Big Sur To Mendecino - Coastal Paintings

BIG SUR TO MENDOCINO

Kevin Milligan

Coastal Paintings & Stories with Legends Revealed

x

Backyard with White House 2012, Oil, 16”x 20”

Contents Russian River 109

Dedication v Acknowledgments vi About Kevin Milligan vii Foreword x Preface xi

Stillwater Cove 117

Big Sur 3

Stewarts Point 119

Point Lobos 19

Point Arena 121

Carmel

Manchester

Monterey

27

Ft. Ross 111

123

Elk/Cuffey’s Cove 127

45

Pacific Grove

63

Navarro-by-the-Sea 133

Salinas Valley

77

Albion 135

Central Coast

81

Little River

139

San Fransisco 91

Mendocino 145

Sausalito 97

Caspar 173

Point Reyes 101

Fenceline Roses

Tomales 107

Hooptedoodle! 187

185

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ii China Cove III

2017 Oil, 30”x 40”

Big Sur to Mendocino

Coastal Paintings & Stories with Legends Revealed

Kevin Milligan with Joyce Krieg

KEVIN MILLIGAN GALLERY CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

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Copyright ©2017 Kevin Milligan and Kevin Milligan Gallery Text and Paintings by Kevin Milligan Edited by: Joyce Krieg www.joycek.com All rights reserved. No park of this work may be reproduced or used in any form by any means including electronic, graphic or mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording, taping or any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher. For information visit: www.kevinmilligangallery.com

A Note about Historical Resources Consulted Various websites, personal accounts, record books and newspaper articles were consulted in the creation of the text of Big Sur to Mendocino, including the following books: Cooper: Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper by John Woolfenden and Amelie Elkington; A Pioneer Lumberman’s Story

by John Simpson Ross II; Memories of Cuffey’s Cove by Flora Buchanan and Yerda Matson Dearing; Chinese Gold by Sandy Lydon; Voices of Change by Gary Karnes, Karen Araujo, Juan Martinez; Gifts from the Celestial Kingdom by Thomas N. Layton; Little river’s Yesteryears 18531965 by Irene Mallory Macdonald; also works by Dr. Ruben Mendoza, Dr. Hillary Adams and Vicki Hessel-Werkley.

Permissions to Quote from Copyrighted Works

By Henry Miller, from BIG SUR AND THE ORANGES OF HIERONYMUS BOSCH, copyright ©1957 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation Poem from THE COLLECTED POETRY OF ROBINSON JEFFERS, volume 1, 1920-1928, edited by Tim Hunt, Copyright (c), poem “Women at Point Sur” (c) 1927 Robinson Jeffers, renewed.

All rights reserved. Used with the permission of Stanford University Press, www.sup.org.

“Continent’s End,” copyright © 1924 and renewed 1952 by Robinson Jeffers; “The House Dog’s Grave,” copyright © 1941 by Robinson Jeffers and renewed 1969 by Donnan Jeffers and Garth Jeffers; and “The Place for No Story,” copyright © 1932 and renewed 1960

by Robinson Jeffers; from THE SELECTED POETRY OF ROBINSON JEFFERS by Robinson Jeffers. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

iv

First edition published by: Kevin Milligan Gallery ISBN 978-0-692-97790-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017960324 First Printing 2018 Printed in China

‘’The Canticle of Jack Kerouac ‘’ By Lawrence Ferlinghetti, from THESE ARE MY RIVERS, copyright ©1993 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

Excerpt (s) from BIG SUR by, Jack Kerouac copyright The Wylie Agency LLC. All rights reserved.

Excerpt(s) from CANNERY ROW by John Steinbeck, copyright © 1945 by John Steinbeck; copyright renewed © 1973 by Elaine Steinbeck, Thom Steinbeck, and John Steinbeck IV. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Excerpt(s) from EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck, copyright © 1952 by John Steinbeck; copyright renewed © 1980 by Elaine Steinbeck, Thom Steinbeck, and John Steinbeck IV. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Excerpt(s) from SWEET THURSDAY by John Steinbeck, copyright © 1954 by John Steinbeck; copyright renewed © 1982 by Elaine Steinbeck, Thom Steinbeck, and John Steinbeck IV. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Excerpt(s) from TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY: IN SEARCH OF AMERICA by John Steinbeck, copyright © 1961, 1962 by The Curtis Publishing Co.; copyright © 1962 by John Steinbeck; copyright renewed © 1989, 1990 by Elaine Steinbeck, Thom Steinbeck, and John Steinbeck IV. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved

Rocks at Monastery Cove with Granite Point 2015, Oil, 22�x 28�

Dedication This b o ok i s dedicated to Patr ic ia Di l lion For her c o ntinue d love an d en c o uragem ent

v

Carlson Water Tower 2012, Oil, 18”x 24”

Weston Beach 2017, Oil, 18”x 24” Barns and Cypress at Cascade Ranch 1997, Oil, 20”x 24”

Acknowledgments I am blessed by the continued love and support of Patricia Dillon. It was her encouragement that led to founding my own gallery, first in Mendocino, then Danville and now Carmel. Once in Mendocino all things became possible, including creating my first book, Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial. It was crucial to relocate to Carmel and Patricia led the way. Now close to the subjects of Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula, I was able to round out the southern part of the painted pictorial needed for this volume.

My twin brother Kris has always been there for me through the good times and the bad. His sense of humor is priceless. The recession was a crippling experience for me, and Kris and his wife Lisa Anne were there to come to my aid. They provided a helping hand that was a springboard to the important, life-changing move to Carmel.

My brother Gary and his wife Sue have been kind supporters of my career going back to my arrival in California over 36 years ago.

My sister Lisa has believed in my talents from the beginning. She is always there to remind me of the important things in life.

When I was a child my mother Jacquelyn encouraged me to draw whenever I had a spare moment and planted the idea that

vi

I should become whatever I wanted to be. Her words of praise of these early efforts were important! While growing up I observed my father, Guy, painting and I learned to see the world through his eyes. His paintings taught me to take notice in the beauty of everyday life around me. His pictures were an instruction on how to compose from nature. My parents encouraged me to study art formally at the college level.

My life as an uncle to seven nieces and nephews has been a joy as they carry on a bright future for the family. It began with Sarah, then Greg, Julie, Ben, Stephanie, Caroline, and Mathew.

With special thanks to Mike Kelly who believed in my vision.

Teachers, coaches and administrators of Parkway School District were influential in my life as they demonstrated and shared the joy of living as they went about their duties. Principal Virgil Schultz at Mason Ridge Elementary School and Principal Dr. Albert Burr were inspirational leaders. West High tennis coach Dr. Richard Lodholz took the time to care and patiently instruct, sharing his unique point of view as a mathematician and collegiate player. Art teachers John Dunivent and Owen Nagel helped prepare me for studies at the Kansas City Art Institute. The humor of math teacher Robert Buss is a fond memory as he did his best to help me break out of my shell.

Just across the state from my hometown of St. Louis was the Kansas City Art Institute. During my sophomore year I studied with Michael Walling and Warren Rosser. Then in my junior and senior years I studied extensively with Department Chair Wilbur Niewald, who provided me with exceptional painting and drawing instruction. His lessons focused on how to see color in nature and to adjust the drawing while evolving an oil painting. These important methods were utilized to create this coastal pictorial.

This book is built upon the experience of making my first book, Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial. Two people were instrumental in creating this first volume. After initially meeting in Mendocino, it was Don Gazzaniga who first said to me, “You should have your own book.” After some thought the idea of paintings combined with a text about Mendocino history became the concept. After I created the outdoor painted pictorial and wrote the text with Vicky Hessel-Werkley, Don came up with a design concept. He created a fresh, handsome style that brought my paintings and words forward so perfectly. To this day people still praise this style Don created.

vii

Vicki Hessel-Werkley was my editor and co-author for Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial. Vicky is an expert without rival on the history of Mendocino City and the neighboring towns. She generously shared her knowledge and research that took many painstaking years to acquire. Together Don, Vicki and I created a book that is included in university and public libraries as well as the ultimate athenaeum—the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery of Literature. This collaboration inspired me to continue my writing and painting efforts with Big Sur to Mendocino and to create something that speaks to their generous spirit.

Big Sur to Mendocino was another team effort. This book project was created with the help of author-editor Joyce Krieg.

She edited the text and worked on research details that helped shape each chapter. She contributed new ideas as a co-author to the direction of stories. She is the perfect collaborator with an enthusiasm for California culture and history. Her distinguished career includes work in newspapers and radio, and the publication of three mystery novels.

Author-Designer-Publisher Patricia Hamilton of Park Place Publications created the beautiful layout for this volume. Her innovative design effectively showcased the text with the pictorial. Patricia has designed many of the most significant books produced by authors of the Monterey Peninsula area. She has authored three books on Monterey County travel and tourism, and an eco-travel guide, California Healthy, which became the first ever in-room green guide for Marriott Hotels, and won the IRWIN Award in 2008 for most creative ad campaign from the Book Publicists of Southern California. Her latest project is a book of stories, Life in Pacific Grove, a fundraising project for the Pacific Grove Library.

I had the assistance of talented professionals at five studios when it came to photographing the paintings: John Birchard Photography of Mendocino, Tom Tsubota and Steve Kaspar at Spectrum Imaging-Monterey, Rick Forschino at Coastal Giclee-Carmel. Greg Mottin Photography-Livermore, and Camille Palmer and Dennis Calabi at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa.

With thanks to Mickey Muennig, Allan and Sandra Silvestri ,Susan Shillinglaw, Jerry Low-Sabado, Kim and Gina Weston, Jim and Mary Alinder, Kathryn Wilson-Hallett, John Odello, Steven Hauk, Nancy Spiekerman, Nicholas Wilson, Dick Zampa, Alfred Zampa, Violett Chappell, Essie Parish, Bill Graham, Brian Peterson, Prue Wilcox, Dr. Hillary Adams, Alice Frazell-Latham, Ron Hanner, Naoimi Jarvi, Kate Lee, Keith and Judith Brandman, Lucia Zacha, Foggey Gomes, Shawn Sahm, Jeanette Hansen, Alvin Mendosa, Barry Cusick, and Daniel Dickson.

With thanks to Carmel architects Ron Brown and Heidi Anderson Spicer, archworks.com. With additional thanks to Al Asuncion and Natalie Sweet of the Carmel Office Supply on Lincoln Street.

Special thanks to Gary and Margaret McCray, for their kindness and support. viii

Kevin Milligan PAINTER AND AU THOR

K

evin was born in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was 7 years old his family moved out to the nearby countryside. The new house was

made primarily of glass with views looking out on hillside terrain in an oakhickory forest. In the idyllic setting, his father Guy began to work outdoors on paintings of the area and Kevin was invited along.

Thus began a lifelong study of painting the landscape. With his older brother Gary and his twin Kris they began building tree houses, fishing in nearby ponds and exploring the outlying farms, forests and fields. In addition, the brothers had pet raccoons as companions. The trio became Eagle Scouts as they were in constant motion. The family, including younger sister Lisa, took up tennis. All four siblings played varsity tennis for Parkway West High. Mother Jacquelyn was busy managing their numerous activities while Guy was in his studio creating design projects for 7 Up and Monsanto and other companies in St.Louis. Guy would often show the design projects to the family at dinner time before they were presented to the corporations.

This was a great artistic influence for Kevin and those designs paid for him to attend the Kansas City Art Institute where he studied with acclaimed figurative teacher Wilbur Niewald. Niewald’s interests were similar to those of the Bay Area Figurative Movement artists. Ironically, it was the San Francisco Bay Area where Kevin moved to join his twin brother Kris, a tennis director. He then began to put these Missouri influences and training to work portraying the San Francisco Bay Area landscape. His career has come full circle as he has shown at several museum exhibitions with the renowned Bay Area Figurative Movement. His works have been selected for major national exhibitions by art critics from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Report.

He now directs the Kevin Milligan Gallery on Lincoln Street in Carmel, California. Kevin is the author of Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial, which was selected for the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery of Literature by the Chief Curator of American Art. ix

x

Backyard with White House 2012, Oil, 16”x 20”

Contents Ft. Ross 111

Dedication v Acknowledgments vi About Kevin Milligan vii Foreword x Preface xi

Stillwater Cove 117

Big Sur 3

Point Arena 121

Point Lobos 19

Manchester

Carmel

Elk/Cuffey’s Cove 127

Monterey

27

Stewarts Point 119 123

Navarro-by-the-Sea 133

45

Pacific Grove

63

Albion 135

Salinas Valley

77

Little River

Central Coast

81

Mendocino 145

139

Sausalito 97

Caspar 173

Point Reyes 101

The Last Southerly Stand 183

Tomales 107

Fenceline Roses 185

Russian River 109

Hooptedoodle! 187

xi

Foreword T

he picture I would paint for you of Kevin Milligan is

him there during working hours. To locate him you usually

that of a tall, thin man attired in a long-sleeved plaid

had to follow directions left hanging on the door as to which

shirt, jeans, and a wide-brimmed straw gardening hat. He is

field or street in town he had set up his easel that day. What I

standing on a sunny day in waist-high grass, with artist’s brush

learned later was that he moved to different painting spots at

in hand, staring intently at his painting easel and the scene

different times of day. He would have maybe three or more

before him. His painting’s subjects are the old charismatic

different oil paintings going and would change locations and

houses in the town of Mendocino with perhaps a bit of the

subjects every hour or so to match the changing light and

Northern California coast beyond. That is the Kevin I met in

shadows of the time of day. He also had a second group of

1998 when I became Director of the Mendocino Art Center.

works in progress featuring foggy weather. The Mendocino

I envied his dedication to his art. He had found a subject

plein air images might take up to fourteen sessions over two

matter to concentrate on and had developed his individual,

to three weeks to complete. At any one time he would have

spare, realist style that reflected California modernist

up to a dozen different pieces in process. The popularity of

landscape painters. I was captivated by his composition and

these 14 x 18 inch and 16 x 20 inch canvases allowed Kevin

his fresh brushwork. As a painter myself, I became intrigued

to later create a lovely, new, larger gallery space as well as a

by Kevin’s amazing control of the rich tones he mixes to

splendid book on his Mendocino paintings.

create atmospheric distance.

With a successful new exhibit space and the help of a

Kevin was funding his art by selling these Mendocino

gallery assistant, Kevin was able to expand his subject base.

house scenes through his small gallery in the first floor of a

On some days he would load his van with his painting supplies

historic water tower structure. Not that you could easily find

and explore other small coastal towns and inland rural

xii

sites. We even painted together in Anderson Valley where

Kevin has extensively researched these past efforts to define

I introduced him to a hidden vineyard scene. The resulting

the spiritual beauty of this wild, magnificent scenery. In this

painting ended up, with a selection of his other works, in

book he pays appropriate homage to the artists and writers

the 2005 group exhibition, “Landscape Interpretations:

who came before him. He now adds to this lineage his

Redwood to Oak - Ocean to Stream,” that I curated at the

contribution of unique, tranquil, inspired views that were

Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. By this time, in his effort

over twenty years in the making.

to challenge his results, Kevin had increased the size of many of his works to 18 x 24, 24 x 36 and 36 x 48 inches.

The interpretation of the landscape through the eye of an artist has been fundamental to man since cave painting.

Kevin’s passion for refinement of his art eventually led

It gives us context, drama, nuance, and enlightened vision to

him to move his painting and gallery base on down to the

our existence. Such truly poetic pictures live with you. They

Bay Area. He again increased the size of his canvases despite

speak to you every time you enter the room. It is a moment

the wind hazards of painting outdoors. Today his gallery is in

of quiet meditation on what is reality. Kevin produces that

Carmel. It seems he is addicted to the search of fresh scenes.

type of virtuoso image.

He says he has covered 275 miles of the Pacific Coast so far.

Your choice is to collect an original Milligan painting or

Though Kevin did his artistic training in the Midwest,

venture on Kevin’s artistic journey of the California Coast in

he has embraced the unique coastal regions of this Golden State for his art. It is a long and varied coastline where North America meets the Pacific Ocean. In California the terrain moves from fog-shrouded craggy cliffs in the north to wide sunny sandy beaches in the south. Through many different media and artistic styles, artists and writers have described the wonders of the Pacific Coast as each generation experienced it. It has been the inspiration for countless

this wonderful book. I recommend both paths.

—Marvin A. Schenck, Artist/Curator; Philo, California; August 30, 2017 Marvin A. Schenck, M.F.A., is a painter and printmaker living in Mendocino County. He has recently retired from a long career as a museum curator and arts administrator. He currently serves as a Board Member of both the Arts Council of Mendocino County and the Anderson Valley Historical Society.

stunning paintings, photographs, prints, poems, and stories.

xiii

China Cove II 2017, Oil, 24”x 30” In the collection of Tom and Sue Redfern; Carmel, California

Kasten-Heeser House 2009, Oil, 16”x 20 St. Mary Magdalene Church 2012, Oil, 16”x 20”

Preface B

ig Sur to Mendocino celebrates the unparalleled beauty

farmhouses that are depicted in paintings from my travels

of this magnificent stretch of coastline that begins

along rural coastal California—reminders of a bygone era.

twenty miles south of Carmel and continues north of the

I remained true to two important concepts. First, I

Russian River to Mendocino. The topography boasts an

worked exclusively on-site, often near the cliff ’s edge. I

unrivaled abundance of cliffs, coves, islands, islets, natural

was not willing to paint in the studio from photographs

bridges, estuaries, rivers and headland fields. Some of the

or sketches. Secondly, I reported the stories faithfully

paintings in this volume depict structures reflective of

as I learned them. These two principles were guided by

the diverse people who settled the Golden State: Spanish

a concept in the art world known as “the shared lived

missions, the Russian fort, a Chinese temple, the Mexican

experience,” art that is derived from places and people that

Custom House, a Masonic temple and the Portuguese

are real. My goal is to capture a quality of light and space in

Fraternal Hall. Their stories are just as inspiring as the dynamic

my outdoor sessions. If someone senses this when viewing

setting. The pioneers also left us with a rich collection of

my paintings, perhaps this is because of a mutually shared

one-room schoolhouses, general stores, churches, barns and

experience. Communicating “the shared lived experience”

xiv

became a motivating force of Big Sur to Mendocino.

These details realized both in the study of nature and in

shared a deep appreciation of the topography, people and culture of the coast.

the stories of others continue to fascinate me, and in time it

On the Central Coast, Nobel Prize-winning author John

became my mission to share with others in the form of this

Steinbeck attracted a worldwide audience as he described

book.

the people and places near his home town of Salinas. Robert

Big Sur to Mendocino is the culmination of over twenty

Louis Stevenson arrived ahead of Steinbeck and both

years of painting on-site along the California coast. Elements

authors’ novels made it all the way to Hollywood and the

of the climate like wind and fog played a large part in the

silver screen. Carmel resident Robinson Jeffers, a poet for the

project, often delaying the work and increasing the intervals

ages, inspired Big Sur novelist Henry Miller, who said, “Jeffers

between sessions on the same painting. It has been my

rediscovered here the atmosphere of the Gods.” Miller created a

practice to return to the same location and rework a picture

semi-autobiographical style mixed with social commentary

over time. Mid-tone colors help portray a quality of light and

blended with character studies of his friends in Big Sur.

space. With diligent study, the human eye can be trained to

This oddball form was an influence on Jack Kerouac, a non-

see a mid-tone color with greater detail and sensitivity than

conformist who followed in Miller’s footsteps, becoming

a camera could ever pick up. For me, these elusive colors

the voice of the Beat Generation. Kerouac, like other

are the lifeblood of painting and what I search out during

Central Coast writers, penned words that remain significant

my numerous outdoor sessions. I want the spontaneous

in American literature and have lived on in the nation’s

to merge with structure as both the color and drawing are

collective consciousness.

modified over multiple studies.

Many arrived from other continents, sailing uncharted

The majesty of the coastline became irresistible. My

waters to these faraway shores. Ships carried sailors and

new-found addiction could only be satisfied by the making

passengers from the four corners and beyond: the South

of hundreds of paintings in thick, rich pigments developed

Seas, the Azores, Mexico, India, Russia, England, Spain and

over time on glorious sun-filled days with the sound of

China. The diverse culture of these travelers has meshed

pulsing surf filling my ears. The connection to land and sea

together in a tapestry that defines the California experience.

deepened as I became immersed in the stories of many of the

As the young state was being settled, artists of various

legendary figures from past and present I admire who also

media could not resist the coast of California. These artists

xv

followed their hearts instead of convention. In some cases

The spotlight of the art world continued to shine on

they found accolades and financial recognition tough to

Monterey with the founding of the Monterey Jazz Festival in

come by early in their careers, but their works now grace

1958. Today, it is one of the oldest jazz festivals in continuous

the walls of museums and the shelves of athenaeums. Their

operation in the world, bringing talent ranging from Louis

lives became the stuff of legends. California’s rugged shores

Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie to Diana Krall,

were home to groundbreaking artists who in turn influenced

Herbie Hancock and Trombone Shorty to the stages at

others who found their own voices and set their own trends.

the Monterey County Fairgrounds the third weekend in

Though the California coast may seem far removed from

September.

the artistic and literary capitals of New York, London and

The eyes of the art and music world were again focused

Paris, the region has proved to be a lightning rod to a much

on Monterey for three days in June of 1967 as the fog-

larger world. Attention focused on Monterey, the Old Pacific

shrouded town played host to the Monterey International

Capitol, in 1941 when internationally recognized artist

Pop Music Festival. Now regarded as the first major counter-

Salvador Dali decided to host a party. Called “Surrealistic

cultural music festival, as well as the inaugural event of the

Night” and sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of

“Summer of Love,” the incredible lineup of talent included

Modern Art, the grand event was held at the luxurious

Joan Baez, The Who, Jimi Hendricks, Ravi Shankar, the

Del Monte Hotel (now the Naval Postgraduate School)

Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.

as a benefit for artists displaced by World War II. A star-

Though the legendary festival was never repeated, its impact

studded roster of Hollywood legends—Bob Hope, Clark

was immortalized by British performer Eric Burdon, whose

Gable, Alfred Hitchcock and Bing Crosby—joined New

song “Monterey” keeps the vibe fresh in our minds, vividly

York socialite Gloria Vanderbilt to support Dali’s cause.

recalling the images of flower children dancing and groovin’

They mingled with locals like poet Robinson Jeffers and

through the night in the spirit of peace and love, “down in

Pebble Beach founder Samuel F.B. Morse in an epic bash in

Monterey.”

a dreamlike forest setting, complete with live circus animals,

The visual beauty of the California coast continues

all planned by Dali. The spirit of the famous artist—and

to inspire singers and songwriters, from the Beach Boys’

his fabled party—lives on as the Museum of Monterey has

“California Saga: Big Sur” to Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s

announced plans to become the permanent home of a huge

“Talk to Me of Mendocino.” North Coast music lovers turn

collection of Dali prints.

to the annual Mendocino Music Festival which has been

xvi

Pines Above Strawberry Canyon 1997, Oil, 20”x 24” Private Collection

held in July for the last 30 years. The visual arts still thrive

on the whaling industry as the modern environmental

up and down the coast as the Carmel Art Association and

movement was sparking the zeal of a new generation.

Mendocino Art Center carry out their long history of fostering the arts.

On this fabled stretch of coastline, artists have created works as epic as the land itself, writers penned gripping

Perhaps due to its location on the western edge of the

novels that became international best sellers, musicians

continent, the California coast has found itself on the cutting

composed works that evoked the spirit of the place,

edge when it comes to political and social change through

architects designed timeless structures that integrated with

the decades. Socialist author Jack London wrote glowingly of

the natural surroundings, and activists spawned movements

the carefree Bohemian lifestyle of Carmel artists in the early

that have had world-wide impacts. Photographers conveyed

1900s, idealizing them in his novel Valley of the Moon. John

the essence of nature translated in black and white images

Steinbeck immortalized the lives of humble farm laborers

that were eventually exhibited in museums in New York and

in and around the Salinas Valley in Of Mice and Men and In

beyond. Still others captured the splendor of coastal colors

Dubious Battle, and in the 1960s and 70s, Cesar Chavez made

of California and their interpretations continue to inspire,

headlines around the world when he was jailed in Salinas

whether on museums walls or private collections.

due to his efforts to organize and improve the lives of farm workers. Further up the coast, and at roughly the same time,

Join me now through words and pictures as we begin our journey from Big Sur to Mendocino.

the so-called “Mendocino Whale War” focused attention xvii

2 Golden Pasture Looking South 2009, Oil, 18�x 24�

In the collection of Phil and Marie Mumford; Livermore, California

Big Sur

B

ig Sur is a mystical and mythical ninety mile length of the California coastline south of the Monterey Peninsula. The seaside cliffs, wildflower-

covered plateaus, bald mountains, deep canyons, and wild rivers—sometimes trickling and sometimes tumbling into the crashing sea—are trademarks of this stunning topography. The Pacific waves beat endlessly and tirelessly upon shores where the Ohlone Rumsen, a sub-tribe of the Esselen, once hunted, gathered and established villages. Many of the Rumsen scattered when the Spanish colonists tried to convert them to mission life and Catholicism. They spoke a language unrelated to other neighboring tribes and carried feather quills filled with gold dust from a secret mine tucked away in the coastal hills.

The early settlers brought commerce to the Big Sur coast, beginning with the hunting of sea otters for their pelts in late 1700s and into the 1800s. The fur trade attracted ships from England, Mexico, Spain, Russia and America. Asia was the largest market for the luxuriant pelts, which were used to trim collars and cuffs on silk jackets. In the 1880s, sea otter pelts were selling for between $100 and $150 each; the market was so lucrative that traders referred to the pelts as “soft gold.” Demand covered both sides of the world, extending as far away as London, where traders could demand a premium price for the dense fur pelts.

Because of extensive and unregulated hunting, the sea otter population dropped to dangerously low levels. It wasn’t until 1911 that an international ban on sea otter hunting was enacted. Other commercial enterprises—lumber, ranching, and, later, tourism—took advantage of Big Sur’s abundant resources.

Inspiring the Music of Cosmos

Producers for the television show Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey chose to use this dramatic Big Sur view in the opening sequence. Carmel composer Alan Silvestri created the theme song for the revival of Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey. In 2014, his excellence was rewarded—winning two Emmys for outstanding score and original main title theme music.

The earliest overland Spanish expedition into California,

trudge. Ironically they met at San Carpoforo Creek at the

led by Gaspar de Portolá and Fray Juan Crespi in 1769, took

southern end of Big Sur, the very place where the original

an inland route and missed Big Sur, probably to avoid the

explorers had been forced to head inland on their way north.

rugged terrain of the Santa Lucia Range. Two centuries later,

The Spanish explorers would eventually find Monterey

in his novel Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch,

and Carmel and create the presidio settlement and mission.

author Henry Miller—who lived in Big Sur from 1944 to

They referred to the land to the south as “El Pais Grande

1962—described some of the hazards the explorers faced:

del Sur”—“the big land to the south.” Through the years, the

“To advance, whether on foot or horseback, was to tangle

name became shortened to Big Sur.

with spikes, thorns, creepers, with all that pricks, clings, stabs and poisons.” The Big Sur region of Garrapata is even named after the wood tick that is prevalent in canyon vegetation.

Juan Bautista Alvarado was the earliest rancher on the south coast, with his presence dating back to the late 1820s.

When the missionaries first arrived on the Monterey

In 1834, more than a dozen years after Mexico won its

Peninsula, the Crespi party camped at San Jose Creek, next

independence from Spain, the Mexican government granted

to what is now Monastery Beach. On December 1, 1769, a

Alvarado a vast expanse of land bordered by the Little Sur

group was dispatched to the south—the completely wrong

River to the north and Cooper’s Point to the south. Alvarado

direction!—to find Monterey Bay. They got as far as just

named the land Rancho El Sur and traded it to his uncle

south of Bixby Canyon before giving up, returning to San

John Cooper eight years later. The family had a dairy barn

Jose Creek convinced it would be wiser to avoid the Big Sur

in a meadow near the mouth of the Big Sur River where they

area and use the Salinas Valley for southerly travel. Despite

made cheese. While the true origin of Monterey Jack cheese

such obstacles, a few members of the exploratory party did

is shrouded in mystery, these early Big Sur pioneers could

brave that hostile wilderness. Two Indians and two Spanish

certainly lay claim to being one of the first producers of the

mule drivers became separated from the main group. For

famous semi-soft Italian-style cheese. Cooper’s son, Juan

close to three weeks they made their way down the coast,

Cooper, eventually took over management of the ranch and

finally joining up with other Spaniards some sixty miles

expanded into the breeding of race horses and mules. Other

south. That was sixty miles as the crow flies; for those four

Big Sur ranches of the 1890s included the Brazil Ranch

weary souls battling the harsh terrain it was a much longer

at Bixby Creek just north of Rancho El Sur, the Victorine

4

Cliffs with Point Sur

2014, Oil, 24”x 20”

‘The rock shining dark rays . . . ‘ The dramatic rock formation—Point Sur—has been known as a navigation landmark since Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo made log notations in 1532. The Sebastian Viscaino map of 1603 identifies Point Sur as “Punta que parse isla,” or point that appears as an island.

This aptly describes how the mammoth 361 foot tall rock sits on the ocean edge apart from nearby cliffs.

Poet Robinson Jeffers wrote in The Women at Point Sur: “The rock shining dark rays and the rounded/Crystal the ocean his beam of blackness and silence/Edged with azure, bordered with voices;/The moon her brittle tranquillity; the great phantoms, the fountains of light, the seed of the sky, …”

5

Ranch on the north side of Mal Paso Creek, and Gschwend

discovered gold there. A long-time gold-seeker, he called

Ranch, located along the lower Little Sur River.

his claim The Last Chance Mine. Soon after that the

Cooper had a dance floor built near the mouth of Big Sur

Melville Mining Company was formed, but Cruikshank’s

River for his ranch hands. It was a popular local attraction for

mine remained the richest. Transporting the gold from

the cowboys and settlers in the area, especially when ships

the rugged, remote area was more difficult than extracting

arrived with much-needed goods from the outside world.

it from the ground, and by 1895 the most accessible ore

These early settlers would forget the often-harsh realities of

had been mined. The boomtown of Manchester—which

life in a rugged wilderness as they danced to the music of

once boasted a population of 200—burned to the ground

guitars, violins and accordions on the large wooden outdoor

in 1892. The boom was obviously nearing its end, and the

pavilion. Those who delivered the goods also took part, and

town was never rebuilt.

the “unloading” parties would sometimes last as long as three days.

The most dramatic change to Big Sur in the twentieth century had its roots in the nineteenth. Dr. John Roberts, a

Another early business made use of the coastal oak trees,

Monterey physician who served Big Sur residents, had long

stripping them of their bark and selling it for tanning leather.

been an advocate of a coastal highway. The beloved Monterey

Redwood timber was harvested and taken to schooners

doctor had traversed the poor roads on his horse Daisy for

anchored in tiny harbors known as dog-holes, so named

years, up, down, around and through the isolated region

because the ships were expected to turn around in a space

as he cared for the injured and ill, so he above all people

“barely large enough for a dog.” In the 1880s slaked lime

knew the need for reliable access. In the 1890s, on a five-day

was created from lime kilns and used as a main component

walking trip, he mapped out a course for the proposed road.

of cement. Schooners that loaded the lime at Rockport

The State of California approved the building of the

Landing at the mouth of Limestone Creek also brought

highway in 1916, which would follow the outline of Roberts’

supplies to Big Sur from the outside world.

plan, and in 1921 California voters approved additional

In 1885—almost four decades after gold was discovered

funds. The project was further bolstered by President

in California’s Mother Lode region—prospectors on the

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal WPA project. As a young

west slope of the Santa Lucia Range established the Los

man, John Steinbeck worked on the surveying crew. San

Burros Mining District. Two years later, William Cruikshank

Quentin Prison set up three camps along the construction

6

Islet at Rocky Point

2014, Oil, 24”x 24”

‘I Come from the Rock’ The name Esselen refers to the location of the tribe near Point Sur and Pico Blanco. Ex’selen, “The Rock,” which is derived from a sacred phrase xue elo xonia eunea— “I come from the rock,” which could reference either promontory. The Esselen preferred to inhabit the rugged higher terrain, inside a hillside Big Sur cave called The Cave of Hands. These ancients painted hands in lime for a white color using bear grease to act as a binder. The paintings of symbolic hands in lime could have been part of an initiation ritual that may date back 4,000 years.

Other symbols are painted in red and black. They likely hid in these caves from the over-zealous missionaries.

The Esselen hunted deer in a a revered ritual and they’d say, “You give up your spirit and your life to feed my family. When I die, I will feed your family.” The Esselen waited for a favorable vision as a sign to go on a hunt.

