CRA News November 2007

Selected articles from the newsletter of the Carmel Residents Association

Herbert Heron is seen above playing the role of Hamlet in the 1926 production at the Forest Theater. In Act 5, Scene 1, Hamlet stands in a graveyard holding the skull of a jester, Yorick, he had know as a child and speaks of the fragility of life: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times ..." The photo by Lewis Joselyn is courtesy of the Harrison Memorial Library Local History Room. Learn more about Herbert Heron

CRA Meeting: Carmel Beach --
Earth, air, fire and water

President's Message
Nothing is impossible

by Roberta Miller

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen.

"When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

What an enticing challenge -- to dream, to peer into the future and believe it can happen. Six impossible things before breakfast. Let me try. Better hurry! Can't be late!

1. I believed that Carmelites persevered and successfully defended the preservation of our community and natural resources against the bulldozers of progress (a term used by Harold Gilliam in his book Creating Carmel). The city replaced and cared for all 352 trees previously removed. The city made it a priority to clean up the beach, even banned all fires. Oh that pearly white sand! The city led the way and we all became good stewards of our parks and city assets.

2. I believed that 100 people called offering to volunteer and I only had jobs for 99.

3. I believed that our city instituted frequent, informal town hall meetings to welcome and encourage citizens to be involved and to learn about the issues facing Carmel -- part of their effort to make city government more open and approachable.

4. I believed that quite suddenly without warning an island in the middle of San Carlos appeared -- landscaped with beautiful trees and flowering shrubs, welcoming visitors and residents into our town.

5. I believed that our citizens asked the city to pass an ordinance to prohibit street addresses and mail delivery in Carmel-by-the-Sea -- and they did.

6. I believed that one day, through the fog and mist, our Scout House appeared all shiny and restored. Old Carmel at its finest, ready once again to be our Scout House. An easy walk from home. Our cozy community gathering place.

Believing in impossible things wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. And all before breakfast.

"For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible."

Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Flanders -- it really is parkland!

Just as surely as Old Faithful Inn in the heart of Yellowstone or the Ahwahnee in the heart of Yosemite are parkland, the Flanders property in the heart of Mission Trail Nature Preserve is also parkland.

In its haste to dispose of the Flanders Mansion, the Carmel City Council found an outside attorney who agreed to tell them that the property was not parkland, which meant they could avoid all the steps, including a public vote, which are required when cities dispose of parks.

In August, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert O'Farrell decided in favor of the Flanders Foundation's allegations that:

• Carmel had violated the California Environmental Quality Act by ignoring the recommendation that leasing the building would have fewer environmental consequences than selling.
  
  
• The city had not followed the proper procedure for disposing of public parkland, which involves many required steps including a public vote. O'Farrell agreed with the Foundation -- that this property is parkland.
  
  
• The city was guilty of "demolition by neglect" for letting the building deteriorate so badly over many years. O'Farrell pointed out that the Carmel Municipal Code requires maintenance and upkeep of all historic resources.

In announcing that O'Farrell's decision would not be appealed, the city agreed to pay the Foundation attorney's fees of $160,000 which, along with the city's outside legal expenses of at least $83,000, add up to nearly a quarter of a million dollars. An election would have been a far less expensive way to go!

We appreciate the determined efforts of the Flanders Foundation, particularly Melanie Billig, to protect an important part of one of Carmel's natural wonders -- Mission Trail Nature Preserve.

For now, we will wait for the city to make long-overdue repairs to the historic mansion as it mulls over its next move.

Charcoal -- the bane of beach cleanup volunteers

CRA's most vocal critic of illegal beach fires, Ali McDaniel, recently wrote Mayor Sue McCloud ... "Last Saturday we dug a pit at the foot of Ocean [Ave.] that contained at least 60-70 long, rusty nails, along with broken glass, etc. ... by the time the police address a fire, it's too late! The fire is already lit, the crime is done... the beach is trashed!"

This is becoming a major concern of beach cleanup volunteers. Expect to hear more about it in the future. We did appreciate the mayor's positive comments about the cleanup at our Oct. meeting.

by Kay Ambro

Tom Parks -- talent personified

Tom Parks was born in Los Angeles but grew up and was educated in Salinas, where he attended grammar school and high school. He went on to graduate from Cal Berkeley, and then was drafted into the Army for two years.

