Camp Miracle

By Circle ® Benbow

It was an enormous gamble. Building a mountain retreat for wealthy aristocrats was, by no means, a sure thing. But the family of nine siblings formed a solemn pact unto themselves to do just that. The retreat had all the amenities, including horseback riding, guided hunting, a country club, and its own lake. The centerpiece was to be a world class resort. But the most valuable asset of all was already there. The Family had acquired a large piece of pristine wilderness in California's remote north coastal mountains. They called their Family Mission the "Grand Project." But it would become formally known as HOTEL BENBOW. This is the story of its creation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9781426939556

Circle ® Benbow

No credentials. The fascinating true story speaks for itself.

Book preview

Contents

PRIMARY CHARACTERS

Chapter 1:

HUNTING

Chapter 2:

THE CAMP

Chapter 3:

FAMILY, FORTITUDE, DESTINY

Chapter 4:

TWO BOMBSHELLS

Chapter 5:

UPHEAVAL

Chapter 6:

ONWARD AND UPWARD

Chapter 7:

THE HOTEL

Chapter 8:

POWER

Chapter 9:

GRAND OPENING

Chapter 10:

HITS-AND-MISSES

Chapter 11:

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Chapter 12:

OPERATIONS

Chapter 13:

BACK TO CONSTRUCTION

Chapter 14:

THE DAM

Chapter 15:

WHICH WAY THE WINDS?

Chapter 16:

BONDS THAT BACKFIRED!

Chapter 17:

THE HAPPY YEARS….EXCEPT

RESEARCH SOURCES

Chapter 1:

HUNTING

Joe was on a hunting trip. But it wasn’t just any hunting trip. Joe was hunting for land. But not just any land. The land Joe had been assigned to find had to have certain features; among them were beautiful setting, year-round river, some forest together with some grass land, wild country (for hunting and tour guided guest riding), road access, remote location. Obviously this was not an easy assignment to fulfill.

Joe’s land hunting mission during this summer of 1919 proved to be a tough one, much tougher than he had originally thought. When he began in mid-May, when the northern California roads became usable after long, wet winters, there were no shortage of ranches to inspect, but none that would qualify for his purposes. By now, in mid-August, he was discouraged. He was due to meet brother Burt in three days (August 20) in Clear Lake and have some needed repairs made to his balky Pierce Arrow.

Joe was thirty this year, married, had a one-year-old daughter, lived in Eureka, and was busy expanding his law practice. He had no regrets about the hunting mission he had agreed to, but it was raising hell with his law business. Younger brother, Burt, was twenty-four, single, and lived in Berkeley with his father and seven other siblings. Burt, at Joe’s request, had agreed to shoulder half of the hunting duties for the project. Consequently, they had divided the northwestern California territory in halves; Joes would search Humboldt and Trinity counties, while Burt would take Mendecino and Lake counties.

Their meeting in Clear Lake was to update their findings and, specifically, to provide names of ranches that were possible candidates for further inspection and review. The meeting was short. Neither had had the least bit of success.

The brothers parted company under the heavy hand of discouragement, but determined to succeed before the rains came and shut them down until next spring.

As it turned out Joe’s Pierce Arrow didn’t make it through September. He limped back to Eureka on September 20, and his car was hospitalized for a month. By that time northern California roads were ribbons of mud.

Burt’s fall hunting proved also to be destined for failure. An early October storm caused him to slip off a muddy wagon trail in the western Snow Mountain country of Lake County. and, with the help of two ranchers, fitted his Hudson with two model-T wheels, and hobbled back to Berkeley. No more hunting until next spring.

Except for Joe, the other eight siblings in Berkeley were, in descending order of age:, Jesse, Evangeline (Van), Burtis (Burt), Clara, Helen, Loleta (Lee), Walter, and Robert (Rob). The older five all had jobs (except Jesse, who was a housekeeper). Van as part-time artist and Helen’s part-time assistant, Clara as school teacher, Burt as watchmaker, Helen as architect. Walter was part-time grocery delivery clerk. Everyone was satisfied with their work and their home, but no one was happy with their life. Bigger things had to be accomplished!! Bigger things would soon happen!

