Sausalito Historical Society Newsletter Spring 2021

April 24, 2021

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APRIL 2021

2021 Annual Meeting

2021 Election and Ballot

Report of Activities

A Brief Remembrance of Billie Anderson

A Look Back at Our First Accession

T he Cazadero and the Model

Invitation to Annual Meeting

Members of the Sausalito Historical Society are cordially invited to attend the 2021 Annual Membership Meeting, to be held as a Zoom Meeting, at 7:30 P.M., Thursday May 13th. Here is the link, and a number so you could access the meeting by telephone.

Topic: Sausalito Historical Society Zoom Annual Meeting
Time: May 13, 2021 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/8359682890
Meeting ID: 835 968 2890

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

2021 Election and Ballot

The principal order of business will be to elect four members to serve two-year terms on the Board of Directors from July 2021 to June 2023. We are fortunate to have four well-known, very qualified candidates, all of whom are currently serving on the Board, and who have been nominated by unanimous vote of the Directors on April 15th.

Tami Bell

Tami grew up in Marin City where his parents settled soon after World War II. He attended Marin City and Sausalito Schools, then Tamalpais High and the College of Marin. He received a B.S. in History from Cal, and a law degree from Hastings School of Law in San Francisco.
His professional career has led Tami between positions relating to social justice, and education as a classroom teacher and administrator.
In 2017, when the Sausalito Historical Society led Sausalito’s civic celebration of 75th Anniversary of the creation of Marinship, Tami participated in several productions as Joseph James, a singer who became a welder, challenging work rules which discriminated against African Americans. With the support of the NAACP, the California Supreme Court sided with Mr. James in a landmark Civil Rights case. Mr. Bell is continuing his role as Joseph James as part of the SHS Schools Program.
The SHS Board of Directors selected Tami to fill a vacancy on the Board in March 2021, and now has nominated him for a full term.

Stanford Hughes

Renowned architect Stanford Hughes is perhaps best known in Sausalito for his work on the renovation at Cavallo Point Lodge and his work on the Praca de Cascais in downtown Sausalito. Stanford earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon and attended the Masters of Architecture program at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to establishing BraytonHughes Design Studios in 1989, he was Associate Partner and Director of the Interior Design Studio at Skidmore Owings and Merrill in San Francisco. In addition to his work on Cavallo Point, he has been project designer for many historic renovations including the Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego; the Palace Hotel, San Francisco; the Casa Palmero Spa, Pebble Beach; the Stanford University Green Library; and the Olympic Club Lakeside Clubhouse. He has taught design at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of California, Berkeley and the California College of Arts & Crafts (where he was Chairman of the Interior Architecture Department from 1991 to 1993). He was a member of SFMOMA's acquisitions committee for the Architecture and Design Department, and served on the advisory board for the University of California's Extension Program for Interior Design. He is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects. Locally, you may have heard him speak at the Sausalito Woman’s Club on the work of Julia Morgan, California’s first woman architect and the designer of their clubhouse - where his wife is a member. Stanford says, “History is something you cannot design.” He shares his hands on experience and knowledge of historic architecture with our community by adding his skills and expertise to the resources the Society provides for people researching Sausalito’s historic buildings.

Roberta Maloy

Roberta has lived in Sausalito for 30 years, and Marin County for even more. She is a member of the Sausalito Woman’s Club and serves on the board of the nonprofit Richardson’s Bay Maritime Association. She worked on the celebrations for the Marinship 75th anniversary. Currently she is the SHS secretary. A California native, she was born in Berkeley, raised in Arcata, got her MA and BA from San Francisco State University, worked in telecommunications finance management, and as the personal assistant and office administrator for Michael Rex Architects. She loves to sing, particularly as a member of the Blenders, a vocal trio that entertains around the Bay Area. She always enjoys learning more about Sausalito’s history, and is pleased to be asked to serve on the SHS board for another 2-year term. She has enjoyed sharing the Society with the residents of our wonderful Sausalito and Marin County while serving as Secretary of the SHS.

Nick Roby

Although I have lived most of my life in Sausalito, actually, I was born in Hong Kong while my father was working for Wells Fargo Bank. We returned to Sausalito when I was just six months old. I began my 'higher education' at the Sausalito Nursery School. I subsequently went to private schools in Marin & San Francisco. From five years old until I was ten or so, I spent my afternoons at the Bay Model Visitor Center while my mother worked on MARINSHIP 1942*1945, the museum exhibit about Sausalito's WWII shipyard. In high school, I volunteered at the kiosk downtown, which was just a damp wooden shed by the ferry landing at the time. After high school, I went to New York for college, C.W. Post, and then spent two years as a reporter for a local TV station. In the winter of 2004, during a blustery snowstorm, I asked myself, 'What am I doing here?' and moved back to Sausalito in April of that year. Since moving back, I have worked at Edelman Productions; KRON TV and subsequently for the past nine years have been at the Redwoods Retirement Community. My mother was on the SHS board 2004-2006 and throughout my entire life I have appreciated the role of the Society in the community. I think it is so important to know our heritage. It is an honor to serve on the Board in this wonderful community that I love so much!

HOW TO VOTE

YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS THIS YEAR:

YOU MAY VOTE BY EMAIL by replying to: info@sausalitohistoricalsociety.org (Clicking the link should generate an an email with the ballot . If that doesn't work, you can try the link again while viewing the newsletter in your browser, or just copy and paste the sections in red from the sample ballot below into an email, and indicate your votes with an X).
OR VOTE LIVE: exercise your vote during the on-line Annual Meeting, starting at 7:30 P.M. Pacific Daylight Savings Time. Meeting access information can be found at the start of this email.

SAMPLE BALLOT FOR VOTING BY E-MAIL

There are four vacancies for two year terms, effective July 2021 through June 2023. When you reply, please indicate each candidate from the list below you are voting for by typing an X.

Tami Bell
Stanford Hughes
Roberta Maloy
Nick Roby

As of this writing, April 20. 2021, the Board does not have any other items scheduled to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting,, but in case something unforeseen arises, the Board requests that you assign your proxy to SHS Ambassador, and former Secretary, Sharon Seymour, so the Board would have enough votes to represent 10% of the current membership of approximately 262.

If you are voting by email and would like to assign your proxy to Sharon Seymour, please type an X after the statement below:

I assign my proxy to Sharon Seymour, SHS Ambassador, to represent me at the Annual Meeting on May 13 2021.

END OF BALLOT

SHS Report of Activities: Covid-19 Edition

As with just about all facets of our lives, things have been different in the Sausalito Historical Society since early 2020.

Our office and Exhibit Room in City Hall has been closed;
The Ice House Museum and Visitor Center is closed;
The Marinship Museum has been closed, but has just reopened;
Our fund raiser and events and exhibits which we had anticipated have been cancelled or postponed;
The Board of Directors meetings are conducted monthly via Zoom teleconferencing.

So, we are focused on what we can do:

We are replacing our data files with a new, cloud-based version of Past Perfect, to protect our information;
We are replacing and/or upgrading our IT equipment and network;
We are in conversation with Sausalito’s Historic Preservation Commission about activities of joint interest;
Former Director Barbara Rycerski is photographing our art collection, creating digital image for preservation;
Collections Manager Sharon Seymour is answering information requests;
Former SHS President Larry Clinton continued placing interesting articles in the Marin Scope;
Former Director Jim Meyer maintained our website
This is our third emailed newsletter, trying to keep in contact with you;
We have responded to research requests by phone and email;
We have participated in programs with the Sausalito Library focusing on Race Relations;
We have submitted a written report and oral presentation about the Cultural History of Marinship;
The SHS Schools program enhanced its presentations this year by enlisting two new “historic characters” for the presentations to students at Willow Creek and Bayside-MLK. Donald Jen acted as his grandfather, Yee Tock Chee of the Marin Fruit Company. And Tami Bell complete with welder’s helmet, appeared as Joseph James. These presentations have been via Zoom ;
Phone calls are being returned; emails are routed and answered; bills are being paid;
We are having an Annual Meeting, albeit on Zoom.
We’ve got other projects in mind waiting for you—call us at 415 289-4117 or send us a note at: info@sausalaitohistoricalsociety.org
AND WE’VE GOT A GREAT NEW PROJECT IN THE WORKS THAT WE CAN’T WAIT TO TELL YOU ABOUT AT THE ANNUAL MEETING!

Remembering Billie Anderson

The Sausalito Historical was saddened to learn of the passing of Billie Anderson on Saturday, April 17th. She was widely known as the Editor of the Marin Scope, from the time she and her husband, Paul Anderson started the paper in 1972. We had been without a home-town paper since the demise of the Sausalito News in 1960. (Copies of both papers may be found online at the California Digital Newspaper Collection). The Andersons sold the Scope in 1998. Billie was a Director of the Sausalito Historical Society from 2003 to 2008, serving several years as Treasurer. For many years, she contributed articles to the Scope on behalf of the SHS.

Kim Huff, president of the Sausalito Woman’s Club wrote to their members that “Billie was a strong voice for the club as well as the Community. She joined the club in 1989 and went right to work serving the membership. She served on several committees during her time as a member, most notable Budget and Civics, she served as Treasurer for the SWC as well as on the Board and Chairwoman of the Scholarship Recognition Fund.”

On a personal note, representing the Little League, I wrote a column for the Scope for several years in the 1990s, working with Billie, Paul, Privette, and all of the staff. I had a wonderful time; their suggestions were always improvement.

Jerry Taylor

A Look Back

Speaking of the Marin Scope, here is a story from May 6, 1975, in the early days of the Sausalito Historical Society:

Historical Society Starts to Catalogue Donations
A comprehensive cataloguing of historical items given to the Sausalito Historical Society over the past few months will commence this Saturday. May 10, under the direction of Mrs. Robert (Francis) Shinn. Mrs. Shinn will carry on her work in the Society's new headquarters on the top floor of the Civic Center at 420 Litho Street. New donations can be brought to this location on Saturday, where they will be accepted for evaluation by the Society's board. All past donors will be sent an acknowledgement of their gifts.
The first item to be recorded in the Society's ledger of acquisitions will be a "hand harpoon." circa 1860, which was discovered by 12-ycar-old Richard Frey in the backyard of his home on Princess Street. Richard made an impromptu presentation of the harpoon to Society Chairman Jack Tracy after dedication ceremonies of the new Civic Center on March 8. The Historical Society hopes other residents will follow this example.

And you did. Here is a copy of the SHS Accessions Catalog, showing this harpoon as the first item accessed in 1975 (our first year), and the article which is quoted above as the second item in our collection:

Catalog Report

Object Id

Object Name

Catalog

Title

Date

Description

1975.1.1

Harpoon

Object

Seal harpoon circa 1860s

1860

A hand-wrought fishing spear / seal harpoon from circa 1860s, found at Princess & Bulkley.

1975.1.2

Clipping, Newspaper

The Cazadero and the Model

1902 introduced a new chapter in Sausalito’s history, as Mr. John Martin and associates purchased the pioneer North Pacific Coast Railroad. Over the next few years, the new North Shore Railroad:

Constructed a new ferry terminal building in Sausalito;
Added a third rail so both narrow gauge and standard gauge trains could operate to Mill Valley and within most of Marin County;
Added a fourth rail to carry electric current to power local passenger trains; and
Filled in “the Pond”, which became Depot Park, now known as Vina del Mar Park.

And, most pertinent to the title of this article:

Purchased the ferryboat Cazadero in 1903.

The Cazadero was built by the John W. Dickie Company of Alameda. She was a classic SF Bay ferryboat:

double-ended
Side Paddle Wheels
Walking Beam Engine
257’ in length, 1,682 gross tons
Launched with a striking list, later counteracted by adding concrete
Capacity of 2,000 passengers

She joined a fleet of boats which shuttled between Sausalito and the San Francisco Ferry Building: Ukiah, Sausalito, Tiburon, and Tamalpais (#2). After 1907, they sailed under the banner of the Northwestern Pacific. In the 1920s the Eureka, Mendocino, Redwood Empire, and Santa Rosa replaced the older boats. The Cazadero lasted until the end of service, she was sold in 1941 and converted into a barge.

Above: Cazadero in Richardson’s Bay. Below: Close up of Cazadero’s Walking Beam which transferred motion from the Vertical Engine to the Paddle Wheels

In late December 2020, the Historical Society was contacted by Mr. Richard Aufort. He wanted to donate a model of the Cazadero, crafted by his father Rene Aufort. In Richard’s words, he wanted “to bring the Cazadero home to Sausalito”.
Accepting the beautiful model on behalf of the Sausalito Historical Society are Secretary Roberta Maloy, and former Secretary, now head of Accessions, Sharon Seymour, flanking Richard Aufort.

Richard came from his home in Oregon to visit his mother in the Bay Area, transporting the model and case in his car. We look forward to the re-opening of our facilities on the top floor of City Hall when you may enjoy this precious gift, in person.

Rene C Aufort was born in LaRochelle, France on Feb 9, 1927, and brought to San Francisco at the age of four by his parents, Harry and Fabienne. He spent his childhood in the Bayview and his adult years in the Sunset until 1962 when he moved with his family to Millbrae, Ca. Growing up in San Francisco he attended Balboa High School where he competed in long distance running. Rene joined the Navy after high school and served in the Pacific at the end of WWII, working as an electrician. He then pursued his love of art by studying oil painting at the SF Art Institute and was part of the Bay Area Figurative School.

In 1950 Rene joined the San Francisco Police Department from which he retired in 1976 as Captain of Northern Station. After retirement he and Rita opened a popular kitchenware and antique store, Renita's, in Millbrae which was in business for 15 years. Rene was an accomplished carpenter, woodworker, artist and boat model builder. He and Rita spent many years golfing and traveling the world together and with friends.

He had a calming nature, was modest about his successes and generous with both time and money to family and friends, always helpful and accepting of all people. He had a clever, dry sense of humor and will be remembered for his quick wit.
Rene Aufort passed away peacefully May 18th 2018, with his wife of 71 years, Rita, children Renee and Richard, daughter in law Fran and beloved dog Corky at his bedside.

(Lightly edited from the San Francisco Chronicle, May 22 to May 27, 2018.)

Board of Directors

Terms Ending 6/30/22
Peter Bowes, Treasurer
Lauri Flynn
Nora Sawyer, Vice President
Jim Scriba
Sela Seleska
Jerry Taylor, President

Terms Ending 6/30/21
Tami Bell
Stanford Hughes
Roberta Maloy, Secretary
Nick Roby

Ambassadors

Sandra Bushmaker
Abbot Chambers
Larry Clinton
John Cox
Susan Frank
Tom Hoover
Leon Hunting
Sallie Hunting
Jan Keizer

James Meyer
Michael Moyle
Vicki Nichols
Carl Nolte
Michael Rex
Barbara Rycerski
Linda Sempliner
Sharon Seymour
Dana Whitson

Thank you for being a member of the Sausalito Historical Society, and thanks for reading this far. I hope you can participate in the Annual Meeting. If you can’t be there, please consider sending your marked ballot and proxy. The special announcement which I teased will be found on the SHS website shortly after May 13th. I think you’ll like it. We hope to see you in person soon, at our City Hall home, at the Ice House, or in a local business. Please renew your memberships, and/or consider a donation to the Sausalito Historical Society. Both can be easily accomplished on our website.

If you'd rather contact us offline, we receive mail at P.O. Box 352, Sausalito, CA 94966, and can be reached at 415-289-4117. Let us know if you'd like membership materials mailed out to you.

For the Sausalito Historical Society,
Jerry Taylor

Sausalito Historical Society Newsletter Winter 2021

February 28, 2021

Stories for Winter 2021

Peggy Tolk-Watkins and the Tin Angels

The Historical Society received a generous donation this year from the son of Peggy Tolk-Watkins, Ragland Watkins. It contained articles, newspaper clippings, LP albums, business records, drawings, books and photographs. Along with these items came a generous check. This augments our collection on a fascinating Sausalito resident who was a nightclub owner, artist, teacher, social worker and free-spirit.

