Los Altos Rotary Club Home of the Annual Rotary Fine Art Show October 31 2013

Braving hobs and goblins, President JACK KELLY called the Halloween meeting of the Los Altos Rotary Club to order promptly at 12:15 PM.  Arriving Rotarians had been greeted by TINA PIERCE, SALLY MEADOWS, and JOHN NICHOLSON.
 
Pres. JACK called on DAVID SMITH to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  RAE HOLT, a scarecrow specializing in crop security, gave us the thought for the day.  The simple thought was, “Happy Halloween.”  RAE then recounted some of the scary history of Halloween, but finished by again wishing us Happy Halloween. 

VAL CARPENTER then stepped up to lead us in a Halloween song–all 327 verses of “Ghostbusters.”
 
PE KENDRA GJERSETH called on visiting Rotarians.  We were visited by Marlene from Richmond, Terry from Sunnyvale and Frank from Sunnyvale.  Rotarians with guests included KENDRA, BONNIE BURDETT, JACK KELLY, STEVE BIANCHI, and BOB ADAMS.  KENDRA also reminded us that November 14 will be our special Veterans Day meeting and if Rotarians are inviting family and guests that meeting, please let KENDRA know ahead of time so we can plan for the full number people who attend.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
CYNTHIA LUEDTKE announced that November is TRF month, for The Rotary Foundation.  Our motto is “Every Rotarian Every Year,” and all members are encouraged to become double sustainers by contributing $200.  200 Recognition Points will be awarded to all who contribute $200 or more.  So please bring your TRF contribution to one of the remaining three remaining meetings in November.
 
TOM POWERS announced that there will be a Satellite Meeting on Tuesday, November 5 at the Jesuit Retreat Center at 8 AM.  Those who are planning to attend should let TOM know so he will know the right amount of food to make for the meeting.
 

DAVE SMITH announced that the LAREF board meeting will take place on November 5 at 5 PM at DENNIS YOUNG's office.
 
MIKE ABRAMS announced that Partners for Elder Generations is working with the Boy Scouts to distribute emergency flash drives on November 16 and 17.  These are items that can be put on a keychain and contain important medical, emergency, and family information in case an elder person is incapacitated.
 
JOE EYRE announced that the “Los Altos Community Values Youth” art show will be taking place on Friday at 6 PM at the Carole Garsten’s Gallery at Second and State.
 
Pres. JACK announced that there will be a fundraiser on November 14 at Foothill College to support the Veterans Resource Center.  There will also be a spaghetti feed on November 16 at the American Legion Hall.

SPECIAL GUEST, POLICE CHIEF JACK YOUNIS
 
Los Altos Police Chief Jack Younis joined us to update us on what's happening in Los Altos.  He presented a slide show of the top 10 new items emerging in local police protection:
10.The police department has a new website. 
9.  Crime reports and maps of crimes are online. 
8.  The Los Altos Police Department is now on Facebook and twitter, and is producing a phone app. 
7.  NIXLE.com is a safety information site that will “push” emergency information to subscribers. 
6.  The Police Department now employs an automated license plate reader. 
5.  The department also has a bike unit. 
4.  The department sponsors emergency preparedness drills. 
3.  The department’s canine team took first place in the 2013 regional competition.
2.  As a crime update, burglaries increased significantly in 2012, but they are down this year due to new enforcement and prevention methods.
1.  The most important improvement has been the Tri-City virtual consolidation.  Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View have cooperated to set up a centralized unified dispatch system.  If the Los Altos department is overwhelmed with a large emergency or a series of smaller emergencies, additional units from Palo Alto or Mountain View can be dispatched to help or cover new incidents.

