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It was a
comfortable day in August when we gathered at the intersection of Blossom
Hill Road and Almaden Expressway for the beginning of the Museums
Tour. Many members of the
Model T Club were there along with a few members of the Greater South Bay
Vintage Chevrolet Club of America and the Santa Clara Valley Horseless
Carriage Club. There were 17
cars total, 8 Model Ts, a 1929 Studebaker, a 1906 Krotz, two vintage
Chevrolets, 2 Model As, a Henry J and 2 moderns.
We headed down Almaden Expressway and arrived at our first stop, the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum and the Casa Grande. After a brief photo shoot, we entered the Museum to see the house that once belonged to the manager of the Almaden Quicksilver Mine. The Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum contains many artifacts and some equipment that was used back in the 1800s and were explained to us by two docents, Mary Lee Baiocchi and Kitty Monahan. After the visit to the museum and the Casa Grande, we headed to our lunch stop for a bite to eat. We provided the group with a list of twelve dining establishments. We found that most of the group preferred the fine dining at Taco Bell. Go figure! Some members headed to Baskin Robbins for the traditional Model T tour ice cream stop, which normally comes at the end. After lunch, we
proceeded to our next stop, the San Jose Fire Museum on the site of the
San Jose Maintenance facility at Senter Road and Phelan Avenue. The large warehouse building contains fire fighting
apparatus dating back to the 1850s when the first fire department was
created in San Jose. There we
were met by Jim Carter, the Museum's Vice President and John Whitaker who
told us about the history of the San Jose Fire Department. John showed us the extensive
collection of fire apparatus, from hand-drawn
equipment to apparatus that was originally pulled by horses and then some
of the first motor vehicles ever made. As owners of antique autos, we
really appreciated the collection of antique fire apparatus on display at
this museum. We wish to
thank everyone who participated in this tour. Allan & Lucy
Greenberg |
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