During the decade they lived in Berkeley, the older half (Clara and up) of this group had astutely observed two changing pieces of American culture: 1) Seasonal vacations were becoming popular, especially among the aristocratic (richer) citizenry; and 2) Taking these vacations AWAY from home, because of the automobile, was now becoming more and more favorable.

Restlessness was building. Then one day last winter Jesse finally put it to words.

I’m getting fed up with City life, she said.

So am I, everyone echoed at once. Long pause.

What we need, said the ever-thoughtful Van, is a big Family project. Another long pause.

Van’s right, joined in Clara. Let’s all put our imaginations to work and come up with a truly great project.

So the seed was sown. Suddenly the table was running over with ideas. Everything from a hunting lodge to a fishing fleet was open for discussion. Everything was discussed and rediscussed. But after a month of reviewing and analyzing, every idea seem to have a flaw. Then Clara started thinking about the modern car and its effect on the society, and had a new idea:

A dude ranch, she exclaimed, a fancy, sophisticated dude ranch with tennis courts and canoeing.

It was an immediate hit. Nobody could find any flaw. All agreed it was the jackpot project! And it could be made as little or as big as desired. This prompted Van to lay out three fundamental points of project policy:

The project must be a Family team project. It also must be challenging and demanding enough to provide long-term work for every Family member. And finally, it must be in rural country.

No one had any quarrel with this and readily agreed to all three points. From then on the rich man’s dude ranch was simply called the project.

It was now mid-March and some serious planning was now the order of the day. It soon became apparent that a sizable ranch had to be found and bought. The actual size would depend on the extent to which hunting and guided guest riding was appropriate or necessary. These last points would be left open for now. Clara was selected to compose a descriptive telegram to Joe and ask him to begin ranch hunting in Humboldt County. He agreed, but not until the rains stopped. As cited earlier that hunt began in earnest in mid-May.

By the end of May (rains persisted late this year) hunting season was open. Joe and Burt were picking up where they left off last fall and would pursue areas not covered last summer first. It is worth noting that the only refinement to come out of the Berkeley house over the winter season was that the ranch should be at least 1,000 acres—more if affordable. Joe and Burt largely decided on their own the hunting areas. The high interior mountains, i.e., Yolla Bollies, Trinity, and Siskiyou Alps, were considered too inaccessible and rugged. They further decided that their primary clientele, i.e., San Francisco rich aristocrats, should not have to drive more than one full day or ten hours. This, by definition, restricted the hunting area to Humboldt, Trinity, Lake and northern Mendocino counties.

Joe and Burt both confined their early (month of June) hunting proximity close to towns because of possible late storms. As expected it produced nothing. Joe and Burt then proceeded into the meat of their respective areas. They agreed to meet in Kettenpom on August 15.

On his way to meeting Burt at the appointed time, in the upper Kettenpom valley, Joe found what he thought would be a delightful ranch. But it had two flaws: it was only 800 acres, and the creek running through it was very small—not big enough to support Clara’s canoeing.

Other than Joe’s find up the road, the meeting proved this year’s hunting no better than last year’s. Burt said he wanted to survey the western parts of Glenn and Tehama counties, but it would require his travelling around Clear Lake to the south and entering these areas from the east. He estimated this would take rest of the summer and he would head straight home to Berkeley from there.

About two weeks later Joe was in Bells Springs having lunch and engaging in small talk with a local ranch owner. Joe briefly explained his reason for being there (he’d learned that local word-of-mouth was the best tool for finding places) and asked about any ranches for sale. The man hardly hesitated before describing a place on the south Eel River two miles south of Garberville. Joe knew of Garberville and its approximate location, but had not hunted in that area because it was only accessible from the south and at that, only by an old wagon trail type road for the last thirty miles (from the Farm House Inn north). Nevertheless Joe made a beeline for Garberville. He didn’t get there until the next day (because he got lost!). He hadn’t been there more than five minutes when he realized he had found the perfect setting. If only all the other things would be there!

