Archive Record
Images
Additional Images [2]
Metadata
Catalog number |
1997.2.2584 |
Object Name |
Newsletter |
Date |
1986 |
Description |
TITLE: Quicksilver County Park News SUBTITLE: Newsletter of the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association Issue # 11 December 1986 HAPPY HOLIDAYS ISSUE 11 December, 1986 MERCURY VAPORS - CLOUDED ISSUE: The Almaden Quicksilver County Park was placed on the State superfund list of toxic sites, by someone, somewhere, some time ago. Before development of the Reduction Works site can begin, decertification from the list must be accomplished according to Charles Armstrong of the State Department of Health Services. The Parks Department has hired a consultant, Woodward-Clyde Associates, to sample the air and soil and recommend procedures for site mitigation. An informational meeting concerning this issue was held in New Almaden at the Community Center on October 23, 1986. According to a report made on Wednesday, September 3, 1986, monthly progress meetings at the Park Administrative Office will be held until decertification has been achieved. The Quicksilver Park will remain open but according to Director Doug Gaynor no development will take place and no permanent ranger will be assigned until this matter is solved. This process will take the entire year, as some air testing must be held in hot weather. Your association would like to see trails developed, water extended and other amenities for hikers, runners and equestrians along with tours into the restricted area completed and expanded. However, this toxic issue along with liability insurance has curtailed many of our activities. We will try to keep you informed as the issue is resolved but if you would like any information or wish to express concern, please call the Parks Department 408/358-3741 to attend one or more of their monthly meetings. Together we can keep the Quicksilver County Park the Special Place that it is! Kitty Monahan MEASURE A In November the Santa Clara County residents voted yes to extend the County's Park Charter Fund which pays for Santa Clara County's 36,391' acre park system This yes vote continued the park funding for two more years. A Committee of 100 and the Parks Commissioners worked tirelessly to have this measure pass. However, two years is not a long time. We need some clear cut financing, permanently, for the parks system otherwise we will lose the green belt in our gorgeous valley. If you have any ideas, concerns or tips for the committee to pursue in 1989, please call Mary Cude, Chairperson of Parks d Recreation Commission 408/245-4731. IT'S THE THANKSGIVING SEASON SO IT'S THE TIME To GIVE THANKS FOR: N ever-ending joys on quiet trails. Enchanting tales of miner's days. W inds that cool on summer evening. A 11 the birds that sing so sprightly. L azy days to sit and listen. N ountain shadows on the landscape. A nimals in great profusion. D ew on wildflowers in the early morning. E agles drifting with the clouds. N oisy picnics in the park. 0 uail that call from unseen perches. U nderground treasures to explore. I nspiring views in all directions. C arpets of green on moistened meadows. K indred spirits who work together. S cenic vistas all about. I dealic days of summer sun. L acey ferns in shaded grottoes. V ibrant colors in fall and spring. E arly rains to clear the dust. R unning deer to thrill the senses. C ountless trees to shade the summer. 0 wls at night that break the silence. U nseen forces moulding mountains. N ewts and frogs and others like them. T rails to walk on ride and run on. V ellow leaves that paint fall maples. P eople who respect what's natural. A mple room to find escape. R usted remains of days gone by. K eepsake memories that all can share. WINTER ON THE HILL During our fast paced lives in the Valley, we seldom notice the finer aspects of nature. In days past the cycles of our natural environment played a more acute role in day to day living. The miner at New Almaden had to take care of his health in the winters when he would emerge sweaty and hot from the mine into a cold, damp climate. For him, winter meant delays in ore and equipment transportation because of mired dirt roads. For the miner's wife there was no way to keep the muck confined to the stoop. The best she could do was wait for the spring clean. With our large houses, paved walks, city utilities, and indoor plumbing, we have little first-hand experience coping with primitive living. To us on the valley floor life in the mountains looks abundantly sweet, and it is, but it also requires hard work, perseverance, and patience. Our miner friends and hill residents from yesteryear were all too aware of this dichotomy. Winters on the hill are cold, dark, windy and rainy. Relentless wind blows up from the valley. This wind seems to roar through Englishtown and by the time it reaches the open grassy slopes of Mexican camp, its force is legendary. Fingers of fog move in