(Photo: Jerry Koontz)
In foreground, Moss Beach Distillery
Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (4)
At some point it became clear to many that Herbert Hoover was destined for greatness. He fulfilled that expectation by becoming a post-World War I international hero and later the 31st president of the United States.
By contrast, brother Theodore’s future appeared more modest, although he did become the dean of the School of Engineering at Stanford and traveled extensively with wife Mildred.
Theodore never had high political ambition but when something caught his fancy he could become willful and tenacious.
By 1898, he was enthralled with the sight of the beautiful Waddell Canyon near the San Mateo-Santa Cruz county line. Describing the stunning natural grandeur, he wrote of the “fern-carpeted redwood forest,” the “polychromic blue Pacific” and the “little Waddell river with its still pools and singing ripples running through the meadowed valley into the wide lagoon…”
The scenery was unforgettable, a setting of incomparable beauty, bursting with energy. “The Waddell” became an indelible image, forever a part of Theodore Hoover’s life.
…to be continued…
Princeton 1940s
After a storm. Standard Oil gas station on right. At one time Standard had a large presence on the Coastside, even doing some refining in Half Moon Bay.
You Are There: Shipwreck of the DeLong at HMB, Dec. 1922 (2)
From the Coastside Comet:
“Realizing the hopelessness of the case, members of the crew have rigged up a cable from a high bluff near the wreck to the De Long and the work of salvaging guns, munitions and valuables has started.
“A.T. Gilcrest of Half Moon Bay returning from the scene of the wreck declares that there was no chance of saving the vessel.
“Pumps are keeping the water from advancing as the crew rushed the salvage work.
“Despite the fact that the engine room is flooded and that there is more than six feet of water in the stern much valuable property is being saved.
“The De Long still stands upright and has not commenced to break- up….unexplained trick of fate the destroyed plowed over two rock reefs undamaged and went high and dry on nthe beach within a stone’s throw of dry land. Big breakers sweep towards her from the rear, but the wrecked war vessel is clear of the pounding surf.”
Shipwreck of the DeLong at HMB, Dec. 1922 (1)
From the Coastside Comet:
“The United States destroyer, DeLong probably has found its final resting place on the beach a mile south of Halfmoon Bay.
“Hopelessly grounded in shallow water, with two rocky reefs behind her and hindering her chances of eer being dragged into deep water, Destroyer ‘129’ probably willl remain on the beach to distinegration.
“The powerful sez tugs, Sea Ranger and Sea Monarch, after standing nearby for many hours, have been recalled. They were unable to get a line aboard the stranded vessel. The combined efforts of tugs Sea Ranger, Sea Monarch and Undaunted, and the cruiser Frederick probably would have been futile, as it would be an almost impossible feat to drag the stranded vessel over the two reefs to safety….”
“to be continued…
Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (3)
He may have been Theodore to the world, but when they were alone Mildred affectionately called him “Tad.”
The young Iowa-bred couple had much in common. Similiar childhood experiences gave them a special understanding of each other. Tad knew how to comfort Mildred, emotionally scarred by the loss of her mother, who died of complications during Mildred’s birth. He had suffered similar grief losing his parents as a small child. They thought of themselves as “orphans,” providing inner strength for these “soul mates.”
It was not radom choice that led Theodore to Stanford. He had joined his younger and more ambitious brother, Herbert, also enrolled as an engineering student. Herbert excelled in the fields of geology and mining, and, like his older brother, he too fell in love with and married a gal from their home state of Iowa.
….to be continued…
Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (2)
In 1899, Mildred Brooke, a schoolteacher from Iowa, and Theodore, an engineering student at Stanford, also from Iowa, were to be wed in a Palo Alto church.
Once the young couple had set the date, things moved quickly. The day before the wedding found Mildred on a train speeding from Iowa to California. As the train raced through the changing scenery, click-clacking closer to the big day, she passed the hours chatting with newfound friends.
Bubbling over, she described her soon-to-be husband: Reserved but a good raconteur, under the right circumstances, the life of the party.
When Mildred got off the train in California on June 6, she handed the new friends her “visiting” card. It read: “After tomorrow in Palo Alto as Mrs. Theodore Hoover.”
…to be continued…
Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (I)
“You have had a half-century of splendid companionship and have the memories of them: for forty years you have had the beautiful, modest, dark-eyed Mildred of Penn College as a treasure in your keeping: treasure these memories and recount them.”
–John Jessup in a letter to Theodore Hoover upon the death of his beloved wife.
The passing of Mildrew Crew Brooke Hoover in Palo Alto in 1940 left husband Theodore desolate. How painful the loss was. He wondered if and how he could continued without her.
…to be continued…
Thank You Dennis Swenson For This Portrait of Sharon Zugay
After the 1906 e-quake: Adobe in HMB
