RAY SHEARER | FRANK K ALMAN | FRED SWEENEY | RICK TIBBEN | SCOT T STEINMAUS
Journal JULY 2013
PLUS
MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST
2013 CALIFORNIA MID-STATE FAIR
Larry D. Smyth Owner/Broker
805-543-2172 San Luis Obispo
www.farrellsmyth.com
www.ZinVineyard.com
805-904-6616 Arroyo Grande
www.2684JohnsonAve.com
Jennifer Hamilton
Linda Aiello-Madison
Relocation Director
Broker-Associate
Ken Arritt
Broker-Associate
Vineyard, home, & 3.76 acres with fully insulated 4900+ square foot steel shop with living quarters. Dry farming Zinfandel grapes. Deep rooted vines are over ten years old. Electric gate + alarm system with cameras. Steel shop could be car collector’s dream. $1,275,000
An investor’s dream! Lovely home close to town and shopping. Mature landscaping on large corner lot with sprinkler system. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Nice flow, tile flooring from kitchen to rec room and on to the 200sqft sunroom, two wood burning fireplaces and hardwood floors in bedrooms. $639,000
Brand New Home in Paso!
www.1130Atascadero.com
Broker-Associate
REALTOR®
Mary Rosenthal BRAND NEW HOME! Be the first to own! Conveniently located on a cul-de-sac and close to shopping. Stunning view of greenbelt from foyer. Open, spacious floor plan in this 3 bedroom, 3 bath. Vaulted ceiling in great room with travertine surrounding fireplace. Exquisite finishes, Beautiful hardwood floors and carpeting. Master en suite with double sinks in bath. Energy Star rated appliances. Wrap around deck and low maintenance yard! $479,000
Three Bedroom Two bath Laguna Lake Home. New paint new carpet. Fireplace, two car garage. Nice location. 1130 Atascadero Ave. $449,000
SLO Pine Creek Condo
Beautiful Morro Bay Views
Theresa Carroll
REALTOR®
Chris Stanley
Jerry Collins
REALTOR®
REALTOR®
REALTOR®
Patricia Garrison REALTOR®
REALTOR®
Janet Shaner
REALTOR®
Paddy Doron
REALTOR®
Deane Naylor
Twila Arritt
Broker-Associate
Pamela Bliss
Annette Mullen
Popular Pine Creek! Very close to Cal Poly. Two bedroom/two bath with 2 car carport. Upper deck & small fenced yard. Indoor laundry. Great storage, vaulted ceilings, newer parquet wood floor in kitchen. Come take a look! $355,000
Vicky Hall REALTOR®
Have it all in beautiful Morro Bay! Build your dream home and capture the wonderful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and coastline. This buildable upslope lot backs natures ranchland for privacy. Super desirable neighborhood with custom homes and located on level street. Start your plans to build your dream home and live the coastal cool life! $254,900
Conveniently located in the heart of SLO & the Village of Arroyo Grande 21 Santa Rosa Street, Suite 100, SLO, CA 93405 110 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
Christine Williams REALTOR®
Marion Trombetta REALTOR®
Simone Viola REALTOR®
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W H E R E E V E R Y D AY I S A S A L E D AY !
CONTENTS
Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST
The People, Community, and Business of Our Beautiful Central Coast ADDRESS
654 Osos Street San Luis Obispo California 93401
18 CARING FOR THE COUNTY’S CATS
PHONE 805.546.0609 E-MAIL slojournal@fix.net WEBSITE www.slojournal.com
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Steve Owens ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Erin Mott GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dora Mountain COPY EDITOR Susan Stewart PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Meinhold DISTRIBUTION Keith Malcomson, Kyle Owens
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FRED SWEENEY
SCOTT STEINMAUS
ADVERTISING Jan Owens CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Maggie Cox, Deborah Cash, Marilyn Darnell, Will Jones, Taylor Coffman, Jennifer Best, Patti Taylor, Roxanne Carr, Gordon Fuglie, and Dan Carpenter. Mail subscriptions are available at $20 per year. Back issues are $2 each. Inquires concerning advertising or other information made by writing to Steve Owens, JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE, 654 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. You can call us at 546-0609, our fax line is 546-8827, and our e-mail is slojournal@fix.net. View the entire magazine on our website at www.slojournal.com JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE is a free monthly distributed to over 600 locations throughout the Central Coast and is also available online at slojournal.com Editorial submissions are welcome but are published at the discretion of the publisher. Submissions will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. No material published in the magazine can be reproduced without written permission. Opinions expressed in the byline articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE. Cover photo provided by California Mid-State Fair
PEOPLE 8 10 12 14 16
FRANK KALMAN RICK TIBBEN RAY (THE BARBER) SHEARER FRED SWEENEY SCOTT STEINMAUS
HOME & OUTDOOR 18 20 22 24 26
CARING FOR THE COUNTY’S CATS SLO ART CENTER EVENT PRESERVATION AWARDS FOOD / AT THE MARKET
COMMUNITY 28 30 32 34 36 42
OUR SCHOOLS–Dr. Julian Crocker HISTORY: WHAT’S IN A NAME HISTORY: What the Padres saw in 1814 HOSPICE CORNER / CROSSWORD PUZZLE PALM STREET–SLO Councilman Carpenter COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
BUSINESS
37 DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening 41 ROXANNE CARR Mortgage facts 46 EYE ON BUSINESS
SLO ART SCENE Murals
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A proud tradition of serving our community for over 29 years
ARROYO GRANDE – Fabulous 5-acre gated estate offers two residences in a desirable neighborhood of executive-style homes. The approx 4400 square-foot main residence has 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, a great single level floor plan and a 3-car attached garage, built in 2005. The 4th bedroom is actually an attached guest suite with a separate entrance. The views of the surrounding hills are beautiful. The 2nd residence is a charming detached 1 bedroom, 1 bath, approx 1200 sq ft casita, with a 2-car attached garage and separate gated driveway. $2,250,000 #3139
A Must See!
SAN LUIS OBISPO – This dramatic 3 bedroom, 2 bath, Spanish inspired home features hand scraped hardwood and slate flooring, copper sinks, and a built-in 230 gallon saltwater tank. The kitchen has slate stone back-splash, concrete counters and commercial grade stainless appliances. Arched doors, Spanish tiles and small intricate details bring out the flair of this home, and outside is a tropical oasis with large greenery, covered patio and deck with built-in spa. $648,000 #3116
SAN LUIS OBISPO – If you think you have
been inside this property before, check it out now! Completely remodeled 2 bedroom, 2 bath front unit with so many upgrades! New hardwood floors, fireplace, granite counters, stainless appliances, fixtures, cabinets, etc.... you have to see it to believe it!! Come see this house... Oh, and don’t forget the STUDIO in the back. The studio is approximately 450 sq ft with a full kitchen and full bath. $629,000 #3124
SAN LUIS OBISPO – This beautiful single family home features 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms plus an office/den located downstairs. Featuring an open living floor plan downstairs, nicely landscaped front and back yard, ample storage throughout the home, loads of natural light and views of the surrounding hills and mountains. With a park located right down the street with a children’s play area, close to shopping and hiking trails, this is a wonderful location close to many amenities. $635,000 #3137
PISMO BEACH – Fantastic ocean views are appreciated from the upper level living room, kitchen and view deck of the approx. 1000 sf, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, Shell Beach condo. Outstanding location, desirable neighborhood, and just one block from the ocean and Eldwayen Ocean Park. The nearby Shell Beach community frontage road provides convenient access to a variety of services, restaurants, cafes, and Hwy. 101. Perfect for rental income or vacation home. $499,000 #3098
Spectacular Views!
PISMO BEACH – Great beach condo, excellent
condition & low maintenance. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, view deck, slate fireplace & stainless steel appliances. Located just 2 blocks from the sand and water! Truly a must see! $475,000 #3020
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Spectacular city, Cerro San Luis and Bishop’s Peak views are appreciated from this gorgeous multi-level Monterey Heights home featuring approx. 2450 sf, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and a 2-car garage. Numerous upgrades and updates abound in this lovely home that provides a large great room, dining room, and kitchen... ideal for entertaining plus a lower level guest quarters complete with living room, wet bar, dining area, bedroom and bathroom. $899,000 #3141
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Beautiful parcel waiting for your custom home. Flat and usable approx 3.0 acres with seasonal creek and majestic oaks/trees just outside of SLO city limits in the prestigious Perozzi Ranch Subdivision off of Orcutt. Private entrance/drive off of Tanglewood. Country feeling but just a couple minutes from downtown SLO. $350,000 #3129
For more information on these and other Real Estate Group of SLO listings call us at
805.541.2888
962 Mill Street • San Luis Obispo, California 93401 • www.RealEstateGroup.com
From the publisher Purchase Units
Refinance Units
Total Units
I
’ve been a member of the SLO (nighttime) Kiwanis Club de Tolosa for more than 30 years and have held every position from Interclub Chairman to President.
We Believe in SLO. Thanks for Believing in Us.
Ron Penir
Ben Lerner
Bill Mott
Rick Kirk
Regional Manager 805-709-3426 rpenir@commercemtg.com
Partner & Loan Officer 805-441-9486 blerner@commercemtg.com
Partner & Loan Officer 805-234-5081 bmott@commercemtg.com
Loan Officer 805-459-4101 rkirk@commeremtg.com
CA DRE# 01115178 NMLS# 325495
CA DRE# 01435168 NMLS# 395723
CA DRE# 01359516 NMLS# 341086
CA DRE# 481245 NMLS# 375012
Dave Wilson
Tim Robinson
Landon Spitler
Kevin Cunningham
Loan Officer 805-550-6933 dwilson@commercemtg.com
Loan Officer 805-548-8186 trobinson@commercemtg.com
Loan Officer 805-471-0243 lspitler@commercemtg.com
Loan Officer 805-458-5178 kcunningham@commercemtg.com
CA DRE# 01907878 NMLS# 633244
CA DRE# 01913449 NMLS# 633249
CA DRE# 1411227 NMLS# 308160
CA DRE# 01089803 NMLS# 343856
San Luis Obispo County’s #1 Provider of Home Financing in 2012
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733 Marsh Street, Suite 200, San Luis Obispo, CA (805) 548-8180
www.commercemtg.com Commerce Mortgage proudly supports Homes for Our Troops, a foundation building specially adapted homes for our severely injured veterans at no cost to the veteran. Visit www.commercemtg.com/homesforourtroops for more information.
The role I find most gratifying is working on the Scholarship Committee and interviewing the prospective student winners. This year we divided up $6000 among the five students pictured above. The winners were Emily Becher, Kalia Linsteadt, Tommy O’Neil, Meghan O’Neil, and Christina Herrera Hernandez. It’s just amazing what these students have accomplished at such a young age, and it was a pleasure listening to their lofty lifetime goals. It’s a great feeling helping them pursue their dreams, even if it’s just a few dollars toward their higher education. Congratulations! The SLO History Center recently held its annual meeting at the Dallidet Adobe and gave out ten historical awards to individuals who have made a difference in Central Coast history. Our magazine received one of these prestigious awards for providing a consistent forum of historical articles. Patti Taylor writes about the event inside. We didn’t do a full story on our Mid-State Fair this year, but we thought it was a perfect fit for our July cover as Independence Day is upon us! We did list the Fair’s big-name entertainment on page 47. You can also go to midstatefair.com and get all the information you need to plan your day(s) at the Fair. Enjoy the magazine!
HUD Approved FHA Full Eagle Lender. NMLS ID #1839. Lending available in Colorado, Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act #4150083, California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #01218426, and Nevada Mortgage Lending Division #3580. *non retail mortgage banker category as reported by CoreLogic®, a worldwide provider of real estate, mortgage, consumer and special ized business data and analytics
Steve Owens
COMING UP AT THE
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Shrek: The Musical July 12 - 13 • 7 p.m. • July 14 • 2 p.m. July 19 - 20 • 7 p.m. • July 21 • 2 p.m. Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by Kelrik Productions
Festival Mozaic presents Beethoven and Tchaikovsky July 27 • 8 p.m. Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Festival Mozaic
Desert Rose Band July 28 • 7:30 p.m. Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by St. Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox Church
WWW.PACSLO.ORG | 805-756-4TIX (4849)
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MEET
PEOPLE
FRANK KALMAN
GIVING HOPE, HEALTH, AND HAPPINESS TO KIDS WITH CANCER By Susan Stewart “The term hope is so often thrown around when it comes to cancer,” said Frank Kalman, who admits he never really knew what that meant until he lost it. “It was the darkest place I had even been.” Today, more than 13 later, Kalman lives in the light, sharing what he learned with as many parents as he can, mostly through the nonprofit he founded, Kids’ Cancer Research Foundation (KCRF). This is his story. When his 12-year-old daughter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma or NB (a cancer of the nerve cells outside the brain) and did not respond to treatments, “It was almost more than I could take,” said Kalman. So Frank and his wife Terry got proactive in a hurry. Terry became the rock-hard foundation for the family, freeing up Frank to become the research man (which required tons of time and travel). Over the next decade, Calli would endure—with remarkable courage, resilience, and grace—3 major surgeries, 50 rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiation, 6 different treatments, t-cell therapy, and a bone biopsy. She lived at 5 different treatment centers, and lost her gorgeous red hair 3 times. Today, Calli is 24, a recent graduate of Cal Poly and a very recent bride. She has been cancer-free for more than 3 years. What her father discovered soon after Calli’s diagnosis can be summed up in two remarkable numbers: 2 and 69. According to Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer statistics, children with cancer lose an average of 69 years of life (in other
Dr. Robert Seeger, Frank Kalman and Dr. Soldano Ferrone
words, they die while they are still children); yet only 2% of the millions raised to fight cancer goes to pediatric cancer research. Frank has vowed to change all that with his 2-year-old foundation, Kids’ Cancer Research Foundation (visit www.EndKidsCancer.org). You see, he explains, up until recently, radiation, chemo, and surgery were the only weapons we had to fight cancer, and two of these approaches are carcinogenic! But now there is a new approach: harnessing the immune system to kill cancer, a biological treatment being forwarded by an organization called New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT). Headed by Dr. Robert Seeger, NANT is a consortium of 20 top medical centers and children’s hospitals whose researchers work together to develop and test novel therapies for high-risk and relapsed NB. Dr. Seeger is also the chairman of the medical review board for KCRF. Kalman’s foundation supports NANT and also works to identify the most promising new therapies out there, and get the public to support them. NANT’s work includes a number of clinical trials, and it was one of these that Kalman “stumbled upon” in his search for something that would save his daughter. After years of traditional therapies, Calli’s condition kept coming back, and she stopped responding to all of them. By this time, Kalman had achieved a more global perspective and had amassed a vast number of resources. He began to methodically investigate them. “When treatments don’t work, you work harder to find ones that will,” he said. The treatment that cured Calli was a clinical trial of a new drug called Revlimid that research doctors happened to discover at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. That was followed by a brand new vaccine (also a clinical trial) and also offered at Memorial Sloan Kettering. It was while staying at Ronald McDonald House in New York that the Kalman family met the many families struggling to find effective treatments for their children with cancer. Kalman said that 85% of the parents he spoke with told him their children were misdiagnosed, had received the “wrong” therapies, and some of them had lost their children. Hearing their stories is what prompted Frank to form KCRF two years ago. “For all those parents who ask themselves, ‘What do you do when your child gets cancer?’ I can tell them,” he says.
