Dear Editor,

This is a follow-up to your article in last week's Milpitas Post regarding the "Welcome to Milpitas" sign at the gas station on Main and Montague (which was Trimble Road at the time it was first installed in 1966).

Please be advised that the sign, along with one on the opposite corner gas station, one at the entrance of Interstate 880 and Route 237; and a fourth on Main Street (now Milpitas Boulevard), north of Dixon Road, were produced and erected by the Milpitas Beautification Committee, not the Parktown Neighborhood Association, as the Parktown homes had not been built in that area yet.

I would like to add that all materials and labor were provided without cost to the city. The Milpitas Beautification Committee was formed in 1966. As far as I know, only Mort Levine (Milpitas Post founder), former mayor Robert Browne, and myself, are still around.

However, I'm glad to see that many of our projects have borne fruit. In order to keep costs down, Milpitas High School was left by the builders with zero landscaping. Much of what you see now on the school grounds was planted by our group, who bought and maintained the original trees, bushes and flowers, aided by volunteers from other city groups.

Hundreds of street trees were also provided by our beautification committee, and thanks to our efforts, the city council, under the strong leadership of ex-mayor Denny Weisgerber, mandated that trees removed by developers in their onslaught to build, must

David Hufton

Fountainbleu Avenue