Pescadero Memories

What the heck is a “Vulcan Donut?” Story by John Vonderlin

Posted on March 5, 2008 by June Morrall

What the heck is a “Vulcan Donut?”

Story by John Vonderlin

Hi June,

When I first started finding what I now call, “Vulcan’s Donuts,” I didn’t have the faintest idea where they had come from or what they were used for.

Because of the tread on one side, it was obvious they had been cut from tires. I also assumed the cheapness of the raw material, and its toughness, were crucial in whatever industry they were used in. But, the great variety of sizes they come in added a strong dose of mystery as to their purpose. or should I say purposes?
While “Vulcan’s Donuts” are non-buoyant themselves, needing wave action to kick them ashore from their resting spots on the ocean bottom, one day at the beach it all became clear when one floated in still at work. Here’s a couple of pictures from my collection and some of the individual “Donuts.”

Are they familiar to you?

As you’d expect, they are used in the fishing industry which explains the cheapness and toughness aspects. If you’ve walked the docks at Pillar Point Harbor, and looked carefully at the boats, and their equipment, you’ve most certainly seen these little non-buoyant rings at work.

Vulcan’s Donuts are used on the bottom of crab pot buoys to keep the knot in the rope from pulling into or through the buoy

Enjoy John
P.S. I retrieved the piece of the Model T tire

that I had given to Meg in December. With a little flipping and flopping I fitted it all together and “Voila,” it was complete. The fact that the three pieces just sat off Pescadero Beach’s “vomitorium” until they were spit up tells me something about the dynamics of the whole process. I’m just not sure what. I’ve attached a picture of the tire.

Posted in John Vonderlin, Vulcan's Donut | Comments Off

1899 & an Unknown Year….

Posted on March 3, 2008 by June Morrall

In December 1899, Dr. Davis, the popular dentist, was staying the weekend at the Swanton–and the town was talking about a change of management…..as an “Italian will be the new manager.”

On March 1, year unknown this headline was found in the Call Bulletin:

Santa Cruz: Stage Topples Into the Sea

Wave carries Disaster to the Pescadero Coach

“20 miles up the coast the stage travels along the beach which at high tide is often covered by water. Yesterday the ocean was higher than at any time in 35 years.

“When driver James Harvey reached this point a monster wave dashed against the stage and upturned it.

“For 2 hours the horses, Harvey and the single passenger, William Steele, floundered in the cold waters of the Pacific. Both men are good swimmers. The horses were cut loose and found their way to dry land. Rigs arrived and after several hours the stage was turned over. The iron rim around the hub struck the rocks with such terrific force that it was bent like tin.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

1870s: Colonel Zig Zag Covered All the News in San Gregorio…

Posted on March 2, 2008 by June Morrall

“It always rains when I give a ball,” R.W. Savage, the new owner of the San Gregorio House complained to his friends in 1873.

And who got the quote? Why Colonel Zig Zag, the San Gregorio correspondent who mailed his news to the San Mateo Times & Gazette where his column appeared sporadically.

Mr. Savage supported the theory I’ll call reverse psychology. It seemed to him that if he admitted from the get-go that it was going to rain, because it always rained when he gave a party in the spring, well, it seemed to the hotel owner, that, then, it just might not rain.

Did you follow that?

But it was raining hard when he made his weather prediction. It had been raining so much and for so long that the earth looked like thick brown gravy. You had to think twice before traveling anywhere in that goop but the tougher San Gregorians left the driving to their horses. Others enjoyed homemade “sleigh-rides over the slick, greasy mud in high style.”

Who got that quote? Colonel Zig Zag.

Caught up in the moody weather, Mr. Savage offered free mud rides to and from the beach for anyone willing to slide across the soaked ground and spend the night at his quaint hotel.

