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montecito JOURNAL W int er/ Spring • 2018/ 19

Expertise, Commitment, and Impeccable Service Choosing an agent for life requires the ability to create an enjoyable, seemingly effortless experience every step of the way. For over thirty years, Tim has drawn on his exceptional abilities to represent buyers and sellers in some of the most desirable markets in the world: Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Ynez and Beverly Hills California. He consistently ranks in the top percent of agents nationwide.

“After the devastating Thomas fire and then the flood, our family was torn in different directions trying to make sense of what we had left. With the loss of our home in Montecito, Tim was there for us. He secured our future home and was there whenever we needed him. We couldn’t be there so we relied on Tim to be more than just our Realtor, he was our eyes as well. If you are looking for an honest Realtor who cares about your needs and will be there for you every step of the way, you simply can not do better than Tim.” – Michael and Sonia Behrman

Tim Dahl REALTOR® tim@timdahl.com www.timdahl.com 805.886.2211 DRE 00894534 Compass is a licensed real estate broker (01991628) in the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice.

Good things start with a vibrant community I am proud to support our local Montecito and Santa Barbara communities, and I am here to provide exceptional service on your next home purchase or refinance.

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Laina Jan Mayfield-Condron, Private Mortgage Banker Office: 805-695-7207, Cell: 805-886-7494 laina.mayfield-condron@wellsfargo.com www.lainamayfield-condron.com NMLSR ID 453412 Information is accurate as of date of printing and is subject to change without notice.

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Š2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.

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montecito JOURNAL Volume 11 Issue 2 W i nter/Spri ng • 2018/19

Publisher & Editor Tim Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor Leanne R. Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net Art Director Trent Watanabe Copy Editor James Luksic

LOTUS LAND Refresh your spirit with a visit to Lotusland.

Docent-guided tours are 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM, Wednesday through Saturday. Members visit free and may self-guide. Reservations are needed, call 805.969.9990.

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14 is|a 501c(3) public charity funded entirely through private donations.

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Administration Christine Merrick Diane Davidson Account Managers Tanis Nelson: tanis@montecitojournal.net Susan Brooks: sue@montecitojournal.net Contributors: Hattie Beresford, James Buckley, Jerry Dunn, Caroline Harrah, Steven Libowitz, Ted Mills, Katherine Stewart, Leanne R. Wood

Montecito Journal (glossy edition) is published by Montecito Journal, Inc. James Buckley, President Corporate Offices located at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H Montecito, CA 93108 For distribution, advertising, or other inquiries: (805) 565-1860

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CONTENTS 26 PARTNERSHIPS

Katherine Stewart looks back at the Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flow – from December 2017 and January 2018, respectively – to gain insight from Santa Barbara Fire chief Pat McElroy, along with Brett Matthews and Les Firestein of Partnership For Resilient Communities.

44 JEWELS & GEMS

MJ founder James Buckley evaluates and appraises Silverhorn, a gem of a Montecito business whose owners Carole and Mike Ridding moved from one part of Coast Village Road to another – along with goldsmith Noel Bendle – while continuing to feature their creative genius at the Biltmore.

52

THE WAY IT WAS

From page to stage, silver screen to little screen: Hattie Beresford, longtime Journal contributor, documents Santa Barbara’s theatrical history during the Roaring ’20s, including the parody Beggar on Horseback, which opened on Broadway before debuting at the renovated Lobero just six months later.

70 ON DESIGN: JOHN SALADINO

James Buckley shares the insightful and inspiring story of designer John Saladino’s former estate Villa di Lemma (née Still Farm) – built by Lockwood de Forest circa 1930 – which Mr. Saladino described as a “rambling Italian hill town” that made him feel as if he were in Rome again.

80 PROFILES: WARREN STALEY

Illinois transplant Warren Staley (who graduated Cornell University and Kansas State) admits to being an average musician – but that hasn’t stopped the former Cargill president from becoming Music Academy of the West’s new board chairman. MJ and Santa Barbara Sentinel writer Steven Libowitz reports.

(cover photo by Ed Caraef) 16 |

s a n t a b a r b a r a ’s n u m b e r o n e r e a l e s t a t e t e a m YEAR T O DAT E C L OS I NGS I N E XCE S S OF $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0

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cal bre 01206734

SARAH HANACEK

JASMINE TENNIS

ROBERT RISKIN

cal bre 01815307

CONTENTS 84 CURIOUS TRAVELER

MJ contributor Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr. returns to explore Aspen – where he initially ventured in 1971 BB (before billionaires) – as progression and development have attracted tourists and affluent part-time residents, thanks to the city’s scenery, amenities, and fabled history.

108 FALLING IN LOVE: MISTY & MICHAEL HAMMER

DRAINAGE SYSTEMS RETAINING WALLS MASONRY SITE CLEARING DEMOLITION EXCAVATION GRADING

Caroline Harrah interviews Montecito philanthropic lovebirds Misty and Michael Hammer, whose winding road to wedlock – circa 2017 in the Cayman Islands – overcame roadblocks such as Michael’s heart malady and subsequent stroke, and the January debris flow that damaged their home.

116 CONVERSATIONS: KENNY LOGGINS

Although the January debris flow displaced Kenny Loggins from his Montecito home, the Washington native never stopped discussing, creating, and performing music – as he has for approximately a half-century. Longtime Journal and Sentinel contributor Steven Libowitz sits down with the singer, who has resided in Santa Barbara for four decades, to reflect on his successful and unforgettable melodic career, which spared Loggins from another possible woodworking mishap.

136 ON CANVAS

SB Sentinel contributor Ted Mills frames the coast-to-coast path of painter Tom Mielko, whose brush with greatness encompasses the Nantucket shore and stretches to Santa Barbara’s Rincon Point and Butterfly Beach.

142 VACATION DESTINATION

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cscottconstruction.com | 18

U.S. News & World Report referred to it as the best place in America for climate; the town – populated with celebrities and billionaires – abounds with verdant villages, serene streets, firstrate eateries, boutiques, and other businesses nestled between the ocean and Santa Ynez mountains. Welcome to Montecito.

DANIEL GIBBINGS flagship store 1143 coast village road santa barbar a, ca 93108 1 877 565 1284 da nielgibbings.com

CONTRIBUTORS Steven Libowitz – Steven Libowitz has reported on the arts and entertainment for

Katherine Stewart – Katherine Stewart enjoys hiking the Montecito trails and

James Buckley – James Buckley, founder/publisher of Montecito Journal

Hattie Beresford – Hattie Beresford is a native of the Netherlands and retired

Caroline Harrah – Caroline Harrah is a science and technology enthusiast and

Jerry Dunn – Jerry Dunn’s Curious Traveler column in Montecito Journal won

Ted Mills – is a long-time writer on the arts, a writer-director of film, artist, and

Leanne R Wood – Leanne R Wood is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and

more than 30 years. He has published his work in daily and weekly newspapers in New Jersey and California, as well as in Santa Barbara Magazine and a nationally syndicated news service. When not at his computer or out on the town, you’ll often find him playing volleyball at East Beach, just a short jog from Montecito’s famous Butterfly Beach.

(weekly), is an avid golfer who has allowed his love of the game to get in the way of his other avocation: writing and publishing a Thedim Fiste Mystery series, based upon the life, foibles, exploits, and discoveries of an editor of a weekly newspaper in a small upscale community on the California coast.

armchair entrepreneur who often daydreams about venturing out into her own startup business. For now, she enjoys meeting and writing about Santa Barbara’s local business, technology, and social innovators. Caroline has lived in San Francisco, New York, and throughout the southeastern U.S. but calls Montecito home.

currently host of funkzonepodcast.com, where he interviews artists and creative folks in, around, and visiting Santa Barbara. He fancies himself as a bit of a bon vivant and a mixologist, loves to emcee events, and would love to be on your trivia team.

20 |

attending performances at the Music Academy of the West. Her work has appeared in Santa Barbara Magazine and the Santa Barbara Independent, as well as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.

teacher of English and American history for the Santa Barbara School District. Besides writing a local history column for Montecito Journal for more than a decade, she has written two Noticias and coedited My Santa Barbara Scrap Book, the memoir of local artist Elizabeth Eaton Burton, for the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. Her most recent book, The Way It Was ~ Santa Barbara Comes of Age, is a collection of a few of her nearly 300 articles written for the Journal. When she is not immersed in some dusty tome, she can be found on the tennis courts, hiking paths, or on the nation’s rail trails peddling with her husband, former Dos Pueblos volleyball coach Mike Beresford.

the gold medal from the Society of American Travel Writers. His wanderlust began as a 22-yearold vagabond with a backpack, listening for the Oracle at Delphi (Greece) and acting as an extra in Bollywood movies (India). It has continued through 34 years with National Geographic, 11 books, and 600-plus articles – work recognized with three SATW Lowell Thomas Awards, the “Oscars” of travel writing.

trailblazer. Originally from New Zealand, she has lived in Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, England, Scotland, and Romania. For the past 18 years, Leanne and her family have resided in the USA. She fell in love with Santa Barbara when passing through for one night. Six weeks later, Leanne and her husband had sold their home and businesses on the East Coast and relocated to Santa Barbara.

Leanne loves traveling and exploring different cultures, meeting people, hiking, anything to do with the beach, and most of all, her family.

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

MONTECITO TREASURES

H

ere’s a short list of who and what you’ll find in our latest: Tom Mielko has made a comfortable living creating art, and one glance at his delicate and precise

work validates why. Michael Hammer’s life may seem the stuff of dreams, but he and his wife, Misty, live with the daily threat of a troubled heart and a back that’s three vertebrae short of a full one. When

Silverhorn reopens on Coast Village Road, master goldsmith Noel Bendle and fellow craftsman Darby Farmer will be “on display,” creating new jewelry behind a wall of glass.

The Music Academy of the West has tapped Warren Staley – who ran Cargill, one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States for nearly 20 years – as its new board chairman. Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr.’s history with the once-funky and now-tony ski town of Aspen goes back to 1971, when he too owned a place in the snow.

Hattie Beresford reminds us how and why Santa Barbara was so graced with the Lobero Theatre.

Kenny Loggins spent most of his post-Loggins & Messina career in Montecito at a time when his son Crosby and a coterie of other kids of famous and/or accomplished parents, attended schools here in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. MJ’s publisher shared classroom notes (and spitballs, if truth be told) with many of them. That tradition continues to this day.

Welcome to our neighborhood.

Tim Buckley Publisher

24 |

DISTINCTIVE SANTA BARBARA PROPERTIES

w w w. S U Z A N N E P E R K I N S . c o m Compass is a licensed real estate broker (01991628) in the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice. DRE: 01106512

Suzanne Perkins is now a partner with

PARTNERSHIPS

BY KATHERINE STEWART PHOTOS BY EDWARD CLYNES

26 |

A TIME AND PLACE FOR RESILIENCE

P

at McElroy had been fighting fires for the City of Santa Barbara for 37 years, serving as fire chief for the last five, and was poised to retire. Yes, Santa Barbara

is a great place to live, and firefighters consider the city one of the most desirable work details in the nation.

But wildfires are becoming larger and occurring with greater frequency, and McElroy had tackled his fair share. He was, as he put it, “More than ready to begin a new chapter.” At noon on December 4, 2017, the City of Santa Barbara sent out a press release announcing McElroy’s intention to step down in 100 days.

Just six hours later, the Thomas Fire sparked north of Santa Paula. As the blaze quickly metastasized, scorching more than 500 homes in Ventura alone, what McElroy had hoped would be a countdown of reflective days turned into the toughest of his 37 years, both personally and professionally.

As destructive as the Thomas Fire had been, few could have imagined the calamity to follow. At 3:54 in the morning on January 9, 2018, an intense burst of rain produced a dense soup of mud and loosened boulders. As the debris rumbled swiftly downhill, sweeping up trees and brush in its path, it ruptured a pair of Southern California Gas Company lines.

The explosion illuminated the sky as brightly as the midday sun. Gathering force, the debris poured into neighborhoods, exacting a grim toll including the loss of nearly two dozen lives.

In those pre-dawn hours, McElroy joined hundreds

|

27

PARTNERSHIPS – soon to be thousands – of first responders attempting to reach trapped survivors. They would continue their search for weeks.

Like others in the community, Les Firestein was deeply shaken by the experience. Firestein had never met Chief McElroy. But soon he and others would coalesce around “Pat Mac,” each with a desire to step from the shadows and help in any way they could. McElroy became a central figure in this new group, which has since organized itself as the Partnership For Resilient Communities.

AN EXPERIENCED TEAM

T

he group had at its center Brett Matthews, whose work in the equity field included expertise in risk management and public-

private partnerships. Matthews recognized that this daunting challenge

Brett Matthews: Public Private Partnership Entrepreneur and Investor

required a collective solution. He reached out to friends including McElroy, Firestein, Joe Cole, Gwyn Lurie, and Mary Rose. “Montecito and Santa Barbara have a half-degree of separation,” says Cole, a real estate and corporate attorney and founding member of the Partnership.

grappling with the same question: how can we help... now?

Over the past nine months, the Partnership has evolved as a

“Many in our core group had already worked together often on

non-profit public-private organization committed to researching

community projects. Brett and Mary had worked together for many years

then actually implementing debris flow technologies from around

on private funding of enhanced County and City firefighting capabilities,

the globe. It has raised robust funds – already well into the seven

and on a variety of city and Montecito elections. Brett had worked

figures – to support these technologies and protect Montecito from

with Gwyn on the school board. Pat and I were involved with our kids’

future carnage. Its members hope the information they gather and

high school and inter-collegiate sports, and in city elections supporting

lessons they learn will be useful to other communities facing similar

increased first-responder pay, improved equipment, and live fire facilities.”

challenges in California and beyond.

A 40-year resident of Montecito, Cole chairs the Montecito Planning Commission. Four of his friends perished in the debris flow, and others had been admitted to Cottage Hospital. In the days after the event, Cole spent so much time at Cottage that he set up shop in the cafeteria.

It was from the hospital cafeteria that the nucleus of the Partnership For Resilient Communities came into sharper focus. The group expanded to include Alixe Mattingly, Craig McCaw, and Ron Pulice. All were

28 |

PRE-DAWN RESEARCH

E

ach member of the group has a different skill set. Cole has indepth knowledge of the County government. Mary Rose, a

30-year veteran of environmental and education issues, managed both Lurie’s and Matthews’s successful campaigns for Montecito Union

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PARTNERSHIPS School Board. As for Gwyn’s husband, Firestein, says Matthews: “He’s not afraid to cold-call anyone. We knew that other parts of the world face debris flows on a continual basis, so Les made it his business to contact world-renowned experts in the field.”

And so it was that Firestein, a self-confessed “absurdly early riser” and “aggressive researcher,” would communicate with debris flow gurus all around the world in the wee hours. Afterward, he would brief Matthews, his around-the-corner neighbor, about his findings – typically at 5 am. “We all still had to do our day jobs,” says Firestein.

A nagging piece of local history haunted their conversations. Ten miles down the road, the tiny community of La Conchita had suffered two landslides in the space of 10 years. It was the second slide, in January 2005, that caused the most damage, with 10 lives lost.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION

T

Les Firestein: Builder and Innovator “I can’t overstate the band-width issue,” says McElroy. “The entire County is in draw-down. It’s not stopping. We’re seeing fires

he group quickly realized that county officials, however well-

like we’ve never seen before.” And, he adds, “County flood control

meaning, would not be in a position to address the immediate risk

has a really full plate. If this was done the typical way, they’d have to

of future slides. The mountains had been largely stripped of stabilizing

go through budget requirements, agenda requirements, meetings,

vegetation, and there was not enough time for the County alone to

vendors, et cetera. And you’re dealing with federal land, state land,

arrange for traditional protective infrastructure, such as the permitting

county land, and private land, and there are different processes and

and creation of debris basins of adequate capacity.

regulations for each. The unprecedented nature of this incident

“Right after the debris flow, the County was focused on recovery, as they had to be,” Matthews points out. “They were still searching for

called for fresh thinking.”

Like everyone else in the community, the Partnership was

missing people, rescuing survivors, providing them with shelter, food,

already thinking about what next winter might bring. “We knew

and clothing.” To make matters even more complicated, the County was

that if the County had to go it alone, it might take three or four

also developing and implementing a plan to dispose of approximately

years to put solutions in place, simply because of the time it takes

2 million cubic meters of debris, even as they sought to repair critical

to go through the regulatory process and implement major civil

infrastructure. To be sure, they were cleaning out the creeks and debris

engineering projects,” Rose says. “So we said, ‘Let’s problem-solve.’

basins. But it wasn’t enough.

It’s the art of the possible. This event forced everyone to think

30 |

1 5 0 L a V e r e da r oa d Montecito, c a

a tradition of exceLLence in Montecito & santa BarBara reaL estate

J o h n M c G o wa n & a s h L e y M c G o wa n 8 0 5. 56 3. 40 0 0 w w w .M c G o wa n P a r t n e r s . c o M c a L dr e 0 0 8 930 30 /0 2 0 410 55 Š2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.

PARTNERSHIPS will always be here for the people of this community. What appealed to me about working with the Partnership was their desire to be supportive rather than directive.”

ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE

F

irst, the group organized a meeting downtown with four fire chiefs. All expressed their vigorous approval. Then, the

Partnership reached out to local politicians, including Congressman Salud Carbajal, who represents California’s 24th Congressional District.

“To our relief, Carbajal was very enthusiastic,” says Lurie, recalling a meeting over late-night pancakes at the IHOP on Upper State Street.

Gwyn Lurie: Board President, Montecito Union School District

“Salud started naming names of people in the county and state who could be helpful.” After that, the Partnership met with State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, who chairs the Joint Legislative committee on

outside the box.”

Already, community groups such as the Bucket Brigade and the

Emergency Management. Subsequent meetings with First District supervisor Das Williams, County CEO Mona Miyasato, County

County’s Montecito Recovery Center were tackling other important

Recovery czar Matt Pontes, and, later, County Public Works officials

aspects of recovery, including clean-up and survivor support. “So, we

yielded critical support.

focused on our ‘true north,’” McElroy says, “which is: what are the tech

Next, they began consulting with environmental experts. At

solutions? What’s the science behind the debris flow? What can we do

McElroy’s suggestion, they reached out to James Lee Witt, head of

about it? What is going on in the drainages? Can we stop a debris flow?

FEMA under former president Bill Clinton. “He was here to meet with

Steer it? Shape it? Make it less terrible?”

us in a matter of days,” McElroy says. They also consulted with admiral

The Partnership made a decision to initiate collaboration with

Thad Allen, co-chair of the National Science Foundation, who had

government agencies, nonprofit groups, environmental groups, and

served as incident commander for Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil

the private sector. “What the private sector can do is access capital

spill. And they enlisted other experts such as Tom Dunne, professor of

quicker and access expertise quicker,” says Matthews. McElroy echoes

geology and hydrology at The Bren School, and professor Max Moritz,

this key point. “A public-private partnership allows a nimbleness that

who specializes in drought and wildfires at the University of California

government processes just don’t have... and can’t have by their very

Berkeley.

nature,” he says. “The firefighters and other first responders in the Santa Barbara area remain among the best in the world, and they

32 |

About this time, Firestein’s ransacking of worldwide debris flow experts was starting to yield some interesting leads.

Ocean View Estate M O N T EC I TO, C A L I F O R N I A

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PARTNERSHIPS

(photo by Jim Fabio)

ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND SOLUTIONS

Not all of Firestein’s research took him far afield. It turns out, some essential tools were available literally next door. Ventura County’s Office of Emergency Management has a stellar record and reputation, so

I

n the Swiss Alps, as in the foothills of Japan, debris flows are a fact of life. Mitigating the damage is on its way to becoming a hard

Firestein paid them a visit.

“I asked officials in Ventura why they were so successful,” Firestein

science. In consultation with the experts, Firestein reached out to Swiss

says. “One of the first things they told me is they hired a ‘private’

and Japanese companies working with innovative materials that take the

weather service... to give them more information coming from further

idea of community protection to a new level.

offshore with more precision and greater frequency. The farther out you

“Les would be sending us videos at 3 am of debris flow mitigations in Japan or Switzerland or the Pacific Northwest,” says Cole, “and by 9 am the next morning, he’d have samples being flown in from Switzerland.”

“Experimenting with ideas was always a part of our thinking,”

can read accurate weather formations translates to greater advanced warning for first responders.”

Since weather gets “passed” from county-to-county like a baton, in short order the Partnership hired the same private weather

says Firestein. “But we never considered any solution unless it fit with

service Ventura uses, and then “donated” it to Montecito Fire.

our community – which means solutions that are environmentally

Around the same time, Professor Dunne put Firestein in touch

sound or what I like to call ‘environmentally porous.’ The last thing we

with local internet entrepreneur Paul Gauthier, who as a hobby

wanted to do was turn Montecito into a foliated fortress by erecting

developed a real-time debris flow prediction model, working

massive, monolithic, man-made infrastructures that would detract from

in concert with NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey. With

Montecito’s natural beauty. It has been critical to us to keep Montecito’s

community safety in mind, Gauthier allowed the Partnership the use

unique nature intact.”

of his technology at no cost.

