'Charming Cottages' on house tour

Five remodeled homes, dating from 1893 through 1938, will be featured on the eighth annual "Charming Cottages of Palo Alto" tour on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club to benefit the school's students.

All the houses began as very small homes. A Victorian, now a four-bedroom, three-bath home, was originally a four-room dwelling. One of the houses has a library built into the hallway leading from the entrance through to the garden. Another house has a teddy bear theme, with part of the collection featured in every room.

Local Mills alumnae who are working on the tour include Judy Castaillac of Atherton; and Marion Hirsch, Phyllis Bader and Jane King, all of Menlo Park. Members of the Palo Alto Area, Santa Clara Valley, and Peninsula Mills Clubs will serve as docents.

Tickets are $20 per person before April 10, $25 after. Call for tickets at 349-1649. To purchase tickets at the door, begin the tour at 1850 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

Mills College in Oakland, founded in 1852, is an independent four-year college for women.

Classic Cars and Jazz. Party-goers will gather for wine and hors d'oeuvres while admiring Marshall Mathews' classic car collection in Woodside on Sunday, April 26, from 3 to 6 p.m. The event is a benefit for St. Elizabeth Seton School in Palo Alto, serving a multi-cultural population from East Palo Alto and surrounding communities.

Mr. Mathew's collection includes a 1914 Studz Bearcat and a 1908 Thomas Flyer, as well as several early Packards and Pierce Arrows.

Don Neely's Royal Society Jazz Orchestra will entertain. Donation is $75 per person. For reservations and information, call 326-1258. 