Continue reading →

Posted in Colonel Zig Zag, San Gregorio | Comments Off

1880-81 Business Directory: Pescadero

Posted on March 1, 2008 by June Morrall

Thanks to John Vonderlin for sending the info from the 1880-81 Business Directory for Pescadero. For more info, click here
Email john ([email protected]

Pescadero
This pleasant agricultural town and summer resort is situated just south of Half Moon Bay, 38 miles from San Francisco, by coastline, and 38 miles from Santa Cruz. It is approached on either side by stages which connect with the several railroad systems at Santa Cruz, and with the S. P. R. R. at San Mateo. Through fare from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, the old Pescadero and Half Moon Bay, $5. The delightful situation of Pescadero and its equable climate makes the place popular, and those who go there to spend a few days seldom go away again as soon as they originally intended. The Swanton House, suggestive of the finest Eastern resorts in its splendid accommodations, ranks with them in all particulars. The house stands in the center of the little town, and is surrounded by tastefully-arranged grounds and detached cottages, intended for the accommodation of families. The main building contains well-aired and lighted rooms, parlors, closets and every convenience that a consideration of the comfort of guests can suggest.
Abraham G. A., tinner
Beatty B. F., physician
CEREGHINO & DEBENEDETTI, general merchandise, branch of Half Moon Bay
Cumins M, constable
Fish J. B. Rev., pastor Methodist Church
GARRETSON JOHN, dealer in general merchandise and liquors, postmaster, agent W. U. Tel. Co. and W., F. & Co., and proprietor San Francisco, San Mateo and Pescadero Stage Line
George Joseph, barber
Goulson John, blacksmith and wagonmaker
Hamilton James A & Co., freight line
HUGHES J. H., general merchandise
KOSTER FREDERICK, blacksmith, wagonmaker and horseshoer
MARSTON E. W., livery stable
PESCADERO STABLES, E. W. Marston proprietor
Roe & Raynor, butchers
Stanbaugh S. S., physician
Strong J. H. Rev., pastor Congregational Church
Stryker P. G., Pescadero House
SWANTON G. W., proprietor Swanton House and Livery Stable
THOMPSON A. P., general merchandise, Main and San Gregorio
Thompson W. J., justice of the peace
Tufly John, flouring mill
Wonfor James, bootmaker

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

1880s: We would have all booked a room at the Swanton House

Posted on February 29, 2008 by June Morrall

Sarah Swanton, Pescadero innkeeper, was praised as a woman of remarkable business ability, blessed with the friendliest personality.

“As an entertainer she has few equals and no superiors in hotel management, ” the San Mateo Times & Gazette raved in 1896.

Sarah and husband Charles Swanton ran the Swanton House Hotel for three decades, between the 1860s and 1890s, earning many return guests who appreciated the “courteous and accommodating way” they were always treated.

The Pescadero community loved the Swantons because their well-run business brought cash into the village’s economy, the general store, the restaurant, the stables, and so on.

In fact, she kept a stable business next door to the Swanton Hotel and she hired R.K. Farley to run it, ferrying hotel guests to Pebble Beach,where entire days were spent sifting through the pebbles for a colorful one that might make a perfect pendant.

Owning the stable next door also put Sarah into direct competition with Loren Coburn, Pescadero’s least favorite citizen. Coburn also owned a stable and both Sarah and Loren depended on the tourist trade for profits. As I’ve posted many times, most visitors came to Pescadero to visit Pebble Beach, the well known hunting ground for beautiful “gems.” Horse-and-wagons had to be rented to get to the popular beach a couple miles from town–

Loren also owned the delicious strawberry fields that bordered Pebble Beach-and when Coburn planted a fence around the fields and built a gate with a sturdy lock, he, in effect, declared war on both the locals and the tourists.

Sarah’s horse-and-wagons couldn’t go to Pebble Beach, and she couldn’t stop talking about it; she’d have to shut down the stable–and her loud and bitter complaints reached Loren Coburn.

Now that Coburn had a monopoly on the stable business in Pescadero, he said Sarah was unhappy because “She couldn’t go all over the country and do as she pleases.”

Sarah Swanton may have had little control over the livery stable market, but no one questioned her right to do as she pleased in her own hotel. Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Swanton, Sarah Swanton, Swanton House | Tagged Sarah Swanton, Swanton House | Comments Off

…..Tubes of Mystery….Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Posted on February 29, 2008 by June Morrall

Tubes of Mystery

Story & Photos by John Vonderlin
Email John ([email protected])

Hi June,

Lately there’s been a great increase in the number of small black plastic tubes washing up on our local beaches. I call them “The Tubes of Mystery,” because most people, even veteran beachcombers, fisherfolk, and marine scientists have no idea where they come from or what they were used for.

