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If you’d like to hold on to a piece of San Jose history, the Preservation Action Council has just the deal for you. More than 400 volumes of the San Jose Mercury and San Jose Herald — dating from the 1890s to 1940s — will be available at its History Book Sale fundraiser on March 23.
The volumes are all triplicates of what History San Jose has on hand, so nobody’s selling away the last bits of the city’s newspaper heritage. And given that they are made of paper and in some cases more than a century old, these are hardly in mint condition. Some articles and ads have been clipped out of pages, and there are various tears here and there. Individual volumes, which cover about a month of newspapers, are being sold for $5 to $35.
One particular volume is expected to sell for much more, however, and will be sold to the highest bidder in a silent auction. It’s the volume that contains the news surrounding the 1933 lynching and hanging in St. James Park of two suspects in the kidnapping and murder of department store scion Brooke Hart.
But even in an “ordinary” volume, it’s fun to page through the “first draft of history” of what was then the Valley of Heart’s Delight. You can Google facts and read articles on Wikipedia, but they don’t capture the political cartoons of the day or the fashions and prices showing up in the ads. And people who read their news on their phone or tablet — or even in a modern newspaper! — may be stunned at the sheer size of the newspaper page, which measures around 18 inches wide, and the number of pages and articles in each issue.
“These really are fascinating reading and much larger than today’s paper,” said PAC-SJ board member Patt Curia, “so it would take several cups of coffee to read through the daily news.”
The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 594 S. 15th St. in San Jose. White cotton gloves will be given to the first 100 purchasers so they can keep their pages pristine.
TEQUILA AT THE TRITON: Some people think that distilling tequila is an art form all its own, so maybe it makes sense that the Triton Museum of Art is hosting a tasting event March 22 that celebrates the Mexican spirit. The event, hosted by Tequila Connections with Phil Benham, will feature tequila experts Lucas Perez, Ruben Arenas and Don Pilar pouring tastes from 6 to 9 p.m.
Tickets are $70 for Triton members and $80 for everyone else. They can be purchased in advance at www.tritonmuseum.org.
There will be plenty of tacos, desserts and other bites at the fundraiser, but it would be best to bring a designated driver. After all, Triton Museum Executive Director Jill Meyers wants to make sure everyone makes it back for its Roaring Twenties-themed gala on May 4.
CHANGE AT THE TOP: Leslie Davis returned from her maternity leave with twins and a new role at Via Services. She decided to step back from her role as CEO of the nonprofit, which provides programs and services for special needs children and adults, and will instead be Via’s vice president for advancement and sales.
Jan Cohen, a speech pathologist and special education teacher of children with multiple disabilities, has taken over as Via’s interim CEO. She has spent more than 30 years working with nonprofits including, Project HIRED and Hope Services.
