Community

Allyson Hobbs shed light on racial identity in her presentation “A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life” at the Morning Forum of Los Altos Oct. 16.

Hobbs, associate professor of history and director of African and African-American studies at Stanford University, invited the audience to participate by asking them to recall a time when their identity was mistaken, based on racial, gender, regional or religious identities, and then share their stories.

The wilderness offers “medicine” for healing spiritually and physically, but campers must be willing to find it. That was one of several inspiring points from keynote speaker Nate Mitchell at last week’s “Reaching for the Stars” fundraising breakfast supporting Sky’s The Limit Fund.

Mitchell’s Anasazi Foundation in Arizona is one of 10 wilderness camps nationwide that the Los Altos-founded Sky’s The Limit works with to help troubled youth and their families in crisis.

East West Bookshop hosts author Finley

Self-help author and spiritual teacher Guy Finley is scheduled to appear 7:30-9 p.m. Nov. 8 at East West Bookshop, 324 Castro St., Mountain View.

Finley – author of the best-selling “The Secret of Letting Go” – will discuss his latest book, “Relationship Magic: Waking Up Together” (Llewellyn, 2018), answer questions and sign copies of his books.

Maryam Limoo/Special to the Town Crier 
Tom and Gunilla Follett were honored at last week’s “One from the Heart” breakfast.

Los Altos residents Gunilla and Tom Follett have served on the Pathways Foundation board for 25 years, promoting the cause of hospice care in the local community. For the longtime volunteers, giving back comes naturally.

Now Pathways is giving back to them.

Courtesy of American Legion Post 558
Los Altos American Legion Post 558 is officially named for Col. John J. Howard, a military hero who retired to Los Altos and died in 1929.

American Legion Post 558 in Los Altos goes back to the days before the city was incorporated. It was organized in fall 1938, as veterans began to ponder how to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The post was named for Col. John J. Howard (1866-1929), whom the Los Altos News called “the most illustrious military citizen Los Altos has ever had.” Col. Howard served in China during the Boxer Rebellion, was badly injured in the Philippine-American War and served as commander of Camp Upton during World War I. After the armistice, he and his wife retired to a house on Robleda Road.

Steve Pomeroy/Rotary Club of Los Altos
Dick Henning, second from right, is feted by Rotarians Marlene Cowan, from left, Allan Varni, Suzanne Small and Lina Broydo for his 50 years of community service. The retired Foothill College dean received a pair of boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali, a nod to Henning’s early days as a boxer. He won a boxing scholarship to San Jose State.

The Rotary Club of Los Altos honored Rotarian Dick Henning, founder of the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Speaker Series, for his 50 years of outstanding community service in the club.

The Oct. 18 surprise party drew the anticipated response from Henning: “What a shock!”