All the other things were there—including the forks of two rivers—one of them quite large, a small valley surrounded by wild mountains, many varieties of trees—including natural evergreen forests, and although the size was on the small side (1400 acres), it was adequate. The only potential flaw was the last thirty miles of road—from the San Francisco direction.

Garberville had no telegraph office, Rather than go home, he headed for Willits. By the time he could head north to Eureka he was almost halfway to Willits. Furthermore, he would be home in time to receive word from Berkeley with directions. Burt was out of reach, and would remain so until he returned to Berkeley sometime in early October.

Berkeley’s advice to Joe was to make a second trip to Garberville, and take his wife Mabel for a woman’s viewpoint. If this was favorable, he should try to negotiate a price and ask the rancher to accept a deposit. Joe and Mabel made the trip, but could not arrive at a price. So, things were in a state of limbo while Berkeley huddled.

Meantime, Burt didn’t wait for the rains to drive him home. He arrived in mid-September amid all the excitement, and immediately became excited himself. It was quickly decided that Burt and Helen should immediately head for Garberville, and try to pick up where Joe and Mabel had left off. The rains were only a month away, and if this wasn’t done now, it wouldn’t get done until next spring. On September 18, Burt and Helen headed for points North on a very fateful mission.

Chapter 2:

THE CAMP

The purchase contract was, for its day, quite normal. The down payment was one-third of the total, with the balance carried by the owner, as a first mortgage, with a lien against the ranch as collateral. The terms were 20 years at 2%. The signatories were Joe, Mabel, Van, Burt and a foreigner who helped put up the down payment.

It took some time for all to actually grasp the fact that they really did own a ranch on which they could build their project! The coming winter (1920-21) wet season would be one of joy and genuine happiness! Come spring the real work would begin.

Back in Berkeley a winter of more serious planning was now more vital than ever. To begin with, rumor had it that the State was planning to improve the Farm House Inn—to South Fork Road, including a bridge to South Fork. While that was very good news, it wasn’t something to count on. Burt and Helen took advantage of their journey north last fall and took extra time to examine the valley and its perimeter. To their surprise, they found several small wooded benches and saddles that could easily be contoured into campsites or home sites. For now this was merely an observation. It would prove to be of great value later on.

One of the campsites discovered by Helen and Burt was on a bend in the small river (East Branch) underneath a large bluff and well protected from the wind and elements. It was sheltered by oaks, maples, dogwood, and climbing wild grape, and was thought to be truly beautiful. Jesse thought they should take advantage of it by building a permanent camp on it. Clara expanded on Jesse’s idea by insisting it be a fancy and sophisticated camp. Helen, since she was the only one so far to see it, was tasked to compose a layout sketch from which building could begin. Clara further suggested that if it turned out as delightful as was hoped, it could be used for entertaining future potential customers. This was accepted as a grand idea.

Onward with the planning. It was decided the advance party of Burt and two women would go north in the spring to prepare the Ranch House for all to move into. After the Girls (as the sisters in the Family were called) made an assessment of new things needed and conditions in general, Burt would return and report to Berkeley, and then return north with merchandise and more people. Also it would be decided at this time when to sell the Berkeley house.

The winter planning was over. Now the work needed to begin.

On the first of May, Burt returned to the ranch with Jesse, Lee and Walter. Jesse was now married and with child. Her new husband was a steam shovel operator, and work carried him from one construction site to the next. Consequently, Jesse’s life was quite nomadic, so she would spend much of her time at the new ranch. Clara, Van, and Rob remained to empty and sell the Berkeley house.

Burt could at last get off the road, and he and Walter would dive into the camp building business. After some brush clearing and hand contouring, they built a brick mortar base on which to mount the new wood stove. Or more correctly, the old Ranch House stove. The new (used) stove went into the Ranch House because it had a hot water coil attached. Plumbing the Ranch House was one of the next high priority jobs. So the old stove went to camp.

After digging an outhouse pit back under the brush, and properly enclosing it, they erected a 50 gallon drum on pipe supports for a shower—probably the first shower in the north of the state! A ladder beside it (up the bluff face) allowed for the filling by bucket of the drum. With an outlet valve and a shower head (not easy to find back then) this contraption worked amazingly well! Now the camp was taking on an efficient and lived in look.