Peggy was born and raised in New York City and began her career as a social worker on the Lower East Side. She first came to Sausalito in the 1940s, after the end of World War II and worked as a teacher in Richmond housing projects. She left to earn a degree in literature from Black Mountain College in North Carolina where she met a charming Southern gentleman by the name of Ragland Watkins. On her return to California, she opened a nightclub here called The Tin Angel which featured jazz and folk music. It was on Bridgeway on the site of present day Scoma’s. In 1952 she sold the club and left the area for a year.

When Peggy returned to the Bay Area, she moved to a home on West Court in Sausalito. She soon opened another Tin Angel, but this time in San Francisco on The Embarcadero. Her club was known for its flair, eclectic décor and its “scene,” which included poetry readings as well as jazz and folk music. It became a nationally known night spot. Several jazz musicians and singers started their careers at the Tin Angel. Turk Murphy played there. Odetta started singing there. Peggy brought New Orleans blues singer Lizzie Miles to sing at her club. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle described it as “a centerpiece in the new bohemian nightlife of the city.” (6/26/1973).

A year later she opened another bar, The Fallen Angel, in the house on Pine Street that was once the place of business of another Sausalitan, Sally Stanford. San Francico columnist Ralph J. Gleason wrote that Peggy had the knack of “getting interesting people to come to the club regardless of the entertainment of the moment. She was stimulating to talk to herself and that drew interesting people.”

Peggy Tolk-Watkins was also a self-trained artist and had a showing of her work at the DeYoung Museum in 1960. Her style has been described as primitive with highly imaginative depiction of animals and flowers. We have a copy of one of her paintings, “The Red Reindeer,” in our collection. It is inscribed to Ruth and Albert, i.e., Bay Area artist Ruth Asawa and her husband, Albert Lanier.

Peggy Tolk-Watkins lived a full and interesting life but it was cut too short. During her last few years she had serious health problems and she died in 1973 at the age of 51.

Collections Manager Sharon Seymour interviewed Peggy’s son Ragland after the donation was received. It is an interesting read of what Ragland remembers of his mother and Sausalito in the 1950s and ‘60s. Incidentally, the collection was brought to the Sausalito Historical Society by Addie Lanier, the daughter of Ruth Asawa and Alfred Lanier, who had helped take care of Peggy when she became ill.
--Lauri Flynn

Interview with Ragland Watkins

An Imperfect History of 588 Bridgeway

History at its most satisfying enriches the present moment. Providing a perspective allows us to see the world from a vantage point outside of the span of our own existence. Take Scoma’s for example. The building seems made for its current role. What else could it be but this restaurant, with its white tablecloths and expansive views, broad umbrellas shielding diners from the afternoon sun?

But of course, it wasn’t always Scoma’s. You can see that from the windows, still decorated with a hand motif from its days as the Glad Hand more than fifty years ago. It wasn’t always a restaurant, either. When it was first built in 1904, the building served as an office and maintenance shop for Lange’s Launch Co., a local ferrying and tugboat service provided by Mat Lange. Captain Lange ran regular ferries, charters, and the “paperboat” that brought over newspapers from San Francisco. He delivered papers to Alcatraz, Angel Island, Tiburon, Belvedere, Sausalito, and even the Mile Rock Lighthouse outside the Golden Gate.

After the Golden Gate Bridge opened, there wasn’t as much of a need for paperboats and ferry services. Renowned for his cooking – especially the clam chowder he served at beach picnics -- Lange and his wife opened the first restaurant in the building in 1938. Serving crab, hotdogs, and sandwiches, Lange also offered fresh crab for sale, and chartered fishing expeditions.

After Lange’s death in 1949, Peggy Tolk-Watkins took over the space, renaming it the Tin Angel. The name came from an angel hung on the outside of the building, which Tolk-Watkins had found in the rubble of a New York Church that collapsed after a fire. With multi-colored windows, a yellow piano, and an interior painted purple, red, black and green by Jean Varda and a crew of Black Mountain College students, the Tin Angel became a center for art, jazz and folk music, and bohemian life in Sausalito. Though the Tin Angel was only open in Sausalito for a few years, it quickly came to represent the dynamic, artistic side of the city that flourished after World War II. When the Chamber of Commerce held a slogan contest in 1950, one of the entries was “Sausalito: Home of the Tin Angel.”

In 1953, Tolk-Watkins sold the business to Al Engel, a banker, and Harrison Thompson, a top-ranked professional ice skater. Renamed the Glad Hand, the restaurant continued to show work by artists from around the bay area, and employed a number of local artists and writers as well, including abstract expressionist painter Walter Khulman, who worked as a cook for five years until a fellowship award from the Graham Foundation meant he didn’t “have to cook these chickens anymore.”

Though a gathering place for Sausalito locals, the Glad Hand also attracted tourists and visiting celebrities such as Helen Hayes and Vivien Leigh. Russia’s prima ballerina, taking in the view, declared San Francisco “the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.”

In 1968, Engel successfully petitioned to have the restaurant moved 25 feet further out into the Bay. The next year, he sold the business to San Francisco restaurateurs Al and Joe Scoma and Victor and Roland Gotti. The brothers renovated the building, adding outdoor seating and brightening the interior by adding more windows to let in light and air, and of course more access to the view. Despite these changes, this small structure perched on the edge of the water has been a constant presence for over 100 years. Sausalito has changed. Newspapers are no longer brought by boat from San Francisco, and you won’t often hear the insistent rhythm of late-night jazz played along the

waterfront. But you can still enjoy a bowl of clam chowder or some fresh crab, and the restaurant still welcomes locals and visitors alike. And as you look across the bay to San Francisco, you might find yourself thinking that this view, and that city, are the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.
--Nora Sawyer

Thanks to 2020 Premium Level Members and Major Donors

Benefactor Level Members

Elizabeth Robinson

Jan & Maria Elena Keizer

Pat Ronzone & Joe DeBellis

Patron Level Members

Ellen Rosenstein & Dale Barnes

Jim Meyer

Terrance & Gail Callaghan

Michael & Nancy Moyle

Susan and Daniel Daniloff

James Scriba

Donald Sibbett & Brianna Cutts

Michelle & David Benjamin

Roxanne Sheridan

Stanford Hughes & E.V. Gilbreath

Barbara Rycerski

Sponsor-Business Level Members

Janet Leonard

Maren Randrup

Jim & Cathy DeLano

Chris Ver Planck

Joanne’s Print Shop

Lauri Flynn

Lloyd & Connie Latch

Michael Rex

Sausalito Imports

Patricia & Peter Bowes

Christopher Gate

Nancy & Jim Osborn

Jim & Rose-Meri Muldoon

Pam & Roger Abendroth

Margaret Perry Compagno

Hale R. Allen

Mary L. Robinson

Jacqueline Kudler

Major Donors

Ragland Watkins

Linda Hothem

Tom Theodores & Tricia Smith

Mickie Allison

Ann Heurlin

Letter from the President

On December 8th, Gail and I watched the Sausalito City Council meeting. We saw exchanges of “Congratulations”; “Thanks for your Service”; “I Enjoyed Serving with You”; “Thanks to the Sausalitians who Volunteer”. Then City Clerk, Heidi Scobel, administered the Oaths of Office to each of the three newly elected members. The images of the outgoing members were taken off the screen, the three new members assumed their “seats” and the meeting proceeded.

An orderly, mature transition. It made me happy.

The next day, I read a passage from W. P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe, upon which the movie Field of Dreams is based. The lead character muses about his home town. “Iowa City: memorialized by Meredith Wilson as River City in The Music Man. Shady streets, very old white frame houses, porch swings, lilacs, one-pump gas stations, and good neighbors. But the wagons have been gathered in a circle, and the pioneers are being picked off one by one by fast food franchises that spring up everywhere like evil mushrooms, by concrete-and-glass buildings, muffler shops, and Howard Johnson motels. Each of these destroys a little more history.”

Why do I divert to a baseball novel written almost forty years ago? Because Sausalito’s City Councils and Planning Commissions and Historical Review Boards and Community Appearance Advisory Commissions have made a lot of decisions over the years. Those groups wouldn’t have been involved unless there was some dispute over the design, or view effects or …

Over the years, the collective decisions of those volunteers has given us a hometown in which I was able to report to the City Council in October about the Cultural History of Marinship, entitled “History is Important in Sausalito”.

So at a time of Council transition, I thank the long line of Council members and committee members who have honored that statement, kept Sausalito salty, and avoided the “evils” which befell “River City”.

Living in my home town, it makes me happy.

* * * * * * *

In many ways, 2020 was a “lost” year for the Sausalito Historical Society. There were no Field Trips, or Walking Tours, no new Exhibits in City Hall, no in-person presentations in the Library, no Gala, and no in-person Annual Meeting. The Ice House has been closed for ten months.

But, we are doing what we can:

Larry Clinton continues to relay Sausalito stories in the Marin Scope on a weekly basis. We’ve begun a project to create an index for these wonderful articles.
Jim Meyer maintains our website: www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.org
Roberta Maloy deals with incoming communications and pays the bills.
Barbara Rycerski is completing an inventory of the SHS Art Collection.
Sharon Seymour continues cataloging our accessions.
Scriba is updating our Information Technology and Data Communication hardware.
Lauri Flynn handles our memberships and donations
Our Past Perfect data management system is being upgraded to increase functionality, security and accessibility.
Our Schools Program resumed in January, Virtual Style, with the local 3rd Graders
Scriba and Stacy Smith, a professor at Oregon State U, conducted a Virtual presentation on Racial Divide in California in the 1800’s. On January 13th, SHS Ambassadors Tami Bell and Dana Whitson told the story of Marinship’s Joseph James. Both were excellent programs.

Nothing planned for 2020 has been cancelled, just postponed. When conditions permit, we will reopen the Ice House, host a Gala, stage a new exhibit in City Hall, and reconsider field trips and walking tours which we had anticipated in 2020.

We’re still here on this end. We hope you’re still with us on your end. Please renew your memberships. If you have a Life Membership, please consider making a donation to the Society.

Jerry E. Taylor

Sausalito Historical Society, President

Recent Acquisitions at the SHS

COVID has not stopped people from donating to the SHS. Thank you to our donors! Here are some of our recent acquisitions.

Peggy Tolk-Watkins archives

Peggy was a “Free-spirited Sausalito artist” and former owner of the Tin Angel in Sausalito (see other articles in this newsletter.) Her son, Ragland Tolk- Watkins has made a major donation of items from Peggy’s archives, including photos of her artwork, manuscripts with her illustrations, photos of the Fallen Angel and Tin Angel, ephemera from The Fallen Angel and Tin Angel including fliers and cards for musical events at the Tin Angel, and a Tin Angel menu, record covers illustrated by Peggy for” Interviews of Our Time: Lenny Bruce,” “ Cal Tjader’s Latest Hits”, “Odetta and Larry” and “Paul Desmond Quartet,” newspaper clippings of her art shows etc, contracts with Odetta and others, collages by Peggy and photo portraits of her.

Music and Hippies

James Scriba donated “Making Rumors, The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album” by Ken Caillet and Steven Stiefel- a book that includes descriptions of the Record Plant, where the album was made, and a DVD of “Olompali: A Hippy Odyssey.” Olompali was started by Don McCoy, who once had a houseboat venture in Sausalito.

Jack Beckerman painting, “Bishop’s Lodge Road”, 1994

Britta Carlson donated this acrylic on canvas painting by Jack Beckerman, painting as Jack Beck. Beckerman was born in Mill Valley in 1920 and passed away in 2016. He exhibited at the Sausalito Art Festival in the 1970’s. He was an army captain, courier for General MacArthur in the Pacific Theater during WWII, CPA and a painter.

–Sharon Seymour, Collections Manager

Membership Information

Thanks to all who have renewed in the last year. We will be checking with some of you who may have forgotten. Also please note that our dues for a few membership levels went up slightly last year, for the first time in 10 years. If you have an annual payment through a service, such as PayPal, please adjust the amount.

You can find more information on membership on our website at: http://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/membership

We happily welcome the following new members:

Ian Sobieski, Sausalito

Connor Turnbull, Corte Madera

Robert Nelson, Montgomery AL

Bernard St. Croix, Larkspur

Christopher Dewees, Davis

Board and Ambassadors

Board of Directors, 2020-2021

Jerry E.Taylor, President

Nora Sawyer, Vice President

Roberta Maloy, Secretary

Peter Bowes, Treasurer

Lauri Flynn, Membership, Accessions, Newsletter

Stanford Hughes, Facilities

Nick Roby, Member at Large

Jim Scriba, Docent, Exhibits & Events

Sela Selaska, Member at Large

Ambassadors

Tami Bell, Schools Program

Sandra Bushmaker

Larry Clinton, Marin Scope Contributor

John Cox, Docent

Susan Frank, Schools Program

Tom Hoover

Leon Hunting

Sallie Hunting

Jan Keizer, Docent

James Meyer, Website

Michael Moyle

Michael Rex

Linda Sempliner, Ice House Mgr.

Sharon Seymour, Accessions/Collections

Dana Whitson, Schools Program

Sausalito Historical Society NewsLetter Winter - Spring 2019

April 02, 2019

Moments in Time

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

A celebration of those we’ve lost since our last issue

At times, working on this newsletter felt like attending a really fantastic party. The sort of celebration where everyone you meet is fascinating, and every conversation feels like a window opening to show a new a perspective of a familiar view.

After spending time thinking about the lives these nine Sausalitans and talking with those who knew them, I can say without reservation that the Sausalito Historical Society attracts the best sort people. Every individual profiled here was civic-minded and curious, enthusiastic about Sausalito’s history and generous with their knowledge. We were fortunate to count them among our volunteers, board members, and friends. Their legacy lives on.

This issue is by no means comprehensive. There are people we lost in 2018 and early 2019 who aren’t profiled here. But in this sampling, we hope we’ve captured a bit of the spirit of Sausalito, and the writers, artists, historians, politicians, and everyday Sausalitans who have helped carry that spirit into the 21st century.

–nora sawyer

Doris Lorraine Christman Berdahl

oct, 2, 1928 - sept, 3, 2018

Doris Berdahl (right) with Alice Merrill and Margaret Badger

Doris was an intellectual force in Sausalito, an astute observer and an avid reader who provided the public with insights into both history and current events.

As a reporter for the Marinscope in the 1970s and 80s, she covered a range of issues, including school district segregation, historic preservation, and tussles over the environmental impact of waterfront development.

In the late 1970s she worked on starting an educational and community access TV station. There, she did a weekly half- hour news program, “Agenda,” which covered highlights

of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. She also wrote feature articles for the Marin Council of Agencies and the Ecumenical Association for Housing newsletters.

Doris’ involvement in Sausalito’s civic life reflected her passion for history and the community. She served on the Sausalito Historical Landmarks Board, and helped write “Noteworthy Structures and Sites” in 1992. She also served on Sausalito’s General Plan Steering Committee in 1995.

Doris was active in the Sausalito Historical Society for more than four decades, writing the Society’s Marinscope column and serving on the board and as assistant editor for the newsletter, though as editor Margaret Badger recalls, “we both knew whom the real master journalist was!”

In 1997 she wrote a memo to Phil Frank about a proposal for the Ice House, which was being moved to the head of the boardwalk near the ferry landing. She suggested that the Ice House would “address the needs of our visitors and project the best possible image of Sausalito” as an overall visitor hospitality center with historical exhibits. She proposed that a task force with members from the City, Chamber, and local nonprofits collaborate on a successful public relations system.

Doris coordinated the Ice House activities for many years. There, her legacy lives on, providing tourists, local schoolchildren, and other visitors with access to the best possible Sausalito.

–lauri flynn

Linda Bonnett

oct 9, 1939 - sept 22, 2018

Most people reading this newsletter are probably aware of Jack Tracy’s book, Sausalito: Moments in Time. Many probably own a well-thumbed copy. If you’re one of them, flip the book open and you’ll find a note from Jack Tracy, thanking “Wayne and Linda Bonnett, for encouraging me to put it down on paper.”

The Bonnetts did more than just encourage Tracy’s vision – they helped make it happen. Sitting Jack down in front of a tape recorder, they got him talking about Sausalito history. “Our function,” Linda told the Marinscope in 1983, “was to keep him on the track.” They then “transcribed it, unraveled it, and turned to researching it and filling in the gaps.”