7

route for convicts to live while working on the immense

Bohemian writer Henry Miller found his first real home

project. Convicts received 35 cents a day plus shortened

in Big Sur at age 53. Miller moved west in 1944, first residing

sentences for their labor. Elaborate engineering was required

in the Evans cabin on Partington Ridge. Then in 1946 he

for much of the Coast Highway through the rocky terrain of

moved into a convict shack left over from the Highway

Big Sur. Thirty-three bridges were needed to span the creeks

One project on Anderson Creek, before relocating to Jean

and river gorges. Much of the highway had to be chiseled

Wharton’s cabin back on Partington Ridge in 1947. During

into the side of cliffs and mountains. With such complex

these years he wrote Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus

terrain with practically no flat surfaces, it is little wonder that

Bosch. Miller stated in his novel, “As a man who is in love

it took eighteen years to complete the road.

with the world—the alien world—I must confess that I am

At long last, California Governor Frank Merriam, joined

also in love with my home, the first real home I have known.”

by scores of local residents, gathered for an opening-day

Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch is written

ceremony four miles north of the Lucia Bridge on June 27,

with the clarity of the Big Sur air. Henry Miller left a life in

1937. No one was prouder than Dr. John Roberts, who was

the New York City borough of Brooklyn to move to remote

there to celebrate his triumph.

Big Sur. I think of the sky which was always hacked apart by

A second ribbon-cutting celebration took place in

rooftops and hideous smoking chimneys, he wrote. I try to relate

November of 1937 at the Bixby Bridge with the State Engineer,

those squalid streets and shabby houses to the vast expanse of

Highway Commission Secretary and Labor Commissioner

sea and mountain of this region. When visitors would remind

among those who lined up for the opportunity to have their

him that he resided in paradise, but lamented how they just

photo taken on the new span. Even though the new road

could not imagine themselves living a quiet life in tune with

greatly improved accessibility to the once-isolated location,

nature, he would comment, Almost invariably the visitor will

it is still a sparsely populated area that most visitors know

confess that he lacks the courage—imagination … to make the

simply as a scenic passage to and from Carmel and San Luis

necessary break. Again, he noted, Even to relinquish his chains

Obispo County.

seems like a sacrifice.

Despite of—or perhaps because of—the challenges

He wrote about his new neighbors of Big Sur: They

presented by its remote location, Big Sur has been a center

behave as if it were a privilege to live here, as if it were by an

of intellectual, artistic, and spiritual activity for many years.

act of grace they found themselves here. The place itself is so

8

Cliffs at Rocky Creek 2009-2016, Oil, 24”x 36”

overwhelmingly bigger, greater, than anyone could hope to make

in the area who would call on him at his convict cabin just up

it that it engenders a humility and reverence not frequently

the hill from Emil White’s house, now a museum.

met in Americans. There being nothing to improve on in the

Miller described his fixation with a painting by

surroundings, the tendency is to set about improving oneself.

Hieronymus Bosch. The oranges of Bosch’s ‘Millennium’ as

Miller chronicled the endeavors of numerous writers living

I said before, exhale this dreamlike reality which constantly

The Shrouded Stranger Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac wrote the novel Big Sur while living in Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s rough cabin in Bixby Canyon, just south of Rocky Creek. Ferlinghetti wrote an ode to his friend—an eight-part poem, “The Canticle of Jack Kerouac” Kerouackian revellers crowd the wood booths ancient with carved initials of a million drinking bouts the clouts of the Shrouded Stranger upon each wood pew where the likes of Kerouack lumberjack feinted their defiance ....

9

eludes us and which is the very substance of life. They are far

debt to the mailman who supplied us with food as well as other

more delectable, far more potent, than the Sunkist oranges

necessities. Sometimes we owed him as much as two or three

we daily consume in the naïve belief that they are laden with

hundred dollars. We never bought any clothes for ourselves; even

wonderworking vitamins. The millennial oranges which Bosch

the baby used castoff things. But we did enjoy good wines, thanks

created restore the soul; the ambiance in which he suspended

to Norman Mini whose cellar we almost drained. Even the

them is the everlasting one of spirit become real.

purchase of a cheap second-hand car was out of the question. To

He wrote about the unique aspects of his isolated

go to town, forty-five miles distant, we were obliged to hitchhike.

enclave: If you are an artist and think to muscle in here, it would

In short, my earnings were just about sufficient to keep a goat

be wise to first find a patron, because the artist cannot live off the

alive … We had managed to acquire two important things: a

artist, and every other individual, seemingly is an artist of one

stove which didn’t smoke from every crack and crevice and a

sort or another … Even the plumbers.

decent mattress to lie on.

His written words evoke the rugged, yet idyllic Big Sur

Shortly thereafter, he received a letter from Obelisk

lifestyle of the era. What could one bring that would be of value

Press, his publisher in Paris, informing Miller that they were

to the community? Just a normal, modest desire to do whatever

holding $40,000 in accumulated royalties. Miller explained,

needs to be done in whatever way it can be done. Briefly, two

Now money is not one of the things which are conspicuous in my

capable hands, a strong heart, and a certificate of vaccination

horoscope. When I study it soberly, my destiny, I realize that it is a

against disillusionment. If you have an intellect, bring it with

good one. It decrees in effect, that I shall always have what I need

you, but not the rubbish that usually goes with it. There are too

and no more … The conviction grew in me that I would never

many intellects here already. And, if you bring nothing else, bring

see those forty thousand dollars, neither in specie, coin, bullion,

a sense of humor, for you will need it here if you haven’t needed

nor script, nor even in zloty or piastres … Impulsively I went

it elsewhere. If you believe in medicine, bring your own medicine

to the doorway at the edge of the sunken kitchen and, looking

chest, for there are no doctors here except learned ones.

out toward the Land of the Rising Sun, I burst out laughing. I

Here he describes his first year at Anderson Creek in

laughed so long and so hard that my guts ached. And over and

1946. Ever since my return from Europe I had waged a struggle

over I repeated: ‘It’s not for me! It’s not for me!’ Then I’d laugh

to keep my head above water. Though we were paying only five

some more. I suppose it was my way of weeping. Between laughs

dollars a month rent for the hovel we occupied, we were always in

I could hear my mother’s words ringing in my ears. ‘Why don’t

10

you write something that will sell?’ ‘If only he would send me a

but for some reason never connected, even though they were

hundred a month, that would be swell,’ I kept saying to myself. A

separated by only ten miles or so.

hundred a month—regularly—would have solved our problems.

In the summer of 1960 Kerouac wrote his novel Big Sur

Besides relieving the day-to-day economic pressures

while living in writer Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Bixby Canyon

plaguing Miller, the money allowed him to buy his home

cabin. Ferlinghetti, founder of the legendary City Lights

outright from Jean Wharton. He wrote, If I were to single out

bookstore in San Francisco, is thinly disguised as Lorenzo

one element in the American temperament which has been exalted

Monsanto in the novel.

here, it would be kindness. It has always been the custom here

This passage from Kerouac’s Big Sur sums up main

on the Coast, when raising ones glass, to say: ‘Here’s kindness!

character Jack Dulouz as he arrives back in San Francisco,

Miller’s good friend and neighbor Emil White exuded such

and t’all ends up a roaring drunk in all the famous bars the

kindness helping him adjust to country living. White created

bloody ‘King of the Beatniks’ is back in town buying drinks for

the Henry Miller Museum in his home, located right beside

everyone … Kerouac resided in an isolated gulch in Big Sur

Highway 1, still serving as a resource to the community.

and continued writing the new novel while trying to sort out

Miller recognized their friendship in the dedication of Big

his thoughts, using the main character of Jack Duluoz as his

Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch: “To Emil White

alter ego. He had his new-found fame to deal with and was

of Anderson Creek. One of the few friends who have never

battling alcoholism and drug addiction. Big Sur was close

failed me.” The museum preserves the writings and paintings

enough for visits to and from his San Francisco friends, who

of Miller and hosts cultural events. White’s house is near the

were a source of inspiration and amusement.

world-famous Nepenthe restaurant and store, where both

Big Sur has hypnotic passages describing the endless

men attended many parties. Local revelers have long enjoyed

pounding surf. One night I got scared anyway so sat on top of 10

this landmark, first bought by Hollywood legends Orson

foot cliff … and the waves are going. Rare, he rammed the gate

Welles and Rita Hayworth and sold in 1947 to the Fassett

rare—Raw roo roar—Crowsh—the way waves sound especially

family to become Nepenthe.

at night—The sea not speaking in sentences so much as short

Like Miller, when Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac

lines: ‘Which one? … the one ploshed? ... the same, ah Boom’

left the East Coast for California, he fell under the spell of

… Writing down these fantastic inanities actually but yet I felt I

Big Sur. He and Miller were interested in meeting each other,

had to do it because James Joyce wasn’t about to do it now he was

11

Clffs and Islets at Garrapata

2014, Oil, 24”x 24”

Dreams of Evenings at the Shore “The tides are in our veins, we still mirror the stars, life is your child, but there is in me Older and harder than life and more impartial, the eye that watched before there was an ocean.

“I’ve changed my ways a little, I cannot now Run with you in the evenings along the shore, Except in a kind of a dream, if you dream a moment, You see me there.”

—Robinson Jeffers 12

dead … And I just sit there listening to the waves talk all up and

anew, babbling secrets are hissed, suddenly I see the Cross again,

down the sand in different tones of voice ‘Ka bloom, kerplosh, ah

this time smaller and far away but just as clear and I say through

ropey otter barnacled be, crowish, are rope the angels in all the

all the noise of the voices I’m with you, Jesus, for always, thank

sea?’

you—I lie there in cold sweat wondering what’s come over me for

Sadly, Kerouac’s alcoholism was distorting his

years my Buddhist studies and pipe-smoking assured meditations

perspective, and his observations in the canyon cabin

on emptiness and all of a sudden the Cross is manifested to me—

deteriorated into hallucinations, as demonstrated by these

My eyes fill with tears ….

passages from Big Sur:

The earlier zest for life he manifested in On the Road

—Because now the babbling’s not only in the creek, as I

darkens in Big Sur as Dulouz/Kerouac struggles with his

say it’s left the creek and come in my head, it would be alright

demons. Yet the novel concludes on a hopeful note when

for coherent babbling meaning something but it’s all brilliantly

he decides to return to the East Coast, envisioning a world

enlightened babble that does more than mean something: it’s

where On soft Spring nights I’ll stand in the yard under the

telling me to die because everything is over—Everything is

stars—Something good will come out of all things yet—And it

swarming all over me … The devil!—the devil’s come after me

will be golden and eternal just like that—There’s no need to say

tonight! tonight is the night! that’s what—But angels are laughing

another word.

and having a big barn dance in the rocks of the sea, nobody cares any more—Suddenly as clear as anything I ever saw in my life, I see the Cross. I see the cross, it’s silent, it stays a long time, my heart goes out to it, I hold out my arms to be taken away to it, by God I am being taken away my body starts dying and swooning

The Inner Life

T

he Esalen Institute, the storied New Age conference center, sits high on a Big Sur cliff on the west side of

Highway 1, about forty-five miles south of Monterey.

out to the Cross standing in a luminous area of the darkness,

Founded in 1962 by Michael Murphy and Richard

I start to scream because I know I’m dying but I don’t want to

Price, Esalen—as it’s commonly known—is noted for its

scare Billie or anybody with my death scream so I swallow the

natural beauty, its spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean,

scream and just let myself go into death and the Cross: as soon

and its intellectual, spiritual, and artistic atmosphere. It’s

as that happens I slowly sink back into life—Therefore the devils

also known for its delightful spring-fed hot baths, which

are back, commissioners are sending out orders in my ear to think

nude and semi-nude bathers have enjoyed since the Esselen

13

TWIN ISLETS AT SOBERANES CREEK

Twin Rocks at Soberanes Creek

Indians frequented the area more than 4,000 years ago.

2014-16, Oil, 24 ”x 36”

resort there and in the early 1960s hired a young man from San

Once known as Slate’s Hot Springs, the Esalen property

Francisco to guard it. His name was Hunter S. Thompson, and

was purchased by Michael Murphy’s father in the 1930s. After

in 1961 he landed his very first magazine sale, an article he wrote

he died, his widow, Bunny Murphy, developed a small tourist

about the resort for the men’s magazine Rogue. The unwanted

The ‘old ocean at land’s foot’ “The Place for No Story” by Robinson Jeffers The coast hills at Soveranes Creek: No trees, but scant pasture drawn thin.

Over rock shaped like flame; The old ocean at land’s foot, the vast Gray extension beyond the long white violence;

14

A herd of cows and the bull Far distant, hardly apparent up the dark slope; And the gray air haunted with hawks: This place is the noblest thing I have ever seen. No imaginable Human presence here could do anything But dilute the lonely self-watchful passion.

publicity cost him his caretaker job, but launched the career

Like any long-standing organization, Esalen has faced its

of the dean of “gonzo journalism.” In the piece, he insulted

share of challenging permutations and internal conflicts—

Bunny Murphy, who—reasonably enough—promptly fired

more than half a century of them. But as current president

him.

Gordon Wheeler observed, “Sometimes we make mistakes,

While in their early thirties, Stanford University

but we certainly don’t want to turn into one of today’s big bad

graduates Murphy and Price decided to create a facility on

corporations. Everything we do here is about the evolution

the property that would bring together people who sought

of spiritual transformation.”

to expand the possibilities of human consciousness and physical capabilities and to explore traditional Eastern and Western philosophies.

Murphy’s friend George Leonard, a writer, editor, and philosopher, was instrumental in founding the Human Potential movement at Esalen. The name drew on Aldous Huxley’s term “human potentialities.”

Over the years, guests and teachers at Esalen have included philosophers, scientists, astronauts, mystics, psychiatrists, educators, physical therapists, writers, painters, musicians—people from almost any field concerned with developing human potential. Aldous Huxley himself was a guest. Others who visited, taught, performed, or simply enjoyed the baths at Esalen included Fritz Perls, Abraham Maslow, Gregory Bateson, Ida Rolf, Alan Watts, Virginia Satir, Buckminster Fuller, Linus Pauling, Joseph Campbell, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan.

Ansel Adams

A

cclaimed photographers of the twentieth century have used the cliffs and coves of Big Sur and nearby Point

Lobos as subjects. These images were seen by a worldwide audience as the careers of Ansel Adams, Morley Baer, the Westons—Edward, Brett and Cole—soared. For years, Adams resided on the northern edge of Big Sur at Yankee Point, where his martini/dinner parties were an institution.

Thus, he was close to the Friends of Photography gallery that he founded in Carmel, with Jim Alinder serving as director.

Adams was born in San Francisco and he became forever linked to the land—quite literally—in 1906. One of numerous aftershocks of the massive earthquake threw him face-first to the ground, which left the self-conscious boy with a broken nose that was never properly straightened.

In this ironic twist, the rock-hard California earth would become the subject that he would immortalize in thousands of photographs. In later life, Adams would poke fun at his

15

“Lombard Street nose”—a reference to San Francisco’s

years, photography would become his choice of creative

famed “Crookedest Street in the World.”

expression. Adams had been fortunate in having a father

His quirky personality forced his parents to seek

who encouraged his artistic pursuits. The elder Adams

alternative educational opportunities for the hyperactive

felt he had wasted his own life trying to make a living and

youth. In 1915, he was given a year’s pass to the Pan Pacific

wanted his son to live instead for the aesthetic pursuits of

International Exposition where the 13-year-old boy was

music and photography, teaching him the philosophy of

allowed to roam the grounds for endless hours. He was

Ralph Waldo Emerson—“to live a modest life guided by

fascinated with the new technology of the day like the

social responsibility to man and to nature.” James Alinder

adding machine and typewriter. Young Adams would

said, “He believed life experience was the best teacher.”

slip into the Dalton Adding Machine Company booth

Adams called his method “visualization,” which was

whenever it was unmanned and repeat the spiel he had

preconceived from a firsthand study of the landscape. With

heard so many times, while his fingers flew over the keys to

this vision of what each photograph should look like, he

astonished onlookers who were expecting an adult.

would then manipulate the image in the darkroom using his

Soon thereafter, he read In the Heart of the Sierras and

“zone system.” His book The Print explains the “zone system,”

was captivated by the romantic tales and descriptions

the photographic technique for determining optimal film

of the towering walls and falls of Yosemite. He begged

exposure and development. Adams’ system became a key

his family to take a summer trip to the national park in

resource to many amateurs and professionals who sought

1916. While at Yosemite, this summer trip took a life-

instruction in this new art form. Throughout his career,

changing turn when he was presented with the ultimate

Adams had to battle critics who thought he should be using

gift—a Kodak 1 Brownie box camera. Yosemite became

his talent for making portraits of gritty urban strife and the

the subject for which he attained international fame,

emotionally charged political topics of the day instead of

and now a mountain—Mount Adams—bears his name.

creating beautiful pictures of natural elements. His credo: “I

Adams was also a talented pianist, but after a number of

believe in beauty. I believe in stones and water, air and soil, people and their future and their fate.”

16

Garrapata Beach

2012, Oil, 20”x 24”

The View toward Morley Baer’s Home Renowned photographer Morley Baer lived in his Big Sur home beside Garrapata Creek just off the beach in the painting above. He founded The Friends of Photography Art Gallery in Carmel, with his longtime friends Brett Weston and Ansel Adams. His first one-man show was at the M.H. De Young Museum in 1959. He was so inspired by an exhibition of Edward Weston photographs that he made the journey from Michigan to Carmel to meet his hero. Within ten years, he moved to the Carmel area to be close to his mentor. He helped his close friend in his advanced age when he was afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease.

17

18 China Cove at Point Lobos 1996, Oil, 18”x 24” In the collection of Mike and Terri Phelps; Alamo, California

Point Lobos

P

oint Lobos is a hauntingly beautiful 554-acre State Reserve on the southern edge of Carmel Bay with a fascinating history. Just as California was becoming the 31st state

in the Union, Whalers Cove was a busy fishing village and whaling station. The cove has a narrow mouth that gave the Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese fishermen shelter from the crashing seas. Once inside the protective embrace of the cove, they could pull their shallowbottom boats onto a narrow rocky shore. The small harbor offered easy access to the plentiful fish and abalone of the Carmel Bay and seasonally migrating whales just off the westward point.

The Rumsen natives had lived at Point Lobos for thousands of years before the Chinese fishermen arrived in the early 1850s. The Chinese lived in wooden cabins at the west side of Whalers Cove where they caught fish and squid. Whalers Cabin in the present-day park has been preserved as a museum. Inside there are pictures of Quock Mui, a.k.a. Spanish Mary, who was born at Point Lobos in 1859. Hers was the first birth of a Chinese girl to be recorded in the Monterey County census. Quock Mui could speak Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and English. Today her great-granddaughter, Gerry Low-Sabado, a community preservationist of the former Chinese fishing village in Pacific Grove, proudly wears Quock Mui’s golden peacock ring that was passed down through the generations to her. Many of the Chinese fishermen like Quock Mui’s husband Jone Yow Hay moved themselves and their families across Carmel Bay to another fishing village at Pescadero Point (now in Pebble Beach) in 1876.

The Play Misty House

Clint Eastwood made his movie directorial debut with Play Misty for Me, set in the Carmel Highlands in the background of this painting. The Play Misty house is perched 100 feet above the crashing Pacific. Eastwood played lead character Dave Garver, a jazz-playing Carmel disc jockey who has a final confrontation with the fan who is stalking him on the outdoor deck. Nearby is the Mal Paso Creek gorge that Eastwood named his production company after. The Malpaso Production Company continues to produce hit movies.

19

Shortly thereafter in 1879, writer Robert Louis Stevenson

thirty years with partner Alexander Allen.

visited the area, and the landscape of Point Lobos made

Allen’s heirs sold the property to California State Parks

such an impression he based his book Treasure Island on the

in 1933. The first Park Ranger, Roland Wilson, came to Point

unique setting. Stevenson is often credited with calling Point

Lobos in 1934 with his wife Margaret and children, and would

Lobos “the greatest meeting of land and water,” but that

serve as Chief Ranger for 25 years. “There was no house

honor actually goes to painter Francis MacComas. A student

there when we first arrived. We camped in a tent in what

of Arthur Mathews, McComas exhibited his landscapes of

was later the back yard of the ranger station,” commented

Monterey cypress in the prestigious New York Armory Show

their daughter, Kathryn Wilson Hallett, in April of 2014. She

in 1913 with the likes of Cezanne and Matisse.

recalls, “There were some days when nobody came to the

Portuguese whalers arrived at Point Lobos in 1862 and built a hoist on the west side of Whalers Cove in which they

park. The entrance fee was 25 cents, a noteworthy amount considering it was the end of the Depression.”

could place a large mammal for rendering. From the look-out

Roland and Margaret Wilson’s house guests were a

point of a nearby knoll, flag signals were used to alert men in

who’s who of the art world: Edward Weston, Percy Gray,

the village below that whales had been sighted nearby. The

Albert Jacobson, and Robinson Jeffers, as well as numerous

Portuguese would then go out in boats to harpoon whales.

scientists. Ms. Hallett reminisces, “There were often scientists

They brought the mammals back to the cove to extract oil

from UC Berkeley visiting the park: Dr. David Anderson,

from blubber in huge iron pots—relics that are still on display

ornithologist, Jean Linsdale, ‘naturalist’ (I think we would

today next to Whalers Cabin Museum. The floor beams of

call him an environmentalist or conservationist today).”

the museum are partly supported by whale vertebrae bones.

Another frequent visitor was philanthropist C.M. Goethe

The Portuguese and Chinese also had Japanese neighbors

who established the Save-the-Redwoods League, dedicated

who were focused on harvesting abalones, eventually

to preserving redwood groves in Northern California.

building a cannery to process their catch. Large outdoor

Goethe began the interpretive movement to encourage the

racks were created to dry the abalone. Divers wore suits that

study of nature and conservation. “My mother and I lived

allowed them to venture to greater depths to locate the prized

at Point Lobos during the war until I was about four years

catch, a delicacy in their homeland as it is here. Gennosuke

old. Even I remember fascinating discussions around the big

Kodani owned the Point Lobos canning operation for over

table in the kitchen about scientific subjects, conservation,

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NEED NEW BLURB

Rocks and Cliffs with Big Dome 2012-15, Oil, 30”x 24” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

21

HIDDEN COVE

Hidden Cove

1994, Oil, 16”x 22”

Next to Edward Weston’s Favorite Place Edward Weston spent the better part of his career photographing the tide pools and rocky shores at Point Lobos. It is fitting that in 1948, Weston’s final photographs were taken here at his favorite place where his ashes were scattered. In 1979, Ansel Adams and Cole Weston proposed that the name of a nearby cove be changed to Weston Beach in honor of Edward Weston. Cole performed the dedication, with Jim Alinder, Beaumont Newhall, Morley Baer, William Van Dyke, Ansel Adams and Brett Weston in attendance.

22

and art,” Ms. Hallett said in 2014. Amateur painter Albert

my knowledge—as I have, and will.” During his career he

De Rome of Pacific Grove was a Wilson family friend who

remained true to his art form, using an array of subjects from

visited after he was injured in an auto accident. He took up

a Point Lobos tide pool, a pepper and female nudes in the

painting after a career as a traveling salesman for Haas Candy

landscape.

Factory of San Francisco.

Even with a rich oeuvre without rival, he struggled for

“I can remember that there was often an enormous

sales in this then-new medium. Grandson Kim commented

salmon in a tub of rock salt on the back porch,” Ms. Hallett

in February of 2014, “Prints that were priced at $30 did

continued. “Fishermen would bring Grandpa a salmon

not sell and were marked down to $15. He could not have

caught off the point and he would smoke it in a little smoke

imagined that a photograph of his would one day sell for one

house, fueled with peach pits my uncle would send him

million six hundred thousand dollars!”

from his ranch in Rio Oso. Never since have we tasted such

Kim continued, “My grandfather died when I was five.

wonderful smoked salmon. Not only that, abalone was

My dad inherited some 3,000 negatives and I got to know

plentiful and we had big abalone feeds in the back yard …

him through these images. My father Cole devoted his life

It was such a different time. It was a consortium of creative

to printing from Edward’s negatives and lecturing about his

people whose ideas seemed to synergistically flow, each

work. Photographs like Pepper #30 began to get prices of ten

seemingly to feed off the other.”

thousand dollars. My father did not want to be poor. It was

Artists discovered Point Lobos as early as the first decade of the 1900s, when Guy Rose, William Ritschel and Edward

bittersweet because it took so much time away from his own work.”

Weston roamed the cypress and pine-shaded paths next to

Kim was close to his uncle Brett, whom he called, “The

craggy coves in this pristine place. Edward Weston, hailed

most dedicated artist I have ever met. Brett was relentlessly

as the “greatest American photographer of the twentieth

photographing and working in the darkroom.” Brett Weston

century,” found the tide pools along the western shores

was known as a great teacher, strict but generous in his praise

a favored subject. He wrote in his day book, “Poor abused

when the student’s work merited it. Kim treasures a comment

cypress—photographed in all their picturesqueness by

his uncle once gave him: “I respect the passion you have for

tourists, ‘pictorialists,’ etched, painted, and generally vilified

your work and point of view as a storyteller.”

by every self-labeled ‘artist.’ But no one has done it—to

Ansel Adams also found the subject of Point Lobos

23

to his liking. Adams was a close friend of Edward Weston

of the downtrodden in and around San Francisco to much

and helped him with contacts for sales of his work. They

acclaim. But the two friends refused to stray from their

were members of the short-lived Group f/64, a collective

beliefs. Adams spoke about how it was important to follow

formed in San Francisco to promote “straight photography,”

his creative intuition as to what was truly significant in art

and which counted among its members such luminaries

and to realize that beauty has a legitimate role in society.

as Imogen Cunningham, photographer and filmmaker

Weston wrote soon thereafter, “I agree with you that

Willard Van Dyke, Sonya Noskowiak and Henry Swift, with

there is just as much ‘social significance in a rock as in a line

Weston the unofficial leader. The collective’s name referred

of the unemployed.’ All depends on the seeing. I must do

to the camera lens aperture they favored for giving them the

the work that I am best suited for … There is much talk of

sharpest images in both the foreground and background of

the artist getting down to the realities of life. But who is to

their photographs.

say which are the realities? Obviously they cannot be the

In 1932, Weston wrote in a manifesto for Group f/64,

same for everyone … If I saw an interesting battle between

“The camera should be used for a recording of life, for

strikers and police I might be tempted to photograph it—

rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing

if aesthetically moved. But I would record the fight as a

itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.”

commentator, regardless of which side was getting licked.”

For Adams it was shows at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery An

These were some of Edward Weston’s favorite sayings:

American Place and the Museum of Modern Art in New

• “Sometimes I do get to places just as God’s

York that cemented his status as an acclaimed artist of a new

ready to have someone click the shutter.”

medium. Commenting on the photographer’s detached

• “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

position regarding the New York art scene, Stieglitz said,

• “When words become unclear I shall focus

“It is good for me to know that there is Ansel Adams loose somewhere (with a camera) in this world of ours.”

On the other hand, French photographer Henri CartierBresson said, “The world is going to pieces and people like Adams and Weston are photographing rocks!” In the 1930s, their friend Dorothea Lange was preserving on film the faces

24

with photographs.”

• “When images become inadequate I shall be content with silence.”

• “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fussy concept.”

• “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”

WHALER’S COVE WITH COAL CHUTE POINT

NEED NEW BLURB

Fallen Pines at Whalers Cove

2012-2015, Oil, 24”x 30”

Early Chinese Fishing Village It was here at Whalers Cove that the Chinese established a fishing village and Quock Mui was born in 1859 to Cantonese parents who arrived on an ocean-going junk. At age seventeen she married Jone Yow Hoy and they moved across the bay to Pescadero Point, visible in the distance of this painting. She would give birth to four children. This would become the second of four locations of Chinese fishing villages and Quock Mui had the distintion of living at all four sites. The third and fourth would come later on the Monterey Bay at Point Alones and lastly McAbee Beach where her husband caught eels for Ed “Doc” Ricketts. From McAbee Beach the Quock family founded Regal Seafood Company in 1947, which was later named Royal Seafood. Quock Moi’s brother, Quock Tuck Lee, helped perfect night fishing using lanterns made of wire baskets filled with flaming pitch, which attracted squid. The Jones family purchased a home at 744 Wave Street, which now lives on as the Quock Mui Tea Room.

25

26 Mission with Fountain 2008, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Gary and Sue Milligan; Grand Rapids, Michigan

Carmel

T

he legend and lore of Carmel-by-the-Sea traces back to one humble Franciscan padre, Junipero Serra, the father of the California mission

system. Serra was born in 1713 on the Spanish island of Mallorca. His boyhood dream was to become a missionary in the New World. He eventually accomplished his goal when he arrived in Veracruz, in New Spain (Mexico), after a ninety-nine day voyage from Cadiz, Spain. He walked all the way to Mexico City from Veracruz, following the tradition of the founder of his order, Saint Francis of Assisi, who believed that the vow of poverty included traveling only by foot. During the arduous journey, he suffered an insect bite to his leg that became infected and caused him pain for the rest of his life. Despite the ailment, he still managed to traverse hundreds of miles of wilderness in Mexico and later in Alta California.

In 1769, at age of 56, he made the monumental trip on foot from Mexico to San Diego and later to Monterey with the intent of bringing Christianity and civilization to the native people. Serra joined a group under the command of the governor of Baja California, Don Gaspar de Portolรก, to make an exploratory trek along the coast and through the interior of Nueva California all the way to Monterey Bay. The first objective was to build a mission in San Diego before heading north to Monterey.

Two packet boats left from San Blas, Mexico, loaded with supplies bound for a rendezvous in San Diego. A group headed by Captain Rivera and Father The Carmel Mission The scalloped star-shaped window above the front door is oriented to receive the light on the summer solstice. The exact date varies between June 20 and 22, depending on the time the sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North Pole. On this special day in June, the sun light streams in the asymmetric window and illuminates the tabernacle.

27

Crespi set out with 180 mules and 350 horses and livestock

crosses at Carmel next to the mouth of the Carmel River and

with soldiers and Christian Indians who went first to mark

along the shore in the present-day city of Monterey to signal

and blaze the trail for the second group to follow. Only half

their arrival to the supply ship, which never arrived due to

the original party survived the treacherous journey through

strong winds. In need of fresh supplies, the explorers headed

the barren, dry land to reach San Diego. Many died and others

back to San Diego, making the trek desperately lacking food.

deserted. The ships battled wind, storms and inaccurate

They survived by eating their pack mules and returned to

maps, but finally managed to join the two land parties at their

report their findings to Padre Serra. The San Diego mission

destination of San Diego. Padre Serra arrived with the second

was suffering from a lack of food as well and Captain Rivera

overland group to find that many of the crew aboard the two

was sent to Baja California to bring back supplies. The

ships had died of scurvy. Most of those who survived were

Franciscans at the new mission in San Diego conducted a

sick, and the San Diego encampment resembled a hospital.

Novena of Prayer for the arrival of a supply ship. On the ninth

When the first mission in Alta California was established, a presidio was also built for protection. Padre Presidente

day of prayer the San Antonio arrived from Mexico with rice, beans and flour.

Serra remained at the new mission, where he erected the first

Leaving assistants behind to manage the mission, Father

cross and sang High Mass to a bewildered group of native

Serra boarded the San Antonio, bound for Monterey. Now

people. Some soldiers were left behind to protect the new

familiar with the route, Portolá led a group by land on the 460-

mission while Father Crespi continued north into uncharted

mile journey back to Monterey. When they finally arrived,

territory with Portolá. Despite the loss of lives and lack of

they had to wait a week until lookouts posted at Point Pinos

supplies, Portolá was determined to push northward to

sighted the arrival of the San Antonio on June 3, 1770.

Monterey and complete the assigned task.

Serra created a makeshift altar beneath an oak tree that

This expedition struggled through rugged territory,

Vizcaíno had used for religious services when he landed

including the crossing of snow-covered mountains, for 38

at Monterey Bay in 1602. A statue of Mary, a gift from the

days before they reached Monterey Bay. When they finally

Viceroy, was placed on the altar. This statue had also been used

arrived, they weren’t even sure if they had actually reached

in the dedication of the San Diego Mission, and may now be

the right place, as it did not match the description given by

seen at Carmel Mission. With sailors and soldiers assembled,

explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno a century earlier. They erected

Father Serra consecrated the mission site and dedicated it to

28

Bell Tower with Bougainvillea 2011, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Eric and Marilyn Robison; Montecito, California

‘Confidence and Good-will’ Father Serra commented on his first encounter with the Native Americans, “We found on our journey, as well as in the place where we stopped, that they treated us with as much confidence and good-will as if they had known us all their lives.”

San Carlos of Borromeo, the Cardinal Bishop of Milan in the

A mission and fort (presidio) were constructed side-by-

1500s, a teacher and humanitarian as well as the patron saint

side in Monterey almost immediately. It did not take long for

of King Charles III. Serra delivered a sermon and afterward

Father Serra to realize that the mission would not function

Governor Portolá claimed the land for the crown.

well so close to the presidio. For one thing, the Leather Jackets

29

left to guard the settlement were crude and undisciplined,

Serra had been closely involved in the planning process,

lacking the training of the more elite Catalonian soldiers.

and a few days before his death in 1784 he instructed Father

Some had criminal records in New Spain and had been

Palou, “When the stone church is built you may place me

released early from prison with the agreement to serve in

where you will.” Serra’s request was honored and he was

the mission system. Their vulgar behavior was unsettling to

buried inside the Carmel Mission church under the sanctuary

the neophytes. Secondly, the land next to the Carmel River

floor—where he rests to this day.

was much more suitable for farming. Padre Serra received

Like several other California missions, Carmel

permission to make the move to the idyllic riverside location.

demonstrates the mystical architectural element known

In his correspondence, Serra described the land around the

as solar illumination. In designing their churches, the

Carmel River: “… a locality indeed more delightful and

Franciscans sited the building using precise astronomical

suitable because of the extent and excellent quality of the

calculations, locating doors and windows so that they would

land and water supply necessary to produce very abundant

capture the light of the rising sun on significant days on the

harvests.” In May of 1771, General Galvez approved Serra’s

church calendar—usually the winter or summer solstice, or

request to construct a new mission near the mouth of the

sometimes a particular saint’s day. Worshippers would arrive

Carmel River.

in the dark and wait expectedly as the rays of the rising sun

Thus the neighboring communities served dual

would blaze through the opening and trace a path to the

purposes. Carmel was the religious and agricultural center,

altar, tabernacle, or the saint’s statue, creating a brilliant and

while Monterey became the military and governing center.

inspiring lighting effect in the days before electricity.

