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The Los Gatos ‘Ming Quong’ campus (Discover LOST Gatos)
It was a chilly morning in January, 1953 when 11-year-old Elena Lim arrived in Los Gatos. Her widowed father decided that he was unable to care for her so he surrendered her to the missionaries at Ming Quong.
Elena was unkempt, malnourished and had been...
What a shoebox full of old papers taught me about my grandparents
When I was a child in the 70s, Los Gatos was filled with Italians. I remember seeing the older women walking in town, dragging behind them their wire utility carts filled with groceries down Santa Cruz Avenue. My grandparents, Adam and Albina Contardo, were...
Discover LOST Gatos: Remembering the Pageants of summer
Summer has arrived, and there’s no shortage of live music for us to enjoy here in Los Gatos, from regularly scheduled Jazz on the Plazz and Music in the Park concerts to special events like the multi-cultural Drums in the Park celebration.
Our tradition of...
Discover LOST Gatos: Remembering the railroad era pt. 2
Part 1 of this series told the story of aspiring railroad barons James “Slippery Jim” Fair and Alfred “Hog” Davis, who founded the South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPCRR) in 1876 to create an extensive rail network throughout the Bay Area and beyond. After the...
Our newest open space preserve has a rich and varied past
Untouched for millennia, the hills above Los Gatos underwent a rapid transformation in the mid-19th century. Timber had become the new gold for fortune seekers, and loggers were attracted to the area by the seemingly endless groves of massive redwoods.
Sawmills popped up along the...
Writer tells of Italian uncle’s Los Gatos exploits
One of my earliest memories is from the early 1970s when I visited my elderly Italian aunt, whom we called Zia Elisa.
Gridlock and Ghosts: Tales from the serpentine route to the sea
—This is the second in a two part series.
Last month, I explored what traveling “over the hill” was like in the second half of the 19th century, when stagecoach passengers faced long, bone-rattling, and often dangerous trips along dusty or muddy dirt roads.
Change came...
Standing Tall: The town has seen many phases
*The following article first appeared in print as part of this feature on housing development in Los Gatos.
From sporting the name of “Forbes Mill,” to earning the distinction of top destination for retirees in California a few years ago, to serving as a hotbed...
Eclectic electronic event incoming at home of the historic Cats Saloon
*Updated Sept. 6, 2022
Daniel Reyes, the founder of Project Gasmask Entertainment (PGM), says he’s excited to be part of a Los Gatos rebirth.
Though he lives in Oakland, and grew up in the Fairfield-Suisun area, the promoter says he’s pretty familiar with the community from...
Discover LOST Gatos: Remembering the Interurban Railway
Imagine how convenient it would be to step aboard a trolley in downtown Los Gatos and relax in comfort as you travel to Palo Alto or San Jose. It would be a reliable and time-efficient way to commute without worrying about getting stuck in...


