A book designer, Linda Bonnett oversaw the layout of the book. She also decided to publish it here in Marin, so that Jack could stay close to the project. “The goal of a regular publisher is to sell books,” she explained. “Our goal was to create a family album for those who call Sausalito home.”

This passion for quality inspired the Bonnetts to start Windgate Press, a small publishing house dedicated to producing what Linda called “nice, friendly things,” books and prints featuring meticulously restored historical photographs that presented each image “as the photographer intended,” with every detail sharp.

Their work brought them to archives throughout California. Images were often unlabeled, but Linda was a talented detective, deciphering details that placed photos in context. “We like to work with raw collections where people don’t know what to do or how to proceed”, Publisher’s Weekly in 1989. “We like to sculpt books by doing the assembly and design ourselves.” Linda told Publisher’s Weekly in 1989.

Sculpture was an apt metaphor. Linda and Wayne met at the California College of Arts and Crafts, and she earned her Master’s in sculpture at the University of Northern Colorado. Linda taught art, and the pair lived in England for a time. When it was time to move back to the states, they chose Sausalito.

Both were very much involved with civic life, with Wayne serving on the City Council and the Planning Commission while Linda preferred to stay in the background, connecting with people behind the scenes. Though low-key, she was also persistent. When parts of the Marinship were threatened by development, Linda walked from one end of the waterfront to another, spreading word about the proposal and encouraging those impacted by it to get involved.

Days after Linda passed, her friend, then-mayor Joan Cox, adjourned the City Council in her honor, describing Linda as a “force of nature” who worked tirelessly for Sausalito. As Cox concluded, “she will be missed.”

–norasawyer

Dorothy Gibson

feb. 9, 1923 - jan. 18, 2019

I looked down Dorothy’s driveway at 429 ½ Johnson Street not long after learning she was gone. I wanted a last glimpse of Dorothy Land – the calla lilies along the gravel-and-dirt tracks leading to her camper, her beloved lemon tree, the brown shingled house with skylights, the uneven terrain to the front door where, just inside, she parked her hiking boots. I looked, but when I saw the camper was gone, I didn’t unhook the gate. Better, I thought, to hold back and to remember.

I signed up for Dorothy’s Walkways of Sausalito walking tour in 1998, the year I moved to Sausalito. A small group of us gathered downtown once a week for two months and, if I remember correctly, it rained every time we met. Soon the group thinned to those willing to follow Dorothy up steep staircases, through mud, fast running streamlets and dripping trees. She never faltered, but she did laugh heartily when I conscientiously tried to take notes on a soggy scratch pad.

Over years, Dorothy’s interest in sharing her knowledge of the out-of-doors and of local history stimulated my interest in learning about Southern Marin. But I think what sticks with me most were our conversations about her cross country camping trips every summer to visit her sister in New England. As a free spirit, her eyes glowed at

the thought of firing up her camper, heading down familiar highways, sequestering in discovered camp grounds, learning the names of rivers and mountains and exploring new trails. She knew I’d practiced wanderlust in my life too and a quiet bond was formed.

Dorothy had a web of supporters, but some were far away. She was both stubbornly independent and accepting of help as needed. For Dorothy, to live was to walk or, second best, to vicariously enjoy watching others biking, walking, skipping, scootering up and down Sausalito hills and along the waterfront. Anything that showed some kick-in-the pants fun… Well, perhaps not “anything.” Dorothy was a Ranger on Mt. Tamalpais and a no-nonsense enforcer of rules when needed!

Most recently, Dorothy was a spirited member of the weekly group Oral Interpretation of Shakespeare offered through Sausalito Village. This adventure in get-it-right character portrayal under the experienced hand of actress/director Judy Holmes was an environment in which Dorothy delighted. On previous occasions, she had enjoyed acting and improvisation classes so Shakespeare oral readers were not surprised when she launched into St. Joan in Henry VI, Part One with such passion as “to stiffen the backbone of the hesitant Dauphin.”

It was a pleasure, Dorothy. Many thanks and good travels.

–margaretbadger

Carol Hayes

oct 10, 1933 - feb 21, 2018

Carol Hayes and her husband Allan married in 1958, moved to Sausalito, and in 1963 bought and remodeled the hillside home where they raised their two sons, Mark and Keith. One of the couple’s first friends here in town was the colorful artist Enid Foster, who introduced them to the lively Sausalito art scene that revolved around her.

In 1980, Carol started Summerhouse Antiques, at first part of a collective in San Anselmo. A trip to Santa Fe sparked a lifetime interest in Southwestern Indian pottery, and the business gradually evolved into Summerhouse Indian Art.

Carol joined the Historical Society Board in 2008. She developed the first training manual for research room docents, and her family donated equipment which greatly advanced the Society’s ability to scan and catalogue archival materials

Eventually, the couple began working together on a book about their old friend Enid Foster. Before the book was finished, Carol died suddenly and peacefully after a day spent at the Marin Indian Art Show. Allan was able to finish the book, Enid Foster: Sausalito’s Greatest Forgotten Artist, out now from Roundtree press. One passage evokes the couple’s ongoing love affair with their home town:

If you think 1950s suburbia was all about the mom-in-the- kitchen, father-knows-best stereotype, you didn’t experience Enid’s Sausalito. It was an antic, thrill-a-minute amalgam of bohemian and Beat-Period artists, writers and actors, some of whom became household names, alongside a large gay community at a time when San Francisco’s Castro District was still a colorless working-class neighborhood. We’d heard Sausalito called ‘Fire Island West,’ which wasn’t meant as a compliment. In a 1961 feature, Holiday magazine dismissed Sausalito as ‘a hotbed of clangorous, vehemently dissident individuals with un-American beards.’

Nevertheless, we settled there in 1958. Instead of clangor, we found a welcoming town. We could walk to everything, day or night, we could be whoever we wanted to be and look however we wanted to look, and no one would object or even notice. And we found enchantment every day.

–larry clinton

Cicely Muldoon

feb 26, 1922 - jan 5, 2019

Running a busy home with five boys and two girls is quite an accomplishment, especially when you have an open door for other kids in the neighborhood who love to come to your warm, welcoming home.

Starting out in Omaha, Nebraska, Cis met her husband at Creighton University. They moved to Sausalito after the Second World War. She loved the town and said later that she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It had a wonderful small town feeling and was a great place to raise her kids. In fact the birth of at least two of her sons made headlines in the Sausalito News.

While her children were growing up she became involved in organizations relating to their education and activities, such as the PTA and Scouts. Later she became very active in the Salvage Shop, which sold donated clothing and household items as well as new items given from local stores, with proceeds going to charity. It was an all-volunteer operation with no real “manager” but Cis was often the one whom the other workers went to when they had a problem or question. Sometimes when a problem was brought to her attention, she would say “Get a grip, old girl!”

Cis joined the Sausalito Woman’s Club in 1964 and was involved in many activities over the years. She became President in 1982. One of her passions was bridge and she was quite a whiz, though one of her friends said she was also very patient when playing with new members to the group so they would learn and feel comfortable. In fact, she was a mentor to many of the women and encouraged them to take on roles when they were unsure. Her phrase, “You can do it!” encouraged them to say yes and expand their responsibilities in the SWC. She was also involved in the St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Parish and served as President of the Woman’s Guild in 1972-74.

Friends remember Cis as positive force and always had a way of making things work out. She had a calming influence on people and situations. Though she was a political junkie at the state and national level, she didn’t seem to get involved in local politics. Perhaps she decided neutrality was best for the community she loved so much.

Cis Muldoon was very Irish and much loved for her generosity of spirit and fun loving personality.

–lauri flynn

Donald Keith Olsen

nov 11, 1931 - jan 25, 2019

Don Olsen fell in love with Sausalito the first time he saw it, as an Army engineer from Oklahoma taking in the sights before shipping off to Korea. Sausalito’s hills and waterfront made an impression. When his military service ended, he and his bride, college sweetheart Sandra, moved to Sausalito. They bought a house on Alexander Avenue and became good friends with their neighbors, often sharing dinners together. Don established his architecture, and set about to serve his new community. Sausalito’s beauty set the tone. “We live in a lush, green environment,” he told the Marinscope in 1971. “The buildings therefore should be quiet and soft.”

His firm worked on many local building projects, including an earlier remodel of the police and fire stations, the Caledonia dentistry building, a renovation of the Casa Madrona, and the redesign of some buildings that are now part of our history, such as the Corner Drugstore and the Creative Arts Store. He wasn’t afraid to go small, and had a hand in designing everything from “buildings to garden gates and signs,” leaving a lasting imprint on the character Sausalito’s streets and byways.

He was in favor of bringing people to the water, making it more accessible to both locals and tourists. In the 1970s, he worked on the Open Waterfront Plan to develop the land along the Bay for residents and visitors alike. As a former visitor himself, Don thought “tourists should be able to leave saying, ‘I’d love to live here.’”

Don sometimes had trouble remembering names, so he would call people “hotshot” to cover his forgetfulness. His quick smile, charm, and his quirky sense of humor made it work.

Don liked to view Sausalito on foot. Through the end of 2018, he still took his daily walks, always carrying a notebook, an architectural scale, and a pencil so he could jot down or sketch any idea that came to his mind.

Don was well respected in the community both for his architectural work and his community spirit. As he told the Marinscope, “I like people and I enjoy helping them solve their problems.”

–lauri flynn

Robin Sweeny

aug 19, 1925 - nov 17, 2018

How does one write about Robin Sweeny’s countless contributions to Sausalito in 300 words or less?

City Council members Robin Sweeny, Carol Peltz, Fritz Warren and Sally Stanford, July 4, 1981.

Robin, who died last November at the age of 93 and was first and foremost an exemplary citizen and friend. She devoted a lifetime in service to others, as a mother, surgical nurse, city council member, and a tireless volunteer to dozens of community organizations.

Robin was a change-maker. Eighty years after the Sausalito was incorporated Robin became the City’s first female Mayor and, 15 years later, Sausalito’s first female Rotarian. Her opinion as an elder stateswoman mattered to her fellow citizens and to successive City Councils long after she left public office.

Robin was also a peacemaker—how else could one explain her ability to serve a record 28 consecutive years on the sometimes contentious Sausalito City Councils? Nevertheless, her diplomatic and down-to-earth demeanor belied a passion for serving the downtrodden and neglected sectors of our community.

She was a longtime volunteer at the Open Door food ministry and a founder of the Southern Marin Hot Meals program. Robin also defended Sausalito’s maritime heritage and was a longtime Sausalito Historical Society board member and docent.

Ever humble, Robin proudly chaired the garbage detail for the Sausalito Art Festival for years. Robin’s singular claim to fame was that her eponymous park in Sausalito was always called “Nana’s Park” by her granddaughter.

While Robin Sweeny Park may keep her name alive for decades to come, her true legacy is deeply imbedded in the fabric of Sausalito. She serves as an incomparable role model for selfless service, decency and steadfast commitment to preservation that we all should emulate.

–dana whitson

City Council members Robin Sweeny, Carol Peltz, Fritz Warren and Sally Stanford, July 4, 1981.

Steefenie Wicks

dec 4, 1947 - march 19, 2019

On Tuesday March 19, Galilee Harbor residents held an impromptu gathering by the Issaquah Pilot Houses at the harbor entrance, toasting the memory of resident Steefenie Wicks: photographer, writer, historian, and treasured member of the community. The Pilot Houses were special to Steefenie, who had been instrumental in their preservation.

Born in St. Louis, Steefenie came to California in 1969, bringing with her Tom Wicks, the love of her life. The two married and settled in the Haight while she studied photography and cinema at San Francisco State. Upon graduation, she became an intern and archivist for photographer Imogen Cunningham.

After falling in love again, this time with a boat named Tiger Lilly, the pair moved with their daughters to Gate 3 in Sausalito. Steefenie became involved with Art Zone, and with the waterfront community’s struggles to preserve its maritime and artistic heritage. The pair moved to Galilee Harbor in 1984, joining that community’s involvement in the so-called “Houseboat Wars.”

During the 1990’s Steefenie came into possession of some 350 glass-plate negatives salvaged from a photography studio that had been the center of the San Francisco Greek community before and after the earthquake and fire of 1906. She had this historical treasure restored, and shared it with the Greek community, leading to several exhibits in the Bay Area and overseas. She donated the negatives to the San Francisco Public Library, where some were used in the recently published book, Greeks in San Francisco.

After Tom passed in 2011, Steefenie delved further into research, producing a wealth of interviews and articles that ran in the Sausalito Historical Society’s MarinScope column. She also became more involved with the Society’s activities, recording oral histories, serving as a docent in the Research Room, and at the Ice House. Elected to the Historical Society Board in 2014, she chaired successful fund-raising Galas, curated the No Name Bar exhibit, and served a term as Vice President, bringing her trademark verve, energy and panache to every role.

In 2016 Steefenie joined the Sausalito Woman’s Club, performing memorably as “the Creatrix” in the Jinx, serving on the Club’s board and bringing characteristic creativity and vigor to the Club’s activities.

As fellow MarinScope columnist Larry Clinton noted, “There were so many amazing characters in Sausalito, she was interested in all of them!” But now, she herself has entered into that pantheon of unique characters who will inspire future generations to come and find a home in Sausalito,where they may live and create their life’s dreams.

–tom hoover & larry clinton

John Harris Wilmer

oct 2, 1947 - feb 1, 2019

A stroll down Caledonia Street in the last 21 years often led you to a unique shop and warehouse with art, restored furniture, objects from the past and a box or two of LP records out on the sidewalk.

The John Wilmer Studio at 333 B Caledonia had an open door, and the owner welcomed passersby most days of the year. Sometimes John would be downstairs with his two shelties nearby. At other times he’d be upstairs working on a project with the sander humming and call out “be down in a minute.”. He loved to talk with people and was happy to have them drop by just to chat. John enjoyed telling stories and trying out his latest jokes.

John enjoyed traveling, golfing, playing guitar and hunting for bargains at estate sales. His ultimate passion was creating art. He was a printmaker, photographer and painter. He lived in several places during his adult life, including New York, where he was part of the art community. That’s where he developed an interest in refinishing antique furniture, which turned into another facet of his career. He became friends with Sausalito historian Phil Frank over their love of reworking antique furniture.

John Wilmer watched the development of Caledonia Street over the years. He saw it transform from mainly resident-servicing businesses, such as nail salons and dry cleaners, to include a Michelin starred restaurant and some high-end shops. John enjoyed his studio being known as a cornerstone in the neighborhood. He encouraged residents and tourists to drop in, say hello and ask about his latest project. Susan Frank commented that he and his studio had quite an impact on Caledonia Street, bringing an energy that brought it to life. He created a residential feeling and made Caledonia part of the neighborhood.

John was more about encouraging community than making money. His thought was to make his end of Caledonia like Mr. Roger’s neighborhood, his young children’s’ favorite program. Part of John Wilmer Studio lives on at 333 B Caledonia at the studio now known as Tivoli.

–lauri flynn & steefenie wicks

Past Events

On Friday, May 11, the SHS debuted the exhibit “No Name Bar, the Wonder Years” as curated by the late Steefenie Wicks. The exhibit was kicked off by an event at the Sausalito library, where No Name Bar owner Neil Davis , staff and regulars regaled the crowd with stories from the bar’s glory days.

We marched in the IDESST and 4th of July parades, both times wearing the fashions of 1893 in honor of the quasquicentennial anniversary or Sausalito’s incorporation (that’s the 125th, if you’re not fond of tongue-twisters).

The cast of “Sausalito History in Ten Minutes,” including au- thor Jerry Taylor and the bust of Sally Stanford as herself.

In September, we kicked off the “Sausalito that Never Was” Exhibit with a chamber of commerce mixer, featuring appetizers donated by Angelino’s and Sushi Ran. Also in September, a cast of thousands performed “Sausalito History in Ten Minutes” as written by Jerry Taylor at Sausalito’s 125th Birthday Celebration.

In November SHS co-sponsored a look at the life and films of Sterling Hayden at the library. Also in November, SHS board member James Scriba curated “The Sausalito Renaissance and the birth of Mid Century Modern in Sausalito” at the Bay Model. Scriba was also behind the night of Beatnik poetry and jazz at Firehouse Coffee.

