Climate RWC – June 2022

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P u b l i c a t i o n Profile: Sisterhood Empowerment Spotlight: Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame Micro Climate: A Country Song

ISSUE EIGHTY TWO • JUNE • 2022

Just Saying No to Retirement

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C L I M AT E •

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR•

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A couple of months back, Climate’s cover story explored the myriad ramifications of the fact that Americans are living a lot longer than they used to. That has real implications for people at every stage of life but immediate ones for those who have hit the traditional retirement age of 65 or thereabouts and may be staring down the barrel of decades of open-ended “sunset years.” Writer Scott Dailey takes the subject a step further in this month’s Feature which is about people who “fail at” retirement. For a variety of reasons, from boredom to economic necessity to a feeling of having more to give, departing with the proverbial “gold watch” turns out for many retirees to just be a timeout. The stories of people Scott interviewed are instructive—some even inspirational—and certainly provide food for thought for anyone who is counting the days until they can clock out. Scott’s story begins on page 8.

Elizabeth Sloan, the author of that February story on longevity, returns to the June issue with this month’s Profile about two San Carlos sisters with a shared goal of improving health for the planet and all of its inhabitants. Animals included. “That’s nice,” you might be thinking, but teen-agers Sabine and Iliana Close have both received significant prizes for their scientific research projects. Both girls are equestrians, and Sabine has just come off winning several awards for her project called “Analysis of Coupled Nonlinear Dynamic Phenomena Using Sensors to Detect Abnormal Motion in Quadrupeds.” When a friend emailed about Sabine’s prize-worthy project, we “detected” that a good story for Climate could be riding along—and then discovered that there were not one but two of these remarkable siblings. Meet the Close sisters in the Profile on page 18.

In June, the latest group of world-class athletes who have trained or competed in San Mateo County will be inducted into the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. It was started by the San Mateo Times but is now presented by the San Mateo County Historical Association. Descriptive plaques about the athletes are displayed on the walls and in the upper rotunda of the history museum, which is in the former county courthouse on Broadway in downtown Redwood City. Dan Brown, a veteran sports writer, had previously visited the Hall of Fame and eagerly accepted the assignment to write this month’s Spotlight about this impressive local tribute. His story is on page 24.

Elsewhere in the June issue, you can read about the need and opportunity to be a history museum docent and, in Jim Clifford’s History column, about the educator for whom Sequoia High School’s Argo Tower is named. And, of course keep up with what’s been happening via the photographs of Around Town.

Enjoy!

Janet McGovern, Editor June 2022 ·

CLIMATE · 3

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S •

FEATU RE

No Desire to Retire

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PROFILE

Sisterhood Empowerment

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SPOTLIG HT

Peninsula Hall of Fame

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Micro Climate

Local Country Song

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AROUND TOWN............16 CHANGING CLIMATE ����22 HISTORY......................30

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Neighbors helping - since 1938 June neighbors 2022 · CLIMATE ·5

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C L I M AT E •

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Janet McGovern janet@climaterwc.com Creative Director

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Jim Kirkland Editorial Board

Janet McGovern Jim Kirkland Adam Alberti

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C L I M AT E •

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June 2022 ·

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Bill Chace (in hat) leads a Stanford tour in Dublin, Ireland, at age 77.

Photo courtesy of Bill Chace

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F E AT U R E •

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No Desire to Retire For many, the gold watch says it’s time to start over.

By Scott Dailey

At 83, Bill Chace is finally planning to retire.

Again.

The emeritus English professor from Stanford has served as president of both Wesleyan and Emory universities. After retiring from Emory, he returned to Palo Alto in 2010 and started leading Stanford alumni trips to England and Ireland, immersing adults in the literature and lore of various authors, including perhaps Chace's favorite, James Joyce. He also returned to the classroom, and taught his course on Joyce’s daunting, century-old novel, “Ulysses,” via Stanford’s continuing studies program.

The main reason he’s calling the game is what he describes as a mild case of Parkinson’s disease. It brings on episodes of fatigue, and Chace is concerned he might be unable to withstand the rigors of lecturing and running travel-study tours.

His love for his craft, on the other hand, will be with him forever. As with many who have returned to work after thinking they had retired, it’s why he’s kept at it for more than half a century.

June 2022 ·

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• “I have found that people in classrooms at certain moments – I can see in their faces or in what they write that they’ve reached some new understanding, either of the material or of themselves,” Chace says. “People say, ‘Now I see it.’ Because I’ve been the handmaiden or the emcee of this, it gives me a real pleasure to have been in the presence of people who have these moments of greater understanding.”

Chace may have enjoyed his second career working with adults even more than teaching college students.

He perceives “a sharp distinction between teaching undergraduate and graduate students and teaching the people I’ve taught for the last decade or so in continuing studies.

The people I’m teaching now are adults who have decided that for the purest of reasons – that is, they’re not looking for a grade or a letter of recommendation – they want to learn something about difficult and exciting topics.”

Filling a Need Chace adds that he has continued to teach “to meet a demand that is heartfelt and ambitious.” When it comes to satisfying an important need, he is far from alone.

Other once-retired people say they saw either opportunities or societal shortcomings that begged for their talents.

After more than two decades in finance, Kathy Jackson of Atherton had quit in 2004 to spend more time with her family. She got involved with Menlo-Atherton High School’s foundation, and one day a headhunter called to ask if she wanted the top job at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, the food bank that serves San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. She stayed from 2009 to 2017.

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Patty Hsiu

These days, Hsiu chairs the organization’s advisory council, made up of past presidents who together hold a wealth of institutional knowledge. That said, she gains tremendous rewards from working one morning each week packing up to 1,000 meals for Samaritan House’s clients.

"It’s one of the most satisfying things I do all week," she says. "It feels like a job well done."

Jackson calls it “the hardest job I’ve ever had, by a longshot. You’re trying to solve some of the most difficult issues in the world. I mean, hunger in Silicon Valley – how is it possible? And yet, you are trying to do it with, relatively speaking, limited resources.”

Beyond the satisfaction of helping people, Jackson says, “It was just so endlessly interesting.” Drawing on her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, she viewed running a food bank as a complex economics problem.

“Across every element of that organization and that operation, how do you optimize it so you can have the most impact with whatever resources you have?” she asks. “You just want to make sure every dollar you have is going absolutely as far as it can. And it just seemed like there were endless twists and turns to that challenge.”

Jackson lightheartedly – but also a little seriously – calls her time at Second Harvest her “repentance career.” As she notes, financial institutions during the Great Recession “did not cover themselves with glory.” She also observes that she seems to have “a bit of a seven-year-itch issue,” having stayed in all her paid positions for approximately that time. Since leaving the food bank, she has co-founded another nonprofit, served on the boards of two private companies, and, starting in October, will officially join the board of trustees of Menlo College in Atherton.

