Janet Harding – a Los Altos resident since 1952 – grew up in a quiet, walkable city where neighbors were fairly certain to know one another, and many families had a single wage-earner, and a much quieter schedule each week. But when teen docent Parisa Braun interviewed Harding last month at the Los Altos History Museum, they riffed about the fact that life coming out of that “typical ’50s/’60s” world wasn’t entirely as cookie cutter as it seemed. The two connected as part of “Everything Old Is New Again,” an intergenerational live event April 9.
“She taught me the importance of finding joy in what you want to do, rather than trying to follow what you think others want you to do,” Braun said of Harding. “Janet’s motto is ‘You can do hard things,’ and this seemingly simple statement will definitely stick with me beyond the interview. When Janet turned 50, she swam to Alcatraz, which was definitely a surprise, but also shows there are no limits to age.”
That search for joy struck a poignant chime with seniors who saw how intense life has become for a teenager. Barbara Kyser noted that “I sensed from the students that there is a lot more pressure today to apply to lots of colleges, get accepted to good colleges and universities and achieving good SAT scores,” but also touted her own continuing life of the mind, telling the teen docents about the technology class she has been taking three times a week on Zoom for the past two years through AnewVista Community Services.
Nancy Larsson said that hearing the teens’ forward-looking determination to make the world a better place really did “give one hope for the future,” and recalled the transformation that occurred during her own youth – “When I left for my college junior (and senior) years abroad 1974-76, I came from the Valley of Heart’s Delight, famous for prunes and apricots, and arrived home two years later to Silicon Valley,” she said. “Same place, big changes.”
The teen docents who carried out interviews as part of the larger “Every Wrinkle Tells a Story” exhibition brought a desire to learn history, museum educator Georgianna Shea said.
“People are so transient. It used to be you grew up next to your grandparents or close to them, you saw them often – but not in this day and age,” she said. “It’s important to have older mentors who can help students who don’t have that.”
