Del Monte Forest Property Owners a non-profit California Corporation F RESTNEWS July - September 2019 The Crockers by Charles Osborne Of the Big Four railroad barons started in the morning. It was foggy (Huntington, Hopkins, Stanford and and damp on the western coastal Crocker) only the Crocker family kept side, but they went all around the a presence in California. The family peninsula ending up back in Monterey has been civic minded, socially where the sun had finally broken active and extensively involved in through. His servants set up a grand various businesses. They also didn’t Railroad Baron Charles Crocker picnic, complete mind putting on a great party. They 1822-1888 with a big lunch built grand homes in San Francisco, Hillsborough, and lots of wine. At the end New York City and elsewhere, but their preferred Crocker stood up, thumped seaside vacation homes were in Pebble Beach. his cane on the ground and When they came here they brought the cream of said “We will build the hotel San Francisco society with them. here and call it Del Monte.” It started in 1880 when Charles Crocker bought Crocker immensely enjoyed up most of the land on the Monterey Peninsula coming to the peninsula, William Henry Crocker 1861-1937 started Crocker Bank… hired and secured the water rights to the Carmel River. and at one point on a S.F.B. Morse to run the P.I.C. It was Crocker’s idea to build a luxury resort hotel wager he swam in the bay complete with a 9,000 acre private park that we balancing a cake on his head. He died in the now call the Del Monte Forest. Crocker made these hotel in 1888 and his youngest son W.H. “Will” acquisitions through the Pacific Improvement Crocker, founder of Crocker Bank, took over Company, a partnership holding company of the running the family’s business interests including Big Four that continued until 1965. His Partners the Pacific Improvement Company (PIC). In 1915 (The Associates) referred to the building of the he appointed S.F.B. “Sam” Morse to run the PIC. hotel as “Charlie’s Pet.” One grumpy Morse changed the plans for the Forest resident, writer R. L. Stevenson, fled from a typical seaside resort at the time the area when he heard the news. He (small lots with lots of small houses), to did not want to be “located near a great make it a playground for the rich and caravansary.” famous. Among his first customers were the children of W.H. Crocker, The story of the siting of the great WW (Bill) and Charles, as well as his caravansary is as follows… Crocker ward and nephew Templeton Crocker. came down to Monterey, then a sleepy Templeton Crocker His daughter Helen bought property in 1884-1948 on his yacht fishing village, and toured the area in Zaca. He introduced his Yale Carmel Valley, and built her villa there, carriages with several friends. They classmate, S.F. B. Morse to the Crockers. now called Stonepine. (Continued on page 3) DMFPO Sunday Afternoon Seminar July 28, 2019 l 1 PM – 3 PM Community Services District, Forest Lake / Lopez Roads The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast. It was designated in 1992 and established for resource, protection, research, education and public use. We are happy to have Lisa Emanuelson, Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator give an overview of MBNMS and speak about its commitment to promote ocean literacy and conservation. Lisa brings 20 years of educational and programmatic experience to the water quality program. She teaches at the Ocean Discovery Center, has taught at the Catalina Island Marine Institute, and has seven years of experience working on the MBNMS Education Team. A Shore Thing Acorn Woodpeckers have striking features: a patterned Story by Gina Gianfala, a Pebble Beach resident and Bay Net volunteer black and white coat, white rump, black chest, streaked “Ja-cob, ja-cob, wake-up, wake-up.” black lower breast and white Do you recognize this bird call? belly. The head pattern Along with its distinctive call there sports a bright red crown. You can tell the boys from are many facets of the Acorn Photo by Gina Gianfala the girls by their unique head Woodpecker that make this bird so plumage. The adult males have a white forehead interesting. It is a very social bird, living in groups that touches the red crown, of up to four or more breeding males and as while the female has black many as three breeding females. If you add the plumage between the white immature birds and chicks to the count that can forehead and the red crown, add up to quite an extended ménage! A family of appearing as if she were woodpeckers is known as a “bushel.” The birds wearing a