Fighting Ennui Indeed, tedium may drive many who jump (or at least ease) back into the workforce.

In a 2004 article in the Harvard Business Review, three researchers asserted, “Most people don’t want a life of pure leisure; half of today’s retirees say they’re bored and

• restless.” In a jab at employers, they added, “Most baby boomers want to continue working – and they may need to, for financial reasons – but they may not want to work for you.”

The opportunity to work on one’s own terms, especially for an inspiring cause, motivates many people who regularly volunteer after retiring. Sensing she was misusing her abilities – and also weary of both sexual harassment and underqualified colleagues who showed up high – Mary Burns left her advertising career in San Francisco, first to teach fifth grade and later to homeschool her own two children.

Today, she spends up to 15 hours a week at Samaritan House, a nonprofit poverty-relief organization in San Mateo, managing its program that distributes clothes to needy kids.

“Volunteering is 100% different (from working in a paid job),” Burns says. “I control my time, I’m treated very well, and I’m appreciated.”

Giving Back Now 60, Burns echoes Jackson’s dismay about poverty surrounded by plenty in the nation’s second-wealthiest county.

(According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only earnings in Loudoun County, Virginia – home to antebellum mansions including one that belonged to President James Monroe – exceed San Mateo County’s $138,500 median household income.) For Burns, that has led to a feeling of obligation; she’s white and middle class, her husband owns a manufacturing business in South San Francisco and she finds herself compelled to give back.

“I know how privileged I am and how fortunate I've been,” she says. “I don’t know what else I would do if I weren’t trying to spread it around a little bit… It would feel really weird if I weren’t doing something, because there’s just no way

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Dr. Jerry Saliman

Saliman began volunteering in the free clinic at Samaritan House six years before he left Kaiser in 2012, anticipating that "when I retired, I didn’t want to give up my medical thinking and skills." He’s done more than that; during his time at the clinic, he’s begun supervising nurse practitioners working there as part of their training at UC-San Francisco.

that I could do enough to make up for the privileges I have.”

Also at Samaritan House, retired retail merchandiser, tech-industry recruiter and executive coach Patty Hsiu brought her managerial skills to two terms on the board of directors, including five-plus years as president starting while she was still employed. These days, she chairs the organization’s advisory council, made up of past presidents who together hold a wealth of institutional knowledge. That said, she gains tremendous rewards from working one morning each week packing up to 1,000 meals for Samaritan House’s clients.

“It’s one of the most satisfying things I do all week,” Hsiu says. “It feels like a job well-done.”

Creating an Impact With that in mind, Hsiu says she has volunteered for 15 years at Samaritan House because she considers it consistently effective.

“When you think about poverty in the community, and you think about people needing things, Samaritan House does more from my point of view than anyone else in just helping people,” she says. (Jackson might respectfully disagree.) “Samaritan House helps them get the basics of food, shelter and security. You can’t get people educated, you can’t get people jobs, you can’t get people to a different place in their lives without getting them food, shelter and security. And medical care.”

Providing healthcare is where Jerry Saliman and Rod Hentz come in. Saliman, an internist, practiced at Kaiser Permanente for more than three decades in a broad-ranging career that included sports medicine, health and wellness, working in Kaiser’s spine clinic and overseeing patient education.

June 2022

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Hentz, meanwhile, has been a physician for more than 50 years; for 40 of them, he taught orthopedic surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine and was chief of both hand surgery and plastic surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center (now Stanford Health Care). After retiring from his main duties in 2015, he has worked one or two days a week assisting with surgeries and providing on-the-job training to interns and residents at the Veterans Administration’s medical center in Palo Alto.

Fulfilling Volunteer Work Saliman, 70, began volunteering in the free clinic at Samaritan House six years before he left Kaiser in 2012, anticipating that “when I retired, I didn’t want to give up my medical thinking and skills.” He’s done more than that; during his time at the clinic, he’s begun supervising nurse practitioners working there as part of their training at UC-San Francisco.

On June 1, he became a volunteer clinical professor in the department of community health systems within the UCSF School of Nursing.

“It allows me to make a difference in people’s lives and make a difference in my own life,” Saliman says of his commitment to the clinic. “I feel fulfilled. I feel I’m helping my students learn and helping my patients get better.”

The 79-year-old Hentz stays with it for two reasons. First, he says, medicine is “a career where you feel some relevance.

You’re taking care of people.” Second, continuing to teach future surgeons creates “psychic energy from passing on your knowledge to somebody who wants it.”

Hentz laughs that his primary role at the veterans’ hospital is to reassure patients that the younger doctors know what they’re doing. (“I have the gray hair,” he

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observes.) But it’s only partly in jest. Like many with long experience, Hentz possesses a treasure chest of historical insight.

“I know what’s been done,” he says. “I can relate to new things, and say, ‘I think this is a big improvement over how I used to do it.’ Or I can say, ‘This is not an improvement. It’s just different.'”

Bruce Cumming

Bruce Cumming, who retired as Menlo Park’s police chief in 1999 after nearly 30 years in law enforcement, simply believed he had more to give, both to the profession and the public.

Just two years after he pinned on his badge for what he thought was the last time, he accepted an 18-month job as interim chief in Fort Bragg, on California’s north coast.

More to Do Bruce Cumming, who retired as Menlo Park’s police chief in 1999 after nearly 30 years in law enforcement, simply believed he had more to give, both to the profession and the public. Just two years after he pinned on his badge for what he thought was the last time, he accepted an 18-month job as interim chief in Fort Bragg, on California’s north coast. Then, still in his fifties, in 2004 he took another presumed shortterm position, in Morgan Hill. He stayed almost six years.

"I think it sounds a bit corny, but it’s a calling,” Cumming says. “Most officers get into police work because they want to help people. You feel like you’re helping our society and helping our democracy and making the world a little better.”

In Morgan Hill, Cumming says, the police department needed better training, upgraded procedures and especially more respect for support people such as administrative staff. When he departed in 2010, he felt a sense of mission accomplished.

“I enjoyed every minute,” he recalls.

Whereas Cumming missed his old job, Alan Sarver of Belmont planned all along for something new. Originally an elementary school teacher, he gravitated to software engineering to support his wife, Emily, and their two daughters, Ariel and Hannah. He rose to become director of product management at Oracle Corp., and through careful investing, in 2002 met his

• goal of retiring at 50. His aspirations were twofold: To spend more time with family and become more active in the community.

