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Gallivanting in the Gem City
Stories of Los Gatos California
by Steve Sporleder
with illustrations by Letty Samonte
Turning the pages of this book is a step back into small-town life in Northern California. These memorable stories vibrate with nostalgia and warmth as they share the lives of the generations of families living their tears and their laughter in Los Gatos, California. When Steve Sporleder uncovers the trials and triumphs of these characters, they are so real they could be your next-door neighbors.
The Dirty Boys of Boo-Gang ~ A bucolic 1933 summer day turns tragic at the town swimming hole along Los Gatos Creek, catapulting three young boys toward manhood. Their fateful decisions that day have terrible consequences across three generations. This story is a prequel/sequel to Sporleder’s first novel, A Fouled Nest.
Sheen on the Water ~ A father brings his grieving family back to his roots to heal when a tragedy leaves his son Bishop without a mother. Bishop finally starts his own path toward healing when he makes two new friends at middle school. Together, the three friends become entangled in a biker gang’s criminal scheme, which leads to murder.
Tales From the Top Cat Tavern ~ Slide on up to the bar and sip a drink while Tilson, the bar owner, and Milky, the bartender, share three tales of their lives and their redemptions at the Top Cat Tavern. Their post–World War II tales are rich in nostalgia and as cozy as your mother’s pot roast on Sunday.
Chief Spearmint ~ An aging Indian chief, feeling that time has passed him by, finds new purpose in his four grandchildren and in teaching them the lessons he has learned from life and nature. Little did any of them know just how valuable these lessons would be for the tribe one day when outsiders threaten their families and their village.
Il Vapore ~ A young woman in war-torn Northern Italy harbors a terrible secret. When she marries an Italian-American GI, she leaves behind her painful past and moves to Los Gatos to start anew… Until one day that past drives into town in a 1955 beige Chevrolet.
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288 pages, 5.5" x 8.5"
ISBN: 978-1-935125-57-0
Published by: Robertson Publishing (RP)
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Sample pages from the book ~ Copyright Material ~
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Gallivanting in the Gem City is an assortment of original short stories about Los Gatos, California, and some of the inhabitants that have resided there. Most characters in the stories are fictional, so for the most part, if you recognize people living or dead, it’s purely coincidental. There are, however, actual people in some of the stories (as is listed hereafter). I do hope you can recognize composites of people, places, and events from your past, and that you let me know about it. Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing.
Actual Places in My Stories:
Los Gatos is my hometown. It was my father’s hometown, also. Many of the locations that are long gone may be familiar to you senior grade citizens. I’ve taken liberties with some sites and features. For example:
- Los Gatos has no Water Street or Waterside Bar and Grill. They’re made up. Verducci’s Boat Works doesn’t exist; the building, however, is Forbes Mill. “Forbes Mill? Where is that?” some might ask. Well, that’s the present location of the History Museum of Los Gatos behind Old Town. If you’ve never been there, you are missing a real chance to soak up the ambiance of Los Gatos and its history.
- Oak Meadow Middle School is a fictional name. The school building is the site where University Avenue School once stood. That’s where Old Town sits today. The footbridge behind Old Town is described as a wooden bridge that leads to the other side of the creek behind the McKeever home. It’s nice to write fiction and move or remove things so they adapt to the story, don’t you think? For instance I don’t mention Highway 17 by name, and I put back the railroad tracks.
- The fictional El Gato Hotel is patterned after the Lyndon Hotel. Lyndon Plaza stands on the actual old hotel location.
- The Top Cat Tavern is a fictional name for a long-gone watering hole on Santa Cruz Avenue. Years ago, it was called Club Gato and the last drinking and dining establishment in that place was Mesa’s Saloon. CB’s of course, is CB Hannegan’s, a long-established enterprise that has become an institution. You can learn a lot there if you listen.
- The gravel quarry was real and was situated where Vasona County Park is today. There was a hobo jungle there, too.
- The municipal park described on Los Gatos Creek was real. It had a swimming pool and sand playgrounds with swings. The sand led to the creek, which for a lot of us was more fun to play in than the swings and slides. Highway 17 runs right through it today.
- The Plunge on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz is long gone. The museum described does not exist.