Calli and husband Vince Calvert center, flanked by parents Terry and Frank Kalman J U L Y
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Frank has visited most of the top pediatric cancer centers in the country, attended countless conferences, and met the top inves-
PEOPLE
tigators fighting NB, and he has recruited some as advisors for his foundation. To date, KCRF has raised enough money and gained enough public support to fund a grant that supports a cutting-edge immunotherapy clinical trial called CAR T-Cell therapy (initial results were published in the October 2011 issue of Blood, a medical journal.) Recently, the National Institute of Health (NIH) became convinced that this new therapy was worthy of a million-dollar investment. “That first grant was a huge home-run for us,” said Kalman.
Frank and Calli, circa 1992
Frank is determined to make life easier for other parents looking for treatments, and to provide them with a place they can turn to for all the latest treatments and resources. Kids’ Cancer Research Foundation is that place, and it’s also the grateful recipient of the important dollars needed to fill the research gap in pediatric oncology. “There’s a big disconnect between the people who want to help, and where they should give their money,” said Kalman. “Our goal for 2013 is to raise $500,000 to fund three translational research projects and two small clinical trials for NB,” he said.
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of whom are pictured and named here). There are too many of them to list, but Kalman told us that one of the funniest and most brilliant of them all, Dr. Soldano Ferrone of Harvard School of Medicine, said this (in response to Frank’s question about what he did for fun): “I work,” he replied. “I can’t take time off knowing that children are dying,” The same might be said of Frank himself. In a recent address that Calli delivered to an audience comprised of parents and children fighting cancer, she ended her moving talk with a poem she always keeps posted somewhere close. Here are a few lines from that poem, titled What Cancer Can’t Do: Cancer is so limited It cannot cripple love It cannot eat away peace It cannot silence courage It cannot invade the soul It cannot kill my friendships It cannot shatter hope. For more information or to donate to Kids’ Cancer Research Foundation, visit www. endkidscancer.org, send checks to 1150 Fuller Road, San Luis Obispo, 93401, or call Frank Kalman at 805-540-7682.
And so, while Calli is reluctant to be “the face of cancer,” (preferring to live her nowhealthy life in private), her father has no hesitation about being seen and heard as the go-to guy for kids’ cancer.
Father, daughter dance 2012
When it comes to the hope, however, he credits the doctors he worked with as the primary source of that during his darkest hours (two
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PEOPLE Rick and little brother Matt
rick tibben big brother advocate for four decades By Jennifer Best
R
ick Tibben of Nipomo was just 29 years old when he volunteered to become a stranger’s big brother. Four decades and nearly a dozen little brothers later, Tibben stands as a model volunteer in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo County.
“It’s turned out to be one of the best things I ever did as a volunteer,” Tibben said. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a donor-andvolunteer-supported organization that matches children facing diversity with volunteer adults who provide a strong, enduring, professionally supported, one-on-one, life-changing relationship. The 100-year-old international nonprofit organization believes every child has the inherent ability to succeed and thrive in life. The program strives at improving the odds that participating children will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. According to Sarah Rudd-Lawlor, program director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of SLO
County, the local chapter serves 300 to 400 matches annually, including 140 communitybased matches, and 95-school-based matches in which high school students are matched with elementary-age students. “Rick has been a fantastic Big Brother in the spotlight,” Rudd-Lawlor said. “Where other Bigs get frustrated, he sticks in there day after day. He’s a great communicator with parents, works wonderfully with the team, involves other people he knows.” As a young man in Orange County, Tibben coached wrestling and Little League baseball, and wrestling and tumbling for the legally blind. In 1970, he offered the first wheelchair basketball in his community.
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In 1972, he was introduced to Big Brothers, and accepted his first match. “They matched me with this little kid. It didn’t look like there was much to him, he was so small,” Tibben recalled. “But the first time we met, there was a basketball court by his house. He asked if I wanted to play Around the World. I figured, he was so little, I’d let him go first. He went Around the World and back again and never gave me a chance. I thought, ‘I think I love this kid!’”
“Most of the matches have ended when the kids move out of the area,” Tibben said. One graduated out of the program and moved to Nevada City. He and Tibben still keep in touch, and Tibben wonders at the young man’s progress.
We’ll Put the Lights In For You 805.543.3850 | thomaelectric.com
2013
He has always enjoyed working with youth, but came to recognized the value of building one-on-one relationships. “When you’re working with a lot of children at one time, you can’t get to know them all that well. When you’re working individually, you can figure out what makes them tick, you can help them discover their career path, help with homework, really get to see them grow,” Tibben said.
For three years, they spent countless hours together building a brotherly bond. Then Drew’s family relocated.
• Business or residential
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“The city wouldn’t let us use the gyms because they said the chair wheels would thrash the floors. So we did it outside on cracked, dirty courts that weren’t really fit for wheelchairs. The kids didn’t care. They were falling out of chairs, laughing, having a great time,” Tibben said.
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“I just got back from a road trip and we made a little detour so I could see him. He
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looks good; he’s doing well. It’s an amazing thing to watch them grow up,” Tibben said.
They’ve built a friendship over board games and a shared love of good food, low-key personalities, sports fandom and dry sense of humor.
And there were others: Ken, Brian, Ian, Andrew and still more. “All of them have been boys who didn’t have dads in the home. They were divorced, dead or in prison,” Tibben said. So he provided the male sounding board for these future men.
Now retired from a career in safety management, Tibben remains active in the community. Each year, the avid gardener produces giant pumpkins which he trucks around to share at Santa Maria schools. He’s a member of Southern California Chrysler 300 Group, has volunteered with the Nipomo Community Park October Festival leadership, and is past president of California Central Coast Chapter of PFLAG—Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Just as in traditional families, not all brotherly relationships are rosy. A couple of Tibben’s matches have ended due to problems no Big Brother match could overcome: drug issues, or a domineering parent. “The biggest challenge, really, has been sometimes wanting to be the parent because you don’t think the parent is doing the best job. Sometimes the things I’ve seen are just tough. But you have to remember you aren’t the parent, you won’t be the parent, and you just have to do what you can to make a difference,” Tibben said. And, finally, there’s Matt Ortiz of Nipomo, Tibben’s current, and probably final, match. Tibben met Ortiz, now 16, and the rest of the Ortiz family 14 years ago through Matt’s older brother, also a participant in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. When Matt was 7, Tibben found himself without a match, so invited the youngster to be his Little Brother. “I think it’s a really nice thing for him to do,” Matt said. One of their first outings was a trip to the drag races in Pomona.
Still, Tibben finds time each year to turn one of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program’s biggest fundraiser—Bowl for Kids’ Sake—into his own birthday bash. By inviting his buddies, he boosts community participation in the event, and helps raise additional funds. “So many people think they don’t have the time to be a Big, but he makes the time by including his Littles in the activities he already enjoys in his free time,” Rudd-Lawlor said. Tibben plans to stick with Little Brother Ortiz, but then, he says, it’s time to retire. “When Matt ages out at 19 or graduates, I’m probably not going to do any more. I don’t think kids want a 72-year-old grandpa for a big brother. My body’s wracked up with arthritis, and I just can’t do the things they want to do,” Tibben said. For more information about Big Brothers/Big Sisters of SLO County, visit www.slobigs.org
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PEOPLE
ray shearer
1968 student recalls residency at jack house By Marilyn Darnell
I
t had been 40 years since Ray Shearer stepped from the sidewalk onto the Jack house property. On the cool morning of February 4, wet from the night rain, Ray and I met for the first of two times at the Painted Lady. She was under rehabilitation preventing us from an intimate visit, but with his Mickey Mouse bomber-style jacket on he skirted the Victorian at a snails pace allowing memories to flow to the forefront as I listened intently savoring the experience for both myself and for history.
Ray had seen an ad posted in the University Union in 1968. The furnished master bedroom of 536 Marsh Street with kitchen and parlor off limits and parking on the street was $35 a month. He gave a look and made it his home for the next five years. Chain link fencing with several gates bounded the property of the Victorian dressed in white from top to bottom. A storage building, tool shed and garage accompanied it. House Manager, Mrs. Darlene E. Murphy and her small dog Boots, lived in the library. Boots was easy to spot with his black coat and white socks that mimicked boots on all four limbs. Although her private bathroom was located in the tiny space left under the spiral staircase it was no problem for this 4-foot-something red headed widow who had lived in the home since nursing Ethel Jack to her death in 1961. Ray understood she lived on social security and a portion of the rent from tenants. The Kaetzel house across the street was a frat house neighbored by the Rademacher’s brake and alignment shop. In town on the corner of Monterey and Chorro, Toni and Peter Sebastian from San Simeon rented an upper apartment and Richard Chong’s candy shop was across from the Mission Plaza. Ray worked part-time learning to be a barber. Mr. Chong made confections from the rind of pommelo. This docent recalled her trainer Martha Schwartz making this confection from the pommelo tree outside the Jack kitchen that was offered in the gift shop of the Jack House. J U L Y
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The trees were 40 years smaller and Mrs. Murphy’s planter boxes were in the area near the flagpole with a pathway she had carved out. Ray reminisced about day trips with her along the beach or down to Solvang in Howard Jack’s Packard that he would permit Ray to drive. In closing Ray disclosed a slight transgression from those young years. Feeling rather trusted by Howard one Halloween, Ray borrowed Howard’s tuxedo—without his permission. It was a perfect fit. But when Mrs. Murphy heard that Ray did not have Howard’s permission, she put an end to any such future borrowing. Since memories came so easily, I was now anxious for this baby boomer to see the black-and-white photos that are in the house. They were taken before the home was restored to its Victorian heritage and opened to the public. I wondered what light he would shed on them. In mid-April Ray & I met again as the Jack House began its 2013 year of tours so he could give me the rest of his story. Given the choice to enter from the back or front, Ray chose to enter from the back as he had coming home for those five years four decades ago. Stepping onto the porch, the memory of Mrs. Murphy having to press Howard about shoring up that sagging corner of the porch’s roof arrived. Walking directly to the entry, the telephone and small table for keys were pointed out. He could see the umbrella stand near the staircase.
PEOPLE Following the pattern of a tour, we began in the library. Ray was delighted to see remnants of Mrs. Murphy’s bathroom still in tact. The carousel bookcase was a surprise memory. In the black-and-white photos, he showed me Mrs. Murphy’s raised beds, path, shed and the chain link fences. As we went from room to room he was able to point out where furniture was throughout the entire home.
Hospital. The Jack Ranch remained his primary residence. Howard Vail Jack died August 14, 1974.
The sofa blocked the coal burning fireplace while a black upright piano flanked a marbletopped table where the television sat in the parlor. His memory said the house was the first to get cable.
As we exited the house once more a new clue was uncovered. The entry to the cellar was
An unexpected find turned up as we toured the Washhouse. The hinged green painted screen resembled the ones on the window in the ¾ bathroom and Ethel’s window next to her sink. We returned to her room to document the hinge marks.
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moved. Like a sleuth, Ray revealed traces of the former door. Thanks to Ray Shearer and his shared memories of the years he lived at the Jack House, much light has been shed on the period before it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Those black-and-white stills have life once more. More light is desired. If you can illuminate a part of Jack House history, please get in touch.
Through the pocket doors the large dining table and chairs provided tenants with sitting space while the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Jack and eldest daughter Ella hung, as they remain today. Without my prompting, Ray headed for the Boy’s Room as he topped the spiral staircase to see the infamous closet. There seemed a slight sigh of relief as he smiled to see there had been no change to it. A young service man home from overseas was one of the rare occupants of Ethel’s Room. When Rex painted the flowers on Ethel’s head board and foot board red, his days were numbered with Mrs. Murphy. She painstakingly painted over his embellishment. We could find no evidence of red. Tenants of Gertrude’s Room used the upstairs bathroom, so Ray frequented the ¾ bathroom downstairs preferring its shower. All tenants were asked to keep their shaving gear in their room. The ¾ bathroom had been added onto the house off the dining room enclosing much of the back porch. The window in the dining room was the doorway. Rent included the linens and their cleaning putting Mrs. Murphy in charge. Every Monday she would strip the beds for Paul’s Cleaners and get replacements from the linen closet. This full time barber of Anderson Hotel Barber Shop noticed the master bedroom’s changes immediately. The bay window was new. He pointed out where a single window had been at the foot of his bed 40 years ago. The bay window area had been added after Ray moved in 1973 in preparation for Howard Jack’s residency. However, he became quite ill, and was nursed at the old French J U L Y
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PEOPLE
Keep on smiling....Here’s
fred sweeney
Fred Sweeney, BBQ King, today
By Susan Stewart
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is whimsical business card shows a drawing of a long barbecue apron and a checked neckerchief topped by a chef ’s hat, with a salt shaker and crossed barbecue knife & fork at the ready. “Fred Sweeney,” it reads at the bottom, “Barbecue Specialist,” with a phone number. After 43 years in the barbecue business—including 286,000 meals served at the Paso Robles Fair, 38 years with the Atascadero Trail Riders, 40 years with the Oceano Melodrama, and 42 with a Coalinga Valley Hot Air Balloon group—Sweeney (now 85) hung up his apron and sold his portable cart two years ago. That little card speaks volumes about the happy life he’s led, but it remains silent about the not-so-happy childhood that got him there. Fred was born in 1928 to Frank and Jesse Sweeney in San Luis Obispo, just one (or so he thought) of two boys. “I was 16 before I knew I had two sisters and two more brothers living just three blocks away with their grandmother,” he said. He grew up during the Great Depression and he has vivid memories of that time. His family lived in a boxcar and got food from the government subsidies that men lined up for at the Marsh Street courthouse / warehouse. “The hobos used to show up 100-strong at our doorway whenever they knew we had bread and sugar,” he said. In fact, Fred learned one of his most valuable life lessons from those even less fortunate than he was. “Learn how to do a lot of different things and you’ll be better off,” said the hobo-friends he often ate with. And so Fred did. Before he was 10 years old, Fred had a squabble with his older brother and left home. The year was 1937, and he would spend the next seven years working the county’s dairy farms and living with eleven different families who took him in and made him a part of their families. One of these was the Casera family who lived in what was then known as “Little Italy” near Meadow Park in SLO. The Caseras had 13 children and they made Fred the 14th. “They were very good to me,” said Fred. Several events during those years stand out: • At age 11, Fred’s grandparents took him on a train trip to the 1939 World’s Fair held on Mare Island near San Francisco. There, he saw things that made his jaw drop, including the first television. “I couldn’t believe I went!” he recalls.