Throughout his corporate career, Sarver never lost his interest in education. (The decision to leave teaching, he says, was strictly economic.) Emily became a PTA leader, and the girls were active in school band and other activities. A year after retiring, Alan joined Emily as co-chair of the Ralston Middle School Music Boosters, and, later, the identically named organization at Carlmont High School. By 2009, Alan was on the Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees, from which he anticipates a second retirement this December.

Going back to school, as it were, felt almost like fate.

"As much as I enjoyed the software development career, my sense of being involved in the education community was, ‘Gee, it’s great to be back,’” he says. Asked about his dedication, Sarver says, “More than anything, it’s just the fundamental sense that our children are the future of the human race. And our schools can never be good enough for our kids. It’s work we can never be done with. . . . You’re just amped up to keep doing more and helping (education) be better and better for them.”

Serendipity Sometimes a post-retirement career results when someone is just in the right place at the right time. In 2018, Carol Marks, now 66, was happily finished with her job as a legislative aide and office manager for San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum.

By chance, she found herself seated one day at a benefit event next to Amy Buckmaster, president and CEO of Chamber San Mateo County. As their conversation

F E AT U R E •

Alan Sarver

Carol Marks

"More than anything, it’s just the fundamental sense that our children are the future of the human race. And our schools can never be good enough for our kids.

It’s work we can never be done with." – Alan Sarver

evolved, Buckmaster offered Marks a parttime job as the business organization’s legislative analyst.

“I really loved doing that,” Marks says, adding that she especially enjoyed “rich” policy discussions with legislators and their staffs. After being laid off in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, she retired for good – sort of. She now sits on the board of her homeowners’ association, mentors a college student, hopes to travel and is learning to cook more than what she terms “short-order” meals.

As Sarver contemplates his own second retirement, he wonders if the whole idea might be a contradiction in terms.

“When you think about retirement, you probably need to recognize that you never really do get retired,” he says. “What you move away from is a lot of things being dictated by the people who pay you, and a lot more of it being dictated by your commitment to the things that you’re passionate about.”

Jackson says after her careers in finance and the food bank, “We made a lot of jokes about Kathy Jackson 3.0.” Still, she says, “As far as I’m concerned, retirement is just one more opportunity for reinvention. It’s like a new canvas to work on. I certainly hope there will be a Kathy Jackson 4.0 and 5.0. But so far, it’s been a great journey.” C

June 2022

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Redwood City Musician Makes (Air) Waves with His Country Song Just how tough the last two years have been for musicians was well-documented in a story in last month’s Climate, as opportunities to do live performances vaporized because of Covid-related restrictions.

But singer-songwriter Mike Annuzzi today could happily do a cover version of the Gershwin standard “Things Are Looking Up” as his career comes out from hibernation. Pre-Covid, the Redwood City native typically performed 250 nights a year— and then abruptly lost all his gigs. Now he’s back doing four or five restaurant gigs a week. But the best development, Annuzzi wants one and all to know, was the release last month of his first single in two years, a country rock song called “New Boots On”— in an online digital release and in a music video.

Annuzzi had to turn himself into something of a one-man band, not just writing and performing his music but producing the video, putting the whole package together and handling the promotion too. It paid off rather well: The song debuted on the Bay Area rock station 107.7 The Bone, on Soundwaves radio and TV—and he also achieved a lifetime dream of getting air play on country station 95.3 KRTY. He’s hoped to get new fans in the country music world and was ecstatic May 6 when “New Boots On” hit the iTunes Top 100 Country Charts: “As an independent artist, I am completely overwhelmed.”

His Redwood City roots run deep. Father Joe Annuzzi owned a custom cabinet business across from Costco and his mother, Marlene, worked in the Redwood City Manager’s office and then at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. Their son started playing guitar at St. Pius School and went on to get a college degree in music (and the business end of it) in San Luis Obispo. Though earning a living in the arts is tough, Annuzzi says he was lucky to have

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Mike Annuzzi (Photo by Charlie Couch)

totally supportive parents. He started in the industry on the business side but a time came when a name performer needed an opening concert act and nobody could be found. Annuzzi said, “I’ll do it. … That was my first professional career gig and then I realized, wait a second. Maybe I could try to do this for myself.” Now in his late 30s, Annuzzi has been able to sustain a full-time music career for almost 16 years, from teaching guitar to touring on the road. He’s performed in venues such as the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, BottleRock Napa and the place where the “New Boots On” music video was filmed: Club Fox. Post-Covid, he’s glad not to be on the road so much and getting to connect with local audiences.

“This is my hometown so it’s kind of been my hometown stage,” says Annuzzi.

“To have some supportive local avenues like this is everything for a musician.”

The story line of the song is about a young woman who had a long day and is ready to go out to have fun. She then gets up on stage singing and playing and becomes a star. The message is to “make the most out of every night,” says Annuzzi. Courtney Shirley was the actress, Redwood City na-

tive Austin Rausch the videographer and Redwood City resident Charlie Couch assisted from concept to photography.

Though he’s written about 100 songs, Annuzzi does a lot of restaurant gigs (regularly at Terún and Italico in Palo Alto and Delizie and Cuisinett Bistro in San Carlos) and covers popular tunes as well—“from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. Elvis Presley to Dean Martin.” Annuzzi doesn’t mimic them. “I do not,” he says. “I sing it my way. I do it my way.” At one time, he dreamed that he’d just be a songwriter, “but then there’s kind of a bug that bites you when you perform live that you really can’t find anywhere else so that just kept me going.”

Filoli will be closed to regular visitors for the entire day June 22 when the PBS program “Antiques Roadshow” goes on the road as part of its 2022 tour. (Tickets to attend the filming were selected by random drawing and winners were already

notified in April.) Staff at the historic estate was contacted by PBS in October about renting it for filming, according to Marketing Manager Dani Heilscher. PBS staff and volunteers handle the huge production, and will be all over the property for about four days, including the teardown.

In addition to the rental payment, Heilscher says the filming presents a great opportunity to show off the house and its

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spectacular gardens to the PBS audience.

Filoli, she adds, is “a collecting museum as well as a historic house,” and some of its interesting antiques have been selected for “Antiques Roadshow” experts to talk about. “People often recognize Filoli as a garden, which it is, but it’s also so many other things,” Heilscher adds. The segment won’t air until sometime in 2023, but in advance of that, Filoli will be sharing information about the objects that will be shown on TV.