34 |

DISTINCTIVE SANTA BARBARA PROPERTIES

w w w. S U Z A N N E P E R K I N S . c o m

Suzanne Perkins is now a partner with

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PARTNERSHIPS

MANAGING DEBRIS FLOW

B

y now, the Partnership was well on its way to developing a pilot program for implementing high-tensile, debris-

catching ring nets, manufactured by the Swiss company Geobrugg. Cole, Rose, and local land use planner Suzanne Elledge negotiated with pertinent landowners, regulators, and agencies to obtain the necessary permissions and permits.

Managing debris flow long-term, they found, is much like avalanche control. Rather than focusing on the eradication of debris and its sources, the most effective strategies focus on reducing risk and relieving downward force.

ED

36 |

(photo by Jim Fabio)

Our community is in need, and we are here to support that need. Allow us to put our combined 214 years of expertise to use in supporting our community. Our team of highly experienced independent professionals can help answer your property-related questions or to direct you to those who can.

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Already, they have raised more than $1.5 million from private donors; others have pledged an equivalent amount.

The Partnership’s efforts have also earned them the respect and admiration of government officials including Dave Fukutomi, former deputy director of California’s Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and FEMA disaster coordinator. “What the Partnership is getting done is unheard of,” he remarks. In the disaster management field, the Partnership’s unique model of collaboration is hailed for breaking new ground. Lurie explains the difference: “We’re not just asking the government to bail us out,” she says. “Instead, we’re asking, ‘How can we help you get this done?’ It’s incredible what can happen when instead of going after the government with pitchforks, you come to them with ideas.”

Pat McElroy: Former Santa Barbara City Fire Chief

The Partnership is not just looking at this winter, but well past it, researching methods for accelerating indigenous revegetation and repopulating endangered species. “We have learned a lot from other

“The debris nets, of course, don’t solve the problem of debris,”

communities in the U.S. and around the world about ways to monitor

says Firestein. “What they do is double the holding capacity of

for potential debris flows,” Matthews notes. “We also study ways they

Montecito’s existing debris basin network and give at least some

form partnerships and come up with environmentally friendly solutions

coverage to some of our drainages which, at present, have no debris

to these challenges. It is kind of a playbook that we look forward to

basin whatsoever.” Firestein adds, “We’re trying to bridge the gap

sharing with other communities.”

between the time it will take for our mountains to revegetate and the time it will take for Public Works to truly upgrade our drainage infrastructure.”

“But we’re not just about the nets,” adds Lurie. “Going forward, we are committed to something I like to call ‘organic resilience’ – working with nature, as well as honoring the aesthetics of our natural habitat.” Firestein adds, “By taking an organic, holistic approach to the enhancement of our environment, we are hopefully more prepared and calibrated to deal with climate challenges for the long term.”

In its initial phase, the Partnership’s pilot program aims to deploy 18 nets. Geobrugg nets, considered the gold standard within the industry, are already in widespread use in Switzerland and the Philippines, as well as Camarillo, Big Sur, and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Partnership aims to raise more than $5 million in the initial phase.

Joe Cole: Land use lawyer, Montecito Planning Commissioner 38 |

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PARTNERSHIPS

ENDURING FRIENDSHIPS

Shared trauma can bring a community together. Through the work of the Partnership and other initiatives, new friendships and creative collaborations will surely endure for many years to come.

O

n a recent sunny morning, members of the Partnership

As Lurie puts it, “We wanted to find hope. And the more we looked

gathered at Jeannine’s on Coast Village Road to reflect on what

around, the more hope we found – in the form of tangible and

had brought them to this point. “This was the first place where I saw

inventive technologies, some here in our own backyard. This is our

somebody fighting to get life back to normal,” said McElroy, noting that

home, our family, our friends. The more we come together to work

the eatery’s owner, Alison Hardey, offered free coffee and baked goods

proactively, the more resilient we become.”

to the community and first responders in the earliest days of the recovery

(Publisher’s note: The Partnership seeks support from members

efforts. “Alison knew that people needed a place to gather and talk,” he

of the community who are in a position to help. For more information,

said. “She recognized that we needed to resume the rituals of daily life.”

contact PartnershipSB.Org.)

m

, Cole, Hollye Jacobs, Les Firestein, Gwyn Lurie (from left) Pat McElroy, Elisabeth Fowler, Joe Mattingly. o are TPRC Partners Mary Rose and Alixe and Brett Matthews. Missing from thew phot 40 |

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JEWELS& GEMS

BY JAMES BUCKLEY

THE STONE CUTTER

S

PHOTOS BY EDWARD CLYNES

ilverhorn has been in Montecito for more than 32 years

concept of how they retail their product. Owners Carole and Mike

and counting. Their first outlet was a small showroom at

Ridding, in something of retirement mode, have recreated Silverhorn

1155 Coast Village Road in front of what was Espresso

as a design studio making personalized treasures based upon customers’

Roma and is now the home base for Manchester Capital. Silverhorn

needs and desires. And a big part of that retail alteration will be the

eventually took over the entire front, back, and second story of what

inclusion of a design workshop in the heart of their new store, also on

had been many different shops, including the home for the late

Coast Village Road.

couturier Luis Estevez.

At the end of last year, Silverhorn decided that rather than renew the lease on its former building, they would downsize and alter the

44 |

German-born Noel Bendle will continue to head up Silverhorn’s small staff of jewelers and craftsmen, but now his work will be behind a wall of glass and in full display.

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JEWELS & GEMS During a leisurely conversation with the master stonecutter-goldsmith, Noel reveals that he was “born in a small town about an hour west of Frankfurt, close to the French border.” That town is Idar-Oberstein, famous worldwide for its stonecutting and jewelry work. The River Nahe, which runs through Idar-Oberstein, is the force behind the wheels that cut the hard stone agates found and mined in the region for hundreds of years. The agate mines finally were exhausted by the late 1800s and the town’s fathers had to search for new sources for material to keep the stonecutting equipment working.

The solution was to buy product from Brazil, where German ships were making one-way trips with German product but returning empty. The town fathers made a deal to bring raw stones back from Brazil to Idar-Oberstein.

After 12 years of school, Noel began an apprenticeship as a goldsmith in a high-end jewelry shop. “I was always working with my hands, making little boxes; I was always drawn to such things,” he says. His father was an engraver, so it runs in the family.

As an apprentice, Noel attended trade school and worked under a master for three and a half years, where he was “paid very little, not enough to survive” – but it was a trade-off, since his schooling was free.

At the end of the three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship, Noel was required to design and plan out a piece that he would make for the shop where he worked. His “master piece” was a wristwatch case in which the watch could pop out of its case and be used as a pocket watch.

He was hired full-time by Hans Cullmann, the company where he apprenticed and a company with a wide reputation for quality. “Everything to this day is made by hand there, such as clasps, chains, watch cases, bracelets, et cetera. They make all their jewelry for their retail shop,” Noel says with some pride.

46 |

After “two or three years,” however, he was ready for a new challenge. Mike Ridding, who often traveled to Noel’s hometown, examined some of Noel’s drawings and decided Noel would make a good fit for Silverhorn. “Mike always keeps his eyes open for talent,” Noel says. Mike guaranteed Noel a job if he came to Santa Barbara. He did, in the summer of 1997, and he’s been with Silverhorn ever since.

WORKING ON DISPLAY

W

hen Silverhorn re-opens, Noel will be working behind a wall of glass alongside longtime craftsman Darby Farmer

instead of a closed door. I asked if he was worried that something that happens in the store may take his mind off of what he is working on in the studio. “I’m separated by glass,” he says, “so I don’t think I will be disturbed; it would be kind of like a restaurant with an open kitchen,” he suggests.

Noel arrived in the U.S. as a single man. Soon after, he married a Pennsylvania-born woman and they are now raising their three children, all girls. The youngest is ten years old.

As for the products they’ll be fabricating at the studio, Noel

|

47

JEWELS & GEMS explains that unlike many jewelers, “the stone is the most important

“Gold is very soft, and if you hit it off-center, you dent it. But if

part of the piece, rather than the setting.” Noel and his team look

you hit it straight-on, it doesn’t dent. When I hit something, I always

to create items from Mike’s large collection of rare and high-quality

hit it dead on,” he explains. He has favorite pliers that he’s grown fond

colored stones. “We try to make a piece of jewelry that showcases the

of “and when they break, it’s painful,” he says, laughing. And then

stone, bringing out specifics or colors.”

there are the files, “many files, round, square, triangular, flat... There

Customers can, however, bring in their own stones. If there are flaws, Noel will point them out, but he says it’s not a problem to work with whatever the customer wants. “Sometimes it has sentimental

are many different pliers too, but there is only one hammer,” he says with a broad smile.

There is also only one Silverhorn too, though in two locations:

qualities,” he notes, adding that, “no jewelry is good that sits in a box

at the Biltmore Four Seasons Hotel and at the new Studio at 1235A

at home. Jewelry is made to be worn. And hopefully, we create a piece

Coast Village Road. You can drop in and watch Noel and Darby at

that is timeless and that you can pass on to the next generation.”

work, or call them at (805) 969-0442.

When asked to name the three most important tools he possesses, Noel quickly names them: “Hammer, pliers, file. That’s what I use for the most part.” He still has the wooden-handled hammer he used on the very first day of his apprenticeship.

48 |

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THE WAY IT WAS

BY HATTIE BERESFORD

The cast from the pantomime in Beggar on Horseback joined the Fiesta parade in a flower-bedecked touring car. Seated from front to back are Robert Neustadt, Ney Neen Farrell, Ian Wolfe, Angelica Bryce, Geraldine Graham, William G. Paul, Edward Shands, and John Payne. (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

52 |

The Beggar in Santa Barbara

B

eggar on Horseback, George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly’s comic parody of German Expressionism, opened at the Broadhurst

Theatre in New York City on February 12, 1924. While still playing to packed houses on Broadway, it opened at the new Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on August 4, 1924, as the inaugural play for the new community playhouse.

How a major Broadway hit ended up in a small town on the far edge of the continent is a story filled with serendipitous connections and intersections that had already created a rich artistic enclave of talented amateurs and professionals during the optimistic 1920s.

Shortly after WWI, the businessmen of the city had wanted to create a yearly festival that would draw visitors to Santa Barbara and rejuvenate the depleted coffers following years of war rationing. The success of an Old Spanish Days parade as part of Independence Day festivities in 1919 inspired them to meet again in September and create La Primavera, an annual celebration of Santa Barbara’s Spanish heritage.

La Primavera Logo (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

|

53

THE WAY IT WAS inauguration were being laid. An inaugural play needed to be found and a celebration for its opening needed to be organized; and therein, lies our tale.

Volunteers, many already in Fiesta costume, prepare the Lobero grounds for landscaping a few weeks before its opening (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

The 1920 La Primavera pageant involved hundreds of local residents in the portrayal of life in early Santa Barbara. Including traditional costumes, music, and dance in the telling of Santa Barbara’s Spanish history and culture, La Primavera was a rousing success. Unfortunately, it was a rousing failure financially, and the organizers found themselves $10,000 in arrears. Although there would be no encore for the spectacle, it had inspired a desire for community theater and community arts, which led to the establishment of both the Community Arts Association and the School of the Arts that same year.

In December 1921, the School of the Arts initiated plans to form a holding company that would buy and rebuild the old Lobero

Promotional flyer for opening of the new Lobero (Courtesy UCSB Special Collections)

Theatre. In 1922, civic philanthropists Bernard Hoffmann, David Gray, Clarence Black, and Frederick Forrest Peabody stepped forward to purchase the theater from the Hollister Estate and incorporated the Lobero Theatre Company. The Community Arts Association sold stock in the company and eventually owned a one-quarter interest in the theater. George Washington Smith was hired to design the renovations, but it soon became apparent that rehabilitation was not feasible. The Lobero Theatre Foundation and the Community Arts Association decided to raze the venue and build a completely new and up-to-date community theater in its place.

As the new Lobero approached completion, plans for its

54 |

Two masked men, one a Spanish caballero advertising Fiesta and the other a ragged beggar displaying Daniel Sayre Groesbeck’s winning poster advertising Beggar on Horseback, rode the streets of Santa Barbara in the days before the opening of the new Lobero Theatre (Courtesy John Woodward)

THE WAY IT WAS

The Players Behind the Scenes

B

eggar on Horseback was chosen for the opening of the Lobero Theatre after a fruitless search for a play with California

Winthrop Ames was a noted theater manager and producer in New York City (Courtesy Library of Congress)

atmosphere. Consequently, after closing out the season in late April 1924, the Community Arts Players’ director, Nina Moise, hopped on a train bound for the Big Apple with the goal of studying the Broadway production.

Once director of New York’s Provincetown Players, Moise came to Santa Barbara at the behest of world-renowned artist Albert Herter, a driving force in the School of the Arts and the Drama Branch, who, together with his artist wife, Adele, had established a home in Santa Barbara. Multi-faceted and multi-talented, the Herters had a profound influence on the cultural and artistic life of their adopted town.

Permission to use the play was given by its producer and owner, Winthrop Ames, a proponent of experimental theatre who had established the Little, a 300-seat theater in New York. Ames and his

Community Arts Players director Nina Moise obtained her first passport in 1922 when she was sent to Europe by the Community Arts Association to study theater and stagecraft

wife wintered in Santa Barbara in 1920 and 1921 and were impressed by both the community production of La Primavera and the rise of the Community Arts Association. Ames may have known Nina Moise from her days in New York, but he definitely met her in Santa Barbara when she directed Albert Herter’s extravagant production of Pelleas and Melisande, a benefit for the Association. Ames was unrestrained in his Hazel and David Imboden as painted by Albert Herter (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

praise of the production and said it was a really notable achievement.

|

55

THE WAY IT WAS

Program for Beggar on Horseback at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City where Nina Moise studied the production

Albert Herter used David Imboden as a model for several Red Cross posters he donated to the cause during WWI (Courtesy Library of Congress)

Another factor in selecting Beggar on Horseback was Hamilton McFadden. Having switched his Harvard studies from law to dramatic

he expressed delight at being back, admitted he hadn’t a clue what

and vocal arts, McFadden came to Santa Barbara in 1921 as a teacher

he intended to do, but promised his best. His best was plenty good

for the son of a successful Massachusetts real estate broker who lived

enough, and he soon became manager of the almost-completed Lobero

part of the year in Montecito. It was natural that he should gravitate

Theatre and the School of the Arts, as well.

to the year-old Community Arts Players and was soon taking on roles

On June 11, 1924, Hamilton McFadden invited Santa Barbara

in their productions. In 1923, McFadden went to New York, and in

businessmen to a meeting at the School of the Arts. There he outlined

January 1924, he landed the role of “A Poet” in Beggar on Horseback.

the idea for an “Old Spanish Days” carnival to celebrate the opening

At the same time that McFadden’s poet was uttering his “Jolly

of the Lobero Theatre. Regarding the carnival, the Morning Press

Jingle” lines from his prison cell on the Broadhurst Theatre stage,

opined, “…it is hoped that it will develop into an annual celebration

Santa Barbara’s Community Arts Association was looking for a new

so distinctive that visitors will be drawn to Santa Barbara from all parts

executive director. The 23-year-old McFadden was offered the job, gave

of the United States.” McFadden announced that he was arranging

up his role on Broadway, and headed west. In a newspaper interview,

special rates for rail travel and also convinced the hotelmen to help

56 |

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THE WAY IT WAS with discounted prices. The dream of an annual festival had been

“It is a wonderful play,” Moise said, “and the biggest novelty that

resuscitated, and the business community was optimistic about its

has been offered on the American stage in 20 years. It is pure, satirical

prospects.

comedy and satirizes in the most fascinating manner every institution

After doing his part to ensure the success of the Lobero opening

of present American life….

and Santa Barbara’s first Old Spanish Days, McFadden moved on,

“Radio, big business, routine, theatre, newspapers, elevators, and

eventually landing in Hollywood where he transferred his energies

everything else, including the jazz-mad flappers, are satirized, and the

from acting to producing and directing. He soon became a much

authors have even included the familiar figure of the man who arrives

sought-after commodity. One of his major contributions was directing

late at the theater and disturbs two rows of people getting to his seat.

Stand Up and Cheer, the film that introduced Shirley Temple to the

Beggar on Horseback is amusing comedy, a play that will require long

world. He was also responsible for the early Charlie Chan movies and

rehearsal and hard work….”

had a hand in developing the style and persona of that much-loved character.

The last major piece in the puzzle of Santa Barbara’s production of

The 1923/24 Year-End Report of the Drama Branch of the Community Arts Association stated, “Miss Moise put ten weeks of exacting work into casting, rehearsing, and producing. To anyone who

Beggar on Horseback was David Imboden, Jr. A noted college athlete,

understood the technical demands of putting on such a play of many

Imboden was at some point recruited by Albert Herter as a model for

characters and changes of scenes, with only one intermission, with

his paintings and became inspired to enter the world of art, stagecraft,

much team work and with a cast of amateurs, while at the same time

and acting as well. Imboden acted and worked as scenic manager for

facing the innumerable problems that arose in completing and moving

several Community Arts productions. He made his movie debut in

into the new Theatre, the undertaking was simply unbelievable.”

1922 and would go on to play roles in more than 100 silent movies.

In April 1924, Imboden was called back from his film career to help with the launching of the new Lobero Theatre, where he was responsible for the incredibly difficult and intricate stagecraft required for Beggar on Horseback. In addition to several special effects such as the flying judge’s bench, the play required 18 scene changes and the

The Play

I

n the preface to the 1924 book containing the script for Beggar on Horseback, Alexander Woollcott, critic and commentator

for The New Yorker magazine, says that the play came about after

curtain only fell once. After the successful run of the play, Imboden

Winthrop Ames had delivered a 10-minute oral summary of a German

stayed to serve as manager of the Lobero Theatre. He even taught

Expressionist play to his two young neighbors, George S. Kaufman

stagecraft at Santa Barbara State College, but he and his wife, Hazel,

and Marc Connelly. The duo had recently teamed up to write

eventually left to pursue other opportunities in Hollywood.

several comedies that were well received by New York theatergoers.

When Nina Moise returned to Santa Barbara in mid-June 1924,

Ames wanted them to write the same story as the German play, but

the Morning Press reported, “Beggar on Horseback, the play that has

against an American background and imbued with American comic

broken all records during its New York run, will be produced in Santa

sensibilities. Ames himself inserted a pantomime into the play called

Barbara as the opening production for the community playhouse…

A Kiss in Xanadu and engaged Deems Taylor to compose the piano

and will be the first occasion when a play has been presented out of

accompaniment.

town during its metropolitan engagement.”

58 |

Woollcott considered it a dream play, an honorable descendant

THE WAY IT WAS

The breakfast scene from the pantomime, A Kiss in Xanadu (Courtesy Marc Appleton)

suggests that if Neil married her, he’d have the time to devote to the symphony he is trying to write. Neil’s self-sacrificing neighbor Cynthia Mason, who is secretly in love with him, also encourages him to marry Lutah Maria Riggs, who was a principal architectural designer of the new Lobero Theatre, entered the poster contest with this design. The story goes that palomino breeder Dwight Murphy, who organized the equestrian section of the parade, told her the reason she didn’t win was because she’d made the horse so emaciated. (Courtesy John Woodward)

Gladys so he’ll have the freedom to compose his symphony.

When Gladys’s parents come to tea at Neil’s rundown, sparsely furnished apartment, he is driven to distraction by their inane chatter

of Alice in Wonderland. When it opened on Broadway, the critic

that mingles with the wretched jazz music emanating from the street

for The New York Times wrote, “The novelty of Beggar on Horseback

below. After they leave, Albert gives Neil drugs to calm him down and

consists largely in burlesquing the new art of expressionism…. [It is] a

help him sleep. Then the nightmare begins.

Freudian dream, a self-revealing phantasmagoria that is most brilliantly witty and derisive.”

The title, Beggar on Horseback, refers to an old adage that says

The dreaming Neil finds himself in a train station with his easy chair and piano incongruously still in evidence. Mr. Cady, dressed in golf knickers and a frock coat, escorts Gladys, gowned in a confection

if you give a beggar a horse, he’ll ride to the devil, meaning, if you

of white ruffles and carrying a bouquet of banknotes, down one aisle

give money to someone who has none, he will become arrogant and

of the lighted theater to the stage. Four top-hatted ushers follow them

corrupt. Following is a synopsis of the play:

with bridal veils over their heads. Mrs. Cady and her son Homer

Neil McRae is a young struggling composer of classical music.

march down the other aisle wearing grotesque exaggerations of the

One of his piano students is Gladys Cady, the jazz-crazed daughter

attire they had worn to tea, Homer’s yellow tie having become a

of a wealthy New York industrialist, who fancies herself in love with

gigantic version of itself. After the “I do’s,” the scene quickly changes to

Neil. Neil is not interested in Gladys, but his friend, Dr. Albert Rice,

their new home, where Mrs. Cady arrives with a rocking chair attached

|

59

THE WAY IT WAS

The prince and princess meet in the dimly lit garden while Deems Taylor’s lyrical music expresses their longing (Courtesy Marc Appleton)

to her and proceeds to knit and chatter while Mr. Cady, who has a telephone attached to his chest, constantly makes business calls.

