Who Were the Markers?

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The Markers were a social group that was founded very early in the life of the church. In The First 25 Years of St. Mark’s History, the group is described as “a monthly dinner group with fine fellowship and outstanding programs.” (25 years) During the 1950’s they were referred to as St. Mark’s “young marrieds.”  David Kennedy remembers that his parents were active participants and that one of the group’s goals was to help connect spouses who were not active churchgoers to the church. Some of the group’s events were covered in the Palo Alto Times:

April, 1949 – “Young married folk of the church, The Markers, will hold a square dancing party in the parish rooms Friday at 7:30pm.”(Palo Alto Times)

November, 1949 – “The Markers, married couples group of St. Mark’s Church, will hear the Rev. A. Ronald Merrix this evening. Rev. Merrix will talk on the recent Episcopal Convention in San Francisco. The program will be proceeded by a potluck supper.” (Palo Alto Times)

July 1, 1950…”The Markers, a young married group, will hold a barbecue and swimming party at the Kennedy Ranch near Los Gatos.” (Palo Alto Times)

November, 1950 – “Potluck dinner for The Markers, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, at the church.” (Palo Alto Times)

March, 1951 – “Friday, 6:30pm – Dinner and social evening for The Markers at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in the Parish Rooms.” (Palo Alto Times)

In May of 1953, had a piece titled “St Mark’s Markers Planning Bean Feed.” The article announced that the Marker’s ‘couples group’ of St. Mark’s Church would hold its fourth annual Bean Feed at the home of the Duncan McFaddens on Stanford Campus. The event was described as a barbecue supper followed by ‘old fashioned’ square dancing on the lawns (Palo Alto Times)

Pat Jenkins remembered that The Markers met just about monthly and usually had a potluck social gathering along with occasional bigger events. During the 1950’s there were about 400 children at any given time enrolled in Sunday School, so childcare was essential to making The Markers work. There was a Marker’s babysitting co-op – everyone took turns doing the babysitting so that all parents got a chance to have a night out (St. Mark’s Archives).

The biggest annual tradition for the early Markers was the Gingham Ball.  The event was described as follows in October of 1955:

“The Markers, married couples group of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, will bring the old west to life again for their annual Gingham Ball Saturday night…from 8pm to midnight for the benefit of the church building fund. Gingham dresses and blue jeans will be the proper duds for the family party…dancing will be to orchestra music. A committee is executing western decorations to turn the church hall into the main street of a frontier town, with a general store and a watering hole…booths designed as old-time store fronts are being built…entertainment for all agaes is being planned…skits and square dancing…baked goods to be sold in the general store.” (Palo Alto Times)

Each year the Hall was temporarily renamed “Marker’s Gulch” and the public was invited to attend the ball. Tickets were .75 cents. There was live music, western themed entertainment and always square dancing! In 1956, the event boasted an added plus of live entertainment by Bay Area folk singer Geraldine Farmar.

The Markers continued to meet, but changed and evolved as the times changed. It sort of wound down in the 1960’s but was revitalized in the 1970’s. Maureen remembers that this is when she and David joined and is how they became active at St. Mark’s. The Markers had their own board (composed of young couples) who organized Marker’s funtions and events for the whole church.  David and Maureen Kennedy came to one Markers event and had such a fun time that when we were asked to join the board, they said yes. 

A typical Markers gathering would begin with appetizers hosted at several different homes. People volunteered to host this part of the evening about once a year and some were renowned for what they would serve.  Margarite Ruggles, for example, was known for her punch (and you didn’t want to drink too many glasses). The appetizer part of the evening was followed by a dinner in the parish hall for everyone with some interesting program or speaker.  Volunteers set up the parish hall, put on the dinner and cleaned up afterwards. One meeting in 1970 was announced in the Palo Alto Times. The Markers hosted an event to discuss pros and cons of the “Downtown Hospital Plan.” Marker official Gus Randall said that the public could attend this Marker gathering due to wide interest in the topic. Speaking in favor of the project was John Beahrs, a long-time member of St. Mark’s. There was also a speaker against the project (Palo Alto Times).

We couldn’t find out when the Markers stopped meeting regularly, but the group’s dynamics did shift in later years to include people of different ages and some single people. We hope people who participated in the program in the 70’s and later will chime in with their memories. What is clear is that The Markers were an important group in the history of the Parish, providing fellowship and fun for couples and families for many years.