- Boo-Gang was real also. My brothers Doug and Bert and I fished there. My father swam there. Take a walk up the Los Gatos Creek Trail toward Lexington Dam to a spot where the cement channel no longer lines the creek and the banks become more natural. Around that location, give or take a few yards, might be where Boo-Gang was. (In 1933 there was an actual kidnapping, murder and lynching that took place in St. James Park in San Jose, California.)
- Napredak Hall is still in operation. I have not heard of any country and western singers performing there in years.
- The Butcher’s Scale is based on a true story out of Greenfield, California, and told to me by my friend Bill Cotton.
- The Gem City Gypsys did not exist. They were made up by me.
- I don’t know if the Nazis invaded Cernobbio, Italy, or not. I visited Cernobbio and conjured the image that they did. The Hotel Regina Olga and Villa d’Este exist.
- The Live Oak Inn and the 5 Spot were actual places. Double D’s now occupies the building where the Live Oak was, and the intersection of Santa Cruz Avenue and Saratoga Avenue is where the 5 Spot stood.
- Saratoga Springs is still in operation and is located above Saratoga, Ca
- Swanson’s Ford Dealership and Templeman’s Hardware existed.
Actual People in My Stories:
- Chris Benson and Johnny Hannegan are the proprietors of CB Hannegan’s.
- John Baggerly was the editor of the Los Gatos Times Observer and a fantastic Los Gatos character. Rest easy, Scoop.
- Hugh Welch was the first director of the recreation department in Los Gatos.
- The character described as Buster was patterned after Bus Benson who owned the Live Oak Inn.
- The baker Ray Robertson owned the Polly Prim Bakery.
- Dude Martin was an actual cowboy singer. He and his band may have come to the area to do a show. Where or when, I can’t be sure.
- Jim DeNoon was an actual radio personality in San Jose.
- Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini, unfortunately, were real.
If you have any questions about any of this, let me know and we can talk. I’d love it! Email me at losgatos.stevesporleder@gmail.com |
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Purchase your copy of "Gallivanting in the Gem City" from Ingram Books, your favorite webstore, or any of the following:
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Discounts available to book clubs, bookstores, and libraries. Contact Robertson Publishing, 888-354-5957, for further information.
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December 15, 2009
Sporleder's 'Gallivanting' subject of book
Los Gatos inspires lifelong resident
by Marianne L. Hamilton
Much has been written about the vivid history of Los Gatos. Steve Sporleder, though, has actually lived it.
Those experiences have provided the inspiration for the Los Gatos native and author's books. His newest, Gallivanting in the Gem City: Stories of Los Gatos, California, has just rolled off the presses, and Sporleder will share excerpts and insider's tidbits from its pages at an event hosted by the Los Gatos Public Library on Dec. 17.
Like A Fouled Nest, his first title, Sporleder found inspiration for Gallivanting in the town where he was born and raised, and from his 30-plus years as a firefighter.
"Steve Sporleder is a member of one of the 'founding families' of Los Gatos," says Peggy Conaway, library director. "His paternal great-grandfather came to town in the 1880s. For more than 100 years, the Sporleders have been firefighters. Steve spent 32 years in the fire service before his retirement in 2000. His grandfather, father, uncles and brothers all followed the same calling."
Sporleder's new book is a collection of eight short stories written about Los Gatos. All contain a combination of actual and fictionalized characters; some are composites of notable, real-life figures from the town's history.
"Most of the stories take place in the '40s and '50s, which are eras I absolutely love," Sporleder says. "They include bits from actual events, like the lynching in St. James Park in downtown San Jose. I wasn't alive when those events took place, but I remember seeing newspaper articles that my father had."
Half the fun of reading the book is trying to figure out who's who and where the action originally took place, says Conway.
"The rich history of Los Gatos is filled with triumph and tragedy, and Steve incorporates many of those events, in a fictionalized manner, in his books," she notes. "For Los Gatans who remember the Lyndon Hotel, dined at the 5-Spot Drive-In or got a snack at the Polly Prim Bakery, Steve's stories evoke a great sense of nostalgia.
"Tales from the Top Can Tavern, an unexpected death at the Boo-Gang that reverberates for generations, the Gem City Gypsies, the cops, the firemen, an Italian war bride who meets up with her past in Los Gatos... it's all here!"