In January, we co-hosted a celebration at The Pines in Sausalito with the Ice House Plaza Project on the 11th and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ice House Plaza on the 18th. Later that month, we co-hosted Mike Moyle’s talk on “The Waldo Grade: Highway Through the Hills” at the Sausalito Library.

In March, we launched our “Enid Foster” exhibit, as curated by Scriba in concert with Allan Hayes. Allan and his late wife Carol are the authors of a book on Enid, their friend, neighbor, and Sausalito’s Greatest Forgotten Artist. Enid Foster: Artist, Sculptor, Poet, Playwright, Creative Force, Ringleader, Cultural Icon is available at the Ice House and at Book Passage

Letter from the president – April 2019

I joke sometimes about the number of both proverbial and actual “hats” I wear (and costumes): 4th of July, Sausalito Art Festival, Halloween, on stages in Sausalito and Tam Valley, with the Sausalito Historical Society as part of our 3rd grade program in the Sausalito-Marin City School District.

In April, the Sausalito Woman’s Club commemorated the 100th anniversary of the building of their Clubhouse. I was honored to join several members of the Club (all women) in a short historical drama about the designing, funding, and building the Clubhouse. I portrayed Frederick Robbins, president of the Bank of Sausalito 100 years ago. Grace McGregor Robbins, an early member of the Club, had passed away a few years prior. In her memory, Frederick donated the land for the building, at the intersection of San Carlos, Central and Sunshine, and matched the final donations, dollar-for-dollar. For his generosity, he was made an honorary member of the Sausalito Woman’s Club!

At that time, 1919, the Bank of Sausalito was at 1035 Water Street. Within a few years, they built the handsome building we know as the Wells Fargo Bank, just a few doors south. Their former home became Sausalito’s City Hall, Police Department and Library. Water Street became Bridgeway, and the buildings were renumbered. (The City Offices moved to the former Central School building in 1975).

A few months ago, representatives of Wells Fargo visited the Phil Frank Research Room, yes, in City Hall, and with our suggestions, Wells Fargo historians and artists created a stunning mural in the former Bank of Sausalito. I urge you to visit. And when the SHS takes the 3rd graders on a historical/architectural tour of Sausalito, we’ll have something new/old/historical to show them.

I treasure these four buildings in this letter, probably just as you do; and I’m thankful for the donors, builders, preservationists, public servants and folks like us who have given us our beautiful home town.

–jerry taylor

UPCOMING EVENTS

On Monday, May 15th, join us for the SHS Annual Membership Meeting at Campbell Hall, 70 Santa Rosa Ave in Sausalito. In addition to our yearly activity report and the election of new members to the SHS Board, the event will include a trip across the street to Christ Church for a look at the church’s recent historical restorations, including the renovation of the church’s 1891 Bergstrom organ as well as presentations Christ Church Rector Chip Barker Larrimore, SHS Board President Jerry Taylor, and other church members. Be sure to stay for the video of intrepid historian Phil Frank going up the Christ Church bell tower. If you haven’t received your invitation (including bios of nominated board members), more information is available on our website.

On Sunday, May 19th, join SHS, the Woman’s Club, Galilee Harbor, and the rest of Steefanie’s family as we celebrate the life of our late board vice president, prolific columnist, photographer, and creative force about town Steefenie Wicks. The event will held at the Sausalito Women’s Club at 120 Central Ave and will begin at 1 PM. Parking is limited, but there will be shuttle service from the commuter lot at the top of Spencer Ave, from Christ Church, and from St. Mary Star of the Sea. Shuttles will run from 12:30 to 1:30, and then from 3:30 to 4:30.

The theme of our fall newsletter will be “Back to School.” We’ll be taking a look at the SHS School Program, and featuring stories of school days in Sausalito. If you or a family member attended Sausalito/Marin City schools and you’d like to contribute a story or photo, please drop by the research room during our regular hours, or email info@sausalitohistoricalsociety.org with “Back to School” in the subject line.

Sausalito Historical Society NewsLetter Winter - Spring 2018

May 30, 2018

The Battle for Incorporation

Portrait of J.E. Slinkey from the Sausalito News

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the incorporation of Sausalito. That was a significant event in 1893, and like most events hereabouts, it wasn’t without controversy.

Several prominent – and vociferous – citizens opposed the idea, concerned that they would be unduly taxed to pay for improvements to a newly-incorporated town.

The Sausalito News pointed out in its maiden issue (February 12, 1885) that Sausalito “has no local government, but the necessity of incorporating is becoming generally recognized and before long measures will be taken to this end.” Jas. H. Wilkins, editor and proprietor of the paper, made no bones about being a booster for Sausalito’s potential growth and development: “We hope that the News will do effective work in heralding the merits of Sausalito Township to the world, and that it will more than earn any compensation it may receive from its patrons.”

However, the road to incorporation proved rocky. The matter was put to a vote in June 1888, but low voter turnout led to its defeat. By then, the Sausalito News was under the control of J.E. Slinkey and his editor, A.D. Bell. Slinkey had already established himself as a local mover and shaker. According to Sausalito historian Jack Tracy, “He had a hand in almost everything that happened in Sausalito in the 1880s, and his El Monte (Hotel) was a gathering place for political and social groups.” Slinkey and Bell expressed their disappointment with a gloomy report that began, “After the result of Saturday's election we may as well give up all thought of incorporating this town, for more than one reason. Some of our people, while they can grumble at bad government, do not recognize that it is not only their privilege but their highest duty to cast their vote at every election, whether it be municipal, state or national. The lukewarmness of the class that consider themselves so superior to their fellow creatures that it is almost beneath them to touch a ballot, are the bane, and may be the ruin of all government.”

The following year, a Citizens Meeting was held at the San Francisco Yacht Club to hear a report from the committee on incorporation. The News reported that committee members Major O. C. Miller (Owner of the Pines and one time president of the Sausalito Bay Land Company) and Dr. H. J. Crumpton (Postmaster, physician and surgeon) “reported verbally through J. W. Sperry, chairman of the committee, who said: ‘We have considered carefully this matter of incorporation, and while it is perfectly feasible, we believe it is impossible at the present time, owing to opposition from a number of residents on the hill and the Portuguese residents in the valley. The benefits to be derived from incorporation may be seen and more fully appreciated later on and those who are now against the measure may be then convinced of their error’.” Sperry was a prominent landowner who later became the first mayor of Sausalito.

Following the meeting, a new committee was formed to consider the best means for improving Sausalito, either by incorporation or by forming a village improvement society and “the raising of funds by a pro rata levy on the property holders here.”

While the debate dragged on, the Sausalito News continued toeditorialize in favor of the former choice. In January 1891, under new publisher Harry Elliot, the News declared: “Every vote for incorporation is a vote for improvement. Every step in the direction of improvement enhances the value of your property. Every vote for incorporation will assist in the equalization of taxation. Every vote for incorporation is a vote for a good sewer-age system. Every vote for incorporation means that Sausalito wants to become as clean, healthy and attractive a town as there is anywhere. Every vote for incorporation means the bettering of the condition of the masses. Every vote for incorporation is a squelcher on old-fogyism.”

The issue came up again in 1893, but opponents stacked the deck by bringing in outside agitators. At a meeting in July, the News reported, “a number of boys and nonresidents or electors of the district proposed to be incorporated, were present and took part in the ‘viva voce,’ voting. It would be well to appoint a sergeant-at-arms for future meetings and exclude all who have no interest in the proceedings. Also a list should be prepared, taken from the Great Register, of those electors who reside in the proposed town for even at the preferential election, should one he held, people may vote who have no right to do so. What is wanted is an expression of opinion by the people who will be affected by incorporation and not of outsiders.”

Sausalito’s controversy attracted attention as far away as the town of Wheatland, in Yuba County, where the local newspaper, The Four Corners, stated: “In Sausalito they are having big times over the question of incorporation. No town in the State perhaps has more codfish aristocrats than Sausalito, and they reside on the hill. They feel considerably elevated above the common people below, and these two factions have it hot and heavy as the election approaches.” Codfish Aristocracy was a disparaging term for the nouveau riche in 19th-century Boston, and in this case referred to hill dwellers and summer residents.

Sausalito streets were still unpaved in 1893

In August 1893 the Sausalito News responded: “We are glad to inform the ‘Four Corners’ that a substantial bridge has been constructed over the gulf which kept the rich and poor apart; and from now 'till the polls are closed, wealth and poverty will walk and work with one accord for Incorporation. The ‘dead-line’ est-ablished by plug hats and overalls has been obliterated until the sun g oes down on the 26th of August, and perhaps forever.”

And just a few days later, the townspeople of Sausalito finally voted in favor of incorporation, as reported on September 1, 1893: “At the election last Saturday incorporation was carried, and a full town ticket nominated.” A pro-incorporation slate was elected as Town Trustees, Town Clerk, Treasurer and Constable. The News particularly gloated over the victory of Stephen S. Fiedler for Treasurer. With 116 votes, Fiedler “caromed over Prof. E. C. Beasley, of ‘Anglo Saxon’ fame, who received 66 votes.”

But the fight was far from over. Beasley and his allies contested the result on a few technicalities regarding the notice announcing the election, and the tallying of ballots. Those charges were dismissed by Superior Court Judge F. M. Angellotti, but the opposition persevered, taking the case to the state Supreme Court. Marin Attorneys Hepburn Wilkins of San Rafael and Robert Harrison of Sausalito represented the interests of incorporation, while G. W. Towle and H. C. Campbell appeared for the plaintiffs, including the apparently indefatigable E.C. Beasley.

Finally, on March 23, 1895, the Sausalito News trumpeted: “INCORPORATION SUSTAINED! Progress Wins!”

The paper, which avoided naming the plaintiffs, referred to them as “silurians” or throwbacks from the third period of the Palaeozoic era; in other words, dinosaurs: “an opinion has been ‘handed down’ and its tenor and drift sustain, in every particular, the prior decision of Judge Angellotti, thus vindicating the judgment of that eminent jurist and placing victory in the hands of friends of progress and development and leaving the silurians free to climb on to the band wagon or go elsewhere.”

Celebrating the 125th Anniversary

The Sausalito Parks and Recreation department will sponsor an historic app-based scavenger hunt starting August 17 and ending September 14. There will be instructions in the email newsletter Sausalito Currents on how to download the app and participate in the scavenger hunt. And a City birthday party is planned on Saturday September 15 at Marinship Park from 1pm – 3pm. The party will feature a will be 10,000 square foot Big Bounce House plus cupcakes and ice cream as well as a presentation with dignitaries.

“No Name Stories”

Neil Davis (bottom center) with No Name bartenders, back in the day

Neil Davis, past owner of the No Name Bar on Bridgeway, has lent the Sausalito Historical Society memorabilia, documents and objects he collected from his years at the No Name for an exhibit. The grand opening of the exhibit will be Friday May 11, following a presentation, co-sponsored by the Sausalito Library and the Sausalito Historical Society, of “No Name Stories” at the Library at 7 pm that evening. Neil and other bar patrons from the 1959-1974 era will share some of their memories from that time. Neil was hired as the first laborer to tear out the old bar and put in the new one by the original owners of the establishment. They then decided to train him as their first bartender and eventually he became part owner. The original five owners couldn’t agree on a name for the bar, and by the time Neil became an owner, everyone was calling it “the no name,” which it remains until this day.

On display in the exhibit will be many items from Neil’s eclectic collection of items he received from patrons of the bar including Spike Africa’s macramé bottles, a Spike Africa “President of the Pacific Ocean” sweatshirt, a Val Bleeker painting, Sterling Hayden’s copy of the “Suddenly” movie script, and Tashi Monroe’s Heath Ceramics pitcher. Also on display will be some of the many documents Neil has collected: notes he received from staff and patrons, news articles about the No Name Bar, pictures of patrons, and notices of events at the bar.

Over 40,000 Visitors

We recently tallied the number of visitors to the Ice House Visitor’s Center in 2016 - it’s 41,391. Visitors asked about everything from Angel Island to the Wine Country, but the most common inquiries were for bus/ferry information, Muir Woods, the Floating Homes, the Marine Mammal Center and restrooms. Visitors also ask for restaurant recommendations and the restaurants most often suggested were Salito’s, Poggio, Spinnaker, Scoma’s, Trident, Napa Valley Burgers, Taste of Rome and Seafood Peddler. The Ice House is open Tuesday - Sunday from 11:30-4 and has a wonderful historical exhibit, items for sale and docents ready to answer your questions.

Gala Plays to Full House

Jan Wahl narrates while Abbot Chambers mans the projector

The Historical Society’s annual fundraising Gala on January 16 at the Sausalito Yacht Club was a sold out event. SHS President Jerry Taylor welcomed everyone and City Councilman Joe Burns made brief remarks. The theme for the Gala honored the many films that have been filmed in Sausalito from the 1940’s to our current time.

Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist Jan Wahl hosted the event with excerpts from many films that shot here over the years, in collaboration with Sausalito’s Librarian and Director of Communications, Abbot Chambers. Film clips from many movies that have used Sausalito as their background were shown, and a few were presented later in their entirety as part of the Library’s Friday night film series.

Donations Gratefully Accepted

The Historical Society is pleased to accept charitable donations, including cash, marketable securities, bequests and beneficiary designations under revocable trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities and retirement plans/charitable remainder trusts.

If you would like to make a charitable donation, please contact info@sausalitohistoricalsociety.org.

Thanks to Premium Level Members
Members and Major Donors

The Historical Society offers various levels of membership, with additional benefits. Recently, the following members have taken advantage of the opportunity to increase their support for our programs:

Benefactors

Tom Decker

Mary Ann Griller

Patricia and Thomas Theodores

Patrons

Duncan Clark

Patricia Lawrence

Sponsor/Business

Pam and Roger Abenderoth

Anne Baele and John Kouns

Susan and Daniel Daniloff

Lauri Flynn

Evelyn Gilbreath

Susan and Jeff Knowles

Martin Konopaski

Jacqueline Kudler

Janet and Robert Leonard

Jim and Rose-Meri Muldoon

Elizabeth Nelson

Elizabeth Robinson

Mary Robinson

Jamie and James Wycoff

Robert Zadek

Information about the various evels of SHS membership and tax-deductible donations can be found at http://www. sausalitohistoricalsociety.com.

R.I.P Bill Kirsch

Bill Kirsch, photographed by Steefenie Wicks

Ex-Historical Society Board Member Bill Kirsch died on February 27 at his home at Commodore Marina. Bill curated a number of exhibits for the SHS, including the works of sculptor Al Sybrian and Poet/Songwriter/Cartoonist Shel Silverstein, who had been his friends. Those exhibits mostly consisted of memorabilia from Bill’s personal collection.

Just two weeks earlier, the Sausalito Historical Society’s Steefenie Wicks profiled Bill in the MarinScope newspaper. You can read it by going to www.sausalitohistorical society.com/new-blog/and scrolling down to “Bill Kirsch: Finding the Magic.”

SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER FALL 2017

September 24, 2017

Joseph James: Unsung Hero of the Marinship

Preface: Larry Clinton previously wrote about Joseph James, the black Marinship welder who played a brief but important role in Sausalito and Marin City’s history by successfully challenging discriminatory union practices in the shipyards, in a case that went all the way to the State Supreme Court. Marin City and Sausalito history researchers have been delving further into the story of Joseph James in preparation for an original play being presented on October 14 cin elebration of Marin City’s 75th anniversary. Here is his fascinating story.

Joseph Henry James was born in 1910 in Philadelphia to poor black parents. Left fatherless at age 3, he and his mother moved in with his uncle, Henry Hamming. The entire family was musically gifted: Uncle Henry had a rich bass voice, his mother was an alto and a much older sister sang with the great Philadelphia contralto, Marion Anderson.

“Life wasn’t soft for Negro kids with nothing but the streets to play in,” Joe told a reporter in 1945. “My mother could see that from a little innocent window breaking I’d soon enough be hitting the big time, so a year after she died I was packed off to Princess Ann Academy, a Negro boarding school in Maryland.”

Music became Joseph James’ ticket to a college education and extensive travels in the US and abroad. Princess Ann Academy enlisted James in a prestigious black quartet that toured to raise funds for the school singing “Negro Spirituals” to live and radio audiences.