Neil’s pleas that he be allowed to work on his symphony and pantomime are ignored. Gladys only wants to dance and go to clubs, and Mr. Cady insists Neil come to work at his widget factory to learn the business. At the factory, Neil spends the entire first day trying

Angelica Bryce as Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Xanadu, is drawn to a nighttime romantic adventure (Courtesy Marc Appleton)

to requisition a pencil from Miss Hey and Miss You, who send him

Neil: Well?

through a demented bureaucratic maze.

Gladys: People don’t do that — making a scene in a restaurant!

That night, Gladys takes Neil to a cabaret where the waiter

Neil: I only want to know what it is.

wonders if they would care for “some Bordelaise à la Bordelaise, or

Gladys: But you must pretend that you do know! That’s the thing!

some Bordelaise à la Bordelaise, or some Bordelaise à la Bordelaise.”

Waiter: [Turns back to Neil] I’m sorry, sir — nobody knows.

And the following surreal conversation ensues:

Neil: [resigned] It doesn’t matter. I’ll take it.

Neil: What is Bordelaise à la Bordelaise?

The insanity mounts, and when Gladys tears up his half finished

Waiter: Very nice, sir.

symphony, Neil loses control and murders the entire family with a

Neil: Yes, I know, but what is it?

letter opener. The scene changes to a courtroom where Neil is being

Waiter: It’s served in a little round dish — very nice.

tried for the murders. The jury box is comprised of theater seats and

Neil: Can’t I find out what it is?

the judge’s bench is flanked by theater billboards. Hatcheck girls,

Waiter: I’ll see if anybody knows, sir. [He turns his back.]

candy sellers, ushers, and ticket takers circulate, but Neil’s piano and

Gladys: Neil!

easy chair are still in their usual positions. When the judge takes the

60 |

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THE WAY IT WAS bench, he is a judicially bewigged, cigar-smoking Mr. Cady.

preferable and prepares to meet the executioner. He is given a pill

The jury selection process and the trial take on a tenor of

to calm him and finds that he has awakened to the real world. The

Kafkaesque absurdity. Neil tries to justify his actions by claiming he

nightmare is over! A relieved Neil decides not to accept the horse

has killed them in self-defense because they were trying to murder his

that would have taken him to the devil, and marries Cynthia, the

art. Cynthia appears and suggests he present the pantomime he had

girl next door. Together they plan a life in which they can pursue

been writing as evidence.

their dreams.

Neil begins playing the lilting, tinkling music of A Kiss in Xanadu as the courtroom scenery moves into blackness, and two fairy-tale beds appear from the darkness, one for the Prince and one for the Princess of Xanadu, whose marriage has become mundane and empty. Each, however, longs for romantic connection. As Neil continues playing the music, attendants prepare the royal bedchambers and the Prince and Princess retire for the night.

A large open window lures the prince out into the garden, and

The Beggar in Santa Barbara

T

he availability of talent in Santa Barbara was at an all-time high in 1924, having been honed by the Community Arts

Association and the School of the Arts and drawn to town by their reputations. For the Santa Barbara production of Beggar on Horseback, Nina Moise recruited Arthur Bliss to play the role of Neil McRae. The

a few moments later, awakened by the moon, the princess too leaves

indefatigable Bliss was a British composer, musician, and conductor

the bedchamber. They have donned disguises and meet by chance

who blew into Santa Barbara and took the town by storm from 1923

in the park, neither recognizing the other. A tentative and tender

to 1925. He became active with the Community Arts Music branch,

courtship ensues, ending with a kiss. The sun rises and the princess

resuscitating the Community Chorus, organizing a municipal band,

flees, returning to her bedchamber. The prince soon follows. The next

and initiating the Community Arts Pop Concerts, which played at

morning they return to their humdrum life, never realizing who their

El Paseo. He also gave preconcert lectures for the symphony concerts

romantic companions had been.

sponsored by the Civic Music Committee, formed the Santa Barbara

From the back of the auditorium over a loudspeaker the verdicts

Chamber Music Society with his brother Howard and noted violinists

come in, “Rotten! … No Good! … HIGHBROW! …Terrible!”

Neil is declared guilty, and Mr. Cady says, “This thing of using the imagination has got to stop. We’re going to make you work in the right way. You see, your talents belong to us now, and we’re going to use every bit of them. We’re going to make you the most wonderful songwriter that ever lived!”

Neil is sentenced to the Cady Consolidated Art Factory, where he is placed in a cell and forced to write popular music. This he does for a time until his spirit breaks, and he cries out that he can’t go on. Mr. Cady arrives with a bullwhip and begins chanting, “You take our money and you live our life. We own you! We own you!” over and over.

Anguished, the still dreaming Neil decides death would be

62 |

Geraldine Graham was called the most beautiful girl in America by the Prince of Wales and played the role of the Lady in Waiting in the pantomine in Beggar on Horseback

THE WAY IT WAS

Arthur Bliss, who played Neil McRae, would be knighted for his musical contributions in Great Britain

Roderick White and Henry Eichheim, and conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. For his role as Neil in Beggar on Horseback, Bliss was one up on his counterpart on Broadway; he could actually play Deems Taylor’s musical compositions on stage.

Gertrude Hoffmann played the role of Cynthia Mason, Neil’s next-door neighbor. She was the daughter of Ralph Hoffmann, who

Ney Neen Farrell played the role of jazz-crazed Gladys Cady (Courtesy Jerry Murbach— www.drmacro@charter.net)

Silent Screen actress and local resident Ney Neen Farrell played

had come to Santa Barbara circa 1918 to teach natural history at

the role of the wealthy and frivolous Gladys Cady. Of her performance,

CATE School. He later became the director of the Santa Barbara

reviewer Julia Redington wrote, “Ney Neen Farrell makes [Gladys]

Museum of Natural History. Gertrude ended up marrying her co-star

the last word in hectic attractiveness. There never was anyone like our

and moved to Great Britain, where Arthur Bliss’s brilliant career in

Ney Neen for enjoying a role of that sort, and Gladys certainly gives

music continued to soar and he was knighted for his contributions.

her a chance to ‘step on the gas.’ I think we would have liked anything

Gertrude W. Hoffmann, Gertrude’s mother, was recruited by Nina

Miss Farrell did last night, in our joy at seeing her on the boards once

Moise to play Mrs. Cady. When Gertrude demurred saying she’d never

more, but in addition to our pleasure in having her back, we had the

acted before, Moise supposedly said, “Nonsense, you’ve been acting all

opportunity of applauding a nice bit of acting.”

your life.”

Gertrude’s rendition of the chattering, knitting, dim-witting Mrs.

Angelica Schulyer (Brown) Bryce, the former reigning queen of Caroline Astor’s “400,” and her husband, Peter Cooper Bryce, had

Cady won her many accolades. In 1932, she went to Hollywood and

moved to Santa Barbara circa 1923 and were establishing Florestal, a

became a sought-after character actress, playing in such films as Alfred

grand estate designed by George Washington Smith in Hope Ranch.

Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent, Cages, and The War of the Worlds.

Throwing herself into Santa Barbara’s cultural, social, and artistic life,

She also played the role of Mrs. Odetts in the 1950s television comedy

she was the perfect choice for the role of Her Royal Highness, the

series My Little Margie.

Crown Princess of Xanadu.

|

63

THE WAY IT WAS established himself as a respected character actor. Over his long career, he appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows, having roles in 14 films nominated for Best Picture awards and becoming a familiar face in such series as Star Trek, Hawaii Five-0, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza.

Opening Night On August 3, two masked men on horseback – one in the costume of a Spanish caballero and the other in rags – rode the streets of Santa Program for the opening production of the new Lobero Theatre, Beggar on Horseback (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Geraldine Pollock Graham also had a role in the pantomime. She

Barbara advertising the opening play at the Lobero the following night.

Since the Lobero had only 670 seats, the first night’s audience consisted of the people who made the theatre a brick and concrete possibility – the

was the daughter of oil baron William Miller Graham and Lee Eleanor

stockholders of the Lobero Theatre Company. The next two nights were

Graham, who built the original Bellosguardo in Santa Barbara in 1904.

reserved for members of the Community Arts Association, and then the

The Prince of Wales reportedly called Geraldine the prettiest girl in

doors were opened to the general public.

America, and though she was not destined to become royalty, she made a stunning First Lady in Waiting.

Ian Marcus Wolfe had studied singing, acting, and dancing and

Just before curtain, a brief ceremony established a liaison between the new Lobero and the old. Francisco Lopez, who had played at the opening of the original Lobero Theatre when he was eight years old,

debuted on Broadway in 1919. He played the role of the prince in A

played guitar, and Miss Geraldine Lopez danced a few steps of the

Kiss in Xanadu. Wolfe eventually moved his family to Los Angeles and

“Jota.” Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, who was on the board of the Carnegie

The first Old Spanish Days Fiesta was created to celebrate the opening of the new Lobero Theatre. Seen here is the prize-winning float entered by Mrs. Louisa E. Quintero. (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

64 |

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THE WAY IT WAS

Both the first Old Spanish Days and the run of the Beggar on Horseback concluded successfully on August 16, 1924 (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Queen Madalynne Romero (white dress, center) at Casa de la Guerra with members of the De la Guerra family (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Corporation, closed the ceremony by saying that he hoped the beautiful new theater would bring joy and faith and a broader life to

percent of the profits for a week’s run in San Francisco. The owners of

the community.

the play would not grant their permission.”

The newspaper named all the attendees on opening night. Taking

Both the Lobero Theatre and Old Spanish Days Fiesta are

up three columns, the list seemed endless and included nearly every

approaching their centenaries, thanks to the guiding light of hundreds

civic and cultural philanthropist and supporter in town. The honor of

upon hundreds of volunteers and patrons who have kept these

being the first one seated went to longtime resident Frances Dabney

institutions and traditions vibrant and alive for nearly 100 years. And

Oliver, who had established Rocky Nook in Mission Canyon in 1881.

thanks to that host of talented and enthusiastic players behind the

On August 13, Queen Madalynne Romero was crowned Queen of Fiesta and the four-day celebration commenced. Its

scenes and on the stage in 1924 who believed that dreams could come true and found a way to make them carnate.

m

success finally established the oft-hoped-for annual festival, which celebrated its 94th anniversary in 2018.

The Year End Report of the Community Arts Association

(Sources: Contemporary newspaper articles; 1923/24 Year-End Reports of the Drama Branch and of the Community Arts Association; The New York

summed up the achievement of the Beggar on Horseback thusly, “From

Times 17 February 1924; Edith Forbes Perkins Letters and Journal 1908-1925;

the opening night the cast carried the performance with ease and

City Directories; U.S. Census; Obituaries; Reginald Faletti, Beggar on Horseback,

the tempo of professionals. All those who worked on the production

Noticias Winter 1965; Arthur Bliss, As I Remember; Minutes of CAA Music

gave unsparingly of their technical ability, enthusiasm, and hard

Branch; Ivonne Shafter Eugene O’Neill and American Society; Ancestry.com

work… It proved to be a real triumph and was pronounced so even

resources; Pamela Skewes-Cox “In the Company of the Craigs,” Noticias Vol LIV,

by those who had seen the New York productions. Its success from

No. 4; Who’s Who in California 1958 and 1928; online IMDb records Matinee

a strictly professional standpoint was proved by the invitation from

Memories for Hamilton MacFadden; Kenneth Starr, Material Dreams; silentera.

the San Francisco manager, Mr. Homer Curran, who, after seeing

com for Ney Neen Farrell; Potter Theatre programs at Gledhill Library; Stella

the performance, offered to guarantee all expenses and sixty-five

Haverland Rouse, Santa Barbara’s Spanish Renaissance.)

66 |

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DINA LANDI

SARAH HANACEK

JASMINE TENNIS

ROBERT RISKIN

ONDESIGN JOHN SALADINO VILLA DI LEMMA

BY JAMES BUCKLEY

M

ost of Montecito’s great estates had names that fit their owner/builder’s expectations: Mira Vista, El Mirador, Piranhurst, Arcady, Graholm, Las Tejas, Val Verde, Casa Dorinda, El Fureidis (Paradise), et cetera.

When designer John Saladino came across the decrepit and forlorn 13 1/2-acre estate at the edge of Montecito, it had a “name” in a way. “The villa, I believe,” recalls Mr. Saladino during our leisurely conversation at his (4,000-sq-ft) Birnam Wood home, “was originally called Still Farm.”

Lockwood de Forest built the house for himself and his daughter in the late 1920s, mostly starting in 1930. “It was my understanding,” Saladino continues, “that he worked on it on and off for about four years, and they lived in the villa about ten years. Ozzie Da Ros, who founded Santa Barbara Stone, helped with the building of it.”

The large 11,000-sq-ft, 13 1/2-acre estate load-bearing stone structure has two-foot-thick walls. “It was barely a house in any real sense of the word,” John says, recounting that the previous owner “had used it as a weekend party house.” Its interior stone walls were painted in various garish colors, the original floors had been covered, electricity

70 |

(photo by Edward Clynes)

ONDESIGN and plumbing were in need of substantial upgrades, the roof leaked...

But Mr. Saladino, who’d designed and furnished many large

in Rome again. The house was sort of like a rambling Italian hill town, but it was a private residence.

homes, apartments, and estates during his long and successful career, saw what “Still Farm” could become and decided this would be the

Was it love at first sight?

great challenge of his life. His perseverance would have to equal his

By the time I found it, a vulgar nightclub owner from Los Angeles

optimism and his budget would be a match for his talent, but he dove

owned it and he had painted the whole house beige and then picked

in, purchased the property, christened his newfound treasure “Villa di

out some of the stones in baby-blue paint and others in pinky-coral

Lemma,” and set out to bring the structure back to its former beauty

paint. He had put in a pale-blue metal kitchen and kitchen cabinets.

and prominence.

It was all extremely upsetting. It was a horror. He had covered the

John no longer lives in Villa de Lemma; the property has changed

gorgeous original terra cotta dining room floors, which had been

hands a couple of times since he finished and then sold the estate.

made from the land, with granite tiles. I’m sure he had seen them in

One of the estate’s owners was talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who

Brentwood and admired them. The house needed a huge amount of

purchased the home and has also since sold it.

excavation to remove the violations and to get rid of them.

What follows is the rest of our conversation: What else appealed to you?

Q. Give us an idea of what you found when you first saw what you have named Villa di Lemma.

A. When I first drove up the asphalt – it was almost more than an

The second floor had what a lot of people would call attic-type gabled rooms, which I found utterly charming. You felt the ridge beam running through the spine to hold up the roof, and the ceilings would

eighth-of-a-mile driveway, circuitous, full of potholes, some of them

come down to what was then... in the 1930s, it was considered healthy

so deep they would have swallowed a motorcycle – we arrived at this

to take night air from bedroom to bedroom. The corridor connecting

big, gorgeous, magical 11,000-sq-ft stone ruin on 13-1/2 acres. I was

the bedrooms was open to allow fresh air to flow through. I enclosed

72 |

ONDESIGN all of that with leaded glass windows.

I bought 14,000 18th-century handmade terra cotta roof tiles from Italy. I put in new foundations, a new furnace. It had a four-car garage, so I confiscated two of them and turned them into a living room/kitchen for a live-in caretaker. It had a tiny staircase that was originally open only to the outdoors for their chauffeur. I made the bedroom – the chauffeur’s bedroom – connect with the lower level, keeping two bays for parking cars.

There were many rooms that opened up, and in one I created a secret “refrigerator” door. I did three doors. One was actually a freezer, one was a refrigerator, and one was a secret door that you opened and that took you onto a balcony from where you could look down into a two-story-high tube. It was a drafting room for me. It was an office for me with a balcony.

And then I took a porch, which had been obviously outdoors, and made it into the breakfast room and connected it to the kitchen.

Underneath the house, with the new foundations, I built a sort of subterranean bar to take care of guests around the pool below.

Although the main door is large, the entry itself is somewhat underplayed, as were, for example, many of Montecito architect George Washington Smith’s creations. Describe the interior layout, if you would.

The house was built on the side of what we would describe as a wedding cake, in three tiers, and the house was like a ski slalom that ran up and down the three tiers. Each layer of the house unfolds into whatever it was ultimately made to be by me. The top floor became guest rooms only, and we never used it unless there were guests. I never went upstairs. That had one, two, three, four bedrooms upstairs for a total of eight bedrooms.

My bathroom had been two rooms, and I made it into this huge bathroom and [removed] the low ceiling and went all the way up and put in skylights and a travertine shower with an antique French stone Corinthian capital in the shower. You could sit down to wash your feet when you were showering. It was wonderful. There was radiant heat

|

73

ONDESIGN now in the bathroom floors, and air conditioning.

I had to open up all the walls, dig out the grout between the stone

and I used to entertain in it often.

That was a big piece of property and it was a big house. It was

where I wanted to put in new light switches, because the house didn’t

supposed to be the final house, my final house. And I was living with

have any of that and I wanted not only switches, I wanted dimmers.

a lady then, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like a big stone rambling

There were seven fireplaces.

villa. It kind of scared her; she really didn’t like antiques. Her idea of heaven was Miami Beach in an all-white house with lots of glass.

How about the landscaping?

Ultimately, [she and the house were not compatible]. So, the villa became this gorgeous, large trophy that I found myself rambling around in. Then my body started to betray me; I realized that I While all the work was going on [inside and outside the house], I was assembling hundreds and hundreds of plants, as I could find them. They were kept in a sort of holding pen. When the house was starting to come into completion, that’s when I put in the full height,

don’t really enjoy stone floors and terra cotta floors and stone stairs; everywhere, there were stairs.

Now I’m very happy to be here (in Birnam Wood), with this as my only residence and my only responsibility. I finally made it.

40- to 50-year-old Italian cypresses lining the driveway. Those needed eight-foot-square holes with French drains and cabling and air vents to them.

How’d you find Montecito, other than coming up 101 and getting off at the exit?

Well, my late wife was alive and my European family, after much

Do you miss the house, now that you’ve moved to Birnam Wood?

badgering...

It was a four-year exercise in my ability to not let the house conquer me, and it almost did. When a house is that large, you don’t

When you say European family...?

conquer it, you bend to its will. This was actually a project only for a

My mother and father were born in Italy. My father was a doctor

professional. It would have humbled anyone else. It almost humbled

and he practiced in Rome. And then he moved to the United States

me. Villa di Lemma was a great joy, though. I certainly did enjoy it

because there was, in those days – and maybe it’s still practiced –

74 |

COLEEN BEAL

ONDESIGN primogenitor. The oldest male inherited everything.

Those days being?

That would’ve been 1923. He was born in 1899 and he inherited, as the firstborn, the house, and all the land and then the farmhouse, and he had a [younger] brother and a sister.

That was Sicily; my mother was Venetian, and I come from privilege. So, my father’s family, his brother and sister, were extremely resentful that he got it all. But my father was the one that did all the work. They sent him off to school at the age of seven, in Naples, and he finished up in Rome and lived in Rome and practiced medicine. [His brother and sister] were what we call in Italian, dolce far niente: sweet doing nothing. There’s a wine of the same name. My father used to call his brother the second Mr. Roosevelt, because he used to hold his cigarette like Mr. Roosevelt, in the European fashion. All he did was read the paper; he didn’t work.

My parents moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1920s; that’s where I was born. I went to a Jesuit prep school there and then went to

When we got to the Biltmore, it was like an apparition. First of

Notre Dame, got my B.F.A., and then got my master’s at Yale in 1963.

all, they had all the old cypress trees still standing and I could smell

I ended up practicing several professions: architecture, interior

eucalyptus trees, though I didn’t know what I was exactly enjoying,

design, furniture design, and landscape design. I did it globally, so I was everywhere. I still have clients left in Kuwait and France, and Egypt.

didn’t know the bouquet was from eucalyptus.

It had rained and I was intoxicated.

Of course, I could hear the pounding surf of the Pacific and I

So, getting back to Montecito or Santa Barbara...

immediately said to my father, “Let’s move here.” And he said, “I can’t

When I was 16 and my brother, who was probably 20, badgered

do that. I have an established medical practice, I can’t start over again,

my parents into a West Coast vacation because they had never been to

I’m too old.” I said, “Yes, you can.” “No.” He said, “When you grow

the West Coast.

up, you can move here.” And I never forgot it, and I started coming on

My brother – thank God for him – carved the path through the

my own around the age of 18 and 19.

forest of resistance, and we flew to Los Angeles and rented a Ford Fairlane convertible. My mother was convinced we were going to die in that car because it was going to roll over and kill us: it had a soft top. We ultimately drove up the coast, staying in Santa Barbara at the then-Biltmore.