and out of the camp and saturate everything with fine drops of water. The mud is always caked on your boots. The firewood is wet, and it is no fun answering nature's call when the little shack is down the trail a bit from your abode. The winter is hard, but also beautiful. On some mornings a chill damp fog fills all of the bay area and flatlands, but Mine Hill and the other mountains stick out of the fog like islands in a silver sea and bask in the sun. The air is clear and the views spectacular. Well through the winter the winds become stronger and more frequent as the rains subside. The fog is there to greet you every morning and signals that spring is on the way.Mike Cox YOU CAN HELP Surely, out there in our wide and diverse membership, there are readers and users of our unique park who have had one or several memorable experiences in the park or who know something unusual and interesting about the park. You are the ones who can make a difference: Take a minute (or 5) out of your busy schedule and drop us a line with new and interesting articles for your newsletter,and your note doesn't have to be typed, just legible. Send your contributions to: NEWSLETTER 1765 Hicks Avenue San Jose, CA 95125 PIONEER DAY 1986 Once again our wonderful New Almaden Pioneers rose to the occasion and succeeded in turning an October day into a glorious, sunny delightful event. Mike Cox and Mickie Ryan organized the museum to outshine museums, Don Weden directed the program like a pro, and Dutch Mapes and Nancy cooked up a delicious Chicken Bar-B-Que. With the printed programs meticulously designed by Friedolin Kessler, the tables decorated with class by Peggy Melbourne and our friends directed so successfully by guide, Kay Carmody, everything was in place for a terrific guest speaker, Austin Warburton. Austin announce the special message of the day "Dedication to Constance Perham" for the untiring effort on behalf of the New Almaden-Mining Museum. He chronicled Connies' 1st interest to the area, through to her final sale of her collected artifact to the Santa Clara County Parks Department. Austin's speech was the No. 1 speech we have had at Pioneer Day and we wish we had it on tape. Many thanks to all the folks who came and to those who helped, especially Virginia Hammerness for again providing all the chairs and Eddie Lewis the Bar-B-Que equipment delivered. But we are most grateful to the Parks Department for their encouragement and for the great presentation and help by Kathy Carpenter, Reservation Chief of the Parks Department. Margaret Teufil, who helped serve, set up and prepare the location for the day, recaps the day as such: "The First thing I recall on Pioneer Day is the frothy beer I was serving. People wanted an ice cold beer and I was serving froth, but! Everyone was just enjoying themselves, having a good time, seeing the museum, hearing the speakers on future plans, and a delightful lunch afterwards. What more could one ask for. It was a grand day!" MINING MUSEUM CATALOG PROJECT ,.i The last Association Newsletter made note of two projects underway at the Mining Museum, one involved In updating the exhibits and the other in cataloging the museum artifacts. Friends who took part in our wonderful Pioneer Day got a preview of the great work done by Mike Cox in the exhibit rooms, and some innocents who volunteered to get involved in the (not quite so visible) cataloging project soon found themselves getting real hands-on experience with Micki Ryan. The catalog volunteers met November 10 and 11 for an introduction to beyond-thescenes museum work. So far, the work group consists of Nancy Greenfield, Virginia Hammerness, Mary Holland and Anita Kaszuba, with several others planning to join us at the second work session at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 9th. This is very individualized, each-one-teach-one instruction, so newcomers are welcome at any session -- just call Mary at 225-4222 or Micki at the Museum, 268-1729 or home, 429-8465, to sign up. We started out cataloging the objects in the Community Life room, which visitors may recall was still "in progress" as an exhibit area on Pioneer Day. Every object in the museum has been inventoried and given an individual accession number which will be the key to its identity within the cataloging system We were rather startled to discover that when all was accounted for, there were over 1750 objects in our possession. 