After graduation, the quartet shopped for a black college willing to fund their studies, landing at Claflin College in South Carolina. Traveling for the first time to the Deep South was an eye opener. In Norfolk the group had to transfer to the “rattletrap” Jim Crow rail car. Unable to access the whites-only dining car, James recounted being shooed away at the front door of a restaurant at one stop and “directed to a little window in the back of the restaurant, something like the door of a dog house, where they’d throw food at you. It kind of took my appetite away---and that’s some kind of trick for an 18 year old kid still growing.”

Two years of traveling for Claflin and a tour stop in Boston led James to conclude “that there was more to this music game than I’d ever learn in South Carolina. So I stayed in Boston and sang on the radio. Later, I decided to find out how music was put together and learn about the guys who did it.”

James broadened his musical education at Boston University College of Music until the Depression brought home the realization that he could either “eat or play music.” So he joined an amateur theater production that enjoyed a brief run on Broadway. Just as that opportunity ended, the famed black choir director and composer Eva Jessye invited him to join her choir’s national tour.

Touring with the celebrated choir was anything but luxurious. “Almost 20 of us jammed into two seven passenger sedans covered with suitcases and trunks,” James recalled. “We covered 6,000 of the most agonizing miles I have ever traveled---breaking down all the way.”

Returning to New York, he was cast by choral director Eva Jessye in the premiere of Porgy and Bess. After Porgy, James joined the Hall Johnson choir in the chorus of the film The Green Pastures. James stayed briefly in Hollywood, playing bit roles in films, “mostly running around like a savage in a G-string… feeling pretty silly.”

Joseph James’ big break came with the Federal Theater Project Negro Unit. The Project was a branch of the Works Progress Administration that employed (literally) starving artists to perform for the masses. His first title role was as Brother Moses in Hall Johnson’s critically acclaimed LA, San Diego and San Francisco productions of Run Little Chillun’. James later starred inThe Swing Mikado, a modernized version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera presented at the 1939 Treasure Island Exposition.

In a “tragic-comic” twist, Joseph James was rehearsing the song “Good News” for the movie Tails of Manhattan when he learned of the Pearl Harbor attack. His singing engagements suddenly

evaporated, so he returned to San Francisco looking for work. Being interested in mechanics, he took a welding course at Samuel Gompers Trade School. In August 1942, he began as a welder at the Marinship.

Although only in his early 30’s, Joseph James’ early experiences had prepared him well for the many roles he played during WWII: expert welder sent to trouble spots in the shipyard; lead organizer for the struggle against discriminatory union practices; popular leader among the diverse family of shipyard workers; NAACP Chapter President in San Francisco; and outspoken patriot in the battle to defeat the fascist Nazi and Axis powers; and, yes, part-time singer.

*James protesting discrimination outside the Boilermakers Local office*

Marinship had a closed-shop contract with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, which required that all of the corporation’s shipyard construction workers must be members of the union. Boilermakers Local 6, which had jurisdiction over the Marinship yards, banned African Americans. If African Americans wished to work in Marinship yards, they were forced to join Auxiliary A-41, an all-black unit controlled by Local 6. In 1943, more than 200 African Americans, including Joseph James, who refused to pay the A-41 dues Local 6 demanded in accordance with their closed-shop contract, were fired from their jobs at Marinship. James filed a lawsuit to stop the dismissal of the African American workers.

Ironically, the California Supreme Court Marinship decision came after the war had ended and the shipyard was closed. But it did not end Joseph James’ activism. Before departing the west coast in 1946 to resume his musical career, he joined Noah Griffin, Sr. in founding Marin County’s first NAACP chapter.

Joseph James performed in 15 more Broadway shows before touring internationally with Leontyne Price, William Warfield, Cab Calloway and Maya Angelou in Porgy and Bess. Later in life he became a union organizer for the SEIU in the Bronx.

Joseph James died in 2002 at the age of 91

“One thing the Depression taught the American people is that when they came together around common problems, they could accomplish something. Now it seems that working people have forgotten that.” ~Joseph James, 1992\

— Dana Whitson

VISIT SALLY AT THE ICE HOUSE

A bust of Sally Stanford, sculpted by Howard Lazar, is now on display at the Ice House Visitor Center and Museum. Lazar, a portrait and history sculptor, donated the bust to the Sausalito Historical Society in 2016, and she was on display in the research room there until August, 2017 when she was moved to the Ice House. Lazar says this sculpture of Sally depicts how he remembers her when, as a boy, he met her at the Valhalla restaurant in 1961. Stop by and say hello!

Thanks to Premium Level Members and Major Donors

The Historical Society offers various levels of membership, with additional benefits. Since our last newsletter, the following members have taken advantage of the opportunity to increase their support for our programs:

Patrons

Tyke Glaser
Donald Sibbett and Brianna Cutts
Chris Kulina & Christine Scarpino
Barbara Rycerski

Sponsor/Business

Herbert & Sisi Damner
Nancy Drew
Lloyd and Connie Latch

We’d also like to recognize two major donors: Linda Hothem and Richard Cooper.

Information about the various levels of SHS membership and tax-deductible donations can be found at http://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com.

Ongoing Calendar of Marinship 75 Events

Celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of Marinship, the WWII shipyard that changed Sausalito forever, continue into the fall. Here’s a calendar of upcoming events:

Sat., Sept. 30, HOMEFRONT ON THE WATERFRONT

11:00pm - 4:00pm, Floating Homes Community

The Fairy Tale, built on a WWII lifeboat hull, will be featured on the FHA Tour  Photo by Emily Riddell — *The Fairy Tale, built on a WWII lifeboat hull, will be featured on the FHA Tour* *Photo by Emily Riddell*

This year’s Floating Homes Tour honors Marinship, which helped to foster today’s waterfront community. Fifteen unique floating homes will be featured, including a selection built from WWII surplus. Other attractions will include 40s cars and music, plus food and drink for purchase. Visitors and volunteers are encouraged to come in 40s dress.

Advance reservations may be made via the FHA website: http://www.floatinghomes.org/tour/purchase-tickets.

Sat., Sept. 30 SWING DANCE & DINNER GALA

5:30pm -10:30pm, Sausalito Portuguese Cultural Center, 511 Caledonia St.

Dust off your saddle shoes and bobby sox on Sept. 30 Photo from Google Images — *Dust off your saddle shoes and bobby sox on Sept. 30* *Photo from Google Images*

A pasta dinner with salad will be served WWII canteen style in the dining room starting at 6:00pm. Reserved tables will be served family style. Doors open at 5:30pm and there will be a no-host bar. Reserved tables in the dance hall and seeing the band, $560. Individual tickets with seating in the dining hall, $25each. Tickets are available https:marinship75.eventbrite.com. Additional information is available at the Sausalito Historical Society web page. http://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/

Sat., Oct. 14, RE-ENANCTMENT OF JAMES

VS MARINSHIP

6:00pm -- 7:30pm, First Missionary Baptist Church, 501 Drake Ave., Marin City

Joseph James’ lawsuit, described in our lead article, has been called a “major victory in the civil rights movement that upheld the federal prohibition on racial discrimination.”

This Performing Stars presentation features stars Marin City resident Tami Bell as Joseph James. Admission is free, with no RSVP necessary. Please arrive early, as seating is limited. Donations appreciated.

Fri., Nov, 10 - "TURN YOUR RADIO ON"

7:00pm - 9:00pm, Sausalito Library

Excerpts from the radio show, "Turn Your Radio On"-- originally presented at the Sausalito Woman’s Club in May -- will be performed live.

Following the performance, a reception will be held upstairs to introduce the Historical Society’s latest exhibit, The People of Marinship, Who They Were, Where They Came From, What They Did, and How They Did It. Story boards and captions will tell the stories of people who worked at Marinship Many unique and interesting features of life at the shipyard

will be explained using a collection of iconic images from the SHS Archive.

Sat., Nov. 11, MARIN CITY VETERAN'S DAY PARADE and THE LOST STORIES OF MARINSHIP

10:00am - 11:00am Marin City, CA

Featuring a Liberty Ship Float. a 1940's Greyhound bus, The Oakland Cowboys Assn. and original Marinship workers as Grand Marshalls. Parade participants will include representatives of the military branches, MarinCity veterans, and members of the Highway Patrol and Marin County Sheriffs and Fire Departments.

12:00 pm, CHILDREN'S PLAY - MARINSHIP - THE LOST STORIES OF MARINSHIP

Manzanita Recreation Center, Drake and Buckelew, Marin City

Marin City children depict the creation of Marinship and the subsequent construction of Marin City to house the workers, many of them black and from the South.

This is a dramatic documentary with humor, dance and music that celebrates the people, most of them poor, who left their homes to help their country and became the founders of Marin City. Re-produced under the joint cooperation of Performing Stars and the Marin Theater Company.

11:00am 4:00pm, TWO DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT MARINSHIP AND MARIN CITY

Manzanita Recreation Center, 630 Drake Avenue, Marin City.

“Marinship Memories” features stories of the birth of Marin City during World War II by those who lived it. Filmmaker Joan Lisetor wrote and produced the 45-minute collage of interviews, still photos and historic film footage.

“Marinship – World’s Most Amazing Shipyard” is a 60-minute documentary video written and produced by the SHS’ Eric J. Torney. It tells the story of Marinship from the initial request for construction in March,1942 to end of operations in 1945 when the Japanese surrendered and WWII ended. Continuous showings throughout the afternoon.

Admission is free, with no RSVP necessary. Please arrive early, as seating is limited. Donations appreciated.

BBQ in Rocky Graham Park

SHS on Parade

Madison Barker waves an American Flag while Tami Bell helps carry a Marinship banner in the Festa Parade   Photo by Mike Moyle — *Madison Barker waves an American Flag while Tami Bell helps carry a Marinship banner in the Festa Parade* *Photo* *by Mike Moyle*

For the past 128 years – dating back to 1886, even before Sausalito was incorporated – Sausalito’s Portuguese-American community has held an annual Festa do Espírito Santo, or Festival.

The day includes a parade, complete with Queens from the Sausalito Portuguese Hall and sister halls in the Bay Area, a special Mass, a traditional lunch of “Sopas e Carne,” and dancing. Michael Moyle, an active volunteer in the Historical Society and the Portuguese cultural center on Caledonia Street, coordinated a marching unit that included Tami Bell, who will star in the October 14 re-enanctment of James vs Marinship (see p. 3) helped carry a Marinship banner in the parade.

Jerry Taylor and Roberta Maloy of the SHS Board marched on July 4.   Photo by Siobhan Taylor. — *Jerry Taylor and Roberta Maloy of the SHS Board marched on July 4.* *Photo by Siobhan Taylor.*

Members of the Sausalito Historical Society also marched in the July 4th parade with a float prepared by the Lion's Club representing the William Richardson, the first ship produced by Marinship in 1942. SHS members dressed as dressed asMarinship workers or in other 40s outfits.

Student Historians Win Awards

Students at Willow Creek Academy and Bayside School have been recognized for their participation in the seventh year of a Sausalito Historical Society program to introduce them to the history of their community.

This annual educational program has grown from 45 to 65 students and from one curriculum unit to three. For each topic, docents appear in each classroom to introduce a topic-related workbook and again to lead a class field trip in Sausalito. Each workbook has been researched and designed by SHS volunteers in conjunction with teachers and administrators of the Sausalito Public School District. It is comprised of historic pictures, maps, facts and a glossary as well as space for student notes and sketches.

Teacher Kevin Breakstone (r.) welcomes SHS volunteers to the award ceremony for Bayside School. Photos by Bob Woodrum — *Teacher Kevin Breakstone (r.) welcomes SHS volunteers to the award ceremony for Bayside School.* *Photos by Bob Woodrum*

At the conclusion of each year’s program, the Historical Society hosts award ceremonies, where participating students receive photos, framed by Bob and Terry Woodrum of Sausalito Framing, of themselves with the work they achieved during the year.

Willow Creek teacher Anne Siskins joins SHS volunteers Laurie Tandy, Susan Frank, Nancy Osborn, Vicki Nichols, Jeanne Fidler, Dana Whitson and Margaret Badger (l. to r.) in congratulating young historians.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Befitting that Sausalito has been celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the creation of Marinship, 2017 has been a year of “nautical” exploration for me.

Back in January, Gail and I spent a weekend in Benicia, where Matthew Turner built most of his ships. At the local Historical Society’s Museum, in a former camel barn, I met a young man who attends Matthew Turner School. On the way to Benicia, I spent a couple of hours on the Red Oak Victory in Richmond. For a stunning story of the WWII home-front, look up Red Oak, Iowa. Before returning home, I visited the Sausalito, a.k.a. the Sportsmen Yacht Club, in Antioch. (We’ll talk more about that next year.)

After a spring of immersion in Marinship, particularly with our SHS Exhibits by Eric Torney and Jan Keizer, I recently spent a day on the Liberty Ship Jeremiah O’Brien, as a guest of our friend Carl Nolte. Carl has been the president of the group which restored and continues to operate the O’Brien, and, in 1994, he was part of the crew when it sailed down the coast, through the Canal and across the Atlantic as part of the D-Day Commemoration. The O’Brien was the only large vessel off the Normandy coast in 1944 which was present again in 1994! Great stories, great insights. And, the lookout station (crow’s nest) proudly sports a painting of Phil Frank’s character: Bruce the Raven.

I asked Carl about a particularly pitted wall outside the bridge. He patiently explained it wasn’t pitted, it was simple, inexpensive “armor” substitute: a layer of concrete. There were also concrete rings around the fore and aft gun mounts. Steel was a precious commodity. Liberty ships were extremely vulnerable to submarine torpedoes, and to surface gunfire. (I hope I’m not offending anyone by commenting that quantity was more important than quality.)

Speaking of concrete, many of you know about the SS Palo Alto, a WWI “Liberty” ship with a concrete hull, which served as a floating dance hall/amusement park in Aptos. It’s still at Seacliff Beach serving as an artificial reef. And, there was a shipyard just north of SFO which built concrete ships during WWII. No engines, just hulls, really barges, designed to be packed and towed. One of these, the Quartz, is part of a breakwater in British Columbia.

Lots of fun, learning, sharing.
See you soon, — Jerry Taylor

SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Winter 2017

February 15, 2017

THE DAY THE FERRIES STOPPED

A series of articles in the Sausalito News of February 27, 1941 detail the abrupt transition from public to private transportation just four years after the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.

One story, titled “Last Boat Leaves S.F. For Sausalito 11:25 P.M.,” announces the end of an era:

*The steam ferry "Princess", circa 1870-1871 as seen from a hillside looking down through the trees*

Seventy-three years of ferry operations commencing with the “Princess” of the Sausalito Land and Ferry Company, in 1868, will draw to a colorful and noisy close tomorrow night as hundreds of Marin residents are expected to jampack the last ferry leaving Sausalito at 10:30 p.m. and returning from San Francisco at 11:25 p. m. to tie up here. The San Anselmo Lions Club is sponsoring a “last ride” night, and a large delegation of local Lions will join them on the trip. The observances, which will culminate in a final cruise on Saturday, will forever go down the long lanes of history as an incident of one of the modes of travel whose funeral wake slowly draws to a close.

Of unusual interest during the past week has been the number of passengers from the bay area who have been taking their last trip on the ferries this week. Not only have they come from this vicinity, but the record has just been added to by the presence of Mrs. B. C. Sommens of Carmel, who came to Sausalito on Monday to stay for the duration of the week "just to take the last trip." Mrs. Semmens, who is an ardent member of the fans who comprise a growing population of enthusiasts in the lore of oldtime railroading and ferry transportation, has ridden across the bay each day while she has been here, and is engaged in making a collection of prints of the bay ferries—a hobby of many of these enthusiasts.

A photo caption also announces a "Farewell to the Ferries” bay cruise sponsored Saturday by Marvelous Marin, Inc.: The tour of the bay aboard the NWP steamer "Eureka" will commemorate the discontinuance of the traditional San Francisco-Sausalito ferry service the evening previous, and the substitution of fast bus service. A limited number of free tickets are available from NWP ticket offices in Marin county and San Francisco.

At the same time, passenger rail service was coming to the end, as well. Another photo caption, titled “Week's Mourning Marks End of Interurban,” described two locomotives that were going out of service: Nos. 23 and 109, built 40 years ago, were used Sunday to put a trainload of the Railroadians Club and their party on a farewell jaunt over interurban lines of the NWP. Instead of an expected crowd of 200, 500 "railfans" packed the coaches which necessitated "double-heading" the train which was increased to seven cars.