The new mission was constructed of timbers and adobe

For decades after secularization and into the twentieth

bricks. A wooden chapel, storehouses, soldiers’ quarters, and

century, the phenomenon of solar illumination—also known

a dwelling for Padre Serra were enclosed by a palisade. Later,

as sacred geometry—at the California missions was forgotten

bigger and more elaborate buildings were put up around and

in the dust of history. Then in 1997, a priest at Mission San

over the original structures. These new stone buildings took

Juan Bautista was opening the doors of the church to a few

sixteen years to complete with the help of a master mason

early morning worshippers on the first day of winter when

from Mexico and Christian Indians who had built the Baja

he was amazed at the beautiful “light show” being played

missions. Father Fermin Lausen completed the project after

out on the altar. Since then, Dr. Ruben Mendoza, a professor

Serra’s death.

of archeology at California State University-Monterey Bay,

30

has conducted extensive research and discovered similar

part of the Indians were brought from their native mountains

amazing design elements at thirteen other California

against their own inclinations, and by compulsion, and then

missions, including Carmel. Dr. Mendoza calls the buildings

baptized; which act was as little voluntary on their part, as the

“ecclesiastical computers,” helping the padres keep track

former had been. After these preliminaries, they had been put to

of the calendar, echoing the design of the great cathedrals

work as converted Indians.

of Europe and tracing their lineage to Stonehenge and the temples of ancient Greece and Egypt.

Julio Cesar recalled his early life as a neophyte in the documentary Golden Lands Working Hands by Fred Glass:

Dr. Mendoza wrote movingly in the San Juan Bautista

When I was a boy the treatment given to the Indians at the

Mission newsletter of his first experience with solar

mission was not good at all. They did not pay us anything, but

illumination on the winter solstice of 2000: As I approached

merely gave us food, a breechclout and a blanket, the last was

the altar-borne tabernacle with camera at the ready, I was

renewed every year, besides flogging for any fault, however slight.

smitten by the most unusual sensation that I was soon to share

We were at the mercy of the administrator, who ordered us to be

two centuries of a most esoteric and spiritual experience. I

flogged whenever and however he took notion.

couldn’t help but feel what many describe when in the course of

The cruel mistreatment of the California native tribes

a near-death experience—they see the light of the great beyond.

perhaps becomes clearer to a modern audience when one

No discussion of the mission system is complete without

understands the cheerless nature of Serra’s personality. In a

acknowledging the cruel and senseless mistreatment of the

biography written by Father Palou, Serra’s lifelong trusted

California native tribes. They were forced to work, slaves in

assistant and friend since childhood, it becomes obvious that

essence, subject to floggings for minor infractions. They were

Father Serra did not believe in typical joyful activity. Life on

fed a diet of acorn mush while store rooms remained full of

earth for him was simply an intermediate step to another

grain, vegetables, cheese, fruit and meat, stores being saved

life more spiritually meaningful. He did not drink wine, eat

for trading purposes. This injustice becomes all the more

savory food, read books or poetry and beat his own bare

unthinkable as the native tribes tended the crops, fruit trees

skin with stones, wire and a chain. He even burned his chest

and extensive herds—only to be denied sustenance from the

with a torch. He did not openly laugh, joke or have a jovial

food they produced. Indians often escaped because of the

moment. His singled-minded focus to a higher being was a

starvation conditions. As a fur trapper observed, The greater

commitment few could understand.

31

Mouth of Carmel River 2014, Oil, 20”x 20” In the collection of David and Katie Cash; Shaver Lake, California

32

A

Robert Louis Stevenson

and decorated for the service; the Indians troop together, their

nother view of the life of California Indians was

bright dresses contrasting with their dark and melancholy faces;

recorded by Robert Louis Stevenson in The Old

and there, among a crowd of somewhat unsympathetic holiday-

Pacific Capitol in 1880:

makers you may hear God served with perhaps more touching

In Comparison between what was and what is in California,

circumstances than in any other temple under heaven. An Indian,

the praisers of times past will fix upon the Indians of Carmel. The

stone-blind and about eighty years of age, conducts the singing;

valley drained by the river so named is a true California valley,

other Indians compose the choir; yet they have the Gregorian

bare, dotted with chaparral, overlooked by quaint unfinished hills.

music at their finger ends, and pronounce the Latin so correctly

The Carmel (River) runs by many pleasant farms, a clear and

that I could follow the meaning as they sang. …I have never seen

shallow river, loved by wading kine; at last as it is falling towards

faces more vividly lit up with joy than the faces of these Indian

a quicksand and the great Pacific, passes a ruined mission on a

singers. It was to them not only the worship of God, nor an act

hill. From the mission church the eye embraces a great field of

by which they recalled and commemorated better days, but was

ocean, and the ear is filled with the continuous sound of distant

besides an exercise of culture, where all they knew of art and letters

breakers on the shore. But the day of the Jesuit is gone by, the day

was united and expressed. And it made a man’s heart sorry for

of the Yankee has succeeded, and there is no one left to care for the

the good fathers of yore who had taught them to dig and to reap,

converted savage. The church is roofless and ruinous, sea-breezes

to read and to sing, who had given them European mass-books

and sea-fogs, and the alternation of the rain and sunshine, daily

which they still preserve and study in their cottages and who

widening the breaches and casting the crockets from the wall.

had now passed away from all authority and influence in that

Only one day in the year, the day before our Guy Fawkes,

land—to be succeeded by greedy landthieves and sacrilegious

the Padre drives over the hill from Monterey; the little sacristy,

pistol-shots. So ugly a thing may our Anglo-Saxon Protestantism

which is the only covered portion of the church, is filled with seats

appear beside the doings of the Society of Jesus.

Traces of Early Explorers On December 10, 1769, the Portola-Crespi expedition erected a cross on this elevated point to signal the supply ship San Jose. The cross is visible on the hill in the middle of this painting. A message was left on the site, “The land expedition is returning to San Diego for lack of provisions.”

33

The Carmel River in Cannery Row

by John Steinbeck

T

he Carmel River is a lovely little river. It isn’t very long but in its course it has everything a river should have. It

rises in the mountains, and tumbles down a while, runs through shallows, is dammed to make a lake, spills over the dam, crackles among round boulders, wanders lazily under sycamores, spills into pools where trout live, drops in against banks where crayfish live. In the winter it becomes a torrent, a mean little fierce river, and in the summer it is a place for children to wade in and fisherman to wander in. Frogs blink from its banks and the deep ferns grow beside it. Deer and foxes come to drink from it, secretly

the flies, the dragon flies, the wasps, the hornets, went home. And as the shadow came to the beach, as the first quail began to call, Mack and the boys awakened. The smell of the chicken stew was heartbreaking. Hazel had picked a fresh bay leaf from a tree by the river and he had dropped it in. The carrots were in now.

Coffee in its own can was simmering on its own rock, far enough from the flame so that it did not boil too hard. Mack awakened, started up, stretched, staggered to the pool, washed his face with cupped hands, hacked, spat, washed out his mouth, broke wind, tightened his belt, scratched his legs, combed his wet hair with his fingers, drank from the jug, belched and sat down by the fire. ‘By God that smells good,’ he said.

Along the Carmel River Odello Farm

in the morning and evening, and now and then a mountain lion crouched flat laps its water. The farms of the rich little valley back up to the river and take its water for the orchards and the vegetables. The quail call beside it and the wild doves come whistling in at dusk. Raccoons pace its edges looking for frogs. It’s everything a river should be.

F

our generations of the Odello family have grown artichokes in the fertile fields beside the Carmel River

on both sides of Highway 1. Italian immigrants Battista and Josefina Odello founded “the little farm in the fog”

There is no golden afternoon next to the cliff. When the sun

in 1924. Twenty years later, sons Emilio and Bruno took

went over it at two o’clock a whispering shade came to the beach.

over the farm management, and in the late 1970s, Bruno’s

The sycamores rustled in the afternoon breeze. Little water

sons John and Michael, both graduates of the agriculture

snakes slipped down to the rocks and then gently entered the

program at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, carried on the

water and swam along through the pool, their heads held up like

family tradition. With the help of a business consultant

little periscopes and a tiny wake spreading behind them. A big

from California State University-Monterey Bay, they

trout jumped in the pool. The gnats and mosquitoes which avoid

developed a thriving niche market selling the trimmed inner

the sun came out and buzzed over the water. All of the sun bugs,

core known as artichoke crowns to upscale restaurants.

34

Odello Farm

Artichokes are not native to California, but they thrive in the foggy climate of the Monterey area. Still, they aren’t

2014, Oil, 18”x 24”

a matter of time before disaster struck again. The final blow came only two years later with another flood.

the easiest crop to grow. The plume moth has been known

Today, the one-time artichoke farm is preserved as open

to destroy up to sixty or seventy percent of the crop. The

space, with the land west of Highway 1 belonging to the State

insect arrived to the Central Coast in the 1940s and 50s

of California, and the property to the east of the highway

and remained a source of aggravation to the Odellos to the

purchased by actor/director Clint Eastwood. He came to

end. A flood in 2005 took out the Highway 1 bridge and the

the rescue to preserve the flood plain after it was threatened

levees and wiped out the nearby fields of the Odello farm,

with condominium development. In September 2013, John

uprooting the plants and washing them away. The Odellos

Odello said, “It was a relief to sell the farm after the amount

went to work and repaired the flood damage as best they

of work that went into the clean-up after the floods. But it

could, and at a significant cost. But with various government

was difficult because it happened on my watch.”

entities refusing to allow the levees to be rebuilt, it was only 35

Robinson Jeffers

A

mong Carmel’s unique and beloved structures are Tor House and Hawk Tower, the rugged stone

edifices overlooking Carmel Bay and Point Lobos built by poet Robinson Jeffers.

In 1877, Jeffers was born into a life of words that began with religion and philosophy as the son of a theology scholar.

In order to keep young Jeffers focused on his studies, his parents kept him isolated from other children. The intense concentration on scholarly pursuits was evident in his ability to speak five languages before he attended college. The brilliant student graduated from Occidental College at the age of eighteen. He enrolled in graduate school at USC, where he fell in love with a married woman who would become his buffer against the harsh realities of the world. His affair with Una, which made the front page of the Los Angeles Times, was the first of many controversies that would mark his life.

He married Una and arrived in Carmel in 1914, recalling, “For the first time in my life I could see people living amid unspoiled scenery. When the stagecoach topped the hill from Monterey, and we looked down through pines and sea fogs on Carmel Bay, it was evident that we had come without knowing it to our inevitable place.”

Jeffers embarked on building a house and tower on Carmel Point out of granite boulders and rocks that he found on the property and nearby beach. When he first

36

arrived at Carmel Point, the area was desolate and isolated, with no other nearby homes and devoid of foliage. After a professional mason helped him complete Tor House, Jeffers felt he had learned enough about working with stone to take on another, even more ambitious project, on his own. It took him four years to build Hawk Tower, dedicated to Una and twin sons Donnan and Garth. Jeffers was financially aided

by Noel Sullivan, a Carmel patron of the arts, whose portrait hangs above the dictionary in Tor House. Jeffers did virtually all of his writing in this idyllic setting created with his own hands. He loved the physical stone work in the morning and writing in the afternoon. “Somehow, laying stones and putting verses together seemed to go well,” Jeffers wrote. “I think that one may contribute ever so slightly to the beauty of things, making one’s own life and environment beautiful … But I would have each person realize the beauty of things is sufficient without him.” His philosophy, dubbed “inhumanism,” included the belief that one should transcend conflict. When he spoke out against the U.S. involvement in WWII, his popularity waned, despite having been on the cover of Time magazine and performing a reading at the Library of Congress.

The poet was known as a relentless hiker who roamed the coast and traveled on foot to Big Sur and the surrounding countryside. Jeffers found his original voice while in the Carmel area, immersed in the rhythm of the ocean, animals and landscape of the coast. The anthropologist/author

Tor House with Hawk Tower 2014, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Tom and Sue Redfern; Carmel, California

Lauren Eisely said of Jeffers, “Something wild crept into his

Naked vulnerable, set against an overwhelming backdrop of

mind. The sea-beaten coast, the fierce freedom of its hunting

might and majesty, one’s problems become magnified because of

hawks, possessed and spoke through him. It is one of the

the proscenium on which the conflict is staged. Robinson Jeffers is

most uncanny and complete relationships between a man

unerring in high-lighting this aspect of his narrative poems. His

and his natural background that I know in literature.”

figures and their manner of behavior are not falsely exaggerated,

He liked to remind people that, “Mankind was too self-

as some believe. If his narratives smack of Greek tragedy, it is

centered, and too indifferent to the astonishing beauty of

because Jeffers rediscovered here the atmosphere of the gods and

things.”

fates which obsessed the ancient Greeks. The light here is almost

In Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, Henry Miller described the vision of Robinson Jeffers:

as electric, the hills almost as bare, and the community almost as autonomous as in ancient Greece. The rugged pioneers who settled here needed only a voice to make known their secret drama.

37

Carmel is a community known for artistic expression.

at their studios, but as one early member noted, “Such open

The talents of these artists have been celebrated locally at the

houses were expensive for the host, and visitors often got

Carmel Art Association, Friends of Photography, Weston

lost in the woods hunting for the various cottages.”

Gallery, Carl Cherry Center and the Sunset Center. These

It was a natural evolution to create a formal association.

entities and institutions have provided inspiration, fostered

Many of these artists had extraordinary careers and their

careers and promoted comradeship while enriching the lives

works are in the collections of museums throughout the

of many.

United States and abroad. Early members included Armin

T

Carmel Art Association

Hansen, Paul Dougherty, Frances McComas, Salvador

he Carmel Art Association was founded in 1927 with

Dali, William Ritschel, Arthur Hill Gilbert, Mary DeNeale

the mission “to advance art and cooperation among

Morgan and first president, Pedro Lemos.

artists, secure a permanent exhibition space, and promote

Some of the most outstanding work was created by

greater fellowship between artists and the public.” The

a pair of women members, M. Evelyn McCormick and E.

founders met one of those goals in 1933 when they secured

Charlton Fortune, who more than likely used their initials

gallery space on Dolores Street, thanks to a loan from local

to avoid discrimination and garner respect in a profession

businessman Barnet J. Segal. The Carmel Art Association

dominated by men. Their paintings of the backyards, people

returned the favor by naming one of the main exhibition

and buildings of old Monterey are highly coveted, with an

rooms the Segal Gallery, paying tribute to his lasting

E. Charlton Fortune painting of Monterey recently selling

contribution. The Carmel Art Association has promoted

for 1.8 million dollars. Several of her paintings won silver

“greater fellowship between artists and the public” for over

medals at the Panama-Pacific International Expositions in

80 years, which makes the CAA the longest continuously

San Francisco and San Diego in 1915.

operating gallery in Carmel.

Euphemia Charlton Fortune, known as “Effie” to family

At first, artists met as friends in various locations in

and close friends, was born in 1885 in Sausalito and spent the

town: individual artist’s studios, a gallery in the old Arts and

first two decades of her life alternating between Northern

Crafts Hall at the present-day Golden Bough Playhouse, the

California and Scotland. In 1906, after the San Francisco

Carmel Art Institute and the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey.

earthquake and fire, she followed many other artists and

In the old days artists printed invitations for afternoon teas

writers to temporary housing in Carmel.

38

Effie warned her best friend Ethel McAllister Grubb in a

for beauty to someone who looked like me was more than the

letter against the “Made Picture”: I think it is better to paint as

school could make itself do … Well, you don’t forget these things.

much as you possibly can out of doors and then if you want to do

I nearly gave up art.

something from memory, all right … you can never be original if

Another prominent Carmel artist, Armin Hansen, was

you invent pictures. To be original you must chew up the meat in

the son of an accomplished illustrator, Herman Hansen,

your own meat chopper, and the meat is nature …

referred to as “the Frederic Remington of the West Coast”

Ethel McAllister Grubb’s daughter Elizabeth Lampen

for his depiction of Native Americans. Armin studied with

observed the relationship between her mother and Effie and

Arthur Mathews, director of the Mark Hopkins Institute

how she had developed her personality because of the scar

of Art in San Francisco, in 1903 at the age of seventeen. He

on her upper lip from a cleft palate, “She had a hard shell and

continued his training in Europe, residing in the artist colony

my mother was the only one to get through it. They were

of Nieuport near the North Sea port of Ostende. There he

always laughing.”

observed men working at sea and began developing the

She lived to 84, and in her last years, wrote to a friend, I

theme which was to become his trademark subject. These

live the life of an animated snail but I am very comfortable …

marine studies were then exhibited in the Munich Academy

so often have (I) wanted to write to you but I don’t write letters

and in Brussels, where he won his first award in 1910.

now … after all I’m 82 and should shut up. And moreover, I said it all when I was painting …

He moved to Monterey with only sixteen dollars in his pocket, but he found a place where he could continue

Steven Hauk, owner of Hauk Fine Arts in Pacific Grove,

to capture his favorite subject—the men who worked

wrote a play called Fortune’s Way with E. Charlton Fortune,

at sea—in both etching and oil painting. His method of

played by Teresa Del Piero, as the lead character. Hauk’s

posing fisherman outdoors with the authentic background

poignant script delves into the difficulties of a life devoted to

of docks, ships, rocks, sky and sea resulted in paintings that

the visual arts, as well as Fortune’s own personal challenges.

reflect liveliness and vigor, qualities sometimes lacking in the

The audience is left with a profound sense of her heroic life,

works of artists who employ the more convenient process of

where perseverance and talent triumphed over tremendous

working indoors from grafted sketches.

challenges. Her character sadly recalls being passed over

He served as president of The Carmel Art Association

for awards during her school days: I began to think I didn’t

for two terms and was regarded as the “Dean of the Monterey

win because of my … disfigurement … that to give an award

Peninsula art scene.”

39

Monastery Cove–Jack London

comradeship as artless and warm as the sunshine itself.”

amed novelist Jack London is most closely associated

F

Billy accepts a challenge to run a race to nearby Point

with Oakland and Sonoma—and, of course, Alaska—

Lobos and scale the cliffs barehanded, then return to the

but he also has close ties with the early Bohemian scene in

finish line back at the beach with the cheers of the onlookers

Carmel. Several key passages from his novel The Valley of

for motivation. Billy loses the first race but after a week of

the Moon are set in Carmel circa 1910. The story opens in

practice on the course, he is victorious in the rematch. The

Oakland during a time of labor union strife. Billy Roberts is

two contestants were timed thirty seconds apart due to a

a teamster and his wife Saxon works in a sweat shop sewing

narrow, cliff-side passage that could only fit one person at

garments for a meager wage. After witnessing the death of

a time. Billy, modest in victory, explains how his opponent

a friend in a union riot, the young couple flees the violence

had to wait for the tide to recede before squeezing through

of city life, traveling on foot in search of their own land to

the passage, thus slowing him down.

farm. When they arrive at Monastery Beach along the south

Billy and Saxon spend a perfect Indian summer camping

side of the Carmel River, Billy and Saxon join a young

near the beach, hiking in the daytime along the beautiful

athletic and artsy crowd that meets weekly on the beach

coastline and dining in the evening on their own catch of

for abalone dinners. The group teaches Billy and Saxon the

perch, abalone and mussels. Billy sums up his wonderful

famous “Abalone Song,” written in 1907 by London’s friend

new life: “This beats being any kind of millionaire.”

George Sterling. The idea is to continue making up verses

One member of the group is thinly veiled, a fast-walking

while pounding the abalone to tenderize the meat. It was

poet who built his house out of marble. Jack London could

considered bad luck to sing the tune at any other time except

only be referring to one person—his friend Robinson Jeffers

when pounding abalone. The song was later immortalized

with his nearby home of granite.

by Carl Sandburg in The American Songbag.

Billy and Saxon stay in Carmel waiting out a rainy winter,

The likeable couple is a hit with their new friends as

but end up leaving, still in search of their own land to farm.

Saxon entertains by playing the ukulele and singing Hawaiian

But they are forever changed by the kindness and friendship

tunes. The good vibes from the Carmel Bohemian crowd

they experience in Carmel.

were felt by the young couple, “engulfing Saxon and Billy in

40

Rocks at Monastery Cove

1987-89, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20”

Jack London’s Carmel Jack London described the color of the water in Carmel Bay circa 1910 as “peacock blue” in his novel The Valley of the Moon.

A century later, I noticed the ocean water exhibits the identical stunning shade on a sunny day that London wrote so eloquently about. I worked numerous sunny afternoons to capture the unique color in my painting. I read the Jack London book just a few years ago and was excited to discover that I had observed the same “peacock blue” when I made this painting some 30 years earlier.

The Monastery Beach Abalone Song

“Oh some folks boast of quail on toast, Because they think it’s tony, But I’m content to owe my rent, And live on abalone.

Oh Mission Point is a friendly joint, Where every crab’s a crony, And true and kind you’ll never find, The clinging abalone.”

41

42 Cypress and Pines with Pebble Beach 2013, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Tom and Sue Redfern; Carmel, California

Now the home of the luxury resort community of Pebble Beach, the cove in the distance in this painting was originally a Chinese fishing village.

Quock Mui gave birth at Pescadero Point on Carmel Bay after she arrived with her husband in 1876. Jung Choy and his wife Ah Slow also lived at Pescadero Village beginning in 1868 until its closing in 1912. Their five children helped fish and tend their three abalone shell souvenir stands— an early sign of the lucrative tourism industry that would slowly develop.

Their children made the long walk to the Chinese Mission at Point Alones to attend school.

In addition to Jung Choy’s fishing company, the Boo Lee company operated out of the cove, recorded in an informal census published in 1875 by the Monterey Weekly Herald.

Among the earliest Chinese residents of California were sailors on a junk fleeing the turmoil of southern China and heading for Northern California, gateway to the Gold Rush. The boat overshot its destination and ended up in Baja California. In 1850, they resumed their journey. The more difficult sail to the north ended with the boat capsizing near Point Lobos. The six young occupants remained and settled the area, some at Whalers Cove, fishing for abalone and later squid.

This scene also played a poignant role in the final years of Ansel Adams. In a 2016 interview with photographer Jim Alinder, he related how in February of 1984, Adams visited his home and asked his wife Mary, “Can Jim come out to play?” Jim accompanied Ansel out to Pebble Beach for what turned out to be Adams’s last outdoor photography session.

43

Royal Presidio Chapel

2014, Oil, 16”x 20”

A Yankee Captain Becomes a Citizen of Mexico In the spring of 1827, American Captain John Rogers Cooper was re-baptisted here in the Royal Presidio Chapel as Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper and swore his allegiance to Mexico. On August 24, 1827, Cooper married Encarnación Vallejo in this same chapel. He was informally known throughout California as Don Juan el Manco (literally John the Lame, more informally as John One Hand) due to an injury in a knife fight that rendered his left arm and hand weak and withered.

Monterey

M

onterey may have ceded its claim as the seat of California’s government a century and more ago, but when it concerns California history, no other city can come close to Monterey’s

rich heritage.

In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno became the first European to set foot on the future city, landing near what is now the Presidio of Monterey and celebrating mass under a large oak tree.

One hundred and sixty-eight years later, Junipero Serra said mass under the same oak tree using the Vizcaíno altar. The gathering was a combination of men from the Portolá expedition who traveled by land and the Serra party, which had arrived on the ship San Antonio, captained by Juan Perez. Both parties had traveled from San Diego with the purpose of building a new mission in Monterey.

Junipero Serra described his first day in Monterey in 1770: Our arrival was greeted by the joyful sound of the bells suspended from the branches of the oak tree. Everything being in readiness and having put on alb and stole, and kneeling down with all men before the altar I intoned the hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus at the conclusion of which, after invoking the help of the Holy Spirit on everything we were about to perform, I blessed the salt and the water.

Then we all made our way to a gigantic cross which was all in readiness and lying on the ground. With everyone lending a hand we set it in an upright position. I sang the prayers for its blessing. We set it in the ground and then, with all the tenderness of our hearts we venerated it. I sprinkled with holy water all the fields around. And thus after raising aloft the standard of the King of Heaven, we unfurled the flag of our Catholic Monarch likewise.

The Spanish chose Monterey to be the governing center of the vast mission chain in Alta California that would eventually extend from San Diego to Sonoma. However, early settlers were confronted with a problem—where, exactly, was Monterey Bay? Vizcaíno created the confusion when he wrote in his log in 1602 that Monterey Bay was “very secure against all winds.” This did not match the wide open bay offering minimal protection that Portolá and company saw a century later. Still, Monterey

45

was a logical choice for the seat of government since it is a

a tile roof. The architectural design was created in Mexico

port city and centrally located for the Spanish government’s

and the plans were executed in Monterey by master mason

plans to settle the new territory both north and south.

Manuel Ruiz.

The Spanish had claimed California during the Cabrillo voyages and were afraid that the Russians or English were going to settle this new territory and eventually wrest control away from them. The mission chain would formally stake Spain’s claim to the vast frontier.

L

The Old Custom House

ocated a mile from the cathedral is the first government structure in California—the Custom House—built on

the shores of the Monterey Bay in 1827. By then, Mexico had won independence from Spain and was eager to open up

The Monterey mission and presidio were constructed

trade with England, the United States, and South American

side-by-side on a slight hill with a view of the bay to the west

nations. The government required a way to inspect and levy

and the estuary to the north. This church, built by Father Serra

taxes on cargo from foreign trading ships being unloaded at

in 1770 as the second Alta California mission, was the original

the Monterey port, hence the need for an official building as

mission of the Monterey Peninsula and was named San Carlos

close to the wharves as possible.

Borromeo de Monterey. When the mission was relocated to

Richard Dana wrote in Two Years Before the Mast in 1840,

the more favorable location next to the Carmel River, the

The Mexican revenue laws are very strict, and require the whole

name was modified to Mission San Carlos Borromeo de

cargo to be landed, and examined, and taken on board again;

Carmelo. The original mission in Monterey was renamed the

but our agent, Mr.R., had succeeded in compounding with them

Royal Presidio Chapel. When the soldiers left the presidio

for the last two vessels, and saving the trouble of taking the cargo

during Mexican rule in 1835, the name was changed once

ashore.

again, this time becoming San Carlos Cathedral, the name it bears to this day.

The next day, the cargo having been entered in due form, we began trading. The trade-room was fitted up in the steerage, and

The original church was crudely built of pole, thatch and

furnished out with the lighter goods, and with specimens of the rest

mud, until a more permanent adobe structure was completed

of the cargo; and M- , a younger man who came out from Boston

a year later. A pine fence encircled the barracks and mission

with us, before the mast, was taken out of the forecastle and made

with cannons placed at the corners. It was not until 1794 that

supercargo’s clerk. He was well qualified for the business, having

the entire church was constructed of sandstone masonry with

been clerk in a counting-house in Boston. For a week or ten days

46

Custom House

2008-2014, Oil, 16�x 20�

Raising the Flag On July 7, 1846, at the Monterey Custom House, the American flag was raised for the first time on California soil as Commodore John Drake Sloat claimed the territory for the United States. He declared, I will hoist the standard of the United States at Monterey immediately, and shall carry it through California. I declare to the inhabitants of California that, although I come in arms with a powerful force, I do not come among them as an enemy of California; on the contrary I come as their best friend, as henceforward California will be a portion of the United States, and its peaceful inhabitants will enjoy the same rights and privileges they now enjoy.

Four years later, on September 9, 1850, California became the 31st state in the Union.

47

all was life on board. The people came off to look and to buy—

usually a good bit ornamented. They have no suspenders, but

men, women, and children; and we were continually going on

always wear a sash round the waist, which is generally red, and

boats, carrying goods and passengers, for they have no boats of

varying in quality with the means of the wearer. Add to this the

their own. Everything must dress itself and come aboard and see

never-failing cloak, and you have the dress of the Californian.

the new vessel, if it were only to buy paper and pins. The agent

This last garment, the cloak, is always a mark of the rank and

and his clerk managed the sales, while we were busy in the hold

wealth of the owner. The ‘gente de razon,’ or aristocracy, wear

or in the boats.

cloaks of black or dark blue broadcloth, with as much velvet

Our cargo was an assorted one; that is it consisted of

and trimmings as may be; and from this they go down to the

everything under the sun. We had spirits of all kinds, (sold by

blanket of the Indian; the middle classes wearing something like

the cask,) teas, coffee, sugars, spices, raisins, molasses, hardware,

a large table-cloth, with a hole in the middle for the head to go

crockery-ware, tinware, cutlery, clothing of all kinds, boots and

through. This is often as coarse as a blanket, but being beautifully

shoes from Lowell, crepes, silks; also shawls, scarfs, necklaces,

woven with various color, is quite showy at a distance. Among the

jewelry, and combs for the ladies; furniture; and in fact, everything

Mexicans there is no working class; (the Indians being slaves and

that can be imagined, from Chinese fire-works to English cart-

doing all the hard work;) and every rich man looks like a grandee,

wheels-of which we had a dozen pairs with their iron rims on.

and every poor scamp like a broken down gentleman. I have often

Dana gives a vivid description of the people he found in

seen a man with a fine figure, and courteous manners, dressed

Monterey in 1838, providing an important record of the life

in broadcloth and velvet, with a noble horse completely covered

and times.

with trappings; without a real in his pocket, and absolutely

The officers were dressed in the costume, which we found

suffering for something to eat. There is no danger of Catholicism’s

prevailed through the country. A broad brimmed hat, usually of a

spreading in New England; Yankees can’t afford the time to be

black or dark brown color, with a gilt or figured band around the

Catholics. American shipmasters get nearly three weeks more

crown, and lined inside with silk; a short jacket of silk or figured

labor out of crews, in the course of a year, than the masters of

calico, (the European skirted body-coat is never worn;) the shirt

vessels from Catholic countries. Yankees don’t keep Christmas,

open in the neck; rich waistcoat, if any; pantaloons wide straight,

and shipmasters at sea never know when Thanksgiving comes, so

and long, usually of velvet, velveteen, or broadcloth; or else short

Jack has no festival at all.

breeches and white stockings. They wear the deer-skin shoe,

Dana’s descriptions of the early homes in Monterey

which is of a dark-brown color, and, (being made by Indians,)

are likewise rich and evocative of the era: The houses here as

48

everywhere else in California are of one story built of adobes that

their infractions. These fines funded his masterpiece—

is clay made into large bricks about a foot and a half square, and

California’s first meeting hall. Colton Hall stands today

three or four inches thick, and hardened in the sun. These are

as a lasting memory of his pioneer vision. California’s first

joined together by a cement of the same material, and the whole

constitution was drafted in Colton Hall in October of 1849

are of a common dirt color. The floors are generally of earth, the

at the Constitution Convention. The deliberations of forty-

windows grated and with-out glass; and the doors, which are

eight delegates enabled California to be admitted to the

seldom shut, open directly into the common room, there being

Union as the 31st state.

no entries. Some of the more wealthy inhabitants have glass

In 1846, Colton wrote, The town hall, on which I have been

to their windows and board floors; and in Monterey nearly all

at work on for more than a year, is at last finished. It is built

the houses too, have red tiles upon the roofs. The common ones

of a white stone, quarried from a nearby hill, which easily takes

have two or three rooms which are open into each other, and are

the shape you desire. The lower apartments are for school; the

furnished with a bed or two, a few chairs and tables a looking

hall over them-seventy feet by thirty-is for public assemblies. The

glass, a crucifix, and small daubs of paintings enclosed in glass,

front is ornamented with a portico, which you enter the hall. It

representing some miracle or martyrdom. They have no chimneys

is not an edifice that would attract any attention among public

or fireplaces in the houses, the climate being such as to make a

buildings in the United States: but in California it is without

fire unnecessary; and all their cooking is done in a small kitchen

rival. It has been erected out of the slender proceeds of town lots

separated from the house.

the labor convicts, taxes on liquor shops and fines on gamblers.

