A short documentary shot by a young Cupertino resident offers a glimpse of the city’s past.
Michael Masri, a member of Boy Scout Troop 476, made the seven-minute film as his Eagle Scout service project, a requirement to attain the highest Scouting rank.
Masri says the video is based on a list of 18 sites compiled by the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum.
The historical sites featured in the video include the Stocklmeir House, the home of noted businessman Louis Emil Stocklmeir; Le Petit Trianon, a home built in 1887 that now sits on the De Anza Community College campus; the Picchetti Winery, a two-story winery that dates from 1885 and still bottles wine today; and the Creamery, a popular 1950s teen gathering spot.
In the video, museum board member Gail Fretwell-Hugger describes the sites on the list. Her narration is paired with historical photos and drawings that reveal the original look of the sites, along with footage shot by Masri of their modern appearance.
Masri says the idea for the video project came to him when he visited McClellan Ranch Preserve, then later saw the historical society’s list of historical sites. “I saw so many others that I didn’t know about,” he said.
The 18-acre public preserve was a horse ranch in the 1930s and 1940s. Its original ranch house, milk barn and livestock barn, along with a replica of the city’s first blacksmith shop and a historic water tower, are all still maintained on the property today.
This life-size time capsule stands in stark contrast to the rest of Cupertino’s modern cityscape.
“I had never seen anything like that in Cupertino,” Masri said. “So I thought that if I were to showcase these sites everywhere to the citizens of Cupertino—even though we are building up to become where Apple’s headquarters is, and all the big tech in the area—it would be cool to show that there’s also so much history.”
Masri just turned 18, and he expects to be granted the Eagle Scout rank any day now. He’s just waiting for the paperwork to go through.
He says he plans to edit more videos for the historical society.
Masri is not the first Scout to help out the museum. Over the past few years, other Eagle Scout candidates have constructed display and storage units for the museum’s collection.
Masri’s video is posted on Vimeo and is titled “Cupertino Historical Sites.”
