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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Beverly Pevarnick, executive director of the museum association, sits at a 1920s-era school desk now on display at Forbes Mill.
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Forbes Mill offers fragments of the past By Shari Kaplan
The "Los Gatos--Our Town" exhibit at Forbes Mill Regional History Museum is something new in several senses. Not only is it the latest exhibit to fill the museum's display cases and cover its walls, but it is also the first to invite active visitor participation.
Subtitled "Fragments of the Past," the show consists of antiques, artifacts and photographs representing Los Gatos from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. A five-page handout--with paragraphs numbered to correspond with those on the displays--provides interesting histories on some of the fragments, but not all. That's where the interaction comes in. Papers on clipboards are available for guests to jot down anything that jogs their memory; the museum may use these details for future exhibits.
"We hope people will come in and share more information they have of the area," says Beverly Pevarnick, executive director of the Los Gatos Museum Association.
And the exhibit offers much to see. Among the items within the display cases are boxy, old-fashioned cameras--perhaps once used to take some of the exhibit's many black-and-white photos of elementary and high school classes, horses, buggies, interurban streetcars and historical businesses. Among the most engaging is an aerial view of Los Gatos and the Santa Clara Valley from 1926--blossoming fruit tree orchards cover the valley as far as the eye can see.
Although rusty and weathered, old pieces of hardware from local homes and fields look like they could still be used today: among them a saw, plane, drill and calipers. The antiquated carpenter's level may have seen its heyday, however. A nearby case contains fine glassware and china from days gone by, while another is full of Victorian-style home improvements.
Among visitors' favorite areas, Pevarnick says, is the display of women's dresses and accouterments such as lacy collars, gloves, hats, granny boots, a parasol and a skirt-fluffing bustle. The economic importance of orchards in the valley is also a significant part of the exhibit, she says, pointing out memorabilia and implements used in fruit picking and packing, quicksilver mining and transportation.
"It's interesting to see the parallels between 100 years ago and today," Pevarnick adds. "Back then, there were orchards, mining, logging in the mountains and railroad work. Today, we have Silicon Valley. This area has always been a melting pot and had an influx of people seeking work."
"Los Gatos--Our Town" runs through April 18. Some items are relics from the museum's collection or from LGMA members, while others are gleaned from sources such as the Los Gatos Public Library and the Campbell and San Jose historical museums. The Forbes Mill Regional History Museum, at 75 Church St., is open from noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