I started calling them “The Tubes of Mystery” after reading a (2001) online story from the Honolulu Advertiser. The author of the article sought answers: What was their use, where did they come from and how did they end up in the ocean?

The newspaper’s readers responded with posts; one person suggested that aliens must be involved. While that could prove to be true, in a limited way, here in California, I believe that the ways of nature had more to do with the tubes ending up in the water than the possibility U.F.O.s might be sprinkling them all over the Pacific Ocean.

Fortunately, many of the Advertiser’s readers and posters were more knowledgeable than the one UFO proponent, and informed the Hawaii newspaper that the “mysterious tubes” were oyster rack spacers.

Oyster rack spacers are strung on a wire, alternating with drilled shells to keep them apart, then hung from a frame in shallow water. Clumps of oysters are grown on the shells, properly spaced for the best health and production of the bed.

In Hawaii, it was the longer, thinner, sometimes colored tubes used in Japanese oyster farms that were found. The typhoons set the tubes free. The North Pacific Sub-Tropical Gyre then delivered them to the islands. While I also find a number of those tubes, the majority of the ones I find are from good ole’ American and Bay Area oyster farms. They’re usually of shorter length, cut from half inch black poly-pipe.

Here’s my theory: I suspect that the powerful storm that blasted us on Jan. 4th did lots of damage to the oyster farms in Tomales Bay, Drake’s Estero and other nearby waters, setting free the bonanza of “The Tubes of Mystery.”

This picture of the debris

I collected on Monday from Tunitas Creek Beach demonstrates that the tubes weren’t the only things caught up in our recent storms. I set a one- day record of a dozen sand toys; shovels, a rake, a sifter, and a nice assortment of sand molds, including one for forming parapets on my next sand castle.

There was also a record number of plastic bottle caps and balloon remnants, many still tethered by colorful ribbons, only wrapped up in strands of kelp rather then the hands of excited children.

Oddly, I found five more fish tags from “The Contender,” a boat that sank years ago and whose fish tags figured in the solution to the mystery of Neptune’s Vomitorium

Lastly, I found a very rare “Shrunken Head Buoy.” I believe boat fires are the cause of these shriveled floats. Unfortunately, I can’t read the whole name on this one or I might be able to check its provenance. I think it starts with L.I.G., but can’t be sure. Anybody, have any ideas? Enjoy. John Vonderlin

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 27 (Original Draft)

Posted on February 29, 2008 by June Morrall

By June Morrall

If Pescadero was the recipe for a popular resort, here’s a list of its good ingredients:

Healthfulness: The ocean breezes were well advertised.

Location: Close enough to ride the stage, far enough away to feel secluded.

Sightseeing: Ride horseback into the mountains or down to the seashore. Within a two mile radius, enjoy magnificent pine and redwood forests, rocky canyons, brilliant green hills, babbling brooks and spectacular vistas.

Recreation: Excellent trout and ocean fishing; hunting. For the artist with an interest in the botanical–a great variety of sea moss, shells, ferns, and flowers.

Special Places To Visit: Breathtaking Butano Falls, and a secret cave on upper Butano Creek; Angel’s Roost, an enchanting grove of redwoods; Singing Beach, so-called for the friction of sand and water, resulting in a pleasant humming sound, and highly recommended, an educational tour of Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Famous “Magical” Attraction: Pebble Beach, south of Pescadero.

Posted in Coburn Mystery | Comments Off

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 26 (Original Draft)

Posted on February 29, 2008 by June Morrall

Story by June Morrall

In the 1860s Colonel Albert S. Evans, author of A La California: Sketches of Life in the Golden State, reported on a very, very interesting dispute between an Indian and a Spaniard in Pescadero.

At the root of the never-ending argument: Who arrived first in Pescadero? Don Felipe Armas…..or……Don Salvador Mosquito. Which one?

