Los Gatos History: Dick Shore and Dick Blake

J.D. "Dick" Shore, left, and Dick Blake pose with the results of their hunt.

Richard B. Blake (born 1862) first turned up in the Los Gatos News in June, 1907 when it was reported that, as he was riding to town in response to a fire alarm, his horse slipped and fell on a cement crossing, "throwing the rider and falling on the unfortunate man in such a manner as to break his ankle, and badly mangling the toes of the same foot. It was thought at first the entire foot would have to be amputated, but Mr. Blake is now out on crutches."


In January, 1916, his name is again mentioned when the Gem City firemen were successful in rescuing the livestock and the automobiles stored in the burning barn of W. F. Beutal, about a mile and a half from town.

The barn was destroyed, but after a "stiff fight" the Beutal home was saved.

In the fall of that year, Blake brought home the prize buck of the season, a four-pointer weighing 160 pounds.

The 1930 U. S. Census notes that Blake lived at 245 Almendra Ave. in a home valued at $5,000, along with his wife Teresa and his daughter Alice, an accountant.

Source: Hooked on Los Gatos, the Library and Museum History Project

Dick Shore Collection