1183 of those were purchased by the County Parks Department from Connie Perham's collection, about 158 belong to the Association, and another 409 are loaned display objects and mounting gadgets. In addition, we have not yet inventoried Association objects that are housed away from the museum. The cataloging process consists of marking an identifying accession number on the museum object, and filling out a catalog worksheet with detailed information about the object. The basic worksheet information includes the accession number, a brief description of the object noting such things as dominant materials in its construction, dominant colors, and identifying marks such as hallmarks or embossing. The object is further identified with its "Nomenclature" classification, which is the American standardized list of object names and functional classes used for identifying museum objects. If the history of the object is known, that is included as well (Connie has provided quite a bit of information in the museum labels). In addition, we measure the largest dimensions of the object, and a black and white photograph is taken that includes an inch scale to show the object's relative size. The completed forms, which might be many times erased and corrected in the process, are filed for later entry into a typed permanent catalog card file. Right now our work group is progressing rather slowly, as we become familiar with the procedures and techniques used in this task. A unique aspect of the Mining Museum catalog project is that it will be carried out entirely by volunteers in the future, as the Mining Museum and the Association have no permanent staff positions. For this reason, the project is tailored to take into consideration the fact that no single person will always have the job of cataloging new objects, and that volunteers may prefer to divide up the catalog worksheet entry tasks, some doing the measuring, some marking the objects, some researching the artifact in published source books to learn more of this history. Procedures are somewhat streamlined compared to those used in museums with a large staff, and the techniques used are carefully spelled out in step-by-step fashion. A "Manual of Procedures for Museum Cataloging".has been written in draft form for the volunteers, which will be revised as we test it for clarity and usefulness on our willing guinea pigs during the cataloging work sessions. The completed manual will belong to the Association for future training of volunteers at the December 9 training session. A Deed of Gift form has been developed as well, which will be sent to new donors to transfer ownership of objects to the Association. At its November 12 meeting, the Board approved a collections policy which will guide the Association in seeking and accepting gifts of museum objects for future display. In short, we are operating like a full-fledged museum, thanks to the efforts of a few volunteers and the effect of years of expert curatorial work by Connie Perham Once the holidays are over, we hope to expand the volunteer program even more, so please get in touch if you'd like to take part in this unusual project. Micki Ryan Museum Registrar FROM THE POST OFFICE The New Almaden Post Office - 21300 Almaden Road in New Almaden has a variety of stamp collecting items that make interesting holiday gifts and stocking stuffers. They're fun and educational, too!! Also available - "Stamps-By-Mail"-Envelopes. Save long lines at the post office by ordering your stamps by mail -- wonderful help to shut-ins. Stamps sent next day -postpaid. (For envelopes call 268-7730). The New Almaden Post Office can take care of all your holiday mailing. Avoid the rush ------ PLEASE MAIL EARLY Agnes Yuseff Postmaster, New Almaden CALENDAR of EVENTS County Parks Department At present nothing is scheduled, however, for further information call: 38-3751 Foothill Saddlery Nothing between now and March. Fleetfeet Runners Weekly runs every Saturday Hard-core runners - 6:30 a. m. Medium runners - 8:00 a. m. For additional information call Ephram Romesberg:268-2502 Horsemen's Assn. Tentative Poker Ride in February or March. For information call Kay Carmody:292-6032 A MATTER of NECESSITY AND PRIDE It's that all-important time of the year when we ask you to send in your dues for the coming year. You may be unaware of exactly how indispensable your dues are to the welfare of your association, so here is a partial list of things accomplished over the past two years: 1. The cataloging and setting up at the Museums were able to continue in spite of the fact that the grants we're expecting to receive haven't come through yet; 2. Photographing of Englishtown and Spanishtown artifacts; 3. Providing of Newsletter and Pioneer Day programs; 4. Pioneer Day; 5. Postage; 6. Tour booklets when we could give park tours; 7. Donations to the Community Club for the use at the building; 8. Picnics, full moon horseback rides in the park; 9. 1985 Living History Day participation at the San Jose Historical Museum. You should be proud of what your association has done and with your continued support and interest, NAQCPA may be able to move a few mountains in 1987. |
People |
Monahan, Kitty Cox, Michael Weden, Don Ryan, Mickie Mapes, Dutch (Warren J.) Mapes, Nancy Melbourne, Peggy Carmody, Kay Warburton, Austin Hammerness, Virginia Giannini Teufil, Margaret Carpenter, Kathy Greenfield, Nancy Holland, Mary Kaszuba, Anita |
Cataloged by |
Meyer, Bob |