As with any disagreement, there are two sides, two versions–two people who may not like each other–and each one is highly convinced that the other one is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Don Felipe Armas’ Story:

I am a native Californian of Spanish parentage. I remember when King Kamehameha I put a call out for vaqueros to come to the Hawaiian Islands and kill off the wild cattle that were wreaking havoc. I was 35 years old when the King himself selected me.

Don Salvador Mosquitos’ Story:

I am a surviving Mission Indian and I remember when the padres tried to convert the natives to Christianity. I rebelled and became a member of the great renegrade Indian Pomponio’s tribe. There were only 50 of us left when Pomponio set up headquarters in the redwoods east of Pescadero. From our secret mountain perch, Pomponio led us on raids of well stocked ranches nearby, and as far away as Santa Clara and San Jose.

The fathers at Mission Santa Clara were furious because we stole food as well as their fine horses. They made a plan to destroy Pomponio. They captured all the female Indians, forcing Pomponio to risk his life by riding with his men into the mission to free the women. We all got away but were followed by the mission’s army into the mountains where there was a bloody fight that escalated into a slaughter leaving only me alive because I was too young to be killed.

Further complicating the matter between Armas and Mosquito’s claim, said Colonel Albert Evans, was the testimony of pioneer Alexander Moore. In the 1890s, he boasted: “I was the first settler in Pescadero and the only one left.”

Alexander Moore built the first frame house in Pescadero in 1853. Six years earlier, Moore, who was then 27, and his pregnant bride, crossed the plains from Missouri to California in a wagon pulled by oxen.

When the six month journey ended in 1847, the Moores first settled in Santa Cruz and became the parents of sons Eli and Bill.

Not yet convinced that he had found the perfect spot to settle, Alexander Moore often scouted the unfenced coastline north of Santa Cruz on a mule. He was looking for possible shipping points and news of shipwrecks; salvaging both the ship and its cargo was an excellent source of income in those days.

Two years later, about 1849, the Moores had found Pescadero to their liking, building the house with lumber hauled by oxen from Santa Cruz. He also helped build Pescadero’s first schoolhouse, hiring a teacher with his own money. By the 1890s Moore knew he had made the right decisions: he had been a county supervisor and was the owner of 700 acres.
When in San Francisco, Alexander Moore boarded his horse at future Pescadero landowner Loren Coburn’s stable.

Considered an oldtimer in Pescadero he was often asked: “How many people lived in Pescadero when you got here?”

Alexander Moore: Well, I will approximate it. Maybe there was a dozen.”

Posted in A La California: Sketches of Life in the Golden State, Alexander Moore, Colonel Albert S. Evans, Pomponio | Comments Off

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 25 (Original Draft)

Posted on February 28, 2008 by June Morrall

Story by June Morrall

In the mid-to-late 19th century, San Francisco’s great need for wood for building new structures– as well as replacing old ones that fed the frequent fires– led to the construction of profitable sawmills south of Half Moon Bay.

(At least in one case, ownership of the Rufus Hatch Mill, led to local political power in the 20th century when son Alvin Hatch went on to become a San Mateo County supervisor.)

But the Hatch Mill was located close to Half Moon Bay, with the pier and warehouse at Amesport (Miramar Beach), probably shipping Hatch’s timber to the City.

Pigeon Point Landing, south of Pescadero, was the shipping headquarters for the sawmills located on the South Coast. Redwoods and pine trees stood tall near the Pescadero, Butano and Gazo creeks.

[In the 1870s the Gazos flume did an outstanding business. During less than 5 hours, 25,000-feet of lumber floated through the flume.]

Lumber operators set up deep inside the forests, felled the trees, and processed them into shingles and railroad ties. Logging was an extremely dangerous profession, naturally attracting fearless men who loved danger. For the investor, it was an expensive proposition, due to the added cost of physical labor and mules moving the heavy logs and finished wood through the roadless redwoods to isolated Pigeon Point.

[In other cases, “flumes,” were used to float the wood from one place to another.]