Of course, some Los Gatos "institutions" are so colorful in real life that they don't warrant fictionalization: In his author's notes Sporleder lists CB Hannegan's proprietors Chris Benson and Johnny Hannegan among those who appear as themselves in the book ("You can learn a lot there if you listen," Sporleder advises, referring to CB Hannegan's), along with recreation department director Hugh Welch, Los Gatos Times Observer editor John Baggerly and Polly Prim Bakery owner Ray Robertson. Coincidentally, the latter's son, Jon Robertson, the proprietor of ProColor in downtown Los Gatos, designed and published the book through his subsidiary company, Robertson Publishing.
"Many of the people and events in the book were inspired by my having lived in town, and by my friends," says Sporleder. "But I got the idea for the last story, 'Il Vapore,' when I went on vacation to Lake Como in Italy. Walking on those cobblestone streets, I could almost hear the clicking of Nazi boots. I don't know whether they actually invaded that region or not, but I was inspired just by being there."
Local history buffs and book fans can hear Sporleder reading from his new title and have him autograph their copies at the Dec. 17 event, which is being presented by the Los Gatos Public Library... The library will have copies of the book available for purchase at the event (Amazon carries the title as well).
Sporleder's third book, In the Corner of the Cats, which traces the trials and successes of a fictional Hispanic family living in World War II-era Los Angeles, will be published in 2010. |
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Steve Sporleder is a lifelong resident of Los Gatos, California, and spent thirty-two years in the fire service.
A Fouled Nest. Those readers familiar with Los Gatos are probably scratching their heads about locations depicted in his stories. Steve took liberties with street names and various areas. Though all of the characters depicted in the book are fictional, they are also composites of persons he has met throughout his life. The Webb clan is totally fictional. Their actions and demeanor are made up. The only things that he gleaned from his parents for these stories were their nostalgia and insight into life in Los Gatos during their formative years.
Gallivanting in the Gem City is an assortment of original short stories about Los Gatos, California, and some of the inhabitants that have resided there. Most characters in the stories are fictional, so for the most part, if you recognize people living or dead, it’s purely coincidental. There are, however, actual people in some of the stories. Steve hopes you can recognize composites of people, places, and events from your past, and that you let him know about it. Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing.
To contact him drop an email to losgatos.stevesporleder@gmail.com
Look for Steve's next book... In the Corner of the Cats.
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The stories in Gallivanting in the Gem City were illustrated by Letty Samonte.
Letty received her BFA with honors in Illustration in 2001 from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.
She has lived and worked as an artist in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and most recently, Lake Como, Italy. Currently, Letty resides in the Bay area working as a scenic artist for the theatre, a faux finishing artist and muralist, and illustrator. She also continues to paint landscapes "en plein air." Her landscapes have been exhibited in the past few years in the national juried shows for both the American Impressionist Society and the Society of Master Impressionists.
To contact her drop an email to lasamonte@gmail.com |
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A Fouled Nest
by Steve Sporleder
Venice Webb fled the family nest in Los Gatos, California, as a young man, never understanding the reason for his father’s neglect or the other bizarre family dynamics—and knowing he probably never would. Now, some thirty years later, the truth is closing in on him like a freight train at full speed.
A former firefighter and recovering alcoholic in his mid-fifties, Venice normally spends his days tackling the endless maladies common to most aging baby boomers, trying to remain sober, and working a well-established career as a fire-cause investigator for a Seattle-based international insurance company. But his daily routine is interrupted by a phone call from his older sister, Lydia Webb. Their father, Wendell Webb, has died.
Although apathetic about his father, Venice feels obligated to help his sister and uncle with funeral arrangements and estate issues, and he heads back to Los Gatos. Before long, Venice’s bittersweet homecoming turns into a complete life change when he moves back home.
The abrupt decision allows him to reconnect with his high school girlfriend, Kate, but it also exposes more than one dark family secret. In a starting mix of abrupt confessions, resurfacing memories, and disturbing clues, Venice is left to piece together the incidents that have forever marked the Webb family. |
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180 pages, 5.5" x 8.5"
ISBN: 978-1-935125-56-3
Published by: Robertson Publishing (RP)
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Sample pages from the book ~ Copyright Material ~
Purchase your copy of "A Fouled Next" from Ingram Books, your favorite webstore, or any of the following: |
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Discounts available to book clubs, bookstores, and libraries. Contact Robertson Publishing, 888-354-5957, for further information. |
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