black headband. cooperate in raising the young and in gathering, This bird was highly prized storing, and guarding their food supply. The by the Ohlone Indians for woodpecker stores its food in holes drilled in utility adorning their ceremonial poles, the bark of dead limbs, and tree trunks, baskets with the red feathers. Photo by Paul Fenwick called “granaries,” for future consumption. When Woodpeckers are yearlong the bird drills into a live tree it only goes as far as residents in Monterey; their range extends from the bark. It doesn’t touch the pulp of the tree, so southern Washington through California, east to the tree remains unharmed. In addition to acorns, Colorado, and onto Texas. They are also found in this bird enjoys other types of nuts, fruit, sap, and Central America. Now, can you tell from the photos 2 flower nectar as well as flying insects. which is male and which is female? The Crockers (continued from page one) Will’s sons and nephew built showplace homes Brown, Jr. As these large homes were built during along the coast. Templeton built, but never lived prohibition they each had secret rooms set up as in what was then referred to as “The Marble cocktail lounges. Palace,” a copy of a Byzantine Era Travertine The Marble Palace has gone through many monastery designed by George Washington ownerships. This was described in Neal Hotelling’s Smith with marble columns from Italy, a lavish piece in a prior Forest News article. Villa Amici interior complete with a bathtub carved out of has also had many owners since the ‘20s. In my a single block of black marble with solid gold childhood, a family named Canavero lived there, fixtures, and a swimming pool that filled from and the Marble Palace stood empty. Vidya Vista ocean waves. When he divorced his wife Helene has stayed in the family, but Templeton’s home Irwin (daughter of sugar king William G. Irwin) she on Del Ciervo was sadly allowed to deteriorate got the palace, and Templeton built a large house and was eventually torn down. Three very large on Del Ciervo overlooking Carmel Bay. homes are being built on that property now. Helen Crocker Russell’s HH Ranch is now a hotel called Stonepine, and is the only former Crocker residence in the area open to guests. There are many tributes to the Crockers in Northern California. Here on the Monterey Peninsula there is the Crocker Grove near Cypress Point, Crocker Avenue in Pacific Grove and Crocker Dining Hall at Asilomar. The Marble Palace From Charles Crocker’s first vision of Monterey as a resort through the introduction of Sam Morse Next door to the Marble Palace was Bill Crocker’s to Pebble Beach, the family has had a significant home Villa Amici, the scene of many parties impact on our peninsula. When Crocker bought from the 1920’s on. Nearby Charles built his out David Jacks it eliminated a greedy land baron, house, Vidya Vista, named from a Sanskrit noun and when W.H. Crocker brought in Sam Morse meaning “world beyond care,” and Vista of course he introduced a conservationist with great love for means “view.” It was designed by architect Arthur the land.d DMFPO DIRECTORS OFFICERS COMMITTEE CHAIRS NEWSLETTER Del Monte Forest LeBon Abercrombie President Roads & Traffic Editor/Design Property Owners Bart Bruno Ned Van Roekel Bart Bruno LeBon Abercrombie Jacqueline Fobes Vice President Trails Ned Van Roekel a non-profit Maureen Lyon Kendra Evans Robert Ogle Laura Paxton California Corporation 3101 Forest Lake Road Robert Ogle Secretary Nominating/Bylaws Pebble Beach, CA 93953 Katie Spitz Lucy Carlton Lucy Carlton 831.373.1618 phone [email protected] Treasurer Website http://dmfpo.org Charles Delahay LeBon Abercrombie 3 Del Monte Forest Conservancy Events Del Monte Forest Conservancy (DMFC) values Get out your dancing shoes and join us on our close partnership with the Del Monte Forest Sunday, October 6th for our Annual Donor Property Owners (DMFPO) in helping us fulfill Event and Community Picnic at Indian Village our mission to protect and maintain open space picnic grounds. The fun starts at 2:30pm and within the forest. The DMFC Board is comprised ends at 5:00pm. DMFC will serve wine, beer of volunteers who are resident property owners. and a sumptuous buffet. This year, we are Many of us are also DMFPO members. pleased to announce that the John Michael DMFC has an exciting series of events and Band will provide entertainment and music from presentations scheduled for the summer the Frank Sinatra songbook. We can’t think of and fall. In appreciation we are extending an a better way to enjoy a beautiful afternoon in invitation for DMFPO members to join us.