R

Walter Colton

The scheme was regarded with incredulity by many; but the

everend Walter Colton played a vital role in both

building is finished and the citizens have assembled in it, and

the history of Monterey as a city and the destiny of

have christened it after my name which will now go down to

California as state. A scholar of theology, he was an author

posterity with the odor of gamblers, convicts, and tipplers. I leave

and founder of The Californian, the first newspaper in what

it as a humble evidence of what may be accomplished by rigidly

would soon be the brand-new state. He authored two books,

adhering to one purpose, and shrinking from no personal efforts

Three Years in California and Deck and Port. His appointment

necessary to its achievement.

as alcalde of Monterey—a combination judge, governor

The citizens of Monterey elected me to-day alcalde, or chief

and sheriff of the new frontier—proved to be fortuitous.

magistrate of this jurisdiction-a situation which I have been

As judge, he fined gamblers and thieves fifty dollars for

filling for two months past, under a military commission. It has 49

been restored to its civil character and function. Their election

new star added to our Confederation.

is undoubtedly the highest compliment which they can confer;

Famed historian Hubert Howe Bancroft wrote, Never in

but this token of confidence brings with it a great deal of labor

the history of the world did a similar convention come together.

and responsibility. It devolves upon me duties similar to those

They were there to form a state out of an unorganized territory

of mayor of one of our cities, without any of those judicial aids

only lately wrestled from a subjugated people, who were allowed

which he enjoys. It involves every breach of the peace, every case

to assist in framing a constitution in conformity with the political

of crime, every business obligation and every disputed land title

views of the conquerors.

within a space of three hundred miles. From every other alcalde’s

The carefree life of the early California residents was

court in this jurisdiction there is an appeal to this, and none

delightfully captured by Walter Colton: There are no people

from this to any higher tribunal. Such an absolute disposal of

that I have ever been among who enjoy life so thoroughly as the

questions affecting property and personal liberty never ought to

Californios. Their habits are simple; their wants few; nature

be confided to one man. There is not a judge on any bench in

rolls almost everything spontaneously into their lap. Their cattle,

England or the United States, whose power is so absolute as that

horses and sheep roam at large—not a blade of grass is cut, none

of alcalde of Monterey.

is required. The harvest waves wherever the plough and harrow

Reporter Bayard Taylor covered the California

has been; and the grain which the wind scatters this year, serves

Constitutional Convention for the New York Tribune in 1849

as seed for the next. The slight labor that is required is more of a

and filed this report, They proceeded to affix their names to the

diversion than a toil; and even this is shared by the Indian. They

completed Constitution. At this moment a signal was given; the

attach if it, is with them no object of emulation or envy. Their

American colors ran up the flagstaff in front of the Government

happiness flows from a fount that has very little connection with

buildings and streamed out in the air. A second afterword the

their outward circumstances.

gun boomed out in from the fort, and stirring echoes came back

There is hardly a shanty among them which does not contain

from one hill after another, till they were lost in the distance. As

more true contentment, more genuine gladness of the heart, than

the signing went on, gun followed gun from the fort, the echoes

you will meet within the mostly princely palace. Their hospitality

reverberating grandly around the bay till finally, as the loud

knows no bounds; they are always glad to see you, come when

ring of the thirty-first was heard, there was a shout: ‘That’s for

you; take a pleasure in entertaining you while you remain; and

California’ and everyone joined in giving three times three for the

only regret that your business calls you away. If you are sick,

50

Colton Hall

2008-2013, Oil, 16�x 20�

there is nothing which sympathy and care can devise or perform

Never has any writer summed up the happiness and

which is not done for you. No sister ever hung over the throbbing

perfection of Monterey life more enthusiastically than one

brain or fluttering pulse of a brother with more tenderness and

of its Spanish governors, Diego de Borcia. In 1795, he wrote,

fidelity. This is as true of the lady whose hand has only figured her

To live much, and without care, come to Monterey. This is a great

embroidery or swept her guitar, as of the cottage-girl wringing

country; climate healthful, between cold and temperate; good

from laundry the foam of a mountain steam; and all this from

bread, excellent meat, tolerable fish; and bon humeur which is

the heart. If I must be cast in sickness or destitution or the care of

worth all the rest. This is the most peaceful and quiet country in the

the stranger, let it be in California; but let it be before America

world; one lives better than in the most cultured court of Europe.

avarice has hardened the heart and made a god of gold.

51

Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper

visited during their voyages around the world, committing

ohn Rogers Cooper—ship captain, rancher, store

himself to an ocean-going life.

J

owner—was one of the most important pioneers of

After spending eighteen years at sea, most while serving

Monterey. As a captain, he sailed the high seas during the

as captain of the California, a cranky ship renowned for its

days of Mexican rule in California, trading from the ports of

state of disrepair, Cooper settled in Monterey and converted

Boston, Canton, Honolulu, San Blas, and Monterey, and even

to Catholicism, formalized with a baptism as Juan Bautista

with the Russians at Bodega Bay. Because of his marriage to

Rogers Cooper. In the New World settlement of Monterey,

Encarnación Vallejo, he was allowed to be one of the first

he took a Spanish name and became a naturalized Mexican

persons to reside in Monterey who was not of Mexican or

citizen.

Spanish descent. He operated a general merchandise store in the heart of California’s new capital.

His two names reflect his two distinct lives. John Rogers Cooper represents the first half of his life on the open sea. In

Cooper was born on Alderney, a tiny island in the English

his second life on dry land in Monterey under Mexican rule, he

Channel only nine miles from France. His father was a ship

was known as Juan Bautista. He made this significant change

captain born in England. Thus, he had an English name and a

at age 35 when he married Encarnación Vallejo. Together they

French homeland. But most of his youth was spent in Boston

had four children and used Monterey as a base for a huge real

with the influence of another seafaring man, his uncle William.

estate empire. He adjusted to his new “landlubber” status

Young Cooper left Alderney with his mother, Anne, when

quite well, acquiring and managing massive land holdings as

he was nine years old, after his father was presumed to have

far south as Big Sur with a vast property called Rancho El Sur,

perished at sea. They settled near Boston with his mother’s

and another seven-thousand acre ranch in Castroville. He had

sister Martha, the wife of Captain William Matticks Rogers.

still more land in Marin and Sonoma counties.

He captained the ship Hunter, traveling to East India, China,

W.D. Phelps, in his 1871 book Forward and Aft, described

the Sandwich Islands and California from his home port of

Cooper: … could not relinquish the sea altogether, and was

Dorchester in Boston Harbor.

placed by the Mexican government in command of their Navy,

Captain William Rogers was a major influence on young

which consisted of an old schooner named the California, on which

Cooper, and it was only a matter of time before he was sailing

the Commodore hoisted his pennant when ordered to perform any

and trading in the very same ports his uncle and father had

naval duty.

52

Cooper-Molera Adobe

2007, Oil, 16”x 20”

The old gentleman is still living, and long may he survive, as

Despite amassing what today would be billions of

he is a rather original character … A seamen of the old school,

dollars worth of prime California real estate, Cooper always

he despised a long-tailed coat and would not discard a sailor’s

seemed to be short of cash. When a flood destroyed his

jacket. Known throughout California for his integrity and good

Sonoma County lumber mill and he became bankrupt, he

nature, his honest countenance was always welcome wherever it

was prompted to say, “Thank God they are not so civilized in

appeared. The slouched white hat, blue short jacket, grey satinet

this country yet as to put poor debtors in prison. That’s one

pants and cowhide shoes constituted his every-day dress at all

consolation for me.”

seasons from year to year and his uniform on all occasions.

53

Thomas O. Larkin

A

In 1842, Commodore Thomas Catesby sailed his ship,

nother important figure in the legend and lore of

the United States, into Monterey Bay, believing that he was

early Monterey was Thomas O. Larkin Also known

outracing a British ship all the way from Callao, Peru, that

as Oliver Larkin, he was invited by his half-brother John

planned to take Monterey by force and claim Alta California

Rogers Cooper to serve as a bookkeeper at his general

for England. Catesby demanded the surrender of Monterey

merchandise store in the heart of Monterey. Larkin sailed

from Governor Alvarado. Negotiations proceeded with

from the East Coast and arrived in April of 1832, becoming

Larkin serving as interpreter. The next morning, the

one of only about seven other men of northern European

Americans paraded through Monterey with the band playing.

descent in the town.

The Monterey Presidio did not have sufficient men or

He only remained in the bookkeeper position for about

arms to resist. Catesby had the Mexican flag taken down at

a year before striking out on his own ventures. His East

the Custom House and replaced it with the Stars and Stripes.

Coast education and business experience, combined with

The American forces seized the California, the lone ship that

the connections that John Cooper and wife Encarnación

comprised the Mexican navy on the California coast.

provided into the Mexican community, proved to be

When Captain Cooper learned of the seizure of the

invaluable. He opened his own store, a flourmill, and then

California, he was reported to have rushed out of doors, and,

a sawmill a little further away in Santa Cruz. His wide-

beholding the changes, scratched his left elbow with his right

ranging ventures included building a wharf in Monterey and

hand, which he always did when unusually or immensely

remodeling the Custom House. In 1843, when California

excited. His neighbors, anticipating some extraordinary

was still under Mexican rule, he was appointed American

outburst of passion, awaited the explosion. His only emotion

Consul to Alta California by President Tyler. He was still

was expressed in another scratch of the elbow and, “Well, I

serving in this position for President James Polk when he

wouldn’t care a snap for the loss of the old schooner, if I only

received several secret messages from the President. These

got a well-rope out of her first.” He had been digging a well,

communiqués, delivered by Marine Lieutenant Archibald

and a rope for the bucket was needed.

Gillespie, instructed Larkin as to how to proceed should war

Cooper got his schooner—and the well-rope—back, as

break out between Mexico and the United States—which

the Americans withdrew the next day, deciding they were

was becoming more and more likely.

not at war with Mexico after all!

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Larkin Store

2014-15, Oil, 16”x 20”

Larkin was a secret supporter of the Bear Flag Revolt, a

were going to be used in an attack on foreigners—in other

rebellion organized by Yankees living north of San Francisco

words, American settlers—under the command of General

against their Mexican rulers. It manifested in June of 1846

Jose Castro. After taking over the Presidio of Sonoma, the

in Sonoma, when a group of Americans placed General

Americans raised a homemade flag with one star and a

Mariano Vallejo, brother of Cooper’s wife Encarnación,

grizzly bear for the short-lived California Republic. Though

and other Mexican soldiers under arrest. Prior they had

the independent nation lasted only a few weeks, the Bear

intercepted Captain Aze and commandeered horses that

Flag lives on as the official California state flag and as a

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John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row beloved symbol on t-shirts, caps, hoodies, and much more.

It was Larkin who persuaded Commodore Sloat to take Monterey from his flagship that had been waiting in the

S

alinas native John Steinbeck had the kind of luck most writers can only dream about. Right in his own

backyard—in this case, Monterey’s sardine canning district—

Monterey Bay for five days alongside two other American

he found the perfect setting and a classic cast of unforgettable

ships with sailors and marines aboard. The Bear Flag Revolt

characters. The results are the novels Cannery Row and Sweet

yielded to the official U.S. takeover in Monterey, paving the

Thursday. Central character Ed Ricketts (a.k.a. Doc) is the

way for California’s statehood.

ideal man: independent, educated, humble and admired.

During the Gold Rush, Larkin and his brother moved to

Doc’s profession as a marine biologist allowed Steinbeck to

the new boomtown of San Francisco. But Larkin returned to

place a non-conformist who was a bit misunderstood as the

Monterey in 1849 as one of the delegates from San Francisco

center of the Cannery Row universe. Mack, Hazel, Joe Elegant,

at the California Constitution Convention at Colton Hall. He

Whitey and the boys, who avoid any idea of a regular job,

was one of forty-eight delegates who signed the constitution,

reside next to Dora’s brothel in the days when the sardine

which was written in both Spanish and English.

canneries flourished and later declined, near Doc’s Western

The stampede of gold-seekers from all over the world in

Biological Laboratory and Lee Chong’s Market.

1849 reduced the Californios to an insignificant minority

Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink,

lacking political power. These original pioneers had the

a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia,

indignity of being treated as foreigners in the land of their

a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and

birth, the role they and their ancestors played in the founding

iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy

of the West all but forgotten. Vallejo lost his vast estate of

lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky

a quarter million acres, and was left only with his home in

tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries,

Sonoma. Fittingly, that property was known as Lachryma

and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as the

Montis, or Tear of the Mountain. Toward the end of his life,

man once said, “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,”

Vallejo said, “I compare the old relic with myself … ruins and

by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through

dilapidation, what a difference between then and now. Then

another peephole he might have said, “Saints and angels, and

youth, strength, and riches; now age, weakness and poverty.”

martyrs and holy men,” and he would have meant the same thing.

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In Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, Steinbeck produced poignant, sensitive observations of people and the physical

Monterey had changed, and so had Cannery Row and its denizens.

place they lived that make them come to life and forever stay

Doc was changing in spite of himself, in spite of the prayers

in our minds. The reader can feel the wind and sun on their

of his friends, in spite of his own knowledge. And why not?

faces, take their steps and feel their feelings as their shared

Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles

experiences take on another dimension. He takes you to a

the curtains at dawn, and comes like the stealthy perfume of

moment in time that you want to visit over and over again,

wildflowers hidden in the grass. Change may be announced by a

like this passage from Sweet Thursday when the winds of

small ache, so that you think you are catching cold.

change begin to blow in Cannery Row after the war.

Before the war Doc lived a benign and pleasant life, which

Looking back, you can usually find the moment of the birth

aroused envy in some gnat-bitten men. Doc made a living, as

of a new era, whereas, when it happened, it was one day hooked

good a living as he needed or wanted, by collecting and preserving

on to the tail of another.

various marine animals and selling them to schools, colleges, and

There were prodigies and portents that winter and spring, but

museums. He was able to turn affable and uncritical eyes on

you never notice such things afterward. On Mount Toro the snow

a world full of excitement. He combined the beauty of the sea

came down as far as Pine Canyon on one side and Jamesburg

with man’s loveliest achievements—music. Through his superb

on the other. A six-legged calf was born in Carmel Valley. A

phonograph he could hear the angelic voice of the Sistine Choir

cloud drifting in formed the letters O-N in the sky over Monterey.

and could wander half lost in the exquisite masses of William

Mushrooms grew out of the concrete floor of the basement of the

Byrd. He believed there were two human achievements that

Methodist Church. Old Mr. Roletti, at the age of ninety-three

towered above all others: the Faust of Goethe and The Art of

developed senile satyriasis and had to forcibly restrained from

the Fugue of J.S. Bach. Doc was never bored. He was beloved

chasing high school girls. The spring was cold, and the rains came

and preyed on by his friends, and this contented him. For he

late. Velella in their purple billions sailed into Monterey Bay and

remembered the words of Diamond Jim Brady who, when told

were cast up on beaches, where they died. Killer whales attacked

that his friends were making suckers of him, remarked, “It’s fun

the sea lions near Seal Rocks and murdered a great number of

to be a sucker—if you can afford it.” Doc could afford it. He had

them…Perhaps all this meant nothing; you never notice such

not the vanity which makes men try to be smart.

things until afterward.

Doc’s natural admiration and desire for women had always

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Cannery Quarters with Ricketts’s Lab 2008, Oil, 12”x 16” In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

Bruce Ariss Way, Cannery Row This concrete walkway, named after Monterey artist Bruce Ariss, covers the site of the “chicken walk,” the dirt path that connected the canneries and the Palace Flophouse that Steinbeck described so vividly in Cannery Row. In the 1930s and 40s, the hills in the district now known as New Monterey were dotted with cabins such as the three pictured here, providing housing for cannery workers, most of them recent arrivals from Japan and the Philippines.

The small, rustic building at far right in this painting is the real “Doc’s lab,” Pacific Biological Laboratories owned by Ed Ricketts. Though not open for public tours except on special occasions, visitors may still get a glimpse of the back deck and the concrete tanks where Ricketts kept his marine specimens by venturing onto the narrow public walkway between the lab and the new hotel next door.

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been satisfied by women themselves. He had few responsibilities

designed and lovely purposelessness. …It was a good thing Doc

except to be a kindly, generous, and amused man. And these he

had, and many people wished they had it too.

did not find difficult. All in all, he had always been a fulfilled and contented man. A specimen so rare aroused yearning in other men, for how few men really like their work, their lives—how very few men like themselves. Doc liked himself, not in an adulatory

Lee Chong’s Market

L

ee Chong’s grocery, while not a model of neatness, was a miracle of supply. It was small and crowded but within its

sense, but just as he would have liked anyone else. Being at ease

single room a man could find everything he needed or wanted

with himself put him at ease with the world.

to live and to be happy—clothes, food, both fresh and canned,

…Where does discontent start? You are warm enough, but

liquor, tobacco, fishing equipment, machinery, boats, cordage,

you shiver. You are fed, yet hunger gnaws you. You have been

caps, pork chops. You could buy at Lee Chong’s a pair of slippers,

loved, but your yearning wanders in new fields. And to prod

a silk kimono, a quarter pint of whiskey and a cigar. The one

all these there’s time, the bastard Time. The end of life is not so

commodity Lee Chong did not keep could be had across the lot at

terribly far away—you can see it the way you see the finish line

Dora’s. The grocery opened at dawn and did not close until the last

when you come into the stretch—and your mind says, “Have I

wandering vagrant dime had been spent or retired for the night.

worked enough? Have I eaten enough? Have I loved enough?”

… and the favorite—Old Tennessee, a blended whiskey

All of these, of course, are the foundation of man’s greatest curse,

guaranteed four months old, very cheap and known in the

and perhaps his greatest glory. “What has my life meant so far,

neighborhood as Old Tennis Shoes. …Lee never left the cigar

and what can it mean in the time left to me?”And now we’re

counter, the top of the glass was his desk. His fat delicate hands

coming to the wicked, poisoned dart: “What have I contributed

rested on the glass, the fingers moving like small restless sausages.

in the Great Ledger? What am I worth?” And this isn’t vanity or

A broad golden wedding ring on the middle finger of his left hand

ambition. Men seem to be born with a debt they can never pay no

was his only jewelry and with it he silently tapped on the rubber

matter how hard they try. It piles up ahead of them. Man owes

change mat from which the little rubber tits had long been worn.

something to man. If he ignores the debt it poisons him, and if he

Lee’s mouth was full and benevolent and the flash of gold when

tries to make payments the debt only increases, and the quality of

he smiled was rich and warm.

his gift is the measure of the man.

—Cannery Row, John Steinbeck

People made pilgrimages to the laboratory to bask in Doc’s

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Doc’s Lab

T

he lights were on in the lab all night and yet he seemed to be up in the daytime too. And the great shrouds of music came out of the lab at any time of the day or night. Sometimes when it was all dark and when it seemed that sleep had come at last,

the diamond-true child voices of the Sistine Choir would come from the windows of the laboratory.

—Cannery Row, John Steinbeck After Ricketts’s death in a traffic accident in 1948, several of his friends, dubbing themselves the PBL Group, took over ownership of the lab. For many years, the lab functioned as a private men’s social club. It was in 1957, inside the plain wooden walls of this modest building, that the idea was hatched for an event that became the world famous Monterey Jazz Festival.

Over the decades, the membership aged and dwindled, and in 1993, the remaining members turned over the property to the City of Monterey to preserve this unique cultural resource. The last member of the PBL Group, Frank Wright of Carmel, died in September, 2017.

In 1960, John Steinbeck made a final trip to the street he made famous and observed in Travels with Charley: It (Monterey) is a beautiful place, clean, well run, and progressive. The beaches are clean where once they festered with fish guts and flies. The canneries which once put up a sickening stench are gone, their places filled with restaurants, antique shops, and the like.

They fish for tourists now, not pilchards, and that species they are not likely to wipe out.

In 1977, a group of scientists connected with Hopkins Marine Station gathered together to carry out the legacy of Ed Ricketts on an ambitious scale: they dreamed of starting a world-class aquarium on the site of the Hovden cannery, which had anchored Cannery Row since 1916. With funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened October 20, 1984. Today, some two million annual visitors pass through this window to the wonders of the ocean.

On the Chicken Walk A walkway Steinbeck referred to as the “chicken walk” connected Lee Chong’s Market to the nearby “Palace Flop House.” Flora, Doc and the boys passed daily on the “chicken walk” and so did the mysterious old Chinaman with the loose shoe sole that made a flapping noise when he walked at dawn. It happened in the time between sunset and the lighting of the street light. There is a small quiet gray period then. People sleeping heard his flapping shoe go by and they awakened for a moment. Steinbeck may have been referring to the ghost of “Chinaman Joe,” a shepherd known in the 1880s for a walking route from Monterey to his home built into a rock formation at Point Joe south of Pt. Pinos.

60

Lee Chong Market with Cannery Walkway

2007, Oil, 16”x 20”

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LOVERS POINT PAINTING

62

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Lovers Point 2015, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Patricia Hamilton, Pacific Grove, California

Pacific Grove

T

his quiet town located on the western edge of the Monterey Peninsula is known for its quaint, lovingly maintained

Victorian homes and as the winter home of the migrating monarch butterfly. The town’s history is graced with esteemed artists, including renowned architect Julia Morgan, who designed the coastal retreat Asilomar, and author Robert Louis Stevenson, who toured Pacific Grove and wrote about it in his book The Old Pacific Capitol. Nobel Prizewinning author John Steinbeck’s family had a weekend cottage in Pacific Grove where he wrote some of his classics in the 1930s. Acclaimed painter Euphemia Charlton Fortune created a mural for the newly-built St. Angela Merici Catholic Church in 1928..

The classic lighthouse located at Point Pinos was constructed in 1855 to aid ships navigating the jagged and often fog-shrouded southern tip of the Monterey Bay, helping vessels locate the entrance to the harbor. The small house with a rooftop beacon helped put “The Point of the Pines,” as it was named by early Spanish explorers, on the map and today is the oldest lighthouse still in operation on the West Coast.

Pacific Grove boasts an entrance to the fabled Pebble Beach Seventeen Mile Drive and is home to migrating monarch butterflies.

The Piney Paradise Local legend has it that this rocky point was originally named Lovers of Jesus Point by the Methodist church ladies who founded “the piney paradise.” Later on, people would describe the three major towns on the Monterey peninsula as “Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove-by-God, and Monterey-by-the-Smell,” the latter a reference to the stench created by the sardine canneries.

63

The butterflies come to a certain eucalyptus grove—now a

dwellings to sell at a minimum price of $50. Under the

sanctuary—annually in October for the moderate climate.

agreement with Jacks, he would receive payment for every

The monarchs are protected under city statute and are

other lot sold. Wooden frames were constructed on the

appreciated as a natural phenomenon.

lots so canvas tents could be hung to create housing. The

The town developed as a Methodist camp retreat in 1875.

event was a seasonal affair. After the summer, the tents were

W.S. Ross, a visiting minister, was seeking help for health

taken down and stored at Chautauqua Hall during winter

issues and came to Pacific Grove because of the temperate

months. The enclave had rules prohibiting alcohol, music,

climate. In summer months he slept on hammocks hung

dancing, card games and dice playing. There were swim attire

in pine groves. After several weeks of fresh coastal air, the

restrictions as well as a curfew. There was a law covering just

reverend’s health improved. He recommended to church

about everything, as John Steinbeck poked fun at in his novel

elders and local land baron David Jacks the idea of locating

Sweet Thursday: …. Pacific Grove sprang full blown from the

a church retreat in the woodsy paradise. Reverend Ross met

iron heart of a psycho-ideo-legal religion. It was formed as a

in San Francisco with church leaders and became part of a

retreat in the 1880s and came fully equipped with laws, ideals,

committee to further explore the suitability of the area as a

and customs. On the town’s statute books a deed is void if liquor

place for meditation, prayer and religious study.

is ever brought on the property. As a result, the sale of iron-and-

In September of 1874, Jacks presented one hundred acres

wine tonic is fantastic. Pacific Grove has a law that requires you

located in the center of his vast Rancho Punta de los Pinos

to pull your shades down after sundown, and forbids you to pull

land holding to the Methodist Church for the new retreat.

them down before. Scorching on bicycles is forbidden, as is sea

Given his entrepreneurial nature, he probably had hopes that

bathing and boating on Sundays. There is one crime which is not

the influx of Methodist visitors would bring attention to the

defined but which is definitely against the law. Hijinks are or is

area and thereby bolster the sale of his surrounding land. At

forbidden.

an organizational meeting in San Francisco, the town was

The Methodists took quite seriously that which David

named Pacific Grove to mirror Ocean Grove, New Jersey,

Jacks had granted them: Moral and prudential control over

the site of another Methodist campground that served as an

the grounds. He created such a declaration when the Pacific

inspiration.

Grove Retreat Association expressed concern at the news

Trustees divided the land into 30’x 60’ lots for tent

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that the Del Monte Hotel was about to be built in nearby

Blue Cottage with Steeple

2013, Oil, 20”x 20”

Pacific Grove’s Quaint Tent Cottages This blue cottage is an example of a classic Methodist campround retreat cottage built on a 30’ X 60’ lot in the 1870s. Originally the structure was a wooden framed tent cabin created for seasonal summer use. Later, it morphed into the cottage that you see today.

65

Monterey by the Pacific Improvement Company. Additional

Charlton, Pacific Grove offers a wealth of interesting

measures were taken when the Methodists fenced in the

architecture, from vintage one-story cottages to colorful

campground and locked the gates in the evening to further

Victorian and Queen Anne mansions. Perhaps the most

control residents and ensure adherence to the numerous

impressive architectural achievement lies at the westernmost

strict rules.

end of town—the Asilomar Conference Grounds.

The Pacific Grove chapter of the Chautauqua Literary

Asilomar—a contraction of the Spanish asilo del mar,

and Scientific Circle was established in 1879. The two week

meaning sea haven—is a masterpiece created by another

seminars became an annual summer event. The CLSC built

talented woman, Julia Morgan, the first female licensed

two museums to showcase the wonders of nature. A small

architect in California. Following the earthquake of 1906 she

wooden octagon-shaped museum once occupied Jewell Park,

redesigned the damaged Fairmont Hotel and then designed

and Chautauqua Hall exists as a community center today.

William Randolph Hearst’s so-called castle in San Simeon,

Together the CLSC and the Pacific Grove Methodist

now a National and California Historic Landmark. In 1913,

Camp Retreat helped shape religious, educational and

the Young Women’s Christian Association hired Morgan to

political directions of California. The religious values included

design buildings for their new seaside leadership camp. With

a reverence for nature and a “clamoring for its protection.”

a keen sense for beauty and practicality, Morgan blended the

John Muir and other pioneers of the Sierra Club attended.

sixteen buildings of Asilomar into the natural surroundings

The “hijinks” ban that Steinbeck had so much fun deriding remained for much of the 20th century. 1969

of pines and sand dunes. Today, Asilomar operates as a conference center under the California State Parks system.

marked the year that it was finally legal to sell liquor in Pacific

Pacific Grove seems to have attracted a number of

Grove, though to this day the town has no stand-alone bar or

strong, independent women in its history. Widow Emily Fish

nightclub. The year 1969 also saw the opening of the Pacific

became keeper of the Point Pinos lighthouse in 1893 at age

Grove Art Center, a community based non-profit that offers

50, a position that she held until 1914. She was light-keeper

studios, classes and exhibitions. Sadly, 1969 marked the

when the 1906 earthquake struck, which damaged the lens

passing of famed local artist Euphemia Charlton Fortune at

and weakened the tower, and oversaw the repairs.

the age of eighty.

Prized for its natural beauty by plein air artists like

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Marine biologist Julia Barlow Platt arrived in Pacific Grove in 1899 after despairing of finding an academic

St. Mary’s by the Sea

2009, Oil, 16”x 20”

position despite her stellar credentials, due to the blatant

Pacific Grove bills itself as “The Last Hometown,” and its

sexual discrimination of the era. She instead devoted her life

homey community events hearken back to a simpler time. In

to being a rabble-rouser and political gadfly—today, she’d

the annual Butterfly Parade that takes place every October,

be referred to as an activist—best known for tearing down a

elementary school children dress in costumes and march

fence that blocked public access to the beach at Lovers Point.

through town to welcome the monarch butterflies. Early

In 1931 at age 74, she was elected mayor and successfully

April sees the aptly-named Good Old Days, a festival of

lobbied Sacramento to permit Pacific Grove to establish its

entertainment, food, and crafts booths along the main street,

own marine sanctuary along the coastline.

Lighthouse Avenue.

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Point Pinos Lighthouse

floor while Aunt Vi and Uncle George slept in their bedroom

Interview with Nancy Spiekerman, August 26, 2013.

on the first floor. As a young man, my uncle George Peterson

was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where my father was

happened to get hired at Aunt Viola’s family farm in Painted

a doctor and mother a nurse anesthetist. Along came the

Woods, North Dakota. He was traveling across the country

Second World War and my father volunteered for the Navy, too

working wherever he could get hired. Her family hired him to

old to be drafted. He was told he would be training the medics in

work. It is there that he fell in love with my Aunt Viola, who had

Great Lakes, Michigan. But instead they sent him to the South

polio and was confined to a wheelchair. George was determined

Pacific, to the Solomon Islands.

to marry her and make a life together. He joined the Coast Guard

I

My mother got tired of shoveling coal (we had a coal-burning

instead of the Navy so he could be stationed on shore so he could

furnace) and snow, so she rented the house and drove my sister

look after Aunt Viola. He was a strong sailor and could lift Aunt

and me to Pacific Grove where one of her sisters (Viola) lived. Vi

Viola out of her wheelchair by himself.

was married to George Peterson, who was the assistant lighthouse keeper at Pt. Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove.

Eventually, my mother moved us to a rental in Pacific Grove.

She worked as an anesthetist at Fort Ord and the Presidio of

What a wonderful spot for two little girls (ages 5 and 7)

Monterey as a volunteer. She also helped at the USO. Though we

to grow up! The lighthouse at that time was encircled by a huge

lived in town, we still spent a great deal of time at the lighthouse.

cypress hedge. We would crawl up among the branches of the

One memorable evening we were playing Chinese checkers in the

hedge and establish little rooms of our make-believe playhouse.

lighthouse kitchen. The radio was on and it was announced that

The lighthouse then sat in the middle of a military reservation

the war was over. The Japanese had surrendered. We danced and

(now a golf course). We would walk down to the beach where my

squealed. Our dad would be coming home.

mother and uncle would go to hunt for abalone. We were told to stay out of the foxholes which dotted the area.

We lived with my aunt and uncle in the lighthouse for about six months, with the three of us sharing a bedroom on the second

68

When that time came, we drove to Salinas to meet the troop train. It pulled in and hundreds of uniformed men exited the train. I was then 10 years old and hadn’t seen my father for almost 4 years. Finally reunited, it was a great homecoming.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

1993-94, Oil, 16”x 20”

The Dream of Lee Chong It is customary to think of a sea captain sitting in his cabin, planning a future grocery store, not to object to wind or bottom-fouling. Lee Chong dreamed while he worked his abacus and passed out pints of Old Tennis Shoes and delicately sliced bacon with his big knife. He dreamed all right—he dreamed of the sea. He did not share his plan or ask advice. He would have got lots of advice.

One day Lee Chong sold out and bought a schooner. He wanted to go trading in the South Seas. He dreamed of palms and Polynesians. In the hold of the schooner he loaded the entire stock of his store—all the canned goods, the rubber boots, the caps and needles and small tools, the fireworks, and calendars, even the glass-fronted showcases where he kept gold-plated collarbuttons and cigarette lighters. He took it all with him. And the last anyone saw of him, he was waving his blue naval cap from the flying bridge of his dream ship as he passed the whistle bouy at Point Pinos into the sunset.

—From Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck

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Point Pinos Lighthouse

1994, Water color, 16”x 24”

Three Views of the Point Pinos Lighthouse After a few days we made the land at Point Pinos (pines), which is the headland entrance to the bay of Monterey ... and five of us went fishing in the jolly-boat in the direction of Point Pinos; but leave to go ashore was refused. We took several fish of various kinds among which cod and perch abounded and our second mate ... brought up with his hook a large and beautiful oyster shell ... that this place is celebrated for ...

—From Two Years Before the Mast, 1840, Richard Henry Dana Westward is Point Pinos, with the lighthouse in a wilderness of sand, where you will find the lightkeeper playing the piano, making models and bows and arrows, studying dawn and sunrise in amateur oil-painting, and with a dozen other elegant pursuits and interests to surprise his brave, old country rivals.

—From The Old Pacific Capitol 1880, Robert Louis Stevenson Just south of the lighthouse is a granite rock formation that had a lean-to built up against it. This was the home of Chinaman Joe in the 1890s. He tended a flock of sheep and sold trinkets to tourists on 17 Mile Drive. The Point was even referred to as Point Joe where he wandered to and from Chinese villages at Point Alones andMcAbee Beach. He walked while softly singing to himself, sometimes with a cat on his shoulder.

