Passing by the Chamber of Commerce on the way to Shoup Park, I’ve sometimes wondered about the statue with the big glasses near there.
Reading Robin Chapman’s wonderful “The Valley of Heart’s Delight: True Tales from Around the Bay”, I found the answer. The chapter on Walter Singer begins:
Walter Singer died in 1992, which isn’t an especially long time ago. But it has been long enough for many in Santa Clara Valley to have lost the thread of his story. He faced up to some big sorrows in his lifetime yet did so without rancor. His story deserves to be remembered.
During his lifetime, he was so active in local organizations and so loved and admired in his adopted hometown that the people affectionately called him “Mr. Los Altos.” Following his untimely death, civic leaders dedicated a sculpture to him in the newly remodeled Community Plaza. The bronze bust, created by artist Ingrid Jackson-MacDonald, is now listed on the Smithsonian Art inventory of sculpture in public places.
p. 93, “The Valley of Heart’s Delight” by Robin Chapman
(You can read the newspaper article from Chapman upon which it is based here. Archive.)
The chapter talks about how Singer leaned into service in response to three personal tragedies.
Born to a Jewish father and Lutheran mother in 1923 Germany, Singer’s family was in a dangerous position when the Nazis rose to power. After his father was arrested in 1939, his mother and he fled to California, with the Duvenecks of Hidden Villa playing a key role in getting him settled. He would enlist in the US Army and returned to Europe as a translator for the end of WWII. After the war ended, he learned that his father had died in a concentration camp.
The next tragedy was the death of his teenage daughter, killed by a drunk driver. After that, Singer turned to volunteer work. He helped found The Festival of Lights parade, which has been running since 1977 (Archive), playing the part of Santa Claus on a float, and joined in with the Los Altos Village Association, Rotary Club, and other groups. A 2001 Rotatory Club newsletter (Archive) notes him as having won their Community Service Award in 1983.
In 1989, Singer learned that he was infected with HIV. He had required blood transfusions after heart bypass surgery in 1984. Years later, he received a letter informing him the blood may have been contaminated and suggesting he get tested. Initially, he kept the diagnosis to himself because of the stigma, but he decided to step forward after learning of the AIDS education efforts of a fellow Rotary Club member. He discussed his illness in front of the Rotary Club at a December 1987 meeting, ending by saying, “Maybe you’d like to be my support group,” and they did step up. You can see this moment in the documentary “Los Altos Story”, available on YouTube. Singer spent the remainder of his life educating others about AIDS, helping to reduce the stigma of the disease.
(The portion focusing on Walter Singer starts around 19 minutes in. This 2011 Rotary Club newsletter talks more about the story and work of the narrator, Dude Angus, founder of the Rotary AIDS project, who lost a son to AIDS.)
The chapter mentions with a little bitterness the Walter Singer sculpture getting moved into storage when the plaza was renovated again. It sat there for 8 years. The Los Altos Town Crier talks about its return in this 2023 article: “Walter Singer bust finds new life”: “You could say Walter Singer has gone on to greener pastures — in this case, the lush green and shady confines of Lincoln Park.”
I’m thankful to Robin Chapman for helping to preserve the memory of this good person and heartily recommend this book, which contains a wealth of other stories as well. Thanks to this book, I’ll think about Singer now as I walk past his statue.
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