• Trips to Death Valley and to Mount Whitney, courtesy of Bob Venz, his football coach and Boy Scout leader, are highlights of his life. • His boyhood friend, Roger Chong (whose father owned Chong’s Candy in the heart of SLO’s “Chinatown”) showed him the secrets of his neighborhood, including a building that housed bunk beds stacked 8-high and filled with men smoking opium. • And then there was the physician, Dr. Hagen, who sent Fred to San Francisco for an operation on his nose that allowed him to breathe more easily. “He paid for everything,” said Fred, marveling at the man’s generosity. Ever mindful of the parents he’d left behind, Fred visited home often, making sure his mother never went hungry. In fact, when he won a full-ride football scholarship to Stanford University, Fred left school to return home and care for his family. In 1947, Fred met Barbara Simas and married her eight months later. He and Barbara will soon celebrate 65 years of marriage, which gave them three children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Their daughter, Karen, has made quite a local name for herself as a country singer who sings the songs of Patsy Cline in popular “tribute shows.” Fred and Barbara made their home and raised their children in Arroyo Grande where they live today.
Fred’s trusty team of Cal Poly assistants during the early 70s J U L Y
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One of Fred’s first jobs as a married man was selling trucks at a local dealership. To gain more confidence as a salesman, Fred enrolled in a Dale Carnegie course that made a huge difference in his life and career, and gave him many of the positive tools and philosophies that shaped his life. It was while selling trucks that Fred found his way into the “catering business,” which led to more than four decades as the undisputed Barbecue King of the Central Coast.
PEOPLE
Fred wields his meat cleaver during the Fair in the 60s
He loved to gather people together for barbecues, and soon neighbors and friends began asking Fred to barbecue for their special events. The word spread and the business grew … and grew. Now he has a trunk full of thank you notes, articles, and photographs chronicling Fred Sweeney and his barbecue legacy. After his retirement two years ago, Fred is busier than ever. He works in his yard, and loves to compile historical information of the area. In preparation for this article, Fred sent us a list of no fewer than 50 historical
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remembrances of life as it was in San Luis Obispo when he was a boy. “Do you remember?” he asks: The Jennings Tent Show with Toby the Clown; the big hobo camp off Orcutt Road; the last 60-cow trail ride from SLO to Oceano; free candy and horns from the Sinsheimer Store on New Year’s Day; The Mission Café where the old-timers hung out spinning yarns; the fire station in the middle of town where “Old Ferdinand” would bellow every day at noon and call the volunteer firemen to duty; hearing the brickyard all over town whenever they fired up the kilns; the old lady goat-herder on the hill behind the High School; the taxi service to Hearst Castle; and the year (1940-41) we had 40 inches of rain! Every Monday and Wednesday, Fred visits people who cannot leave their homes—a kindness he has done for years. Fred is known far and wide for his infectious laugh and cheerful demeanor. After the rough-andtumble years of his childhood, the obvious question is “How did that happen?” “The Dale Carnegie course taught me to never be negative,” he explained. “No one wants to hear sad stories.” So every morning, Fred Sweeney wakes up and goes to the
Fred in the early 80s
mirror and smiles. He’s done it all his life. “A smile goes a long ways,” he said. And I could hear him smiling, even over the phone.
Come See Us At The Fair
Live Music & Revisit the Magic SLO Food Tastings of Patsy Cline Daily 5-7 pm SmallCMYKAdcrushedGrape.pdf
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5/14/13
1:13 PM
Starring Karen Sweeney
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Appearing on the Mission Square Stage
Saturday July 20th 6:30 & 8:30 pm & The Crushed Grape Stage
Friday July 19th & 26th 5-7 pm
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Come Visit Our SLO Store As Well
“Home of the SLO Hot Pastrami” and San Luis Obispo Baskets 319 Madonna Rd. SLO 544-4449 “sending slo smiles across the miles, since 1986” J U L Y
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SCOTT steinmaus a century later, the time is ripe for henry ford’s ideas By Natasha Dalton
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ecently, California moved another step closer toward cleaner and cheaper energy sources, mandating that 20% of its electricity by 2020 should be biomass-derived. The law also stipulates that by 2050 75% of that ‘biomass-for-energy’ should be produced within the state. These requirements presented a challenge in identifying a robust, high-yielding, and non-invasive plant able to withstand poor soil conditions. And botanists did find such a miracle plant: It’s a weed wellknown in the Midwest, Southeast and the Rockies, called switchgrass. The problem is, switchgrass doesn’t grow in California. But with its net energy gains greater than those of corn, the potential for introducing it in California is hard to overestimate. Cal Poly Professor Scott Steinmaus has been involved in the switchgrass research from the start. I asked him about his interest in plants and biofuels, and about his work on this project.
First off, how did you become a botanist? In my freshmen year at UC Davis I was taking an introductory animal physiology course, and the first lecture was an uninspiring description of the course theme: evolution of the animal gut. The very next hour I had my first botany course that was team-taught by three professors, who had won “Teacher of the Year” at UCD. They set up slide screens and a surround sound system, playing the newest album from The Police. Then one of the professors, Tom Rost, announced: “I don’t know what other classes you’ve been attending, but THIS is botany.” Suddenly, the room was filled with rocking music and a rotating slide show of the most amazing plant pictures from around the world, in the most amazing environments: tropics, deserts, grasslands, underwater, tundra. I was spellbound, my jaw dropped, and botany became my new religion. ‘Good-bye, medical school!’ Later, plant pathology [my undergraduate degree] made me feel like I was solving medical [disease] problems for clients that don’t complain, or scream, or sue you in court. Plant pathology was my surrogate for medical school.
You study weeds. How did this come about? I feel that I was tricked into studying weeds. When I was an undergraduate and even a graduate student, my motto was: “Gag If It’s Ag.” But then it happened again, I had the most incredible professors who, in a very sneaky way, convinced me that agricultural sciences were really applied biology. They generated results that you could see the next year or so—at least within a lifetime. Why not solve problems that you can see while you’re alive, rather than study something esoteric that may lead to nothing but a dead end, or the merits of which will only be realized after you’re gone? J U L Y
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Once a stuck-up biologist, I learned that agriculture was cool. We all hear about species going extinct on this planet every day; we spend millions of dollars trying to save these endangered species, and yet they go extinct anyway. But then we spend over $100 BILLION in the US alone to get rid of a category of organisms that can’t even move. They’re called WEEDS. They come back every year—with a vengeance. Is there anything more evolutionarily fit on this planet? Not likely. Not even cockroaches.
What did you work on in grad school? My PhD dissertation in Plant Biology at UC Davis was a very complex mathematical statistical model of crop-weed competition. It demonstrated that the level of competition and severity of pressures against things-not-welcome (e.g. weeds) in cropping systems could lead to a selection pressure for specific biotypes (a genetic variant from the normal population of weeds), better suited for those harsh environments. Essentially, the best weeds mimic the crop: they tolerate pesticides like the crop, they grow at the same height as the crop, they look like the crop—so it’s tough to distinguish them from the crop. As much as it was mathematical and statistical, my work was also about population genetics under the severe selection pressures of cultivation.
Have you worked with biofuels? I’ve focused on the cellulosic biomass feedstock category. It’s just a fancy way of saying that we grow plant material, mow it, break down that biomass into simple sugars, and use microbes to convert those sugars to alcohol for fuel to be used in a car engine.
PEOPLE How and when did you begin studying switchgrass? Switchgrass was identified as a good candidate for a biofuel crop in the Western US in the scientific literature. The key to the selection criteria for this type of biofuel crop is that it establishes itself quickly, tolerates frequent mowing, and endures hot dry conditions.
Are you working alone or as a part of a bigger team? I’m involved in a large research group based at UC Davis, which includes Joe DiTomaso, Allen Van Deynze and Eduardo Blumwald. Our project was entitled ‘Ecology and development of switchgrass for bioenergy in California’ and funded by a University of California Discovery Grant and matching funds from Ceres Inc. Essentially, we answer the question: how far will an aggressive plant species spread if it’s planted in the California Central Valley?
Is switchgrass the only plant uniquely suited for biofuels? Weed scientists, including myself, have studied many unwanted species that meet many of our requirements. The problem with them—Arundo donax (giant reed) is a good example—is that they require lots of water, escape our field boundaries, and begin displacing the native plants. Switchgrass has characteristics that are intermediate and containable.
That’s very clever. You mentioned elsewhere than 90 million acrefeet of land in the US, mostly in California, rely on irrigation. Can we even afford the introduction of a new crop? We don’t want to displace food crops on land, using water that is already in short supply. The variety of switchgrass we began with came from colleagues at other universities, and was bred to be very aggressive: so it’s competitive and fastgrowing. It has a relatively unique form of photosynthesis, called ‘C4 photosynthesis.’ This form of photosynthesis evolved first in grasses, and is better adapted for hot, dry conditions than its ancestral, more common form, ‘C3 photosynthesis.’ The varieties we have moved forward for further development have been genetically modified to be drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant.
What’s the difference between biodiesel and bio-ethanol? Will we, as a nation, ever make a switch to clean sources of energy?
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bio-ethanol. Engines must be designed specifically to burn ethanol. But it’s not a far-fetched idea, because Henry Ford’s original engine was an ethanol-burning engine. Unfortunately, it came at a time that was not very convenient for ethanol in the US history: Prohibition. It turns out, a gas- (petrol) burning engine gives you more horsepower per volume, and it was relatively easy to build, and back then gas was apparently plentiful and cheap. I’ve read that when gas hits $5/gal then our technology becomes feasible. Bio-ethanol won’t come anywhere close to meeting US demand for fuel, but it will help meet the demand. The great injustice, from my standpoint, is that the petroleum industry is heavily subsidized, whereas the fledgling biofuel industry isn’t.
I, for one, am looking forward to biofuels. Thanks for your work, and good luck! Thank you.
Biodiesels are based on oils from vegetables or animal fats. We should probably call the biofuel from switchgrass
We are here for you.
But how confident are you that switchgrass won’t become more aggressive in the future? Currently work is being done to address the issues associated with cellulose (plant cell wall) breakdown and invasive spread by introducing genes that originate in the microbes, residing in termite guts. Those microbes possess a very efficient form of cellulase (CelluLASE is an enzyme that chops cellulose from a very protected molecule—essentially it’s fiber! Very tough!—into simple sugars that are easy to convert into alcohol). Cellulose digestion is normally a very expensive part of processing of a cellulosic biomass-based biofuel. If this works properly, then we’ll have the solution to two big challenges: the switchgrass cannot reproduce by seed (we will breed it initially in controlled field or greenhouse production facilities with the cellulase gene turned off), so it cannot spread from the field it was planted in; AND, at the time the switchgrass begins to flower, we’ll mow it, and that biomass will begin digesting its own cellulose, making alcohol fermentation that much easier and more productive.
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Nicole Pazdan, CSA “Placing a loved one is full of complicated choices. You can call on us to help guide and support you through this emotional decision .” • A FREE service - No Cost to you. • Extensive knowledge of Central Coast facilities. • Tour only appropriate facilities. • Over 20 years of experience. • Specializing in Alzheimer’s and Assisted Living placements.
Elder Placement Professionals, Inc (805)546-8777 www.elderplacementprofessionals.com J U L Y
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HOME/OUTDOOR
caring for the county’s cats ...a primer for the confused cat lover By Susan Stewart
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ationwide, 4 to 5 million lost and unwanted cats enter animal shelters every year. They have about a 50% chance of getting out alive. Feral cats (whose growing population is owed to irresponsible humans who did not spay and neuter their pets and / or abandoned them and their offspring to fend for themselves) have a less than a 2% chance of getting out alive. Thanks to the continued generosity of the agencies and nonprofits caring for cats in San Luis Obispo County, the numbers are getting better here. But visit any shelter or witness any “colony” of feral cats and you’ll readily see the problem is far from solved. Cat owners and animal lovers of all kinds want to help, and many donate generously to the agencies that shelter and care for unwanted cats. But with all the different names and agencies out there, there is some confusion about which one does what, and where. For example, the phrase Humane Society is commonly held by three entities—The Santa Maria Humane Society (not listed in this primer because it’s technically located in northern Santa Barbara County), Woods Humane Society, and North County Humane Society. Yet none of these receives funding from national or regional “humane society” sources, and each relies almost solely on individual donations, fundraisers, and business sponsorships to stay in operation.
more than 300 cats. “Way too many!” said Chapman, who reduced the number to 200, but with an average of 160 to 180 at any given time. She also greatly increased the number adopted to permanent homes, beginning with 149 in 2007. She had a record year in 2011 of 315 cats going out to their “forever” homes, and 280 in 2012. Cathy Enns, who runs Paws Cause, said she was heartbroken by the number of abused, abandoned, and feral cats roaming North County, and came to the conclusion that the best way to tackle the problem was to reduce the supply through an aggressive trap-neuter-release (TNR) program. By reducing the feral cat population, you improve the quality of life for all cats, including the feral ones. Christine Collie of The Feline Network said that her agency tackles the problem of overpopulation in the South County through a voucher program and their own TNR program. Woods Humane Society’s Steve Kragenbrink said that the stateof-the-art surgery center at Woods performs as many spay/neuter surgeries as it can, working hand in hand with many of the county’s other cat caring nonprofits. The interviews conducted with agency staff while researching this article revealed that spay/neuter is top-of-mind and top-of-purpose for all of them. Those who really love cats understand that first and foremost, caring for them means altering as many as possible. Following is a concise “primer” that will help you decide whom to call the next time you have a question or concern about what happens to lost, sick, injured, feral, or abandoned cats in our county.
Sherry Chapman, who runs North County Humane Society (NCHS) in Atascadero said, “Some people don’t even know we are here!” Opened as a cat shelter in 1977, the semi-rural, multi-acre, multibuilding shelter at 2300 Ramona Road was once an ostrich farm. For 35 years they’ve been sheltering and caring for north county cats and kittens, proudly stating, “NCHS does not turn away a kitten or adult cat because of age … we take kittens less than an hour old and senior cats well past their prime.” A visit to this sunny, cageless shelter is a revealing, happy experience—though be warned: it will be tough to leave without a new feline friend in tow.