—From Chinese Gold, 1985, Sandy Lydon 70

Christian Church looking down Carmel Avenue 2013, Oil 20”x 20” In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

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Feast of Lanterns

T

he week-long Feast of Lanterns is one of those “only

rough wooden dwellings. The shallow-bottom sampan boats

in Pacific Grove” traditions and traces its history

were able to be pulled up on the adjacent shore. Large junks

back to 1905. Originally a winter event to mark the close

would anchor offshore to receive fish for export to San

of the Chautauqua lecture series, it now is held annually in

Francisco and China from six different fishing companies

the third week in July. Activities range from elegant fashion

by 1875. The Chinese first fished for abalone and later for

shows and formal teas to more down-home events like a pet

oysters, mussels, squid and shark. The village grew to serve

parade and street dance. It all climaxes at Lovers Point with an

the larger needs of the region’s Chinese community as

ancient Chinese-themed pageant. A high school girl and her

residents of neighboring towns would come to shop in the

companions act out a melodrama that professes to intertwine

stores or pray at the Joss House.

the Blue Willow legend and the arrival of the monarch

Eventually and perhaps inevitably given the times,

butterflies. It traditionally concludes with a fireworks display

tensions grew between the Chinese and the mostly Caucasian

and a sing-along to the by-now scratchy record of Kate Smith’s

residents of the surrounding towns. The Chinese dried squid

rousing rendition of “God Bless America.”

in the open air, which created an odor that aggravated nearby residents. The Italian fishermen from Monterey complained

Point Alones Chinese Fishing Village

P

about the Chinese fishing nets in the bay, even though they

oint Alones was the third home of the early Chinese

employed similar practices. Portuguese whalers routinely

community of the Monterey Peninsula. After living in

cut the nets belonging to the Chinese sampans.

fishing villages at Point Lobos and Pescadero Point, next to

In 1906, an arsonist was seen leaving the village as he

Pebble Beach, some of the Chinese moved from Carmel Bay

ignited a blaze that burned Pacific Grove’s Chinatown to the

to Monterey Bay and Point Alones, now the site of Stanford

ground. The Pacific Improvement Company held the lease to

University’s Hopkins Marine Station. The fishing village was

the property. One man who witnessed the arsonists fleeing

founded in April of 1853 and grew to over sixty one-story

from the scene of the crime took the identity of the culprits

wooden buildings with shake roofs. A two-story Joss House

“to the grave.” It is believed that the Pacific Improvement

and a one-story school, called the Chinese Mission, both

Company wanted the Chinese gone and this fire was a way

painted white, stood out against the rest of the unpainted,

to expedite matters.

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Point Alones

2013-16, Oil, 20”x 20”

Walk of Remembrance In May 2013, Gerry Low-Sabado led a parade from the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History to Point Alones to commemorate the lives of her ancestors. Pacific Grove has been celebrating Chinese culture with the Feast of Lanterns offand-on since 1905 and annually since 1958, but many residents remain unaware that a Chinese village had once existed in “The Last Hometown” and was burned to the ground in an act of blatant injustice and racial prejudice.

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Steinbeck Cottage

J

Men, which suffered an interesting fate. His new puppy, Toby, chewed the manuscript to shreds. An avid dog-lover,

ohn Steinbeck’s father built this three room family

Steinbeck took it in stride, telling his literary agent, “The

summer cottage in 1903. As a child, the future author

poor little fellow may have been acting critically. I don’t

and his family spent summer vacations here, escaping from

want to ruin a good dog for a manuscript.”

the heat of Salinas. He and his sister would wander over to

Steinbeck used the rustic addition at the left of the main

Point Alones to explore the ruins of the Chinese fishing

house as his writing workroom. He built a fireplace inside

village.

the house and a turtle pond in the backyard. The remnants

After Steinbeck married Carol Henning in 1930, the couple moved into the house. Later that year he met Ed

of the pond’s stonework are still visible in a peek over the fence of this private residence.

Ricketts, also a resident of Pacific Grove, who became

Throughout his life, Steinbeck chose small, unassuming

the inspiration for the character of Doc in Cannery Row.

living spaces, whether it was this little house two blocks

Steinbeck’s father gave him twenty-five dollars a month for

from Monterey Bay, the snug camper truck in which he

an allowance so John could focus on his writing. Quitting

toured the United States in Travels with Charley, or his final

his two part-time jobs, he took advantage of the opportunity

home, a seaside cottage in Sag Harbor, New York. By then,

and wrote some of his classics in the family house: Pastures

his celebrity and wealth could have afforded him digs far

of Heaven, Tortilla Flat and In Dubious Battle.

more opulent, but he preferred to preserve his anonymity as

He continued to live here when his new home in Monte Sereno was being built, writing the first draft of Of Mice and

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much as he could and to live a modest, quiet—some would say Spartan—lifestyle.

Steinbeck House

2014, Oil, 18”x 24”

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76 Salinas Valley Fields with Train Signal

2016, Oil, 18”x 24”

Salinas Valley

T

he Salinas Valley is in Northern California. It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls

at last into Monterey Bay. I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer—and what trees and seasons smelled like—how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.

I remember the Gabilan Mountains to the east of the valley were light gray mountains full of sun and loveliness and a kind of invitation, so that you wanted to climb into their warm foothills almost as you want to climb into the lap of a beloved mother. They were beckoning mountains with a brown grass love. The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding—unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of west and a love of east. Where I ever got such an idea I cannot say, unless it could be that the morning came over the peaks of the Gabilans and the night drifted back from the ridges of the Santa Lucias. It may be that the birth and death of the day had some part in my feeling about the two ranges of mountains.

From both sides of the valley little streams slipped out of the hill canyons and fell into the

The Old Del Monte Express This painting depicts Salinas Valley fields with a defunct Del Monte Express train crossing with signal and rails. The tracks run next to fields of artichokes, lettuce and strawberries that stretch some 20 miles from the Monterey Bay to the base of the Gabilan Mountains and the town of Salinas in the distance. This fertile valley is sometimes referred to as “The Salad Bowl of the World.” The rails and signal are remnants of a leg of the Southern Pacific Railroad known as the Del Monte Express that ran between Castroville and Pacific Grove, the tracks running through Steinbeck country fields over the Salinas River and on to Monterey and Pacific Grove. In 1948, the author’s good friend, Ed “Doc” Ricketts, was tragically killed when his car was struck by the train as it crossed the tracks at Drake Avenue in Monterey.

Tex-Mex legend Doug Sahm lamented the closing of the railway in 1971, immortalizing it in the song, “The Railpak Dun Done in the Del Monte,” that he performed with his group, The Sir Douglas Quintet. The musician had moved to San Francisco after a pot bust in Texas in 1965 and wrote several songs about the places he visited on the coast of California.

bed of the Salinas River. In the winter of wet years the streams

struggles of the downtrodden farm laborers.

ran full-freshet, and they swelled the river until sometimes it

Like Steinbeck, humanitarian Cesar Chavez championed

raged and boiled, bank full, and then it was a destroyer. The

the cause of the migrant workers who toiled in this valley. Born

river tore the edges of the farm lands and washed whole acres

in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez had searing childhood memories

down; it toppled barns and houses into itself, to go floating and

of his father losing his grocery store and ranch due to the

bobbing away. It trapped cows and pigs and sheep and drowned

effects of the Great Depression. Destitute and desperate, the

them in its muddy brown water and carried them to the sea.

family had no option but to follow the flood of migrants into

Then when the late spring came, the river drew in from its

California, where they became farm laborers, following the

edges and the sand banks appeared. And in the summer the

harvests. These experiences at a tender age had a profound

river didn’t run at all above ground. Some pools would be left

and lasting impact on the future farm labor organizer.

in the deep swirl places under a high bank. The tules and the

Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National

grasses grew back, and willows straightened up with flood debris

Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers

in their upper branches. The Salinas was only a part-time river.

or UFW) in 1962. His many activities on the Central Coast

The summer sun drove it underground. It was not a fine river

included leading a march from Castroville to Salinas, and

at all, but it was the only one we had and so we boasted about

organizing rallies in nearby Watsonville. He united laborers

it—how dangerous it was in a wet winter and how dry it was in

and fought for their right to higher wages and better working

a dry summer. You can boast about anything if it’s all you have.

conditions, amenities that are now taken for granted like

Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast.

drinking water and sanitary facilities in the fields.

—East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Pacific Grove resident Gary Karnes has a long history

The Salinas native observed the countryside in a way

of involvement in progressive causes. He joined with Karen

that captivated readers and moviegoers as well. East of

Araujo and Juan Martinez to produce Voices of Change (Park

Eden was one of six Steinbeck novels that were made into

Place Publications, 2016), featuring oral histories of 63 fellow

Hollywood movies. One could make an argument that

activists, many of whom have memories of the early days of

the Salinas Valley itself was one of the major characters in

the UFW movement and of working with Cesar Chavez. The

works like East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, The Pastures of

following stories come from the pages of Voices of Change.

Heaven, and The Red Pony. The Valley was not just a scenic

Rosemary and Howard Matson offered Chavez and his

backdrop, but a hotbed of gripping stories describing the

top aides the use of their home in Carmel Valley as a “safe

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house” in 1970 at the height of the lettuce strike. Howard was

off the lettuce boycott. His supporters feared for Chavez’s life

a Unitarian minister and both were very active in progressive

and actually arranged to have themselves arrested on various

causes. Rosemary recalls one of the neighbors was a major

petty charges so they could keep their eyes on the labor

official with the Growers Association and tried to convince

leader while he was behind bars. Martinez recalls, Not that

the Matsons to get rid of their house guests, but they wouldn’t

it’s a big plot of any kind, just some crazy guy out there decides

hear of it. Rosemary said, Later, the Growers Association official

this guy is name-worthy .... and does him in. Martinez has vivid

stopped calling us. We are not sure why the calls stopped. We

memories of the day Chavez was released from jail, the major

speculated that perhaps either local or state authorities knew

media coverage, and the thousands of people overflowing

Chavez was at our house and suggested the grower back off

onto the streets.

because they did not want a martyr on their hands.

Like many activists, Chavez achieved his greatest respect

Noemi Moreno Armenta, now a member of the Alisal

only after his death. He was posthumously awarded the

Union School District Board of Trustees, was a teenager in

Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton,

1970 when Chavez was in jail in Salinas for his union activity.

and appeared on a U.S. postage stamp in 2003.

She recalls, When Cesar came out of jail—it was the day before Christmas 1970—I think it was the same day that Coretta King

To finish this look into the landscape of legends of the Salinas Valley, we return to Steinbeck and East of Eden:

came to town, and Ethel Kennedy, they were all there. My whole

…she saw how the dawn had come silver to the windows. She

family was there too. There were a lot of people out there, a lot of

smelled the good morning wind rippling the curtains, bringing the

farm workers, and then there were a lot of Anglo people that were

odor of grass and roots and damp earth. After that sounds joined

yelling insults at Coretta King and Ethel Kennedy. Some people

the parade of perception—sparrows haggling among themselves,

actually came up and tried to spit in their faces. It was really, really

a bawling cow monotonously berating a punching hungry calf,

sad to see, but it kind of makes you stronger, you know? To continue

a blue jay’s squawk of false excitement, the sharp warning of a

the fight. We knew that what we were doing was right, the struggle.

cock quail on guard and the answering whisper of the hen quail

Juan Martinez was a UFW organizer who has similar

somewhere near in the tall grass. The chicken yard boiled with

memories of Coretta King and Ethel Kennedy coming

excitement over an egg, and a big lady Rhode Island Red, who

to Salinas in 1970 to show support to Chavez and being

weighed four pounds, hypocritically protested the horror of being

harassed, heckled and spat upon by the growers and their

lustily pinned to the ground by a scrawny wreck of a rooster she

supporters. Chavez was in the Salinas jail for failing to call

could have blasted with one blow from her wing.

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80 Pigeon Point Lighthouse

1993-94, Oil, 16”x 20”

Central Coast

T

his magical stretch of Central Coast has miles of cultivated fields that extend from the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains across Highway

1 to seaside cliffs from Davenport to Half Moon Bay. Artichokes, Brussels sprouts and leeks grow in fertile plateaus broken by small gorges carved out by creeks flowing out of the nearby redwood-covered mountains. Weathered, turn of the century barns and farmhouses accent the fields of different shades of green.

During the mission days and prior to the arrival of agriculture, this region was largely uninhabited except for Chief Pomponio, (a.k.a. Ponponio). Born near Bolinas in 1799 as a member of the Coast Miwok tribe and baptized at age four at Mission Dolores, he developed a strong hatred for the padres as he had watched the torture of his people since childhood. He escaped mission life and lived with his band of followers, called Los Insurgents. They roamed the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains, hiding out from the missionaries in the steep, foliage-covered canyons. Pomponio was finally captured during a raid on Mission Dolores. Sadly, he was taken to the territorial capital of Monterey, tried and then executed by firing squad, and buried at the Royal Presidio Chapel in 1824.

As Northern California’s growth exploded in the late 1800s, lumber for construction of homes and businesses was in high demand. The nearby redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains seemed like the ideal solution, an inexhaustible and highly profitable resource. Before long, 300 square miles of ancient redwood forests had been stripped down to the bare hills. In 1899, local residents began to take action. Led by San Jose photographer Andrew Hill and Stanford University president David Starr Jordan, they formed the 81

Major Creek Farm

Sempervirens Club. Through their fundraising and lobbying campaign, the first California state park was created at Big Basin in 1902. Now called the Sempervirens Fund, the organization continues to protect the redwood forests of the

1994, Oil, 18”x 24”

Swanton Pacific Ranch

O

n October 20, 1769, the Portola-Crespi expedition camped at the present day Waddell Creek, one mile

north of Scott Creek, pictured in this painting of Swanton

Santa Cruz Mountains, playing a key role in the founding of

Pacific Ranch. They were looking for Monterey Bay and

Castle Rock, Butano and Portola Redwoods state parks.

the Carmel River, but couldn’t find either. The sickly group

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Swanton Pacific Ranch

1996, Oil, 18”x 24”

began to regain their health during a month-long stay at

the understanding that it would be used exclusively for

Waddell Creek. They named the valley Cañada de Iassalud—

“agriculture, recreational and educational purposes.”

canyon of health—now known as Rancho del Oso. Today,

Kevin Milligan’s painting of Swanton Pacific Ranch

the property is owned and operated by Cal Poly-San Luis

won a silver award in the 1999 Hilton Head Art League

Obispo as a working ranch. Previous owner Al Smith, the

National Exhibition. The artist’s father, Guy Milligan, won

founder of Orchard Supply Hardware and a graduate of Cal

an award in the watercolor category, and they were selected

Poly, donated the property to his alma mater in 1993 with

by Smithsonian curator Susan Lawson-Bell.

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Barn with Dirt Road

Cascade Ranch

I

1997, Oil, 24�x 30�

Cruz Mountains. The rich plain widened in places, bounded by the Pacific to the west and by forested mountains that rise

first noticed Cascade Ranch while traveling along

dramatically to the east. Agricultural fields spread west of

Highway 1 between Pescadero and Davenport. A narrow,

Highway 1 to the wild saw grass and sand dunes of Franklin

cypress-lined road led back from Coast Highway to sheds,

Point.

barns and farmhouses. The ranch was visible from views on

Worn, faded colors of weather-beaten sheds and

either side of the rows of giant cypress. Brussels sprouts grew

barns and the shingled and tar papered roofs were subtle.

in blue-green fields on a fertile plateau that stretched from

Contrasting shapes and the grouping of buildings were

Highway 1 back to farm buildings at the foot of the Santa

complemented by trees and rusted farm equipment. This

84

White Barn with Farmhouse

1997, Oil, 24�x 30�

motif contained enough elements that would provide a

the morning, another in the early afternoon and a third in

subject with varied compositions. It is this type of visual

the late afternoon or early evening on the long summer days.

information that is a motivating force in my work. These

The morning view was next to a field of Brussels sprouts

particular qualities comprise the fabric of a subject that

looking at a farmhouse and barn with the peaks of the Santa

seemed impossible to make up.

Cruz Mountains rising above the roofs and trees. This

I was content knowing that I could paint several views

painting location was next to the main road that led back to

and only have to move the easel a short distance. Days would

Highway 1. The gravel road had become dry and dusty as the

be spent switching views and canvases with the changing

last rains of April had fallen a long time ago from this hot

light conditions. It would be possible to paint one canvas in

August day.

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Barn with Packing Crates

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

D

1997, Oil, 20”x 24”

crags at Pigeon Point as a place where “black reefs of rocks rear their ugly fangs, like wild beasts watching for their prey.

uring the heyday of clipper ships in the 1850s and

A current sweeps in from Point Año Nuevo toward Pigeon

60s, these rocky shores were the site of numerous

Point, and many a vessel has been drawn in fog, to be dashed

shipwrecks; so many that the name Pigeon Point came from

on rocks.” He added a macabre touch, “On the sandy bluff

the sinking of a ship called the Carrier Pigeon in 1853. In

at Point Año Nuevo is an enclosure within which lie buried

1889, Colonel Albert Evans vividly described the coastal

side by side, forty of the victims of these terrible disasters.”

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Pigeon Point Lighthouse

1995, Watercolor, 16”x 22”

The lighthouse was long petitioned for, as early as

was Eusebio J. Molera, married to Amelia Bautista, the

1855, and construction on the classic white tower finally

daughter of Monterey pioneers John Rogers Cooper Bautista

commenced in 1871. The beacon was lit for the first time

and Encarnación Vallejo.

at sunset on November 15, 1872, and the lens cast magical

Today, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse remains an active

light beams that looked like spokes in 360 degrees. A name

Coast Guard navigational aid and is a California State

connected to the legend and lore of early California played a

Historic Park.

role in the lighthouse construction, as the assistant engineer

87

Arata Ranch

1993, Oil, 16”x 20”

Arata Pumpkin Farm

I

n 1932, teenage brothers John and Clarence Arata started

had just created a popular seasonal tourist industry. Today, an

to grow pumpkins to feed the family’s hogs. So the story

estimated 3,000 tons of pumpkins are grown on farms in and

goes, they were carrying an armload of pumpkins along

around Half Moon Bay and shipped throughout the United

Highway 1 when a passing motorist stopped and asked if he

States. The citizens of Half Moon Bay celebrate all things

could buy a few. The brothers said sure, selling the orange

pumpkin at the Art and Pumpkin Festival in mid-October,

gourds for a quarter apiece. Little did they know that they

featuring a weigh-off to find the world’s heaviest gourd.

88

Farm at Pilarcitos Canyon 1996, Oil, 24”x 30” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

Tree Farm at Pilarcitos Canyon

L

to harvest and a brand-new business was born. Dan, wife

ike the Arata Pumpkin Farm, this “choose and cut”

Natalie and son Mike continue to run Santa’s Tree Farm and

Christmas tree farm outside of Half Moon Bay all

Village, now offering 70 acres of Christmas trees. The dairy

began with a teenage boy. In 1969, Dan Sare needed a project

barn has been converted into a themed workshop for Santa’s

for Future Farmers of America, so he decided to plant

elves. After 40-plus years in the business, the Sares frequently

Monterey Pine seedlings on an unused patch of land on his

hear customers say, “I came here as a child with my parents,

family’s dairy farm. Three years later, the trees were ready

and now I’m bringing my own children here.”

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90 Golden Gate Bridge 1996, Oil, 24”x 20” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

San Francisco

Catalina Monastery in Monterey until her death in 1857.

Their bittersweet love story lived on in 19th century popular

I

n 1806, the Russians arrived in California when the

culture, in a ballad written by Bret Harte and a novel by

Rezanov expedition sailed through the Golden Gate on

Gertrude Atherton. More recently, a Russian rock opera

two ships, the Avos and the Juno. Captain Nikolai Rezanov

about the star-crossed lovers, called Juno and Avos, premiered

met with the Presidio Commandant, Don Jose Argüello, his

in 1981 and has played to sold-out audiences in Moscow ever

family and Catholic missionaries. Rezanov’s exterior motive

since.

was to negotiate a trade: the Californios’ wheat in exchange

The Golden Gate again provided the backdrop to history

for the Russians’ metal tools. In reality, his intention was far

when US Naval Captain John B. Montgomery sailed through

more ambitious—the colonization of Alaska and California

the passage on the sloop Portsmouth and captured Yerba

for the Russian tsar.

Buena from the Mexicans on July 9, 1846. Montgomery was

During Rezanov’s six months’ stay at the San Francisco

following orders from Commodore John Drake Sloat, who

Presidio, fate intervened. He fell in love with Argüello’s

had taken possession of the Mexican capital of Monterey two

15-year-old daughter, Maria Concepción, known as

days earlier. Sloat’s dispatch on July 6 read, I have determined

Conchita. She returned the feeling. They became engaged,

to hoist the flag of the United States at this place (Monterey)

creating a sensation in the tiny colony due to their differences

tomorrow, as I would prefer being sacrificed for doing too much

in nationality, religion and age. Rezanov left for Russia to

rather that too little. If you have sufficient force, or if Fremont

obtain permission to marry from the tsar. On this return

will join you, hoist the flag at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) or

journey to the Russian capital, he became ill and died of

any other proper place, and take possession of the fort and that

fever and exhaustion shortly after reaching land in Siberia.

portion of the country. Montgomery received the order on the

One year later Conchita was informed of his death, but she

8th and captured Yerba Buena the next day.

refused to believe the story. The young woman waited for

On October 6, 1854, entrepreneur Henry Meiggs sailed

him for 35 years, accepting the sad reality only when Sir

out of San Francisco on the brig America with five thousand

George Simpson explained the details of Nikolai’s death to

dollars in gold. He was escaping from his mounting debts

her 1842. She was so heartbroken that she took a vow of

and fleeing from creditors after his real estate investments

silence and lived out her years as a Dominican nun at Santa

crashed and his Mendocino lumber mill failed to show a 91

profit. He reinvented himself in Chile, orchestrating the

June 1976, the Golden Gate again saw history as the SS

building of a railway from sea level up thousands of feet into

Phyllis Cormack headed out to sea for the first time as part

the Andes, using redwood ties purchased from his former mill

of the Mendocino Whale Wars, its mission to interfere with

in Mendocino! Today his legacy is a network of warehouses,

foreign ships while they were attempting to harpoon whales.

piers and streets along the San Francisco waterfront known

Nicholas Wilson, the official photographer of MWW, stated

as Fisherman’s Wharf.

in 2014, “It was a thrill when our ship passed beneath the

In 1915, thousands traveled from around the world by ship through the Panama Canal and on through the

Golden Gate Bridge headed out on our first mission to Save the Whales.”

Golden Gate to San Francisco to attend the Panama-Pacific

Ghirardelli Square and Angel Island

International Exhibition, celebrating the city’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the great .earthquake and fire just nine years previous.

During construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1936, ironworker Alfred Zampa slipped on a piece of wet iron and

I

talian candy-maker Domenico Ghirardelli got word of the gold strike at Sutter’s Mill and went sailing for

California. He quickly figured out that the real treasure

plunged off the bridge into safety netting that had been strung

lay not with prospecting, but with selling supplies to the

far below. The net saved his life but still gave way. He crashed

thousands of fortune-seekers pouring into the new state.

to the ground, breaking four vertebrae. His recovery time

He set up shop in tents, first in Stockton and later in San

was spent at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco in a body

Francisco. In 1852, he incorporated as D. Ghirardelli and

cast. He was one of 19 men who fell from the bridge during

Co., becoming one of the oldest businesses in continuous

construction who formed a group called “The Half Way to

operation in the state.

Hell Club.” He was known as an ‘ace around the iron’ and

In 1893, Ghirardelli purchased an entire city block

would often say, “When I fall off the bridge I will bounce up

near Fisherman’s Wharf as his business headquarters and

like a rodeo clown.” He would not work in the rain and told

chocolate factory. Today, Ghirardelli Square is preserved as

his son, “That‘s work for desperate men.” Zampa recovered

a complex of restaurants, shops and condos

from his injuries and went on to work on the construction

Angel Island, a prominent feature of San Francisco Bay

of numerous other bridges, living to age 95. The Carquinez

and visible in this painting, is known as the “Ellis Island

Straits Bridge is named in his honor.

of the West.” Between 1910 and 1940, an estimated one

92

Ghiradelli Sign with Clock Tower 1997-2004, Oil, 18”x 24” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

million Asian immigrants made their way through the Angel

They carved poems into the walls, some of which endure to

Island Immigration Station on their way to a new life in the

this day despite many attempts by government officials over

United States.

the years to paint over their emotional expressions.

Unlike Ellis Island, though, the purpose of Angel Island

World War II finally prompted the closure of the

was not so much the processing of potential new citizens, but

immigration station. Today Angel Island is a state park, and

keeping Asians from entering the country. Many spent weeks

the building where so many waited for the chance to pass

or even months in the barracks enduring long and stressful

through the “Gateway to America” is a National Historic

interrogations as they waited for their case to be decided.

Landmark.

93

Palace of Fine Arts 1996-1999, Oil, 24”x 30” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

94

Palace of Fine Arts

T

Gauguin, Pissarro, Renoir, Fantin-Latour, Toulouse-Lautrec and Sisley. Many California painters attended in order to

he 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition

study these master works and were greatly influenced by

celebrated the rebuilding of San Francisco after the

what they saw.

1906 earthquake and fire, as well as the completion of the

The United States section of the Pan Pacific International

Panama Canal, which now linked California’s jewel—San

Eposition grew to an exhibit of over 4,500 paintings. Separate

Francisco—to the East Coast. The world’s fair was a huge

feature exhibitions were held for California masters: Arthur

event, with a fairground of over six hundred acres created by

Mathews, Francis McComas and William Keith. California

landfill in the mudflats of what is now the Marina District.

was represented by gold medals for Henry Joseph Brewer,

Most of the buildings, designed by famed architect Bernard

and Paul Dougherty. William Ritschel, E. Charlton Fortune,

Maybeck, were intended to be temporary—constructed

Armin Hanson, Lucia Mathews, Bruce Nelson, and Joseph

merely from wood frames and foundations with plaster and

Raphael won silver medals. Anne Bremer and Percy Gray

burlap walls. A color theme consisting of eight pastels added

were bronze medalists. Of Fortune’s seven entries, several

unity to the new entertainment district. Maybeck’s beautiful

were smaller works, 12”x 16” oils that were painted outdoors

Palace of Fine Arts was the one structure chosen to remain as

at the Exposition depicting people, the grounds and

a glorious reminder of the event.

architecture made in a virtuoso fluid style that demonstrated

Like the architecture and artistic scheme of the buildings

a clear knowledge of Impressionism.

and grounds, exhibits displayed the latest word, the newest

Many critics felt satisfied that California artists had held

thought, a New Day for the New World. Each state in the

their own. Christian Brinton, author of the book Modern

union was represented in its own building. Despite the

Artists, was a visitor to the Exposition and wrote: The west

threat of World War I, twenty-two foreign nations were

has a great future in art. Indeed, I go so far as to say the future of

housed in separate buildings, with England and Germany

art belongs to the west. It is inevitable. The freshness and vitality

missing. A large European section exhibited the works of

of your life , the stimulation of the environmental influences—

French Impressionists like Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Degas,

these things must result in big things.

95

96 Pyramid Rock at Rodeo Beach 1994, Oil, 12”x 16” In the collection of Patricia Dillon, El Sobrante, California

Sausalito

T

he saga of William Richardson—founder of the hamlet that would become San Francisco, as well as the town of

Sausalito—is a classic rags-to-riches-to-rags tale that seems all too common in early California history.

In 1822, Richardson was 27 and the first mate of the British whaler Orion when he first arrived at the Presidio of San Francisco, then a remote territorial outpost owned by Mexico. Since he spoke Spanish he was selected by Captain Barney to purchase meat and water for the Orion at the Presidio. He made friends quickly and was invited to and stayed for an all-night fiesta. When he returned to the ship the next morning he was likely discharged. But, he saw the opportunity his bilingual skills afforded him and left the life of a crew member of the Orion for one in this new frontier. He traveled to the territorial capital—Monterey—and petitioned the governor of Alta California, Pablo Vincente Sola, to remain in Yerba Buena.

He was granted permission under the provision that he instruct the Mission Indians on how to build boats for San Francisco Bay as well as how to navigate the waters.

Thus Richardson became the first Anglo allowed to live in the Mexican Presidio, first residing with Commander Ignacio Martinez and family, teaching carpentry. In the course of the project to introduce the Indians to seamanship, he constructed a small launch for himself, which he used to move cargo and people around San Francisco Bay. He became the first person to draw up navigational charts of this important body of water.

97

Three years after his arrival, he converted to Catholicism

For years, Richardson worked the lucrative hide and

and became a Mexican citizen. He fell in love with the

tallow trade with merchants from up and down the coast

Commandant’s oldest daughter, Maria Antonia Martinez,

to South America. The Californios had a plentiful supply of

and they married in 1825.

cow hides that were needed for the manufacture of shoes and

In 1829, Richardson moved his family south to Mission

belts, as well as tallow for making soap and candles. These

San Gabriel, where they lived for six years and where he

“California Greenbacks” could be traded with entrepreneurs

met the Governor of Alta California, Jose Figueroa.

from South America, Europe and New England for items the

They talked about colonization and commerce of Alta

Californios needed. Especially prized were shoes, furniture

California. When Figueroa appointed him Port Captain of

and clothing—crucial necessities not yet being made in Alta

Yerba Buena, Richardson headed back north to the upstart

California. Richardson shifted his base of operation across

town to assume the new job. He decided Yerba Buena Cove

the bay in 1841, when he was awarded a grant of 19,500 acres

would be the perfect location for his family’s home. On

of land known as Rancho Sausalito as a reward for his time

June 25, 1835, he chose a site on a rise above the beach and

served as Port Captain of Yerba Buena. He was also granted a

set up a temporary dwelling made from a ship’s sail and four

small residential parcel on Yerba Buena Cove.

redwood posts. This was the first residence at Yerba Buena

He assumed the position of Port Captain at Richardson

Cove, site of the future city of San Francisco. Today a small

Bay (a. k. a. Whalers Cove), where he acted as a pilot and

plaque on the front of a store at 827 Grant Avenue in the

interpreter to ships entering the Golden Gate and on to

heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown marks the site of that

Richardson Bay, where they could stock up on food and

first home in San Francisco.

water. His family lived on the huge rancho that stretched

Mariana Richardson, daughter of the captain, was nine

all the way to Bolinas Bay. During the Bear Flag Revolt, he

years old when they arrived and later she recalled: Father,

remained loyal to the Mexican government and allowed

upon arriving at Yerba Buena, pitched his tent and made us as

Mexican Captain de la Torre to use his launch to escape John

comfortable as possible. Yerba Buena at the time was nothing

C. Fremont’s attack and flee across the bay to the safety of

but sand dunes, covered with shrubbery and trees. Most of the

Yerba Buena. Rancho Sausalito served as a haven for some of

trees are what we call the Christmas berry. Wild animals were

his Mexican friends.

numerous such as bears, wolves and coyotes.

98

Richardson continued to prosper when the United

States took control of California and the Gold Rush brought

cows that had strayed into the village of Mendocino a mile

a flood of fortune-seekers to the area. Like other shrewd

away. This early training helped her grow into an expert

businessmen, Richardson quickly figured out that the real

equestrian.

riches could be found not by mining, but in selling supplies to the thousands of 49ers on their way to the Mother Lode.

James Alinder accompanied Ansel Adams on a photographic trip, to the Marin Headlands not long after

But the good times didn’t last forever. Richardson

Adams’ eightieth birthday. This outing brought back

purchased three ships and cargo, which all sank at sea

memories of his youth when he would sling a camera over his

within six months in the same year of 1855. This, combined

shoulder or load his gear onto a pack mule for a trip high into

with problems with a newly constructed lumber mill at

the Sierra. He said he felt “a bit sad” to be confined to the car

Albion, led to his financial ruin. He was awarded a second

and limited to a roadside shot. Using his patented medium

land grant on the North Coast called Rancho Albion,

format Hasselblad (that he insisted on loading himself), he

where high seas destroyed his water-powered sawmill in

photographed a crumbling concrete bunker.

the first year. Despite owning two massive land grants, he

Adams said about the subject he photographed that day,

fell on hard times. Like so many of the Mexican Californios,

“It seems that almost anything that endures in time acquires

this original Anglo settler could not keep up with the new,

some qualities of the natural,” and, “Bleak shapes grow into a

fast-changing times. The influx of newly arriving Americans

kind of magic that once seen, cannot be easily ignored.”

and Europeans eroded the old-timers’ political base and

From Ansel Adams and the American Landscape by

relevance, and they saw their way of life fade away piece by

Jonathan Spaulding. In a 2016 interview, photographer James

piece, along with their land.

Alinder told me that this excursion was Adams’ second-to-

In the early 1900s Peter R. Donaho was the dairyman

last outdoor photographic session.

in the Marin Headlands for the government, serving Fort Barry. Here at Fort Barry his wife Lillian gave birth to their first child, Bonita, who was named after nearby Point Bonita.

The family moved in 1912 to operate the Ocean View Dairy on the north side of the village of Mendocino. As a young girl, Bonita would ride on horseback to help round up

99

100 Coast Guard House with Drakes Bay 2004, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

Point Reyes

E

nglish pirate Sir Francis Drake careened his ship, the Golden Hind, in a large lagoon off a bay which now bears his name—Drakes Bay—on

June 17, 1579. This protected estero was the perfect location: safe from ocean surf, allowing the ship to be emptied and turned on its side. The careenage was necessary as the vessel had been out to sea on a long voyage and was leaking. The party of two ships had first sailed north to Oregon, but were driven south by battering northwesterly storms. Unable to find a passage around North America back to England, Drake was forced south in search of a haven to make repairs, finding shelter from the bay after rounding Chimney Rock. Drake’s crew camped for thirty-six days to rest and repair, with Drake claiming the land for the Queen. In honor of his country, he named the new land Nova Albion.