*The ferry Cazadero under way ca. 1922.*

The railroad workers were not exactly in a party mood, according to a story headlined, “Not for Them The Last Trip”: You won't see many of the railroad men on tomorrow night's farewell ferry trip from San Francisco at 11:25 p m. There are a lot of parties being planned by commuters and residents sort of looking forward to a celebration as it were. But for the fellows who have spent so many years with the NWP, who have dreaded the passing of their beloved boats, who can't even think about the retirement of the 'Eureka,' the ‘Tamalpais.' and especially the old 'Cazadero' (so old she will probably be scrapped), the trip holds little appeal. No, there won't be many of the boys aboard on that last trip—if goodbyes are to be said, they'll say them as they leave their posts at the end of a regular run. That way it's easier. This last trip, it's like a funeral to the railroad men. Better the memory of day by day work, of camaraderie and of service. They need no more.

Meanwhile, progress forged ahead. Another report stated that Greyhound Superintendent A. A. Smith had been perfecting the final steps in taking over the commuter and occasional rider traffic for his company, successors to the NWP interurban system: A new schedule for Sausalito, includes approximately 57 buses to Sausalito from

6:40 a. m. to 2:15 a. m. daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays; and 51 trips to San Francisco between 4:30 a. m. to 12:56 a. m. Stops in Sausalito include; Prospect avenue, Monte Mar Vista, Fort Baker Gate, Second and Main streets, NWP Depot, Lighthouse Cafe, Motor Inn and Nevada and Bridgeway. Commutation rate monthly to San Francisco will be $8.50 per month, and is a 30 round-trip ticket. Local offices have been moved from the Golden Gate Ferry Wharf to the NWP terminal, where W. W. Hogle, Sausalito agent, is in charge of the new offices, adjoining the NWP ticket office. NWP main line trains will be serviced by Greyhound buses from the Marin Terminal, passengers being transferred to the train at the local terminal.

William H. Harrelson, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, announced: plans were being perfected to facilitate the handling of the increased volume of traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday with the abandonment of the NWP ferry-interurban train service between San Francisco and Marin county. While most of the commute traffic will utilize the new Pacific Greyhound commute buses which are to be put into service over the bridge as a substitute for the ferry-train operations, Harrelson said it was anticipated that hundreds of persons would use their own private automobiles and purchase bridge commute tickets.

What was a nostalgic moment for some, turned into an opportunity for others. Another article reported that work on the preliminary preparations for the building of a yacht harbor, had started: as announced by Madden and Lewis Company, owners of the site of the NWP piers. Walter Peterson, local pile driving expert, is engaged in preparing the piles for contractors who will drive them, and the work is expected to take two months. The piles, secured from the bankrupt Golden Gate Ferries, are being floated to the Madden and Lewis plant, where old bolts are being removed, before they can be used again in the work for which they were purchased.

Ironically, ferry service was reinstated the following year, to bring workers to the new Marinship facility from San Francisco. But after the war, service was discontinued again until the Golden Gate Bridge District renewed ferry service from Sausalito to San Francisco in August, 1970.

Ed. Note: this information was found in the Historical Society’s Online Catalog at http://sausalitohistoricalsociety. pastperfectonline.com. This new feature is a searchable catalog of photos, books, documents, works of art and other materials from the Society’s permanent collection. The photos that accompany this article – and many others – may also be viewed in the Online Catalog.

--Larry Clinton

Sausalito Documentary Films

The Sausalito Library is presenting a series of documentaries with local historic significance. All films are being screened on Fridays at 7pm inside the Library. The series began February 10 with a new documentary, “Soul of Sausalito,” produced by Bruce Paquette with the cooperation of the Historical Society.

On February 17 the Library will present “Rebels with a Cause,” about early conservation efforts around San Francisco Bay, including the battle to stop the Marincello development planned for the hills above Sausalito. “We Built A Ship,” screening February 24, tells the story of the Matthew Turner, a 1891 replica wooden brigantine being built in Sausalito. The ship is scheduled to be launched on April 1, 2017. Documentarian Stefan Sargent and crew from the Matthew Turner will be on hand for the film.

Kicking off a months-long 75th anniversary celebration for Marinship, the Library will present “Marinship - World's Most Amazing Shipyard.” This new documentary was created by local filmmaker and Historical Society Board Member Eric Torney. After the March 3 screening, The Historical Society will host a reception in its upstairs exhibit space, to debut a new Marinship exhibition. The following Friday, March 10, the library will present a restored digital version of a 16mm film, “Tanker.” The 47-minute film was originally produced by the Marinship Corporation in 1945 to document Sausalito's WWII shipyard and recognize the thousands of workers. The film received its first showing at the Marin Theater on Caledonia Street. Representatives from the Sausalito Historical Society will be on hand to answer questions after the screening.

ICE HOUSE PLAZA UPDATE

Sausalito’s Ice House Plaza project is headed for construction thanks to our generous community. Designed by SWA, Sausalito’s internationally recognized planning and landscape architecture firm, the Plaza will transform a neglected space north of the historic Ice House Visitor Center and Museum into an inviting plaza where the public can linger and learn more about Sausalito’s vibrant history.

The final Planning Commission and Historic Landmarks Board action on the interpretive plans for the Plaza is slated for a joint meeting on February 22 at 6:30 PM. These plans include a local history timeline embedded in the concrete and bordered by a tile “railroad track” that symbolizes the trains that ran through Sausalito’s downtown for a century and a bronze statue of the late historian and cartoonist Phil Frank commissioned by the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation.

The Ice House Plaza project has been conceived, designed and funded by the Sausalito Community. The Sausalito Lions Club, Rotary Club, Woman’s Club and Historical Society have all made generous contributions to the Plaza. In addition, the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation has pledged to match $75,000 in citizen donations. To date, there have been $227,000 in cash and in-kind donations for the project.

All donations of $200 or more will be acknowledged on an artistic bronze plaque. Tax deductible donations can be sent to the Sausalito Foundation, PO Box 567, Sausalito, CA 94966 or online at www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/ice-house-plaza-donations.

—Dana Whitson

Volunteers Recognized

Ann Heurlin: SHS Volunteerof the Year Photo by Larry Clinton — *Ann Heurlin: SHS Volunteerof the Year* *Photo by Larry Clinton*

Dozens of SHS volunteers were wined, dined and congratulated at a volunteer appreciation reception held on January 22 in the Society’s Exhibition Room. SHS Secretary and volunteer coordinator Sharon Seymour welcomed the group with a trivia game asking attendees to identify others responsible for specific volunteer tasks. Everyone mixed and mingled, attempting to get the right answers. Roberta Maloy won a bottle of wine purportedly from the warehouse fire described in the book Tangled Vines, for coming up with the most correct answers.

Sharon and SHS President Jerry Taylor honored Jeanne Fidler, who is retiring as a history room docent after three decades. Ann Heurlin was also honored as Volunteer of the Year. Ann has been diligently entering data from the Society’s card catalog into a digitized system which is searchable online by anyone around the world. The first phase of that system is now on the Society’s website at http://sausalitohistorical society.pastperfectonline.com.

7 Months of Marinship 75 Events

Several Sausalito organizations are partnering with the Historical Society to put on a series of special events honoring the 75th Anniversary of Marinship, starting with the documentary film screenings mentioned on page 2. Here’s a brief calendar of additional events:

April 8: Rotary Club Gala Cocktails, Dinner & Dancing to the Big Bands
May 13: 1940's Radio Broadcast Reenactment Sausalito Woman's Club
May 27: Christ Episcopal Church presents "Bob Hope and his USO Show"
June 9: Sausalito's Jazz by the Bay Features Marinship75 Style Music Jazz by the Bay
July 4: Join in the fun as Sausalito celebrates the 4th of July Marinship75 style!
September 2-4: Come See the Marinship75 Display at the 2017 Sausalito Art Festival
September 30: Welcome to the Sausalito USO Canteen. Details coming soon

More information on these activities is available at http://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/marinship75-events. If you’d like to participate, contact Marinship 75 Chair Roberta Maloy at info@Marinship75.org.

New Book at Ice House

A beautiful new book written and illustrated by Jane Kriss, local author and SHS member, is now available for sale at the Ice House. Jane calls “Next Stop Sausalito” a family book that can be enjoyed by parents, grandparents and children, but we think adults will enjoy it on their own and all may learn something about Sausalito. Jane modeled it after the “This Is” series written and illustrated by M. Sasek, books she enjoyed as a child. It is $23.95. Stop in at the Ice House on Tuesday-Sunday 11:30-4 and get your signed copy.

Sights and Sounds of Sausalito

The Historical Society has uploaded a selection of oral histories, videos and photos to a website sponsored by the California Preservation Program Digital Preservation Service: https://archive.org/details/sausalitohistoricalsociety.

There you’ll find interviews with Sausalito notables such as Phil Frank, Dorothy Gibson, Amy Belser, Earl Dunphy and Charlie Merrill, among others. You can also view videos and slides from Marinship during WWII.

We’ll continue to add content to this site, so we invite you to check back from time to time. You’ll even be able to sort the collection by date uploaded, so the recently added items will appear first.

More Premium Level Members

More and more members are choosing premium levels of SHS membership, with additional benefits. We extend our deep appreciation to the latest new and renewing premium level members for:

Did You Know?

Here are two ways that members can make charitable contributions to the Historical Society.

In 2015, Congress passed a law making the IRA charitable rollover provision permanent. What does that mean for current and potential donors?

Individuals age 70 ½ or older can transfer up to $100,000 per year tax free, directly from an IRA to qualifying charities -- including the Sausalito Historical Society. This sum counts towards the required minimum distribution (RMD) each individual must take.

This sum is not included in the individual’s adjusted gross income, making it tax effective. The rollover provision has been in place since 2006, but it was not permanent, and it lapsed and was revived several times – often keeping donors in suspense about whether it would be a viable option from year to year. The guessing game is over, and now donors can incorporate this gift vehicle into their long-range planning.

You should always seek the guidance of good advisor regarding financial matters of this type.

How to make a Charitable Gift Donation of marketable stocks and bonds:

The Sausalito Historical Society has recently adopted a policy for soliciting and accepting gifts for purposes that will help the organization further and fulfill its mission.

Gifts Generally Accepted Without Review—

Cash.
Marketable Securities.
Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans\Charitable Remainder Trusts.
Charitable Lead Trusts.

If you would like to make a charitable donation please contact: Info@sausalitohistoricalsociety.org.

--Jim Meyer

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

As a Baby Boomer growing up in Sausalito, the Marinship area was… well, it just was. Think back, it looked dusty, ancient, and of little interest. I recall the area around today’s Mollie Stone’s Market being a wasteland of concrete blocks, like a giant’s toys.

There were some signs of life in the 1950’s. The Northwestern Pacific was delivering large marine engines to the A.G. Schoonmaker Company in the tall building at the south end of the area. The 3030 Bridgeway building was obviously an office. The ICB was a nascent incubator for the art community. A model of SF Bay was being built in one of the old buildings, and I recall a field trip to the Bullard Company which was making plastic workers’ helmets. I don’t think I knew that the lunchroom or the music room at Richardson Bay School 1 had been part of the shipyard – part of the War Effort. Ditto with the gymnasium and classrooms at Bayside School. 2

When I visited friends and family in Marin City, the WWII housing units covered the entire bowl. Row after row of those wooden units sure looked like they had been around for more than just fifteen years.

Now it’s seventy-five years since March 1942 when the contract was written, the railroad yard closed, and Pine Point was dynamited. The exigency of WWII took priority over most property rights and environmental concerns. The marsh was filled, and along with dairy country, blank canvases were created to build a modern shipyard and nearby affordable housing.

It is almost inconceivable that so much happened in that area is such a short time. In June 1942, the keel of the first ship was laid: the William A. Richardson. The liberty ship was launched in September 1942.

To commemorate these amazing efforts, and recognize the contributions of the shipyard workers through 1945, the City of Sausalito has proclaimed 2017 to be celebrated as “Marinship 75”, and the Sausalito Historical Society has been tasked with coordinating groups, businesses and individuals who want to celebrate. And we know, Sausalito loves to party!

The significant months of March, June and September line up nicely with Sausalito’s established rhythms. In March, it’s still dark enough to show movies in the Library in the evenings. So we will. The June keel laying will be a focus for a special Jazz and Blues by the Bay, and for the July 4th Parade, (you know how much I love that parade). September brings us the Sausalito Art Festival with the opportunity to explore artistic aspects of the shipyard, right in the middle of it. And our weather in October will provide a wonderful opportunity to close the curtain with a big city-wide affordable dinner-dance at the Portuguese Cultural Center.

So, you and all our friends are invited to join a Marinship celebration, or all of them. We are starting in March. If you want to volunteer, or create an event with your group, contact us, you can help, and we can help.

—Jerry Taylor

1 Richardson Bay School was an elementary school between Ebbtide and Coloma Streets. Later the name was changed to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., the campus is now in Marin City.

2 Bayside School was located where Willow Creek Academy is today. During WWII, this area was dormitories for single men. The area east of today's baseball field included classrooms and a gymnasium/multi-purpose room. This became Bayside School in the late 1950's

SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Summer 2016

September 17, 2016

Sausalito Before the Bridge

Long before the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, Sausalito was a major transit hub, bustling with ferries and trains.

According to a History of Marin County originally published in 1880, the first ferry was a small boat operated by Sausalito’s earliest Anglo settler, John Read, beginning in 1832 – 6 years before William Richardson received his land grant here.

*The Princess was Sausalito’s first regularly-scheduled ferry.*

When Richardson eventually lost his 19,000-acre land grant in the mid-1850s, his property was parceled out, and a consortium of developers called the Sausalito Land and Ferry Company took control of what became the township of Sausalito. To lure new residents to the area, they initiated regular ferry service in 1868. A side-wheeler named Princess made her inaugural voyage on the Bay in May, 1868. From the landing at the foot of Princess Street, which was named for the vessel, she made two trips a day to Miegg’ s Wharf in San Francisco.

Just 6 years later, the North Pacific Coast Railroad line began running narrow gauge steam powered trains from Sausalito to San Rafael. Locomotive Number One was called Saucelito, the town’s accepted spelling at the time.

The NPCR also took over the ferry service. The Princess was retired and a new ferry landing and railroad wharf was built near the current ferry terminal. Customers could step off the ferry and go directly to waiting rail cars.

As Jack Tracy wrote in his book Moments in Time, “Railroads were the key to growth all over the country, and California was no exception.”

Tragedy struck in November 1901, as the ferry San Rafael was working its way past Alcatraz in a dense black tule fog. It was suddenly rammed by the steel prow of another ferry, the Sausalito. The Sausalito survived the crash but the San Rafael sank on the spot, taking the lives of three passengers and a baggage truck horse named Dick. That incident inspired the opening of Jack London’s novel The Sea-Wolf.

Sausalito rail and ferry wharf, with its narrow-gauge track, about 1890.  The ferry San Rafael is in the slip at right, and three square riggers ride at anchor offshore. — *Sausalito rail and ferry wharf, with its narrow-gauge track, about 1890. The ferry San Rafael is in the slip at right, and three square riggers ride at anchor offshore.*

By the turn of the 20th Century, the area adjacent to the rail and ferry terminal had become a stagnant backwater known locally as the “Pond.” In 1902, Mayor Jacques Thomas convinced the railroad to convert the Pond to a landscaped plaza in front of its new terminal building. The new plaza was named Depot Park, but grateful citizens called it Thomas’s Park for many years. In 1960, the park was renamed Vina del Mar Plaza, in honor of Sausalito’s new sister City in Chile.

*Electric trains provided innovative, and sometimes precarious, commuter service.*

At the dawn of 20th Century, Sausalito became a hi-tech center with the introduction of interurban electric trains -- pioneering technology when they were introduced here in 1902. The standard gauge electric railway provided commuter service from Sausalito to Mill Valley, San Anselmo, and San Rafael.