As a young person, writing was his pleasure. Maybe even his dream. This dream became a reality during the 60's and 70's when he began to write for television. His freelance writing enabled him to work for many years with Bob Hope, Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews, some of the top entertainers in the business at that time.

For those of you who remember the comedy series Laugh-In, Tom Parks was a member of the team who created the ground breaking television comedy revue. Working as a dialogue coach and a fearless and determined writer kept Tom busy in Los Angeles for 25 years. But in 1987, when the industry he loved began to change and lose its appeal, he left the hurly burly of the big city and moved back to the Monterey Peninsula and bought property in Carmel.

"I never really retired," said Tom. "I get up early every morning and write. I write fiction, essays, book reviews, plays, and I'm currently working on a novel." In the last ten years, he has produced five shows locally. His new play, Chums, is a two-character bittersweet comedy opening at the Carl Cherry Center in April, 2008. Previous plays written and produced by Parks that received rave reviews were: Something for the Boys; Marlene -- Berlin to Hollywood to Berlin; Say It with Music -- Songs of the Golden Age of Broadway; and this year's musical, Give My Regards to Broadway -- George M. Cohan Tonight.

When asked about his hobbies, Tom laughed. "I'm a big walker. One of my great pleasures is walking to the Post Office. It's the only place where I'm a gossip. I'm also an avid reader. My taste is truly eclectic. I used to be a book buyer in Berkeley and opened a book store there . . . and went quietly broke.

"When I moved to Carmel, I started buying and selling homes. One day I told my property manager that I needed something to keep me busy and she suggested that I clean her houses. So I did! For seven years I had a house cleaning business, working six days a week. It was good work!"

Now Tom has found other ways to keep himself busy. He is the past president and a current board member of the Alliance on Aging, where he enjoys being a senior peer counselor talking with and listening to older adults.

His passion for books made him the perfect past president and current board member of the Carmel Public Library Foundation. For the last eight years, Tom has been the moderator for the Foundation's Author! Author! programs and he will soon be introducing a new arts and literary series.

"I've always been very involved in the city of Carmel. I love living here," remarked Tom. "Whenever I travel, I realize what a wonderful place this is to return to. There is no doubt that Carmel is one of the most beautiful places in the world. But it's not just the beauty. It's a pleasure to walk down the street, stop for a cup of coffee and meet someone you know."

If Tom could change anything about Carmel, he would like to see a civic government that operates in terms of compromise, accommodation and good faith. "In this little village we need to be watchful. A smile can make all the difference in governing. And we folks in Carmel-by-the Sea know how to smile. And govern."

Look, I've worn so many different hats in my life, not even I know what I want to do when I grow up. Who knows, maybe I'll run for mayor someday." And he says it with a smile.

New Forest Theater plan will be presented soon

Everyone agrees that the Forest Theater needs upgrading. However, because the theater is an historic Carmel landmark, as well as a city park and a major part of the urban forest, the process by which the upgrading is done matters to residents.

A Forest Theater Master Plan, prepared by architect Brian Congleton, was completed in 2001. It was developed under contract with the city with extensive input from user groups, city staff, neighbors and the public at Cultural Commission meetings.

The Forest Theater Foundation, comprised of the groups who use the theater, raised funds and hired a Los Angeles consultant to produce a new master plan for the facility, which will soon be presented to the City Council. In advance of this the Foundation held an informational meeting on Oct. 30 at Vista Lobos for neighbors of the theater. It was stressed that this is a "pre-design" which will have to move through the city process.

Reaction to the plan was positive --

• The improvements in the elements which improve the theater experience for the performers and the audience are necessary and well thought out.
  
  
• Innovative technology will be used to keep sound from traveling into the neighborhood.
  
  
• The seating will be improved but not expanded.
  
  
• None of the magnificent trees will be removed -- music to our ears!
  
  
• On-site parking will be expanded on the periphery but vehicles will be removed from current spaces encroaching on the trees.

Concerns expressed --

• The rustic, rural ambiance which makes the theater unique should be preserved.
  
  
• A proposed concrete masonry wall around the theater may not be in keeping with neighborhood ambiance; elimination of the historic fence was also a concern.
  
  
• Since the theater is a park and part of the urban forest, any added landscaping should retain the existing forested feeling.
  