Said to be Redwood City’s oldest fraternal organization, the local Odd Fellows lodge is marking 160 years—in beautifully remodeled space and is looking to attract new members now that Covid rules are allowing people to meet in person. Odd Fellowship originated in Europe but came to California with the Gold Rush in 1849. Bay View Lodge 109 was one of the offshoots of those Mother Lode lodges, and the first six members banded together in 1862 to establish it in Redwood City. Charter members included some the pioneers of the town and San Mateo County, including lawyer Charles N. Fox. The teachings of Odd Fellowship were to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, to bury the dead and educate the orphan.” For about 20 years, the lodge met in rented quarters on Main Street, opposite the present Odd Fellows Hall at 839 Main, which was dedicated in 1895. For decades the lodge continued to grow and initiated hundreds of members.

Gerry Williams, who grew up in the Friendly Acres neighborhood, joined the “junior” organization as a teen-ager. He’s been a member almost his whole life and currently holds the office of chaplain.

“They weren’t a high falutin’ organization,” he says. “They had laborers, hod carriers, cowboys.” If an Odd Fellow moved to a new town, the local lodge would help him find a job and housing. “That,” says

Williams, 79, “was the selling point” of the organization which was about neighbors helping neighbors. An early version of a social network? The organization also established both blood and eye banks, a home in Gilroy for orphans and another one in Los Altos for the elderly. With the Odd Fellows’ ritualistic ceremonies and degrees of initiation, Williams says it was fun seeing the grown-ups dressed up in

formal attire in a precise seating arrangement for their meetings.

As is true of many tradition-rich fraternal organizations, the number of Odd Fellows worldwide has dwindled, and so has local lodge membership (about 30.) In addition to developing longstanding friendships, Williams says the organization does a lot of good in the community. The Bay View Lodge donates at least $50,000 a year to charities. One beneficiary, Street Life Ministries, held a fundraiser in the refurbished lodge in April. About a decade ago, the building suffered about $350,000 in damages from a fire at the space next door.

But the Odd Fellows did a lot of renovations and have rented part of the groundfloor space to a barbershop. They’re also eager to let people know that they’ve upgraded the main hall, kitchen, bar area and restrooms, which are available to rent for various-sized events. For information, go to bayviewlodge109.org. C

June 2022

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AROUND TOWN•

Big Donation Puts Carriage House Goal in Reach The San Mateo County Historical Association plans for a building to house its carriage collection and other vehicles is all but assured thanks to a fundraising campaign that is just $1 million short of the $13.5 million goal. Delighted donors and other supporters heard the good news at an April 27 celebration of the progress to date. A $1 million donation is being made to honor the late George Corey, a well-known attorney and San Bruno mayor, who died in 2020. The three-story, nearly 15,000-squarefoot Taube Family Carriage House will be built on a parking lot next to the historic Lathrop House on Marshall Street and is named to honor Keystone Donor Tad Taube and his wife, Dianne. Former Redwood City Mayor Barbara Pierce, who is chair of the Carriage House Committee, said a community grassroots campaign will be launched when the last $100,000 needs to be raised. The groundbreaking for the building, which will include a third-floor rooftop terrace for conferences and receptions, could happen as soon as this summer.

Kids Return to the Square Once again local children got to boogie to the lively tunes of Andy Z and his band at a Kid's Concert on May 7. Included were booths for face painting, spinart and other crafts. Additionally, the San Mateo History Museum opened its doors to families to experience the fun of games and toys from 1950. Inside the upper courtroom, demonstrations of the hula-hoop by models in period dress proved how challenging this simple toy could be.

16 · CLIMATE · June 2022

Top: Tad and Diane Taube receive a $1 million check in the memory of the late George Corey.

Left: Unveiling a rendition of the new carriage house was the event’s finale.

•

AROUND TOWN•

PAL Celebrates 25 Years The Police Activities League took the evening of May 7 to recognize founders and longtime board members on its 25th annversary.

"We're honoring the journey this organization has been through and the heroes who have helped shape our mission," said Executive Director, Ivan Martinez.

Founding members reconized were: Carlos Bolanos, Alpio Barbara, Steve Penna, Jaime Mateo, Gilbert Granado, Don Shurtleff, Brian Weiss, Marty Cooper, Pete Hughes, Pete Uccelli and Scott Warner.

Longstanding board members: Debbie Jones Thomas, Chris Beth and Paul McCarthy.

PAL Board Members left to right: Dan Mulholland, Chris Beth, Wade Painter, Connie Guerrero, Ivan Martinez, Gloria Falcinelli, Harvey Silverman, Debbi Jones-Thomas, John Pimentel.

Right: Founding member and San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos.

Autism Foundation Gathers at Sequoia Yacht Club The sailing community gathered at the Sequoia Yacht Club on May 17 to support the efforts of the Ron Davis Autism foundation. The foundation provides training in the Davis Autism Approach and Davis Concepts for Life programs, empowering individuals of all ages with neurodiversity to participate more fully in a life they choose.

Approach and Concepts for Life Facilitators provide individualized programs for individuals of all ages – from the age of 4 right through to adulthood, who are autistic or who struggle with executive functioning challenges.

"Tonight is our launch party for our foundation," said Jackie Ward, CFO of the Foundation, "we are celebrating neuodiversity in our community and around the Bay. We're here to say hello and introduce ourselves."

For more information go to: rdautismfoundation.org

Top: Ron Davis Autism Foundation CFO Jackie Ward and Sheriff Carlos Bolanos

June 2022 ·

CLIMATE · 17

•

PROFILE •

Iliana Close, literally as well as figuratively, stands behind her sister Sabine.

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•

PROFILE •

Sisterhood Empowered

Teen-agers Iliana and Sabine Close win awards for their scientific research

By Elizabeth Sloan

A lot of kids love animals. Young girls often dream of riding horses.

Curiosity about how the world works has been known to create junior investigators. Sometimes, sisters are best friends.

But how often do these characteristics combine to shape not one but two internationally recognized junior research scientists, champion equestrians, and environmental nonprofit founders— within one family, before the age of 18?

T

hat’s the profile of Iliana and Sabine Close. These sisters from San Carlos have competed in science fairs since fifth grade, winning at local and state levels, and ultimately rising to the International Science and Engineering Fair.

Iliana, a senior at Carlmont High School, was a finalist at ISEF in 2020. Leader of a team that produced “Predicting the Development of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) Using Machine Learning and Automated Feature Detection,” the team used a computer algorithm

to predict a form of tachycardia, a heart irregularity that can cause fatigue, dizziness and fainting. An outgrowth of earlier work that used algorithms to predict other diseases, the project was a regional grand prize winner before advancing to the world competition of ISEF. (Sadly, ISEF was curtailed by Covid that year and while the fair happened virtually, no awards were given).