The Big Three
Chapman took over the shelter more than three years ago, steadily upgrading and expanding services. In years past, the shelter held
Woods Humane Society: Provides adoption services, education and training, a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats (in as-
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The largest and best-known animal service agencies are: The San Luis Obispo County Division of Animal Services, or DAS as it is more commonly called: Provides adoption services, takes surrendered animals, has quarantine and protective custody, lost & found services, education and training; investigates complaints, and enforces state and local ordinances pertaining to animals; inspects facilities and issues permits; and responds to calls for assistance to injured or ill animals. 781-4400. sloanimalservices.com
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sociation with local rescue organizations), and takes surrendered animals. Spay It Forward is Woods’ low-cost spay and neuter program for cats from Atascadero and Paso Robles offered every Tuesday for just $10. And they honor the vouchers from Feline Network as well. Many of the county’s spay/neuter programs take advantage of the generous surgery center offered by Woods. Since September of 2007, more than 17,000 surgeries on cats and dogs have been performed at Woods. Spay It Forward accounts for 2,200 of these, and most have been on cats from Paso Robles and Atascadero. 543-9316. woodshumanesociety.org North County Humane Society: provides adoption services; offers vouchers funded by the City of Atascadero to give North County residents low-cost spay/neuter services using local area vets; partners with Paws Cause once a year to assist them on Spay Day; provides education and outreach, plus medical and dental aid. NCHS will even bottle-feed and hand-raise abandoned newborn kittens, space allowing. NCHS has a separate “house” for cats with behavior issues, a separate kitten “house” to keep them free from infection, and a large and airy “cat house” (with a screened-in outdoor porch) for healthy adult cats seeking “forever” homes. The longer term goal for NCHS is to build a brand new spay/neuter and surgical center on their considerable acreage so that cats will no longer have to be shipped to SLO or off to area vets for the procedure. Everything can be done in-house … a goal well worth supporting. 466-5403. slonchs.org
Smaller and Specialized The following 5 nonprofits all work with the big three and each other to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our county’s cats. The Feline Network: An all-volunteer nonprofit whose primary emphasis is on the spay/neuter effort for domestic and feral cats in San Luis Obispo and the South County. They operate a trapneuter-release program in that area, and they also offer a generous voucher toward spaying or neutering owned cats living in Los Osos or Morro Bay. Last year, the Feline Network worked with private vets and Woods Humane Society’s surgical center to spay or neuter more than 1000 cats. They also provide foster care and medical aid. You’ll find cats and kittens from the Feline Network at the Adopt-A-Pet held in front of San Luis Obispo’s PetCo every Saturday. 549-9228. felinenetwork.org Paws Cause: Has a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats in North County, helps support groups of cats with food, assists low-income people with their pets, will occasionally rescue and foster, and will respond to reported hoarding situations. Paws Cause also finds rural homes for barn cats. Every February, on National Spay Day, this nonprofit holds a spay and neuter day, assisted by NCHS, and area vets, with the goal to spay and neuter as many domestic and feral cats as possible. The organization has handled more than 1200 cats in two and a half years. 226-8311. northcountypawscause.org Cal Poly Cat Shelter: provides a trap-neuter-release program and a small adoption center, holding up to 40 cats at a time. Begun as a student senior project to care for and manage the many abandoned campus cats and kittens, the shelter is an all-volunteer program. Their spay and neuter program works in partnership with Woods and vets on campus. 756-5220. Afd.calpoly.edu/facility/cats/ Befriended Felines: provides rescue and placement services for cats that stand little or no chance of finding homes without assistance. They specialize in cats and kittens considered “problems” that are usually simply frightened or abused. Google the name for more information.
An artist’s painting of North County Humane Society
HART, Homeless Animal Rescue Team: Located in Cambria, provides rescue and adoption services for homeless, surrendered, or stray cats and kittens in a cage-less, free-roam environment. 927-7377. slohart.org With all these volunteers, nonprofits, and rescue teams, you’d think our county’s cats would all have homes and healthy happy lives. But the stats to the contrary are still staggering, mostly due to irresponsible humans who don’t spay and neuter their pets. Did you know that the average female cat can produce three litters of 4-6 kittens each in just one year? That means just two cats (and their kittens, and their kittens’ kittens) can create up to 400,000 new cats in only 7 years! (www.solanoferals.org) A friend of mine began feeding two tiny stray kittens who showed up on his patio one cold winter morning. Blackie and Stripe are now happy, well-fed teenagers, but surprise! Little Blackie got pregnant, gave birth to her litter in a secret place, and now those kittens are adding to the thousands of unwanted, homeless, semi-feral cats in our county. My friend took advantage of a trap-neuter-release program so that Stripe and Blackie won’t continue to create yet more unwanted cats. But he is not the norm. Kittens are beguiling little creatures and it’s tempting to feed and care for the ones who seem lost or abused. Your kindness is appreciated, but unless you spay or neuter them too, you are only contributing to the cruelty and brutality of life for the thousands of unwanted felines that still live on the edge of survival here on the central coast. The local trap-neuter-release programs will provide you with traps and even help pay for the spay/neuter procedure, then release your newfound feline friends back to their outdoor lives near your home. For more information, please call any of the agencies listed above who provide TNR programs. They’ll explain how the program works and help absorb the costs of the alterations, though donations, of course, are always appreciated. The list of agencies caring for our county’s cats is a long one, testimony to our generous community, and to the need that never ends for abandoned, sick, or homeless cats. Your support of any one of these deserving agencies will be greatly appreciated. And please, the best way to help care for our county’s cats is to spay and neuter pets and encourage others to do the same.
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Slo art center Pieced together! Paintings and mixed media by Jeanette Wolff By Rebecca Leduc
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eaving together colorful, vibrant plein air paintings with a series of haunting, ghostlike figures, Cambria multi-media artist, Jeanette Wolff, brings a new body of work titled “Pieced Together” to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. The exhibition will be on view in the First Gallery from July 5 – 28, 2013. For more than four decades, Jeanette Wolff has been painting in oil and watercolor while experimenting with collage and other media. Creating freely and intuitively, she recently began to notice a series of figures appearing in her work—as if by magic— through her use of collage on painted canvas. Upon closer inspection and after a dramatic discovery of a family secret, Ms. Wolff began to realize that the pieces of her collage were actually a metaphor for the piecing together of her family’s history. While searching on Ancestry.com several years ago, trying to determine a possible familial link to the German expressionist painter and printmaker, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Ms. Wolff discovered an unknown aunt
who had been placed in the Oregon State Insane Asylum as a teenager—a secret closely guarded by the entire family. Although she
was never able to meet her, Jeanette Wolff feels that her aunt is communicating through the mysterious and strange figures that have crept onto her canvases. By following her instincts and painting without rules or a prescribed formula, Jeanette Wolff sees her work as a way of allowing herself to connect with her subconscious. Trusting this honest approach, Ms. Wolff has come to terms with the fact that seeking truth in her art is ultimately more important than a pretty picture. “Just letting myself go and trying to face truth is why my work has more emotion than beauty, and I don’t think I’ll worry about that any more.” A reception and opportunity to meet the artist will take place on Friday, July 5, from 6–9 pm, in conjunction with Art After Dark. The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, dedicated to the education, presentation and preservation of the visual arts on the Central Coast, is located at 1010 Broad Street, on the west end of Mission Plaza. Hours are 11am – 5pm daily. Closed Tuesdays. Free admission, donations appreciated. For more info visit SLOMA.org.
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Avila Beach, San Simeon & Shell Beach, California
July 11-14, 2013
www.centralcoastwineclassic.org
Please contact Archie McLaren for further information and advance registration: email: archie@slonet.org; Telephone 805-544-1285
“California Wine & Cuisine at its Finest” Celebrating the Wineries of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo & Monterey Counties and the Napa Valley
THURSDAY, JULY 11 3 PM to 5 PM – Barrel Tasting, featuring Yet-to-be-Released Wines from an array of California wineries, at the Avila Lighthouse Suites in Avila Beach - $30.00 per person 5 PM – Dinner at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, featuring the culinary artistry of Renowned Chefs from throughout California, including Chef Kurt Grasing of Grasing’s in Carmel, Chef Levi Mezick from 1833 in Monterey, Chef John Cox from Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Chef Percy Whatley of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, Chef James Sly, Chef-Owner of Sly’s in Carpinteria, and Chef Michael Hutchings of Michael’s Catering in Santa Barbara, coordinated by Chef James Sly’s Team, six courses with matching Wines from Vintner Dignitaries - $1250.00 Per Person Patron Sponsorship Required, which includes the Barrel Tasting, Auction, Auction Luncheon and Reserve Tasting
FRIDAY, JULY 12 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Cycling Classic with Carissa Chappellet, from the Avila Lighthouse Suites into the Edna Valley and cycling among wineries in the Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley – $75.00 per person 10 AM to 11:30 AM – San Luis Obispo County Chardonnay Symposium, featuring Calcareous, Carpe Diem, Center of Effort, Daou, Jack Creek, Le Cuvier, Stephen Ross, Tablas Creek, Talley and Tolosa, at the Avila Lighthouse Suites – $50.00 per person 2 PM to 3:30 PM – Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Symposium, “The Venerable, the Relatively New & the New,” featuring Clark-Claudon, Gandona, Knights Bridge, Opus One, Spottswoode and Viader, at the Avila Beach Golf Resort – $65.00 per person 7 PM to 10 PM – Justin Winemaker Dinner at Lido Restaurant at Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa – $95.00 per person 7 PM to 10PM – VIP Outdoor Winery Dinner Dance & Paulée at the Avila Beach Golf Resort, hosted by special Wineries from San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County and the Napa Valley, featuring the Cuisine of Chef Meghan Loring of Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa and exhilarating music from a Vibrant San Luis Obispo Area Band – $95.00 per person
SATURDAY, JULY 13 10 AM to 11:30 AM – French Burgundy Symposium featuring Renowned Collector and Burgundy Expert, John Tilson, Creator & Publisher of “The Underground Wine Letter,” featuring outstanding White & Red Burgundies from special producers – $125.00 per person Noon to 5 PM – Rare & Fine Wine & Lifestyle Live Auction, Silent Auction and Luncheon, featuring the Eclectic Cuisine of Chef Rick Manson of Chef Rick’s in Santa Maria All Auction activities are at the Official Host Auction Venue, the Avila Beach Golf Resort. *Silent & Live Auctions, Luncheon & Live Auction Catalog are included in the attendance price. – $125.00 per person
SUNDAY, JULY 14 11 AM to 12:30 PM – Santa Barbara County Syrah Symposium, featuring Jaffurs, Jalama, Margerum, Martian Ranch, No Limit, Rusack, Samsara, Sanguis and Tensley, at the Avila Beach Golf Resort – $50.00 per person 1 PM to 4 PM – Reserve Wine Tasting, featuring the Most Special Wines of 50 California Wineries, with culinary samplings from fine Central Coast restaurants and the eclectic music of Soul Sauce, at the Avila Beach Golf Resort – $50.00 per person
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dallidet adobe
History center’s preservation awards Sometimes gifts just keep on giving
John Badgley
By Patti Taylor
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very now and then a near perfect day just happens and such took place recently at the San Luis Obispo Dallidet Adobe & Gardens. It is possible that it was a similar near perfect day in 1953 when Paul Dallidet, the last family member living on the Dallidet Adobe property, told two of his friends, John Badgley and Miles Fitzgerald, that the time had come for him to bequeath his beloved family home.
Shortly thereafter in 1953, the San Luis Obispo County Historical Society (now named the San Luis Obispo History Center) was founded, thus enabling the new entity to accept Dallidet’s generous gift.
Journal
Fast forward sixty years to Sunday, May 19, 2013 and there in the same lovely Dallidet gardens, once again stands John Badgley. He had graciously agreed to be the honored guest speaker for the History Center’s Annual Preservation Awards event being held that day. Who better than a man who had been an integral part of the plans that culturally & historically preserved a SLO treasure and a “landmark of California’s past.”
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Badgley, 91, is a retired architect and past Cal Poly design instructor. His OF THE CENTRAL COAST Annex (1963), local MAGAZINE achievements include designing the SLO Courthouse
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the SLO City/County Library (1954, now the SLO Little Theater) and the SLO Post Office extension (1960). While Badgley was speaking, many of the guests probably realized they were being treated to a real “living history moment,” especially when he shared the memories about Paul Dallidet, a man rich in friendships and historical significance, who gave his beloved community a priceless gift—the 1856 Dallidet Adobe and Gardens, a gift that keeps on giving. The Annual Preservation Awards event completed its full program schedule by honoring ten deserving historic preservationists who had demonstrated extraordinary commitments and actions to preserve, conserve and protect sites, buildings, objects, landscapes and other areas of historical significance. Preservation acts first involve deciding what is important and then trying to figure out how to protect it. It is critical to the process to be able to figure out how to pass a chosen object or site onto the next generation so that they can develop an appreciation for what was preserved and given to them. Historic preservation offers to all the opportunity to experience a part of real history that has taken place. Personal stories like John Badgley’s are valuable pieces of shared history. History is part of who we are, who we were and who we will be. It should be celebrated, shared and its resources protected. It was heart warming to watch one of the ten awardees, a youthful group of guys and gals who were accepting the California Conservation Corps (CCC) preservation award in appreciation for work well
Please start my one year subscription to the Journal Plus. Enclosed is $20. Name __________________________ Address ________________________ City ____________________________ State ________ Zip ______________ Return to: Journal Plus 654 Osos St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-546-0609
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The ten preservation award winners
HOME/OUTDOOR Robert Pavlik receiving the preservation award from History Center President, Brian Kreowski
Pat O’Daniels receiving the preservation award from History Center President, Brian Kreowski
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the Oceano Railroad Depot, the Jack House, Hearst Castle and the Price House. Lynne Landwehr, honored for her contributions to local history including her website which provides an excellent resource for researching local history, her research on the history of the Chinese community (including SLO Chinatown) and the Octagon Barn. Norma Moye, honored for her significant role in revitalizing and restoring downtown Paso Robles, her direction of the Vine Street Victorian Showcase plus the Olive festival, and her role as executive director of the Paso Robles Main Street Association.
done. Hopefully all of them will be encouraged to continue embarking upon positive adventures while seeking betterment for themselves and their community. They were the youngest awardees on stage, yet regardless of age, all awardees were united by the same goal—historic preservation. It was an enjoyable Sunday afternoon—the Dallidet garden ambiance was enhanced by Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos playing softly in the background, and Mother Nature had lent her calm breeze and warm sunshine to welcome a full house. There was even an enticing aroma drifting from the kitchen area, compliments of Pete Kelley and Mary Matakovich. Stir in 10 interesting award winners, a touch of “living history” and good old fashioned Nestle Chocolate Crunch ice cream bars (compliments of High Street Deli) and you have a delightful day at the Dallidet.
pomo/Los Berros areas and for his book, Nipomo and Los Berros.
