âBig Sur Coast Californiaâ?, oil on canvas by Michael Bowen, copyright RW Bruch. Painted on Bowenâs way from the Coastside to Mexico in 1963. In the early 1960s artist Michael Bowen lived in the Abalone Factory at Princeton.
1960s: “Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs In Devil’s Slide Area”(3)
“Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs in Devil’s Slide Area”
By Ed Bauer, Half Moon Bay Review, circa 1965
“The late Prof. Dan Reichel of the College of San Mateo often recommended that geology students study the Devil’s Slide area although he never advocated cliff-climbing. Reichel, a graduate of the Hearst School of Mines at the University of California, declared that Devil’s Slide was a result of the ‘block fault action.’
“In spite of the county ordinance against trespassing on the dangerous cliffs, the thrill-seekers still can be seen picking their ways on the narrow trails and slippery rocks.
“Even today, the gravel from the cliffside falls on the highway between Half Moon Bay and Pacifica. In 1962, a 15-ton boulder blocked traffic. The road has been closed from time to time for repairs.
“The proposed new highway [ed. this is circa 1960s] route will bypass Devil’s Slide. It will go over the top of Pedro Mountain, acording to Alan Hart, district highway engineer.”
1960s: “Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs In Devil’s Slide Area”(2)
(Photo: In the 1960s Ed Bauer was the editor/publisher of the Half Moon Bay Review)
“Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs in Devil’s Slide Area”
By Ed Bauer, Half Moon Bay Review, circa 1965
“The history of the ill-fated Ocean Shore Railroad tells of the problems that the slide caused. The line was blocked and heavy cost problems came as a result of locating the route through the area. Old pioneers said that the line should ‘have gone over the top of Pedro Mountain’ as did the original coast highway.
“Former Supervisor Alvin S. Hatch declares that the Devil’s Slide has been a problem in many ways. ‘To keep the Devil’s Slide open cost many thousands of dollars. The gravel and rocks keep sliding down on the highway. It was a problem for Highway District 9,’ said Hatch.
“Geologists who have studied the Devil’s Slide claim that it is a result of ‘Block Faulting’ which occurred millions of years ago. At one time there was no Golden Gate. The interior of California was a gigantic lake surrounded by tropical forests. Dinosaurs and Dugongs (sea-cows) were in what is now San Francisco Bay.”
…to be continued…
1960s: “Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs In Devil’s Slide Area”(1)
“Hikers Scoff At Law While Climbing Steep Cliffs in Devil’s Slide Area”
By Ed Bauer, Half Moon Bay Review, circa 1965
“Despite many warning signs, hikers and would-be cliff climbers can be seen attempting to scale parts of Devil’s Slide on most any weekend.
“More than 13 persons have died in one way or another at the treacherous cliff area located just north of Montara. The county board of supervisors, after receiving complaints, ordered that warning signs be posted.
“The warning signs are chopped down almost as fast as they can be replaced. It is believed that the ‘night party’ crowds hack down the wooden signs for firewood.
“Tourists and newcomers to the area are struck with the rugged beauty of the ocean and cliff area. They often stop to obtain a better view and fail to notice the ‘No Parking Except In An Emergency’ signs that have been posted in the area.
“There are small trails leading to the steep cliffs and there are remains of an old railroad roadbed in the Devil’s Slide area. The would-be-cliff-climbers say that it is a thrill to walk on the steep cliff and peer down on the swirling breakers hundreds of feet below.”
…to be continued…
Romeo’s Pier: You know…
that the County of San Mateo purchased historic Romeo’s pier and has left it to rot, not making any repairs. Our Coastside’s history of the colorful cannery era, left to rot…What a pity!
Joe “The Bartender’s” Flying Experience By Fayden (5) Conclusion
Before we could get out there to help Joe, we heard him yelling in his
singing voice, “HELP MEEEEE!!!!!! HEELLLP MEEEEEE!â?
Magically, the lights came on in the neighborâs back yard. John, a Jamaican man, who lived with his English wife, emerged from their house in a full length silk bathrobe that only he and David Niven could have worn and gotten away with.