An Additional Motivation “I had a difficult childhood medically,” says Iliana, 17, who suffered from a con-

dition that compromised her health and energy and made attending school challenging. “I always had this idea of revolutionizing diagnostic tools for rare diseases, so patients can get results quicker; not have to watch and wait to determine what’s going on.”

In May, Sabine competed in the 2022 ISEF in Atlanta, Georgia, as team leader of a project entitled “Analysis of Coupled Nonlinear Dynamic Phenomena to Detect Abnormal Movement in Quadrupeds.”

The investigation, which uses accelerometers to predict gait anomalies that might June 2022

· CLIMATE · 19

• lead to lameness in horses, placed fourth in the animal sciences category.

“There’s a lot of animal abuse in the equestrian world, unfortunately,” says Sabine, who just turned 16. “I’ve been around a lot of barns. I have seen how people treat their horses. Some are really great owners.

Others overwork their horses, and some go lame. The excuse is always: ‘I didn’t know’.” Attaching sensors to the horse and rider reveals gait disturbances that will take that excuse away, she says.

For both these young scientists, the investigative muse is personal experience—and an unbridled curiosity about how the world works. Sabine’s first foray into research happened because she wondered why bees kept falling into the swimming pool (she used motion sensors to figure it out). Iliana and Sabine love animals, ride horses and compete seriously in equestrian events..

There’s another factor in play, though: science is the Close family business. Mom Sigrid Close is a prominent aerospace engineer and Stanford professor. Dad Greg Close works in human resources at the Lawrence Livermore Labs. Both were at Los Alamo National Labs before the family moved to California.

A Role Model “We have a very prominent woman in our lives who is a leading woman in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math),” says Iliana. “It’s really empowering to see that. She always encouraged us. We always had the opportunities in STEM if we were interested in pursuing them.”

“My mom is my inspiration,” says Sabine, who remembers settling down on Friday nights to watch television together—not an unusual family activity. In this case, though, what they tuned into was the National Geographic Channel’s “Known Universe”—a show cohosted by their mother.

20 · CLIMATE · June 2022

PROFILE •

Iliana Close clears a fence on Just Plain Royal.

“You have to communicate without words. These are living, breathing things – not machines. They have good days and bad days, just like humans.”

The Close sisters are a self-proclaimed best friends and mutual support system.

They have needed the family culture of encouragement to address one challenge: the lingering discrimination that girls and women often encounter in STEM. According to Iliana and Sabine, this is changing, and often subtle, but still very much alive.

“Especially when I was younger, I would hear comments like “you shouldn’t do that because you’re a girl’,” says Sabine.

“I had a teacher who used to tell me to smile more. I noticed he wasn’t saying that to the boys.” It took a conversation with her mother to recognize that the comment was neither useful nor appropriate.

Iliana believes the bigger problem is implicit bias—small, thoughtless ways females are discouraged from pursuing science. “It would be good if the schools worked to recognize (this),” she says. “A lot of times teachers or students will say things that they don’t realize are sexist or discriminating.” Sabine lauds one of her current teachers who is “wonderful” in this regard. “He reminds the class all the time of gender issues.”

Equal Opportunities?

Beyond the comments, there’s the question of opportunity. Is it still different for boys and girls?

“The science program at my school is good,” says Iliana thoughtfully, “but does not emphasize opportunities outside of classroom—the science fairs and camps and competitions. It was in science fair that I realized I had a passion about health and medicine. … If we had grown up in a different family, we would not have had the opportunities we’ve had.”

Iliana and Sabine are passionate about animals. They have two horses and seven other adopted animals—two guinea pigs, two dogs, one cat, and two foster dogs.

They ride at the Stanford Red Barn about five days a week and compete at regional, state and national equestrian events, often finding themselves in the winner’s circle for their age group.

“It’s not about the blue ribbons,” insists Sabine. “Winning is nice, but it’s the connection to the animal that is so special.”

•

PROFILE •

Sabine Close competes in equestrian events with her horse Cintas.

“Especially when I was younger, I would hear comments like “you shouldn’t do that because you’re a girl’, I had a teacher who used to tell me to smile more. I noticed he wasn’t saying that to the boys.”

“You have to communicate without words,” adds Iliana. “These are living, breathing things–not machines. They have good days and bad days, just like humans.”

In 2020, seeking to raise consciousness about the interrelationship between animals, people, health and the planet, the Close sisters founded EcoLogic. This nonprofit foundation pursues public health research into environmental factors of disease; promotes accessibility of eco-friendly meals for all; and organizes and participates in environmental cleanups. “There is a unique relationship between the environment and animals and people,” says Sabine. “We want to spread awareness.”

Other Activities The two are also accomplished musicians—piano and trombone for Iliana; piano and trumpet for Sabine. After years of piano lessons, “Music is mostly a way to relax,” says Iliana. Sabine also loves soccer, and the team experience it delivers.

With the notoriously demanding junior year of high school coming up, she may

have to choose between soccer and riding, says Sabine wistfully.

Like many teenagers, these two sometimes struggle to find balance. Iliana is “very Zen,” according to her mother. She has cultivated an ability to be in the moment and focus on whatever she has to do next. In the fall she will attend Stanford and hopes to study human biology and public health. To discover where in the big field of public health she belongs, “I am planning on trying out a lot of things,” she says. After that, grad school.

Sabine anticipates the last two years of high school presenting even bigger challenges with prioritization and apportioning time. “I plan to take it step by step,” she says. “I have signed up for higher workload classes. I am comfortable now, but I think I will need to keep myself in check about how much I take on.” Among the many interests calling to her are extracurricular internships in subjects ranging from women in leadership to environmental science.

These sisters seem to thoroughly know themselves--and each other. “Iliana is a perfectionist,” asserts Sabine (to her sister’s nods). “She’s never willing to turn in any assignment that is less than perfect.” Asked about Sabine, Iliana offers: “I wouldn’t say she is a perfectionist. She is much more creative than I am. She gets really passionate about things. We have different intellectual strengths. We complement each other.”

Sigrid Close is understandably proud of these two. But she minimizes her and Greg’s role in their success. And she doesn’t cite academic or athletic accolades as the source of her pride. “They are good human beings,” she says simply. “They support each other. They care about people. They care about animals. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Iliana and Sabine Close exude serenity and humility. But underneath the calm, unassuming exterior, there is grit in these young women. Asked what advice they would give to younger scientists, especially girls, their answer is simple: Find what they love and never give up-- even when they don’t see a path forward; even when it seems impossible.

“Find through experience what you are passionate about and then stick with it,” says Iliana. “Try to stay focused and make it work no matter what. Doors will open.”

