|
- Attendees: Ronald Horii, Kitty
Monahan, Mike
Boulland, Ed Jackson, Woody Collins, Sam Drake, park interpreter Jan
Shriner. Mario Blaum and Maureen Kluska could not make it.
- Volunteer hours (from Maureen
Kluska): Monthly volunteer hours (FOSTP only): 110. 11 hours for Ron
Horii, 11 hours for Mike Boulland, 200.18 hours YTD.
- Treasurer's report (from Mario
Blaum): Balance as of 3/1/12: $274.95.
We owe $22 for our post office box. Gifts in-kind: $150 from Mike
Boulland. $252.95 balance after transactions clear.
- We didn't have a meeting last
month. Instead, there was a planning meeting for the Bay Area Ridge
Trail's South Bay Ridge Ramble. April's meeting minutes
were approved.
- We talked about the East Barn,
which we used to call
the Old Barn. It has been in bad shape, and we have been pushing to
have it restored for years. After much planning and many delays in
design and construction, it has been restored, and construction is
essentially
complete. It will be used by 4H for their goat projects.
- Chitactac-Adams Family Day is on
July 7.
- On July 8, there will be an Open
Gate ribbon-cutting party for the Outdoor Museum at Almaden
Quicksilver. There will be a BBQ and guided tours. The formal
dedication will be on Pioneer
Day in the fall.
- Jan Shriner, County Park
interpreter, came to visit and talk with us, particularly about Family
Fandango.
- Jan said she met Michael
Fogelstrom, who is with GoVoluntr.com.
It is an organization that provides a platform to connect volunteers
and non-profits. It may be a resource to look at in the future.
- Jan talked about Jose Pantova,
who was nominated by the Parks Dept. for recognition at a conference of
historians in
Santa Barbara. Jose translated original papers when San Jose became a
city. He went to Spain to get missing documents.
- Jan is in charge of Family
Fandango at the Bernal Ranch on Manila Drive, coming up on July 28
from 5-8 pm. Fandango is the largest interpretive event at Santa Teresa
Park. It is a family-oriented event, highlighting and celebrating the
area's history and culture from 1770-1870.
- At last year's Fandango, park interpreter Heidi
McFarland surveyed some of the attendees
to see how they heard about it. 2 heard it through the Californios, 10
from neighbors, 26 from family and friends, and 5 from Artopolis.
Events can be posted to Artopolis.
- Most people came between 4:30-5:00.
- To make sure the neighbors are informed, Jan mailed
notices out about Fandango to all households
for several blocks out from the Bernal Ranch. There will be notices in
the Mercury News and Bay Area Parent.
- Jan is working on arranging for food service. Last
year, the Tamale Factory did it. The previous year, the Muwekmas did
it, but they won't be doing it this year. Volunteers will get free meal
tickets. Jan needs an estimate of the number of volunteers so she knows
how many meal tickets to make.
- There is an application form for each organization that
wants to setup a booth
- The park interpretive program will have 2 Easy-ups.
- Cait Hutnik will be taking pictures. Ron won't be able
to make it.
- There will be different music this year. The group that
came the last 2 years was already booked.
- The dancers from Elena Robles' Folklorico Nacional
Mexicano will come again.
- Justice Paul Bernal, whose ancestors founded Rancho
Santa Teresa, will bring his family pictures, artifacts, and period
clothing to kids can dress up like Spanish soldiers.
- Reuben Reyes will be doing pottery demonstrations
again.
- The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe will be bringing their display
and will have traditional Indian craft activities.
- The National Park Service will have displays on the
Juan Bautista de Anza National Trail and the life of the Spanish
colonists.
- Park staff and volunteers will have cattle-roping and
branding with sawhorses.
- Alan Leventhal from SJSU will talk about the history of
the Native Americans.
- Janice Frazier will be bringing her horse, Easy.
- We mentioned inviting the Santa Teresa Foothills
Neighborhood Association again. They brought animal bones and plaster
animal footprint molds before.
- Ron suggested inviting the Santa Clara County Open
Space Authority. They have nature craft activities.
- We talked about having a blacksmith give
demonstrations. We had a blacksmith at the dedication
ceremony of the Bernal Ranch. There is a problem because of
concerns about fire danger, but there may be an opportunity with the
opening of the East Barn.
- Coyote
Crest 4H will be coming to show their projects.
- Since the East Barn is now complete, there may be
opportunities to use it for Fandango. After
being fenced off and off-limits for years, it is finally accessible. It
has lots of room on the inside. Part of it is paved. There are large
areas in front and back of the barn. They are dirt and covered with
weeds, but Maintenance may be able to knock down the weeds and smooth
out the dirt. The goat
pen is done. 4H may be able to bring goats to show at Fandango.
- We will have our booth again. We will be doing an adobe
brick-making activity for kids. They will be small bricks like last
year, not the large bricks we did 2 years ago.
- Mike will bring tables, Easy-ups, and supplies, but
will have to leave it with someone because he may not be able to get to
Fandango early, as he'll be coming back from a trip. He may be able to
leave it with Ed or put it in the East Barn.