As the lights came on what we saw out of our kitchen window was Joe âthe Bartenderâ? lying on his stomach, his belly stuck in the middle of a six- foot high piece of jungle gym equipment that the neighborâs kids played on.
Joe was waving his arms and feet like he was flying and singing his “HELP MEEEE” song!!
(To get stuck in the jungle gym, Joe would have had to climb over a four-foot fence, roll over a two-foot wide hawkâs cage before he was captured by the complex piece of kidâs play equipment. In explanation, all I can say is, it was really dark out there!)
We all helped Joe out of the tangle of the jungle gym equipment, and listing to the right and left, he vanished into the night. You really didn’t want to stop an emotional drunk anyway and tell them what to do. It did occur to me, though, as Joe disappeared into the night that he was no longer wondering “What am I going to do.â?
Four days later Joe called and asked if we had seen his car.
We had wondered whose car it was and were happy to tell him yes it
was here. So you see, there was a happy ending: Joe didnât get the girl, but he did find his car!
Joe “The Bartender’s” Flying Experience By Fayden (4)
We were going to move the 55- foot ferro hull down to Princeton so
Chuck and I had to remove the deck; we also removed the five steps leading into the backyard, and it was in this direction that Joe âthe Bartenderâ? was heading.
Parrrummmp. We heard him hit the ground, then silence for ten seconds until we heard another parrrummmp and an âowwww.â? This was Joe who had stood up and walked face first into the hull of the boat. Yep, ten secons later the parrrrummmp and âowwwww,â? he had bumped into th boat again.
It was pitch dark out there and we were laughing and at the same time trying to find a flashlight. This was not an easy task as the cans of beer were almost gone and so was the Wild Turkey.
We didn’t hear anymore “parrrummmps” so we figured he was sitting down somewhere, until we found him. We were mistaken.
…to be continued…
Joe “The Bartender’s” Flying Experience By Fayden (3)
Back to Birch St. in Montara. One night âDirty Ernie,â?
âFast Eddyâ? (a 300- hundred- pound Hispanic friend with a giant
mustache and a Panama hat on his head) and me were drinking Shilitz Malt liquor with wild Turkey whiskey shots poured in the top of the can
where there was room after the first couple of sips.
There was a knock at the front door but nobody ever waited for us to answer. They just strolled on in and on this late night it was none other
than Joe âthe Bartender.â? Drunk as a skunk was Joe, and distraught
as he could be over his girlfriend who had just broken up with him.
He kept saying, “What am I going to do?”, as he paced from
the dining room where we were trying to sit upright in our chairs
with our aforementioned drinks, into a bedroom through a bathroom,
into another bedroom, rejoining us in the dining room .
“What am I going to do?” he said.
This went on for five or six laps.Then he started heading out of the kitchen towards the back porch. This was a mistake, and we all knew it , and in a slurring voice I said, âJoe don’t!â? but started laughing at what was going to happen if he kept going in that direction.
Dirty Ernie shook his head, and âFast Eddieâ? lowered his hat over his eyes like he was getting ready to take a siesta but he was really getting ready for the inevitable, and what was going to happen.
…to be continued…
A Street Named “Pete Douglas Way”
(Photo: Pete Douglas, at left, Linda Goetz, at right. Photo by Jerry Koontz).
Report: Linda Goetz, assistant to Pete Douglas at the 50-year-old Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Miramar, confirms that San Mateo County has been contacted about naming a street “Pete Douglas Way.” Pete Douglas founded the “Bach,” as it is called locally, a world-class jazz house overlooking the Pacific, that has been hosting music concerts for decades and is a famous center of culture on the Coastside.
“Yes, I’ve sent a letter to the County,” Linda Goetz says, “asking officials to consider naming the street between Medio and Magellan in Miramar after Pete Douglas. How does ‘Pete Douglas Way’ sound? It’s his 80th birthday next February as well as the 50th anniversary of the Bach Society–and we think a fantastic way to celebrate this special day is by naming a street in Pete’s honor. He’s done so much for the musical arts on the Coastside.”
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…Neva Reece….Singing Sensation….
When Neva Reece lived on the Coastside, she was a folksinging sensation. Photos by Peter Adams.
Neva Reece has a new blog, Writing from Alaska, please click here