When the voyage began at Plymouth, England, the flagship was first called the Pelican, then renamed the Golden Hind, after the chief patron of the voyage, while making port at the Strait of Magellan. Two additional ships accompanied Drake to the tip of South America. They met harsh storms and the Marigold was lost with all hands, while the Elizabeth headed back to England. Drake’s small warship with twelve guns headed north, raiding ports in Chile and Peru. He learned that the Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, known as Cacafuego, had left Lima and was headed for Panama, laden with riches. In two weeks Drake caught up with the Cacafuego near the equator

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Drake’s Cove from “F” Ranch

Oil, 12” X 16”

and took her by surprise. The reward was substantial: silver

The heavily-laden ship was barely able to make it into the

bars, coins, gold and jewels weighing twenty-six tons. He

shallow, sixteen-and-a-half foot deep estero entrance at high

let the ship and crew go free after capturing the loot. Off

tide. Once safely inside, the twenty-six tons of stolen riches

the coast of Costa Rica, Drake seized a small passenger bark

had to be taken off the ship to perform the careenage in a

that could sail in open seas and yet was small enough to

sub-inlet, now known as Drake’s Cove. Water casks, cannon

row and pilot the Golden Hind into coves. This smaller boat

and food were also removed for the careening procedure.

led the way when the two ships discovered Drakes Bay and

Tackle from the mainmast was attached to the small bark

then Drakes Estero.

alongside to steady the giant ship as it shifted. Using small

102

rafts, the crew worked on the hull, burning and scraping

left behind in California the small, forty foot bark that he

off seaweed and barnacles. Other repairs and maintenance

had seized off Cano Island, along with twenty sailors who

involved adding new planking and caulking. For security,

were suffering from shellfish poisoning. One crew member, a

the crew made small stone walls next to the encampment at

Portuguese pilot named N. de Morena, made a four year trek

Drake’s Cove. Perhaps the English pirates were unsure of the

by land all the way to Mexico. The other sailors blended with

reception they might receive from the indigenous people, or

the Native population, with evidence of Anglo features and

feared a surprise arrival of a Spanish ship seeking reprisals

traits mixed with the Miwok being reported by eighteenth-

and return of their plundered valuables.

century Spanish explorers.

The English foreigners met the Coast Miwok and

Dairy farming on the windswept coastal grasslands

exchanged gifts. This we know because some of those

became the key focus of Point Reyes in the 1860s and remains

objects were found in 20th century archeological digs. The

so today. Consumers in nearby San Francisco came to look

Miwok gathered in large numbers to witness the visitors’

to the Point Reyes brand as a symbol of high quality when

strange ships and customs. As they became acquainted

it came to butter, cheese and milk. The land was divided

with each other, the two different cultures performed

into dairies, named with letters of the alphabet, and rented

ceremonies together, including the coronation of Drake,

by tenants of Swiss, Irish, Portuguese, Filipino, German,

whom the Miwoks thought to be a god. The Natives

Mexican and Miwok descent. Two early ranches were owned

believed in the divinity of these mysterious strangers to the

by C. W. Howard and the Shaffer brothers. Solomon Pierce

point that the women performed self-mutilating rituals,

maintained a self-contained operation in a beautiful setting

violently scratching themselves and throwing themselves

overlooking Tomales Bay. In 1985, Pierce Point was added

onto rough rocks or thorny foliage. This behavior unsettled

to the National Register of Historic Places and opened as an

and upset the English pirates, who tried to convey to the

interpretive site, now with a tule elk habitat. The National

Miwoks that they were not gods and did not want or need

Park Service has acquired 17 of the historic ranches. The

the Natives’ worship.

conservation of this special place for generations to come

Drake left New Albion to complete his circumnavigation of the globe, sailing near the Philippines, the Spice Islands

was solidified by the founding of the Point Reyes National Seashore.

and across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. He

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Cliffs at Drakes Bay

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Oil, 14” X 18”

The Point Reyes Boat House

P

oint Reyes is home to a decomissioned lifesaving station known as the Boat House. Established in 1890, it is credited with saving countless

lives and vessels in its 80-year history. Its heroic past has a strange and somewhat spooky side.

On a stormy Thanksgiving eve in 1960, a two-man crew responded to a distress call from a fishing boat north of Fort Bragg. They successfully rescued the boat, then set out to return to Drake’s Bay. But they never made it. The next morning, a search party found the lifeboat run aground just 150 yards from the Boat House, with the motor still running and the propeller still churning. But there was no sign of either crew member, and their bodies were never found.

Twenty years later, when the Boat House became part of the National Park Service, the lifeboat was restored with the intention of using it for ceremonial purposes. It was on display on two sawhorses, waiting for its rechristening before a crowd of reporters and park personnel, when it suddenly lurched forward and crashed to the ground, smashing one of the sawhorses and damaging the keel of the boat.

Today, the “haunted lifeboat” is shut away in a room, still teetering on an old sawhorse, and people who have spent the night in the Boat House report hearing mysterious footsteps and supposedly secure items falling to the floor by themselves.

The White Cliffs of the Pacific This country our generall named Albion, and that for two causes: the one in respect of the white bancks and cliffes, which lie toward the sea; the other, that it might have some affinity, even in name also, with our owne country, which was sometime so called. — World Encompassed, a book written by Sir Francis Drake’s nephew, in 1628.

105

BLDGS WITH ROAD DILLON BEACH

106

Warehouses with Road to Dillon Beach

Oil, 16” X 20”

Tomales

L

ike so many delightful locales on the North Coast, the early days of Tomales are shrouded in mystery and confusion. The Vizcaíno Expedition, sent by Spain to explore and map its New World

territories, discovered Tomales Bay in 1603, but mistook it for a river, naming it Rio Grande de San Sebastian. Another 250 years would pass before the hamlet had enough residents to merit a post office, and by 1879, it was officially calling itself Tomales.

Though tiny in size, Tomales is rich in architectural diversity, with Italianate commercial buildings and Queen Anne-style cottages. A satellite church of Mission San Rafael Archangel—Church of the Assumption of Mary—was built in 1866 and features a crenellation detail on the top of the white, square bell tower. Handsome Gothic windows flank the front door with similar windows on both sides of the structure. From the dairy fields below, this imposing church can be seen from a distance because of its hillside location.

Rock legend Jessie Colin Young moved to Inverness Ridge above Tomales Bay in 1970 as his fame soared with his group, the Youngbloods, and their mellow, peace-and-brotherhood hits like “Get Together” and “Sunshine,” as well as the heavy rock hit “Darkness Darkness,” covered by Led Zeppelin. The New York native produced albums from his home-based studio; the Youngbloods’ third—Elephant Mountain—was

named after a nearby peak. He celebrated his love of the tree-covered hideaway with its views of Point Reyes to the west and Tomales Bay to the east with songs like “Mornin’ Sun,” “Ridgetop” and “Evenin’” in his 1973 album, Song for Juli. Sadly, the Mount Vision fire on October 5, 1995, engulfed Inverness Ridge and destroyed 48 homes, including Young’s long-time sanctuary, triggering a move to Hawaii.

Though far distant from the nation’s media and technology centers, Tomales played an important role in the development of radio, with Guglielmo Marconi choosing this location in 1913 to set up a trans-Pacific receiver station. Today, the hotel he built to house his employees is a conference center run by the state. Going full circle, today Kate Hayes, the wife of Youngbloods’ bassist David Hayes, is the midday personality on classic rock station KOZT (“The Coast”) in Mendocino.

107

Mouth of Russian River with Penny Island

108

Oil, 18” X 24”

Russian River

N

ikolai Rezanov sailed past the Russian River circa 1807 with his ships Juno and Avos as he searched

for a place to establish a California outpost of the Russian-

clever caps provided protection from the sun’s glare off rivers and the ocean while serving as camouflage.

Penny Island

A

bout eighty years after Rezanov’s voyage, another Russian trading vessel visited the area and made a

American Company. He had just negotiated a trade

lasting impact in the form of an eleven-year-old stowaway

agreement at the San Francisco Presidio with Commandant

from Guam named Joe Santos. The South Sea Island native

Don José Argüello and had become engaged to Argüello’s

stayed behind and was adopted by the Kashaya Band of

teenage daughter Maria. Rezanov would find the site for his

Pomo. He later married a Pomo named Nora. Together

Ross Colony ten miles north of the river. From Fort Ross,

they built a house on a sand-spit next to Goat Island. When

Aleuts imported from the Russian colony in Alaska would

the home was destroyed by high seas in a winter storm in

paddle their seal skin-covered baidarka kayaks all the way

1914, the Penny brothers invited the couple to construct a

down from Fort Ross to the Russian River. The one hundred

new home on their delta island. Two homes were built on

acre Kostromitinov Ranch stood at Willow Creek, not far

stilts near a pig barn. Another barn was constructed for a

from the mouth of the river. The ranch included a house,

herd of cows that produced milk for their Jenner Island Milk

barracks, granary, threshing floors and a boat landing, and

Company. They delivered milk by flat-bottom redwood

the fields were planted with wheat. The otter-hunting parties

boats to neighbors perched in the hills above Jenner.

could rest at the ranch before traveling on to other stations

William “Bill” Graham lived on the small sandbar—Penny

at Bodega Bay and the Farallon Islands. Some Aleut otter

Island—as a youth. Penny Island is visible near the mouth

hunters wore a disguise—wooden helmets with visors with

of the Russian River in the adjacent painting. In 2015, Bill

a carved otter face complete with whiskers on the front. The

Graham recalled, “When we left in 1976, we were the last to live on Penny Island.”

Memories of Penny Island This painting depicts the Russian River flowing into the Pacific Ocean at Jenner. The delta formation near the mouth of the river is the sandbar called Penny Island. The children attended nearby Jenner Grammar School, a one-room schoolhouse. Instead of a yellow bus, they traveled to school on a boat made of redwood planking. In an interview in 2016, William “Bill” Graham, the last person to live on the island, described his teacher, Mrs. Cuthill, as a “beautiful person and a wonderful teacher, but a stern taskmistress.”

109

Kuskov House with Chapel

2008, Oil on Canvas, 16�x 20�

The Russians Come to Northern California In building Fort Ross, the Russians followed the design for their fort in Sitka, Alaska, creating a walled fortress made of huge timbers twenty feet tall. The stockade was built in the shape of a rectangle, about 294 feet long by some 252 feet wide, situated on headlands several hundred yards from ocean-side cliffs. Two turrets were constructed in the northeast and southwest corners with openings for flintlock muskets and cannons to protect against attack. The timbered walls enclosed a chapel, a well, quarters for three clerks, a kitchen, a barracks, Rotchev House (for the commandant), and three fur warehouses.

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Ft. Ross

O

Fort Ross was organized under class lines, with the Russian officers privileged to live inside the fort. Russians

ne of the most surprising and fascinating aspects of

with Creole family (mixed California Native and Aleut blood)

California history concerns the early 19th century

lived in small cabins outside to the west of the stockade, each

Russian settlement in Sonoma County. In 1812, Russian

with its own garden. The local Kashaya band of the Pomo tribe

explorers headed by Ivan Kuskov established a permanent

lived on the outside of the stockade on the northeast side and

settlement called Fort Ross on an isolated stretch of

in other encampments in the hills to the east. The Aleutians

California coastal headlands forty miles north of Bodega

resided on the west side of the fort in a village consisting of

Bay. The Russians chose the remote location with political

wooden houses and subterranean dwellings built into the

and geographic strategy in mind, as a steep set of coastal

hillside facing south to Sandy Beach below.

mountains separated the new outpost from rival SpanishMexican neighbors to the south and east.

Before building Fort Ross, the Russian-American Company had established a headquarters on Sitka Island in

Twenty-five Russians accompanied Kuskov and some

1808. From this Alaskan outpost, the Russians began trading

eighty Aleutian Island natives to establish a new eastern

with the Spanish in San Francisco. After a period of famine,

outpost in California. Some of the Russian craftsmen on the

Nikolai Rezanov took action and sailed from Sitka to San

Fort Ross expedition had recently rebuilt their fort at Sitka,

Francisco. Presidio Commandant Don José Argüello received

in present-day Alaska, that had been burned to the ground

approval from Spain to make a deal with the Russians: wheat

by natives during a revolt. Outside the walls could be found

in exchange for metal implements. Rezanov returned to Sitka

a scattering of mixed-use buildings and villages belonging

with both the wheat and an idea—to take possession of the

to a variety of ethnic groups. These out-buildings included

one unoccupied stretch of California coastline for use as an

bathhouses, a bake house, threshing floors, brick works,

agricultural and hunting base for the settlements in Russian

barns, two grindstones, (one powered by a windmill, the

Alaska. A few days before his death, Rezanov persuaded the

other by water) and a tannery. Adjacent to the fort, down on

Russian governor of Alaska, Alexander Baranov, to form an

Sandy Beach, stood a blacksmith shop, boathouse, cooperage

expedition with the goal of establishing a colony in California.

and shipways.

A large part of the plan involved the use of the Native 111

people of Alaska as a labor force. The Aleuts were always the

as hoped due to foggy climate, poor soil conditions, and the

largest group at Fort Ross. At any one time there might be

Russians’ lack of knowledge about basic agricultural science.

as few as fifty or as many as one hundred twenty-five Aleuts,

Some crops did flourish, but raccoons, gophers, mice, and

compared to twenty-five to one hundred Russians, living at

blackbirds devoured seeds, roots, fruit and vegetables.

the California outpost. The Russians coerced the Aleuts into

Livestock herds were developed from trades for

traveling away from their homeland to hunt the sea otter.

breeding stock with the Spanish missionaries. The herds

Even though they were paid a small wage, some were forced

grew to thousands of cattle, horses, mules and sheep. The

to leave their families against their will. Often the women

enterprising Russians were achieving their goal of self-

and children left behind suffered as a result.

sufficiency and were able to ship a surplus of butter, wool,

Kirill Khlebnikov was the accountant and bookkeeper

tallow, hides, and salt beef to Sitka. Wool blankets and saddle

for the Russian-American Company during the Fort Ross

cloths were woven at Ross, and a tannery run by an Aleut

years, and his records form a valuable archive for researchers

produced leather shoes and boots.

today. Among his papers is a letter to him from one of his

In 1817, shipwright Vasily Grudinin arrived from Sitka to

managers, a Finn named Karl Schmidt, who wrote candidly

build ships at Ross, resulting in the first large seagoing vessels

about the desperate reality of life for the Aleuts: …the men

built in California and adding another colorful chapter to

all asked me to not keep them for the hunt…because the last

the enterprise of the Russians. Under his direction, the Fort

time they had been separated from their families, their wives

Ross carpenters built the Rumyantsev, Buldakov, Volga, and

and families (had) received no assistance and had gone hungry;

the Kyakhta from oak and redwood. Unfortunately, they

therefore they begged me to help this time to feed their families.

didn’t season the oak planks long enough to prevent rotting.

Not with-standing the shortage of supplies at Ross, I tried to

As a result, these ships had to be restricted to voyages close

supply them some food as much as possible but some of the

to the home port, and after about three years of service, rot

women nevertheless ran away out of hunger and others endured

had rendered them useless.

terrible privation.

Aleut men sometimes married Kashaya, Coast Miwok

The Natives and Aleuts at Ross produced vegetables,

and Southern Pomo women with the consent of the Russian–

grain, cattle, and fruit from an orchard that still exists today.

American Company and tribal leaders. As is typically the

The Ross settlement was not as successful with growing wheat

case, the marriages resulted in offspring. The children of these

112

mixed ethnic unions were called Creole. Russian men also

Little has been written about the negative cultural

chose wives from the local Indian population due to the lack

impacts of the Russian settlement in California and how

of Russian women in the expedition, and fathered children.

manual labor was forced upon the Kashayan people. Betty

In 2005, archeologist and UC Berkeley Professor Kent

Jones, the tribe’s spiritual leader dating back to the 1870s,

Lightfoot stated, “Ross became an interesting mix of races

taught her daughter Rosemary of the mistreatment by the

seen nowhere else and its study has fascinated historians,

Russians. In 2004, Rosemary spoke of the hardships of life

sociologists and archeologists for years.”

under Russian rule, including the taking of Pomo women

As soon as the Russians arrived on the North Coast,

against their will and forcing them to live in Russia or Sitka.

they negotiated with the Kashaya for land one mile long

Mariano Vallejo, commander of the Mexican army in

by two miles deep where Fort Ross was built. Later, the

Northern California, made a reconnaissance of Bodega Bay

Russians became concerned about the Spanish settling and

and Fort Ross and was familiar with the Sonoma-Marin

claiming land north of San Francisco. In 1817, the transfer

County area and the plight of its Native people. According to

of land was formalized with a deed releasing the land to

several reports, the Russians would search the outlying hills

the Russian-American Company. The Russians presented

in the vicinity of the fort to aggressively capture Pomos and

a silver medal to the Pomo Chief, Chu-gu-an, declaring his

force them to work on planting and harvesting. He witnessed

tribe to be “Allies of Russia.” Even so, their Spanish-Mexican

the Natives’ treatment at the hands of both the missionaries

neighbors did not approve of the settlement and referred to

and the Russians. Vallejo reported from his Fort Ross visit

the Russians as “squatters.”

that Commander Peter Kostromitinoff was in such a state of

Several Russian artists recorded the Coastal Native people

exasperation that he decisively told Vallejo, That if in addition

wearing intricate headdresses and other adornments. Ilya

to my orders I would engage in hostilities against the natives,

G. Volznesenskii, Pavel Mikhailov, F.H von Kittlitzand and

he himself and 30 of his men would assist me in chasing and

Mikhail T. Tikhanov made beautiful paintings and sketches

attacking them. Vallejo declined the offer.

of the Kashaya people and the Aleuts, as well as a layout of

Vallejo reported on his observation of the missionaries,

the fort. These serve as a valuable record of the life and times

Sr. Commandant General, it is necessary to confess cruelties

in the Russian outpost in the New World, and are now part of

and injustices perpetrated against the poor Indians by those

the collection of the State Museum in St. Petersburg.

entrusted with the administration of justice. The temporal and

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Officers’ Quarters with Well

Oil on Canvas, 14�x 18�

even greater spiritual harm done to these unhappy people has

the same time, it is imperative to admit that these poor men had

come from the missionaries who have debased the origins and

reason, as I stated before, to band together in such large numbers

fundamentals of our Christian doctrines. The result is that the

and remain in a hostile state. These are the inherent consequences

natives now ridicule our attempts at evangelism, lose the truth

of bad faith, of bad treatment and cruelty by the missionaries,

in our religion and ignore the true morality of our customs. At

and of the bloodthirsty system that they introduced wanting to

114

convince others that this is the method and example of Jesus

George Call was an adventurous man with experience in

Christ. What monstrosities! It would not be difficult to give Your

gold mining. Among his enterprises was the purchase of a

Honor examples of some of the methods actually practiced at the

building in San Francisco, which later housed the menagerie

missions in this area, such acts that would horrify the most feral

of Grizzly Adams. Call sold his interest in the business,

of men. However, I omit them because this is neither time nor

bought a schooner, and headed to Peru with two grizzly

place to discuss these matters in detail. Let it suffice to say that I

bears on board, brought to perform in bull and bear fights.

have found no untruth in any of these accusations.”

In his South American travels he met disgraced California

After almost forty years of effort, the Russians decided

entrepreneur Henry Meiggs, in exile after his failed ventures

to abandon Ross Colony because of a lack of commercial

with San Francisco real estate and the Mendocino Lumber

success. After being turned down by the Hudson Bay

Company. Call worked with Meiggs on his railway projects

Company, the French and Mexico, Rotchev negotiated the

in Chile and the Andes Mountains in Peru. He settled in

sale of Fort Ross to John Sutter in 1841. The sale price of

Peru and fell in love with fifteen-year-old Mercedes Leiva,

$30,000 included the buildings, livestock and equipment

marrying the young orphan and then creating the nation’s

like the sawmill and tannery. Ranchers Muniz, Benitz, and

first gunnysack factory. With this success he decided to return

Dixon followed Sutter as owners. Dixon did not make the

to San Francisco with his family and purchased 2,500 acres

Kashaya feel welcome and they permanently moved in the

at Fort Ross, later adding another 5,500 acres. The Calls and

early 1870s to winter settlements above Haupt Creek inland

their nine children lived in relative happiness on this massive

from Stewarts Point.

ranch. The Call family leased the Rotchev House and “Uncle

I

Call Ranch

Billy” Morgan turned this piece of Russian history into the

n 1873, George W. Call and his wife, Chilean-born

Fort Ross Hotel until State Parks took possession of the fort

Mercedes Leiva, settled at Fort Ross, amassing a huge

in 1906. The Call family remained next door at their ranch

ranch of some 7000 acres. The Calls had a thriving operation

well into the twentieth century. Their house remained in

of farming, ranching and shipping, and the port made the

the family for over one hundred years and still stands on the

ranch the hub of this isolated community.

northwest side of the fort.

115

116

Barn at Stillwater Cove 2004, Oil on Canvas, 14”x 18” In the collection of Tim and Laura Zadel; San Jose, California

Stillwater Cove

S

tillwater Cove Ranch started its life as a school for boys from 1932 to 1961, founded by two teachers from Los Angeles, Paul and Clairinel Rudy. They paid what was considered

an exorbitant sum of some thirteen-thousand dollars for a broken-down ranch on a wind-swept cove that locals called the “rock pile.” During the Great Depression, these two city-bred teachers rebuilt the ranch with new stone buildings and opened the school in 1932. The school featured the three R’s with Clairinel teaching ‘rithmatic, reading and ‘riting. Paul was the stern headmaster who taught English and Spanish, and who loved to recite from the classics, with Shakespeare and Mark Twain being his favorites. Even the Rudy’s five children became students at the school.

There “was always a reason” that families sent their boys to this remote boarding school. In some cases, the fathers were overseas in the war, splitting the family. Other boys had a deceased parent or parents, and in some cases divorce was a factor.

The school enrolled students from first to tenth grade and classes were scheduled more like a college, with free time between classes, when the boys went on hikes, checked trap lines or fished.

Today, this unique school sounds more like a Western theme camp than an academic institution.

Each student had his own cowboy hat and rifle, and practiced marksmanship, horseback riding and cow roping.

The last day of school had its own traditions. Each student was required to give an oration, reciting poetry or literature on graduation day in front of classmates and parents.

The school closed in 1961 and the ranch was converted to an inn. Though the inn has subsequently closed and the ranch is now private property and not open to the public, “Old Boys” are permitted to schedule an appointment to come back and walk in the fields of their cherished boyhood memories.

117

Stewarts Point General Store 2003-2004, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20” In the collection of Jim and Sally Gude; Santa Rosa, Californiaa

118

Stewarts Point

H

erbert Archer Richardson and his wife Althea arrived at Stewarts Point in 1876 and bought the Stewarts Point General Store in 1881. Over the years, the Richardsons

amassed over 25,000 acres that included eight miles of shoreline. The coastal meadows were ideal for grazing herds of sheep and cows, while the inland mountains boasted redwood timber harvested by some 300 lumberjacks. Forks of narrow gauge railway all led to Richardson Wharf, a massive operation that included nine ships.

The General Store became an icon of the region, and a crucial resource to the isolated community. A third generation Richardson, Arch, worked in the store from age six for 61 years until he retired at age 67. With 134 years of consecutive operation, the store is believed to be the longest business in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. Over time, the venerable structure began to noticeably list to the east and in 2006 underwent a major remodel to create a stable foundation. The list can be seen in the painting to the left.

The Richardsons gave a gift to the community by donating coastal land that the Kashaya band of Pomo tribe could use to access their sacred fishing site known as Danaka. The Kashaya had been treated poorly by the Russians at Fort Ross, who considered the Native Americans to be little more than slaves for their agricultural enterprises. In 2014, in the spirit of forgiveness, the Kashaya Band of Pomo accepted an invitation to travel to Russia and performed tribal dances at the International Museum for Peace and Solidarity.

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Main Street 2007, 16”x 20” Oil on Canvas In the collection of Phil Carter; Grover, Missouri

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Point Arena

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took the stage along rugged trails that snaked through

he town and lighthouse sit on a giant sand bar that

redwoods and coastal ridges. Black Bart favored sharp turns

Spanish explorers mapping the California coast

(which were numerous) that forced the stage to slow down.

in 1775 named “barra de arena.” This translates, fittingly

He would appear from behind rocks or foliage to accost the

enough, as sand point. The huge sand reef juts out a half

driver. His methods were odd to say the least: he traveled on

mile into the Pacific, creating a hazard to ships in foggy

foot because he was afraid of horses, wore a faded flour sack

conditions. The obvious solution was a lighthouse, and in

with cut-out eye holes over his head, and covered his body

1870 a beautiful brick and mortar structure with ornate iron

with a long linen duster coat. He would point an unloaded

balcony supports was completed, along with a classic two

shotgun at the stage driver and firmly demand, “Please throw

story Victorian keeper’s house.

down the box.” Then he would vanish on foot into the dense

The Point Arena Wharf was built in 1866 to serve as an export station for local products like butter, eggs, chickens,

forest with the loot. He even left behind poems, like this one from 1877:

wool and produce. Railroad ties created from the nearby

I’ve labored long and hard for bread,

redwood forests became the other major export. It was

For honor, and for riches,

this diversity of farm and dairy products that allowed the

But my corns too long you’ve tread,

community to survive when other “logging only” towns did

You fine-haired sons of bitches.

not. The fabled schooner Seafoam made weekly trips from

He signed his poems—Black Bart, the Po 8

San Francisco to Point Arena to deliver and receive products

His accumulated stolen money allowed him to lead

and passengers. The cove and pier is precarious as the harbor

a double life, hobnobbing with San Francisco elite, who

lacks protection from fierce southerly and northwesterly

thought he was a mining engineer. Under the alias of Black

winds to offer a safe year-round anchorage.

Bart, the short, bald Charles E. Boyles robbed 28 Wells

The town was also connected by a stagecoach route.

Fargo stages. San Francisco high society knew him as

Black Bart, the so-called “gentleman bandit,” robbed the

Charles E. Bolton, but he was finally revealed as Black Bart

Wells Fargo stage that traveled the remote stretch from Point

when he was captured in 1883. He served a six year term in

Arena to Duncans Mills in 1877. The thirteen-hour journey

San Quentin Prison.

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122 Stornetta Barns with House 2003, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Bruce Saldinger and Lynne Royer; Orinda, California

Manchester

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afael Garcia lived on the banks above the Garcia River in this beautiful rural coastal setting. The government

granted the coastal land to Garcia in return for his service in the Mexican army. Lush grass grows on the floodplain, ideal for grazing cattle. The nearby hills were thick with redwood trees that Garcia harvested with his own mill beginning in 1849. In the distance is the giant sandbar that would later be occupied by the Point Arena Lighthouse.

Jerome Ford rested here at Garcia’s on his journey from Bodega Corners to begin building the new Mendocino mill. Ford was trekking up the coast with ten oxen and an assistant named Warner. He had just lost his pack mules when fording the Gualala River. One mule drowned and the other ran away, leaving him without food and blankets. Ford made an entry in his diary as he ventured north: Monday June 14, 1852 Arrived at Gassier [Garcia] Rancho at 9 o’clock.

Bought the Blacksmith claim on ‘Bul Don’ for 100$.

This diary entry reveals that it is here at the Garcia Rancho on a one night layover that Ford meets the only black man in the area, Nathaniel “Nat” Smith, and negotiates to buy his cabin and land on the east side of the Mendocino Headlands for one hundred dollars! In his diary, Ford refers to Nathaniel Smith as the Blacksmith. This confused historians for many years who incorrectly thought Blacksmith meant a 123

124 Ranch at Alder Creek 2007, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20” In the collection of Jerry and Sally Holcombe; Walnut Creek, California

metal worker, possibly Gebhard Hegenmeyer, as Hegenmeyer and his brothers were among the only European men in the Big River area at the time. It was also noted in Ford’s diary that Hegenmeyer stayed on to become the first blacksmith at the mill, adding to the confusion.

As Ford bushwhacked his way up the coast, his next diary entry was at the Navarro River, where Captain Fletcher was not at home. On Tuesday, June 15, 1852, Ford wrote, Stayed at The ‘Navata [Navarro] House.’ Could not Ford the River—’No Supper’—very foggy all day and evening. And for Wednesday, June 16, 1852, he noted: Took an Early Start and crossed the ‘Navata’ [Navarro] tide low arrived at ‘Portagees’ Rancho at 6:00 a.m. had a good ‘meal’—which I enjoyed much after being without 24 hours ...

It took a day and a half to traverse the twelve miles from the Garcia River to Rancho Albion due to the rugged, steep terrain. Thus, a full day and more had gone by before they were able to enjoy a hot meal courtesy of “Portagee Frank.”

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Cuffey’s Cove

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Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24”

Elk/Cuffey’s Cove

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he town of Cuffey’s Cove was first settled by a colorful group: Francisco Faria (a.k.a. “Portagee Frank”), a giant of a ship captain named Charles Fletcher and a free black man, Nathaniel “Nat” Smith (a.k.a. “The

Blacksmith”). Later, the neighboring town of Greenwood was founded by mountain men—the Greenwood brothers: Britt, William, James and Boggs. Another early resident of the area was Li Foo, a one-legged Chinese man.

Mendocino-area historian Dr. Hillary Adams researched the census at Richardson’s Rancho Sausalito to separate fact from fable when it comes to the arrival of these early settlers. She found official census records dating back to 1850 that document Charles Fletcher living in a boarding house only a few doors down from William Richardson’s hacienda. His occupation was listed as a farmer. Nat Smith is also listed in the same 1850 census at the William Richardson Rancho, only six doors down from where Fletcher resided. Smith was listed as living with the Hill family from Baltimore. He probably accompanied the family of Benjamin and Mary Hill as their servant when they relocated from Maryland to Sausalito. The census lists Smith as a nineteen-year-old mulatto servant in the Hill household.

These facts clarify that Fletcher and Smith knew each other and Richardson before they arrived at the North Coast. One story had Fletcher, Smith and Faria arriving on a whaling vessel with a Hawaiian crew. The boat anchored at present-day Cuffey’s Cove when the crew sighted bears at the shoreline. As the story goes, the trio went ashore to hunt bear. When the weather changed the ship was forced to sail away and stranded the trio on the North Coast.

The historical facts in the census throw doubt on this fanciful tale. It appears that Smith and Fletcher arrived on the North Coast with the intent to settle land on Richardson’s vast grant, not as the result of happenstance on a bearhunting expedition.

On June 2, 1853, Frank Faria purchased a piece of that grant from Richardson for $1,530 to create a 510 acre ranch at Cuffey’s Cove. Captain Fletcher chose to settle a little further north at the mouth of the next major river— the Navarro—where he remained Faria’s good friend and neighbor.

In her column, “Presenting the Past” (The Mendocino Beacon, August 6, 1986), Helen Smith quotes Nathaniel Smith as saying of Francisco Faria and himself: “We’s about the first white men here,” to differentiate himself and 127

Methodist Church with Hospital 2007, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20” In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

A Photographer Marries His Model Though tiny in terms of permanent population, Elk has played host to its share of visiting celebrities over the years. Popular novelist Jack London liked to spend time in Elk in the early 1900s, renting an upstairs room in the building with the green roof in the painting, then a hotel that later became the hospital.

On April 24, 1939, famed photographer Edward Weston and the model of many of his nude portraits, Charis Wilson, were married in Elk, at the Methodist Church in the painting above.

When she first met Weston, she said, “For anyone interested in statistics – I wasn’t – he was 48 years old and I had just turned 20. What was important to me was the sight of someone who quite evidently was twice as alive as anyone else in the room, and whose eyes most likely saw twice as much as anyone else’s did.”

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Faria from the Pomo Indians. Nat was known to say, “He was

town boasted a school and Catholic Church. In the 1870s,

first, since he was ahead of Frank on the trail.” Some think

40’x 80’ size lots sold for $300 to $1,000 dollars.

that since Nat Smith remained near Cuffey’s Cove and Point

Lorenzo White first negotiated to buy the shipping point

Arena as a land owner, the name referred to Nat because,

at Cuffey’s Cove from Kenney for $40,000. Kenney stood

according to Dr. Hillary Adams, “In the South, the term

firm, refusing to take anything less than $75,000. This caused

‘Cuffey’ was apparently used, when speaking of household

White to look for other shipping locations in the harbor.

slaves, as a form of respect.” To this date the debate continues

He ended up building a gangway out into the harbor on a

on the origin of name and the specifics of the first settlers’

chain of islets. White’s pier was built so that it connected to

arrival.

the north side of the islets which led out to deeper waters. A

From the Cuffey’s Cove area, Faria and Smith hunted

railway was laid on top of the wooden wharf to expedite the

elk and bear. One particular expedition near the Mal Paso

loading process. A wharfman manned a small donkey engine

demonstrates the dangers of life in this remote and rugged

that helped transport the lumber from wharf to schooner by

country during the early years. The bear being hunted

cable. A trapeze-like sling device attached to the thick cable

decided to fight back, and Faria’s arm ended up in the

could hold up to six boards. Meanwhile, Kenney’s long,

creature’s mouth. Smith came to the rescue, firing his gun.

cliffside wire chute could only handle one board at a time.

The bullet killed the bear, but also passed through Faria’s

White’s combination of deeper waters and greater loading

leg. His arm was never the same after the mauling and he

capacity made Kenney’s operation obsolete. As a result, the

could only manage to hold a pipe with the injured limb. The

focus of the Cove turned to Greenwood. Kenney, the man

diminutive, big-talking pioneer lived to 105 years of age and

who first created Cuffey’s Cove’s commerce, unintentionally

is buried in the Catholic Cemetery of Mendocino.

caused its demise.