76 |

You were attending Yale when you were 18 and 19, so you flew all the way across the country for vacations?

I said I came from privilege. My father never said “No” to me.

That, to him, was part of the education; to see the world and be

ONDESIGN international. I made good grades and he always told me, “If you do

You still had your New York office, though.

well in school, you will be able to do these things.”

I had a huge firm by then and a gorgeous triplex penthouse in

I’d stay at the Biltmore, of course.

New York, and the most magnificent weekend house you ever saw in

I also at that time started reading Henry Miller, Big Sur, and

Connecticut, so we didn’t need a third place. And my wife was – before

The Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. So, I got myself to Big Sur. I was

she died – telling me, “I just don’t want another big house. I don’t

very… I was sort of forward as only a 16- or 19-year-old can be. In

want anything else to take care of.” And she was right because you

those days, people were still listed in the phone book and I called up

ultimately, you learn: You don’t own houses, they own you.

Nathaniel Owings of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, who had the most gorgeous house that he had built in Big Sur called Wingspread.

It was like a Viking A-frame. It was just huge and it was all beautifully timbered.

Children?

I have a son; his name is Graham. He’s married, lives in Family?

Manhattan, and [heads up] Graham Saladino on East End Avenue. He

I was married in ‘69. And my wife (Virginia Lee Hendrick) and

runs the furniture division of the office, and there’s a showroom with

I, after we married, we would go to San Juan Capistrano and stay with

80 pieces of furniture I design. We manufacture everything in America;

a Notre Dame friend of mine who moved there, and we continued up

have from day one. So, I didn’t offshore anything to China and the

the coast to Santa Barbara, where we’d stay at the Biltmore and we’d

furniture was all labeled “made in USA.” I’m very proud of that.

look at property.

I ultimately said to her, “We’re going to live here. This is as close

I have a very loving, warm family and a warm relationship with them. I speak to him usually every day, and now I’m here and he’s

as I think you’ll come to an earthly paradise.” She, unfortunately, died

there and I kind of think, well, if New York only had this weather, but

in ’85. But, I continued looking for property after she was gone and

it doesn’t [laughs]. And I don’t want to ever look at snow again as long

bought my first house in ’89.

as I live, or tire chains and kitty litter to make traction.

m |

77

2018

best of

santa barbaraî —

Best of

Santa Barbara

ÂŽ

Finalist

2 0 1 7

Profiles

BY STEVEN LIBOWITZ PORTRAIT PHOTO BY JOHN SCHNELL MUSIC ACADEMY PHOTOS

BY PHIL CHANNING

WARREN STALEY

T

he new chairman of the board of directors of the Music Academy of the West (MAW) doesn’t play a musical instrument. Truth is, he never really has, not since he was a

high school student back in Springfield, Illinois, anyway.

“I played clarinet in grade school and string bass in high school,” Warren Staley recalled. “But I wasn’t very good. It was pretty clear I really wasn’t very talented. But it gave me an appreciation of classical music and what it takes to be a great musician.”

Of course, the Music Academy – which has run a summer festival

industries and beefed up its commodity trading while investing heavily in training and shared leadership.

Meanwhile, Cargill also stepped up its humanitarian efforts under Staley, as his focus on community enrichment programs encouraged increasing the potential of people in the places where the company

for young classical musicians on its Montecito campus dating back to

operated, leading to efforts to build schools and increase health care

1947 – didn’t recruit Staley for his musical prowess, instead coveting

– efforts that were summed up in the company’s re-branding effort in

his acumen in other areas. And it’s pretty fair to say that Warren Staley

2002 that introduced a new company purpose, to be “the global leader

knows a thing or two about business.

in nourishing people.”

From 1998 until his retirement in 2007, Staley ran Cargill as

Those efforts were instilled in Staley early on in his career, in

president, CEO, and later chairman of the board, capping an almost

fact taking shape during a fellowship while he was earning his MBA

40-year (and nearly exclusive) career at the food, agriculture, financial

at Cornell, when he and his wife, Mary Lynn, an elementary school

services and industrial products company that is the largest privately

teacher he married just 10 days earlier, accepted a Ford Foundation

held corporation in the United States. Under his leadership, Cargill –

fellowship in 1967, where they spent time working with the poor in

which would rank somewhere in the teens on Fortune 500 if it were a

Colombia.

public company – saw its revenues and profits rise dramatically even as it evolved to become more of a partner to the farm, feed, and food

80 |

“I grew up in a small town in a neighborhood that was very common and went to high school with people who were just like me. I

hadn’t even learned any foreign languages. I was very interested to have experiences where I could see what it was like in another country,” Staley explained. “That’s where we got our first look at real poverty. I

So after finishing Cornell University, Staley returned to Cargill as a trainee and never left.

“I could tell early on that it was a great company with good

remember thinking, ‘What the heck is going on and what can we do

people, a real meritocracy,” he explained. “I liked the international

about it?’ That’s what first got us thinking about those things.”

dimension and that I could have a lot of different jobs and learn a lot

South America is also where Staley got his first exposure to

to satisfy my curiosity and also get to see the world. My vision was

international business, using contacts he’d made during a summer

to get all the experience I could and then, eventually, be one of the

internship at Cargill the previous year to talk to company managers

small group of people who ran the company, figuring out how to grow

in Argentina, Brazil, and Peru to grill them about what they did. “I

and improve it. I wasn’t thinking about CEO, but being involved in

didn’t know anything about business before I went to Cornell. I just

leadership was always part of the plan.”

knew I didn’t want to be an engineer after spending a year with an

When the top job was offered to him, Staley wasted no time

oil company. But after I spent time seeing and talking to these people

implementing his ideas, a top priority of which was shared leadership,

about what they did, I felt I could see myself working for Cargill.”

he said.

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81

PROFILES “I picked seven others who had different backgrounds, had lived in other places and came from working in various industries, because I wanted it to be true that there wouldn’t be an issue that at least one of us wouldn’t know enough about.”

It took about three years to effect the change in the company

had been a real trooper moving with me wherever I went early in my career, and I always told her, ‘I’ll live anywhere you want after we retire.’”

Although he wasn’t familiar with Santa Barbara, when the couple spent a few days here back in the late 1990s, Mary Lynn knew immediately that’s where she wanted to land. So, the Staleys bought

culture toward becoming more customer-focused, but Staley was

a home in Ennisbrook. “I spent a lot of time on the road while I was

proud of the results.

CEO, so I didn’t get our here much before 2007. But I love it here now.”

“We improved everything – the business, the environment, the culture, the financial results. It was great. And it was a lot of fun.”

When Staley’s tenure at Cargill came to a close in 2007 due to the

The Staleys had already discovered the Music Academy of the West even before, when a friend introduced them to the performances over the summer. But Warren was too busy to do much more than take

company’s policy of mandatory retirement at age 65, Warren and Mary

in a concert or two when he was in the area. Once he had a chance to

Lynn moved to Montecito full time.

catch more events after retiring, he was impressed.

“We decided that when we retired, we wouldn’t stay in Minnesota, so we started looking around well before,” Staley explained. “Mary Lynn

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“The program is very innovative. There are so many different kinds of music,” Staley said. “I really enjoy watching the young artists,

PROFILES having an opportunity to appreciate and see the genius in these 20-year-old

Given his success at Cargill, one might think he had

musicians is really a thrill. And I was attracted to MAW by the four-year

big plans in mind to change the culture at the Miraflores

relationship with the New York Philharmonic that just came to a close last

campus too. But Staley isn’t looking to instigate any radical

summer. Getting a top organization like that to come to Santa Barbara was

departures. Indeed, he’s more focused on implementing the

particularly impressive.”

successful strategy he employed at Cargill soon after taking

The Music Academy of the West asked Staley to head its board several

over the reins: calling on the strengths of others with different

years ago. But he was still too busy with other commitments to accept right

experiences and expertise than his own, and trusting in the

away. That included splitting his time between serving on the boards of U.S.

people who run the place day to day.

Bancorp, Target, Excel Trust, and PACCAR – not to mention a member of

Indeed, he lauded the strengths and diversity of the

the U.S. President’s Export Council – plus a slate of nonprofits, including

other new MAW board members: Ted Cronin, founding

Opportunity International, which makes micro-loans across the globe, and

partner of Manchester Capital Management; Dean Eric

Habitat for Humanity, including going on 10-day builds with Mary Lynn,

Carter, an executive at Patagonia, Inc. in Ventura who

who is on the national board of the organization that builds homes and

previously headed up Human Resources for Sears Holdings

shelters around the world.

Corporation; and Stephanie Shuman, who also serves on Knowing he’d already decided to leave the

corporate boards when he turned 75, Staley joined MAW’s three years ago. When 2018 rolled around,

the boards of The Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter and Lincoln Center Theater.

“It’s great to have people who have exposure in other

despite his desire to not take on any additional

communities to help us understand what we should be doing

responsibilities – and a bigger pull toward giving

and what the future is,” Staley said. “We want people with

back in the areas of alleviating poverty and

the skills, people who can contribute, people who can help us

improving education that dates back to half a

grow and expand and make this the top summer destination

century ago in Colombia – he was happy to step up

for the best musicians in the world. My role is to spend time

as MAW board chair at the beginning of the year.

with those people and help us have fun getting it done.”

“I’m not a musician, but I do love classical

No one would doubt Staley’s commitment – or his

music,” he explained. “I’m really impressed with

loyalty. Not after a career spent at one corporation and a

what the academy is doing across the country and

marriage that has endured far longer than that. Warren and

in creating an international presence. Bringing all

Mary Lynn have been together since they met in college in

the young people here in the summer resonates

the early 1960s, and they just celebrated their 50th wedding

with me, because I lived and worked in so many

anniversary.

of the places in the world where they come from, especially the Asian countries and in Europe. I’m attracted to the willingness to innovate and bring

The secret to a happy marriage, he said, is really quite simple.

“We’re always respectful of each other,” he said. “Really,

new people into the world of classical music for the

you just treat your spouse for your whole life like you did

next generation.”

when you first met.”

m |

83

CURIOUS TRAVELER BY JERRY CAMARILLO DUNN, JR.

84 |

ASPEN:

THE GLORY AND THE GLITZ

A

t age 24, I drove out of L.A. with my car window down and my radio cranked up. Heading sort of toward Idaho, I took a right at Salt Lake City and ended up in Aspen.

Colorado’s summer beauty knocked me out. It was like walking

into an issue of National Geographic, all soaring peaks and crystalline streams in bright, clear colors. You had to pinch yourself to believe a place so beautiful was really real.

For awhile during that summer of 1971, I camped on Castle Creek, outside town. The view through my tent flap took in aspen groves and the weathered cabins of an 1880s ghost town. Later I moved into Aspen and put a down payment ($9,000, almost every dime I had) on a log cabin. Originally the town’s first ski lodge, it stood at the base of Ajax Mountain right next to the number 1 lift. To pay my mortgage, I packed the bedrooms with hippies and ski bums. Out the windows, we saw nothing but mountain – green grass that summer, yellow aspen leaves in fall, white snow as winter came.

In spring, a group of flint-eyed condominium developers knocked on my door and bought me out. And so I became part of Aspen’s second boom, though I couldn’t foresee how it would end up. Today the old silver mining town has been platinum plated. Sixty billionaires keep second (or third or fifth) homes here, some as large as 40,000 square feet, but occupied only a few weeks a year.

The local airport is a parking lot for gleaming private jets. Big money funded the contemporary Aspen Art Museum; its scale and design irk many locals, who find the museum way too New York, an ill fit for a western mountain town whose heritage buildings include an 1890s opera house.

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85

TRAVEL As a travel writer, I realized that my job was to find the best of the new Aspen while honoring the past. My first stop was the 1889

world’s largest silver nugget: 2,340 pounds.

But all booms go bust, and quiet decades followed. Then in the

Hotel Jerome, a sandstone and brick edifice on Main Street. It was

1940s, the town was reinvented as a winter ski resort and summer arts

built by New Yorker Jerome B. Wheeler, who had married a Macy, as in

center. By the 1950s, Hollywood stars had discovered Aspen; they

department store. Venturing to the wild frontier, he invested in mines

liked it because they could be themselves. The Jerome was a favorite

and became Aspen’s rich uncle. Wheeler’s hotel boasted new-fangled

hangout. Gary Cooper would sit out front with local old-timers to girl-

electric lights and one of the first elevators in the West. Guests came all

watch. When a raucous John Wayne fell off his bar stool (again), locals

the way from Paris for the Jerome’s gala opening ball.

helped him home. It never made the papers.

The hotel has been ground zero for Aspen’s social life ever

In the 1970s, Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and

since – especially the J-Bar saloon. Silver miners once bellied up to its

Loathing in Las Vegas) held court at a table in the bar. When he ran

Chippendale bar to drink to their good fortune in the era when Aspen’s

for sheriff on the Freak Power ticket, his poster showed a fist holding a

mines were spewing out so much ore that it piled up in drifts in the

peyote button. During the campaign, Thompson shaved his head, then

streets awaiting wagons to haul it out. The Smuggler Mine yielded the

referred to the crew-cut Republican Party candidate as “my long-haired

86 |

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Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list is comprised of approximately 2,200 financial advisors. It was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to measure factors such as: quality of practice, industry experience, compliance record, assets under management (which vary from state to state) and revenue. Neither UBS Financial Services Inc. or its employees pay a fee in exchange for these ratings. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one clientís experience. As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers both investment advisory services and brokerage services. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that clients understand the ways in which we conduct business and that they carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide to them about the products or services we offer. For more information, visit our website at ubs.com/workingwithus.

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TRAVEL opponent.” After the writer’s 2005 suicide, pals such as Jack Nicholson and Johnny Depp (star of the movie version of Fear and Loathing) held a rowdy memorial at the hotel.

I remembered the Jerome as a slightly rundown relic of the Victorian West, but I checked into an imaginatively redone hotel with a gentlemen’s club vibe. The wood-paneled living room showcased a Navajo-red rug, comfortable couches, and a U.S. flag with only 38 stars (a nod to Colorado, the 38th state). In the hallways upstairs, wallpaper of black, brown, and gold looked like an antique cigar band. In my room, the flat-screen television was framed like a painting.

Asking questions of a friendly desk clerk, I learned that over the years the hotel has also served as barber shop, morgue, and post office.

(Old letter cubbies are still there by the front desk.) I heard the story behind a painting in the corridor called Water Boy, commemorating a 10-year-old who drowned long ago in the hotel swimming pool. His shivering, towel-clad form has been seen on the third floor, it’s said, but then he vanishes, leaving only watery footprints.

Any historic hotel worth its salt should come with a ghost story.

ASPEN SITS IN the middle of the great outdoors, so I headed to the Maroon Bells, the much photographed peaks you’ve probably seen on calendars. Two stone pyramids soar past 14,000 feet against the blue Colorado sky – a scene perfectly mirrored in Maroon Lake.

In the warm light of late afternoon, photographers were setting up tripods and looking through lenses as long as French baguettes.

A couple posed for a wedding photo; she in a white dress, he in blue jeans. A busload of Chinese tourists admired the view. Everybody had a good time, but the lakeshore felt more like a city park than a nature sanctuary.

For a more serene outing, simply follow an old rule of thumb known to park rangers: The number of people you’ll see is inverse to your distance from the parking lot. In the 1970s, I used to hike the trail

88 |

TRAVEL that climbs three miles from Maroon Lake through meadows, forests, and scree fields, then dips down to Crater Lake. There you might have the Maroon Bells view all to yourself, a close-up that no photographer could capture.

NEXT I EXPLORED the Aspen of yesterday on a walking tour of the residential West End. We began at the WheelerStallard House, an 1888 Queen Anne brick home that was regarded as a grand mansion in its day but seems modest now, its mere 5,000 square feet considered small by Aspen standards. The local historical society has its office there.

Society guide Jane Click walked our small group through the tree-shaded neighborhood, and soon pointed to a house with a fancy mansard roof. In 1885, a shoe merchant moved in with his new wife – after, it was rumored, poisoning his old wife. The house later belonged to industrialist and philanthropist Walter Paepcke, who launched the Aspen Skiing Company, the music festival, and other cultural institutions, thus creating the “Aspen Idea” of nurturing body, mind, and spirit.

Downtown on my own, I visited the 1891 Pitkin County Courthouse. The statue of Justice outside never got a blindfold, apparently so she could keep an eye on the era’s corrupt politicians.

The courthouse figured in two notorious events of 1977, one being the murder trial of singer-actress Claudine Longet, who shot her boyfriend, ski racer Spider Sabich, but paid only a small fine and served 30 days. Serial killer Ted Bundy, facing murder charges, jumped out a second-story window and escaped into the mountains, running free for almost a week.

Later, I explored Aspen’s downtown pedestrian malls, created in the mid-1970s and allowing easy access to restaurants and shops.

When I lived in Aspen, the downtown still had a hardware store, a grocery store, and other businesses where local residents could shop. But with Aspen’s flashy new wealth, the shopping leans toward

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89

TRAVEL Christian Dior and Gucci. (Both boutiques are, ironically, located in

that Aspen has become a highly urbanized place, incongruously built in

a former auto garage.) Shop windows are fluffed up with cashmere

a mountain wilderness.

sweaters trimmed in fur for the ski season. Even the secondhand stores have price tags in the hundreds of dollars.

I did find things to covet, such as the historic photographs of

Gazing across the valley, I could almost believe that my log cabin was still there at the foot of the mountain. But it had been buried under luxury lodges and condominiums. I took a deep breath and listened to

Native Americans by Edward S. Curtis at Valley Antiques. Owner Mia

the aspen leaves rustle. In the mountains, at least, I was high above it

Valley said she’s lived in Aspen since age five, so I asked her about the

all – and glad to be there.

glitzy aspect of town. (During Christmas week, says The New York Times, “You can start to feel out of place if you’re not wearing a fulllength fur and carrying a small dog.”) Mia reassured me: “Don’t worry, there’s a subculture of normal people just living their lives,” she said.

“That’s still the nice thing about Aspen.”

I was further heartened when I found Carl’s Pharmacy pretty

ALL-ACCESS ASPEN STAY

much as I remembered it, a touch of Norman Rockwell on Main

HOTEL JEROME: 330 E. Main Street, (970)

Street. Family-owned, it has three floors jammed with everything from

920-1000, hoteljerome.aubergeresorts.com. Large

cosmetics to fishing worms, from bottles of booze to greeting cards.

rooms and suites with stylish bespoke furniture, luxury amenities, 24-hour room service. Auberge Spa

FOR PERSPECTIVE on the old and nouveau

treatments use local botanicals and minerals. Rooms from $625, suites from $825.

Aspen, I took a jeep ride up Smuggler Mountain in the company of the

ST. REGIS ASPEN RESORT: 315 E. Dean St., (970)

amusing and knowledgeable Mike Monroney from the historical society.

920-3300, www.stregisaspen.com. Tucked against the

The bumpy dirt track bounced us around like rag dolls. (“If your seat

mountainside within easy walk of downtown, this modern

belt doesn’t work,” said the driver, “we’ll duct-tape you in place.”) We

take on a sprawling brick manor house has 179 rooms and

passed the famous Smuggler Mine, still operating and now a popular

suites featuring marble baths with soaking tubs, desks

hiking destination for local residents.

designed by Ralph Lauren, large flat-screen TVs; suites

At a clearing, we got out and walked through the aspen groves that

include butler service. Fine dining, 24-hour room service.

now cover the timbers and debris from old mines. There were miles of

Remede Spa offerings range from aromatherapy to yoga,

tunnels below us. “It might make you nervous,” said Mike, “if you knew

with oxygen lounge, steam caves. Rooms from $900,

how much empty space is under your feet.”

suites from $1,400.

We emerged from the trees at a viewpoint high above town. All four of Aspen’s ski areas were in view across the valley, their manicured

EAT

runs now a summer green with scatterings of wildflowers.

JIMMY’S BODEGA: 307 S. Mill St., (970) 710-2182,

Our walk through the groves had been quiet, but now I heard the racket of construction and traffic down below. And all at once, I realized

90 |

jimmysbodega.com. Seafood (popular: crab cakes),

m

TRAVEL

(photo by Hotel Jerome - Auberge Resorts Collection)

cocktails (tequila, mezcal), extensive wine list. Local residents

by Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban; free admission,

gather in the lively bar, which offers discounted meals.

contemporary art. Tip: good café on the roof.

PYRAMID BISTRO: 221 E. Main St., (970) 925-5338,

MAROON BELLS: 10 miles south of Aspen, up Maroon

pyramidbistro.com. Tasty Nutritarian” (“offering the most

Creek Road, aspenchamber.org/maroon-bells. In summer

nutrients per calorie”) menu focused on vegetables, poultry,

and fall, you’re required to take a shuttle bus. Tip: Before 8

seafood. Recommended: vegetable pot stickers with curried

am or after 5 pm, you can drive your own car.

peanut sauce; Galangai curry bowl. Located upstairs at the

ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

fine Explore Booksellers; treetop deck.

