With sadness we must inform you of the death of one of our long-term residents, Margaret Ledford (4130) who passed away on Thursday, October 26th after a short illness. Margaret, and her husband Alan, were the realtors who sold the Barron Square properties when they were first built in 1979. We will inform the community of arrangements, etc. as the information becomes available.
At the 25th Anniversary of Barron Square, Margaret shared the following memories:
BARRON SQUARE
IN THE BEGINNING…
A Sharing by Margaret Ledford
After all the permits were granted, red tape satisfied, and a bank to offer loans was in place, Ledford Realty [Margaret & Alan] could now sell the 65 Barron Square Condominiums. This was a time when the condominium style of living was becoming very popular. The location was excellent, and the award-winning architectural plans spoke for themselves. The developer, Gerry Markoe, was concerned that the condos would move slowly and rushed to put them up for sale. The fact that the work had just started didn’t sway him. The trailer sales office was placed on the corner of Maybell and Thain Way, the “Condos For Sale” ad went into the Palo Alto Times, we crossed our fingers and hoped for a reasonable amount of lookers and buyers to come in.
My memory fails me regarding how many came in the first few days, but it turned out to be a very successful and speedy sales program. The first section sold fast, followed by the second, equally fast. When the units were completed, the buyers were pleased to see how really nice the units were, in spite of buying them off the blueprints.
(From the 25th Anniversary Newsletter, March 2004)