The topic of the meeting will be Mt. Umunhum, the second highest peak you see looking south in the direction of Santa Cruz. The history of Mt. Umunhum and its current status will be presented by Basim Jaber, a life-long South Bay native and free lance photographer.

Mr. Jaber has researched the history and geography of Mt. Umunhum and the Almaden Air Force Station since 2006. In 1957 the Air Force opened a radar station on the second highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There were 120 service members and their families living there at one time. In 1980 the Air Force closed down the facility, leaving a deserted ghost town that slowly deteriorated. In 2009 Congress approved the site for clean-up after 50 years of being off limits to the public. Once the site is cleared, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District plans to open it to the public with hiking trails and vista views.

Mr. Jaber’s unprecedented photo documentary work of the entire site has proved to be invaluable to preserving the history and memories of Almaden Air Force Station.

The public is invited to attend, meet Mr. Jaber and learn the history of this fascinating place.

The next Milpitas Historical Society meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 11, at 7:00 pm. Our presenter at this meeting will be John Boessenecker, a writer, attorney, and charismatic speaker, who will tell the story of the famous California outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez, the subject of his latest book, Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez.

By John Boessenecker

He’ll also tell us about some banditry that went on in our very own area in those Wild West days.

Vasquez (1835-1875) grew up in Monterey, robbed and romanced his way through much of California for 20 years after the Gold Rush, and was finally captured in Los Angeles, tried and hanged in San Jose, and buried in Santa Clara.

Special Note: Once again, our meeting will not be held in the Community Room (Auditorium) of the Milpitas Library, but in the Library’s cozy Children’s Activity Room in the children’s wing, where we met in January. We will set up signs to show you the way.

The public is invited, no charge. Light refreshments will be served. See you there!

Our speaker will be John Kimball, a history fan, Valley resident since 1950, and the presenter of two historical films to the Society last year. He will show a film about the Dust Bowl years in the 1930’s and demonstrate, with other films, some words of John Steinbeck, and music of Woody Guthrie, how that era affected our own Santa Clara (now Silicon) Valley.

The public is invited, no charge. Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there!

160 North Main Street
Milpitas, CA 95035

Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves then conducted the swearing-in ceremony for the 2012 Society Officers and Board of Directors, as pictured below: From left to right, Mareile Ogle, Historian; Bill Hare, Vice- President; Mabel Matos, Membership; Catherine Pelizzari, Secretary and Publications; Kraig Bunnell, Treasurer; Joann Souza, Hospitality; Steve Munzel, Archives and Landmarks; Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Commission Liaison;, and Thelma Bridges, Special Events.

After the keynote speech, Bill Hare presented Lifetime Membership Awards for outstanding service to the Society to Mabel Mattos, Harriett McGuire, and Steve Munzel.

February 16, 2012

Key Note Speaker: Richard Santos, President of the Santa Clara Valley Water District
Oath of Office Administered by: Mayor José Esteves

Omega Restaurant
90 South Park Victoria Drive

6:30 Cocktails
7:00 Buffet Dinner
Tri-tip steak, Chicken Jerusalem, Pasta Primavera

Cost: $24 per person
Send your check and reservations to:
Milpitas Historical Society
Attn: Installation Dinner
2407 Mattos Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035

For more information call: [408] 320-9587

Milpitas Historical Society’s Christmas Party

Saturday, December 3, 2011 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm

Our hosts will be

Kim Parker and Peter Herrera at The Last Word Ranch (historically the Belshaw House) 430 Evans Road

Milpitas, CA

Potluck Dishes and Holiday Ham

(Please bring a canned donation for the Food Pantry.)

RSVP to Joanne Souza at 262-5868 to coordinate dishes

Members and friends interested in this tour will meet at 2:00 PM in the parking lot of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store parking lot at 757 E. Calaveras Blvd. After a short business meeting, we will carpool to the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto. We should arrive there around 2:30 pm and will get to see their new exhibit on American Invention, which opens on June 17. We will tour the museum for about an hour or so, and then ask questions to the staff about how they operate a volunteer-based museum. We should be back by 4:30 pm.

A unique museum of historic technologies, the Museum of American heritage is located in the historic Williams House and Gardens near downtown Palo Alto at 351 Homer Avenue.

At the museum’s new exhibit, “Victorian America: Invention and Technology.” we’ll discover inventions that shaped America, displayed in a century-old home and garden. The Victorian Age (approximately 1837-1914) was one of the most prolific periods of invention and technological development. Photography, electricity, radio and mass production all came of age during the period, and the architecture of the age still reminds us, often with nostalgia, of Victorian elegance.

Travel back in time with us and revisit the times that laid the cornerstone for the modern world.

Our meeting and the museum tour are open to the public. For more information, call: 408-320-9587.

At around 10:00 am, the tour will visit the Silva apricot ranch, 891 Piedmont Rd. to see the last working apricot farm in Milpitas. Member and owner Kelly Silva will show us how apricots are cut and processed.

Then around 10:30 am the tour will cross the road to the historic St. John the Baptist Cemetery, 651 Old Piedmont Road. Established in 1902, originally the parish cemetery for St. John the Baptist church in Milpitas, it is the resting place of many pioneer Milpitas families. Joanne Sousa, who has family resting there, will provide information and a walking tour around the cemetery.

For the last stop, at noon, the tour will go up Felter Road to the Big Dog Winery for a wine tasting. There are picnic tables available if you’d like to bring a lunch to enjoy with their award-winning wines and the spectacular view of our Santa Clara Valley.

The Historical Society will be making flyers and maps of the tour that we will need help giving out. For further information on the tour and how you might help, please call Harriett McGuire at 262-7979.

Call Harriett McGuire for more information at 262- 7979.