James Kenney built a mill which launched the lumber

Meanwhile, another early resident, Li Foo, was dealing

industry in the area. Railroad ties and lumber were shipped

with troubles of his own. He was working as a woodsman

from a wire chute to waiting ships. The shipping port

when his leg was pinned to the ground by a falling tree in

attracted new arrivals. In 1870, a post office joined saloons,

a remote area. After waiting and realizing no one was going

hotels, livery stable, butcher shop and slaughterhouse. One

to come to his rescue, he took out his knife and as he put

hotel, the China House, also served as a wash house. The

it, “took care of business.” He managed to crawl back to

129

Garage 2007, Oil on Canvas, 16�x 20�

In the collection of Rich and Celia Lenson; Napa, California

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civilization, where his injury was treated at the hospital in Greenwood. Longtime resident Pru Wilcox commented in 2003, “I found a Chinese poster behind some paneling that was being removed during remodeling that took place at my house in 1953. My house is next to the hospital and was used by local doctors and might have been left behind by Li Foo when he was convalescing from his amputation.” The poster is an advertisement for girls receiving scholarships for education back in China. Perhaps Li Foo kept the cloth banner around as a keepsake from his homeland. He became a barber with a shop located in the back of the Greenwood Mill building. He was able to get around with the help of a wooden leg, which did not deter him from being an avid fisherman and popular resident in town. He was laid to rest in the Cuffey’s Cove Cemetery, his name living on at Li Foo’s Gulch at the north end of Greenwood State Park.

Elk is known as “The Town with Two Names.” Originally called Greenwood after a pair of brothers who were early settlers, the town fathers discovered the name had already been taken by a Greenwood in El Dorado County when they applied for a post office in 1887. A herd of elk grazing in the area provided the inspiration for the new name. However, many settlers refused to give up the original title, continuing to claim the town was named Greenwood with a postal address of Elk. Evidence of this may be seen in a sign in the Greenwood State Beach Visitor Center that reads, “Elk Post Office, Greenwood, California.”

The gas pumps may be long gone in front of the large blue garage in the painting at left, but it remains in the automotive repair business. The Elk Garage was established in 1901 by John ( Johan) Matson, a hard-working, non-drinking 18-year-old immigrant from Sweden.

Originally a blacksmith shop with a livery stable across the street, the two structures burned to the ground in 1926, and the building you see here is its replacement. In 1924, the Elk Garage became a contract station for AAA, only the second in the state. Today grandson Bob carries out the tradition of John Matson and John’s son, Melvin Matson, in running the Elk Garage.

Beyond the garage in this painting are the Elk Store and Greenwood Community Center.

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Twin Rocks

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2005, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20”

Navarro-by-the-Sea

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he town of Navarro-by-the-Sea was founded

In 1861, Fletcher sold part of his property east of

on the flats at the mouth of the Navarro River

his hotel to a lumber company. Soon the remote river

by Captain Charles Fletcher in 1851. He first built a

became a busy lumber port and ship works. He built

cabin and later an inn with a tavern to serve the early

the Sea Nymph in 1862, one of the first schooners on

travelers by land and sea. Fletcher was an imposing

the North Coast.

man at 6’5” tall with light green eyes, known as a “kind

Life on the frontier of California’s North Coast

hearted man” despite his size. His mother accompanied

could and did include as much danger and adventure

his father Charles, a captain aboard a British merchant

as one could hope to find in a Western movie. Riding

ship, the Wildcat. She gave birth on board to a baby who

the stage on twisty, deserted mountain roads was

fittingly would grow up to be a ship captain himself. He

especially fraught with peril. John Ross II recalled a

spent his younger days sailing on trading and whaling

memorable journey he took by stage from Cloverdale

ships. Before he arrived at Navarro he knew how to

to Mendocino City. The stage driver, George Brereton

both command ships and build them.

of Navarro-by-the-Sea, was making his last trip after a

In the early years at Navarro, he ferried travelers

career that involved wrecks, runaways and floods—but

across the wide river to earn money. He also hunted

never a hold-up. Sure enough, Brereton suffered another

numerous grizzly bears that would come to the

incident of bad luck on that last run. Ross later wrote, It

shoreline in the1850s and 60s with a legendary custom-

was a dark, dreary night. After leaving Philo we ascended

made rifle. Fletcher ordered a thicker, longer piece of

a small hill. Just beyond the church … Brereton had pulled

steel to be used for the barrel. As a result, most men

up … He was struck dumb when a voice said, ‘Throw out

were not strong enough to raise and fire the heavy gun

the Wells Fargo box, and be quick about it.’… He now saw

and successfully hit a target, but that didn’t stop local

a six shooter pointed at him. We kept awake after that as

hunters from asking to borrow the weapon. Portagee

we really had something to think about; and Brereton had

Frank recalled, “It was a gun nearly six feet long and

something to round out his numerous adventures—his

weighed over thirty pounds.”

hold-up on his last night.

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134

Bridge with Houses Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Tim and Laura Zadel; San Jose, California

Albion

I

n 1844, William Richardson, an English sailor turned naturalized Mexican citizen, petitioned Governor José Manuel Micheltorena

for a land grant as compensation for his unpaid service as Port Captain of Richardson Bay in Sausalito. The Mexican governor responded by giving Richardson the right to “search for and occupy land 2 leagues by 10 on the unoccupied North Coast.” Richardson found the land north of Francisco Garcia’s grant to his liking. He named the territory Albion after his homeland of England and submitted a rough drawing that mapped out the boundaries of his 50 thousand acres. This became the Rancho Albion Mexican land grant, stretching from nearby Big River all the way to Mal Paso Creek south of the present-day community of Elk. Circa 1851, Gebhard Hegenmeyer and Francisco Faria helped him build a water-powered lumber mill in Albion. The mill was situated on the north side of the narrow estuary and had a tide-driven water wheel, which was destroyed by large waves in the first winter.

Richardson quickly rebuilt the mill, this time powered by steam, but he did not get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Like many other holders of Mexican land grants, he lost everything when the United States seized control of California after the Mexican-American War. Even though his title was confirmed by the U.S. Land Commission in 1854, his claim was later rejected by the U.S. District Court. This great pioneer died unexpectedly in 1856 from an accidental overdose of mercury tablets, prescribed for his rheumatism.

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Rooftops with Bridge

Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24”

Jerome Ford referred to the Albion Rancho as having

livery stable. The mill was modernized with huge saws

breakfast at “Portagees Rancho” in his diary entry of June

powered by steam generated from wood-burning boilers.

1852, probably because Richardson was away on business

As the Flats became crowded, homes began to appear on

and Frank Faria, a native of the Azores, was there in his

Michigan Hill—the north side. The south side of the hill

stead. Ford misunderstood Faria to be the owner instead of

earned the nickname Snob Hill, perhaps because the wealthy

a hired worker.

mill owners resided there. During this time, a 1,200-foot

A mill continued to operate at this site for another 75

wharf reached out to deeper water in the small, rocky harbor.

years as the town grew to include a hotel, mercantile, and

With the presence of sawdust, wood scraps and drying

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lumber, the gas-powered engines often ignited fires, and the

across the center line and struck the left front wheel. The

entire mill complex burned to the ground several times. Out

force might have broken the tie rod. Dompeling lost control

of necessity, the mill organized and equipped a substantial

of the truck’s steering as it crashed through the heavy wooden

fire brigade.

guardrail. The truck plunged some125 feet, nose first, with

Alice Frazell Latham has vivid memories of the

Dompeling inside the cab, landing on the south of the bank.

adventures she encountered in growing up in Albion, such

The vehicle hit the ground with such force that neighbors said,

as racing across the Albion Bridge on her horse in the early

“I thought a boat exploded on the river.” He survived because

1940s to “check the sheep on the other side of the hill.”

nearby paramedics came immediately to his aid in a boat from

Born in Watsonville, her parents died of “things that could

across the river. Dompeling suffered numerous broken bones,

be cured today”—her father from pesticide poisoning from

including his jaw, ribs, left knee cap, right leg and left arm, and

working in the fields, and her mother from pneumonia.

it took him two years to recover from his injuries.—Excerpted

She was adopted by her grandparents, the Andersens (her

from the Mendocino Beacon, article by Naomi Jarvie.

grandfather was Palle-Hans Andersen, known as P.H. to his friends) and moved to Albion when she was six months old.

In an interview on July 8, 2004, Ms. Latham recalled, “My grandfather had an old truck and when he drove it down

T

he Mendocino Coast is known for its watercolor artists who could create full sheet paintings in

one outdoor session. On the south side of the steep Albion River bank is the University of the Pacific’s

the grade to the Albion River Flats he would make me get

Biological Field Station. This facility has also doubled

out before the steep grade. He would always say he was afraid

as quarters for art instructor Vernon Nye’s watercolor

the brakes would fail and I would not be able to get out. I

classes. Other masters in the area include Millard

would get out and, without him knowing it, hang on to the back all the way down.” She remembers “when they burned

Sheets, who traveled from his home at Barking Rocks north of Gualala with his friend, Los Angeles painter Emil Kosa, Jr., to paint Mendocino village area

the remnants of the Albion Mill down. The fire was so hot we

subjects. Contemporary George Post taught classes

had to move away from our position on the north incline.”

for the Mendocino Art Center. Under the direction of

This village on the rugged Mendocino Coast continues to

Marvin Schenck, the Mendocino Art Center created

pose challenges even in the 21st century. On August 9th 2002, Albert Dompeling was driving a northbound logging

a George Post retrospective in 1999. The works of Nye, Sheets, Kosa Jr. and Post are chronicled in several books by Gordon McClelland.

truck on the Albion Bridge when a southbound car swerved 137

Kent House 2003, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Derek and Laura Webb, Ross, California

The Tales This House Could Tell A Chinese cook was antagonized by one of the Kent children. The cook chased the child around the kitchen with a meat cleaver and was later dismissed.

Master photographer Carleton Watkins made pictures of the Little River Cove and Albion River, in addition to the mill at Big River, when he was hired to work for the Mendocino Lumber Company in 1863. He described his pull-back style of composing the landscape as “the best general view.” Sadly he suffered greatly when the San Francisco earthquake and fires destroyed most of his work at a downtown studio.

Pacific Grove painter Albert DeRome stopped at the Kent farmhouse during his route as a traveing salesman.

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Little River

L

Point on the most northern side to enter Mendocino Bay, as the 260 acre property stretched from bay to bay.

Lumber continued to play a vital role in the early days of

ittle River was first settled by the Beall brothers—Lloyd,

this region. In 1863, Silas Combs and Ruel Stickney decided

Samuel and Harvey—in the early days of the nearby

to strike out on their own and quit their jobs at the Albion

Mendocino Lumber Company. The brothers were hunters

Lumber Company, opening their own mill to make railroad

who provided game to the Mendocino Mill. The region was

ties on the south side of Little River. Millwright Charles

known as Beall’s Harbor and then shortly thereafter Kent’s

Pullen had arrived from Maine and built the mill for a cost of

Landing, named for William Kent, who first worked in the

$20,000. It was a great moment in town when, on the evening

Anderson Valley as he waited for the Mendocino Mill to be

of October 15, 1864, the whistle blew for the first time at the

completed. Kent continued to scale logs for the Mendocino

Little River Mill to announce the opening. Eventually, Ruel

Mill when it was reopened. He purchased land from the Beall

Stickney, Isaiah Stevens and Silas Coombs owned all the land

brothers and more from Richardson’s Mexican land grant.

around Little River Bay. Tapping Reeves, a machinist and

With this new property, he changed professions in 1857,

engineer, joined them as partners to form the Little River

cleared the land and began farming. He grew grain and began

Mill Company (a.k.a. Stickney Coombs & Company). The

a dairy, the first in the area. He raised livestock in his large

lumbermen all built homes in the area. Silas Coombs’ house

seaside pastures next to the slaughterhouse which supplied

later became the Little River Inn and remains a much-loved

meat to his Main Street butcher shop in Mendocino. The

icon by both travelers and locals to this day.

iconic family home was constructed in 1869, adjacent to the

Thursday was the scheduled day for the Sea Foam on the

vast meadows that stretched to the cliffs’ edge. Similar features

northward trip. Not long after she left Point Arena, we could

are found in the prominent homes of Mendocino built by

see her coming and followed her progress expectantly. Some of

J.D. Johnson. The American Gothic Revival style with steep

the older folks, such as Fred Mahlmann and Silas Combs, could

pitched roofs, board-and-batten siding and round windows

name most of the old ships while they were many miles away.

is echoed in the design of the Blair, Denslow-Hayden and

Freight day; as we called it, added much to our quiet existence

Denslow-Maxwell homes built in that era in Mendocino.

and everyone made a point to be on hand. As the ship drew nearer,

Ships coming into Mendocino City had to round Kent’s

Silas Combs could be seen coming afoot to fire up and operate

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the donkey engine used to move the freight cars to and from the wharf. William Coombs would bustle about arranging for men to handle the freight, and attending to other details of freight day.

The Sea Foam carried passengers as well as freight, and horse-drawn rigs began to arrive to pick up friends and relatives who were coming from San Francisco. It was really a sight to see Joshua Grindle arrive from Mendocino.

Joshua always came down the road at full run and the reins hanging loosely over the dashboard. When he rounded the corner of the Mahlmann Saloon, he missed by inches the Quail Barn with Spring Flowers 2004, Oil on Canvas, 12”x 16” In the collection of Derek and Laura Webb; Ross, California

large post set at the corner of the steps as protection against just such speedsters.

As the ship neared the wharf, everyone ashore lined up expectantly, and on the ship, the passengers lined the rail, ready to come ashore. Fore and aft, sailors prepared to cast the heaving lines in order that the mooring lines might be pulled across the intervening space. With the hawsers in place, the ship was warped up to the wharf. These heaving lines were weighted on the end, and I still believe the sailors threw them right at my head.

With the ship moored securely, the gangplank was

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Barn 2006, Oil on Linen, 16”x 20” In the collection of Warren and Jennifer Hedgepeth; Santa Rosa, California

Glendeven Inn Oil on Canvas, 16�x 20�

In the collection of Richard and Rita Lodholz; Creve Coeur, Missouri

Shipbuilding on the North Coast Out of necessity, shipbuilding became an important business on the North Coast. Captain Thomas Peterson, assisted by George Escola, John Petersen, Richard Coombs, Charles Pullen and Wilder Pullen, built 14 schooners circa 1872. The ships were made of hand-hewn logs harvested from the best trees to be found in the abundant forests of the area.

A reporter from the West Coast Star made a tour of the shipyard and wrote, The shipyard is well adapted for the purpose of which it is used; roomy and with every convenience at hand, it is just the place for speedy execution of the work. Three vessels can be in the course of construction at one time. Everything is right at hand: the material is so close that hauling is necessary only a short distance. In fact Mr. Peterson has not forgotten a single item which tends to make a first class yard, and with such superior accommodations as are there contained, a vessel can be readily constructed and built cheaper than other yards on the coast. The schooner Electra now in the Big River trade carried off first prize in the regatta at San Francisco, July 4 1879, which speaks volumes in favor of the sailing capacities of the vessels built in this yard.

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China Rock 2006, Oil on Canvas, 12”x 16” In the collection of John and Stephanie Macklin; San Francisco, California

The Perils of Life at Sea In April of 1873, Captain Henry Nelson’s Light Wing, loaded with lumber, was attempting to sail out of Little River harbor with a strong breeze blowing, and was advised by Captain Peterson to take the craft out under short sail. Captain Nelson agreed, going out under jib and mainsail, but before he was past the harbor’s mouth the wind died entirely, sending the vessel into very strong seas with many crosscurrents. Within minutes, the Light Wing drifted onto the south reef at the harbor’s entrance. The mate went overboard just before she struck rocks, swimming to safety behind China Rock where he was rescued by some Chinese. The remaining seamen took to the rigging, stripped to their underwear in preparation for the swim to shore, but rescuers on the beach managed to complete the perilous trip to the crippled ship with great difficulty, and removed the sailors clinging to the rigging. Captain Nelson was last to leave, and badly bruised and shaken up, was taken to the Pioneer House to recuperate.

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Buckhorn Cove 2004, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Bonnie Tansky; Alameda, California

placed in position and the passengers began to come ashore.

All activity is gone. Captain Hendrickson has long passed

On the lower deck, the hatch covers were removed, the winch

on, and the Sea Foam went on the rocks at Point Arena and was

clattered, sea gulls screamed, and Captain Sharkey Hendrickson

a total loss. At Little River there is no longer a wharf. Only the

bellowed orders in a voice that could be heard to the Kent Ranch.

everlasting seagulls remain and their cries mingle with the shrill

The purser usually paid me a dime to carry two bags of silver

voices of children playing on the beach just as I did.

coins up to the rig awaiting him, and I lost that job the day I left

Quote from Homer Barton in a section about the

the bags lying unguarded on the store porch and returned to the

Barton Family of Little River, pages 117-118 in Littleriver’s

wharf.

Yesteryears, 1853-1965 by Irene Mallory MacDonald.

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Main Street 2003, Oil on Canvas 16”x 20,” In the collection of Jim and Irene Hodge; Danville, California

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Mendocino

T

became part of the Mendocino community and soon a small Chinatown was built on the headlands above, looking

own pioneer Jerome Ford was appropriately

down on its sandy shores. Adjacent to Chinatown would be

named—he forded many creeks and rivers as he

another town consisting of wooden buildings resembling a

made his way some 140 rugged miles on his coastal journey

New England village, where a Chinese temple still stands.

between Bodega Corners and Meiggsville! The final river for

The first shipwreck survivor was William Kasten, a pioneer

Ford to ford was Big River. He crossed Big River, leaving the

name that lives on as Kasten Street still bears his name. His

Rancho Albion Mexican land grant and making his claim to

boat broke up on Mendocino Bay, where he swam to safety

Meiggsville for the Mendocino Manufacturing and Lumber

circa 1850.

Company. For one last time he would fight the river currents

Three sets of shipwreck survivors could not argue with

with ten oxen to establish a significant empire that would

one of the headlands’ first names—the Port of Good Hope.

have far-reaching effects that still resound today. It was his

Nor could they imagine that a scant dozen years later, the

charge to bring the draft animals needed to drag the massive

isolated Big River Flats would become the site of a busy

felled timber. This effort required a true pioneer spirit and

lumber mill and a bustling shipyard. Among the many vessels

with enough grit to rival any, Ford launched what would

constructed there was the Sea Foam, which delivered supplies

become the storied town of Mendocino.

and lumber to and from Little River and San Francisco for

This would take place on soil that was previously crossed

many years.

by the first black man on the North Coast and a group of

Mendocino Bay-Big River Estuary became their safe

Panaji boys from India, Malayman, Chinese, Portuguese

haven. The Native Americans originally called the place

and a New England ship captain. The latter comprised the

“Bull Don,” meaning blow hole, referring to a giant hole

crew and were survivors of the wreck of the Frolic, an opium

where waves crash underneath, located on The Point on the

runner that had sailed all the way from Hong Kong bound

western end of the headlands where lumber shipping would

for San Francisco before crashing into a reef three miles

soon take place. Before the mill workers arrived, Ford was

north of Mendocino Bay. The survivors regrouped at Big

one of only about ten non-Native American men in the

River and departed, but there would be yet another wreck of

vicinity of the Mendocino Headlands in June of 1852. Of

a small boat, name unknown, also from China. The survivors

these ten men, one was a blacksmith and a second was a free 145

black man called The Blacksmith! There was always plenty of

Meiggs already owned a sawmill and wharf at North Beach

irony mixed with determination and surreal forces at work in

and was a partner with Steven Smith in a small mill operation

the early days of Mendocino—enough to make the heavens

on the northwestern foothills of Mount Tamalpias.

smile—which is a story to tell.

Meiggs had made his fortune and reputation by putting

Jerome Ford was dispatched to Mendocino by San

together two major business deals that both involved lumber.

Francisco entrepreneur Henry Meiggs. Soon the brig

The first was the purchase of the ship Albany on the East

Ontario would arrive from Meiggs’ Wharf at North Beach

Coast and filling it with lumber. The laden ship rounded Cape

in San Francisco with equipment and men to construct the

Horn and reached San Francisco in three months, where the

mill. On board were town pillars Captain David Lansing,

desperately needed building materials sold for twenty times

E. C. Williams and William Kelly, who would join Ford.

what Meiggs had paid. With the profits he built a pier and

This reliable quartet would help make Meiggs’ North Coast

sawmill in San Francisco. Then he hired 500 men to harvest

Lumber Mill a dream come true.

timber in Contra Costa County, where the logs were floated

Meiggs established the first major lumber mill on

as rafts across San Francisco Bay to the North Beach sawmill.

California’s North Coast. He orchestrated the founding of

The trees were turned into boards that fetched a high price as

Mendocino Lumber Company from his San Francisco office,

construction soared in the boomtown of San Francisco and

likely having never set foot in Mendocino. At first, Meiggs

vicinity. Meiggs made half a million dollars, an incredible

was able to fund this major undertaking at the northern

sum in those days.

end of the coastal Mexican land grants. The region was

It was only natural for Meiggs to realize the possibility

undeveloped and Meiggs and Company would stake their

of amassing another huge fortune in the lumber business.

claim to the timber up Big River estuary—at no cost. At their

Mendocino became the opportunity which would be his

disposal were acres of 200 to 300-foot virgin redwoods as far

most ingenious to date. He even called his new venture

as the eye could see.

Meiggsville and sold shares to investors, his friends in the

This remote, unsettled land stood in great contrast to

elite social circles of San Francisco. An original share hangs

San Francisco, 160 miles to the south, where the Gold Rush

on the wall of the Kelley House Museum today. The printed

had turned the tiny hamlet of Yerba Buena into a bustling

document is 6”x 8” in size, is for a $100 share, and titled

city crowded with treasure-seekers from around the globe.

Meiggsville and Mendocino Lumber Company. It would

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Presbyterian Church 2003, Oil on Canvas, 16�x 20,�

In the collection of Derek and Laura Webb; Ross, California

147

seem that everything was in place for another huge success

felled trees could not be turned into boards quickly enough

for his new, grand project.

to fill sales orders, crucial and necessary to offset expenses

Meiggs’ attention was first drawn to the remote forests

like worker wages and purchase of new equipment. Further

of the North Coast because of the shipwreck of the schooner

complicating the situation, they could not easily get the felled

Frolic near present-day Point Cabrillo. Meiggs learned of the

trees up on the headlands point to be sawn in the first place.

wreck when survivors reached San Francisco, and promptly

Back in San Francisco, a series of unforeseen

dispatched a party to salvage the cargo. By the time the

circumstances contributed to the downfall of Meiggs’ empire.

team from the city reached the isolated region, the goods

Property taxes and interest due on loans began to mount at

had already been taken by Pomo Indians and others. While

the same time as the depression of 1854. He was unable to

the bounty from the shipwreck may have vanished, Meiggs’

sell his real estate holdings to improve his cash flow situation.

salvage party discovered another far more valuable treasure

Meiggs had been elected a San Francisco alderman, and as

on the North Coast. These city fellows were astounded by the

such had access to a blank set of city warrants already signed

size and sheer numbers of the redwood trees that flourished

by the mayor and comptroller. The man known as “Honest

in the vicinity of the wreck and reported the information

Harry” forged the documents as collateral for his loans. With

back to Meiggs in San Francisco. He sent E.C. Williams

the loans and interest due, disaster and disgrace were soon

and Jerome Ford on a reconnaissance mission to the North

to follow. At midnight one foggy night in October of 1854,

Coast, and it was Ford who noticed Pomo women wearing

a sailor and one Captain Cousins could be seen traveling by

silk shawls recovered from the Frolic.

rowboat from their ship to the Broadway Wharf. From there,

Once the new party had assembled, the decision to build

they proceeded on foot to the Meiggs residence, where they

the mill on the cliffs of The Point was their first major mistake.

were met at the front door by Henry Meiggs himself. He took

Perched on the edge of the cliff, the new mill required pier

Cousins by the hand, saying, “Captain this is hell, but I can’t

posts, which complicated the construction. The roof was

help it.” As the clock struck three, Cousins announced that it

not finished soon enough to protect the mill from the first

was time to board. Meiggs jumped up, put on his hat, giving

winter rains of late 1852 and early 1853. Years later Williams

it a knock on top, and said,” I am ready.” His brother John

recalled the delay by saying, “It still comes back to me a like

Meiggs produced a sack containing $10,000 in gold, which

holy nightmare.” Because the construction took so long, the

he emptied on the table and divided in half. Captain Cousins

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Mendosa House and Store

2005-2006, Oil, 16”x 20”

A Tradition of Service in World War I John “Jack” A. Mendosa was born in this house on February 18, 1927, delivered by Maggie Mattos with Dr. Preston presiding. His father, John S. Mendosa, was one of five brothers who served their country in World War I. He suffered long-term health effects from the gassing on the battlefield. As Jeanette (Mendosa) Hansen stated in 2007, “Another brother was headed to Santa Rosa to join the Army and the seventh was being enlisted. If the war had not ended, all seven Mendosa brothers would have served.”

149

kept one half and Henry Meiggs the other. The entire party

progressed into the twentieth century, most of the nearby

then walked down to the wharf, and Captain Cousins sculled

forests were depleted from years of logging. This, combined

them out to the bark. Thus the founder of the Mendocino

with the economic hardships of the Great Depression,

Lumber Company and his family fled the city where they

forced the mill to finally close for good, taking with it the

had made and lost a great fortune.

principal livelihood of the village.

His ship the American headed first to the Society Islands

Mendocino has always been a town that rebounds

in French Polynesia and then on to South America. The

after hardship and disaster. It is a place where serendipity

Meiggs family decided to make their home in Santiago,

is woven into the fabric of its history. The seaside town

Chile, where Henry carved out a new life and reputation. He

has survived fires, Prohibition, an earthquake, and twice

helped facilitate one of the greatest engineering projects ever

the closing of the mill. But larger forces were at work.

with the building of a railway through the Andes Mountains.

Mendocino icon Bill Zacha carried a dream of creating an

This railway begins at sea level and climbs to 17,000 feet,

art center for twenty years. Those twenty years paralleled

traversing expansive gorges with mountain tunnels 4,000

the town’s doldrums as it sought a new identity after the

feet long. A sculpted bust of Henry Meiggs is on display at

closing of the mill in 1938.

a train station in Santiago celebrating his accomplishments

In 1958, on a day trip from Marin County, Bill Zacha

in building the railways of South America. During this time,

first arrived in Mendocino with his wife Jennie. Here in the

he attempted to pay his creditors that he owed back in San

sleepy village he found the ideal location for the art center

Francisco and restore his good name.

he had dreamed of founding. A fifty dollar down payment,

Back in Mendocino, after the mill was finally constructed

a contract written on the back of a grocery receipt from

in 1853, the enterprise sputtered and closed and then

Mendosa’s Market, and a handshake secured the property for

financially reorganized while Meiggs lived in exile in South

Zacha, preventing it from becoming the site of a trailer park.

America. The population of Meiggsville shrank to 26 when

Fate played a hand in the destiny of this two block long

the mill closed. But when the mill reopened, it ushered in

property on Little Lake Street that would become the home

the beginning of an incredible eighty-four year run, selling

for Zacha’s long-envisioned art center. Two years earlier,

untold tons of lumber to build the picturesque Victorian

incorrect directions given to the fire department caused

mansions of San Francisco and beyond. As the years

the historic Preston home to burn to the ground. As former

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Woodward Alley with Crown Hall Oil on Linen, 18”x 24” In the collection of Richard and Rita Lodholz; Creve Coeur, Missouri

In the Footsteps of the Stars The Warner Brothers movie Summer of ’42 was filmed in Mendocino in 1970, the North Coast standing in for Packett Island on Nantucket.

In one scene, the main characters, Hermie (Gary Grimes) and Dorothy ( Jennifer O’Neill) walk up this alleyway. Hermie’s teenage friends, Oscy and Benji, are heckling Hermie, who does his best to ignore them. Scenes set in Hermie’s house were filmed in the yellow house depicted in this painting on the right side of the alley.

In 1909, Princess Mamie Bettencourt led the Pentecost procession through town to Crown Hall, depicted as the blue colored building in this painting. She was the first to wear the new silver crown made in Terceira in the Azores.

151

Mendocino Fire Chief Foggy Gomes stated, “We got a

exactly the same building, where James Dean once gave a

call that a fire was up Little Lake (Road). By the time a car

legendary performance!

flagged the fire truck down, we were at the top of Little Lake

Bill Zacha was gifted in both the visual and performing

(Road). When we got back down to the fire, it was too late

arts. He developed his performing skills with Helen Schoeni

to save the house. All they had to do was tell us the fire was

while serving in the Navy. They performed together on ships

at the Doc Preston Mansion and we could have been there

touring the South Seas to entertain servicemen. She helped

in time to save it.”

him deal with his intense stage fright. Years later, Zacha wrote

This was the property that Zacha purchased two years

a letter to Helen Schoeni to inform her that he was naming

after the tragic fire. Thus, the Mendocino Art Center was

the new theater at the Mendocino Art Center in her honor.

constructed on the ruins of one of the most elegant structures

As she read the letter to friends, the excitement became too

in the village, with Zacha’s dream taking root in the ashes of

great and she died of a heart attack.

the home of Mendocino’s beloved doctor. Memories of this

The naming of Mendocino is an example of yet another

elaborate American Gothic Revival dwelling are preserved in

implausible coincidence that seems to go hand-in-hand

the movie version of John Steinbeck’s most ambitious novel,

with this rugged and remote region. Mendocino the town

East of Eden. In 1954, Warner Brothers’ director Elia Kazan

was named after Cape Mendocino, located 120 miles north

chose the Preston mansion as the ideal representation of the

of Mendocino City. The cape was named after Antonio

home of the fictional Trask family, and many scenes featuring

de Mendoza, the first Viceroy of New Spain, circa 1535.

James Dean as Cal Trask and Jo Van Fleet, who played his

Mendoza spent his career in Mexico and never set foot in

mother, were filmed inside the walls of the Victorian jewel.

Alta California, but he did contribute significantly to its

Other exterior scenes were shot in and around Mendocino,

history, commissioning the expeditions of Coronado and

standing in for the Salinas Valley and Monterey’s waterfront.

Cabrillo to map out and explore the northern lands claimed

Coincidently, after the house had burned to the ground

by Spain. Fast-forward some 345 years later, when Francisco

several years later, a stage was erected on this site for the

J. Mendonca immigrated to California from the Azores. In

Mendocino Art Center. Over the past fifty years numerous

1859, he left the Portuguese archipelago as a cabin boy on

theatrical productions have taken place on the stage of the

a whaling ship and then later joined the lumber business in

Helen Schoeni Theatre, the same ground and air space, if not

Mendocino. Francisco J. Mendonca changed his name to

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Mendosa House and Market with Masonic Temple Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24 In the collection of David Thompson and Cristina Marcon; Bainsville, Canada

A Glimpse of Home from New Orleans When Alvin Mendosa served in the Army in 1954, he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. While on leave, he visited New Orleans and saw the new James Dean movie, East of Eden. In that distant movie theater so far from home, he caught a glimpse of his very own house on Little Lake Street, as much of the movie had been filmed in Mendocino. He noticed that the grass was overgrown and the paint was peeling on the wooden dwelling. Alvin recalled, “I made a telephone call to my brother-in-law, who had promised to take care of the place.

I complained to him about taking care of the house. He was quite surprised and wondered how I found out!”

In the distance is Mason Erik Albertson’s masterpiece, the Masonic Temple. The Masonic Lodge was one of the earliest buildings in town, built over the course of seven years beginning in 1866.

153

Temple Kwan Tai

2006, Oil, 16” x 20”

‘The Great Gong in the Joss House’ And do you remember how an easterly breeze brought odors from Chinatown, roasting pork and punk and black tobacco and yen shi? And so you remember the deep blatting stroke of the great gong in the Joss House, and how its tone hung in the air so long?

John Steinbeck, East of Eden Temple Kwan Tai dates back to at least 1871 and has stayed in the same family of early Chinese settlers. Even though most of the Chinese have left the area, fifth-generation Californians Lorraine and Loretta, George Hee’s daughters, have carried on the family tradition and have lovingly maintained the Temple for the enrichment and enjoyment of their community and visitors.

154

Frank J. Mendosa after settling in the Golden State. Thus a

difficult lives of the Mendocino Mill workers. The men often

man named Mendosa, originally Mendonca, found his way

lost their lives in their twenties or thirties in work-related

to the isolated town of Mendocino which was named after a

accidents: drowning in Big River or the Mendocino Bay, or

Spanish government official with the moniker of Mendoza!

being crushed to death by trees and boards, or being mangled

Frank Mendosa became the patriarch of a prominent

and maimed in accidents with machinery and equipment.

family in Mendocino. His heroic life epitomized the spirit

Perhaps fatal mill accidents witnessed by Albertson inspired

of the Portuguese citizens of this seaside community. He

him to create this allegory about fleeting time and death as

suffered a horrific lumber mill accident; his arm was nearly

much as Masonic beliefs.

torn off when it became entangled in rope rigging. The

Adding to the rich tapestry that is Mendocino is the

foreman finished what the machinery had started, amputating

Taoist temple located in the western section of town

Mendosa’s arm right there at the mill. Left without a job, the

overlooking Mendocino Bay. The Temple of Kwan Tai has

brave one-armed man opened a restaurant and then later a

been part of the good karma that has flowed in this coastal

store in 1909, supporting his wife and eight children. After

village since the tall trees were discovered during the Gold

years of hard work by the entire family, the store began to

Rush era. The temple pays homage to Kwan Tai, a legendary

flourish. Mendosa’s Market and Hardware Store has been

general in the pantheon of Chinese history. For more than

serving the community for the last one hundred years.