“Try everything and anything,” says Sabine. “Think of failure as a success. It tells you one thing that not going to work and you can check it off the list. Don’t be afraid; failure is a really important step to success.” C

June 2022

· CLIMATE · 21

•

C H A N G I N G C L I M AT E •

San Mateo County History Museum Recruiting Volunteer Docents

Woodside Store docents left to right: Jim Kelly, Kathy Kliebe and Jim Wagner.

By Janet McGovern For three Sundays every month, Carmen Blair doesn’t have to worry about who’s minding the Woodside Store. Three reliable volunteers show up to open the rustic museum site for their docent shifts and close up after the last visitors leave. But for that fourth Sunday? Blair, who is the San Mateo County Historical Association’s deputy director, doesn’t have another regular volunteer to plug into that vacant date, which means she has to deploy paid staff.

“I can do that,” she says, but the volunteers bring their own interest and knowledge of local history, enthusiasm— and even friends to visit. “So it’s just not the same. My staff is wonderful but it brings a new dimension to have the volunteers interpreting the site one day a week as well.”

The association operates the history museum in downtown Redwood City plus two sites—the Gold Rush-era Woodside Store at 3300 Tripp Road; and the Sanchez Adobe in Pacifica, the county’s second oldest building, dating from 1786. (An adobe

22 · CLIMATE · June 2022

on private property is older.) Association employees cover most of the hours on weekdays and weekends when the three locations are open. By volunteering, the docents and “gallery monitors” who take other weekend slots or help at big events expand the museum’s staffing capabilities.

Coming off of two years of Covid and prolonged closures of all three locations, the association needs to rebuild the ranks of both docents and the gallery monitors (the monitors don’t lead tours but can help direct visitors between galleries or toward interactive exhibits).

Some of the docents at the history museum conduct adult tours, but others help with visits of school children, from grades 1 to 4. Pre-pandemic, Blair says, she could call on 12 to 14 gallery monitors on a big event day, plus five docents leading tours.

“Currently, our gallery numbers are much smaller,” Blair says. She only has one volunteer docent for the museum tours.

Why A Shortage Some volunteers are still uncomfortable being around crowds, even wearing

masks. Some, says Blair, are now taking care of grandchildren. Some have moved from the area, and others are dealing with illness. Docents are often seniors or retirees, who are also two years older than when the pandemic arrived.

Sanchez Adobe is open weekdays but uses volunteers both Saturdays and Sundays. The historic site has an interpretive center in addition to the two-story adobe, so twice as many people are needed, says Blair, who picked up some new volunteers after an orientation in October. More are needed, but the shortfall is especially acute at the Woodside Store, where three retirees are largely holding the fort. A couple of others fill in when they are able to or help at special events, according to Blair.

Jim Kelly of San Mateo and Jim Wagner of Foster City have been volunteering there for decades. Each takes one shift a month (noon to 4 p.m.), and when there’s a fifth Sunday, they split it. Kathy Klebe of Redwood City, who is also president of the Historic Union Cemetery Association, covers another Sunday. All three enjoy serving as docents—greeting visitors and

•

C H A N G I N G C L I M AT E •

explaining about the store’s history—and wish more people would join them.

“When we first started here it was not uncommon for us to have maybe three docents on a weekend,” says Wagner, “ which was great because if one of them went on vacation, then you’d still have at least two.

Then it got down to two docents per weekend. Now it’s down to one for a weekend.”

A solo volunteer can’t leave the general store unattended to open up the blacksmith shop, which gives visitors less to see, Kelly adds.

Reasons for Volunteering Formerly a water department supervisor for the City of Burlingame, his entrée to volunteering came when his research about a San Francisco ancestor brought him to the history museum. “So here I am 30 odd years later,” Kelly says. He finds being a docent a pleasant way to volunteer.

“People don’t come in here if they’re in a bad mood.”

Wagner wanted a change after a career at Lockheed Martin “staring at a computer screen all day” and was looking for something “where there was absolutely no tech involved.” (Though the Woodside Store has wi-fi, he abstains while on museum duty.)

The store dates from 1854 (the original, built in 1851, burned down) and sold everything from construction supplies to food. It also served at various times as a post office, bank, saloon and the dental office of one of its partners, R.O. “Doc” Tripp. All of that has been recreated within the redwood emporium, which includes a mercantile room where loggers and other settlers could buy lanterns, coffee pots, tobacco, a pound of beans for five cents, a dozen eggs for six cents or an axe handle for $5.

A third room displays sawmill blades, a yoke for a team of oxen and other equipment from the lumber trade. Another room is set up as a classroom for school visits,

when kids may get a chance to learn how their ancestors made rope, dolls or lugged water to wash clothes.

During their training, would-be docents read about the history of the museum or site but also get pointers on how to interact with visitors. Some, like Garbo, just vant to be alone when they power through, and the volunteers are taught to pick up on body language and other cues as to who does or does not want to engage.

Kelly says international visitors often hang out longer than local people: With its rough, sawn siding and creaking wooden floor, the old store brings to life foreigners’ ideas about the Old West from the movies.

Docents are also taught to be honest if they don’t know an answer. There’s a reference binder—and a lifeline to Blair if a question is a real stumper.

Living History In addition to volunteering at the store, Klebe also leads tours at Redwood City’s Union Cemetery, where some of the pioneers who bought potatoes or whisky at the Woodside Store are buried. The more she’s learned about the cemetery, the more she realizes that their histories are entwined. “I get them at the cemetery at the end of their lives, and here they were— working people,” she says, leaning on a

counter in the store.“… They were in this building. So to me it’s like living history.”

From about 10 to 30 visitors drop in on a typical Sunday, and the most common reaction, says Klebe, is “We’ve driven by this for years and have never been here.”

Once, as she swept the wooden porch, she noticed three teen-aged boys on the street watching her and invited them in. Though reluctant at first, Klebe says, “They left 3½ hours later.”

Docents and gallery monitors alike are asked to commit to one shift a month, and as volunteering goes, it could be ideal for a couple, especially people who enjoy history. Or kids. Or both. “Former teachers are a good source,” Blair says. “We’ve had grandparents who are just very enthusiastic about conveying their own love of history.”

Help is needed for big special events like the Fourth of July and Victorian Days, on Aug. 21. Blair is targeting this month for the next orientation; trainees get “shadowed” by a veteran docent before they’re out on their own. For information, go to historysmc.org. C Writer Laurence Marks contributed to this story.

