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.

We’ll also visit the St. John’s Cemetery across the street, which is the resting place of many Milpitas pioneers and closed to the public.

Please bring a picnic lunch, and we’ll head up to Ed Levin Park to eat. Then we’ll continue up the hill to visit the historic 2-room Laguna School, which is owned by member Bill Hare.

Next we’ll head back to the cars and on to the Downing Ranch, which is also closed to the public. We’ll climb the hill to see the huge rock that the Ohlone Indians once ground their acorns on. This is a working ranch and you will see horses, cows … and many peacocks!

Bring water and wear comfortable shoes. We will meet at Big Lots at 9:00 A.M. and leave at 9:15 A.M. We may car pool, if there is interest, or drive your own car. It is not very far.

For more information, call Barbara at 408-942-1492.