Mayfield, California
Back to the Future
Page under construction.
The page will describe the focal point of efforts to promote Flemish in California- the northern part of Silicon Valley which includes Palo Alto, Mountain View, and the ghost town of Mayfield.
By introducing Flemish as a second language, Calidocious Inc. hopes to create a cosmopolitan community similar to that that existed in cities in Flanders on the eve of WWI.
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| 1910: The Marker at the corner of the four countries of Germany, Belgium, Holland, and New Morsenet, with officials from the four countries. (The stone at the front says "Highest point of the Netherlands.) |
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| The first years of 1900 were a time of excitement and hope in Europe. Automobiles and radios had just been invented. An era of peace and prosperity was surely dawning. This is a picture of the 1911 World Esperanto Congress in Flanders (Antwerp) that was intended to further peacefull dialog among all peoples. |
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| The 'ghost' town of Mayfield in present day Palo Alto serves as the capital of 'Sarifornia' and is nicknamed 'Amiquéo', after the ghost town of 'Amikejo' in the far west corner of Belgium.
Amikejo was the proposed name for the capital of the ghost country of New Morsenet. Esperanto was seriously proposed as the official language of New Morsenet in the early 1900s. In Esperanto, Amikejo means 'Place of Friends'. The 'California Dutch' version of 'Amikejo' is 'Amiquéo'.
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| Meanwhile, across the world in Mayfield (Silicon Valley)... In 1909. Mayfield's biggest concern was to hold its own against the up-and-coming nearby Palo Alto. |
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| And then everything in Europe collapsed- Ypres in Belgium in 1917. |
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| Allied Recruitment poster circa 1917 |
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| The Belgian Relief Effort was organized by Herbert Hoover- who was one of Stanford's first students. |
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| "Belgian Market Day" held in Palo Alto during WWI to raise relief funds. |
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| 'Belgian Market Day' |
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| Herbert Hoover with "Thank You" embroidered Flour Sacks that had been delivered to Belgium. |
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| Newspaper Headline on display at Palo Alto High School celebrating the end of WWI. |
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| Built as a reminder about the "Great War", Hoover Tower was intended to be a focal point for learning how to prevent wars. |
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| It is the twin of the Interallied Memorial Tower in Cointe in Belgium. The towers were designed and built within a couple years of each other. |
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Fast forward to today. The heart of Old Mayfield, California Avenue in Palo Alto, has just been renovated. Sidewalks/outdoor cafe areas were enlarged and automobile traffic was reduced. The goal was to foster community spirit by bringing people together for conversations- similar to the way life was in 1915.
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| Fast forward 100 years- Mayfield's main street following the 2015 renovation. Photo courtesy of paloalto.org. |
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| John's Cafe in Palo Alto- Unfortunately now closed, but was a meeting point for Flemish meetup events such as the 2014 Soccer World cup- in which Belgium did very well. |
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| Watching 2014 Flemish Tour de France coverage by Karl Vannieuwkerke at John's Cafe. (On Open Mic night.) |
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| Hana House Community Center in Palo Alto is now the prime spot for holding 'California Dutch' meetups. |
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| The Hana house is a converted movie theater. It features a large cafe and a selction of meeting rooms. |
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| Hana Haus Wall |
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