June 2022

· CLIMATE · 23

•

SPOTLIGHT•

San Mateo County’s “Who’s Who” of Sports Six names to be added to the ever-expanding Hall of Fame

Helen Lengfeld Photo courtesy Mike Jamieson Collection

24 · CLIMATE · June 2022

•

SPOTLIGHT•

By Dan Brown

One of the few drawbacks to San Mateo County’s preposterous pipeline of sports stars is that the backlog of local Hall of Fame candidates still stretches as far as the El Camino Real is long.

Even after celebrating more than 300 athletes, coaches and pioneers since the inception of what is now called the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, sportswriter and founder John Horgan and the rest of the selection committee keep unearthing lost diamonds. The six-member class scheduled to be inducted this June 23 includes the late Helen Lengfeld, who was born in 1898 and so altered the landscape of Northern California golf that Golf Digest once named her one of the five most influential women in the sport.

I

n 1926, Lengfeld helped found the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California and in 1927 she won its first championship. She died in 1986 at the age of 88, but this honor will introduce her to a new generation.

“When her nomination came through a year or so ago, we went, ‘Oh my goodness!’’’ Horgan said. “We were really surprised and thrilled that somebody had taken the time to let us know about her.”

Horgan and rest of the voters can be forgiven for needing extra time to get to accommodate all the San Mateo sports figures deserving of a plaque. Because as local celebrations go, it’s hard to match

the haul of this Hall. This isn’t a Mt. Rushmore; it’s a mountain range.

Famous Names Walk around the upper rotunda of the San Mateo History Museum, where the tributes to the honorees recently found a permanent home, and the star power can be blinding. Hey, there’s Tom Brady of Serra High, who grew up to win seven Super Bowls (and counting?). Over there is another Serra alum, Barry Bonds, the baseball star who, like Brady, can start – and usually end – an argument about the best to ever to play their sport.

Over there is the brilliant and bombastic John Madden, who left his imprint on the NFL in three indelible ways: winning a Super Bowl, transforming television broadcasting and spawning a video game empire. Madden did so only after attending Catholic parochial school at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Daly City. That’s where he met lifelong pal John Robinson, who also has a plaque here, after leaving a coaching legacy at USC and with the Los Angeles Rams. Madden forever joked about their unlikely success, quipping that they were “just two doofuses from Daly City.”

With due respect, neither of those is the best football coach in this Hall of June 2022

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• Fame: A former College of San Mateo quarterback named Bill Walsh went on to win three Super Bowls with the 49ers.

But fame is no prerequisite.

This hall defines its parameters for induction as “athletes, coaches, administrators, media members and others who have local roots and have had a significant impact on their chosen sports-related pursuits.”

“It’s just special to be recognized by your hometown,’’ said Chris Dorst who will be inducted this month. He was a water polo player at Menlo-Atherton High School and Stanford and helped Team USA win a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. “I was born at Sequoia Hospital. I remember reading the Redwood City Tribune and being named the ‘Athlete of the Week’ and thinking it would be the coolest thing to ever happen to me.”

The Bases Covered Name a sport, any sport, and it’s likely someone from San Mateo County once dominated it on the world stage. There are several swimmers with Olympic medals (such as Anne Warner Cribbs, who learned to swim in Menlo Park and captured gold in Rome in 1960), a figure skater with World Championships (Debi Thomas), a yachtsman famed for his America’s Cup races (Paul Cayard), the best athlete in the Brady family (Maureen, a softball player), a Redwood City surfer who made Mavericks famous (Jeff Clark), and a jockey with the most race wins in North American horse-racing history (Russell Baze).

It’s the “Wide World of Sports” but mostly confined to the 650 area code.

“I’m honored to be part of the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame,’’ Cribbs wrote in an email. “Such a great history and recognition of athletes, coaches and sports from

26 · CLIMATE · June 2022

SPOTLIGHT•

The real key to this hall, though, is that it also salutes the athletes whose “thrill of victory” never made the airwaves but nevertheless earned a special place in Peninsula sports history. There are former high school standouts, life-changing coaches and dedicated community leaders.

San Mateo County – it is a wonderful place to live, grow up and compete!”

The real key to this hall, though, is that it also salutes the athletes whose “thrill of victory” never made the airwaves but nevertheless earned a special place in Peninsula sports history. There are former high school standouts, life-changing coaches and dedicated community leaders. This hall makes creative use of a “special category” that makes room for people like Alfred “Red” Morton, whose personal Super Bowl was guiding the Redwood City community recreation department for 34 years starting in 1937. Morton’s plaque at the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame hails him as “the father of athletics in Redwood City.”

“We wanted to be sure, right out of the box, that this thing was representative of the entire county in terms of men, women, individual sports, referees, administrators, black, white, Asian,’’ said Horgan, a Serra High grad. “We wanted to be sure that we could reflect the face of the county, and I think we have.”

The Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame was a massive undertaking from the moment in 1988 that Horgan and a few other scribes started kicking around the idea in the offices of the bygone San Mateo Times. What began as a clever way to commemorate the centennial of The Times quickly blossomed into something that wound up lasting longer than the paper itself (it sold in 1996).

The First Ten For what was originally called the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame, the inaugural induction class in 1989 welcomed a sizeable wave of 10 inductees. Bob Sarlatte, the big-voiced comedian best known around Bay Area sports for his 30 years as the public-address announcer at 49ers games, was the master of ceremonies for the event at a swanky hotel in Burlingame.

Attendance at the banquets over the years would soar as high as 450 guests and the stars weren’t limited to the audience.

Horgan recalls the 2002 induction ceremony that included longtime Carlmont High cross-country/track coach Loren Lansberry. Horgan made a quick visit to the men’s room before the festivities and ran into one of Lansberry’s former runners.

“Who's in there? Dana Carvey!” Horgan said, referring to the “Saturday Night Live” star. Carvey had slipped into the event unnoticed, showing up quietly to honor his old coach. “I kind of looked at him and said, ‘Mr. Carvey,’ it's really nice that you came tonight. I understand that

• you were one of Mr. Lansberry’s athletes.

Please say no if you want to say no. But would you like to say a few words about Mr. Lansberry?’’’

Carvey leaped at the chance and later took the stage and did almost 15 minutes of killer high-school cross-country comedy.

Over the years, the hall itself lived something of a vagabond existence. Its homes have included a large sports bar at what is now the Bridgepoint Shopping Center near Foster City. From there, it wound up, improbably, in the dining area of the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

“Now, you might ask yourself, ‘Why would they do that? Why would they put it there?’’’ Horgan said, still laughing.

“Well, it turned out they really wanted it because they thought it might draw customers into the old court. I don’t know if it did. But it didn't do that because the food court is pretty much gone.”