- We will pass out our newsletter at Fandango.
- Ron will edit the newsletter. It needs to be done before
Fandango. Mike said he would write an article on the history of FOSTP.
Sam could write something on the Bay Area Ridge Trail Ramble and his
geocaching class. Some other ideas for topics: our 20th Anniversary
celebration at the Santa Teresa Library, the restoration of the
East Barn, trail plans for the Pyzak Ranch, the Calero Master Plan and
the entrance to Rancho San Vicente across from Santa Teresa Park.
- We will hand out our newsletter at the Santa Teresa
Community Fest. It is typically in mid-September, but it was canceled
last year. We need to find out if it will be held this year. Ash Kalra
should know.
- There was an article about Santa
Teresa Park in the Mercury News. Mike Boulland was interviewed by a
reporter, and he took her on a tour of the park. He showed her the
trails, wildflowers, and historic sites. He also talked about the
Friends of Santa Teresa Park and some of our achievements. There are
pictures of Mike on the Fortini and Stile Ranch trails in the article.
- We completed the tasks for CAP Cycle 25. The final report
is due in July.
- The CAP Grant for Cycle 26 has been restored for this year,
but with a
lot less leadtime. In past years, we turned in our CAP application at
the start of the year. This time, it's due on June 22. We use the CAP
Grant for our UNSCC membership, website fees, newsletter costs, and
event insurance. We'll apply for the grant again, based on last year's
application. Mike and Ron will work on it. There is an informal class
on the CAP Grant on Saturday June 9. Ron will go to it.
- Mike and Kitty went to the County Parks Commission meeting.
The commissioners talked about the completion of the East Barn. They
talked about the grazing plan at Santa Teresa Park. They got grants
from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation to
develop a plan, which includes fencing. The fencing will probably go up
around 2014.
- We talked about the Bay Area Ridge Trail's South Bay Ridge
Ramble on May 19,
which started and ended at Santa Teresa Park. The hiking route went
through Lexington County Park, Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, Almaden
Quicksilver County Park, the Los Alamitos/Calero Creek Trail, and Santa
Teresa County Park. Lots of people showed up.
A surprising number took the entire 20+ mile route starting at
Lexington Reservoir and added the section up to Coyote Peak in Santa
Teresa. A busload
of hikers started at Almaden Quicksilver. There was a geocaching class
in Santa Teresa Park, led by Steve Wood of REI. Sam helped at an aid
station in Sierra Azul OSP. Woody helped sweep the hike from Sierra
Azul OSP. Kitty organized the aid station at Almaden Quicksilver. Ron
took pictures at Santa Teresa.
- Sam held his geocaching class on the Fortini-Mine-Stile
Ranch Trail loop in Santa Teresa Park on 6/3. More than 30 people came,
including a lot of kids. There were 8 geocachers who came to help.
- We talked about the County Parks Charter Fund. There was an
editorial
in the Mercury News about it. Sam sent a copy of the editorial,
along with his opinions, to all the County Supervisors. The Board of
Supervisors was originally supposed to discuss the issue at their June
meeting, but the editorial created so much mail to the supervisors that
they didn't have time to read them all. They postponed the issue to
their August meeting.
- We adopted the Norred Trail. Woody said that small sprigs
of poison oak were popping up. They need to be cut back from the bank.
We need to walk the trail and assess it.
- Ed talked about after-hours illegal activities at Santa
Teresa Spring. He said there has been more activity lately. The
sheriffs have been good at responding. The Conservation Corps has been
cutting weeds in the area around the spring, between the canal and the
street.
- Ron showed pictures of the Volunteers Recognition Dinner,
the Bay Area
Ridge Trail Ramble, Sam Drake's geocaching class, the construction of
the East Barn and new floors in the West Barn at the Bernal Ranch, Frog
Night at the ranch, 4H gardens, fish and turtles in Santa Teresa Spring.
- The 17th Annual County Parks Volunteers Recognition Dinner
was held at the Drying Shed Restaurant on 4/24. Ron's pictures were
used in the program, and he displayed his pictures at the dinner.
Cumulative Hour Service Awards for FOSTP members and associates:
Michelle Boulland 100 hrs; Jason Vincze 250 hrs, Woody Collins 2000
hrs, Mike Boulland 6000 hrs, Ron Horii 6500 hrs, Kitty Monahan 10,000
hrs. Coyote Crest 4H won Junior Volunteer Group of the Year Award. The
Outdoor Mining Museum Crew at Almaden Quicksilver won Volunteer Group
of the Year Award. Ron Horii won Docent of the Year Award. Janice
Frazier won Volunteer Coordinating Council Award. Kathleen Hooper
presented a special award to volunteer members of the Docent Advisory
Group, which included Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan, Ron Horii, Janice
Frazier, Donna Gillette, and Ken Halsey.
- Because of the 4th of July holiday and vacations, there
will be no
meeting in July. Our next meeting will be on August 2.
Return to the Friends of Santa Teresa Park
Home Page |
|