WHEELER-STALLARD HOUSE/TOURS: 620 W.

DO VISITOR INFORMATION: aspenchamber.org

Bleeker St., (970) 925-3721, aspenhistory.org. Historic home with museum exhibits; tours include a popular pub crawl.

ASHCROFT GHOST TOWN: 10 miles south of Aspen,

ALTITUDE!

up Castle Creek Road; self-guided tour.

ASPEN IS LOCATED 7,908 feet above sea level. To

ASPEN ART MUSEUM: 637 E. Hyman Ave., (970) 925-

avoid altitude problems, take it easy the first few days, drink

8050, aspenartmuseum.org. Glass-cube-in-a-basket structure

lots of water, limit alcohol consumption, and use sunscreen.

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91

REAL ESTATES OA K V I E W

T

his sweeping American-style manor feels as if it has always been here, amid towering oaks on 3.4 pastoral acres. Architect Don

Nulty, landscape architect Mark Rios, and feng shui master David Cho combined their considerable talents to create the peaceful estate, sparing no expense and overlooking no detail or amenity. The result is a home that shows equal appreciation for history, modernity, sophistication, and comfort.

The overall aesthetic is traditional East Coast style. The main residence is approximately 10,000-sq-ft. With 6 bedrooms, 8 full baths and 3 halfbaths, nine interior and two exterior fireplaces, formal living and dining rooms, piano bar, family and commercial kitchens, “West Wing” home office, screening room, wine cellar and numerous terraces, verandas and loggias, this estate built in 2005 is already a classic. The present owners, Rob and Sheryl Lowe, described it to Architectural Digest as a “house perfect for mud boots or high heels.”

Alfresco meals can be prepared in the outdoor kitchen and barbecue area overlooking the rolling lawn. The grounds also encompass a twobedroom guesthouse with a kitchenette, an 800-square-foot pool cabana with a full kitchen, and a championship tennis court.

This estate is offered for $47,000,000 by Suzanne Perkins of Compass Realty.

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(Photos by Jim Bartsch)

GRACE DESIGNS

We are proud to announce this dramatic ocean view garden was named the 2018 Gold Award winner by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

The Art of Outdoor Living gracedesignassociates.com | (805) 687-3569

REAL ESTATES R A N C H O D O S P U E B LO S

R

ancho Dos Pueblos, rich with history, is one of the most interesting oceanfront ranches along the spectacular Southern

California coast. In 1542, the Spanish explorer, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, anchored off a small cove, observed two Canalino, later known as Chumash Indian villages, located on bluffs on either side of a running creek. From that point on, Dos Pueblos Ranch was given birth. Today this 210-acre ranch, located on the Gaviota Coast, is the heart of the original 15,000-acre Rancho Dos Pueblos 1842 land grant.

The ranch estate includes the stately 5-bedroom and 7-bathroom Casa Grande mansion built in the 1920s classic California Spanish-style architecture. The private sandy beach area compound rivals most of the county and state beach parks. Multiple buildings on the property include 9 guest and employee residences, barns, and other support structures. The ranch has mostly level usable acres with avocados, cherimoyas, and many specimen trees, bisected by Dos Pueblos Creek. A unique abalone aquaculture operation is located on the property with a permitted recirculating water pipeline to the Pacific Ocean. This farming operation could continue if the new owner chooses, or they could simply build a dream home, have horses, and ride a different trail every week.

Rancho Dos Pueblos is offered for $39,500,000 by Kerry Mormann & Associates of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

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EXCEPTIONAL 84 ACRE

Montecito Coastal Ranch 4 Bedrooms / Pool/Spa / Listed at $15,995,000

BABARA KOUTNIK , ESTATE SPECIALIST 805.565.8811

· bckoutnik@aol.com

CalRE#00809916

ANDREW TEMPLETON , ESTATE SPECIALIST 805.895.6029

· fsgroup@cox.net

CalRE#01397847

Ortega Ridge Ranch is a magnificent coastal agricultural estate with unsurpassed ocean, island, coastline and mountain views from every vantage point. The private, single level Spanish Villa is beautifully appointed with four bedroom suites, large office and separate Guest Casita. Spacious courtyard entry has a large swimming pool, open patios and covered veranda along with regulation tennis court.

The stunning property is approximately 84+ acres planted in avocados and lemons, professionally managed, that offers low property taxes due to the Williamson Act Agriculture Preserve status.

COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker Logo, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury logo service marks are registered or pending registrations owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

REAL ESTATES ARCHITECTURAL S O P H I S T I C AT I O N

U

nderstated, restorative, and elegant, this wine country residence located in Santa Ynez, is both subtle and

dramatic. Inspired by the romance of the region, the architect Frederick Fisher has created a residence infused with integrity, authenticity, warmth, and intimacy. Artfully designed as a rural hacienda, the property encompasses more than 19 acres of rolling hillsides with magnificent views of the mountains and the valley. Built in 2006, the home has 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and a chef’s kitchen. It is organized around a central open-air courtyard evoking a seamless integration of spaces, blurring the lines between interior and exterior. Three outdoor spaces and a 70-foot linear pool take advantage of the Mediterranean climate and offer contrasting experiences of the landscape, which are both contemplative and dramatic.

Through his residential work, Frederick Fisher weaves together fundamental themes: our relationship to nature, the interplay of living and working, and the integration of art into daily life. The timeless simplicity of the architecture combines the characteristics of structural integrity, authenticity of materials, and pervasive use of light. All this creates an environment that endures, a residence that transcends shelter for those who appreciate the integration of artful living, working, and entertaining.

Offered by Nancy Kogevinas of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices for $6,150,000.

(Photos by Jim Bartsch and Eric Foote/Elevated Horizons)

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2733

Montecito, CA 93108 | 2733SycamoreCanyon.com 5BD/8BA | 9,430± SQ. FT. | $11,999,999

Sycamore Canyon Road

LOVEWORN

PETER Z I M B L E

peter.zimble@sothebyshomes.com 310.266.7600 | peterzimble.com

D U STY BA K E R

dusty.baker@sothebyshomes.com 805.570.0102 | dustybakerrealestate.com

DA N B E D E R

dan.beder@sothebyshomes.com 310.213.7835

BEVERLY HILLS BROKERAGE | MONTECITO BROKERAGE | sothebyshomes.com/socal Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. SIR DRE # 899496. Featured Agent DRE: Peter Zimble 02048379, Dusty Baker 01908615, Dan Beder 0644137.

REAL ESTATES S A N D P O I N T B E AC H CO LO N Y

L

ocated in the prestigious gated Sand Point beach colony near Santa Barbara and Montecito, this magnificent Cape Cod-style oceanfront

estate features a wondrous home and comfortable, private guest house on nearly 1.5 acres. Facing approximately Âą120 feet of beach frontage, the main residence offers 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths plus 2 half-baths. The charming guest house provides a bedroom, bathroom, sitting room, and kitchenette.

The expansive wraparound deck and on-deck spa overlook the ocean and pristine beach, while a refreshing lap pool offers views of the revered Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve and beyond to the mountains. Overall, this spectacular estate is a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship.

Dark and richly stained wood floors contrast with clean, fresh, white walls and woodwork that serve to showcase nature’s palette of sand and ocean resting just beyond expanses of multi-pane windows. Ocean panoramas grace most rooms of the home.

The list of amenities, tasteful accouterments, and convenient recreational, social, and cultural options goes on and on. Suffice it to say that this magnificent Cape Cod-style oceanfront estate is nothing short of magical.

Cristal Clarke of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices offers this estate for $26,500,000.

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(Photos by Eric Foote and David Palermo)

New Listing!

NESTLED IN THE EXCLUSIVE HOPE RANCH COMMUNITY Single level mountain view estate on 1.14 acres with 5 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths, family room, and pool.

SilvestreHopeRanch.com

M RYKE

A N TA

B

AR

NT

.

S

TR

ECITO .

EA

N

T

. . . .

B A R A. M O

TERRY RYKEN 805.896.6977

TerryJRyken@gmail.com TerryRyken.com

OCEAN BLUFF PARADISE IN HOPE RANCH Grand Spanish Estate with Ocean and Island views, 4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths, elevator, pool and a tower room.

OceanBluffParadise.com Š2018 Terry Ryken. CalBRE# 01107300. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. Exact dimensions can be obtained by retaining the services of an architect or engineer. This is not intended to solicit property already listed.

REAL ESTATES COV E T E D B A L L A R D

I

n the Santa Ynez Valley, one is enveloped in a landscape of vineyards, horse ranches, and farms. All who are fortunate enough to live here

closely guard its quiet serenity. Situated in the prestigious Still Meadow enclave is one of the area’s finest and most impressive 5+ acre estates.

Perched on a knoll in the township of Ballard is an exquisite, French-style Vineyard Estate. Grand entry gates introduce a meandering olive tree- and stone-lined drive leading past the vineyard to a motor court adorned with mature landscape and stone walls.

The expertly designed and crafted main residence is 5,500+/- sq ft, featuring 4 bedrooms, and 5.5 bathrooms. It is dressed in the finest materials such as marble and granite countertops, solid wood custom cabinetry, hydronic heated limestone, and French oakwood floors, to name a few.

Outdoors is a swimming pool, bocce court, kitchen, and wood-burning pizza oven. There is a private 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom second residence.

This estate is complete with an orchard, vegetable garden, and a large storage barn with an office and bathroom and second-floor living quarters.

The 3.5+/- acre vineyard contains approximately 1,000 roussanne, 1,000 viognier, and 500 marssanne grape vines; all Rhone, France, patented stock.

Offered at $4,950,000 by Carey Kendall of Village Properties.

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(Photos by Jim Bartsch)

Ranch

& Lifestyle

Estates

1,800 AC Las Varas Ranch | Gaviota $80,000,000

210 AC Dos Pueblos Ranch | Gaviota $39,500,000

6,500 AC CaĂąada Larga | Ventura $27,000,000

115 AC Hollister Ranch #121 | Gaviota $19,700,000

136 AC Happy Canyon Ranch | Santa Ynez $6,995,000

47 AC JB Polo Ranch | Buellton $4,500,000

200 AC Ontare | Santa Barbara $4,500,000

80 AC w/ Ocean Views | Goleta $3,795,000

80 AC Refugio | Goleta $3,250,000

Thinking of buying or selling?

Call Us Today!

805.682.3242

www.CoastalRanch.com DRE 00598625/1975165 Š2018 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, and a franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

REAL ESTATES W E LCO M E H O M E TO T H E WO O D S

T

he Woods is a luxurious collective of four modern estates each located on

more than an acre of land on San Antonio Creek Road in Santa Barbara. The Woods is currently under construction with the first two homes set to launch to the public next month. The following two estates will be completed by the end of year. The craftsmanship of these custom estates is aligned with Santa Barbara’s dedication to architectural design and homage to modern and contemporary lifestyles.

Each of these four quality homes have main living rooms that offer panoramic-style doors for open-air living and seamless entertaining from the interior to exterior. Gourmet kitchens including large islands with breakfast bar and secondary prep sink, and top-of-the-line appliance package, have direct access to an exterior entertaining area for al fresco dining, and an open layout that flows easily into the living and dining areas.

The Woods lifestyle was envisioned to connect with the outdoors, while infusing the romance and charm of the American Riviera, all within the luxury of a modern estate. Serenity Lane allows privacy while still giving the neighborhood environment.

Offered by the Zia Group of Keller Williams Luxury International with prices starting in the high $2 millions.

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(renderings by Murray Duncan Architects)

PORTICO FINE ART GALLERY

Jordan Pope End of a Perfect Day . 30 x 40 . oil

Fine Art Weekly On-going Art Classes | In-Studio Packages for Visitors

porticofineart.com 1235 Coast Village Road, Montecito

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Open Daily

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805 . 695 . 8850

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info@porticofineart.com

REAL ESTATES BARBER BUILDERS

S

anta Barbara’s only shipping container home is a masterpiece built by General Contractor

Don Barber. Don, who is a master craftsman, and a cabinet maker by trade, founded Barber Builders in 1993. Today he manages a company of 20 full time construction professionals that specialize in high end custom homes and residential remodeling.

Homeowners Bret and Dani Stone were highly motivated to build a shipping container home, and in 2016 they hired Don Barber to build it. Bret is an environmental attorney and true to his passion for green build and environmental friendly development, he and his wife were committed to seeing

JO SH B LUM ER

AB DESIGN STUDIO A R C H I TE C T

S AR A H M CFA DD E N

MCFADDEN DESIGN GROUP I N T ER I OR D ES I GN ER

D ON BA R BE R

BARBER BUILDERS GE N ER A L CO N T R AC T OR

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work ethic and attention to detail far exceeded my expectations. Don is an artist and demands perfection. He builds to his own very high set of standards.”

Don personally designed all the custom wood elements in the home, including the built-in desks, interior doors, cabinetry, stair railing and floating stair treads, suspended ceiling panels, skylights, and custom container door wood inlays.

Barber Builders additionally did all the concrete work on the project. This includes 12 ft high x 1 ft thick poured in place concrete walls throughout the home.

Don designed and custom built all the exterior concrete flatwork, pool coping, and foundation systems.

Don coordinated and hand selected every shipping container on the project their dream come to life.

Don taught himself the ins and outs of this unique type of construction in order to complete this project.

(there are seven of them: 4 x 40ft containers which make up the upstairs, and 3 x 20ft containers which were used for the kitchen galley and the detached shed).

This included several trips by Don to the port of Long Beach where custom

He had no prior experience building with shipping containers, but collaborated with Cor10 Studios to source the containers and develop efficient systems to produce the steel fabrication needed. The home is one of the only high end residential shipping container projects to expose the native steel corrugation... which celebrates the industrial nature of the project, without the typical cold and sterile feeling that industrial modern building systems often provide.

Don worked closely with Bret and Dani and though there were fears it could exceed budget, Don maintained a discipline and connection to the owners’ vision, without

measurements of every hand selected container were taken in order to fabricate

incurring extra costs. According to Bret, “Barber Builders

each unit to perfection.

built my dream home out of shipping containers! The

The roof and glass wall systems were completely reconfigured to maximize the view and ease of access to the front patio and pool area.

In addition to working closely with Bret and Dani Stone to bring their vision to reality, Don coordinated with interior designer Sarah Mcfadden, and architect AB Design Studio to complete the spectacular 2,345 sq ft residence located at 296 Schulte Lane in Santa Barbara.

For more information on Barber Builders go to www.barberbuilders.com or call Don on 805.773.7503

(photos by Jason Rick)

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REAL ESTATES G L E N V I E W R OA D

P

erched on the front row of Montecito’s exclusive Pepper Hill, in a protected and

close-in convenient location, is this palatial-style estate with spectacular ocean, island, and coastline views. The 7,500+ square-foot residence offers grand room proportions and a layout designed for convenience, with the primary common rooms, master suite, and 3-car garage all on the entry level. On the lower level are additional bedroom suites, separate-entry guest quarters and recreation room. The grounds include wonderful outdoor spaces on both sides of the house along with a beautiful pool area below – all perfect for Montecito living and entertaining, and reaffirming that this property is a little slice of paradise.

Offered by Ken Switzer of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Luxury Collection for $5,900,000.

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(photos by Jim Bartsch)

CAPE COD-STYLE OCEANFRONT ESTATE

$26,500,000

from the ocean to the mountains...

MASTERPIECE OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE

$6,950,000

cristal@montecito-estate.com

•

805.886.9378

•

w w w. m o n t e c i t o - e s t a t e . c o m

©2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. DRE 00968247

FALLING IN LOVE WITH

MICHAEL AND MISTY HAMMER

BY CAROLINE HARRAH PHOTOS BY EDWARD CLYNES

S

oaring above the sightline inside the Armand Hammer Foundation headquarters is a large, redwinged Pegasus from 1955 – an icon of the oil and gas industry

and the famous Mobil Oil trademark. Designed to symbolize “strength and power,” its presence is fitting, given the Hammer’s legacy developing Occidental Petroleum into the multinational, multi-billion-dollar company it is today, as well as its sitting among Michael Hammer’s illustrious collection of rare and notable automobiles.

As I chatted with Michael and Misty Hammer, it was not lost on me the parallels between the myth of this magnificent creature and the stories we shared: the opportunity to embrace life’s struggles in order to emerge as our better selves.

To be sure, there is a certain myth surrounding the Hammer name and Michael himself – something that he is quick to acknowledge and dispel. As vice president and executive board member, he was heir apparent to help run Occidental Petroleum, and his individual efforts (and formal Ivy League training, including an MBA from Columbia University) played an instrumental role in Occidental’s growth and diversification. Today, Michael continues to engage in various business interests and is carrying the torch of the Hammer’s business and charitable efforts – in Montecito and throughout the world – via the Armand Hammer Foundation.

And then, there’s the myth of Michael himself – tall, tan, with a commanding voice and presence,

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FA L L I N G I N LOV E he is actually private and humble – his life centered in his faith. And let’s

never thought I would get divorced,” he said. Around the same time,

not forget those signature blue eyes… pointed directly at his beloved,

he was recovering from a highly invasive back surgery that caused the

Misty Millward Hammer.

removal of three vertebrae. Requiring specialized physical therapy, Misty was recommended by a friend to help Michael during his

“BEST FRIENDS” MERGE

H

rehabilitation. Over time, they became “best friends.”

“Talking for hours,” Michael and Misty recalled, there was rarely

ailing from Idaho, Misty Millward moved to Ojai more than

an evening they didn’t speak. Conversation was “open and honest” and

two decades ago to get away from the cold and harsh winters.

“received with love” (in unison) – no “judgement, no condemnation.”

Appreciating the quiet of Carpinteria, she relocated again 10 years ago

But this was “hardly a whirlwind” romance, says Michael, and the two

and began work with nearby Aesthetics Montecito at the Four Seasons

continued their friendship for four years before any acknowledgement

Resort and the San Ysidro Ranch. She met Michael nearly seven years

of anything more. It was on July 4 three years ago that Michael made

ago while he was recovering from back troubles… and more. She was his

his feelings known – in a most “surprising” and dramatic way.

“healer,” he says.

Although Michael has maintained property in Montecito for some time (primarily with his former wife), his return to the area after his divorce was the first as a full-time resident. “Devastated” about his divorce, he recalls isolating himself behind the gates of his home. “I

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HOPE AND HEALING

M

ichael invited Misty to join him on a drive – telling her that he had a Fourth of July gift of “red, white, and blue.” Unaware of

FA L L I N G I N LOV E such a tradition, Misty admitted she did not have the same for Michael.

He laughed and proceeded to take her on a drive above his home in Montecito in his most treasured material possession: the white 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Mulliner Drophead Coupe, one of only 27 made, that his grandfather, Dr. Armand Hammer, gave to him in 1990.

A red handbag and the affection of those bright-blue eyes nearly completed the gift. Nearly, because he also had a few additional surprises: a seven-plus-carat engagement “sparkler” and his neverbefore-expressed profession of love. Michael asked her to marry him and she said “yes” – confessing she had been in love with him the first day they met.

In the fall prior to Michael’s proposal to Misty, he was experiencing another heart pang... a debilitating heart condition that caused a massive stroke and “clinical death.” While at a charity rally for the Phoenix Art Museum, his heart stopped and he was “brought back to life.” His prognosis was bleak, he said, but he was at peace with whatever the outcome would be. He recalls praying that should God take him, he was “okay” with it. But if Michael stayed, he would be committed to fulfilling his promise to God: to change lives and give a “substantial amount of money away” during his lifetime. Since that time, he “can’t explain the healing. It’s been miraculous.”

EXTENDING THE FAMILY

M

ichael and Misty were married last year in the Cayman Islands and the honeymoon continues. They spend their time primarily

together – whether it is traveling for Michael’s business or for pleasure, contributing to a charitable endeavor, or simply spending quiet time at home (which is how they prefer to spend most of their time). A quiet evening home alone is their “ideal” or a visit to see the grandkids in L.A. (the children of Michael’s son, actor Armie Hammer, and his wife, actress Elizabeth Chambers). Michael is quick to point out how “incredibly proud” he is of both of his sons, the younger of which – Viktor Hammer – is a rising star in Morgan Stanley’s Aegis Group,

| 111

FA L L I N G I N LOV E focused on serving non-profit organizations.

Discussing Michael’s passions inevitably led to the topic of cars. A self-described car “enthusiast” – not necessarily a “collector” – he won’t buy what he won’t drive. His favorite car? “Whatever I’m driving that day.” His favorite drive? “Coming home to see Misty.”

Misty is “getting up to speed” on the car talk and plans to join him at the local United Boys & Girls Club Annual Car Rally Fundraiser (which took place July 14), where Michael is being honored for his contributions to serving area youth. He admits he shies away from acknowledgements but thinks it’s vital to support the important work and such “selfless, committed leaders” such as the United Boys and Girls Club’s CEO, Michael Baker.

