Discover the oldest Quaker meeting house in California
The house of worship was first used in 1885 and moved about 200 feet in the 1950s to make room for what's now Interstate 880.
The oldest meeting house in California for the Religious Society of Friends — also known as the Quakers — is tucked away on a cul-de-sac in San Jose next to Interstate 880. Even if you’ve lived in the city your whole life, you might not have realized that the landmark structure was there — and still in use by the San Jose Friends Meeting to this day.
But you’ll have a chance to check it out, as the Quakers are inviting the community to a Friendship Festival on July 28 to raise funds so that the building can have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
The event, which starts at noon, includes face painting and others kids activities, hot dogs and baked goods and a sale of books and other items. There’ll be entertainment by the Peninsula Harmony Chorus, performing songs including show tunes and ’50s and ’60s doo-wop numbers; artist and musician Scott T. Miller will perform his original roots music and “psychedelic” novelty songs; and the Raging Grannies will lead protest songs against war, climate change, greed and all those evil “isms” out there. So yeah, it’s going to be an eclectic afternoon.
Quakers started gathering in San Jose in 1861, and the house at 1041 Morse Street was built in 1885, making it the oldest Quaker meeting house in California and possibly west of Iowa.
Anna Koster, alternate clerk with the San Jose Friends Meeting, points out that the original house didn’t have an indoor bathroom, but when it was moved about 200 feet west to make room for what’s now Interstate 880 in 1958, an addition was built with bathrooms. The members of the San Jose Friends Meeting want to bring that addition up to modern standards with new ADA-compliant bathrooms.
You can get more information about the San Jose Friends Meeting and the festival at www.sanjosefriends.org.
SCHOOL DAZE: We’re not even through with July yet, but Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose is already focused on the upcoming school year — in part because the sprawling San Jose Unified School District starts classes on Aug. 8. That means the social-service agency needs to get moving to hit its goal of distributing 4,000 supply-filled backpacks to students next week — and it still needs about 1,000 backpacks and $30,000 to make that happen.
You can drop by a contribution — new backpacks, school supplies or money — at Sacred Heart Community Service’s Donation Station at 1381 S. First St. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to noon on Friday or 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Go to www.sacredheartcs.org/pab2024 for details.
QUEEN OF THE ‘COTS: Robin Chapman, who wrote the book on apricots more than a decade ago, will be at the Los Altos History Museum on Saturday to talk about her most recent book, last year’s “The Valley of Heart’s Delight: True Tales from Around the Bay.” In it, the Los Altos native writes about the notable folks who have lived in the area from Hollywood stars and billionaire to a love-struck poet.
The “Book Talk and Brunch,” starts at 10 a.m. and will include apricot waffles, sausages and fruit in Los Altos History Museum’s courtyard. Admission is $15 per person (free for members) and Chapman will sign copies of her book, which is available in the museum store. Go to losaltoshistory.org/brunch for tickets.
START YOUR ENGINES: The 13th annual Saratoga Classic & Cool Car Show is going to have more than 300 vehicles on display along Big Basin Way on Sunday, but there will be plenty of chances to see the cars leading up to the event, too. There’s a “Revin’ Up Rally” at Jakes of Saratoga at 5 p.m. Wednesday and a “Cool Car Cruise” at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, starting at the 76 gas station in Saratoga Village and traveling to Los Gatos and Campbell. Get more details at www.saratogachamber.org/saratogacarshow.