10 MINUTE TALK- STEVE BIANCHI
 
STEVE BIANCHI came to the podium to give his 10 minute talk.  STEVE's family originated from Malta and the Tuscan area of Italy.  His grandparents came to America through Ellis Island, and his parents were raised in San Francisco.  His parents were married and, good Catholics that they were, STEVE was born 9 months and one week later.  STEVE attended St. Paul of the Shipwreck school in San Francisco, and his family later moved to Millbrae where STEVE went to Capuchino High School and the University of San Francisco.  STEVE got into the real estate business after working in the seafood distribution business.  He started as a broker at the age of 25, and then found himself doing a number of real estate limited partnerships.  He is now a regular real estate broker, specializing in residential and multi-family units.  About 35 years ago, Steve started working with the Boys Town of Italy.  This was a group founded after World War II to take care of homeless boys in Italy.  In 1985, Steve moved to Los Altos.  He and his wife Debbie have a son and daughter.  Steve coaches Pony League baseball and basketball, and coaching is a big part of his life.  He and his wife Debbie have now been married 30 years, and they work together in the real estate business.
 
 

THE WEEKLY PROGRAM—THE WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE
 
The Halloween program was on the Winchester Mystery House, and was presented by Nathan Emmett who's been working at the Mystery House since 1987.  Nathan is originally from Cody, Wyoming, the home of the Winchester Rifle Museum.  The Winchester Mystery House is the number 1 tourist attraction in San Jose.
 
Mr. Emmett provided a history of the Winchester Repeater Rifle, "the gun that won the West."  The gun was initially invented by Tyler Henry, and was known as Henry's Repeating Rifle, which sold for $5 in 1858. Mr. Henry later met Oliver Winchester who built the Winchester Company .  Eventually, Oliver bought Henry out, and turned the company over to his son.  But the son died suddenly at the age of 51, leaving his wife, Sarah, an extremely wealthy widow. Sarah had previously had a daughter who died at the age of just 6 weeks.  Sarah became obsessed with the tragedies of people in her family dying young, and consulted a medium.  The medium told her that the souls of the people killed by the Winchester rifle were killing the Winchester family.  The medium told her that she had to build these souls, “a final resting place.”
 
Sarah purchased the land in San Jose, and for 38 years there was ongoing construction at the house 7 days a week 24 hours a day.  The house is estimated to be approximately 85,000 square feet, but because of its odd configurations it's never been precisely measured.  It has many bizarre nooks and crannies and staircases.  Some staircases go nowhere, and some doors open into rooms with no floors.  The house has over 10,000 windows and 2,000 doors (more windows than the Empire State building).  It has 40 staircases and 40 fireplaces.
 
Sarah Winchester died in 1922, but the legend of the Mystery House was already beginning.  There had been an extensive article in the New York Times in 1911.  Then in 1924, there was a famous article, “Mrs. Winchester's Spook Palace,” and the legend continued to grow.  The tours began in 1923 and cost $.50.  Today, the cost of the tour is $33 for adults.  The house has been featured in dozens of TV shows and documentaries.  Lillian Gish did a documentary on the house in 1950, and in 1980 it was on the cover of Life Magazine.  It was also featured on the TV show, “That's Incredible!”
 
Sarah Winchester actually had many houses throughout the Bay Area, including houses in Burlingame, Palo Alto and Atherton.  She even had a house in Los Altos where her sister lived.  All of the other houses are typical, normal houses.
 
As we came to the end of the description of the “Spook Palace,” spooky JACK KELLY chimed the meeting to a close at 1:30.

Comings and Goings - October 2013

Wiley Hausam
"Stanford Bing Concert Center"
         Wiley Hausam joined Stanford University in February 2012 following positions as Executive Director of The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College and at the Skirball Center NYU. He is a presenter of theater, dance, music and opera, a creative consultant, theater producer, teacher, and manager of performing arts facilities.
         Hausam was has been a successful artist's representative and a theater producer in New York.  During the 1990s, he was an associate producer of four musicals and plays on Broadway, which received 17 Tony Award nominations and 4 Tony Awards.  Hausam opened Joe’s Pub in New York City and received a Backstage Bistro Award in 2001. He also produced concerts for Nonesuch Records at Town Hall.
          Since 2002, he has worked in higher education teaching at NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program for 10 years. He has consulted for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Kurt Weill Foundation.  Artists with whom he has collaborated with include producer and director Harold Prince.
           Hausam graduated from the School of Music at Northwestern University and studied business at Kellogg Graduate School of Management there. At Columbia University, he studied philosophy of art.