Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Sylvia McLaughlin CITIZEN ACTIVIST FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: SAVING SAN FRANCISCO BAY, PROMOTING SHORELINE PARKS AND NATURAL VALUES IN URBAN AND CAMPUS PLANNING Interviews conducted by Ann Lage in 2006-2007 Copyright © 2009 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Sylvia McLaughlin, dated October 16, 2006. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Sylvia McLaughlin, “Citizen Activist for the Environment: Saving San Francisco Bay, Promoting Shoreline Parks and Natural Values in Urban and Campus Planning,” conducted by Ann Lage, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2009. iii Sylvia McLaughlin, September 2009 Photo courtesy of Frank Kinsel iv AKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Regional Oral History Office, on behalf of future researchers, wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals for making the oral history of Sylvia McLaughlin possible: UC Berkeley College of Engineering UC Water Resources Center Archive Bay Planning Coalition County of Marin Community Service Grant John Briscoe Melvin Lane Sharie Shute Robert Tufts v Discursive Table of Contents—Sylvia McLaughlin Interview History xi Interview 1, October 16, 2006 Audio file 1 1 Cranmer family background in England and US—Great grandfather John Hittson, cattle king of Texas, Grandfather Cranmer one of his top cowboys, married daughter of the cattle king— Grandmother Cranmer raised six children, was an active citizen in Denver, her mother was a Cherokee Indian—Father, George Ernest Cranmer: education at Princeton, stockbroker business, family Mediterranean cruise in 1928, visit to Taormina, Sicily, inspiration for Red Rocks theater—Father’s education, interest in swimming, career as a stockbroker until 1928—Father’s career as manager of Parks and Improvements, Denver—His interest in community arts, sports, city planning—Home then at edge of town with rural ambience—Father’s interest in skiing following 1913 snow storm, formed Genesee Mountain ski club—Family life and long-term visitors, Marquis Albizzi gave horse-riding lessons—Mountain house at Bear Creek, an idyllic place—Mother, Jean Louise Chappell Crammer: family background, education, interest in music, contributions to Denver symphony and other civic music and art institutions— Grandfather Chappell an engineer, Chappell House, the family home—Chappell House given to Denver for first art museum—Mother’s contributions to the Denver Symphony—Guests in the Cranmer home, symphony soloists, Frank Lloyd Wright—Sylvia’s youth and education: born December 24, 1916—Keeping up with her brothers, Forrest and Chappell, horseback riding, reading, time in the mountains at Bear Creek, governesses, learning French, travels to France and Italy, Mediterranean cruise—Education in Denver’s Kent School for Girls and then to Ethel Walker School in Connecticut at age fourteen—Attachment to Colorado landscape, skiing— Vassar College, 1935-39, French major, era of in loco parentis, learning social graces—Return to Denver, wartime work at Modification Center in Denver. Audio file 2 27 Wartime in Denver, continued: work on shortage report, skiing during era of rope tows, helping with travel book—Father’s planning and building Red Rocks theater, Marian Anderson’s visit and testing acoustics at the theater—Racial attitudes encountered and mother’s reactions—Home on Cherry Street in Denver—Japanese-American cook and gardener, Ichi and Michi, longtime friends and help to Sylvia later in Berkeley—Mother’s reaction to anti-Japanese prejudices in Denver—More on father, his energy and vision, style of operating, interest in ice skating, contributions to parks, swimming pools, airport, and other public works in and around Denver, use of CCC, WPA, and volunteer labor—Winemaking in the basement, circuses and plays— Music in the home, mother’s hopes for family string quartet dashed. Interview 2, March 1, 2007 Audio file 3 45 More on college years at Vassar: Plays and dancing in New York City during college—College courses in art history, geology, music—women’s goals and ambitions—More on wartime work, life during the war in Denver, and brothers’ service—Marriage, move to Berkeley, and family: Meeting and marrying Don McLaughlin, a family friend, Don’s career in mining and home in vi Berkeley, his charm—Marriage and move to Berkeley in 1948, Don’s sons Donald and Charlie—Entertaining and settling into life in Berkeley, Junior League, Mining Auxiliary, Vassar Alumnae—Children Jean and George, move to current house on Hawthorne Terrace, 1950s— Important role of Michi as a second mother to the children. Audio file 4 72 Vacations in Colorado and elsewhere with the children, skiing and figure skating—Don’s world of mining and Sylvia’s involvement, friendship with Lee Swent—Current involvement with saving the oak trees near the UC Berkeley campus football stadium, concerns about overbuilding in the area—Current involvement with proposed Strawberry Creek Plaza in downtown Berkeley. Interview 3, March 13, 2007 Audio file 5 84 Berkeley in the 1950s, Hinks department store—First involvement in city planning issues, neighborhood zoning and opposing street widening—Nature of city government in the fifties and early sixties, easy access to officials—Enjoying neighborhood and regional parks, children transferred to private elementary schools—Little involvement in environmental or political organizations before Save the Bay—Early awareness of problems with filling San Francisco Bay, genesis of Save the Bay: view from her window—How and why her involvement began: sharing concerns about Berkeley plan to fill the bay and Corps of Engineers report with Kay Kerr, involving Esther Gulick—Early alternative visions to Berkeley’s massive fill-the-bay plan, and changing opinions through public and private meetings—The city’s interim waterfront plan, Sylvia’s appointment to first waterfront commission, early plans to acquire waterfront lands— Save the Bay organization: gender relations, picking a man as president of Save the Bay, but the three women did the work—Membership records and mailings, organizing lobbying trips to Sacramento, the Mel Scott report. Audio file 6 109 Goals, organization, accomplishments of Save the Bay, the first twenty-five years: Attending the Bay Conservation and Development Study Commission, influence of Mel Scott report— Lobbying to make BCDC permanent, becoming a public spokesperson—Connections around the bay, communicating with members, Dorothy Erskine’s role, Jack Kent on Berkeley City Council—Early preference for no more development on bay front, no opposition from labor or minority groups—The early Save the Bay advisory board and officers—Importance of yearly conferences, active participation by members—South Bay women, Claire Dedrick and Janet Adams—Agreement among founders on goals and visions for the bay and the organization— Continued vigilance after creation of BCDC—Longtime interest in an Eastshore Park, continuity in thinking about bay environment—Campus unrest and possible relationships with environmental protests, husband’s breakfast meetings with students during the Free Speech Movement. vii Interview 4, April 6, 2007 Audio file 7 135 Save the Bay, regular Monday meetings of McLaughlin, Kerr, and Gulick—Sylvia’s role and experiences as public speaker, testifying to the legislature, dressing appropriately—Gender in politics and in the environmental movement—Views of the women’s movement, a side issue— Unrest and politics at UC, no impact on Save the Bay—Leadership