The dream was to build a small railroad that would ferry the wood and shingles between the wharf and the sawmills. Better yet move the sawmills next door to Pigeon Point.

On the other hand, the difficulty that the logistics presented left many of the trees untouched–including a large stand of redwoods along Pescadero Creek (said to be the largest such stand south of Mendocino.)

Millions of board feet of lumber were also left along the Butano and Gazo creeks, untouched well in the 1900s.

Clarence Hayward was a big name in the lumber business. Hayward’s lumber, shingle and grist mills were located three miles east of the flag pole on San Gregorio Street in Pescadero. Clarence, who lived in an old house with beautiful gardens near the mill, sold pine and redwood and sometimes bartered for grain.

William Waddell was a pioneer sawmill owner who came to the South Coast from Kentucky in 1851. A good storyteller, Waddell said the abundant timber lining the banks of Pescadero creek was “unknown to the woodman’s axe” when he arrived.

William Waddell became the stuff of legend when a grizzly bear killed him in 1875. As a tribute to the sawmill owner [whose operations stood on both sides of the San Mateo-Santa Cruz County boundary line Waddell creek was named in William Waddell’s honor.

Posted in Coburn Mystery | Comments Off

….Between Storms….Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Posted on February 27, 2008 by June Morrall

Between Storms: Visit to San Gregorio Beach

Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Email John ([email protected])

Hi June,

Arriving at San Gregorio Beach Park, I could see getting across the creek was going to present a challenge. A large lagoon had formed and it was draining vigorously. The water, running into the ocean, a turbid, brown color from its sediment load, was forming standing waves a foot tall just above the area where it made its racing entrance into the ocean.

Using the slightly shallower water, where the creek had fanned out to its widest, readying itself to joust with the incoming waves, I was able to cross by facing the current and crab-walking sideways with short but rapid steps.

The speed with which the powerful current washed sand from beneath my feet messed with my balance, causing me to move quickly to avoid being knocked over. Still, the current pushed water up against my leg, topping and instantly filling my knee- high boots.

A shaky but successful trip was accomplished in moments, and I was in virgin territory, but with my Seven League Boots reduced to anchors.

Having struggled to semi-successfully cross, I found the rewards were not as I had hoped for, let alone risked for. I did get pictures of the peculiar and unprepossessing arch that is in the cliff at the far south end of the beach.. A yawner, but a necessary addition to my Sea Arches of San Mateo County Coast list, as it is a young arch with rapid growth potential because of its orientation to the waves.

Better yet was the fact that I got some nice pictures of the San Gregorio bridge, its image crisply mirrored in the lagoon. I was mildly irritated that my shots and this site were marred by a bold, but obnoxious graffiti moniker that emblazoned one support column, screaming for attention.

Wading back to the north side of the creek I collected three tires, all still mounted on their wheels, just lazying about on the beach. That added #60, #61, and #62 to my “101 Tires” project. The picture of Number 61, was shot from where I found the tire in front of one of the driftwood beach sculptures dotting the beach, It’s an interesting contrast of two extremely different manmade objects, the tire and the teepee.

With that it was time to head home and batten down the hatches before the predicted monster storm arrived on Saturday. Enjoy. John

P.S. Apparently, the graffiti received some attention this weekend, though not what the artist-vandal hoped for. When I stopped by on Monday to check if the disappointing so-called Monster Storm (that didn’t live up to its name) had brought anything new to the beach. I discovered the “Guerilla Graffiti” folks have started covering up this artistic lesion on the public’s viewscape. I like the way they try to blend the paint-over into the background. Kudos to them. Enjoy. John

Posted in John Vonderlin | Comments Off

What the heck is a “Vulcan Donut?” Story by John Vonderlin

1899 & an Unknown Year….

1870s: Colonel Zig Zag Covered All the News in San Gregorio…

1880-81 Business Directory: Pescadero

1880s: We would have all booked a room at the Swanton House

…..Tubes of Mystery….Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 27 (Original Draft)

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 26 (Original Draft)

Coburn Mystery: Chapter 25 (Original Draft)

….Between Storms….Story & Photos by John Vonderlin

Meta

Recent Comments

Categories