Michael and Misty’s charitable efforts are focused on giving people a second chance to “get over the speed bumps of life.” Pointing to the United Boys & Girls Club, Michael remarked, “there will be someone you affect with whom you planted a seed who will help to change the world. When something terrible happens, I want them to know that what they experienced is not the formula for the rest of their lives.”

When you help, “it’s contagious... they will help others.”

“STUFF HAPPENS”

H

elping others has included many things for Michael Hammer and his family foundation over the years – from illnesses of the

mind to the body, in serving youth, and by offering inspiration through his faith. One of his more recent passions has been through the At East Program, which he co-founded five years ago with Santa Barbara Police chaplain Mike Grew and other area first-responder organizations.

At East offers support to first responders on the front lines who “often sustain wounds that are real and yet not visible.” According to the organization, “Support is available through… a Peer-to-Peer [program] as well as psychological and spiritual counseling.” This support has never been more relevant in light of the recent devastation caused by the Thomas Fire and debris flow.

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FA L L I N G I N LOV E

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FA L L I N G I N LOV E Michael and Misty’s home was in the mandatory evacuation area and they feel fortunate to have not been home the evening of the debris flow. However, their home was significantly damaged. Although it is unclear how or when they will rebuild, they are committed to their beloved home and stated, “We love it in Montecito. We’ll never leave Montecito.” Said Michael, “Stuff happens. We don’t focus on the blame… that’s a waste of time. We can’t change the past… all we can change is the future.” Added Misty, “You wouldn’t know all you know now if you hadn’t experienced the past… it prepares you for what’s coming. It could be to help someone else.”

Said Michael, “Learn to forgive. Learn the lesson. Always find the silver lining… sometimes tarnished, but if you look hard enough, you will find it.”

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m

KENNY S

CONVERSATIONS

BYSTEVEN L IBOWI TZ

116 |

anta Barbara’s beloved singer-songwriter and “King of the Soundtracks,” Kenny

Loggins, has lived in the Santa Barbara area for more than 40 years. He, along with

hundreds of other residents, was displaced by the January 9, 2018, Montecito debris flow that claimed 23 lives and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures.

His own home in the Montecito hills was spared, though the grounds and garage

sustained serious damage, as did the main access road and bridge to the house. While he waits for the rebuilding process to complete, Loggins is ensconced in a charming home with an ocean view,

with easy access to Lazy Acres and other Mesa institutions such as the Rose Cafe and, in the other direction, Backyard Bowls, a favorite place from when Loggins lived for years up on Mountain Drive.

Loggins was sitting in a car in the driveway eating his late breakfast entrée – the musician opted for the one named after the place, with hot quinoa with strawberries – when this reporter drove up. After finishing his meal, Loggins and Ryder, his Cavalier King Charles named after the early rock-and-roll star Mitch Ryder (strains of whose hits with the Detroit Wheels can be heard in some of Loggins’s upbeat pop hits like “Footloose” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”), puttered around the kitchen while Loggins brewed a pot of coffee. He had to retrieve a fresh bag from the garage – Peet’s, the original from Seattle. Which is where our conversation began.

Q. Speaking of Seattle, that was going to be my first

because remember, that’s like 1955, ‘54. Motels were

question. You were born in Washington State and spent your

new! And I remember singing “California, Here I

childhood there.

Come” as my dad and I drove over the Golden Gate

A. Well, close to Seattle, in Everett, Washington.

Bridge.

People think I went to high school there, but I was raised in Seattle from one until seven, and then my dad and I

Oh, that’s sweet.

drove down here. Actually, that’s a really good memory. I

Yeah, that’s a good memory. And then stopping

was the youngest of the three boys, and so my dad threw

in Hollywood to buy black-and-pink Marlon Brando

me in the car and we drove down, taking a few days for

motorcycle hats and smell orange groves; I still

the trip. It was so exciting to stop and stay in a motel,

remember that.

LOGGINS

(photo by Ed Caraef )

| 117

CONVERSATIONS So, that’s how you came to live in California?

Yeah. Well, he came down here to set up a California division of a company he was working for. It never caught on, but we stayed because he wanted me to experience sunshine and outdoor sports, and not be a hockey player.

Speaking of that, music has been your whole professional life. What do you think you would’ve been if that hadn’t worked out?

I was really drawn to woodworking when I was young, so I might have been some kind of carpenter. I loved wood carving. As a matter of fact, there’s the scar (points to inside of his arm) from my woodcarving accident.

Oh, wow. That’s why you’re not a woodworker.

That’s why I’m not, and why I’m almost not a musician because that closed my hand up and almost didn’t get it back open.

It would be hard to imagine a world without Kenny Loggins, and all those songs you’ve written and/or sang, from the Loggins & Messina hit, to “I’m Alright” and “Celebrate Me Home.” Did you have formal training in music?

No, not really. I had a guitar teacher and I had a vocal coach for a short period of time. But that’s it.

It was one of my big brothers, Danny, who pretty much turned me onto rock and roll and R&B, songs like “Hound Dog” back when he was collecting 45s…. I’d be the first one home from school, and I’d raid his room. But I had to be careful. If I moved dust on his desk, he

You have one of the great pop music voices of all time. It’s so

would come home and beat me up, so I could’ve been a master thief

recognizable, it’s so easy to listen to and yet so evocative… And it just came

because I learned how to take anything from his room and keep him

to you naturally? It’s not something you worked on?

from knowing it. I would take the guitar off his wall and learn how to

Not really. Just sort of developed it the way you develop your craft. You’re reading other people’s work, you’re looking at what works

play it, and then I’d have to put it back on the wall before he would come home from school.

for you, what doesn’t work for you. It was the same thing for me. The people that influenced me, everything from James Taylor through

And rearrange the dust so he wouldn’t know.

Steve Winwood, the big rock voices – Aretha Franklin was a major

Yeah, right. Then my other big brother, Bob, was very much

influence on me and I drew from her phrasing a lot. Different things

into folk music, because he was older. He was seven years older than

that you’re raised on.

me, and he’s the one who named me, by the way. I was born on his

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birthday and my dad had foolishly promised him that if I was born on his exact birthday, he could name me. So, he named me Clark Kent.

You’re kidding.

No. But my dad compromised with him and turned it around to Kenneth Clark.

I

CONVERSATIONS t was a letter home from Loggins’s brother Dan that formed the lyrics to the love song “Danny’s Song,” and even now it’s one of the most-played songs at weddings for such

enduring lines as, “Even though we ain’t got money/ I’m so in love with you, honey/Everything just brings a chain of love.”

The ballad was also his first hit with Loggins & Messina, the

At least he didn’t name you Superman. That would have been tougher.

duo forming after his record label assigned Jimmy Messina

Yeah, right, real close. But anyway, he was into folk and some

– a producer and singer-songwriter who had been a member

country, and so I liked to say I had two bridges to music right out of

of Buffalo Springfield and Poco – to help him create his first

the cradle. Because I was learning – I was absorbing all Bob’s thing

album. Their chemistry was so palpable that they made the

and was very deep into folk music, and the rock thing from Dan. And

arrangement more of a formal group, and the duo went on to

then Dylan came along and then The Beatles, and everything changed

be stars of the Seventies, selling more than 16 million records

overnight.

total during the decade.

| 119

CONVERSATIONS There’s the “sitting-in” story that when you showed up at Jimmy Messina’s house that first day, you didn’t even bring your own guitar.

No, I did. But it was a cheap nylon-string acoustic. He had to loan me his.

And he said, “Play me some songs; I’m going to turn the tape recorder on,” and that basically started the story, right?

Right. I played him “Danny’s Song” and “House on Pooh Corner.”

Those are two of the most enduring songs in pop music history. I feel

show where I’m doing a “Behind the Music” kind of thing, I’ll do a little bit of “If I Were a Carpenter,” and then I go right into “Danny’s Song” (to show that) influence is not theft…. I don’t know where “Pooh” came from, musically, except that I’d started writing with lots of chords, and the chord movement of that song was unique for that time.

Yes, definitely.

It was inspired by, obviously, “Return to Pooh Corner”, and the fact that I was about to graduate from high school. I remember the last chapter where Christopher Robin leaves the One Hundred Acre

Woods. To me, this was a metaphorical moment.

chills even thinking about them, and you wrote them when you were a kid.

Yeah. I wrote them when I was a senior in high school.

You were reacting to the idea of going out into the real world.

Yeah, going out into the world, leaving childhood behind… but it

So, umm... how?

came from a subconscious place. It wasn’t a crafty place. I didn’t think,

Well, what level of answer do you want on that? “Danny’s Song”

“Oh, there’s a metaphor there.” It was just, for me – it was that thing,

was inspired by a letter from my brother about his life, but musically,

so I wrote about it.

I was deep into Tim Hardin… and the song has that kind of picking pattern and vibe. Sometimes in concert, when I’m doing a retro kind of

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Did you have any idea when you wrote those songs, did you have

any inkling whatsoever that they would be a part of your career all these decades later?

Actually, I did. When I did my first publishing deal, I withheld

CONVERSATIONS have that feeling like this is special?

Yeah, I did. Plus, I’d always had a dream of moving in that

“Danny’s Song,” because it always got such a strong reaction every

Buffalo Springfield direction musically. For me, that era of rock and

time I played it, that I knew it was going to be an important song…

roll really called to me. I wrote a letter to Jimmy Messina because

some part of me knew. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew

he’d produced “Last Time Around,” and I loved that record and I

that I better hold onto it. I wish I would’ve done the same thing with

thought I want to work with whoever is doing that kind of work.

“Return to Pooh Corner.” I knew that too, but I was afraid if I pulled that away, I wouldn’t get my deal, right? I had to give them something.

Then boom – you went from young singer-songwriter to huge star.

What stands out from that time? Were there moments of transcendence or

How about when you and Messina first hooked up? Did you know right away that it would be something more than just producing? Did you

something crazy or whatever?

Jimmy was a mentor to me. He had done Buffalo Springfield. He

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CONVERSATIONS had done Poco. He guided me through putting a band together, finding a manager, an agent. He’d been on the road with Buffalo Springfield, so he’d already been touring quite a bit. Initially, we thought he’d just do one tour and then I’d make a solo record. I remember when he said he’d been touring like five or six years, I thought, “God, I could never tour that long.” [Laughs] That was a hundred years ago… It was a major part of my life. I was twenty-one when I met him, twenty-two when we make our first record, and twenty-three when we’re suddenly highly successful. [Laughs] I would bring my friends backstage before a show and I’d pull the curtain back and say, “Check that out. Now, watch this.”

And we’d walk out, and the audience goes [cheering]. That was so cool!

A

fter a six-year run – ‘’Same as The Beatles!” Loggins exclaims – the duo broke up, as Loggins was growing as a songwriter and wanted to consider

some different directions. He collaborated with such pop and jazz composers/producers as David Foster and Bob James, which “wasn’t Loggins & Messina music anymore.” Although his ties to Messina ran deeper than the music – Loggins had met and later married Eva Ein, who was Messina’s wife’s best friend – he knew it was time to move on.

You started off your solo career with “Celebrate Me Home,” which became quite an anthem for you over the years.

Yeah, but to my recollection, it didn’t get one good review at the time.

Really?

No. Because they still wanted Loggins and Messina, Part Two. It would be like if (Eagles singer Don) Henley’s solo albums had suddenly been jazz, and people went, “What the fuck?” [Laughs] And they kind of did that with me. It was only years later that people said, “That’s the quintessential Kenny Loggins record.” I didn’t fully

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(photo by Ed Caraef )

understand the process back then. I didn’t know how long it takes for an audience to go, “Oh, this is a good record,” as long as they’re actually hearing it.

That song is such an anthem for you now.

Especially here.

Yeah, we’ll get to all your local connections.

Can we talk first about your two Grammy Award-winning songs, “What a Fool Believes,” which you wrote with Michael McDonald (and won for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 1980), but the second, “This is It” (which won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1981) is a bit more personal, right?

Okay. Well, “This Is It” started as a melody that Mike and I were working on together. It was the second one that we wrote together. “What A Fool Believes” was the first one.

Then we had the melody and two lines of lyrics, we had the opening lines, “There’ve been times in my life I’ve been wondering why,” and we had a line in the middle, “You think that maybe it’s over, only if you want it to be.” Those were our clues. We figured we’d chase those lines and see what we can build around them. The “maybe it’s over” was hinting at a romantic relationship, so we were kicking that idea around and it wasn’t working. Then I visited my dad in the hospital, and we had a talk about whether he would survive or not and I got what

(photo courtesy Sony Mx Arch-Don Hunstein)

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CONVERSATIONS

our lives that we realize, this is something I have to get through. It’s

was going on there for him. Then I went to write with Michael in the

that kind of song for people. It certainly was for my dad. And for me

afternoon, waiting for the surgery to be over. When we reviewed that

during the divorce time. It is one of those songs.

song, we got to the line, “You think that maybe it’s over, only if you want it to be,” and it completely changed the meaning of the song.

I explained to him what was going on and we wrote the rest of the

You’ve had three pretty distinct careers. There was Loggins & Messina, “solo” hits or collaborations and, not even counting the forays into country

song around that idea, of a life-and-death situation. When we got to

music, you were “The Soundtrack King” in the 1980s. That started with

the chorus, “This is it,” I remember he stopped and went, “That’s it?

“I’m Alright,” right?

It’s just, ‘This is it?’” And I said, “Yeah, that’s all there is to it. This is it.

This is that moment.”

Yeah, which was ironic. No, it wasn’t something I was really planning. I made a friend with Jon Peters when he was with Barbra Streisand, and I played a couple of songs with them for A Star is

Now it’s years later, and you’re a little older yourself. Have you –

Born. And then Jon and Barbra broke up, and Jon’s first solo project

I’m older than my dad.

was to produce Caddyshack. He called me up and said, “Can you come in and write something for my movie?” I went to see a rough

Than he lived to?

screening. There was no ending and there was no gopher. All he

No, I think he was somewhere in his 70s. But I’m older now than he was then. I just turned 70.

I know! Pardon me but it’s really hard to believe you’re 70. What’s your secret?

A little combination of genetics and modern science.

Meaning?

Lifestyle choices, and diet, that sort of thing. Actually, my doctor invited me to attend the Longevity Conference in San Diego this year to speak. He said, “You could be the poster boy for longevity scientists.” I’m thinking, thank you, but that’s the kiss of death. As soon as you step out and do that, fate’s going to fuck with you.

Where I was going with that is, do those thoughts from “This is It” resonate differently now that it’s 35 years later and you are at that age?

Does that bring you peace a little bit to think of that song?

No. [Laughs] No, but it is a song that has mattered to a lot of people. It speaks to those life-and-death moments that happen in

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told me was that there’s going to be this really funny puppet, and I thought, “No way is that going to work.” [Laughs] But I loved the movie and I thought Chevy (Chase) and all of them were brilliant, so I wanted to write everything for the movie. As it was, I think I wrote three different things for the movie.

CONVERSATIONS That was kind of like “Your Mama Don’t Dance” 20 years later.

Just fun.

Yeah, it’s a Chuck Berry song. And “Danger Zone” (from Top Gun) was another incredibly lucky thing. I went to see the screening, it was a cattle call in L.A., a Bruckheimer/Simpson movie, Tom Cruise’s

Then came “Footloose,” which has another Montecito connection in Dean Pitchford.

Yeah, he was a friend and he had written a screenplay and was

big breakout movie. Everybody knew it was going to be big. Every act in the (music) business was going to see that movie in order to write for it. I went to it and I saw the volleyball scene, and I said, “Okay,

placing it with Paramount, but he wanted to make sure that they

nobody is going to write for this scene. I’m going to write that song

considered him not just the screenwriter, but also the songwriter.

and then I know I’ve got a song in the movie.” That was the path

So, he wanted to be a collaborator with everyone writing songs

of least resistance. But while I was in the studio, the band that was

for the movie, which was brilliant on his part. As a favor to Dean,

supposed to sing “Danger Zone” dropped out because the lawyers got

I wrote a couple songs for his screenplay. There was nothing

in the way. So, I got a call asking me if I could come in and sing it.

to see. We did it entirely from the script, which I’d never done

I said, “Is it up-tempo?” Because I’d only been writing ballads. They

before or after.

said, “Yeah.” I said, “I’m there.” So, sight unseen, so to speak, I agreed to do “Danger Zone.” Then I went in and I co-wrote a little bit of the

What a monster hit “Footloose” became.

chordal movement, some of the melody stuff, worked on a little bit of

Yeah, you don’t see that one coming.

the lyric, sang it the next day. And there it is, still around.

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CONVERSATIONS Speaking of which, they’re making a sequel. Are you a part of it?

Oh, I’d love to see it in there, in some way associated with it.

But isn’t it true that for soundtracks, the idea is that it’s freeing to go – I just bring my skill to this, not my heart? I mean, not my own thing?

No, the trick is to do both. But there is that freedom that I can kind

I’ve offered to do it with a young act, if that’s their focus. The guy in

of be anybody I want to be, at least in those days. I have to say that I’ve

Needtobreathe (Bear Rinehart) I like a lot. I had suggested the Foo

kind of done my career that way, which is why my music has been so

Fighters. That would be fun. But we’ll see where it goes.

schizophrenic. Having two completely different big brothers in tastes, and then having a career that lasts long enough to keep evolving into different

I mean, they have to use it, don’t they?

things, so that I can do a part of what Bob turned me onto with the folky

I would think. You know, it is like synonymous. But, you know, “Danger Zone” is just “Danger Zone.”

Backing up for a moment, I read somewhere that you actually were offered to co-star with Barbra in A Star is Born.

You know, that’s just not true… but it’s a great urban legend.

Barbra said, “Do you act? Are you an actor?” Because she and Jon liked me. And I said, “I don’t think so.” I’ve never aspired to being an actor and it just didn’t attract me. So, that was as close as I came.

I don’t know, Jon must have said something to somebody, because I don’t think I ever paid that much attention to it. I didn’t think that was an actual offer. “Do you want to do a screen test?” would’ve been a different kind of question.

Hold on. Doesn’t everybody kind of imagine themselves an actor, especially with the crossover between musicians and actors? But it didn’t interest you?

I don’t know. I was just not confident in that area. You know, it’s

thing, and then I can do part of the rock thing and even part of the R&B thing, which has permeated my music since “Celebrate Me Home.” My

not the muse that speaks to me. Needing to be a movie star was not

audience still struggles with that, but not as much as they used to.

my thing… I just saw myself as a songwriter who sings.

O

Is it because when you’re acting, you’re portraying someone else, and when you’re a songwriter, you’re playing the ultimate you?

Yeah. Except movie songs, which are emotionally for somebody

ver the years, Loggins’s fans have had to follow him not just from Loggins & Messina to soundtrack hits and solo songs, but also a couple of sojourns into

children’s music – which Loggins began because he couldn’t

else. That’s why I was free to write “Footloose” because I’d never

stand repeated listenings to what was available – plus a recent

written anything like it before.

left turn into the country music trio called Blue Sky Riders, and

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last year’s funk-jazz collaboration with Thundercat, which kept

CONVERSATIONS

his attention for half a dozen years. But it was actually the recent

headline it and they would do some stuff before me. But when I met

local disasters that wound up pointing Loggins in a different

them and talked to them, I said, “No, this has got to be your show.”

direction.

The reason I’m telling you about this is because it turned me onto something that I’d not been aware that I liked this much – mentoring.

Your career has taken a lot of twists and turns over the decades. Are you planning to reinvent yourself again now, at 70?

I’m watching to see where I go next. I mean, I don’t know if

By working with them and helping them develop what would become the Teen Sing for Santa Barbara show, I felt what it was like to work with really talented kids who really want to listen and really want to follow through with the creativity that one can shepherd in them.

It was very rewarding for me, and to see that energy that they brought to that show and how healing it was for the people who went to it and then we, KEYT, filmed it, and they made a TV special out of it. These kids were amazing.

That’s when it struck me that this is going to be part of what comes next for me. Because of that, I accepted an invitation to teach at the songwriters festival on the Big Island of Hawaii. I spent five days there and worked with young aspiring writers – It was really rewarding.

I really get high on it.

You hadn’t really done that before?

No. I mean, John Clark at SBCC had me drop in on his songwriting class, which was fun, and got me moving in that direction.

It’s definitely a soul thing for me. It’s where my heart is going, and I know that when I do it and I really drop in on it, I get high on it. there’s a big market for me as a songwriter or as an artist. I doubt it.

It’s ironic, I was talking to my 25-year-old son, Luke. He’s kind

But I know that I have to stay creative, for my head, for my sense of

of in the same place. It’s sort of like, what’s next? What am I going to

well-being. I wonder about this, and I feel that creative part of me

do next? He’s like, “Well, I’m waiting for a message.” I said, “So am I.”

atrophying if I don’t get out and do something.

