From: Sunol Community News
Save Our Sunol Column
October 1999
By: Pat Stillman

“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”
                       ....John Ruskin

Phase One of restoring the water temple has begun. The planning and preparation stage has been underway for over a year. Structural reinforcements are under the direction of SFPUC engineer, Alan Johanssen.

 The restoration is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2000. It will be a very special event for Sunol to have this wondrous, historical landmark returned to its  original beauty and grandeur.

Save Our Sunol held a Sunday brunch and reception on  September 19 at the Kilkare Woods Clubhouse. SOS provided the smoked turkey and Elliston Winery very graciously donated the champagne.  An elegant buffet table, decorated with flowers,  included various hors d’oeuvres, numerous  kinds of salads, platters of fruit and many other delicious delights, including a dessert table filled with ice cream, cakes and cookies.

This was also a reception for Gray Brechin, Ph.D., writer, historian, lecturer and author of two newly published books: Farewell Promised Land  and Imperial San Francisco. Gray is also an architectural historian and an expert on the works of  Willis Polk. He is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the western conference of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility on October 2, 1999 at Stanford University.  A number of Sunol residents belong to this organization.

Lena Ch’en, architect and restoration project manager, and engineer Alan Johanssen presented beautiful displays of the original Water Temple and future project goals. Lena is planning the second phase of the project, designing the landscaping for the picnic area and the interpretive center. She recruited SOS members to work with her. Lynn Kozma is chairing the committee and welcomes more volunteers.
Other guests included Jeff Miller from the Alameda Creek Alliance, who updated us on the Alliance’s efforts to restore and protect the salmon population as well as to offer the Alliance’s support to SOS’s efforts to stop the quarry.  Also attending were Chris Gray, Chief of Staff  for Supervisor Scott Haggerty and Ted Buttner, who has long family ties to Sunol and has been a very generous supporter of Save Our Sunol.

We thank Cindy Frillman, Bree James, Nancy and Greg Davis, Rosemary Chang, Lynn Kozma, Stephan Doyle, Diane Tiessen  and Julie Lesher for planning and arranging the wonderful brunch. Thanks to Lance Parrow for his music that added a special touch and to the Kilkare Woods Association for the use of the clubhouse.

Newcomers included Andrew Turnbull, Tom and Janice Morris and Karen and Tom Newcomb-Hylas. Tom Hylas credited our SOS web page (sunol.org) for his interest in relocating to Sunol. Thanks to Derek Johnson and Gary Chambers for revising and maintaining  our web page and to Jerome Engelberts who originated it.

We are also happy to announce that we have received our tax exempt status from the IRS. We thank attorney Finlay Boag for making this a reality. This is timely because we are applying for grants  to finance a documentary about our struggle to save the water temple and stop the quarry expansion to Paloma Way.