The San Geronimo Valley Community Center
Here, from the inaugural 1989 issue, is Arnold Erickson’s story of how the Center’s newsletter came to be known as “Stone Soup.” The Name “Stone Soup” The name “Stone Soup” is taken from a universal story. Some say that it originates in Eastern Europe. This ver- sion began with the Native American Chumash and became something different in the telling. Coyote approached town near the end of day. As usual, he was hungry. There was little fat on his bones to get him through hard times, and he had long since run out of food and money. Yet, after his last trick from a previous story, the people probably couldn’t put up with another. “Nothing to eat but the stones,” thought Coyote. And so he began to gather some rocks and put them in a pot of water that he drew from the village well. “Hey, Coyote!” called the wom- an. “I didn’t know that your stomach was that powerful. What are you doing with those stones?” “Just making Stone Soup. It’s the latest cuisine in the village over the hill. But, come to think of it, I could use a little seasoning.” The wom- an happened to have some seasoning with her. Intrigued, she gave it to Coyote for his soup. Another person had potatoes, still another, carrots. And so it went. Each person in the vil- lage brought something different. And some even came back with fry bread. That night, everyone feasted on stone soup. (Reprinted in the 40 th Anniversary issue, Summer, 2009) East Wing Restroom Mural by Zoila Berardi The famous east wing restroom mural was painted the night before the 1971 Holiday Faire by some of the parents of the San Geronimo Valley Family Preschool. Donna Sloan created it and Sandy Dorward, Andrea Giacomini, Claire Felson, Jane Rawlinson, Niz Brown, Cummings Saunders, and I helped paint it. We scoured the Valley for brightly colored wall paint. Between, “Donna, is this okay? and “Pass the wine up the ladders,” we magically transformed the bathroom. Happily it was saved during the remodel of the Center in 1981 and still survives today.
Summer 2009 Community Center Stained Glass Windows by Marty Meade The stained glass windows in the West Room is my favorite commission ever, as it enabled me to bring in five apprentices (7 th and 8 th graders) to assist me. These five, Misha Lebell, Ari Piscatelli, Oscar Steiner, Nathan Dressler and Tommy O’Mahoney, had studied stained glass with me in my studio, and proved that they could take on the task. After creating the design, I assigned one unit to each of them, and it was their responsibility to work with me indi- vidually until their piece was completed. Misha Lebell took on two panels. We made a trip to the glass wholesalers, and they selected the glass that would be used in their pieces. We cut out the pieces, prepared them for the sandblasted etching, foiled them for soldering, did the soldering and final cleanup . . . an immense amount of work on hot summer days. My son, Kevin Meade, installed the windows which also proved to be a huge undertaking. We were all excited with the outcome, and still look at the finished piece with pride.
A section of Marty Meade’s stained glass series in the West Room
15
50 th Anniversary
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