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PW-FP PW-FP Page 2ÊUÊDecember 30, 2011ÊUÊPleasanton Weekly AROUND PLEASANTON BY JEB BING Complimentary Hot Breakfast Buffet Complimentary Evening Social Hour Complimentary Wireless Internet Pleasanton Complimentary Shuttle 4545 Chabot Dr. | CA | 94588 Service to Local Companies (925) 730-0070 Large One and BRAD HAUPT Two Bedroom Suites This 120-year-old one horse open sleigh shares the history of its rural Pleasanton Online Tour and Reservations owner. www.pleasanton.summerfi eldsuites.hyatt.com barn’s loft and loaded it into the trail- One-horse er, he learned from his father that the sleigh was used by the Haupts open sleigh from 1890-1910, but then packed away when they started using auto- hen I first saw the red mobiles. At the time, though, it was one-horse open sleigh a fast-moving mode of transportation Won Brad Haupt’s front that, unlike other full-wagon sleighs, porch, I thought Santa had left could clip along as fast as the driver it behind. It’s the perfect image was willing to push the horse. Brad of what the jolly old man might says it was much like the sports cars have used on Christmas Eve. But of today — very fast but also small instead, the 120-year-old restored and more dangerous. sleigh was used in a church pag- Back home, the old sleigh stayed eant by Brad’s wife Marilyn, which in Haupt’s barn off Tassajara until is why it was restored after all he refinished it for the Christmas these years of neglect. pageant. Everything about the The Haupts live on a 5-acre parcel sleigh is authentic, which required on Johnston Road just off Camino searches of hardware stores and Tassajara in unincorporated Contra lumberyards to find extra thin- Costa County. Although the site is 6 wood and fabric where new ma- miles from the Pleasanton city limits terial was needed. Castro Valley and just across Tassajara from the Lumber had planking thin enough Town of Danville, the Haupts con- for a new floorboard; an auto body sider themselves part of Pleasanton. upholsterer in Walnut Creek pro- That’s where they shop, where their vided new red leather, even with children attended school and where the buttons to match the original. the Pleasanton post office continues Haupt waxes nostalgic about the to deliver their mail. Pleasanton’s less hectic times when the sleigh has been the only post office han- was used. Even today, he remembers dling rural deliveries for the last 100 life on the farm as more enjoyable years, which includes those living than it probably was, given Iowa’s along much of Tassajara. deep-freeze winters and terribly hot Brad Haupt hails from five gen- summers. But the farm was still a erations of farmers. The family still wonderful site to see again, with its owns farmland in Belmond, Iowa, rolling hills and fertile soil, much where his great-great-grandfather set- like the farmlands in Germany, tled after emigrating from Germany which is why the Haupts and many with his wife, six sons and a daugh- of their friends immigrated to Iowa. ter in the mid-1800s. Brad’s great- With college degrees, including grandfather Ernest, his grandfather his father’s in science, the Haupts Earl, his father Ernest, now 87, and of today are enjoying Pleasanton, Brad, himself, were all born on the where Brad Haupt and three of his farm although no one in Brad’s gen- sons operate their own business, eration and those born since want Allied Tax Planners, located near to be Iowa farmers. So when Ernest, the Stoneridge Shopping Center the father, decided to sell the 5 acres and at an office next to the Tassajara where the farmhouse, barn and vari- home, within eyesight of the sleigh. ous other buildings are located, Brad Brad said he and Marilyn and their and Marilyn decided to drive there five sons and a daughter hope to with a trailer to bring some of the show off their restored, 120-year-old family treasures back to California. sleigh next year in the 2012 Pleasan- When Brad found the sleigh in the ton Christmas parade. N About the Cover We say farewell to 2011 with a review of the news and events covered by the Pleasanton Weekly during the last year. Design by Lili Cao. Vol. XII, Number 51 Pleasanton WeeklyÊUÊDecember 30, 2011ÊU Page 3 Looking for furniture, electronics, sporting Streetwise ASKED AROUND TOWN Dr. Ryan Spuller, DC, CCSP is a Certified Chiropractic goods, household Sports Practitioner serving the Tri-Valley area. items or freebies? 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AARP and its affiliates are not insurance agencies or carriers and do not employ or endorse insurance agents, brokers, representatives or advisors. This program is provided by The Hartford, not AARP or its affiliates. Paid endorsement. The Hartford pays a royalty fee to AARP for the use of AARP’s intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP membership is required for Program eligibility in most states. Applicants are individu- Dan Tapia ally underwritten and some may not qualify. Specific features, credits, and discounts may vary and may not be available in all states in accordance with state filings and applicable law. The premiums quoted by an authorized agent for any Program policy include the additional costs associated with the advice and counsel that your authorized agent provides. Assistant manager, America’s Tire 107293 3rd Rev In 2012, I’m looking forward to watching my son Roman’s first full year of life and continuing to strive to be a good husband and father. I’m also excited to help my store NEW YEAR’S 4BMF grow and expand. NO SALES TAX or NO Interest! Tammy Kygar For 24 Months OAC Mural artist Both of my twins were hospitalized recently, 5 Pc.