The Valley Fair Short Story

The stories in this chapter are typical of the times and vividly portray the gradual, disarming, and even confusing nature of the transformation that took place shortly after the war as the Valley began to shed its agricultural roots.

I was born in San Jose in 1947 (a third generation native), and started working on my grandfather’s ranch of apricots, prunes, and walnuts at the age of eight. Like the other younger children, I starting out picking up "ground fruit" from under the trees. I remember vividly how pleased with myself I was after the first tree, and my sense of achievement as I approached the end of the first row. Then the reality sunk in—the next row. That was certainly a lesson that would serve me well over the next sixty years …show more content…
Something called "Valley Fair" was to be built way out on Stevens Creek Road. It would be a shopping center, whatever the heck that might be. I very clearly remember the adults, and in particular those adults of my grandparents age, griping to each other about it. "Who the heck is going to go all the way out there to shop? Are they crazy? That's what downtown is for." When construction started I can remember riding my bicycle through the construction site. When it opened (in 1956 or 1957, I think) the world of shopping changed …show more content…
I moved with my family in 1943 to what was then Cupertino. My parents had purchased a summer and weekend home on Titus Avenue, which runs between Prospect and Cox. When Saratoga incorporated, everything up to Prospect was included in Saratoga. Our summer home became our residence and my dad commuted by train to San Francisco. After the war, Dad retired and in 1951 he completed building a house across the street. In 1956 my husband and I purchased the home and my parents moved to Santa Cruz, selling the rest of the