Community

Robin Chapman/Special to the Town Crier
Phil Doetsch, the orchardist who cares for the Los Altos Civic Center Apricot Orchard, is one of four docents scheduled to lead Orchard Walks in April.

Spring in the orchard brings blossoms, but this year it will also bring four docent-led Orchard Walks in the Los Altos Civic Center Apricot Orchard, sponsored by the Los Altos History Museum in cooperation with the Los Altos Library.

The tours are scheduled every Saturday morning in April, with guides leading visitors through the orchard, sharing stories of its past, present and future.

Los Altos Community Foundation, in partnership with the Mountain View Los Altos Community Roundtable, is accepting scholarship applications through March 1 from local high school graduating seniors.

Students can use one common application to apply for up to six scholarships offered through Roundtable members including the Rotary Club of Los Altos, the Rotary Club of Mountain View, the Kiwanis Club of Mountain View, MVLA Scholars, the Quota Club and the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.

Tech-savvy “digital ambassadors” will offer seniors free help with their electronic devices during Senior Tech Event IV, scheduled 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at The Highway Community church, 2050 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View.

Local seniors can bring their devices to learn such skills as how to write and receive emails, take and share photos, send text messages and use emojis.

Photo courtesy of Palo Alto Historical Association
Sam McDonald worked at Stanford University for half a century and raised thousands of dollars for Stanford’s Home for Convalescent Children. 

 

Sam McDonald was born in Louisiana, the grandchild of slaves, and was 6 years old when his family moved to California in 1890. He left home at age 16 and as a young man worked for several years on a Sacramento River steamboat.

The Los Altos Senior Program offers a complimentary tax-return preparation service Monday mornings through April 15.

The Tax-Aide program, sponsored by the AARP Foundation, is the nation’s largest volunteer tax assistance program, and Los Altos has hosted a Tax-Aide site for more than 23 years.

The Los Altos History Museum has scheduled a symposium, “Negotiating Boundaries: Women of Color in Northern California History,” 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 2 at Foothill College, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

After the symposium, a closing reception is slated 4-5 p.m. at the Los Altos History Museum, 13 S. San Antonio Road.