In 1907 several local rail companies merged to become the Sausalito Northwestern Pacific Railroad. With the introduction of the mass-produced Model T Ford, auto travel became so popular that ferries began carrying cars in the early 1900s. On one summer weekend in 1915, over 700 autos were ferried between Sausalito and San Francisco, creating the type of traffic congestion we still encounter today.

Auto travel really boomed after the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway 101 in 1937, and train travel fell off drastically. By 1941, the Northwestern Pacific eliminated all Sausalito passenger rail service, although freight rail service continued until 1971. Ferry service was also terminated for three decades. With the return of passenger ferries in 1970, Sausalito blossomed as a popular destination for visitors from all over the world.

Enjoy the Historical Society’s new self-guided downtown walking tour, “Sausalito Before the Bridge.”

Our free tour features trains and ferries that transported people around the San Francisco Bay from 1884-1938. Start at the Ice House where you’ll find a panel describing the 0.6 mile route that stretches east along the Bay and Gabrielson Park, then south along our waterfront.

The display was created by Historical Society Board Member Bill Kirsch, with copy by Steefenie Wicks and graphics by Barbara Geisler.

Veterans Honored

*SHS President Jerry Taylor joins C.D. Madsen (l.) and his cousin Ed (r.), veterans whose names are on the plaque, at the unveiling.*

The Historical Society and Sausalito Lions joined forces to install a plaque at the Bay Model Marinship Exhibit honoring Sausalitans who served in the Armed Forces in WWII. The plaque, recreating an Honor Roll created in 1943, was unveiled and installed during a ceremony in May, 2016.

Caledonia Street Rediscovered

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Fal… — *Ron Dunne, Historian of the Caledonian Club of San Francisco presented a commemorative plaque to the Society’s Jim Muldoon at the opening of the Caledonia St. Exhibit.*

In April, Historical Society member Mike Moyle presented an illustrated history of Caledonia Street at the Sausalito Library. Mike’s presentation was followed by a reception to introduce an exhibit of historic photos of the street in the Society’s Exhibition Room upstairs. The exhibit is still open to the public Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 AM to 1 PM.

The following Saturday, the Society hosted a docent assisted, self-guided walking tour of Caledonia, which brought many of the images from Mike’s presentation and the photo exhibit to life.

Torney Joins SHS Board

Eric Torney, Marin County native and documentarian, has joined the Board of the Sausalito Historical Society. Eric has produced the video “Sausalito Before the Bridge,” which premiered in the Sausalito Public Library’s first Documentary film series. DVDs of the film are available for purchase at the Ice House. He plans to be involved with next year’s 75th Marinship anniversary activities, and is looking forward to combing the Society archives for future projects, as well.

At the SHS Annual Meeting in April, outgoing directors Bob Woodrum and Jim Muldoon were recognized for their many contributions to Society activities. Bob, a director since 2009, was instrumental in the Society’s Schools program, and served as Webmaster for several years. Jim headed up Special Events and Volunteers. Also at the Annual Meeting, current directors Susan Frank, Mary Ann Griller, Sharon Seymour, Jerry Taylor and Steefenie Wicks were re-elected for additional two-year terms.

Letter From the President

A THEORY OF RELATIVITY

Growing up in Sausalito in the 1950’s, I lived on Third Street (still do). This area was referred to as “Old Town”. It’s also called Whaler’s Cove, Shelter Cove, Hurricane Gulch, but I digress. North of us was Downtown, further north was called “New Town”.

But one early evening last summer, as I was driving north on Bridgeway between Napa and Spring Streets, I found myself staring into the sun! How can this be—I’m going north! I consulted a map (if you’re under 30, ask an old-timer). Lo and behold, Bridgeway bends several times, it’s not always north on a map.

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad was controlled by Southern Pacific whose predecessor was the Central Pacific, the western part of the first Transcontinental Railroad. If you were headed toward Utah, you were going east; to Sacramento, later Oakland and San Francisco, you were going west. This was common sense, but it also operated as a safety protocol, determining train order priorities. The SP continued this protocol as it expanded from the original route. SP built south toward Los Angeles but…the protocol remained. All trains going away from SF were eastbound, trains heading to SF were westbound.

So what has that got to do with us in Sausalito? I’m glad you asked. The Northwestern Pacific operated under the same protocols. So, if you were heading to Sausalito, from Eureka, or Cazadero, or San Rafael or Mill Valley, according to the NWP, you were westbound. But last summer, driving in Sausalito toward Mill Valley, I couldn’t determine whether I was northbound, or maybe westbound. Hence: Sausalito Relativity.

Enjoy our new photo displays of Sausalito Before the Bridges. Support the Ice House Plaza — anyone who donates $2,000 or more to the Plaza project will receive a lifetime membership to the Historical Society

See you soon,

Jerry Taylor

And did you know. . .

The Northwestern Pacific, established in 1907, was the final name of the railroads which operated from Sausalito. Prominent in the family tree were the North Pacific Coast and the North Shore. The NWP was jointly owned by the SP and the Santa Fe, until SP bought out its partner. The SP numbered their westbound passenger trains with odd numbers, even numbered trains were headed east. Train #1 traveled from Chicago to San Francisco, #2 was its partner. The famed morning Daylight express from SF to LA was #98, the simultaneous LA to SF was #99. Milepost zero was the San Francisco Ferry Building. The Sausalito Ferry Terminal, located just where it is today, was milepost 6.5.

SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Spring 2015

March 31, 2016

Ice House: From Murky Past to Bright Future

The Ice House Visitors Center and Historic Exhibit has been a downtown landmark since 1999, hosting more than 30,000 visitors a year. But the origins of the structure remain a bit of a mystery.

Spoiler Alert:

*The Ice House was a coin-operated vending facility for many years.*

For years, we’ve been describing the Ice House as a former Northwestern Pacific Railroad refrigerator car, or “cold storage hold,” but it turns out that no evidence exists to support this theory. In fact, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society is unfamiliar with the “cold hold” terminology. When the Ice House was declared a historic landmark in 1998, David Hodgson, then chair of the Historic Landmarks Board, estimated that the building dates back to the late 1800's, judging by its architectural features such as insulation made of stripped redwood bark. Architect Michael Rex, who owned the building for several years, agrees, based on the use of square nails, which date to the Victorian era. Rex, who remodeled the old ice vending facility from its original shoebox design, also points out that it would have been too wide to ride on the Northwest Pacific’s narrow-gauge tracks.

Ed Couderc, whose family owned the structure for a quarter of a century, recalls that old photos show an ice storage house or cooler at the foot of Princess Street, in the mid-1920s. He says the structure “has also been placed on Pine Street below Caledonia in the 1930s.”

Long-term resident Margaret Jewett told the Historical Society that Jack Douglas, who sold coal and wood out of the building that would become the Marin Theatre, also operated the Ice House. When the theatre was built in 1942, Douglas moved both businesses next door to her family home at 309 Caledonia.

Until the Ice House was moved again, to the corner of Caledonia and Litho, Douglas “got his electricity for the refrigeration from our house,” Margaret recalled. “We ran the line through the kitchen window and plugged it in to the wall outlet.”

The structure was acquired by the Couderc family in 1952. Even after refrigerators had become ubiquitous in Sausalito homes, the coin-operated facility continued to dispense blocks and cubes of ice, primarily for boaters and fishermen, until the compressor failed in 1976. At that time the Coudercs padlocked the building, and it was used for storage for 12 years.

Searching for a home to start his architecture practice, over lunch, Michael asked Ed what he intended to do with the old building. When he replied, “tear it down,” Michael offered to save him the cost of demolition; he would take it off his hands for a buck, an idea suggested by the Historical Society’s Phil Frank. A handshake and a Bill of Sale drawn up on a napkin closed the deal.

Architect’s office with a staff of 7 in the Ice House.Photo courtesy of Michael Rex — *Architect’s office with a staff of 7 in the Ice House.*
*Photo courtesy of Michael Rex*

Rex remodeled the building, enclosing the loading dock for a reception area, installing windows, removing the original flat roof and extending the walls up to the height of the gable shaped roof, which had been installed over the ice box as a rain cover, and adding the monitor along the ridge to bring in natural light. The original blue and white color scheme was preserved.

*Phil Frank drew this cartoon for a fund-raising campaign to move the Ice House downtown.*

Rex leased the land under the building from the Couderc family, but they eventually sold the property. When the new owner terminated his lease in 1996. As Historical Society Vice President Dana Whitson wrote in Marin Scope last January, “After a public discussion on alternate uses for the building, the City Council voted to move the Ice House to its final home, a City-owned site at the corner of Bay Street and Bridgeway in downtown Sausalito, to re place a temporary SHS History Exhibit and Visitor Center opened during the City’s 1993 centennial at the former Village Faire (now the Casa Madrona Hotel and Poggio Restaurant.)

*The Ice House moving to its new home downtown*

Under the leadership of Phil Frank, the Historical Society raised funds for the relocation and conversion of the building into the Museum and Visitor Center in 1999. Rex volunteered to prepare the necessary plans for the new site and the Rotary Club of Sausalito provided much of the labor. In the early hours one morning in March, 1999, the Ice House rolled down Bridgeway to its new home where the Historical Society has continuously operated the facility for the City ever since.

The City and Historical Society always intended to improve the site around the Ice House once funds became available, according to Dana: “The plan for the plaza began to take shape following Phil Frank’s death, as his friends and fellow citizens sought to use funds donated in his memory to build a project that Phil would have loved. In 2010, the Sausalito Foundation raised over $32,000 to build the Plaza.” But the project lagged when Sausalito Foundation founder Bea Seidler -- one of the founding Ice House docents -- became ill and passed away.

In late 2014, the remaining Foundation board enlisted the Sausalito Historical Society to help finish the Plaza. -- Larry Clinton

Ice House Plaza Project Progresses

*Sausalito landscape architecture firm SWA’s rendering of the new Plaza*

The Ice House Plaza will serve multiple purposes: a place for the public to linger while enjoying the downtown historic district; an outdoor classroom for the Historical Society’s acclaimed local history curricula for Sausalito Marin City School District third grade students; and a venue for docent talks.

Native plants will create a “learning landscape” for the 3rd graders to study plants used by the Miwoks and also for home gardeners to learn about attractive, drought-tolerant plants suitable for Sausalito.

The new design acknowledges the site’s history on the former passenger rail line with the addition of allegorical train tracks outlined in tile on the plaza, crossed by redwood benches symbolizing railroad ties.

The City and Historical Society have applied for a State grant for future interpretive exhibits, including replicas of historic Sausalito artifacts imbedded into the concrete benches to encourage exploration by children.

The Sausalito Rotary Club has pledged 25% of the proceeds of their April 22 Gala to the Ice House Plaza renovation. The Gala, themed “Sausalito Speakeasy,” will feature live music by West Coast Cool plus an Auction and Raffle. Join us to enjoy this special evening, while supporting the Plaza and the other worthy projects of the Sausalito Rotary Club. For more information, go to www.sausalitorotary.com or www.sausalitohistoricalsociety. org.

The Historical Society and the Sausalito Foundation continue to accept donations for this important improvement to our downtown historic district. Contributions may be mailed to the Sausalito Foundation, Ice House Fund, P.O. Box 567, Sausalito, CA 94966.

— Dana Whitson

Local History Comes Alive for Third Graders

Again this year, the Sausalito Historical Society is bringing history to life for third grade students in the Sausalito and Marin City School District. Interactive history lessons include classroom visits from costumed docents who tell their “personal” stories about early years in Sausalito.

Students learn how to research local history at the Historical Society, where they view old maps, documents, artwork and artifacts.

Recently, each class visited the City Hall and role-played as the City Council, city staff and concerned citizens.

The Historical Society also leads school field trips to the Ice House Museum, the downtown historic district and Marinship. The students test their skills as history detectives by identifying old buildings and searching for artifacts.

Volunteer docents are always welcome on these school programs. The following photo shows one of our newest docents, Nancy Osborn, enjoying taking students from Bayside/MLK Academy on a tour of the Ice House historic exhibit.

SHS in the Media

The Sausalito MarinScope publishes a weekly column contributed by the SHS. Articles cover the rich history of our city and interviews with the people who have made that history – or who are making it now. The columns are written bySociety members and we are always looking for new contributors. Articles going back to 2008 can be found on at www.sausalito historicalsociety.org.

Sausalito’s Community Magazine is published quarterly by the Parks and Recreation Dept. The SHS contributes announcements of upcoming events and activities, plus our three SHS exhibit locations.

You might think that Radio Sausalito is just about jazz — and good jazz it is — but there is another side to the station: History! Sausalito's Secret History plays several times each day and is hosted by SHS past president Larry Clinton. These briefbits of history will whet your appetite to learn more. Listen to Radio Sausalito live at 1610 AM, or on the web at radiosausalito.org. Podcasts of individual Secret History spots can be heard athttp://radiosausalito.org/ category/sausalitos-secret-history.

Also on the radio site is Dock of the Bay: Stories of Sausalito. These short-form podcasts were produced in late 2014 and early 2015. Anyone interested in re-starting the broadcasting of interesting and unique podcasts about Sausalito, please contact Jonathan Westerling at Radio Sausalito jonathan@radiosausalito.org) or the SHS.

The Historical Society website (www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.org) is now more user friendly. You can now search the site for key words, people and places. Check out our Virtual Exhibit on the boatyards of Sausalito, with photographs and information from the SHS archives.

New departments include Historic Images and a bulletin board showing upcoming events sponsored by the SHS and other area historical groups. Learn more about our ongoing Schools Program, and how you can help introduce local third graders to Sausalito’s colorful past. Get reacquainted with our Ice House Visitors Center and Museum, and our Marinship exhibit at the Bay Model.

You can order books and other Sausalito merchandise through the website, pay for your membership or make a donation to support one of our many projects and programs. All on line via a secure transaction!

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

As I think about the two years I have served you, I am most struck by the breadth and depth of the relationships the Historical Society has with the people and institutions in our town.

Because the Ice House Plaza Project has dominated our “discretionary” time in the SHS, I first think of the Sausalito Foundation who incubated the Plaza idea, and the initial benefactors, those Friends of Phil Frank; and then of the City, our beneficent property landlord. Then I think of the residents, friends and professionals who have donated their time to evolving the Plaza from a dream to a concept to drawings and designs that are (hopefully) about to be approved.

I’ve enjoyed delivering our Plaza message to the Sausalito Woman’s Club, Rotary and Lions, and I’m very pleased to say that each has responded with generous lead donations.

Beyond the Plaza, we’ve been involved in a lot of collaborative events. We’ve just presented author Frances Dinkelspiel at the Ondine. On April 1st and 2nd, we’ll partner with Abbot Chambers and the Sausalito Library to shed light on the development of Caledonia Street. Soon we’ll participate in another Portuguese Festa de Espirito Santo. We’re developing plans for the fall, and for 2017, that will bring fun and memories.

In January, the Friends of the Library and the SHS partnered with the Woman’s Club to celebrate “I’m Ink Therefore I Am.” Last fall, our patrons Gil Purcell and Roxanne Sheridan opened their historic home, “The Pines,” so we could celebrateour 40th Anniversary in a grand manner (in a grand manor). We hosted Laura Ackley’s presentation of Technology at the 1915 PPIE at Christ Episcopal Church. We marched in the 4th of July Parade with the Cal Band, and with the Palace of Fine Arts replica built by the Lions. Along with the Bay Model, we co-sponsored Betsy Stroman’s book launch about Jean Varda; and we inspected the Matthew Turner with Call of the Sea.

I’m fond of saying that I wear many hats in this town. We all do. Each of those organizations above has overlapping memberships with us and each other. I think this is amazing and wonderful.

Look, I’m the president, but I’m just one member of the SHS Board. None of those things above happen without these friends. The lead director on the Plaza design is Dana Whitson. Susan Frank and Bill Kirsch continue to put in many, many hours on that project.

Dana also coordinates Ice House operations; Susan chairs our Schools programs; Bill is the Exhibit Chairman. Jim Muldoon is kept busy as Event Chairman. Sharon Seymour handles correspondence, does all the organizational paperwork, and responds to research requests. Jim Meyer has succeeded Teddie Hathaway as Treasurer, he’s tracking Ice House merchandise sales and is updating the website. Mary Ann Griller publicizes our events and edits our contributions to the Sausalito magazine; Steefenie Wicks writes many of our weekly columns in the Scope; Bob Woodrum contributes his talent to the beautiful awards given to the students in the Schools Program. Former president Larry Clinton writes and coordinates this newsletter and our weekly Scope columns. Mike Moyle is a treasured resource.

