Kids & Family

Apricot Book Reception Tells A Story of Orchards Past on Sunday

Los Altos Hills Town Hall is the venue for the Sunday 2 p.m. lecture and book-singing, that will feature an apricot recipe exchange.

Written by L.A. Chung 

If you have ever halved apricots, on flat after flat, in the drying sheds in the summer, if you have ever, as a child, known the joy of climbing a tree and eating sun-warmed 'cots from the branches, or perhaps if you've just always wondered about the orchard that surrounds the Los Altos City Hall, this event on Sunday is for you.

Robin Chapman wrote this for you.

“California Apricots: The Lost Orchards Of Silicon Valley," is the book Chapman wrote after returning home from years away as a television journalist, and became curious about the fruit that was ubiquitous in her youth.

Think the petite prune built this valley? Look to the mighty Blenheim. Chapman recalls the time when the Santa Clara Valley was the largest apricot producer in the world. Chapman traces the from the 18th Century Spaniards who first planted them to post–Worlds War II families who built their homes among subdivided orchards (she wrote a blog post for Los Altos Patch about her father building the family home on weekends among the orchard trees).

The Los Altos History Museum, the Los Altos Hills History Committee and the Los Altos Hills Historical Society are sponsoring her lecture, book signing and reception at 2 p.m. in the Los Altos Hills Town Hall 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills. 

So embedded is the luscious fruit in the area that organizers are taking a page from the past and telling participants to feel free to bring a favorite apricot treat, and that any recipes shared will be e-mailed to guests after the event. 

For information, contact www.losaltoshistory.org(650) 948-9427 x 14 


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