company H of the 363rd Infantry Regiment,
91st Division of the U.S. Army under General John J. "Black Jack"
Pershing.
Over 1 million American soldiers were shipped to the battlefields of France
before the armistice on November 11, 1918. Their appearance inspired admiration
among the exhausted allies. One British Army nurse near the front lines
said "…though the sight of soldiers marching was now too familiar
to arouse curiosity, an unusual quality of bold vigour in their stride caused
me to stare at them with puzzled interest. They looked larger than ordinary
men…I wondered, watching them move with such rhythm, such dignity,
such serene consciousness of self-respect." The Robart boys were in
some of the heaviest fighting for Americans in the war and Leon fell on
September 30, 1918. He was 23. His oldest brother Gus was with him when
he was shot through the heart. Gus wrote his parents the sad news. General
Pershing sent a citation; "He bravely laid down his life for the cause
of his country. His name will forever remain fresh in the hearts of his
friends and comrades."
Soldiers returned home after the war determined that their fallen comrades should not be forgotten. They created the American Legion, a service organization, whose membership was limited to those who had served in the Great War. Mountain View's American Legion post is named for Leon Robart, the only Mountain View soldier to lose his life in the conflict. On June 30, 1923, members of the Legion and "a very good crowd" of people from Mountain View motored up into the Santa Cruz Mountains to dedicate a tree in his memory. They bolted to the second largest redwood tree in Santa Clara County a handsome bronze plaque that read in part:
Supreme sacrifice made in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Sept. 26 - Oct. 11, 1918
The Legion removed the plaque from the tree in 1977. After cleaning, the plaque was mounted on the Post's desk.
Veterans Day is Nov. 11, the 83rd anniversary of the end of World War I. It is dedicated to all Americans who have served in the armed forces.
|
The OMVNA Newsletter is published and distributed to more than 2000 homes by the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the OMVNA Steering Committee. Let us know what you think! Editor:George Harris Columnists: Julie Lovins, Lisa Windes Phone: (10 AM - 6 PM only) 969-8464 E-mail: editor@omvna.org Mail: OMVNA Newsletter, PO Box 987, Mountain View, CA 94042-0987 |
|
Chair: Bruce Karney BKarney@aol.com Vice-Chair: Anita Grossman Anilou@aol.com Treasurer: Aaron Grossman aaronlgh@home.com Secretary: Tim Johnson tdj@best.com Community Liaison: Valerie Harris valerieh@best.com Newsletter Editor: George Harris editor@omvna.org At Large #1: Alison Hicks Alison_H@pacbell.net At Large #2: Julie Wrobel jwrobel@oni.com |