  
• Traffic around theater needs to be improved, possibly with a shuttle to move automobiles away from the site.
  
  
• The grading called for in the plan could be detrimental to the large trees.

What we would like to see --

• A fully-open participatory process with the widest possible community input, including a town-hall meeting so all Carmelites can weigh in.
  
  
• The city recently canceled partially-completed work under an agreement with Carmel High and Middle Schools for a work-study project involving restoration of vegetation at the theater, saying that the work, outlined in the 2001 plan, had to stop until the draft of the new master plan was presented. We hope that the city, after the plan is finalized, will renew this innovative collaboration with the students.
  

OLD CARMEL
by Connie Wright

Herbert Heron

Like many others in Carmel's early history, Perry Newberry, Gunnar Norberg, Frank Lloyd and Argyll Campbell, Herbert Heron played many different roles in the early days of our village.

"Bert," as he was generally called, was born October 26, 1883, in New Jersey and grew up in Los Angeles. As a young man he became a Shakespearean actor of the "old school." He also acted in San Francisco, where inevitably he came to Coppa's Restaurant, home to San Francisco's Bohemians, and met George Sterling. In 1908 he visited the Sterlings in Carmel. He subsequently went through the routine of the Carmel neophyte -- he visited Frank Devendorf and bought a lot. In this case, in the "80 Acre Tract." There he designed and built a redwood house.

He was also writing plays. Outdoor theater was in the air everywhere as a possibility for performance. Herbert approached Devendorf with the proposition that he start an outdoor theater. Devendorf was enthusiastic and donated a site on Mountain View at Santa Rita, a natural amphitheater. The Forest Theater Society was founded in 1910, and on July 10 the first production -- that of Constance Skinner's David, with Heron in the leading role, took place amid an atmosphere of near dramatic hysteria. Drama had become the thing in Carmel.

Heron was the "dynamo" behind the Forest Theater for decades. With enormous energy, he inspired the building of the Seven Arts Building, continued his acting career in Los Angeles and San Francisco, wrote drama and poetry and served as both actor and director of the same plays at the Forest Theater. He also served twice as mayor of Carmel on an anti-progress platform. In addition, he operated a rare-book store, the only book store in town for a time.

Herbert Heron died at 84 on January 8, 1968, following a brief illness. For 64 years he had found Carmel "a congenial haven."

READABLE READS

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
reviewed by Susie Carr

This riveting book is not really about tea but about building schools in the harsh landscape of northern Pakistan: "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time."

Greg Mortenson spent his formative years in Tanzania, the eldest child of missionary parents. Not only did he develop a skill for linguistics but was challenged by Mt. Kilimanjaro, towering over his family home.

Greg focused his life on mountain climbing. He experienced a life-changing event when he was nurtured back to health in a village of Balti people after a failed attempt to climb K2, the second-highest mountain in the world in the Karakoran Range of northern Pakistan.

When Mortenson found the village children "at school" on a vast open ledge, 800 feet above the Braldu River, kneeling on frosty ground, he said to the village elder: "I'm going to build you a school."

Beginning with only pennies from school children in Wisconsin, Greg ultimately built fifty-five schools -- especially for girls -- in the forbidding terrain of northern Pakistan.

An astonishing story about a person of vision!

OUR FAVORITE PLACES

Chez Christine

Brie Tripp and Shirley Humann have discovered a delightful new French restaurant, Chez Christine, on Junipero between 5th and 6th, across from Bruno's.

They write, "This is our favorite restaurant! Owners and natives of Normandy, Christine and Francis Richard, had a restaurant in Black Hawk, CA for fifteen years before opening their Carmel establishment. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Wednesday through Saturday, and on Sunday for breakfast and lunch.

"You should call for a dinner reservation (624-0221) and we recommend starting with either the spectacular escargot or the French onion soup. Other specialties are boeuf bourguignon and lamb, pork, chicken and fish dishes. Everything is homemade and fresh, including their bread, mayonnaise and dressings.

Give it a whirl! You'll be glad you did!"

[Nice to see that the space has returned to its French roots. Remember when it was St. Tropez in the 70s and early 80s?]

Remember that your City Council is on T.V.

City Council meetings are taped and re-broadcast
Sundays, 8 a.m. - 12 noon on
KMST Channel 26