The O’Daniels Family, honored for their work in documenting Cal Poly’s sports history. Patrick was honored for contributing his writing and graphics skills and for assisting in the establishment of Cal Poly’s Sports Museum at the Alex Spanos Stadium.
Craig H. Russell, Cal Poly music professor and gifted composer, honored for his book on Mission era music and the publication of over forty articles on eighteenth-century Hispanic studies, Mexican Cathedral music, the California Missions and baroque guitar.
Beverly Gingg, honored for her valuable interviews with County elders, then preserving and making the interviews available to the public, for founding the Santa Maria Tree Project, incorporating it into The Land Conservancy of SLO County, and working with Octagon Barn education projects.
California Conservation Corps (CCC), honored for more than 30 years and tens of thousands of hours of priceless historical preservation work on the buildings and grounds of County historical sites including the Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery, Port San Luis and Piedras Blancas Lighthouses, the Rancho Nipomo Dana Adobe,
Steve Owens, owner and editor of Journal Plus Magazine, honored for providing a consistent forum for historical information by publishing articles about people, organizations, places, and events that educate, entertain and generate interest in SLO County history and at the same time preserving it for future generations.
Visit www.historycenterslo.org for a link to John Badgely’s speech.
2013 award winners include:
Anita Garcia, 93, great granddaughter of Francis Branch, honored for her long lifetime of service on the boards of the South County Historical Society and the SLO History Center. Robert Pavlik, honored for his work with the SLO City Cultural Heritage Committee, the Carrizo Plains National Monument, the Bureau of Land Management, and Caltrans Historic Preservation Committee. He also recently received the State’s 2012 Governors Historic Preservation Award honoring his work in the preservation of historical resources in California. Doug Jenzen, director of The GuadalupeNipomo Dunes Center, honored for his vast historical research work of the Ni-
The gardens at the Dallidet Adobe J U L Y
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HOME/OUTDOOR
at the market
fresh vegetable spring rolls with Nuoc Cham By Sarah Hedger
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uly produce from our local markets brings much inspiration to the kitchen. In the vegetable department, we have a variety of peppers and chilies to choose from, as well as garlic, corn, and summer squash, to name a few. As far as fruit, it is about as good as it gets! From the stone fruit family, including apricots, nectarines, peaches, pluots, and plums, to the berry family, including, but not limited to, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, ollalieberries, and mulberries, while not forgetting about cherries and figs! The abundance is quite literally ready for our picking.
I have recently learned of an inspiring movement taking place. It is possible it existed long before I took notice, however I thought now a worthy time as any to mention. The movement involves the increasing number of chefs who are taking a more active role in their influence— and arguably—obligation to inform the public about what is good to eat and why. In 2011, the first MAD symposium was launched in Denmark, bringing together farmers, scholars, foragers and chefs to talk and
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educate each other about where they want to take this movement. The symposium was started as a platform for an open dialogue, a collaboration of sorts, dedicated to the changing role of the chef and the obligation they carry to the public. Ben Shewry, chef/owner of Attica, ranked 21st in the world’s top 50 restaurants, says his responsibility to the environment runs deep as their menu is downloaded 40,000 times a year and if they aren’t thoughtful in sourcing with the highest integrity, their choices could seriously effect a species. Rene Redzepi, chef/ owner of NOMA in Denmark, ranked 2nd (after being 1st for the past 4 years), is one of the organizers of MAD and wanted to bring together his colleagues in the industry, admitting, “There is much to learn about issues that are critical to our world: culinary history, native flora, the relationship between food and food supply systems, sustainability and the social significance of how we eat.” The leadership taken at the MAD
fresh vegetable spring rolls with nuoc cham FOR THE FRESH SPRING ROLLS 5 ounces rice vermicelli, soaked for 10 minutes in hot water and drained ½ cup sweet chilli sauce (Mae Ploy is a good brand) 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced 1 cup shredded lettuce 2 organic carrots, grated 1 cucumber, peeled, and finely sliced or grated 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced (julienned) 1 cup fresh mint, minced 1 cup fresh cilantro, minced ½ red chilli (Thai or Jalapeno will work), finely minced 10 rice spring roll papers Hot water to fill half of a large bowl For the Nuoc Cham: 3 T. fresh lime juice 2 T. sugar ½ cup warm water 2 T fish sauce 1 T minced green/spring onion 1 T red chilli, finely minced
symposium is inspiring as they are going a step further, and aside from sourcing local and seasonal, taking into consideration the cultural, historical, social and scientific context of the food they cook and serve every day. More information (and free audio downloads from the past meetings) can be found on the MAD website, madfood.co. This month’s recipe, Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls with Nuoc Cham, while not (yet) ranked in the top 50 of the world’s best eats, are a refreshing, light, fun dish to make. They are a delicious way to enjoy a salad, all rolled into the brilliance of rice paper. Don’t be intimidated by the rice paper rolling process—it takes a couple to get the feel of it—as the papers need to get soft, but not too soft, in order to roll. Think a more pliable tortilla of sorts! They can easily be varied to reflect what’s in season, while still having the underlying bright fresh flavors we expect to have when biting into a fresh spring roll. The filling ingredients can be prepped ahead, as well as the Nuoc Cham, and easily put together in minutes before eating. And, even easier if there are additional pairs of hands around. Enjoy!
Place drained rice vermicelli in medium bowl with sweet chilli sauce and give a good stir. Place avocado, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, capsicum, mint, coriander, and chilli on a large cutting board so all ingredients are prepped and ready to use in a quick way. Lay a damp towel on counter top. Place hot water in large bowl. The process is a quick one where you take a piece of the spring roll paper, dip it into the hot water for 10-15 seconds or just long enough to become pliable, gently pulling it out of the water and placing on damp towel. Place 1 T (a small pinchful) of rice vermicelli noodles across middle of paper (left to right). Quickly distribute an even amount of your ingredients from the cutting board, only ⅓ to ½ cup as you want to be able to roll the spring roll up. Gently grab the rice paper on the bottom edge, pulling it up and across filling, tucking it in. Gently grab left side, then right side, then roll the roll up, finishing seam side down, and set aside, covering with a damp paper towel. Repeat with remaining spring roll wrappers until all the filling has been used. Place all the Nuoc Cham ingredients in a small bowl and give a good stir. When ready to serve, rolls can be sliced in half for presentation.
Find this recipe and more seasonal inspiration at http://www. seasonalalchemist.com
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slo county art scene
Gordon Fuglie with SLO High School art teacher, Cherie Jones.
musings about murals By Gordon Fuglie
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ast Fall I ventured into the realm of public art, reporting on Paso Robles’ foray into art patronage—a functional sculpture that featured a wooden bench curved like a river and affixed to a large arc composed of steel-cut native animals. In February, the completed work was dedicated at its permanent location along the city’s Salinas River trail system, undoubtedly enhancing many a stroll along the waterway. The kissing cousin of public sculpture is the mural, large paintings done on the sides or interiors of buildings, whether civic, federal or commercial. Murals entered the popular consciousness in the 1930s when the US Works Progress Administration underwrote murals for post offices throughout the US. This gave work to unemployed artists and much needed décor to drab postal interiors. Controversy followed, however, when Mexico’s Michelangelesqe “muralistas,” like Diego Rivera, came to El Norte to do commissions for US corporations and public sites. Rivera couldn’t resist adding his Marxist sym-
pathies into his sweeping heroic-scale compositions of industry and history, periodically encountering disapproval from unsympathetic patrons. Two of his better murals, by the way, are in California: the Art Institute of San Francisco and San Francisco City College. Here in San Luis Obispo, the Friends of the Library have sponsored Robert Maja, a commercial muralist from Southern California, who is painting the upper walls of the downtown library atrium. Maja cites Rivera as an inspiration, but his fluid, decorative, illustrative and collage-style imagery could never be mistaken for Rivera’s Marx-
SLO High School artists posing in front of their mural. J U L Y
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HOME/OUTDOOR SLO Library mural by Robert Maja photo by Lanny Hernandez
ist panoply of a “vast historical materialist reality forged by class conflict.” Rather, Maja uses a pleasant modernist style redolent of Caribbean folk art. He aims to reassure rather than rankle. At this writing in late May, the SLO Library mural is near completion. Maja’s progress is chronicled on www.slofol.org.
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theme, “Slociety,” which illustrates five important sectors of San Luis Obispo County: agriculture, recreation, tourism, art & entertainment, and student life. Each sector is represented by a human figure, beneath which related imagery can be discerned. Jane Selna, a senior, told me that Jones’s art students devoted two weeks to develop the design, requiring teamwork and editing skills, so as not to crowd the composition. The 900-square-foot mural measures 18’x 50’ and required the use of scaffolding. Jones said that not only will the school get a dynamic decoration, the mural also nurtured pride, enthusiasm and self-esteem for the twenty-one students in her class.
Murals can be controversial for reasons other than politics. In 2012, Bobbi Nuñez and Bill Arkfeld, owners of the Atascadero’s beloved art supply store, the ARTery, invited Santa Cruz artist Reilly Baker to do a 600-square-foot mural on the side of their building near the intersection of El Camino Real and Traffic Way—a highly visible and traveled area. Baker’s plans to leave the country hastened the commission, so the couple green lighted the project on their own, meaning they forgot one important thing—getting permission from Atascadero. As the mural got under way, someone tipped off city hall and, for a while it looked as if the mural would have to be painted over. Public pressure on behalf of the ARTery eventually prevailed, however, and the mural was approved after the fact. To me, Baker’s painting looks like a mash-up of Austrian Secessionist painter Gustav Klimt (1862 – 1918) and scenery from J. R. R. Tolkein’s novel The Hobbit. The horizontal composition depicts a broadtrunked tree with a hovering, sparkly canopy. Two store windows appear in the middle of the trunk and seem like glowering eyes, daring viewers to disapprove of the painting. In defense of the unauthorized project, Nuñez said, “It’s just a peaceful image, though it does have a little bit of edge. We’re an art store and that’s our goal—to be a little bit fun, a little bit funky,” she added helpfully. In the meantime, Atascaderans have become used to the mural. (See www.theartery.info.) As I write, at San Luis Obispo High School, art instructor Cherie Jones, with the help her students, is completing the first mural for the 108-year-old campus. It was dedicated in June. Jones felt fortunate because she and her art students were charged by SLOHS Principal Leslie O’Connor to produce a mural. This was fortuitous, as Jones had experience doing six murals in Merced before coming to SLOHS in 2001. She has been chair of the SLOHS art department since 2010. The chosen site was ambitious, the vast west wall of the “old gym” facing the softball field. School staff selected a multi-faceted
Reilly Baker mural in Atascadero J U L Y
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COMMUNITY
Our Schools
What happens in schools during the summer By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools
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t’s not unusual for me to be asked what happens in schools during the “summer break.” Sometimes it is accompanied by the belief that all employees of a school district have a two month summer vacation from mid-June to mid-August. It is true that most of our teaching staff have a work year of 180 days, which means that for about six weeks there isn’t formal instruction going on. Because of reduced funding from the state, it is also true that the school districts in our county have had limited summer school programs. So if you visit a school in July it looks like nothing is happening. Actually, the work of school districts goes on all year long. When people ask if all school employees are off for the summer, I often respond that work is still going on, it is just a different kind of work from what people are used to seeing during the school year. Here are some of the types of work that goes on during the summer for school districts.
Professional Development and Training Summer is a prime time for the teaching and administrative staff to participate in professional development and training offerings. During the school year, it is always problematic to schedule training and staff development offerings for two reasons.
First, for teachers to attend training during the school year, it means that they are not in their classroom and students are being taught by a substitute teacher. Although we certainly have a pool of highly qualified substitute teachers in the county, it is still preferred that the regular teacher is teaching the class. Not having the regular teacher is particularly problematic in some specialized areas like special education, foreign language, and the higher levels of math and science. The second problem that teachers face when they leave the classroom to attend training is that their attention and focus is often still with their class. This is particularly true when the learning involves adopting new strategies or using new instructional materials which require focus and concentration. The pace of teaching is demanding and the expectation for students is high. Therefore, although a teacher may be away from the classroom for training, it is very hard not to also be thinking about what is happening back in the class. My point is that taking teachers out of classrooms during the school year is sometimes not the best learning environment for the teacher or the students. Therefore, the summer is often a much preferred time for teachers to concentrate and participate in professional development and training.
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Maintenance of Facilities, Grounds and Equipment Schools are busy places during the school year. Our high schools can have over a thousand students and events and are happening from 7:00 AM until into the evening and extending to the weekends for over nine months. Therefore, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to schedule large maintenance projects such as upgrading the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, replacing a roof, painting classrooms, asphalting parking lots and other major projects while school is in session. Again, the few weeks in the summer when school is not in session is often the much preferred time to complete these projects. It can also be less expensive since the work can be completed in fewer days and in a more efficient manner. School districts also operate several types of vehicles including various size school busses. Just like school buildings, school vehicles are heavily used during the school year and the summer is a preferred time to conduct major maintenance on these vehicles. This maintenance is often required to meet the high safety requirements for transporting students.
Budget and Planning The third area that uses the less hectic weeks in the summer is budget preparation, planning and revisions. The state budget is usually not adopted until mid-June and it takes some time for the details to be transmitted and understood by school business officials. Although school district budgets have to be adopted prior to July 1, these budgets are usually revised after knowing exactly what is contained in the state budget. Therefore, the school business offices in school districts are working intensely during the months of July and August to have an accurate budget in place for the start of school in mid-August. Yes, schools may look vacant during the summer, but important work is going to support the instruction of students when school begins.
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COMMUNITY
history
What’s in a name? By Taylor Coffman
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LACE NAMES have long been an alluring part of local history. In the greater San Luis Obispo area, several examples of variant sounds, plus variant spellings, date back many years. Nipomo or Nipoma? Bishop Peak or Bishop’s Peak? Cerro Romauldo or Cerro Romualdo? The humorous also crops up at times: the adventurer George Nidever, born in 1802, rendered the Chumash name Huasna with a Tennessee twang. He always called that remote, southeastern part of the county “Wasner” (and spelled it the same). Among the first place-namers were the Spaniards who marched north in 1769, led by Gaspar de Portola. The historic expedition was searching for Monterey Bay, described by Sebastian Vizcaino on his exploring voyage from mainland Mexico, clear back in 1602. The Portola group had already trekked through what’s now Baja California. From there the soldiers, priests, and their livestock continued through San Diego, on past Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and into our Central Coast region.