Isn’t that funny? We’re both... and I said the trick – now I can say this

But what really struck me was when I turned 70, two days later

to him and therefore I’m saying it to myself – the trick is to stay open.

the mudslides happened, and I had evacuated that day and that was

To say, “Okay, what’s next? Let me know.” I used to tell the guys in my

very impacting for me and everyone around me. What happened was

men’s group, “Go where the fun is.” We’d have these big arguments,

just before the Kick Ash Bash, I got a call from a couple teenagers who

“How can you trust that? Fun? That’s no way to live your life.” I would

were putting together a show of their own because they felt helpless.

say, “What else is there, you know?”

They’d lost friends in the mud. So, they initially thought that I would

Go to what has that sparkle quality to it. That thing that makes

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CONVERSATIONS you go, “Geez, that’s interesting and it sure seems like fun. Maybe it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing right now or what I think I’m supposed to be doing.” The same thing applies to relationships, by the way.

I was going to interrupt you, but you were on this flow and I just felt like you seemed like you were really emotional talking about that.

Yeah. The kid thing… I’m not sure why, it just really touches me. The closest I can come to understanding it is that when I work with them, I’m working with myself as a kid. No one ever did that for me.

Now I’m feeling emotional…

(Pause) It’s like I try to talk to my daughter, Hana, who’s recording now at 20 years old. I try to talk to her in the same way, but she’s really teaching me because she’s so hypersensitive to anything I say. She doesn’t want to be mini-me at all. So, I have to be very careful how I speak to her and how I present ideas to her and be very aware of her sensitivity. I bring that training, if you will, to the teens that I work with. I understand the younger ones are much more sensitive, the Teen Star kids, much more sensitive, much less flexible, than the older kids.

What you were saying about yourself, though, I just felt shivers when you were saying early guidance was something you didn’t have. You didn’t have these voices of wisdom that were able to – I’ve kind of been up and down the block a few times, although they’ve definitely changed the houses on the block, but it’s still the block. There’s a lot of talent out there.

It’s kind of this now you’re paying it forward, what you got from Messina. Does that make sense?

Yeah, yeah. I think that’s the nature of getting older. You know, thinking about what talent do you bring to the world and what do I have to give to the next generation, or however you want to look at it.

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oggins was in Europe during much of the Thomas Fire, spending time with his youngest daughter, Hana. But he kept up with the advancing flames via the Internet, logging on each night to check in. During some of the most memorable moments as firefighters battled to save

homes and property, famed KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri was in Loggins’s driveway with a firetruck.

I remember thinking, “The bad news is, there’s a fire right on my street, right across from my house. The good news is, there’s a fire truck in my driveway,” Loggins recalled. “But I knew in my gut that it was going to be okay. They stopped the fire right there.”

Indeed, Loggins’s house was spared, and mud from the debris flow largely went around his

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(photo by Jensen Sutta)

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CONVERSATIONS house, though it destroyed homes both above and below his.

Now, as we talked in September, there was some perspective on what had transpired, and how the community responded.

“A

ll Standing Together” is merely one of the ways Loggins has set down roots into the community over his decades in town, a period that found him

living in more than 15 different homes in Montecito, from a beach house on Padaro Lane (which appears on the inner sleeve

It’s been nine months, and looking back at the fire and the mudslide,

art of the Celebrate Me Home album, to the octagonal redwood

I’m wondering what resonates, what did you learn from it? What’s still

house once owned by Sambo’s Restaurant founder Sam

super-alive in you?

Battistone, to a villa in the foothills that he later sold to actor Jeff

I think we’re all trying to figure that out. For me, I think that there’s a stronger sense of community there, now that we’ve all been

Bridges, and a wooded mansion off Mountain Drive.

He’s also been involved with any number of nonprofit

through something like that together. Montecito doesn’t bind well. You

organizations, most durably the Unity Shoppe, and most

know? They don’t bond well, I think was the word. Because people go

recently as the recipient of a Granada Legends award this

to Montecito to be and create their own little islands. It was interesting to see if those people could be unified in supporting each other and I’ve seen a lot of that, because of Kick Ash and especially Teens Sing.

But I’ve also seen a lot of divisiveness and people grabbing their cheese and saying, “Keep away from my cheese,” you know, “This is my yard” – and it’s kind of surprising to me to see that sort of individuation.

In a way, metaphorical of what’s going on in the country right now, seeing the divisiveness of this – I’ve never seen anything like this. Well, maybe when we were college kids (during the Vietnam War).

There’s a song you wrote for Montecito Union School back in the late 1980s when two of your kids were there, “All Standing Together (We are Montecito Union).” The next day after the debris flow, a bunch of people from Montecito gathered at the Veterans Memorial building near Stearns Wharf and were singing it together. That kind of gave it a very different meaning.

It’s a song about unity, because it was intended to be a school song. How it applies to the people of Montecito would be, again, their own personal interpretation of all standing together. We survived, yeah. And to turn that into a positive thing, instead of everybody being victims of a horrible thing. It’s difficult to do that in the middle of that situation.

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(photo by Jensen Sutta)

last September, where he brought up several of the kids from

CONVERSATIONS

Teens Sing with him to perform “Conviction of the Heart.” On

season, I decided I would play every club in Santa Barbara on the

and off, he could also be seen the night before New Year’s Eve

same night, and I brought two vans up and we leapfrogged from club

singing classic rock hits and a few of his own with a band of local

to club and restaurant to restaurant, with me alternating between

luminaries at the popular nightclub SOhO, for which he also did

acoustic sets and a band. It was just this crazy idea that I had. Around

a benefit concert to mark their 20th anniversary.

one in the morning, Barbara Tellefson met me in the parking lot as I was packing up my car and said, “I want you to come see what we’re

You’ve been doing the Unity Shoppe Christmas telethon since the beginning. How did that relationship begin?

doing because at the Council of Christmas Cheer at that time [this was before it became Unity] everything we do stays in Santa Barbara.”

In those early days in town, in order to get in the Christmas

By getting to know her and watching what they did, I decided

spirit, I would go to a local club and play and admission would be a

this could be really big, and I could bring some people in and we could

toy. Then I would give the toy to Toys for Tots. Then one Christmas

make a thing out of it. So, I suggested to her that we call it Unity and

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CONVERSATIONS try to include every organization that would be of benefit to the town or in actuality, to the tri-counties. Then I met Bob Smith, who owned and ran KEYT, and he loved the idea and gave us a whole telethon. We

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oggins has raised two families here in Montecito, and has two ex-wives, both of whom live in Santa Barbara and who remain friends. He’s fathered five children,

only two of which still live in town.

created the whole thing around that.

How thrilled were you when Crosby won the TV reality show Rock And you still play every year?

The Cradle, about the offspring of stars making it on their own, which

I do it, yeah. I help out every now and then. I certainly try to do

was 10 years ago already?

the telethon, and if I’m not in town, I’ll pre-tape my pieces. But looks like I’ll be around this year, so I’ll probably do the telethon.

I was really proud at the time, of course. But I was also worried about him. I knew that that’s where he wanted to go, and I knew he had talent, but I also saw that the music business was getting really shaky. It

It still seems to matter to you.

was going to be a rough road for him. Then when he came to me and

It’s still, in my opinion, the one-stop shopping of those who want

told me he was quitting being a singer-songwriter. He was crying as he

to be helpful and help those in need. You know, books, toys, clothing,

told me, “I don’t want your life.” I said, “You don’t have to have it!” I was

food – you can do it all, and it’s really well done. Barbara has done an

really happy for him. He started an IT company in town and Crosby’s

incredible job of keeping the vision of the organization on track, and

become the darling of Montecito. It’s doing really, really well and because

they still struggle to stay alive every year.

he grew up here and he knows all these people personally; they enjoy working with him and he’s really good at what he does.

Even beyond Unity, it seems clear that you love this place, you don’t just live here, you’re a real part of the community. You seem to really enjoy showing up and doing these shows locally and just having fun with local people.

I like to say – and I’ve never done this in an article – I like to say that my life is like living in a Jimmy Stewart movie. Wherever I go, people say, “Hey, Kenny! How’s it going? How’s Crosby doing?” or something like that. And I go, “Hey, Bob, how’s things at the bank?” So, it’s very much a It’s a Wonderful Life kind of thing. Santa Barbara can be that kind of community, if you want it to be. People here have always been very friendly to me. Now, I guess it’s because I’ve been around so long that I’ve reached this so-called iconic stage in my career, and I’m not as active as I used to be, when I was 150 dates a year or more. I still tour a little bit – it’s down to 22 this year – but I’m very much more of a Santa Barbara guy than I used to be.

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But then Bella, my third child, came along. She’s a drummer and

CONVERSATIONS

was in school as a music major and came out of there with nothing to

That’s something some people never realize at all. How was it for you?

do. She lived in Brooklyn for a while, and then moved back here and

It’s a tough one at an older age. It’s a really tough one. I decided

got hired to manage McConnell’s by her mother, who bought (the

that what I needed to do was get myself to where I no longer needed

Santa Barbara ice cream institution) when her house burned down

a partner to feel whole. So, I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself on

in the Tea Fire. Until recently, Cody lived here and was manager at

that level and I got to where I was feeling pretty good about myself.

Pierre Lafond’s restaurant and then just went, “I want to try something

That’s when (his current partner) showed up (who he met at the Kick

new.” So, at 34 he just moved to L.A. to start his life over as a standup

Ash Bash when “she turned and looked at me and there was this light

comic… he’s learning all the writing craft and he’s learning the standup

in her eyes”) and suddenly it was, “Now that you think you’re okay,

craft, and he’s having a great time.

we’re going to try the love thing out and see how that goes.”

Luke is my 25-year-old. He went to City College and then up to

It’s been a bumpy thing for me. She’s constantly great, and I’m

UC Davis, graduated in sustainable agriculture, and now he’s traveling

saying that not just because she’s going to read this. She just is. We

the world. He’s in Paris right now helping his little sister, Hana, who

have moments that are mind-blowing but then I retreat, and I think

just moved there. She got to London and recorded three songs she co-

it’s largely because of my experience with Julia and the disillusionment,

wrote. They love her there.

if you will, of seeing that love is no guarantee. You don’t fall in love and live happily ever after. It’s not about that. God didn’t write that book.

So, this might still happen for her, right?

Yeah. She’s only 20, so she’s got a lot of time.

So, how do you deal with that? How do you find that balance and that will to keep showing up?

Now that we’ve talked about your kids, I’m a little more

It’s about growing and healing yourself and just growing through

emboldened to ask you about marriages and relationships in

life and what you have to give back. I learned a lot from surviving that

general. What happened with Julia, your second wife, was obviously

and I didn’t know I would survive it. One of the things apparently

heartbreaking for you.

that my spirit learned was that I can survive that, which gives me

Yeah, it was really tough. It was very, very difficult. Probably

the courage to try to do it again, but I had not set out on being with

the most difficult thing that I’ve ever gone through was that second

someone. It just happened. And I had that choice where I had to

divorce. As my therapist said, re-constellating my inner cosmology, it

make, you know, am I going to follow where I feel the love is, or am I

took a bit of time. That was a 15-year marriage, so it was seven years

going to follow where the fear is?

before I even began to recognize myself. It’s a long time to reconstitute.

I dated during that time, and then I had a steady girlfriend for about five-and-a-half years. We got engaged and then I went, I can’t

That’s the age-old challenge of being human.

The fear disguises itself as the rational mind that is going to keep

do this. I can’t do it. I felt like whatever I needed was missing and I

you out of trouble and the love is totally irrational. So, it’s like okay,

really liked that girl a lot and loved her in many ways, but it wasn’t the

well, I talk a good talk about following your heart. I have done it all

thing that I needed. And I just suddenly got to a place where I knew I

the time in my whole career. But in this case, I’m not going to do it.

couldn’t just settle for companionship.

[Laughs]

| 133

CONVERSATIONS

you has a story and you listen to all of them.” I said, “Well, first off, it’s

Right. That’s for songs. Not real life.

a really sweet thing, because 98 percent of their stories – unless they’re

Yeah, that’s for other people. That’s for my kids. But I’ve learned

super-drunk – have some special moment in their lives that they want

better. I’m older and wiser now… I wrote a song with the Blue

to impart.” “Celebrate Me Home” or “This Is It,” or even “Whenever

Sky Riders called “There’s No Fool Like an Old Fool.” It’s basically

I Call You Friend,” that was one lady’s moment. And if I interrupt and

about making the same mistakes that you made when you were

say something like “I’m sorry, I don’t have time for this,” I’m liable to

20-something. I thought I knew better, but I guess I don’t. That’s

get their wrath instead. I let them do their thing and I’ve learned what

probably the salvation of an older person, to realize that you don’t

a friend of mine calls it: noblesse oblige.

know better. I use the word realize on purpose, because to know better than to love is to live alone. And walled off. So, I’m back whole enough

The obligation of royalty.

and healed enough to where I’d rather take the chance of getting my

Yeah. People have a heart connection with the music, and it’s

heart broken than live alone in that way.

okay to not only to let them express that, but if I’m in a really good place, it’s okay to let that in. Because it’s been a lifetime, it’s been a

It sounds like you are in a good place.

career of 50-some years and why not soak in that? They really love and

Well, I am. But at the same time, my goal before she came along

appreciate that moment. That’s why I’m still here, it’s because I made a

was to get to where I felt completely satisfied being alone and I could

connection with people’s lives. That’s why I can still sell tickets.

go anywhere, wake up in the morning and go, “Wow! What a great day, let’s go.” I was right on the front edge of that. I was doing pretty good. Now I’m addicted to this thing and sometimes I think, “Can you just go away for a while, so I know I’m okay by myself still?”

So, you’ve come to terms with stardom, finding balance between who you are and what you do?

It’s really an awareness that this is all, that stardom, is really an

[Laughs] And because she’s not like that, she says, “What? Why would

illusion. The power in the music is in our similarities. That what I

you want to do that?”

write about and the places that touch people are the places we all share. It’s the humanity of the song that speaks to people and builds

So, you’re not ready go public and be outed in print?

bridges and makes connections, and you adopt it at the moment your

No, it’s been tough for her, the whole rock-star thing. It’s really

child gets married or the moment you got married or the moment

tough for her. She’s just a regular girl.

somebody died. It becomes an important song in your life. But it’s our commonality that makes it that way. It’s ironic that I should be put on

I have to ‘fess up that I was feeling a bit nervous about doing

any kind of pedestal that has to do with me being different, because

this interview, because I grew up loving your music, and Loggins &

the power and strength of my music – which is why I’m sitting here

Messina was one of the first concerts I remember seeing when I was a

(talking to you) – is our commonality.

teenager. Talking with you has been really easy. But I wonder how it is from your side.

Well, I was at a party last night with my girlfriend, who is new to all this. She was saying, “You’re so patient. Everyone that comes up to

134 |

We’re all essentially the same. We’re all going through the same stuff and my job is to write about it and if I can do it poetically, even better. And maybe that’s still my job. Maybe my job now is to help shepherd young writers into doing that in their own way.

m

CONVERSATIONS

ED

(photo by Jensen Sutta)

| 135

ON CANVAS

BY TED MILLS

COAST TO COAST

P

136 |

ainter Tom Mielko took himself out of Nantucket, but you can’t take that Baahstaan accent out of the artist. During our interview – a relaxed sit-down in his Don Nulty-designed, Mediterranean-style home that overlooks both Eucalyptus Hill and the azure ocean beyond – he sings the praises of both coasts and how they’ve formed his career, but his origins are never in doubt.

Influenced by Andrew Wyeth’s realist scenes of Pennsylvania,

cruisers and surfboards turning up in his canvases, along with the

Mielko made a name for himself with detailed romantic paintings of

region’s dramatic violet and orange sunsets. As a beach-goer, Mielko

the Nantucket shore in moments of peace around the tourist season

prefers Nantucket – cleaner water and warmer during the summer –

– empty Adirondack chairs, wicker baskets, lighthouses, bikes, sand

but from an artistic standpoint, Santa Barbara has won Mielko’s heart.

dunes and reeds, and a female figure in a white sundress.

For many of his 32 years in Nantucket, he ran a gallery, co-owned with Paul Chelko and named after the two of them. “Chelko-Mielko” was a name that just rolled off the tongue, and the gallery became the

“I had a bicoastal lifestyle for a while, going back and forth [between Nantucket and here], but it became too expensive… In Nantucket, everybody’s trying to make a year’s pay in seven months.”

Mielko was born in Dorchester, south of Boston, and moved at

place for collectors from all over the world, where after the originals

a young age to Braintree. His dad was a WWII Navy veteran who

sold, Mielko continued to make a profit with prints. (A lot of the work

survived two kamikaze attacks on his ship, but suffered from PTSD

hanging in his home are in fact giclee reproductions.) One painting

and alcoholism when he returned to the states to start a family and run

from 1993, “Romantic Hideaway,” is a simple composition of chair,

a company making parts for missile systems.

flowers in a basket, dunes, and ocean; it became so popular he couldn’t keep prints in stock.

“I like it, but I like other [paintings] better,” he admits.

When he moved to Santa Barbara nearly 40 years ago, he found inspiration at Butterfly Beach and Rincon Point instead, with beach

“It was trauma in our home,” Mielko remembers. “He had a speech impediment. He was angry all the time.”

But his father’s coping strategy was telling war stories, which Mielko fondly recalls.

His mom protected his dreams of becoming an artist, while his dad wanted him to take over the family business. “Follow your dream,” she told him often. But when Mielko told his father that he was leaving for The Art Institute in Boston, he didn’t talk to him for two weeks.

“It was the best two weeks I ever had,” Mielko laughs, because he spent the whole time creating. (The two later reconciled, and later in life his father was proud of his son’s career.)

| 137

ON CANVAS Mielko left home, got married, started a gallery in Boston Harbor, and then a year later got divorced. Feeling like he was heading toward a nervous breakdown, he decamped to Nantucket. It was 1972, and he

beyond, but Mielko has never painted his daily view, he says. “One of these days I will attempt it.”

The bookshelves are laden down with heavy art books – several

started getting work by walking into galleries and asking for work. One

collections of Wyeth and his other influence, Turner. Other non-

of those galleries was Paul Chelko’s.

obvious influences on Mielko includes abstract impressionists Hans

But it wasn’t easy. “I struggled in the gallery business, but based on the kindness of people, it started to work. And in the ‘70s and ‘80s, a dollar went a long way back then.”

His home studio is in a separate wing of the house, reachable from a second story patio area. He calls it “chaotic,” but only in the context of his otherwise orderly home. An easel faces a window and the ocean

138 |

Hofmann and Franz Kline.

Canvases lean up against draws, and a desk contains a high-quality art printer. He works and reworks paintings, leaving them for weeks at a time to get a different perspective on returning.

Another more recent departure from his familiar style was a series of animal portraits done purely in graphite on clayboard. He started

ON CANVAS

140 |

ON CANVAS with one animal portrait and then found himself drawing more and more – one room in his home collects the entire bestiary. These were

representing Mielko through his art advisory business.

Currently, Mielko is not showing in any galleries, but waiting

published in 2015 as a book, with accompanying poems by Erin

on a few potential spaces to open on Coast Village Road. In the

Graffy, called Animalia.

meantime, he and wife, Eileen, might be found dining at Sakana,

“I needed a break [from painting] and went to the zoo and started taking pictures,” he says. “I did this for myself. I didn’t have a plan and kept doing it.” (He’s still doing it too, with a possible second book on its way.)

The last gallery in Montecito that repped Mielko – Alexander Mertens Fine Art – has closed its storefront, but Mertens is still

Pane e Vino, or Oliver’s. They also help raise money for Girls Inc. and the Animal Rescue League.

Even so, he spends three hours in the afternoons painting.

Nantucket as a subject is pretty much over, he says. It’s just Santa Barbara now and, well, nobody seems to have a problem with that.

m

| 141

ED THE ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

I

f your idea of a dream vacation is one where kids run free, adults have adventure, with little to no organization in a gorgeous location, or if you are simply looking for something a little different from the private island getaway, Montecito is your kind of place. This jewel of a village, tucked between the majestic Santa Ynez mountains and the azure Pacific Ocean, is a world-class destination. Home to billionaires and celebrities, Montecito does luxury, tranquility, and adventure like no other.

Montecito was recently voted by U.S. News & World Report as its number-one best place to live in the United States for weather, which makes

vacationing a year-round activity. Add to that a lush, intimate village with quiet streets, pristine white sand beaches, and gated estates, and you have found vacation nirvana.

142 |

(This feature is paid content)

ACCOMMODATIONS

GETTING THERE

P

S

PARADISE RETREATS

aradise Retreats offers the most spectacular luxury vacation rentals in Santa Barbara, Montecito and the Santa Ynez Valley. Whether

you prefer to stay on the waterfront, in the middle of town, or tucked away in wine country, Paradise Retreats can deliver.