140 years, Chinese and other Taoists have come to pray at

Just down from Mendosa’s Market is an iconic Masonic

this brightly colored, red and green sanctuary. The temple is

Hall. This town is presided over by a sculpture known as

built on a narrow lot located next to other narrow lots that

“Father Time and the Maiden,” created by Erick Albertson, a

William Heeser divided and made available to mill workers.

member of the Mendocino Masons, just after the Civil War.

The parcels were sold at affordable prices so that the working

The white statue is perched on top of the Masonic Hall and

class could buy land and build homes to live their lives in

depicts an allegory about life lost at a young age. The hour is

comfort and peace.

at hand, symbolized by the hourglass, for the young maiden

One block west is the Portuguese community center,

as the Angel of Death, with a scythe resting on his shoulder,

Crown Hall, built in 1901. Crown Hall became the site for

braids her hair. He is waiting to escort the maiden into the

Pentecost celebrations and at times served as a church. In

next world. The statue seems fitting when one thinks of the

the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a crowned

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Portuguese Flats

Golden Field at Portuguese Flats 2001-2002, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Peter and Gretchen Imlay; San Francisco, California

From The Azores to Mendocino Portuguese Flats is one of three Portuguese neighborhoods in town. Some of the original settlers like Domingo Valador left the Azores as a cabin boy on a whaling ship. He would often tell the story that while leaving the island of Flores by ship, he was being shot at—the result of a dispute over a woman.

Several scenes from the movie Summer of ´42 were filmed in this field.

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Red Cottage with Roses, 2006, Oil, 16”x20” In the collection of Dale and Mary Cexton; Anaheim, California

Green Cottage with Roses Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

157

princess portraying Queen Isabella led Pentecost processions

move with the comment, “It cost too much to heat,” telling

from the Catholic Church through town, and after 1901 to

astonished family members, “Get over it and move on.”

this fraternal hall.

Hollywood again came to Mendocino in 1970 with the

The seventh Sunday after Easter—Pentecost Sunday—

filming of the coming-of-age comedy/drama Summer of ‘42.

was the day the Portuguese community fed the entire town

In one major scene, actress Jennifer O’Neill appears with

the Old World dish known as sopa, made of bread and beef.

teenager Gary Grimes as he carries her groceries beside

In the early days, the Portuguese delivered the meal door-

the Portuguese meeting hall on Osborne Street (now

to-door while singing and playing musical instruments.

called Woodward Street). As they proceed on the narrow

The celebration ended at Crown Hall and would last late

alley past Crown Hall, his friends tease him about being in

into the evening as they visited with friends and danced the

love with her. With the beautiful woman on one arm and

Charmarita to the sounds of accordions and guitars.

her groceries in the other, he does his best to ignore their

One of the prominent Portuguese names in Mendocino

immature comments.

legend and lore is Hercules Silva. The family lived in a two-

The young actors also appear in scenes in a field to the

story house on Calpella Street at Portuguese Flats. Born

west of Crown Hall in the section called Portuguese Flats.

Herculano DaSilva on Flores Island (part of the Azores),

The home opposite Crown Hall across Ukiah Street had a

he was a boat builder who arrived in Mendocino on the SS

starring role as Gary Grimes’ character’s home on Nantucket

Seafoam in 1899, liked what he saw and said, “I was looking

Island. In 2007, 37 years after the release of Summer of ‘42, the

for land that reminded me of home.”

film was screened in Crown Hall as part of the Mendocino

Silva’s wife Laura gave birth to eleven children over a

Film Festival. That year, the festival honored Toni Lemos,

span of thirty years. As the time passed, eight of his offspring

who over the years served as the location coordinator for

moved out to live on their own. On a spring day of 1949,

Hollywood production companies during their filming stays

his two remaining sons, Joe and Lawrence, were gone for the

in Mendocino. The Mendocino County Film Office lists 43

day playing in double header baseball games for Mendocino

features being shot in Mendocino, as well as the popular

High against Point Arena. With wife Laura conveniently

TV series Murder, She Wrote, with the town’s breathtaking

away visiting her sister, he had the house to himself and

scenery and quaint cottages providing the backdrop of the

proceeded to cut off the second story! He explained his bold

fictional Cabot Cove, Maine.

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MacCallum House 2004, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Aaron Barak; Mesa, Arizona

A Life-long Friendship Emma Shirley “Daisy” Kelly lived in this house into the 1950s. As an infant, circa 1861, she was carried around town on a cradle board by a Pomo man named Busah. Her father had bought his life. It is not known what Busah did to have his own people want to put him to death, but William Kelly interceded and Busah became a protector of the family. The duo went on a trip to San Francisco where William purchased a fancy set of clothes in the latest style as a gift for the Pomo. When his business in the city was held over, Kelly bought a single return ticket for his now well-dressed friend. But Busah’s allegiance was so strong he did not want to leave Kelly’s side and refused to depart.

159

The new millennium brought an end to an era as the

Bertram’s neighbor—Mendocino Art Center co-founder

last of the old-timers on West Main Street passed. It began

Jennie Zacha—died in 2008, leaving daughter Lucia to carry

when Alphonse Reide closed his Main Street store, the

on the family tradition. Then her good friend, Hilda Pertha,

eponymous Alphonse’s, and moved to Fort Bragg, carrying

passed on May 18, 2011, at the age of 99, proving that sea air

out a retirement plan that included the move to Fort Bragg

and the artist’s life agreed with her. She lived and worked for

when he became ill. Alphonse’s was one of the first Main

years in an apartment and studio above Zacha Bay Window

Street stores to reflect the spirit of the early 1970s, a funky

Gallery. She was one of the key artists Bill Zacha coaxed to

mix of items like off-center ceramic mugs, videos for rent

Mendocino to teach at his art center. During Mendocino’s

(always featuring a starlet that he admired) and assorted

“Golden Age,” she exhibited her dynamic florals alongside

pipes and tobacco. He also sold records that reflected his

the works of Toshi Yoshida, Bill Zacha, Dorr Bothwell, Fran

love and knowledge of classical music, which he studied

Moyer and Charles Stevenson, who was directed to move to

in Santa Barbara as a young man. He even figured out a

Mendocio by a fortune-teller. One knew they’d “arrived” in

way to pipe in classical music to nearby stores. Mendocino

town if Hilda extended an invitation for afternoon tea on her

County families traveling from Willits or Ukiah would

porch overlooking the ocean and Mendocino Bay.

often comment that a visit to Alphonse’s was a highlight of their trip to the coast.

It does not seem that our cherished memories will ever be enough when compared to the chance at one more heartfelt

Then, a few doors south, Jim Bertram left his second

conversation with these lost local legends. They made so

story residence and studio on Main Street when he needed

many contributions and were such an integral part of the

assisted living. Just prior, well into his later years, he could

town that it seems the tremendous void left by their deaths

be seen working in the morning at the Mendocino Bakery,

cannot be filled. It leaves us to think about their absence and

or on a midday bike ride on Heeser Drive, peddling past

ponder all of the others who also passed during the early

Portuguese Flats. In the evening he would often occupy

years of the 21st century. We are left with the melancholy of

a window seat at the Mendocino Hotel, drinking a brandy

loss but also their spirit, which remains a motivating force to

while gazing out at the bay. His calligraphic-style paintings

many in Mendocino and beyond.

are displayed annually inside the Mendocino Music Festival main tent, reminding us of his talents.

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Bishop-Beggs House 2004, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of John and Joyce Ogden; Toronto, Canada

Hermie’s Bedroom from the Summer of ‘42 The upstairs room with the “T” window played the part of Hermie’s bedroom in the film Summer of ‘42, shot on location in Mendocino in 1970. Major interior scenes were filmed in the yellow house on Woodward Alley across from Crown Hall, but the upstairs bedroom in the Bishop-Beggs house provided the right combination of light and space that the director was looking for in this one scene.

161

Green House and Red House with Kelliowen Hall Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Barry and Wendy Cusick; Mendocino, California

Byrd Baker and Kelliowen Hall Byrd Baker once lived in the “red house” and sold his carved whale sculptures in the front yard circa 1976. One of his works can still be seen in front of the McCallum house across the street. The taller cream-colored building in the background is Kelliowen Hall, a multipurpose community room. The unusual name is the combination of the last names of William Kelly and his wife, Eliza Owen. She was the only Baptist in town, so William Kelly built the red church in the painting opposite just for her.

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Green House with Baptist Church 2002, Oil, 16” X 20” In a private collection

The Mendocino Whale Wars Byrd Baker is credited with originating the name “Mendocino Whale Wars.” Byrd viewed reports about the environmental group Green Peace as he watched the nightly TV news while sitting in a bar in Mendocino village. He was profoundly affected by the sight of Russian harpoons flying over the heads of Green Peace activists aimed at whales swimming next to a hunting vessel. He was determined to take action to “save god’s whales.”

In December of 1975, the Mendocino Whale Wars Association was formed by Byrd Baker, J.D. Mayhew, John Griffin and Nicolas Wilson with John Bear serving as first president. Byrd borrowed the very same Oregon-based ship used by Green Peace, the 66 foot Phyllis Cormack, for the Mendocino Whale Wars. Film footage of Byrd and friends intercepting whaling ships off the California coast is shown annually at the Mendocino Whale Watch Festival the first weekend of March.

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Green and Yellow Houses on Ukiah Street 2006, Oil, 16” X 20” In the collection of Jim and Cheryl Deem; Arlington, Virginia

Ukiah Street Homes Barry and Heidi Cusick lived in the house next to the blue cottage at left in 1975. When the new arrivals were moving into the house, the weight of the refrigerator caused it to fall through the rotted flooring. The Cusicks were in a bind with all their money “in the house,” a broken refrigerator and a newborn. Mendosa’s Market sold the Cusicks a $360 refrigerator on good faith and a promise of ten dollar monthly payments. Barry attempted to tell them, “I do not have a job!” But the Mendosa staff asked only for his name and post office box number. Before the Cusicks could even return home, the Mendosa team of Eddie Dovorak and Art Piscitelli had already delivered the new appliance.

Cusick paid off the loan in three years. The refrigerator is still running and in use forty years later, six blocks away at his Pine Street home!

Blue Cottage with Fences

164

2006, Oil, 16”x20”

Cottage Behind Crown Hall, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Mark and Jan Roberto, Springfield, Ohio

The Mendocino Connection with East of Eden And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything.

And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid anymore.

The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.

I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructable.

—John Steinbeck, East of Eden

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Western Calpella Street—The Street of the Sisters

Houses with Backyard Fences 2006, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Bob and Debbie Handley; Lee’s Summit, Missouri

The Street of the Sisters Between 1878 and 1886, five Thomas sisters arrived to Mendocino village from Flores Island in the Azores. Annie, Rosa, Marianna, Joaquina and Maria Thomas chose to settle along or near western Calpella Street, one of three Portuguese districts in Mendocino. Joaquina lived with her husband on Calpella Street on the crest of a hill in the red cottage seen in the painting on the facing page. Sister Maria lived directly across the street with her husband Antone Bettencourt. The heroic pioneer women of Mendocino is a favorite theme of novelist Vicki Hessel Werkley in her upcoming book, Taking the Redwoods.

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Cottage with Tower of Jewels

2006, Oil, 16”x 20”

In the collection of Meredith Smith; Mendocino, California

King-Rice Cottage 2004, Oil, 14” X 18” In the collection of Peggy McCullough; Sedona, Arizona

The Disappearing Second Story Just down the hill one block from the King-Rice Cottage is the Silva family home, well-known in Mendocino legend and lore for the patriarch who lopped off the second story in the 1940s when the family was away for the day because it was too expensive to heat, much to the bewilderment of the family.

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Red Cottage with Blue Hydranga 2007, Oil, 16�x20�

In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

Woodblock Inspiration Mendocino has a rich tradition of woodblock printing. Printmaker Anne Kendall Foote is honored with a room dedicated in her name in the Kelley House Museum, where her dynamic block prints grace the walls of an upstairs bedroom. Emmy Lou Packard created blackand-white block prints and is regarded as an important artist of the twentieth century. Art Center founder Bill Zacha was influenced by Japanese block printer Toshio Yoshida. Dor Bothwell admired their work and produced her own block prints.

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Shake Cottage with Pine 2003, Oil, 16” X 20” In a private collection

The Mendocino Style One of Bill Zacha’s most treasured cohorts was the multi-talented Dorr Bothwell. She and Zacha created a Mendocino style, simplified imagery derived from fences, foliage, headland fields and buildings of their seaside home that was used in their print-making media. The Mendocino style incorporates the use of positive and negative shapes in muted tones, working in silk-screen and block printing. These lessons learned are covered in a book she co-authored titled Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design. Zacha’s enthusiasm for art was such that he tempted Bothwell to relocate from San Francisco to Mendocino by offering her free housing—a generous gesture that would be unheard of in today’s real estate market. Bothwell’s acclaimed works can be seen in both the Metropolitan and the Modern Museum of Art in New York. The Japanese concept of notan is exemplified by the dark row of fences in the painting at left.

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Mendocino Headlands

Mendocino Archway 2006, Oil, 16” X 20” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

Songs of Mendocino Talk to Me of Mendocino Musicians have described their attraction to the North Coast

It has been covered by a number of well-known singers, including Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Nora Jones.

shores in memorable songs. “Talk to Me of Mendocino” was

Closing my eyes I hear the sea

written and originally recorded by Canadian sisters Anna and Kate

Must I wait, must I follow?

McGarrigle.

Won’t you say “Come with me?”

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Mendocino Doug Sahm, front man for The Sir Douglas Quintet, wrote “Mendocino” in 1969. “My dad got busted for pot in Texas and decided to move to San Francisco. Dad traveled up to the North Coast from San Francisco and fell in love and wrote about it,” said his son Pyramid Rock Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Chip Hooper; Carmel Valley, California

Shawn Sahm in 2014. The keyboard-driven song reached #27 on the U.S. Billboard charts and was an even bigger hit in Europe.

The iconic musician presented a unique image that was part hippie, part cowboy, while his group, the Texas Tornados, produced music that defied category.

Teeny Bopper, my teenage lover I caught your waves last night It sent my mind to wonderin’ You’re such a groove.

“H” Rock 2006, Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20” In the collection of Jeff and Alicia Leite; Coopersburg, Pennsylvania

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172

School House with Church 2002, Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Scott and Patricia Teaford

Caspar

B

efore Caspar was settled as a lumber mill town, a shipwreck and a ship landing played significant roles in the history of the North Coast. First, the clipper Frolic

ran aground in 1850 while en route to San Francisco from China. Then in 1854, a small unnamed wooden boat, also from China, made land at Caspar Beach with the first Chinese to inhabit the North Coast. The Chinese went south to Mendocino City to begin a new life and create a Chinatown on the headlands.

The wreck of the Frolic triggered the arrival of salvagers at the site of the disaster to attempt to retrieve the ship’s cargo of Chinese porcelain and other goods. What they discovered proved to be much more valuable: vast forests of virgin redwood and Douglas fir that covered the hills for miles around. In 1851, Henry Meiggs, a San Francisco entrepreneur, sent Jerome Ford to see what he could salvage from the wreck of the Frolic—he arrived too late, but he did note the oddity of Pomo women wearing silk shawls. Based on Ford’s report, Meiggs decided to choose this remote location to create a mill town, Mendocino City, four miles to the south. Nine years later in 1861, a steam powered lumber mill was built at Caspar Creek by founders of the Mendocino Mill. By 1889, electric lights at the mill allowed lumber schooners to locate the anchorage at night.

Life was anything but harsh for the 500 residents, as they had the use and enjoyment of a hotel, five saloons, a school, a lodge hall, an indoor roller-skating rink, and a baseball team that had rivalries with Mendocino and Fort Bragg.

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T

The Wreck of the Frolic

anticipated to bring huge sale prices of up to 75 percent

he Frolic met her demise on the evening of July 25,

profit in San Francisco. The cargo of the Frolic was to mirror

1850, on the north side of present day Point Cabrillo

that of the Eveline, which had recently earned huge profits

Lighthouse. Captain Edward H. Faucon made an error

in San Francisco. John Rogers Cooper of Monterey was the

judging the distance to the shore, due to hazy skies, and hit a

captain of the Eveline on this successful voyage. His brother-

reef. The Frolic was a 97-foot long, two masted sailing vessel

in-law, Jacob Leese, with the help of John Everett, had the

making her final voyage from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

retail acumen to select the items in Canton and also chose

The ship was at the end of a forty-five day journey, filled

the cargo for the Frolic’s last hurrah voyage. It took three

with items from China to be sold in the boomtown of San

months to fill the Eveline as the suppliers in Canton were

Francisco.

low on inventory, having recently sold goods to four other

The Augustine Heard & Company had commissioned

ships. These would be some of the same manufacturers used

the construction of the brig with the intent of transporting

to provide cargo for the Frolic. Everett knew tough times and

opium from Bombay, India, to Canton, China. The ship was

the import-export business, having spent years on Boston

designed in Boston and built in Baltimore at the Gardener

brigs trading up and down the California coast at missions

Brothers shipyard in the summer of 1844. Prominent New

and pueblos from San Diego to San Francisco. His carefully

England families were investors in the Frolic, including

developed contacts with Larkin and Leese were now finally

Thomas O. Larkin Sr., and did not want it to be known that

coming to fruition. But fate intercepted the Frolic some 160

they had participated and profited in this illegal trade. The hull

miles north of her final destination of San Francisco. Most of

was constructed with a narrow “V” shape for speed in order to

the extensive cargo ended up in the Pacific Ocean instead of

avoid being intercepted while filled with opium. The Frolic had

in the homes of newly founded Yerba Buena.

made numerous runs in the South Seas over a six year span.

The captain, officers and crew survived by fleeing in

By 1848, steamships were replacing sailing brigs.

lifeboats to make shore two miles south at Big River beach

The Frolic had developed rot in the hull and outlived her

in present day Mendocino. Six frightened crew members

usefulness. The Augustine Heard & Company planned

refused to leave the Frolic and clung to the rigging for an

a final run for this obsolete clipper ship. The Frolic was

entire night. Three were Malaysian; two were Chinese and

laden with carefully selected items of Chinese trade goods

one was a Panaji boy. They were terrified of jumping from the

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Point Cabrillo Lighthouse

2000, Oil, 20” X 30”

safety of the rigging into the lifeboats with the surging sea and

who were left behind set out on foot, heading inland. They

crashing waves battering the vessel. The next day a lifeboat

never made it to San Francisco to collect their pay. To this

returned for the six weary crew members, who at that point

day, it remains a mystery as to what happened to them. The

were finally ready to spring from the rigging into the lifeboat.

Augustine Heard & Company collected the insurance money

They were taken to the nearest beach, where they proceeded

after the wreck and some speculate this was why Captain

to kiss the ground. Once at Big River, Captain Faucon and

Faucon did not attempt to salvage the cargo. The wreck of

several others rowed a lifeboat south, close to the shoreline,

the Frolic occurred two years before the California Lumber

until they reached Fort Ross and then Bodega Rancho, where

& Manufacturing Company was founded at Big River. These

they ate and rested. They made it to San Francisco, their

shipwreck survivors preceded another survivor of a seagoing

intended destination. Food and supplies had been salvaged to

disaster—William Kasten, who would soon have a claim on

aid in their journey down the coast. Eighteen crew members

the western headlands overlooking Mendocino Bay.

175

they were in the north part of town, west of and adjoining the

T

John Simpson Ross II

coast road. This piece of land was nearly covered with brush and

he story of John Simpson Ross II is told in an

bull pine trees … He had a part cleared off in order to build a

autobiography he wrote in Elk at his residence, now

house. A lumber schooner had been wrecked in the vicinity and

known as the Harbor House, in the years 1933-37. He was

the lumber washed up on the beach, so in addition to the lumber

the son of a preacher who became a key lumberman in the

purchased from the Caspar Lumber Company, he salvaged a

early days of the North Coast. His father, John Simpson Ross

great deal of lumber from the wreck. From this the house was

Sr., arrived from Canada prior to his family and became the

built.

Baptist minister of Caspar.

The old school house stood across the street from where the

John Simpson Ross II first arrived in California in 1870

Caspar Lumber Company’s brick store and office now stands

on a train with his mother, two siblings and grandparents to

… the pupils were the Alex Gordon family, Harry Burwash, the

join his father. He wrote, I was only about three and a half years

Marshes, Kuhns, Doyles, O’Briens, Cummingses, MacCallums,

old … I remember the Indians on the platforms near the passed

Snows, Lame John Gordons, the Gordons of Pine Grove,

stations that we saw when coming through the States.

Davidsons, Morans, Mathews, Colburns, Gregors, Heldts and

The family traveled the final leg by boat from San

some more whom I forgot.

Francisco, arriving at Caspar Landing in June of 1870. His

I had a professor, H.E. Whipple, surely of the old school.

father had left Thurso, Canada, to come to the Golden State

Sometimes he would keep a student at recess, and he would

in 1869 due to health reasons.

become so absorbed in the (Bible) reading that if a student

Six years prior to Ross’s arrival, the Caspar Mill opened under the direction of William Kelley and Captain Rundle,

escaped by crawling out the open window, he would never remember having kept him in.

pioneers in the Mendocino Mill. Ross recalled how his new

The men worked six exhausting days a week in the mill.

home looked from his boyhood days in the 1870s. The town

A typical workday at the Caspar Mill in1879 began when the

consisted of a few dwellings , cabins for single men, the Company’s

whistle blew at 5:15 a.m. The workers went to the cookhouse

store, a hotel, a few saloons, but no church—the nearest church

for a cup of coffee and a cold biscuit. At twenty minutes

being in Mendocino five miles to the south.

to six they began work till 7:00 a.m. They returned to the

My father had purchased ten acres of land from Alex Gordon;

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cookhouse for a hot breakfast, then back to work at 7:20 and

Baptist Church 2001-2002, Oil, 20” X 24” In the collection of Patricia Dillon; El Sobrante, California

continued till noon .After a lunch break, it was back to work

said, Goaded on for six successive days at this high pressure and

at 12:30 p.m. This shift went all the way to 6:40 p.m. then

speed they were completely exhausted with fatigue …I saw my

back for dinner.

fellow men busy at their daily avocation, many toiling hard with

On the Sabbath, some men were so exhausted that they

no bright prospect of any future reward, and I who had the hope

did not leave their cabins to attend church services. Minister

through faith in Christ: why should I not faithfully persevere in

John Simpson Ross Sr. reflected how on Sundays he had the

my high calling, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him?

impossible job of preaching to a town too weary to attend and

In the early days of Caspar whites lived next to Indians.

those who did were too tired to comprehend the sermon. He

Ross recalled, A party of them had a camp right opposite

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Red House with Cypress 2003, Oil, 18”x 24” In the collection of Fritz and Simone Dietz; Zurich, Switzerland

our house, some hundred feet away, in the pines that grew on

old frying pan that was lying on the ground, and struck Martin

that side of the coast road. He witnessed the torturing and

on the side of the head, laying him out stiff as a poker. You can

killing of Native Americans by white members of town. His

imagine this put him on good terms with the Indians.

grandfather came to the rescue one time. He wrote, They

His grandfather was like no other at age 70. Ross said,

were miserably treated by the whites. I remember hearing a

He went into a field that a runaway bull had entered and side-

commotion and screaming over at the Rancheria, as if someone

stepped the charging beast several times and … grabbed the bull

was being tortured. Grandfather Ralston rushed over and found

by the horns, and gave a mighty twist. We heard the bones crack.

a big, burly roughneck, by the name of Caspar Martin, abusing

It was some time before the bull came out of its daze; it left the

the Indians. Grandfather rushed into the scrap, grabbed up an

field with a crooked neck that never did quite straighten out.”

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Cottages with Fence 2002, Oil, 16”x 20” In the collection of Tim and Laura Zadel; San Jose California

House with Pine Oil on Canvas, 16”x 20” In the collection of Steve and Printha Worthen; Fort Bragg California In memory of Nancy Azevedo from the bequest of Harry and Debbie Carrison

179

His confounding deeds continued as once he confronted

responsibility. In time, he began to manage the books of

a coward, Pete Davis, who was hiding out at Heldt’s Saloon

all of Heeser’s enterprises—Mendocino Savings Bank,

after beating his wife and children. He treated his family like

Mendocino Discount Bank, the Mendocino Beacon newspaper

dogs. The local women wanted to put an end to the constant

and Mendocino Lumber Company—for a monthly sum of

abuse inflicted on his family. Davis was hiding from a group

forty-five dollars. While working for Heeser he established a

of women who had formed to accost him for his abusive

solid business reputation in the county. Ross II would utilize

deeds, which included Christina McDonald, who weighed

this financial knowledge as a mill superintendant at mills in

200 pounds, and his mother. Grandfather made a rush for

Cleone, Caspar, Greenwood and Mendocino.

him (inside the saloon) and grabbed him by the back of the neck,

He managed the final years of the old Mendocino Mill for

shook him as a terrier would a rat, and marched him up the street

E.C. Williams and Captain Simpson (who bought the Ford

to where the women were waiting. By the time he got there, Davis

interests) beginning in September 1902 to December 1924.

was a mighty humble man. He begged like a trooper for mercy

He resided at the old Ford House on Main Street. “I was

… said how good he was to his family. The women told him they

well acquainted in Mendocino,” he said. “Nearly everyone,

were going to put him in a water trough, not once but several

especially the Portuguese fraternity, was glad to see me in

times. However, he made so many promises of good behavior that

charge.”

they let him off on probation—much to my grandfather’s chagrin

He attempted to update the mill into a modern era with

(I suppose he wanted to finish the job). Anyway, he treated his

a new boiler plant, run by steam, which was an economical

family better after that … but my grandfather had sized him up

upgrade. But the old West Point graduate E.C. Williams was

right: a man who will beat up his own family is nothing but a

set in his ways and resisted most change. In 1902, the mill

coward—as proved that day in the saloon.

still had two yoke of oxen in use to haul the cars up the incline

At eighteen years of age, John Simpson Ross II was

using tarred Manila rope. Still even with these handicaps,

hired as an assistant bookkeeper by August Heeser in 1884.

under his direction for twenty-two years, the mill sawed over

At first, he filed papers and then slowly he was given more

500 million feet of lumber!

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House with Stovepipe and Chimney

2006, Oil, 18� X 24�

Searching for the Mountain of Gold In 1854, a small wooden boat landed somewhere near Caspar. No one knows exactly where, but it could have been the small beach on the west edge of Caspar. Eight Chinese men were on board who had survived a trans-Pacific journey that lasted years. Farmers from Canton who had trained to sail in the Philippines, they followed the continents and the Black Tide current down the west side of the Pacific Ocean to California in search of the Mountain of Gold. The Chinese walked four miles south to find not gold, but Mendocino.

181

182

Frontage Road Looking West Oil on Canvas, 18”x 24” In the collection of Howard and Reka Goode; Oakland, California

The Last Southerly Stand

by Kevin Milligan On the left side of Frontage Road is the ravine of Caspar Creek. The town’s cemetery is located on a small hill above the ravine and the citizens of Caspar are laid to rest beneath the last southerly grove of Sitka spruce.

Caspar citizens laid to rest Beneath coastal conifers in shade On slopes facing west The mighty verdant glade Grows in seaside mist best Through the dense grove Shafts of light reach mossy headstones below On a hill near the lumber mill cove From Sitka all the way to Caspar, the tall trees grow The screech of the mother osprey cries That echo from a tree top nest The silence is broken To give the last goodbyes On this blessed land No words are spoken In the last southerly stand.

183

Green Cottage with Roses 2002, Oil, 18” X 24” In the collection of Jim and Sally Otvos; Cary, North Carolina

184

Fence Line Roses

by Kevin Milligan Chased whales and dreams ‘round the Horn Left the Azores Islands where they were born Found a home on distant shores

No getting older Last grains of sand

On Mendocino headlands where golden grasses sway From Pico, Flores, and San Miguel Seaside breezes everyday Only time would tell

Fathers gave their blood and sweat Caught in rope rigging unable to be freed Francisco Mendosa lost an arm with no time for regret Forward the one armed man would proceed Opened a market to serve the village need His eight children inspired by the heroic deed

Chorus: Their hearts always had room Fence line roses still bloom

Chorus: Their hearts always had room Fence line roses still bloom

On Pentecost processions thru town, A young princess wore a silver crown Families dressed in Sunday best and her, a flowing gown To celebrate Fifty Holy Days And continue Old World ways

Hauling trees with oxen down a skid row Logs slid on a corduroy road To currents of Big River below Floated to the mill-timber cut and sold Oxen pulled boards on tracks by rail Up to Headlands stacked high Left in the sun to dry Loaded on to the Babolink, Ocean Pearl, and Golden Rule to set sail, Bound for San Francisco Bay Gold Rush frontier underway

At Festa, sopa was made of bread and beef Delivered door to door for one and all Staying true to family belief Families of Mendosa, Thomas, Silva, Lemos, and Nieto together in Crown Hall Danced the Chamarita into the night (with guitars and accordions) Tradition shown bright Chorus: Their hearts always had room Fence line roses still bloom Felled tallest trees on earth Impossible to measure their worth Lives hung in the balance, a sacrifice for family sake Masonic Figures preside over men at work Angel of Death ready to take Arduous tasks not to shirk Watching in silence, scythe against his shoulder Hourglass has emptied and time is at hand

Chorus: Their hearts always had room Fence line roses still bloom Echos of their spirit can be heard in the wind Through branches of outstretched pines And sun-dried grasses on headland fields with blackberry vines Crashing waves below For all to know In Mendocino, Mendocino, Mendocino …

Generosity …

A journey of destiny Chorus: Their hearts always had room Fence line roses still bloom

185

186 Tower of Jewel with Green Field 2012, Oil, 16”x 20” Private Collection

Hooptedoodle! * “Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle … Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That’s nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don’t have to read it. I don’t want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story.”

—Mack in John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday, describing the kind of books he likes.

“We could have made a fortune if there had been a brand of whiskey named Old Tennis Shoes.”

—Frances Yee, whose family owned the Wing Chong market, the inspiration for Lee Chong’s store in Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday.

“John Steinbeck was ready to unravel his intertwined heritage of place, history and people—and to retie it with a knot of his own invention.”

—Dr. Susan Shillinglaw, director of the National Steinbeck Center, on the author’s frame of mind when he commenced to writing his epic work, East of Eden.

“Yeah they’re pulling up the rails and selling them to Japan. They will probably come back to us in the form of bullets!”

—John “Johan” Matson, as the railroad tracks near Elk were being torn apart and sold as scrap to Japan just before World War II.

“She was too modern for stand-pat conservatives and too like nature for doctrinaire moderns.”

—A critic reviewing the exhibition of E. Charlton Fortune’s exhibition at the Del Monte Art Gallery of Monterey in 1928.

“I want to develop a technique that would express my efforts to capture light and movement.”

—Artist E. Charleton Fortune

“My goal is to make organic, timeless structures. Each of the buildings was made to fit the site which kept me from repeating myself.”

—Mickey Muennig, renown Big Sur architect “A fortune teller I knew told me that I had a chance to remake my life. What I really wanted to do was to find a place like Carmel or Monterey were forty years ago, when the artists and writers were there. She said Mendocino, and I put my things in the back of my Buick and came here. What happened in Mendocino gave us the feeling that we could influence the course of events by our dreams and visions. The people who came helped complete our connection with the arts and I think we did have a Golden Age.” —Charles Stevenson of Mendocino, speaking about his long-time dream to be part of a Golden Age of Art.

“Hooptedoodle” comes from a passage in Steinbeck’s SWEET THURSDAY.

187

John Steinbeck once said that the Salinas Valley haunted him, “like a remembered symphony.” Kevin Milligan’s stunning paintings of this region may also linger in the mind. His paintings and the stories that accompany them trace the shadows, surf, and human presence in the place Steinbeck called home—Monterey County, Big Sur and north to San Francisco. Milligan’s book follows Highway 1 further north to Mendocino, where the opening of Elia Kazan’s East of Eden was filmed. This lovely volume of images and text will help us see and experience anew the magic of this region--to appreciate the summits and vistas of the country that Steinbeck wrote about—and Milligan paints--with great sensitivity.

— Susan Shillinglaw Executive Director, National Steinbeck Center

Kevin’s magnificent work captures an exquisite sense of place both rooted in and celebrating the physical, emotional and historic beauty of this region.

For those of us fortunate enough to live here year-round, Kevin’s magnificent work reminds us what we value, why we stay and why we work so hard to protect this gorgeous and fragile region. For everyone fortunate enough to visit, his work captures some of your best memories and includes spots you may have missed. For all of us, Kevin’s book is a treasure chest of stories and paintings and iconic moments that commemorate and illuminate one of the most loved regions in the world.

— Paulette Lynch

Executive Director, Arts Council for Monterey County

In this book Milligan pays appropriate homage to the artists and writers who came before him. He now adds to this lineage his contribution of unique, tranquil, inspired views that were over twenty years in the making.

— Marvin Schenck

Board Member, Mendocino County Arts Council

$85.00 ISBN 978-0-692-97790-3

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