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August 2012 Dick Gorthy’s Scale Models Preserve Valley History
Serving Danville
By Jody Morgan Historical preservation was not part of Dick Gorthy’s plan for his retirement until a Sunday Contra Costa Times article featuring a birdhouse replicating an English garden shed inspired him to take up his own woodworking tools. One project led to another, eventually culminating in nine scale models of buildings erected prior to 1900 in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. Intrigued by the challenge and wondering whether he could build a birdhouse as cleverly constructed as the item in the Times article, Gorthy went to the workspace in his San Ramon garage and took stock of the materials at hand. Once satisfied with his version of the potting shed, he began researching information at the library for more creations. His birdhouse lighthouse drew inspiration from photographs of at least four historical structures. Dick chose to blend their parts into one generic Dick and Heidi Gorthy with David and Eliza Glass House Model design. Barn and church birdhouses followed a similar plan. Do birds sing those spaces’ praises? Sorry, they have never been invited to investigate. Patience was not an attribute Gorthy thought he possessed when he began copying the potting shed. “If you truly like doing the work,” Gorthy explains, “you find the patience.” Ready to tackle a more difficult task, he decided to do a birdhouse based on a recognizable local historical structure. The recently renovated Danville Depot was readily accessible. Aided by his wife, Heidi, he paced off the exterior measurements. Unsure of his ability to faithfully reproduce the depot, Dick reassured himself by thinking: “If it doesn’t come out, I’ll say ‘Well, it’s only a birdhouse.’” The model, completed in 2000, offers an open door peek into the interior. Open doors remain a signature in all Gorthy historical replicas. The one-room Tassajara Schoolhouse on Finley Road serving local students from 1889-1946 was Dick’s next project. He decided to finish the inside and join two windows to provide access to the interior view. He completed the model in 2001 and vowed never again to put in the long hours necessary to reconstruct an interior. Each project needed to be a bit different to keep his creative enthusiasm engaged. The concept of doing a church intrigued him. Built in 1859, Old St. Raymond’s in Dublin caught his attention. Counting the slats and calculating the spire height, Gorthy came up with a squat model that was clearly incorrect. He hadn’t added in the ½ inch space between slats. Making the correction, he finished his third miniature reproduction in 2002. The David and Eliza Glass House was the first and only project permitting Gor-
An Afghan refugee family poses with their solar oven, a gift from Budd MacKenzie's Trust in Education program.
Trust in Education Brings Solar Ovens to Afghanistan By Fran Miller Solar power aficionado Jack Howell was enjoying his morning coffee at Peet’s Coffee & Tea about a year ago, when he made a serendipitous discovery which subsequently resulted in a cooperative arrangement which has served to increase the quality of many lives, half a world away. Howell took notice of the mylar bags in which Peet’s packs its whole beans. Mylar, an expensive material, is the key ingredient in the making of solar ovens. Howell had joined forces with Budd MacKenzie and his Trust in Education program (TIE) in introducing the use of solar ovens to the citizens of Afghanistan. A quick conversation with the local Peets’ manager, in which Howell explained the Solar Oven Project, has since led to a cooperative mylar donation arrangement between TIE and several Peet’s locations, enabling TIE to send 950 solar ovens to Kabul. Most will be distributed to families living in refugee camps in and around Kabul. Budd MacKenzie initiated his Trust in Education program in 2003 as a pro-active effort to help the victims of wars waged in Afghanistan. He felt that his friends and neighbors could rally around the ideology that all children deserve an education and a building in which to be educated. They raised $60,000, and a school was built in the village of Lalander.
See Ovens continued on page 14
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Delta Nu Psi’s Fantastic Helper Recently Alex Engberg (pictured above in the middle), of Danville Boy Scout Troop 803, contacted Delta Nu Psi wanting to perform his Eagle Scout Project for the service sorority. He did an outstanding job to support our service men and women by collecting hundreds of items and getting them packed and shipped overseas. Because of the work Alex did, Delta Nu Psi will not need to collect in August. For more info visit deltanupsi.org.
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