Paly ~ Class of '61 

KEEP SCROLLING DOWN THE PAGE -- LOTS OF NEW INFO BELOW 

RE - UNION

FRI - SUN,    SEPTEMBER 14 -16, 2018   

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

  NEEDED - Could surely use your help  -  Reunion seed money/donations!!! See the "57th Reunion Info" Menu item for how to donate.

Heard that you're coming to the reunion?  Well all right then!!!

You're NOT coming?!!!! Well......

"When we're connected to others, we become better people."

-- Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

HAPPENINGS:

 COMING EVENTS

          Palo Alto Historical Association       

SUNDAY, APRIL 8   -  Well known Paly Historian, Bob French to speak

For more information: http://www.pahistory.org/programs.html

FRIDAY, MAY 18

                    Paly Golf Classic

Benefiting Paly Athletics

Friday, May 18, 2018

12PM Registration

1PM Shotgun Start

6PM Reception & Silent Auction

Shoreline Golf Links

$200 per person

Your registration includes 18 holes of golf, shared cart, bag lunch, swag, reception and 2 drink tickets. ($100 tax deductible)

Paly Sports Boosters Federal Tax ID #77-0218566

Register here - click on this link: http://palysportsboosters.org/2018-paly-golf-classic/

Questions: PAHSsportsboosters@gmail.com

In the news....       

At a highly contentious PAUSD Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 that lasted until 1:14 a.m., David Starr Jordan and Frederick Terman Middle Schools were renamed.  (The contentions were over the names to be chosen as the decision to change the school names was made last year).  David Starr Jordan is to be named Frank Greene," ..a black Silicon Valley engineer who started a venture capital firm to invest in the businesses of women and people of color."  Mr. Greene did not attend any Palo Alto schools, nor did his children, nor was he ever a resident in Palo Alto.  

Terman, named for the late Fred Terman known as "The Father of the Silicon Valley" (together with William Shockley) rather than his father who was known to have been a eugenicist will be renamed, Ellen Fletcher.  Mrs. Fletcher was known for her 40 years of volunteer work in P.A., served on the City Council and was Vice Mayor for a year.  She was known as an avid bicycle rider, and was apparently responsible for most of the bike lanes installed on the streets of P.A.  The Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard is named for her.  More information can be found in the March 28, 2018 issue of the P.A. Daily Post by clicking here, or here > http://padailypost.com/2018/03/28/board-renames-2-schools-terman-become-fletcher-jordans-new-name-greene/

An article from the Daily Post Opinion Section: http://padailypost.com/2017/01/23/why-we-shouldnt-rename-schools/

The "O" has closed

by Kate Bradshaw / Almanac

The Oasis, perhaps the oldest eating establishment in Menlo Park, will close permanently March 7 after 60 years of business, according to a Feb. 21 announcement on Facebook by the business' owners, the Tougas family.

Their message stated, "To all of our loyal customers and to the greater Menlo Park community, It is with heavy heart that we announce the closing of our beloved bar and restaurant, The Oasis. After several months of effort, we were unable to negotiate a reasonable lease for our business, nor meet the requested terms of the building’s owner. Therefore, we have made the very difficult decision to close our doors, and bid farewell to the endearing community of Menlo Park and Stanford University. Our last day of business will be March 7 - please stop in for a visit and say goodbye!"

The Tougas family also made a separate farewell statement, expressing gratitude to loyal clients in Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Stanford. They have not yet responded to requests for comment.

"We want to express our warmest appreciation to all of the wonderful customers who passed through our doors. Your love is engraved in our many tables and booths. Thank you for sitting down in our beer garden to have a beer with us, cracking open some peanuts, carving up our tables with your first loves, playing some pinball, and filling our restaurant with your children and children’s children. We are so grateful to have shared these past 60 years with you!" the letter reads.

The joint is considered an institution by many and beloved for its burgers, pizza, beer and slightly sticky wooden tables engraved with what appear to be generations of initials.

Within four hours of the Facebook announcement, people had posted 362 comments.

Some people tagged other people or shared the announcement to spread the news; others expressed sadness at the announcement or shared memories.

"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! The last great hole-in-the-wall in Menlo Park / Palo Alto ... RIP," wrote Todd Curtis Fryburger.

"Spent time there growing up starting back in the 70’s and my father even spent time there when he was in College at Stanford. I try to get there every time I’m in town visiting. It feels like home to walk in there. So sad to see it go," wrote Gary Lee Chrisman.

"The Oasis was the extension of the Homebrew Computer Club, where after the meeting adjourned staff of competing companies would drink and exchange tips about how to run their businesses. It deserves historic recognition for that reason alone," wrote Lee Felsenstein.

A Menlo Park native launched an online petition, titled "Don't let the O Go!" (a reference to the watering hole's nickname) on Thursday, urging the landlords to keep the restaurant open.

The petition's author, Alison Perris, shared her memories of The Oasis: "I was born and raised in Menlo Park, CA and ever since I can remember The Oasis has been our hangout. ... As a kid I can remember going to the O with my Dad for pizza and a (root beer) and feeling so grown up as we sat in the large wooden booths with names of Stanford students past and present carved into the tables and walls. Then when I was older meeting friends over beers after softball games or watching the Giants in the World Series."

As of about noon on Feb. 22, the petition had 764 supporters.

History

According to the Menlo Park Historical Association, the building that houses the Oasis was once the YMCA building at Camp Fremont, when the area was a training camp for World War I. It was originally built in 1917 at Santa Cruz Avenue and Chestnut Street, but was moved to its current location at 241 El Camino Real around 1920.

The Menlo Park Historical Association reports that Alexander Beltramo, son of John Beltramo, founder of the former Beltramo's Wine & Spirits, converted the building into a beer garden in 1933. Diana Beltramo Hewitt told the Almanac he named it that "because he thought that was fitting after Prohibition."

Beltramo operated the beer garden for about two years, and in 1946 was leased to a man named Archie Marshall. In 1958, the business changed hands again, and Bernie Tougas took over tenancy at the site, Beltramo Hewitt said.

"He and his wife Doris really poured their heart and soul into the place and made it what it is today," she said. "They were great tenants for many years."

Beltramo Hewitt declined to comment further on the conditions of the lease, but noted that they do not have development plans for the site and will be looking for a new tenant.

According to "Menlo Park: Beyond the Gate," a history book about Menlo Park by historians Michael Svanevik and Shirley Burgett, the building's front office was used as the air raid warden's office during World War II.

Notable incidents referenced in that book claim that once, a young John F. Kennedy came by to eat a hamburger. Another time, when flooding from San Francisquito Creek had left the restaurant inundated, customers just took off their shoes and "partied as usual."

The restaurant currently has around 20 to 25 employees, who were alerted about the closure plans on Tuesday, after the final decision was made Monday, according to an employee who asked to remain anonymous.

The Tougas family owns five similar restaurants around the Bay, according to their farewell letter: Jake's, in Saratoga, Willow Glen and Sunnyvale; The Garret in Campbell, and the Garret Station in Los Gatos.

COMING EVENTS:

PALY'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

 Paly's year-long Centennial Celebration will be commencing in August, 2018.  The Alumni Association invites you to join their site at www.palyalumni.net to keep abreast of the activities taking place on campus throughout the year.  As with our site, it is free to join.  You will need to fill out a profile as you did for our site, and you can include as much or little information as you wish.  You're encouraged to join as there is a lot of interesting historical information on the site. Who knows, you may even see your name and picture among the historical relics. : ) 

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Advice is like snow--the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.                                                                                         Robert Taylor Coleridge

 

  

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