By Khalida Sarwari
Around 150 people gathered in downtown Saratoga last weekend for Heritage Day, the city’s annual celebration of its roots.
The Oct. 4 event featured an afternoon filled with author talks, musical performances, craft activities, tours and lots of history.
Author Lisa Robinson gave a presentation on how lumber was harvested in the 1800s, and Robin Chapman autographed her book, “California Apricots–the Lost Orchards of Santa Clara Valley,” and swapped stories about picking ‘cots.
On the musical front, the Silicon Valley Accordion band played toe-tapping bluegrass music, recalling memories of the early days when every special event was celebrated with an accordion. The California Chinese Youth Symphony performed on the erhu, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, and Cindy Webster demonstrated the singing saw, an instrument that was first introduced in the 1900s and fascinated people at the Heritage Day event with its range, according to Annette Stransky, president of the Saratoga Historical Foundation.
The Girl Scouts showed children how to weave pot holders and make dolls out of clothespins. One craftsperson demonstrated how rugs were made by braiding colorful recycled fabric. The art of Chinese brush painting was also demonstrated, and attendees were given a free painting of a horse commemorating “the year of the horse.”
Wood chips were flying as the Santa Clara Valley carvers produced figures by whittling. The Sunnyvale Lace Museum volunteers demonstrated how people used to make their own lace collars and cuffs for decorating dresses.
“Portraits of the Past” gave a humorous view of the 1850s through the 1930s using costumed performers depicting such key figures as vintner Paul Masson, Sen. James Phelan and blacksmith James McWilliams, along with other famous local personalities.
People also spent some time at the exhibit at the Saratoga History Museum, “Pioneering the Valley: The Chinese American Legacy,” and on a free docent-led walking tour of the Village, the historic McWilliams house and the one-room schoolhouse.
“As always, people stopped by the museum to find out information about the area,” said Stransky. “One person was researching the California Grape Food Company.”
According to Stransky, the company bottled grape juice from 1892 to 1896 in Los Gatos and considered the Saratoga Congregational Church as one of its biggest customers.