SILVER AIR

ilver Air is a leading private aircraft management company and direct charter operator that delivers a transparent, owner-advocate

approach to management creating valuable partnerships with private jet owners. Founded in 2008, the company is based in Southern California with corporate offices in Santa Barbara. Silver Air manages a comprehensive fleet of luxury aircraft from light to long-range heavy jets and a global network operating around the clock, 24 hours a day.

Silver Air is the only operator to offer unrestricted charter availability on a Boeing Business Jet. The Silver Air BBJ provides a premier private charter experience with a beautifully appointed VVIP They specialize in satisfying the needs of the discriminating

cabin configuration accommodating 16 passengers and comfortable

customer, who expects the best in service and quality, helping

sleeping arrangements for nine. The BBJ can fly more than 6,000

them find the perfect accommodations for their trip on the

uninterrupted miles – reaching many international destinations nonstop.

magnificent California coast. Each Paradise Retreats property

It is fully equipped with global Wi-Fi, a VIP private office, lounge area,

offers a unique and special experience. Paradise Retreats

master suite, two full bathrooms with showers, and a full service galley

properties are beautiful and well-maintained, and have all the

with private chef services. Silver Air’s fleet features other light to large-

amenities one would expect in a luxury home. Their specialists

cabin jets from Gulfstream, Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, Cessna,

take customer service and discretion seriously. From the time of

and Hawker/Beech. Silver Air’s charter operations have earned an

first contact to the end of your stay, they are available to ensure

ARGUS Platinum rating and the company is currently IS-BAO stage-

all expectations are not only met, but exceeded. With Paradise

two compliant, demonstrating the industry’s highest safety practices.

Retreats, the vacationer can sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty

Silver Air is also a member of the Air Charter Safety Foundation. Silver

of Montecito and beyond.

Air is the perfect transportation choice when planning an ultimate

For more information, visit www.paradiseretreats.com or call 805.275.1851

dream vacation in Montecito.

For more information, visit www.silverair.com or call 805.456.7063

(Photographer Scott Gibson)

(photos courtesy of Silver Air)

| 143

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

PRIVATE CHEF

PRIVATE CHEF COCO LAFORGE

C

NANNY, PET CARE, STAFF

oco LaForge was a private yacht chef for eight years prior to

BEACH BABY NANNIES – NANNY AND DOMESTIC STAFF PLACEMENT

moving to Santa Barbara. A native Californian, she found her

each Baby Nannies LLC is a nanny and domestic placement

cooking inspiration while living in France as a college exchange student.

She loved the fresh markets, rich cheese, and food culture. She attended

B

agency that specializes in identifying, recruiting, and placing

exemplary nanny and domestic candidates. Their knowledgeable staff

cooking school in San Francisco at Tante Marie’s and was greatly

are professional, helpful, honest, and customer-service driven. Their

influenced by the life of Julia Child and her playful pursuit of good food.

company philosophy has remained unchanged: provide exceptional

For the eight years she worked as a private yacht chef, Coco had the greatest adventures

customer service, represent only the highest-quality candidates available, and nurture long-term relationships.

traveling the world

They specialize in

by sea and cooking

placing full-time, part-

for all sorts of folks,

time, and temporary

from royalty to A-list

nannies, infant care

celebrities. As often as

specialists, doulas,

possible, she cooked with

and household staff.

local ingredients from

They believe it is

the ports she visited and with the fresh fish caught that day.

their experience,

Today, Coco cooks for local Montecito families, parties, and

commitment to exceptional customer service, insistence on high-quality

private events. She loves cooking with local fresh organic ingredients

placements, and truly caring about the families, nannies, and household

and food that makes you feel great. She specializes in Mediterranean-

staff that sets them apart from their competition.

style California cuisine and as a certified raw chef, can happily

They also specialize in offering quality and professional

accommodate any special dietary needs. With her upbeat personality

housekeepers, private chefs, and more, all to help make life easier! They

and enthusiasm for living a vivacious life, she is the ideal private chef

offer a range of tailored

to make a vacation perfect.

services to guarantee

Coco is available for weekly

that families on vacation

in-home meals as well as the

find the perfect solutions

Dream party. Let Chef Coco give

to suit their lifestyles and

you a taste of what it is like to live

needs.

like a local!

For more information, visit

For more information, visit www.

www. cocolaforge.com or call

beachbabynannies.com

805.707.3887

or call 805.637.2634

(photos by Coco LaForge and Taki Gold)

144 |

(Photos courtesy of Beach Baby Nannies, LLC)

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

24/7 NANNY – CHILD AND PET CARE

2

4/7 Nanny provides child care and pet sitting for locals and vacationers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They truly do

it all! They are locally owned and their staff are highly skilled and

GROCERIES AND SUPPLIES MONTECITO VILLAGE GROCERY

R

oxy, Michael, and Chelsea Lawler acquired ownership of the Montecito Village Grocery in January 2017. The family-owned

and operated neighborhood full-service grocery store, located in the

dependable. They

upper village of Montecito, offers a “one-stop shopping experience”

work closely with

of the finest array of cultivated food and wines. Found on the shelves

each client to create

of this sweet store are many local and specialty products. There is a

a customized plan

butcher counter service of fresh meat and seafood, organic produce,

that suits all needs.

gourmet cheeses, hot and cold chef-prepared foods, grab-and-go

Their services include

sandwiches, plus salads and

babysitting, nannying,

soups.

and animal care. Their

There is an amazing

child care nannies

selection of gluten, dairy,

have the ability to

and other common allergen

transport children,

“free” foods, plus prepared

allowing for outings

vegetarian, and vegan

all over town. 24/7

options in every category. Locally baked breads are delivered daily.

Nanny’s top priority

Beautiful flowers, health and beauty products, as well as other non-food

is safety. All of the

essentials and gifts complete the full service experience. The vast wine

staff have either

and craft beer selection of

first aid or EMT

local, domestic, and imported

certifications. They

offerings will satisfy those on

have fingerprinting

a family budget as well as the

and background checks prior to being hired.

oenophile. They offer wine and

24/7 Nanny pet care staff are trained and experienced with all

cheese tasting throughout the

animals. When the vacationer brings their favorite pooch or prized hen

week between 3 to 5 pm, giving

on vacation with them, 24/7 Nanny can be there in minutes with simple

the opportunity to “try before

online registration, giving the vacationer freedom to take off on a day

you buy” something new.

trip. 24/7 Nanny goes above and beyond to give exceptional service

Custom orders are welcome

and attention to detail. Their slogan says it all: “We are here for when

and online shopping service is

you need an extra set of hands.”

available. Montecito Village Grocery is open daily from 7 am to 8 pm.

For more information, visit www.247nannysb.com or call 805.448.1186

(Photos by Clint Weisman Studios)

For more information, visit www.roxysmarket.com or call on 805.969.1112

(Photos by Chelsea Lawler)

| 145

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

PIERRE LAFOND MARKET

T

he Montecito Market

LOCAL ACTIVITIES CASA DEL HERRERO

W

is a gourmet market,

deli, coffee, and juice bar offering fresh, organic, and

hen visitors come to Casa del Herrero, or the “House of the Blacksmith,” they are transported back to Montecito,

circa 1920s and ‘30s – the heyday of the original owner George Fox

locally sourced produce and

Steedman. Designed by George Washington Smith, the Casa is one of

products. Born out of Pierre’s

the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America.

first retail shop established

It is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and maintains

in 1964, the Montecito Market is a mainstay for both local residents

National Historic Landmark status in part due to its eclectic mix of

and visitors, with a friendly environment, quick service, and a beautiful

Country Place Era and Moorish-inspired gardens created by Ralph Stevens, Lockwood de Forest, and Francis T. Underhill.

outdoor patio used daily for community gatherings. The Montecito Market also offers an exquisite wine selection, including Pierre’s own local wine labels,

Today, the 11-acre estate functions as a nonprofit organization with

Santa Barbara Winery (the oldest

the goal of preserving the house and grounds, as well as the Steedman

established winery post-prohibition in

family’s collection of 15th and 16th-century fine and decorative art

1962 in the county), and his namesake,

objects from the “Golden Age” of Spain, books, sketchbooks, drawings,

reserve label, Lafond Winery.

and horticultural records. Casa del Herrero is preserved and stewarded for the benefit of the community and can be visited by booking a tour

For more information, visit www.

146 |

online.

montecitoshopping.com or call

For more information, visit casadelherrero.com or call 805.565.5653

805.565.1504

(Photos by Matt Walla)

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

LOTUSLAND

L

otusland is 37 acres of botanical nirvana. In the late 1880s, Kinton Stevens had a nursery for citrus and palms on the property. In 1941,

Ganna Walska (self-described “enemy of the average”) purchased the property at the urging of the man who would become her 6th husband, Theos Bernard. Madame Walska’s intention was to create a refuge for Tibetan monks, naming the estate Tibetland. Theos turned out to be a scoundrel, the monks couldn’t get visas, and Ganna Walska focused the next 43 years on creating what was to become “one of the 10 best

collection – there are three Encephalartos woodii, known to be extinct

gardens in the world.”

in the wild. The collections contain more than 3,000 plant species from 77 countries. The beauty, magnificence, and whimsy of the gardens are made all the more fascinating by the fabric of Ganna Walska’s life woven throughout.

Pico Iyer describes Lotusland this way: “Lotusland could only have been dreamed up by a poet working together with a team of master gardeners, an angel, and (of course) an opera singer. For decades now, its jubilant bounty of gardens has calmed and uplifted and expanded me, opening the door to blossoming lotus ponds, tunnels of lemon trees, the stillness of a Japanese sanctuary, and the kind of blazing colors that Monet would have envied. Everyone who has been there knows: Lotusland is one of the hidden treasures of the world.”

Lotusland is celebrating its 25th year of being open to the public.

They are in the middle of renovating their cherished Japanese Garden to make it ADA-accessible and enhance the design aesthetic. There is a new Insectary Garden (the good bugs eat the bad bugs). In the Cycad Garden – a garden paid for when Ganna Walska sold part of her jewelry

For more information, visit www.lotusland.org. To contact Lotusland for a reservation, call 805.969.9990

(Photos courtesy of Lotusland)

| 147

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

LOCAL SHOPPING

EAT THIS, SHOOT THAT!

E

xplore Santa Barbara’s foodie neighborhoods on foot with a photo-interactive food or wine tour. Spend an afternoon savoring

remarkable food or sipping top-shelf wines while learning food and travel photo tips from a pro tour guide/local foodie. The chaperons at Eat

WENDY FOSTER MONTECITO

F

or more than 40 years, Wendy Foster has set the tone for style in Santa

Barbara and Montecito, capturing the

This, Shoot That! (ETST) are local foodies and smartphone photo nerds

essence of the elusive Santa Barbara lifestyle:

with the inside scoop on all the best eats and wines in Santa Barbara, and

understated, elegant, relaxed, and natural.

they will have you eating like local residents and shooting like pros!

The Wendy Foster family of stores brings

On the Funk Zone food and photo tour, guests taste local eats on a foodie adventure through

Los Angeles, Asia, and exotic locales from

Santa Barbara’s newest and

around the globe to the paradise community

hippest neighborhood.

of Santa Barbara. Wendy Foster Montecito, the original Wendy Foster

Along the way, they learn

boutique, located in Plaza del Sol in Montecito’s upper village, offers

about the local culture and

an exquisite selection of designer couture and artisanal international

pick up a few tips on how to

clothing, accessories, and jewelry interpreted for the Santa Barbara

take better foodie photos

lifestyle. Wendy and her team travel abroad several times a year to

using a smartphone camera.

curate the worldly collection with designers such as Uma Wang, Pero,

Sip and savor local wines on our El Paseo wine and photo tour, a wine lover’s dream excursion in various historic tasting rooms in Santa Barbara’s oldest neighborhood.

While roaming the historic streets

worldly current styles from New York, Paris,

Giada Forte, and Pas De Calais.

For more information, visit www.wendyfoster.com or call 805.565.1506

WENDY FOSTER SPORTSWEAR

W

endy Foster Sportswear, located between the Montecito Market and Montecito Wine Bistro offers an elevated, yet

relaxed approach to Santa Barbara living with designers including Ulla

of the Presidio neighborhood, the

Johnson, Citizens of Humanity, Natalie Martin, CP Shades, and Trovata.

ETST guide will entertain guests

Described as the more casual counterpart of the original Wendy Foster

with bits of history and a lot of

Montecito, the assortment at Wendy Foster Sportswear features a wide

facts about wine tasting and the

selection of designer denim, luxury cashmere and coastal linen for a

local wine industry/region.

For more information, visit www.eatthisshootthat.com or call 805.699.6719

(Photos by Tara Jones Haaf

and Lauren Salaun)

148 |

classic, timeless California style.

For more information, visit www.wendyfoster.com/ wendyfostersportswear 805-565-1505 (Photos Courtesy of Wendy Foster)

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

ANGEL MONTECITO

W

UPSTAIRS AT PIERRE LAFOND

U

ith an emphasis

pstairs at Pierre Lafond

on luxe, everyday

is one of Santa Barbara’s

basics for the seaside lifestyle,

oldest and most beloved home

Angel Montecito on Coast

and gift boutiques. Upstairs

Village Road offers the most

offers a wonderful mix of hand-

contemporary selection out

picked home furnishings and

of the Wendy Foster family of

gifts. Shelley Koury, the store’s

stores. Much of the collection

buyer, has spent 20-plus years traveling the globe in search of unique

is inspired by resort living and

treasures. Staying one step

international travel with easy

ahead, Shelley has curated every inch of the upstairs to ensure a flawless offering of table top, art, bedding, books, and clothing for men, women, and children.

Open daily from 9 am to 8 pm.

For more information, visit www.shopupstairs.com or call 805.565.1503

(Photos courtesy of Pierre Lafond)

dresses, luxe swimwear, hats, and accessories. Top brands include LoveShackFancy, Faithfull The Brand, AMO Denim, Xirena, and Sundry. Angel also offers a unique assortment of delicate fine jewelry, made mostly by California designers for everyday wear.

For more information, visit www.wendyfoster.com or call 805.565.1599 (Photos courtesy of Wendy Foster)

| 149

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

WINDING DOWN MOBILE SPA INFINITA

SPA DEL MAR

J

ulie Rose Menicucci has been

M

obile Spa Infinita is a

in the spa business for more

premier mobile spa

than 20 years and is the owner and

owned by well-known local

spa director at Spa del Mar, within

resident Pamela Scott, a third-

the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront

generation Santa Barbarian. For

Resort. Beachy, upscale, and modern,

the past 17 years, Pamela has

it sets a perfect stage to view the

provided spa services to private

beach across the street. Spa del Mar offers use of the pool and jacuzzi

guests at local high-end hotels

at their five-star resort with every spa treatment.

and resorts, to clients in private

They cater to resort guests, local clientele, as well as visitors

homes, for bachelorette parties,

to Santa Barbara who are seeking a unique, and personalized day

and to vacationers.

spa experience. Their talented team of experienced therapists and

After working for many

estheticians offer a special blend of customized massages, facials,

years with clients in salons, spas, and resorts, Pamela saw the need for

and signature body treatments. Everyone on the team at Spa del Mar

in-home/outcall massage and facial services. The requests from clients

proudly delivers the highest quality of treatments. It is an intimate,

wanting their treatments in the comfort of their own home began the

boutique day spa that also hosts private spa parties on its beautiful

creation of a traveling spa. As the demand for mobile massage and spa

outdoor patio. Body treatments that no one else offers in town include

services grew, the business expanded to accommodate the growing

Anti-Stress Back Treatment, Dead Sea Mud and Bamboo Fusion,

need and became Mobile Spa Infinita.

Cleopatra’s Gold Massage, Almond Glow, and Lavender Bliss.

The staff are licensed, vetted, and have a minimum 10 years of experience.

For more information, visit www.spa-infinita.com or call 805.705.8196

(Photos courtesy of Mobile Spa Infinita)

For more information, visit www.santabarbaraspadelmar.com or call 805.884.8540

150 |

(Photos by Jason Reynolds and Ingo Markmann)

ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

THE RITZ-CARLTON BACARA, SANTA BARBARA SPA

EATING OUT

PIERRE LAFOND MONTECITO WINE BISTRO

T

he Montecito Wine Bistro offers Californiacasual bistro menu with a farm-to-table

influence, set in a family-friendly environment in the heart of the Montecito upper village. Dining favorites include the wood-fired pizzas, Bistro Bowls packed with fresh produce, and the popular meltin-your-mouth sea bass. Our bistro chefs make regular trips to local farmers markets to source the freshest ingredients for the week’s offerings. Popular

T

he Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara is the newest addition to the brand’s collection of luxurious global properties. Nestled

among 78 ocean-front acres, the resort’s 42,000-sq-ft spa is the ultimate destination for relaxation, tranquility, and rejuvenation. Drawing soothing elements from the ocean below, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara Spa at offers a holistic wellness retreat to transform

al fresco dining options

guests not only in the moment but for the days ahead. Guests can

include a sunny patio out

immerse themselves in the spa experience with an adults-only pool,

front set along the hustle

redwood sauna, eucalyptus steam room, fireside lounges, and a rooftop

and bustle of the Plaza del

terrace. Treatments, including massage, body and skincare therapies,

Sol, or the more secluded

are performed by experts using the finest products. A full-service salon

back patio along the creek

offers hair, nail, makeup, and waxing services, and the boutique carries a

with both covered and

curated selection of spa products, swimwear, and fitness apparel. Not to

uncovered seating. The bistro also features a full bar, daily specials, and

be missed is the decadent 80-minute Hollywood Facial treatment.

neighborhood delivery. Open daily at 11am. Reservations available via

For more information, visit www.ritzcarlton.com/santabarbara or call 805.571.4210

(Photos by Jim Bartsch and courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Bacara Spa)

OpenTable online or by calling.

For more information, visit www.pierrelafond.com or call 805.969.7520

(Photos courtesy of Pierre Lafond)

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ULTIMATE VACATION DESTINATION

DAY TRIPS

COASTAL CONCIERGE WORLD CLASS WINE TOURS

the wineries and tasting rooms located in downtown Santa Barbara, and the Sip and Sail tour partners with a local sailing outfit for a two-hour cruise in the harbor.

For more information, visit www.sbcoastalconcierge.com or call 805.265.6065

(Photos by Lisa Reynolds)

SUSTAINABLE VINE WINE TOURS

W

ith 12 years of experience, Sustainable Vine offers world-class wine tours with exclusive access to some of Santa Barbara’s

best small production wineries and vineyards. Futuristic transportation in a solar-powered, luxury Tesla SUV, premium wines poured in private settings, and an industry expert as host for the day all provide a recipe for a memorable afternoon in wine country.

C

oastal Concierge offers an unparalleled wine tour experience for service and education. When you book a wine tour

with Coastal Concierge, you are guaranteed a private vehicle and a guide focused on customizing the experience just for you.

Lunch is restaurant quality, served on dishware, laid out on French country tablecloths. All the tour guides are wine enthusiasts, and many of them are certified sommeliers and other credentialed

The experience guests receive is unknown even to most area locals.

wine specialists. Owners Ben Scott and Matt Cooper explain, “We

Tastings are presented at appointment-only, private properties, often

want to offer a five-star wine tour experience. Because of that, we

hosted by the owner, winemaker, or family member. Private tours of

only hire guides with a high degree of wine knowledge and service

the winery production facility and/or vineyards are typically included at

experience, as well as people who are passionate about our area, its

each location, where guests connect with the story behind the wine.

history, and its culture.”

Coastal Concierge offers a variety of private and luxurious wine

Each tour is always customized to the wine preferences of clients.

Sommelier owners, Bryan Hope and Scott Bull, skillfully curate a unique

tour experiences. The Classic Wine Tour centers on the beautiful,

and personal experience that allows guests to learn about the diversity

public wineries, whereas the Reserve Wine Tour focuses on exclusive,

of the Santa Barbara wine region and the industry as a whole. They

appointment-only wineries. The Equestrian Wine Tour adds a saunter

accommodate all wine enthusiasts, from beginners to connoisseurs, who

on horseback to the wine experience, and the Aerial Wine Tour starts

are looking to find the perfect additions to their cellars.

with a bird’s-eye view on a Cessna flight. The City Tour takes groups to

152 |

Photo credit: Ian Boyd

380 Woodley Road Incredible value on coveted Pepper Hill, $4,900,000

Luxurious West Beach Townhomes Only three remain! Prices starting at $2,495,000

Calcagno & Hamilton

(805) 565-4000 Info@HomesInSantaBarbara.com www.HomesInSantaBarbara.com

Š2018 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.

DRE 01499736/01129919

Celebrating 70 Years of expertise & service in the community

© Richard Schloss

Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf, LLP began in 1948 as a sole proprietorship. Now 70 years later, the firm has over 65 team members, including 6 partners and 14 managers, offering the most comprehensive tax and accounting solutions to both high net worth individuals and privately held businesses.

BPW is proud of our long-standing relationships with our clients as well as the community, and we are thankful for their continued support over the past 70 years.

We look forward to serving future generations for years to come.

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