By September 8, 1769, the group was at Morro Bay. They called the setting San Adriano, where they “saw a great rock in the form of a morro.” That and another mention of the “morro” should be enough to credit the name to the Portola Expedition. The landform itself had appeared minutely on a map stemming from the Vizcaino voyage, again as early as 1602. But no name was bestowed on the rock just then. Never mind Myron Angel and other writers who’ve associated the ancient Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and Morro Bay, as though the name dates from as long ago as 1542. It surely does not, and it’s high time for this old tale to be laid to rest. Nor does the variant Moro carry much weight. That shorter spelling stems in part from the Moro y Cayucos land grant of the Mexican rancho period. Moro may translate simply as “blue roan horse” (although some still believe it means a Moor or a Muslim). As for the Portola Expedition in 1769, those men saw a rock “que forma a modo de morro.” An English version, provided by a modern Portola scholar, is “a high, round island rock in the shape of a sort of head.” Make that a helmeted head, giving the appearance of a giant soldier. Over the next two days the Expedition went from Morro Bay, past Cayucos and Villa Creek, and a short ways inland to the banks of Santa
Rosa Creek, near present-day Cambria—“the pine grove of San Benvenuto,” a Franciscan diarist in the group called that forested area. September 12—still in 1769—found the trekkers reaching the San Simeon district. Just inland from what we know as San Simeon Bay, the same diarist noted: “While passing through, I thought one of these watering places, where two streams of water meet and there is a great deal of trees, to be a good spot for a fine little mission, with [good] soil and water, about two and a half or three leagues from San Benvenuto, and I named it in passing San Juan de Dukla, Saint John of Dukla.” Dukla, a town in Poland, had a Franciscan priest in the 15th century, later canonized as the St. John in question. We can let our imaginations run wild in wondering what San Simeon—in all its guises: point, bay, rancho, creek—would be called now if “San Juan de Dukla” had endured from 1769. The name never caught on, never stuck. Beyond Dukla-become-Simeon, the Portola group marched to the future San Carpoforo Creek (later still “San Carpojo”). Avoiding the sheer Big Sur cliffs, the Expedition turned northeast, climbing higher than anywhere else since leaving San Diego; the men passed inland into the modern era’s Monterey County. They’d be back in San Luis Obispo County three months later, in December 1769, by then having gone as far as San Francisco Bay but having failed to recognize Monterey Bay, their original goal.
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Through the final few days of that year, the group retraced many of its September steps near San Luis Obispo itself. This meant going down Price Canyon, between the Edna Valley and Pismo Beach—the domain of the strongman called The Goiter, El Buchon in Spanish, his name coined by the Portola Expedition for the large tumor on his neck. One of the diarists noted, “The Buchon [is] the man so renowned and feared in all these parts [that] we conceived him to be a sort of little King over these widespread good heathen peoples.” The Anza Expeditions of the mid-1770s would call this same man El Buchon as well, or “Big Throat” to them. The Buchon’s influence was felt as far up the coast as Cambria and San Simeon, from whose inhabitants the goitered chieftain exacted tribute, much as he did from native peoples well to the east and the south. And yet the name of the street in downtown San Luis Obispo that recalls him—Buchon—is pronounced softly by nearly everyone, as though it were French: Boo-shawn. The name in fact warrants a strong Spanish inflection, with sharply accented emphasis on the second syllable, as the Portola group would have said it: Boo-CHONE, with a brusque chopping sound. By late January 1770, Portola and his men reached San Diego. It was from there, some three months later, that one of the diarists began keeping “A Journal of the Second Journey Overland: Between the Harbor and New Mission of San Diego, and the Harbor of MonteRey.” The marchers were nearly a month in getting back to the Cambria-San Simeon area; May 14 found them at “the San Benvenuto pinewood.” The next day they marched as far as San Simeon. The bayside point was described, but it wasn’t named separately from the nearby San Juan de Dukla of 1769. It remains unknown when “San Simeon” was first spoken or written. The second-stage Expedition kept heading north. A week later the men finally recognized a place they’d overlooked on the first trek— the long-anticipated “Monte-Rey Harbor.” Coffman has adapted this article from “The Portola Expedition,” a chapter in his forthcoming book North Coast Beginnings: The Early Days of Cambria and San Simeon. Your comments or questions are welcome at taylorcoffman@aol.com. See also the author’s website, www.coffmanbooks.com. The full-length Portola chapter is currently posted under http://cambriahistory.org/?p=839, as part of Jerry and Bev Praver’s Cambria History Exchange.
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history
1814 What the padres saw By Joe Carotenuti
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hen the decision was made by Spain to “conquer” its vast territory north of New Spain, addressing this, and the next, life both received attention. Thus, the military presence was complemented by five Franciscan friars. Their assignment in the “spiritual” conquest was grossly underestimated to take 10 years. Two key missionary names are the legendary Padres Junipero Serra and, although less well-known, Juan Crespi. It is the latter who provides the earliest and exceptionally detailed portrait of the future state from mid-1769 to early 1770. Eventually, other Franciscans joined the two including Joseph Cavaller who was assigned to the fifth mission of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Shortly before his death in 1789, another long-serving minister, Luis Antonio Martinez, arrived at the mission and served until 1830. He and Fray Antonio Rodriguez completed a most illuminating questionnaire originally sent to their superior, Fray Jose Senan. In response to this questionnaire sent to all mission outposts, an essential document of these pioneer years was prepared for posterity. The entire answers to each question are contained in the best history of the mission by Fr. Zephyrin Engelhardt, O.F.M: In the Valley of the Bears. Here’s the story. Finding readily accessible documents about mission settlements before Statehood is definitely a challenge. Given the turmoil and destruction of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain at the beginning of the 19th century and the rapid deterioration of Mission life, surviving documents are spread among archives from Spain and Mexico. Locally, researchers are indeed fortunate to find original sources without traveling to other countries. Certainly, one the most enlightening documents is a questionnaire sent from Spain requesting information from the mission territories. At the time, New Spain was in a losing battle with the peoples of Mexico. While dated 1812, completed answers locally are dated two
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A sketch of Father Martinez in front of the SLO Mission when he was falsely arrested.
years later. Unintentionally, this bureaucratic requirement provides, according to the introduction “the only eye-witness view of the Indians before their way of life was changed.” More than a governmental report, the answers to the 36 questions provide the earliest reflections of the native population of the time. In his illuminating introductory commentary, Clement W. Meighan declares that “the missionaries provided the only body of direct observation of many native tribes that will ever be available to us.” Many of the neophytes (newly baptized) groups have either disappeared or undergone dramatic changes over the last 200 years. Comments Meighan: “…the missionaries were the only people to see these California tribes in their true original condition, unaltered by external peoples.” The padres had observed both the baptized and unbaptized to varying degrees in the various settlements. Many of the comments may surprise current lore about natives during the missionary period. Not all questions received a response; many padres found few words to complete the individual items, but, taken as a whole, How the Padres Saw Them translated by Maynard Geiger, O. F. M. is an essential resource for the study of mission and native interaction in early California. Certainly, answers will vary as to the different natives congregating near any one mission as well as the experiences of the respondent. Nonetheless, the mission in San Luis Obispo, the fifth mission, shares much with the other outposts. Most importantly, all were at the threshold of extinction. The answers to the same questions will change dramatically over the next decade. As to social organization, Martinez details the community as composed of natives of the area with few outsiders. Furthermore, beyond community duties, he explains they “do not offer their services to anyone with the exception of carrying ‘mail’ (news) from one village to the next. For this service, beads are used as currency. While men will be
A Retirement Facil COMMUNITY 33
the carriers, the women seem to be the official mourners. Lamentations last for three days in the morning and in the evening but may be extended “for those of some rank.” Additionally, the women “serve everybody” including gathering and cooking seeds not only for their husbands but “for as many people as may assemble in their houses.” Special events— and there were several—were held at the home of “some sort of majordomos” who assisted, and paid for, the preparation and those who attend. This answer must have addressed noncommunal feasts as, at the time, the census counted over 600 neophytes. Additionally, harvests of about 2000 bushels of principally wheat and corn and herds of animals totaling over 17,000 head provided a stable food supply. As to language, Martinez counted 15 as “every village possessed a distinct idiom” but at the Mission, only one language was used and all understood each other. “Only a few … understand Spanish.” When he first came to the future state, Junipero Serra had lamented his inability to communicate as throughout his travels between San Diego and San Francisco, he encountered numerous “idioms” that frustrated communication. Locally, the natives received high marks for learning. Comments Martinez: “I have never observed them using any letters yet they learn not only our alphabet but quickly anything I taught them” demonstrating a “great keeness” (sic) pointing to quickly learning “every sort of trade” if there were competent teachers. A telling insight comes in the answer to a question of superstitions. Martinez
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undoubtedly ceremony the acknowledges superstitions among some, Even thoughafter thea proper prospect of by moving m resident priest. By the time the report is writespecially those “who became Christians at future, you owe it to yourself to learn h ten, nearly 700 marriages have been noted in an advanced age.” Performing ceremonies in in your ownadds home the Bookliving of Marriages. Martinez that for man “neat and clean” land in the country, medi- carefree some men never separate from their wives cine men were paid with seeds, “plumes,” while others had “many” spouses. and beads. A most telling comment concerns relief from dreams as a “frightful dream” These reports included reflections on health, could kill a native in their “pagan state.” ancestral customs, burial rituals, It’s a fact of life that astime, wealcohol, get older, Pristine is fully agriculture, music, personal virtues and vices, Marriage was a simple affair: the prospective some day-to-day tasksmorals, become too licensed and insu clothing and concepts of eternity. groom gave presents to the parents of the much to handle on our own. That All of our worke intended bride. If the presents were acContact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com cepted, a “marriagedoesn’t contract” mean is concluded you…have to move away are carefully scre
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2013
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Hospice corner healing beyond the box By Ingrid Pires, MS, BC-C
“It sounds like you want to meet outside of the group, in social settings, as well as in the group.” This casual observation, made in a Wilshire Hospice (formerly known as Hospice Partners) grief support group opened up opportunities for members to experience their grief journey in new ways, ultimately leading to more comfort in their day-to-day lives. As they supported each other in “getting out” again, they allowed life back in … and expanded our understanding of healing in the process. Being at social gatherings can be challenging in the first months— and sometimes years—following the death of a loved one. Those experiencing grief are often invited to such gatherings by friends and family members hoping to relieve the pain of loss and wanting to help the griever return to a more normal life. Unfortunately, reminders of their loss may interfere with the griever’s ability to relax and enjoy the gathering. For many, simply being with friends or family members is enough to bring on the tears and strong feelings of the loss, reminding them of times when they “were all together.” It can be challenging for those who care about the griever too. There is no cast or crutches to alert them to the vulnerability of the person who is grieving and it’s tempting to assume that they’re okay. When someone who is grieving doesn’t find comfort in getting together with loved ones, those who care about them can also feel uncomfortable. This brings us back to the group, who did decide to start getting together socially as few of the above factors played in to their experience of each other. Their activities have varied, over more than a year now. They started by getting together for movies, which many had stopped seeing because they didn’t like to go alone. This expanded to sharing meals, game nights, and bridge lessons. They hike together and go on adventures, like touring the Piedras Blancas Light Station. The most adventurous even went zip lining at Santa
Margarita Ranch last fall! They get together in small groups, and sometimes all participate. Regardless of how many are involved, they always respect each other’s decision to join in—or not—and understand if a wave of grief washes over one or more of them. It has been an affirming experience for most involved, and has straddled several groups now. I run one or two groups three times throughout the year, closing one down in January, late spring and at summer’s end, and starting a new group a month later. As several members have continued on, I have come to think of the larger, seasoned group as a “sourdough starter” group, contributing continuity and hope as newer members join. Adding new members to the sourdough group is done thoughtfully, as we have learned along the way that preparation is the key to
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success in the group. The culture of the group arose from the members, and as their group facilitator I have been learning right along with them.
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That learning will now translate into a new offering at Wilshire Hospice. Starting this fall, we will be inviting community members to a new monthly grief gathering—a brown bag, drop-in lunch break. The gathering will offer anyone whose loss is at least four months earlier a chance to gather with others on the grief journey. While there will be a facilitator present, the focus will be on learning how to negotiate grief over time through sharing stories and ideas. There will be minimal structure and the drop-in is offered free of charge. If you—or someone you know—might be interested, please call me at the Wilshire Hospice Center for Grief Education and Healing at (805) 269-0141 for more information. This monthly Hospice Corner is sponsored by Wilshire Hospice. Ingrid Pires is a Bereavement Counselor at Wilshire Hospice.
STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: CATS AND DOGS ACROSS 1. Done with a knife 6. Pendulum’s path 9. Pompous talk or writing 13. Salk’s conquest 14. Gunk 15. *Given name of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” 16. Tree in Latin 17. Hold title to 18. Knightly suit 19. *Nickelodeon’s conjoined brothers (1998-2005) 21. Dig further 23. Deadeye’s forte 24. Good earth 25. Young woman making her debut 28. Le Corbusier’s art 30. *The Cat in the Hat wore a striped one
35. Like decorated cake 37. Slime 39. Nary a soul 40. Musical mark 41. Elephant trainer’s prod 43. Byproduct of muddy roads 44. Mirths 46. *A dog relies on it to interpret the world 47. Speed on water 48. “There Will Be Blood” contraption 50. Mail agency 52. Double helix 53. Well-mannered Emily ____ 55. “High” drink 57. *”__ ____ Noir” cabaret 60. *Most famous collie? 63. Best not mentioned 64. Poetic “before” 66. Bridal path 68. Open disrespect 69. Poetic “even” 70. Imposing house
71. One of the Ivies 72. Banned insecticide 73. Larger key on the right DOWN 1. R&R hot spot 2. Rigid necklace 3. Actress Jessica 4. Plants and animals 5. Like a dirty affair 6. Bug-eyed 7. Column’s counterpart 8. Type of dwelling unit 9. In some cultures, this is a compliment 10. Not cool 11. In a little while, old-fashioned 12. ___ Royal Highness 15. *Cerberus, e.g. 20. Opposite of alpha 22. *”Dog ___ dog” 24. Observation post 25. *It “ate my baby” 26. Food safety threat
27. Asian pepper 29. a.k.a. CT 31. Politician’s barrelful 32. *Baskerville’s scare 33. Author _____ Chekhov 34. Seed coat 36. Whitetail, e.g. 38. *Boot-wearing cat 42. Anatomical dividers 45. Used to drain gas tank 49. India’s smallest state 51. PBS street 54. Knight’s mount 56. Of the Orient 57. Pretty undergarment fabric 58. Very dark black 59. Succotash ingredient 60. Fast time 61. “____ that the truth?!” 62. Besides 63. Recipe amount 65. *Color of some setters 67. Poetic “always”
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palm street perspective all-mail ballot By SLO City Councilman, Dan Carpenter
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n the same day I’m writing this article, I exercised my right and responsibility by voting in the all-mail- ballot special election in the City of San Luis Obispo. It’s gratifying to know my vote counts and it’s something we as Americans should never take for granted. In our representative form of democracy, participating in this process is critical if we truly embrace the concept that government power is derived from the power of the governed. Regardless of the outcome of this special election, I’m confident the people of our community will be well served. We are now well on our way to having a full five-member City Council. While it’s been a rocky road the previous four months, I’m not at all regretful that the Council decided to have a special election as opposed to appointing the next City Council person. Sure, appointing would have been quicker and much less expensive, but I’m not confi-
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dent it would have produced the same result as an election. When in doubt, always default to the electorate. The all-mail-ballot is relatively new on our electoral landscape. This is only the City’s second all-mail-ballot since passing the ordinance in 2011. There are many advantages over traditional polling. It’s very cost effective, has resulted in increased participation among voters, and typically much easier for election officials to conduct. California’s permanent absentee voter status (begun in 2001) is on the rise and has laid the groundwork for the all-mailballot. People are leading increasingly busy lives, and for many it’s more convenient to read the ballot and cast their vote at their own kitchen table instead of at a polling place after work. Every statistic shows that voting by mail is more convenient for voters and it increases turnout. The use of mail balloting exclusively avoids election administrators from essentially conducting two elections—an absentee and a polling place election. When the cost of training poll workers and operating polling sites is compared to historically low turnout, the cost per voter is astronomical. There is more room for corruption when election administration officials have to basically conduct two parallel systems. Voter lists are much easier to accurately maintain with mail balloting because ballots that are returned to election officials as undeliverable highlight registrations that must be checked. This helps election officials purge their registration rolls of ineligible voters. One of the key concerns of voting by mail is voter fraud. For the most part, they’ve been unfounded. Unlike voting at the polling place, when you vote by mail your signature is compared and verified against your signature on file. Some supporters and critics of mail balloting share a common concern; voting by mail could further alienate us from one another. Election Day in our country can be a time when townspeople congregate at the polls and visit with neighbors. Traditional voting can bring a real political energy to the polls and facilitate personal contact that mail balloting does not encourage. Whether that should outweigh the benefits of greater civic participation in our electoral system is open to debate. As communities continue to look for ways to cut costs and maintain vital services, this election format offers an easy option for significant savings. It also accommodates the preferences of voters who are increasingly opting to vote by mail. It’s just a question of how high the number of people who permanently vote by mail has to go before it’s switched for all elections. I believe the benefits of voting by mail far outweigh the negative concerns. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this issue or any other, please feel free to contact me. (dcarpent@ slocity.org), or (805-431-3174).
Downtown
Around
The Magazine of Downtown San Luis Obispo
Inside:
July 2013
W hat ’s U p Downtown B usiness Spo tlights
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Market Musings (Part 1 of 2)
he reason is simple: this is a feel-good, happy, fun, family-friendly, food-oriented, hang-out scene where no matter what your budget, you can have a wonderful evening. People enjoy being with other people, they think it’s a hoot to eat on the curb, they love to listen to music and after all that, they load up on the fresh produce and head home.
By Deborah Cash, Executive Director, CMSM
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he Thursday Night Promotions Farmers’ Market, aka “Farmers” or “Thursday Night” or “the market,” is no youngster as it celebrates its 30th birthday this summer—but amazingly, it’s as fresh and vigorous as other events half its age!
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ll of this would have been hard to imagine t’s true! After three decades of a five-blockback in the early 80s when city leaders Deborah Cash, CMSM, long street fair every Thursday night (except were besieged with complaints about the thenExecutive Director Thanksgiving or when it rains), the “world famous” popular Downtown Car Cruising (think American event continues weekly to draw thousands of Graffiti) commandeering the Marsh-Higuera loop on locals and tourists, people of all ages and backgrounds and Thursday evenings. If you weren’t part of that activity, you vendors coveting a space on the street on a regular basis. pretty much stayed away—to the chagrin of Downtown Moreover, we continue to host communities from around businesses. the state—and beyond—for a “tutorial” and walk-through he immediate solution was to close the streets to enable them to start or grow a like activity in their own and thereby crush the activity. It worked! But, towns. unfortunately, it didn’t bring the non-cruisers back. his is one of those success stories you love to hear Nobody wanted to walk around the dead, empty about. We don’t care how many people copy the town. Head scratchers got a clue from the thenidea; in fact we once produced a video, “How To Have Business Improvement Association (now the Downtown A Farmers’ Market In YOUR Town,” and sold hundreds of Association) that maybe it would be a good idea to put copies. Now we just give it away (and it’s a DVD…).
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On the Cover: One of the Thursday night market's most well-known features, the big fiery barbecues loaded with succulent meats, grilled veggies along with other tantalizing offerings, has been a market mainstay since the event's inception in 1983. The Downtown Association invites the public to celebrate the Thursday Night Promotions Farmers’ Market's 30th anniversary of family fun and food throughout the summer, and thanks the community for its continued support for three decades. Photo by Deborah Cash
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July 5 *4-5:30 pm
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Fis h O ut of Wate r O r i g i n a l ro c k , f u n k & re g g ae Sponsored by:
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2013 For details, contact the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association at (805) 541-0286 or visit www.DowntownSLO.com No Smoking in Mission Plaza | No Pets | Food & Drink Available | No Outside Alcoholic Beverages
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something on the closed streets, like some barbecues maybe and a little volleyball? Now they were on to something, although I shiver to think how those street athletes felt when they dove to the pavement for a save. Ouch. And the little kettle-style Webers proved too tiny for the “yum, what’s that smell?” hordes craving sauce-slathered ribs and tender tri tip offered by F. McLintocks, Wine Street Inn and Old Country Deli. So, out came the big-rig bbqs, although, kind of a funny story: purveyors used to light up their barbecues some distance away from Downtown and drive them in—fully lit, embers a-flyin’! Water was thrown on that practice in short order. Safety and health concerns gave rise to a host of other “rules” necessary as the event grew to include vendors, entertainment and within a year, a produce component provided Kids enjoy a 4th of July celebration at the by the SLO County Farmers’ Market market in 2008. Photo by Deborah Cash Association. (This last addition was a great step in the event’s visibility and ultimately its moniker; the original name was “Thursday ‘service’ dogs at Night Activities” but of course no one was going to say, “Hey, who wants to go to Thursday Night Activities?”
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since not only does it not roll right off the tongue but it doesn’t sound “cool” like the event itself is so very. Thus “the market” or “farmers” had its genesis.)
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nother rule developed early on was “No Dogs.” People used to bring boxes of puppies and kittens to the market—to sell or giveaway as was common practice back then— but after we came across abandoned boxes, sometimes with critters still inside, we started chasing the peddlers off. It became zero dog tolerance by ordinance when, and I have this story second-hand, a dog at the market onleash with its owner, lunged at or bit a child eating a rib. Dogs plus ribs equals trouble. But people still bring their dogs, walking past the signs posted at all the entries banning the canines. We get all the excuses, “Well, my dog is friendly,” or “my dog is little, I can carry him,” or “I don’t want to leave him in the car,” which is admirable but, sorry pal. All of a sudden there are a lot of the market and since it’s a bit fuzzy on
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MAIN STAGE ENTERTAINMENT
The Northstar Session June 20, 2013
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The Mother Corn Shuckers July 18, 2013
Tipsy Gypsies August 15, 2013
Giveaways ò Prizes ò Photo Gallery ò Special Activities at the Market DowntownSLO.com (805) 541-0286
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Downtown Brown.
the legality of asking for proof, we tend to let those go. And believe me, we love dogs so it’s nothing personal. I have practiced amazing restraint over the years and never brought any of my dogs to the event, even though they’re little and I can “carry them.”
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tay tuned for next month’s Market Musings in continued celebration of our 30th anniversary where I talk about entertainment—why they pay US—and some of the event’s newer features like “Market at Morro” and why the helium shortage forced us to sell balloons on a stick. We’ll also talk about my favorite mascot of all time:
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eanwhile, please join us for a summer-long slate of special events including: òò Main Stage entertainment: 7/18 Mother Corn Shuckers, 8/15 Typsy Gypsies òò Special activities on side streets òò Contests and Giveaways òò Market History Photo Gallery A complete listing available at www.DowntownSLO.com
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ope to see you all on Thursday Nights…around Downtown.
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S p o t l i g h t s to pills or surgery. We want them to know that most times, they don't have to live with pain." In fact, she, herself, suffered from jaw pain related to TMJ disorder and a massage therapist helped her relieve her pain without having to undergo surgery as doctors had recommended she do. It was in this experience, she discovered her passion for therapeutic massage.
SLOCO Massage
Natasha Noel, Founder and Massage Practitioner (pictured) Shawna Timmerman, Massage Practitioner 1025 Pacific Street (805) 769-8274 www.SloCoMassage.com
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elax, rejuvenate and reclaim yourself at SLOCO Massage. The quaint business specializes in intuitive massage therapy and is tucked away in a complex at 1025 Pacific Street in Downtown San Luis Obispo. Once you step inside the treatment room, you instantly get a warm, cozy feeling.
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oel was inspired by the powerful effects of massage and decided to attend the California Holistic Institute in Atascadero. She also became certified in the first degree of Reiki, and most recently, completed training in Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy—a massage given by foot. Noel says, "It's considered the deepest, most luxurious massage in the world because you can cover more areas in less time."
nlike most spas, they offer a customized massage that is not only relaxing, but also therapeutic. Experienced massage therapists, Natasha Noel and Shawna Timmerman, hether you are looking to reduce stress, relieve pain create a massage that is tailored to your needs using a blend or simply be pampered, get in touch with SLOCO of different techniques influenced by Swedish, deep tissue, Massage (805) 769-8274 or book online Jin Shin Acupressure, sports massage, trigger point and www.SloCoMassage.com. reflexology. Noel says, "We offer our clients an alternative
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registering your dress and not selling it to another customer.
Starlette O’Hara Bridal Dress Boutique Shelly Schafer, Owner (pictured) 641 Higuera Street, Suite 101 (805) 305-1577 StarletteOHara.com
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chafer has an extensive background in the fashion industry. She gained experience through studying as an apprentice and traveling abroad in Europe bringing back the "little characteristics" that make each one of her formal dresses unique.
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hether you're going to be walking down the aisle or down the runway, you'll find a perfectly stunning look at Starlette O'Hara Bridal Dress Boutique in Downtown SLO, an off-the-rack, formal dress shop where you can find anything from bridal gowns, prom dresses and pageant dresses to shoes and jewelry.
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ome other personal services that Schafer offers include: professional teeth whitening in the boutique or at Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa, special styling for weddings and other events, and personal styling such as organizing clients’ closets and giving advice on wardrobe choices.
helly Schafer, owner, has moved her business all over California, but decided to settle in Downtown SLO, working in a place where ppointments can be made with Schafer any day of the she has always wanted to live. She wanted to get back to week or you can come visit the boutique the small boutique feel, giving her customers an intimate Tuesday through Thursday 1-6 PM, Friday 1-5 PM or shopping experience. Also, there are five designers that are Saturday 12-3 PM. exclusive to Starlette O'Hara. Schafer knows how important it is to have a unique dress, so she offers the option of
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Mortgage facts & fiction Unraveling the myths of the mortgage maze
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By Roxanne Carr, The Mortgage House, Inc.
ontinuing our discussion of credit reporting and its related concerns from the April issue, let’s begin by briefly reviewing what credit bureaus do or don’t do with your personal data. • There are three major credit bureaus in the US—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Each develops a credit score for you based on its own system, and each will almost always have a substantially different conclusion. If you access your credit report online, either free through www.annualcreditreport.com or individually through these bureaus, you will not receive your credit score unless you pay for it. In some cases, that credit score is not the one we mortgage lenders require. According to a 2012 study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 20% of consumers who purchase their credit score will receive one that is “meaningfully different” from the one a lender requires. • Credit bureaus are known for tracking consumers’ credit history, but be aware they also hold records that may have nothing to do with credit accounts, from home addresses to employment records. • Each of the credit bureaus maintains more than 200 million files on consumers (about 63% of the US population) and selling some of that data is a primary revenue source for them, according to the CFPB. For example, bureaus are known to sell data to insurers and credit collectors. • Federal law permits employers to pull job applicants’ credit reports and use that information as grounds for not hiring someone. Roughly 47% of employers say they pull credit reports on some or all job applicants. • Errors in credit reports can adversely affect loan applicants, especially when credit scores are impacted. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that in February 2013, the Federal Trade Commission released a study showing that one in five consumers has an error in at least one of their credit reports.
How do you fix credit report errors? • Contact both the credit bureau and the creditor that provided the information to the bureau. Both are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. • The credit bureau must investigate within 30 days unless they consider your request frivolous. Clearly identify what you dispute and include copies of any documentation that may help. Request deletion or correction of the item. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested. • Do the same with the organization (the creditor) that reported the item to the credit bureau. Request that they copy you on any correspondence with the credit bureau; this should take 30 to 90 days maximum. In some states, you are entitled to another free
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credit report once information has been updated; check with the appropriate credit bureau to see if you qualify. When talking about credit, identity theft has become a major issue in our country. You may have heard of basic prevention tips, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat them: • Never give personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call. • Do not leave printed personal and/or financial information lying around, even at home. • Do not carry Social Security or Medicare cards in your wallet—if you need your Medicare card, cut out part of your ID number. • Shred your rarely used or unused credit cards. • Just hang up on any phone calls where you are asked for personal information. • Destroy sensitive mail (such as bank statements and even credit card solicitations) carefully by shredding before throwing them away. • Opt out of receiving pre-screened offers based on your credit data. • Invest in a locking mail box or post office box. There have been some strange tricks developed recently by thieves, and getting into your mail receptacle may top their list. • Regularly review your financial and credit records for signs of fraud, once a year at a minimum. In addition to looking for errors in your credit report, check for credit cards you’ve never had—a good indication of identity theft. • Secure your home computer by installing a firewall and virusprotection software. If you dispose of a PC, remove your data with a “wipe” utility program (erasing files manually does not do it). Be smart about choosing passwords (assume someone already has a bunch of your personal information—like birthday month or spouse’s name or your nickname); mix up letters with numbers and symbols.