Finding a New Home In 2019, the San Mateo County Historical Association took over the presentation of the induction event and, at last, gave the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame a suitable home. This year, the museum aims to put the “class’” in induction class.

“We have plans for vastly improving the exhibit,’’ said Mitch Postel, the president of the San Mateo County Historical Association. “Currently, people have a little trouble finding the plaque they’re looking for. So we're going to computerize things so that you can be directed exactly where you need to go. And we’re going to fix up some of the exhibits that are part of the celebration. We’re going to add some newer historic photographs to kind of give it a well-deserved step up.”

The pandemic prompted a two-year wait for this induction class, but the plan is to celebrate this group at the museum in downtown Redwood City. These are the six individuals, as well as biographical thumbnail provided by Horgan:

SPOTLIGHT•

Donovan Blythe, a globe-trotting basketball ambassador and coach whose dominant Eastside College Prep girls’ teams became state champions.

Liz Bruno, a basketball star at Mercy High School and Santa Clara University early in the Title IX era. Many of her scoring/ rebounding records still stand.

Ron DiMaggio, a longtime track and field coach who has mentored thousands of young athletes in Daly City and the North County.

Chris Dorst

Chris Dorst, a Menlo-Atherton High School and Stanford University water polo standout who became an Olympic medalist.

Scott Feldman, a Major League Baseball pitcher who honed his craft at Burlingame High School and the College of San Mateo early in his career.

Helen Lengfeld, a stellar golfer and dedicated advocate for women on the links whose influence lives on at the Peninsula Golf & Country Club and beyond.

Scott Feldman

The ceremony will take place June 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Courtroom A. Admission is $35, priced at a low-cost to help attract new members.

C

Donovan Blythe

Liz Bruno

Ron DiMaggio

June 2022

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and everything

•

SPOTLIGHT•

FR

EE

EV E

ROCK THE DOCK

6/3 through 9/2 Fridays, 6:00pm-8:00pm Courthouse Square

!

SPRING CONCERT SERIES Live music at the waterfront

REDWOOD CITY EVENTS

Music on the Square

NT

Art on the Square

7/17, 7/8, 7/22, & 8/26 Fridays, 5:00pm-8:30pm Courthouse Square

Movies on the Square Pub in the Park 6/9 through 9/1 Thursdays, 6:00pm & 8:30pm Courthouse Square

6/4, 7/16, 8/6, & 9/10 Saturdays, 11:00am-4:00pm Red Morton Park

Kids Rock!

Music in the Park

6/26, 7/24, & 8/21 Sundays, 11:00am-1:00pm Courthouse Square

friendly outdoor concert series

6/22 through 8/24 Wednesdays, 6:00pm-8:00pm

Sounds of the Shores Redwood Symphony 6/26, 7/24, & 8/21 Sundays, 5:00pm-7:00pm Marlin Park

Rock the Dock is a free, family

6/25 Saturday, 6:00pm Courthouse Square

where music lovers can celebrate the soul of Redwood City with live music, fresh air and fresh fish from local vendors.

May 7 — June 18, 2022

3 P.M.—6 P.M. Weekly band line-up: redwoodcityport.com/events

WWW.REDWOODCITYEVENTS.COM RedwoodCityEvents

@rwcparks

@rwcevents

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June 2022

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•

H I S T O•R YC LbI M y A J iTmE • Clifford•

Argo Tower’s Namesake Left an Enduring Legacy Pun intended, the landmark bell tower at Sequoia High School is named for A. C. Argo, a towering figure in campus history who saw the school grow from 345 students when he took over as principal in 1921 to 2,500 when he left in 1948, later warning that two classes of “unfortunate students” emerged during his career: the underprivileged and the over-privileged. One has to wonder what he would think of contemporary students, so influential they jettisoned the school’s Cherokee mascot and replaced it with a Raven.

Argo, whose initials stood for Arnold Clarence, made his assessment in an interview with the Redwood City Tribune, concluding that both groups “need special counseling in the schools.” The underprivileged are “greatly handicapped” because they come from homes of limited means and culture, he said. The answer, according to Argo, would come via understanding, counseling and special help. Not as obvious in their needs were students from homes “where everything was done for them.

“They have limited responsibilities and are many times left on their own by busy, socially-minded parents,” he continued. “As a result they are lazy, selfish and bored with life. They never will be happy until they learn to work, take responsibility and serve others.”

Sealing a Welcome One of the lasting legacies of Argo’s tenure is the school seal adopted in 1925, a work of welcoming art in mosaic tile located in the school’s main entrance in the tower as well as in a stained-glass window in the library. The seal, emblazoned with the word

30 · CLIMATE · June 2022

“unaliyi,” is also part of a tarp that hides a huge mural in the entrance. The mural depicts Spanish missionaries greeting each other as native people look on. The mural was completed by students in 1947, long before Argo would have had to fret over culturally sensitive opinions. BTW: Unaliyi is Cherokee for “place of friends.”

Argo, who passed away in 1982, came to Redwood City in 1920, just in time to oversee the construction of the new campus at its present site off El Camino Real, a park-like setting that contrasted with the earlier school located downtown, across El Camino Real on Broadway. Argo took up his new post after a two-year tenure as superintendent of schools in Pasco, Washington. His roots were in the Northwest, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington in 1912.

Argo started his career in Newberg, Ore., and taught science, mathematics and German. He had little difficulty in planting his roots on the Peninsula, in short time becoming a charter member of the Redwood City Kiwanis Club. He also was a charter member of the Sequoia YMCA and was active in the Masonic Lodge and the First Congregational Church.

The Tower Dedicated Fashioned after the tower that overlooks Stanford University, the one at Sequoia was dedicated in Argo’s memory in 1988. The plaque notes that “in the room at the foot of this tower, Mr. Argo and his board shaped policies of enduring importance.”

ThenSchool Superintendent Merle Fruehling told the crowd that Argo was not only instrumental in helping design what has been called one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, he also assembled “an outstanding group of teachers in the ‘30s and ‘40s.” His physical education and social living programs were ahead of their time, particularly the physical education classes which combined nutrition study along with exercise.

The teachers included Frank Griffin, who drew national headlines with his innovative “atomic loop” obstacle course that challenged students to work their way across walls of logs, dangling ropes and barriers of tires.

After leaving Sequoia, Argo continued to work in education, first in Japan as a civilian employee of the Army where he was an “education expert” with the Institute of Educational Leadership. Later, he became a professor of education at Drake University followed by a stint with the U.S. State Department educational divisions in Lebanon and Libya. Argo returned to the Peninsula in 1957, retiring again and making his home in Redwood City where he and his wife, Twila, had raised their four children. C

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