Chapter 4: 1913
At that time The Alameda, the main thoroughfare that was a block from our home, was not surfaced. There were two streetcar tracks in the middle, on either side of which was the roadway, dusty in the summer, muddy in the winter, making it difficult for the ladies with their long skirts to make their way through the mud to board the cars. The car barns, or streetcar garages, were next to the brewery, and the streetcars were drawn by horses at first, pulling the cars along the rails. That only lasted a short while, then they turned to electric-powered streetcars with overhead wires, which went to Santa Clara and out to San Jose.
The streetcar had a long pole, called a trolley pole, attached to its roof that would touch the overhead electric wires. Back at the powerhouse, big steam engines turned huge generators to produce the electricity needed to operate the streetcars, which were also called trolley cars. There were yellow ones, which were local cars, that went out to about 21st Street or even further and also went to Santa Clara. And there were red ones that went all the way to Palo Alto.
The cars were so slow that a good sprinter could overtake them unless the car had a long downgrade pull, then it rocked and bounced along making it necessary to hang on. Every once in a while, the trolley jumped off the power line and a shower of sparks flashed in the overhead wires. The conductor had to dismount and rearrange the trolley on the line.
In those days, the conductor made change out of a coin changer on a belt at his waist. He rang up the fare by a tug on an overhead cord leading to a counter that rang a bell each time it was pulled. This system later gave way to the one-man operator who had a coin box into which you dropped your fare.
We sometimes took the big Red Cars out to Saratoga. The ride across the valley and a mile and a half up through the wooded canyon brought us to Congress Springs, the mineral springs that gave Saratoga its name, after Saratoga Springs in New York. We took along a picnic lunch, and spent the day at the picnic grounds where we were allowed to take off our shoes and go wading in the creek. A band usually played an afternoon concert.ย
Sometimes we took the Red Car to Alum Rock Park on the eastern side of the valley, and on busy days they hooked on a trailer โ an open car with seats clear across โ to take the picnickers out to the park. At the park there was a menagerie with several dens in which lived some bears. They also had wolves, coyotes, foxes and other animals as well as a big bird collection.
The highlight of a trip to Alum Rock Park was a swim in the big heated indoor pool with its steep slide. The pool was heated by natural hot springs. We were never ready to get out of the water, and Mom had to โput her foot downโ to get us out.