Thanks for your continued support and participation.

See you soon,

—Jerry Taylor

SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER WINTER 2015/16

January 11, 2016

40 Years of Preservation, Perspiration and Fun

Over the years, this newsletter has reported on virtually every aspect of Sausalito’s past, except for one subject: ourselves. As the Historical Society reaches the end of our 40th anniversary year, this seems like a good time to recall how the organization came into being, and to recognize some of the dedicated individuals who made it happen.

Jack Tracy was the man who started it all – almost accidentally. In 1974 the state requested a city-wide inventory of what Sausalito officials felt was historically important — mostly buildings. Tracy, the fourth-generation Californinan who was then in an electrical-appliance business with his brother, got involved in that project.

According to a 1983 San Francisco Examiner profile, when the city moved its offices into the abandoned Central School in 1975, Tracy was asked to put together a historical display of whatever he could round up from various groups and individuals.

“The whole affair was supposed to be short and routine,” reported the paper. “About 150 people, some band music and speech-making, and a brief glimpse at Tracy’s overnight collection of the town's past, and the party would be over.” However, the collection turned out to be much more complete and significant than anyone had imagined.

"We scrounged everything we could find in Sausalito,” Tracy recalled. “People had never seen so much of Sausalito's history at once. Hour after hour, the mayor would ask us to remain another hour.

“The people walked through the historical exhibit and then they went home and started calling other people.

"We'd opened in the morning and didn't close until 6 o'clock that night. The people had never seen such a collection. That's what started it all."

A short time later then-Mayor Evert Heynneman offered Tracy the top floor of City Hall. Tracy, who wasabout to retire, decided to form the Historical Society and started soliciting memberships. Heynneman later succeeded Tracy as head of the Society. The first new member was Edward Couderc, a moving company man. Couderc also owned the Ice House, which was located on Caledonia Street at the time.

Tracy also recalled his first contribution to the SHS archives. "A boy, Richard Fray, came up to me and said, 'I think I have something you'd like,' and asked if I wanted it. It was an old rusted fishing spear the boy had found, and it remains on display and is recorded as the museum's first gift."

(In fact, the spear is displayed in a glass case at the Ice House, which the SHS eventually acquired for $1).

Tracy was quickly joined by other volunteers as the little museum launched itself. By April, 1975, a full-on membership drive was announced in the MarinScope: “The need for a Sausalito Historical Society is more pressing today, when large and impersonal forces are working to obliterate our heritage, than in any previous period. A Society is being currently proposed that will be available to all former and present residents of Sausalito. Participation is the primary requisite for membership. The aims of the Society will be to recover, house and maintain what is left of Sausalito’s rich past. Several hundred historical items have already been pledged for display and maintenance by the Society -- Indian artifacts, maps, letters and photographs. Sufficient furniture and office equipment have been donated to launch the organization in its new headquarters on the top floor of the Civic Center.

“Member dues will be used to meet the expenses of preserving the Society’s historical collection and to cover operational costs.”

One of the earliest members was Liz Robinson, who soon became the Society’s official archivist.

In an oral history recorded with one-time SHS board member Dorothy Gibson, Liz recalls meeting Tracy when he visited her and her husband, Babe Lamerdin, who was donating some photos of the fabled schooner Zaca

“Jack was so enthusiastic and talked with such passion, Babe and I decided to help, so I started going down on Saturdays, accessioning teetering piles of fabulous photographs, documents, artifacts, newspapers. He’d worked out a very simple system based on a night course he’d taken on archival management and had some basic rules about how to do this. He approached it methodically, but it was about 100 years’ worth of work. When I saw what needed to be done, I just became a regular at the Society.

“Jack was there all day every day. People had heard about the project and would drop in to talk and he was so interested in what they had to say. He had so much in his head, it was like a computer filing system where bits of information just clicked into place and he made connections and was fitting together all the parts of what people were telling him.

“Jack was kind of rumpled looking, wore a white t-shirt with dark hair sort of flopped over his face. He smoked constantly and his desk was always heaped with cigarette butts which wasn’t good sense for a historical collection. He had the order of things in his head, but there was lots of stuff that needed attention.

“He was always very welcoming when people came in and put them at ease so they wanted to talk and they’d have a little show and tell and he’d make some sort of connection. There was always a lot of activity and people coming in with wonderful stories.”

The first board meeting of the Sausalito Historical Society was held on October 1, 1975 in the Society’s new quarters on the top floor of City Hall. According to the hand-written minutes of that meeting, Director Jack Tracy was joined by board members Vera Clouette and Phil Frank, plus Marjorie and Ben Pulsifer. Fritz Warren was absent. Membership had already reached 80 individuals.

Acknowledging that the City had given the room next door for historical displays, the Board decided to open it with a Victorian theme.

Other projects underway included a Bicentennial poster contest, indexing back copies of the Sausalito News (now searchable on the Web), staffing the rooms for public hours on Saturdays, and scheduling a General Membership Meeting on Oct. 20.

The first Society newsletter, “Sausalito Historical Summer,” was published in the summer of 1978. Editor Tim Rosaire reported that membership had steadily climbed to 300. Promising that “Future issues will feature articles on how Sausalito was established, who its first settlers were and how they lived,” Roasaire solicited member input: “Interesting anecdotes out of the city's past will be told (know any?) and questions will be posed to the readers on historical puzzles the Society is trying to solve.”

In May, 1979 the Society was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public benefit non-profit.

Tracy’s seminal history, “Moments in Time,” was first published in 1983. “It really sounds like Jack,” recalls Liz Robinson. “He dictated the book and then worked with Wayne and Linda Bonnett[of Windgate Press] to edit it and clarify things. I helped with copy editing and fact checking.” A second edition was printed a year after he passed away in 1992. The richly illustrated hard-cover volume is still available at the Ice House.

In 1991, the Society helped develop the permanent Marinship exhibit at the Bay Model, displaying photographs, paintings, film clips and actual artifacts from the WWII shipyard which dominated life in Sausalito from 1942-46. Spearheading that project were Susan Frank, Liz Robinson and Cindy Roby, working with Daphne Derven of the Bay Model Visitors Center.

Under the leadership of Phil Frank, the Ice House was moved from Caledonia St. to 780 Bridgeway and opened in 1999 as the Society’s downtown historic exhibit and visitor center. Today the Ice House serves 29,000 visitors a year.

These are just a few of the Historical Society’s accomplishments over the past four decades. With the continued support of members and the community at large, you can expect many more to come.

— Larry Clinton

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

SHS President Jerry Taylor greets author Laura Ackley atCampbell Hall.Photo by Steefenie Wicks — *SHS President Jerry Taylor greets author Laura Ackley* *atCampbell Hall.*
*Photo by Steefenie Wicks*

As I look back on the past few months in the Society, our schedule has kept us hopping. The other articles and photographs will give you glimpses at some of our events, but to me, the quantity and breadth of our activities astonishes (and exhausts) me.

Larry Moyer shared his reminisces of his former boat-mate, Shel Silverstein in the Sausalito Library, accompanied by some “home” movies, and videos of Silverstein performing. We moved the party upstairs to open our current exhibit, about Shel. A couple of weeks later, my life-long friends Don Jen, and his uncle and aunt Nate and Theo Lee, spoke about Willie and the Marin Fruit Company at the Society’s annual meeting. It wasn’t long before we held a joint fund-raiser with the Educational Tall Ship Society and gained some insights climbing through the being-built Matthew Turner. (If you missed this, check out www.educationaltallship.org.) Then we helped introduce Betsy Stroman’s beautiful book about Jean Varda, with an art show, reception and book signing, at the Bay Model. We had a unit in the IDESST Espirito Santo Festa parade. The Society participated in Galilee Harbor’s Maritime Days, and we celebrated Robin Sweeny’s birthday. We worked with the three classes of 3rd Graders, helping them learn about the Marinship and Marin City, and then presented achievement awards to the students in their classrooms.

Members of the Society board and key volunteers put in many hours to make these events successful. At these events, as your president, I often receive an undeserved spotlight, to deliver a few introductory comments on behalf of us all.

But there was one event in which I was fully immersed: the 4th of July Parade. The Sausalito Lions Club built a replica of Palace of Fine Arts, constructed in 1915 for the Panama Pacific International Exposition. The Cal Alumni Band celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Fair by playing Sousa’s Pathfinder of Panama, which the man himself directed at the PPIE. And a couple of dozen Society members wore period costumes to commemorate the history of our Sausalito elephants and fountain. I love all three of these groups, and I am so proud of how this came together.

The “Next Big Thing”, as they say in advertising, is the resumption of development of the Ice House Plaza. We’ll have more to tell you soon.

—Jerry Taylor

Movie Stars on the Van Damme

Long-time waterfront resident T.J. Nelsen has written a very personal memoir of Sausalito’s Gate 6 community, entitled “Houseboats, Drugs, Government and the 4th Estate.” The book is a must read for anyone interested in the colorful and controversial history of the early houseboat community.

Nelsen discovered the Sausalito waterfront in the early 60s, and soon moved to Don Arques’ property at Waldo Point harbor, where he worked at various odd jobs. In 1969 he was offered control of the Harbor, where Arques and the houseboat owners were under threat of abatement by Marin County. Until that time, he writes, “no one was in charge or responsible for the property as a whole and what went on was as close to anarchy as anything I’ve ever seen.”

The book also contains some wonderful historic vignettes, such as T.J.’s recollection of celebrity visitors to the ferryboat Charles Van Damme, which served as a restaurant, nightclub and community center until it was declared uninhabitable and bulldozed in the 80s. Here’s a sample:

Rip Torn between visits to the Van Damme.Photo from FanPix,.net — *Rip Torn between visits to the Van Damme.*
*Photo from FanPix,.net*

Two of the visitors who were entertained on the Van Damme for a short time were Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, whom I’ve always admired for their talent as actors. He was working on a “Lincoln project.” Rip came to me one day for an opinion on a very large, heavily built ship-bowed wooden freight barge berthed near the south end of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. Arques's tenant wanted him to invest money in it in order to build a gigantic houseboat to be put at Waldo Point. The barge was very interesting, being one of many unusual vessels produced in the '40s to aid in the war effort. As a potential houseboat, though, it drew too much water to either get to or leave Waldo Point, an un-dredged tidal zone, or as commonly called, a mudflat, except on extreme high tides. In addition, the legal problems they would have had with government alone would probably have required Rip to spend all his money on attorney's fees, because Rip Torn was collectable. His hosts on the Van Damme —Arques's "tenants"—had apparently forgotten to check the draft of the barge or mention the legal problems. Rip and Geraldine left shortly thereafter, having become disillusioned, perhaps, with the artistic environment.

In the introduction to his book, T.J. notes: “The information presented here is not the result of research, interviews, or a scholarly analysis of data, and I do not suggest it is balanced, complete, or fair to all those involved. It is simply about what I experienced and the way I saw it.” The book goes on to detail all sides of the free-spirited community: the liberty, the squalor, the creativity, the drugs, the camaraderie and the violence that were all part of day-to-day life in the post-Haight Ashbury/summer of love era. T.J casts his critical eye on various sides of the controversy, including the protestors, Marin County bureaucrats, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, law enforcement, and the media (the 4th Estate).

“Houseboats, Drugs, Government and the 4th Estate” is a must read for anyone interested in the colorful and controversial history of the early houseboat community. It’s available at the Ice House, Book Depot, Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

-- Larry Clinton

PPIE – Technology of Yesteryear

The Historical Society celebrated the closing of the 100th anniversary of the Panama-Pacific International Expositionof 1915 with a presentation by Laura Ackley, author of an illustrated history of the fair entitled “San Francisco’s Jewel City,” on December 7. Laura, who also marches in Sausalito’s July 4 parade with the Cal Alumni Band, focused on technologicalmarvels at the Exposition, such as the giant typewriter, the Fordassembly plant, and the telephone. Campbell Hall at Christ Episcopal Church was decorated with photos of an entry in the last parade, which featured a replica of the PPIE’s Palace of Fine Arts.

Besides that venerable Marina District landmark, the elephant statues and fountain in Vina del Mar Plaza are among the last vestiges of the century-old PPIE.

SHS Bulletin Board

Sausalito Historical Society

Invitation to the 2024 Annual General Membership Meeting

The SHS 2024 Annual Membership Meeting, to be held in person, at 7:00 P.M., Monday May 13th, 2024. The meeting will be in the Edgewater Room on the ground floor of City Hall.

The Legacy of Sausalito Women

Tuesday May 14th, 2024
Sausalito Woman’s Club
120 Central Ave., Sausalito

An illustrated talk by Dana Whitson about the important legacy of women in Sausalito,

"Arques"

“Arques,” a new exhibit by the Sausalito Historical Society, is open on the 3rd floor of City Hall. “Arques” is look at the over 50 photos, tools, and memorabilia collected over the years from the boatyard. The exhibit includes items from the Arques Preservation Foundation, the Sausalito Historical Society, and the San Francisco Maritime Museum.”

• Mondays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 12 p.m.- 3 p.m..”

California Digital Newspaper Collection

APRIL 2021

Contents

Invitation to Annual Meeting

2021 Election and Ballot

Tami Bell

Stanford Hughes

Roberta Maloy

Nick Roby

HOW TO VOTE

YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS THIS YEAR:

SAMPLE BALLOT FOR VOTING BY E-MAIL

END OF BALLOT

SHS Report of Activities: Covid-19 Edition

Remembering Billie Anderson

A Look Back

The Cazadero and the Model

Board of Directors

Ambassadors

Peggy Tolk-Watkins and the Tin Angels

An Imperfect History of 588 Bridgeway

Thanks to 2020 Premium Level Members and Major Donors

Letter from the President

Recent Acquisitions at the SHS

Membership Information

Board and Ambassadors

Moments in Time

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

A celebration of those we’ve lost since our last issue

Doris Lorraine Christman Berdahl

oct, 2, 1928 - sept, 3, 2018

Linda Bonnett

oct 9, 1939 - sept 22, 2018

Dorothy Gibson

feb. 9, 1923 - jan. 18, 2019

Carol Hayes

oct 10, 1933 - feb 21, 2018

Cicely Muldoon

feb 26, 1922 - jan 5, 2019

Donald Keith Olsen

nov 11, 1931 - jan 25, 2019

Robin Sweeny

aug 19, 1925 - nov 17, 2018

Steefenie Wicks

dec 4, 1947 - march 19, 2019

John Harris Wilmer

oct 2, 1947 - feb 1, 2019

Past Events

Letter from the president – April 2019

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Battle for Incorporation

Celebrating the 125th Anniversary

“No Name Stories”

Over 40,000 Visitors

Gala Plays to Full House

Donations Gratefully Accepted

Thanks to Premium Level MembersMembers and Major Donors

R.I.P Bill Kirsch

THE DAY THE FERRIES STOPPED

Sausalito Documentary Films

ICE HOUSE PLAZA UPDATE

Volunteers Recognized

7 Months of Marinship 75 Events

April 8: Rotary Club Gala Cocktails, Dinner & Dancing to the Big Bands

May 13: 1940's Radio Broadcast Reenactment Sausalito Woman's Club

May 27: Christ Episcopal Church presents "Bob Hope and his USO Show"

June 9: Sausalito's Jazz by the Bay Features Marinship75 Style Music Jazz by the Bay

July 4: Join in the fun as Sausalito celebrates the 4th of July Marinship75 style!

September 2-4: Come See the Marinship75 Display at the 2017 Sausalito Art Festival

September 30: Welcome to the Sausalito USO Canteen. Details coming soon

New Book at Ice House

Sights and Sounds of Sausalito

More Premium Level Members

Business/Sponsor Level

Did You Know?

How to make a Charitable Gift Donation of marketable stocks and bonds:

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Sausalito Before the Bridge

Enjoy the Historical Society’s new self-guided downtown walking tour, “Sausalito Before the Bridge.”

Veterans Honored

Caledonia Street Rediscovered

Thanks to Premium Level Members
Members and Major Donors