What are some of the things to do if identity theft strikes? • Call TransUnion Fraud Assistance Dept. at 1-800-680-7289. A fraud alert will be put on all your credit reports, notifying creditors to call you for permission before opening any new accounts in your name. Creditors could miss this, however, so check frequently. In certain states (California included), you can put a “credit freeze” on your account, which will stop any attempt at new credit. This must be removed, however, before you can apply for a mortgage. • Report the crime to all relevant authorities. Send a copy of the police report to your creditors and all credit bureaus; include the Postal Inspector if mail theft is suspected. Contact the FTC at 1-877-438-4338 or online at www.ftc.gov and complete the ID Theft Affidavit (include copies in your notice to credit agencies). • Contact the appropriate creditors in writing; ask each to provide you with copies of documents involved in the fraudulent activities. Keep a log and copies of everything you do. It is usually hard to get in touch with actual human beings in many of these circumstances, so carefully document everything you do and maintain good records. Being vigilant about your credit can be critical to your future borrowing possibilities. J U L Y
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baywood school garden & bench dedication
The Baywood School held a dedication ceremony for their Native Plant Garden and Meditation Bench presented by the 2013 5th grade Art Legacy Project last month. The celebration showed the completion of the Native Plant Garden and the Meditation Bench in which the project has spanned over four years and honored the people and organizations that helped make it a reality. The occasion was also marked with the planting of a young Coast Live Oak tree.
6th annual slo film festival summer camps
caballeros de san luis obispo
The Caballeros de San Luis Obispo held its annual ride over the Memorial Day weekend. This year’s ride was held on the Santa Margarita Ranch. President Larry Shupnick presided over the event. More than 250 riders participated in this special event. This year’s all-around cowboy was Russ Pereira. Pictured above left is saddle winner, Randy Flamm being congratulated by Caballeros President, Larry Shupnick.
The SLO International Film Festival (SLOIFF) is once again offering summer filmmaking workshops to budding young filmmakers. From August 5 through 16, one and two week workshops will be guided by professional filmmakers, giving participants a hands-on learning experience as they create live action or animated short films from initial concept to finished film. This summer, two one-week workshops will be offered again, taught by Santa Barbara filmmaker, Jody Nelson. Professional photographer, teacher and filmmaker, Alan Fraser, will teach a two-week (half day) workshop on live action Film Production. The final films in all workshops will be screened for parents and friends before the “wrap party” at their conclusion. For information go to slofilmfest.org, or call (805) 546-FILM.
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books: Alternative crops for drylands
Santa Barbara writer, Scott O’Bar, has written Alternative Crops for Drylands to provide a botanical arsenal for combating deforestation and desertification, healing parched landscapes, and simultaneously creating fecund, edible oases. As such, the book highlights numerous useful plant species and discusses their cultural and climatic requirements, native habitats, uses, nutrition and even propagation requirements. The 324-page book has over 80 full-color photos, graphs and simple directions on what to do. The book is priced at $32.95 and can be purchased from the author’s website: cropsfordrylands.com
martin resorts donates $4000 to woods
It’s a rough world out there and no one knows this better than the animals at Woods Humane Society waiting for their forever families. Woods Humane Society is an animal sheltering, adoption and welfare nonprofit organization based in SLO that annually places over 1,100 dogs and cats into loving homes. Relying on financial support from the community, the organization provides adoptions, spay and neuter services, K9 training classes, micro chipping, and humane education. Locally owned Martin Resorts, a dog-friendly boutique hotel company, has found a way to help fund services while making lots of doglovers and their pals happy and really comfortable. Part of three of their hotels’ pet policy includes a $20-$25 nightly pet fee. Each hotel donates 10% of the pet fee to the Woods Humane Society. From the pet fees collected during 2012, Martin Resorts donated $4,000.
Books: jeanie greensfelder’s poetry memoir
Biting the Apple, was published by penciledin.com in 2012. Spanning seven decades, these intimate poems capture the human journey from the loss of innocence into the fullness of life. With humor and candor, the author evokes Joseph Campbell’s “sorrowful joys and joyful sorrows.” Available at Amazon.com and the Coalesce Book Store in Morro Bay.
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slo film festival hires charlotte alexander
Charlotte Alexander has been named Festival Director of the SLO International Film Festival effective July 1. Previous Festival Director Wendy Eidson remains with the organization, moving into the role of Artistic Director. She and Alexander will work together to support the growth of the Festival in its mission to entertain, educate and inspire filmmakers and filmgoers. Alexander, a resident of Nipomo, has been active in the SLO County nonprofit community for 25 years in both executive and volunteer positions. She has been CEO of United Way of SLO County and most recently was executive director of ARTS Obispo, the SLO County Arts Council. Elected in 2010 as a trustee of Cuesta College, she has taught journalism and public relations at both Cuesta and Cal Poly. As a volunteer, Alexander has served as president of the board of directors for the North County Humane Society and the Central Coast Natural History Association, and was chair of SESLOC Federal Credit Union’s Supervisory Committee for several years. The Frank SLOIFF will celebrate its 20th Anniversary during the next festival, scheduled for March 5-9, 2014.
6th annual “goldens in the park”
All dog lovers are welcome to join owners of golden retrievers for a fun day at Laguna Lake Park on Sunday, July 7th (noon to 4:00 pm) for the 6th Annual “Goldens in the Park.” This wonderful event—organized by local realtor Lenny Jones of Arroyo Grande and the group San Luis Obispo (SLO) County Golden Retrievers—is held each year to raise funds for Woods Humane Society and Animal Shelter Adoption Partners (ASAP) of SLO County. Since its inception, the SLO County Golden Retrievers group has raised nearly $13,000 for the Woods Humane Society and ASAP. Additional information: www. slocountygoldenretrievers.com.
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org, www.santamariavisitor.com). “This is the only set of its type from early Hollywood that still exists,” said Doug Jenzen, executive director for the Dunes Center, which is located near where the set was recovered. He added that one of the set pieces is so large, that it will require removing a railing from the Dunes Center porch in order to bring it inside. The artifacts will become part of the Dunes Center’s permanent exhibit called, “The Lost City of DeMille,” which currently features some small pieces of the film set that were found years ago, including a bas-relief of a pharaoh’s face, a lion’s paw and wooden hieroglyphs that decorated the city walls. Bits of 1920s-era “litter” left by the actors and film crew also make up a curious part of the exhibit.
slo police chief forms roundtable group
The Chief ’s Roundtable is a group of volunteer citizens formed in 2013 by San Luis Obispo Chief of Police, Steve Gesell, as an initiative to increase transparency and improve connectivity with the community with the end goal of providing superior police service. Initial members were selected by the Chief with the intent of garnering different perspectives. Additional members will be chosen by the Roundtable group. The Chief ’s Roundtable will meet quarterly throughout the year as a group and provide valued feedback regarding crime trends and other topics that may help SLOPD improve service delivery. From left to right: Thom O’Leary (Chair), Julie Mamo-Beckius, Frank Kassak, Keith Humphrey, Ph.D., Clint Pearce, Chief Stephen Gesell, Rushdi Cader, M.D., Paul Ready, Mary Parker, Ed. D (Vice-Chair), Carl Dudley, and Tom Franciskovich.
artifacts from early hollywood set unearthed
“Egyptian” artifacts from Cecil B. DeMille’s elaborate set for his 1923 silent epic The Ten Commandments were recently unearthed from towering coastal sand dunes and will now be displayed at the Dunes Center, an educational visitor center related to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes preserve located in Santa Maria Valley. Having undergone months of restoration and preservation, the artifacts were unveiled at a 1920s-themed party last month. An ongoing exhibit will also be open to the public at the Dunes Center, which is open Thursdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. (www.dunescenter.
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bridget ready receives delta kappa gamma award
Jack’s Helping Hand founder Bridget Ready recently received the prestigious Public Service Award from the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Chi State Personal Growth and Services Committee. The committee presents this award annually to a single California resident who demonstrates outstanding public service. Bridget accepted the award at the Chi State Convention banquet in Los Angeles. This award recognizes a man or woman who makes an outstanding contribution in any public service arena as a volunteer or professional in business, industry or government. Bridget Ready, who founded local nonprofit Jack’s Helping Hand along with her husband Paul in 2004, has demonstrated outstanding public service by working to meet the unmet needs of the special children of the Central Coast who face daily challenges. Jack’s Helping Hand, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization, was created in honor of the Readys’ youngest son Jack, who passed away in 2004 at just 3 years old. The organization relies solely on donations and sponsorships to assist special children in need. To donate or for more information, please call (805) 547-1914, e-mail jhh@jackshelpinghand.org, or visit www.jackshelpinghand.org.
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$256.76, and Will Wittman’s eighth grade home base class, which brought in $207.41. “We’re so proud of the students for continuing this program and for enthusiastically giving back to the community,” said Jack’s Helping Hand Executive Director Mary Illingworth. “We’re so grateful for Laguna Middle School’s support.”
grandparents reading circle 12 high school seniors receive leadership awards The SLO County Community Foundation (SLOCCF) presented this year’s recipients of the Richard J. Weyhrich Leadership Awards during a SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting in front of families, friends, school counselors and School District Superintendents. This year’s 12 recipients represent schools from every district in our County. They are a diverse mix of deserving high school seniors who possess strong leadership abilities and a desire to serve our County’s communities. The $2,500 scholarship will be used toward expenses for their first year of college. This year’s recipients are: Kyle Berlin (Arroyo Grande); Kash Dierksheide (Del Rio Continuation); Sabrina Dunn (Templeton); Alex Hascall (Nipomo), Cameron Holt (Paso Robles); Bennett McManus (Coast Union); Ella Moberg (Mission College Prep); Riley Nilsen (Nipomo); Emma Phillips (San Luis Obispo); Ariana Shakibnia (San Luis Obispo); Morgan Tompkins (Atascadero); and Shelby Warren (Atascadero). Since 1998, the SLOCCF has supported our county with grant awards totaling more than $21 million. The permanent endowment has grown to $30 million, and will support our communities in perpetuity. For more information about SLOCCF, or to donate to any fund, call 543-2323 or visit www.sloccf.org.
laguna middle school raises $1600 for JHH
Laguna Middle School recently donated $1,600 to Jack’s Helping Hand, and it all started with a penny. All proceeds benefit the programs and services at Jack’s Helping Hand, which helps families of children with special needs. The top two classes this year were Cathy Ahearn’s seventh grade home base class, which brought in a total of
The United Way of SLO will host a free grandparent reading circle as well as a Born Learning Trail tour two more times this summer. These reading & discovery times will take place at the SLO Senior Citizens Center in Mitchell Park. SLO from 10AM -11AM, Friday, July 26th, and August 30th. This event is open to all and will be an opportunity for grandparents, parents, and caregivers to listen to a story with their children. For more information visit unitedwayslo.org or contact Lily Aanerud, Program Volunteer, laanerud@unitedwayslo.org, ext. 30. For more information about United Way of SLO County, visit www. unitedwayslo.org or call (805) 541-1234.
Slo nighttime kiwanis clubs gets surprise visit
Last month the SLO Nighttime Kiwanis Club received a surprise visit by several Sinsheimer Elementary students with a big sign saying “thank you” for their donation that allowed several students to go to Science Camp.
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COMMUNITY
eye on Business Performing arts center continues to dazzle By Maggie Cox, Barnett Cox & Associates
T
he grand opening celebration of the Performing Arts Center in SLO was something to remember. It was 1996 and every seat in the spectacular new center was filled. The event was formal and performances by the SLO Symphony, Cal Poly orchestra and others exploded on the stage in a celebration of energy and elegance. It’s nearly 17 years later and the PAC continues to dazzle. I’ve attended performances there many times, everything from high school awards ceremonies to theatrical presentations, business programs, concerts and comedians. It’s no exaggeration to say that every time I step inside the PAC, I am struck by just what an amazing community accomplishment it represents. The center is breathtaking and its presence has added enormously to life on the Central Coast. I was reminded of the PAC’s rich history recently when two of its most passionate fans provided a behind-the-scenes tour and progress report. Our guides were well known arts leader Dr. Clif Swanson, incoming president of the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC) and Holly Russell, FPAC’s marketing and communications coordinator. Heather Cochrane is the group’s executive director. FPAC is the fundraising arm of the PAC whose members worked for nearly a decade prior to the PAC opening and helped raise $12.5M of the $30M total cost of constructing the PAC. Fundraising efforts continue today. As we strolled backstage, Clif recounted the story of the PAC’s origins, noting that the center represents the best of collaboration and the power of sharing a dream. More than 25 years ago a group of residents started discussing the need for a performance venue. Many meetings, conversations, feasibility reports and fact-finding trips followed. Dozens of ideas were considered, but the one that sprouted, then grew into a fullblown “yes we can” was the plan to create an innovative threeway partnership to get a center funded and built. The partnership took hold and the result is our prized community landmark. If the PAC is a threelegged stool, the legs that so handsomely J U L Y
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support it are the City of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly and the private sector. These three entities found a way to work together and share various responsibilities that enabled the PAC to be funded and built— and continue to operate today. The tricky part now is maintaining this gorgeous facility on a day-to-day basis. The partners are in lock step over several points, with one a top priority: the insistence that all local residents enjoy the PAC. As elegant and sophisticated a place as it is, the PAC was not built to be the private domain of wealthy arts supporters. PAC operations are guided by the commitment that all audiences and all users be able to enjoy the PAC. FPAC’s tireless fundraising efforts focus not just on helping with physical upgrades to the facility, but in generating financial support to help keep ticket prices and use fees manageable. PAC supporters are fierce about generating the funds needed to help keep the facility technologically modern and beautifully maintained. Private donations, City funds, the tremendous support of Cal Poly and a facilities team led by the impeccable-attention-to-detail Ron Regier keep the PAC today looking and operating as beautifully as it did on opening night. The facility was built with extraordinary attention to detail, including sound deadening building techniques, curved walls to assure precise sound distribution, and sophisticated climate control. Take a peek behind the curtain and you’ll find a green room, dressing rooms, and even practice areas that gleam. Many things have changed. A gift of two ornate wood ceiling pieces have been installed in the main aisle entries to the hall. Technology upgrades have provided new sound systems and lobby monitors. The moving parts of the stage still move smoothly. The center has been recarpeted and new seats installed. The Forbes pipe organ joined the PAC family and the community shared in the excitement, with volunteer crews helping to unload the many and massive pipes. The backstage “graffiti wall” signed by PAC performers has messages from Tony Bennett and Chicago and the Peking acrobats as well as our local musicians, dancers and other performers. Signs of pride are everywhere. The PAC is a tremendous reminder of what can be done when people share a vision and stay on track. And that’s something worth thinking about in today’s era of government impasse and endless citizen debate.
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