Next came the installation of three bench and plank picnic tables set in a U shape curve facing outward toward the river and the sky. With the addition of cots and sleeping bags, the camp could then be living quarters for whoever so desired. It turned out to be a natural separation: The Boys (all the brothers in the Family) camped, and the Girls lived in the Ranch House. Helen was not happy there, so Burt rigged her a canvas bedroom so she could move in with the Boys. She was overjoyed!

After a few refinements, i.e., a large meat block next to the stove, to act as a kitchen work table, and a wash stand teed into the shower outlet, plus a set of pantry shelves installed behind the stove. The camp was now truly a marvelous affair!

Visits by the Girls produced some soft chairs, a couple of mirrors, some lounging pillows, a casual chair blanket or two, plus other feminine touches to make life easier.

Friends from down south began to visit. With no telephone service and very slow mail, one never knew who or when people would show up. So they kept themselves in a semi state of readiness during daytime hours. A lawyer friend of Joe’s from San Francisco suggested the camp was so delightful it could be used as a forum for entertainment and selling.

The more Burt thought about the lawyer’s idea, the more he considered it to have merit. Not so much the entertainment part, but the selling part. None of the Family members were working. There was no Family income. Lot’s of new work needed to be done that required capital if the project was to stay on course. But as his thinking progressed, he became aware that entertainment and selling had much in common. If one is entertained, he is in a good mood. If he is in a good mood, he can be more easily persuaded to part with his money.

Burt’s thoughts regressed back to his and Helen’s initial valley survey (because of the intensity of the camp work, he had not had time for much else). Those nice benches and saddles were, to him, just waiting to be utilized. Since the whole place would soon be open to the public via the dude ranch, he could see nothing wrong with selling off a few summer home sites (nobody in their right mind would live here year-round).

Rather than excite the whole Family, he took his idea to Clara. (The Berkeley house had been sold and the entire Family were now all dude ranch residents). The Berkeley house money would run out all too soon. Clara was favorable to the idea but wondered how they would attract potential customers. Burt suggested the same way they expect to attract dude ranch customers. The San Francisco’s upper class would be just as vulnerable to one as the other. Clara agreed, but suggested that they proceed slowly, using the present word-of-mouth process now employed. That was fine with Burt.

So the new dude ranch camp was now center stage for the purpose of entertaining and selling.

Chapter 3:

FAMILY, FORTITUDE, DESTINY

If ever a group of brothers and sisters were bound together in a bond of ordained Family destiny, it was these nine. Whether they thought it came from on-high is hard to know. It was, most certainly, embedded in their collective soul.

If a business or financial advisor had cautioned them about all the obstacles and potential for failures they would encounter in pursuing their project, they would have been labeled inferior and insane! The concept of failure was so foreign to them as to contemplate freezing to death in Death Valley! On the other hand, confidence was so high, and faith in their collective abilities was so strong, not a single moment’s thought was ever given to problems, let alone failures. In Clara’s words, That kind of negative thinking is not only mesmerizing, it is conducive to bringing in failure.

If one had to treat this magnificent nine as a single person, and tasked to define its character, it would be a daunting task indeed. No negative definitive words, i.e., weak, submissive, vulnerable, regressive, feeble, languid, flat, dull, lax, slack, or flaccid, could be used. Conversely, all the positive terms could not only be used, but allowed to flow like water down hill: aggressive, powerful, self-assured, thoughtful, intelligent, wise, sensitive, articulate, perceptive, humble, and probably most important of all, always charitable toward their fellow man as a Family group.

The All for one, and one for all concept never had a more apt target. Nothing was more pervasive or clearer in this families’ mind than that this project was a TEAM project. No actions or event were given the slightest consideration unless there was a tangible benefit to the team or the project, or both. Remember the three points of policy voiced by Van and sanctioned by all in the beginning. On occasion this dogged determination to be so unbending, could cause delays or hinder an operation. Burt’s acquiescence to Clara’s go slow advice for his initial lot selling idea comes to mind. But more often than not this dogged determination paved the road to success rather than generate pot holes.

The Family destiny was now beginning to take on a physical and positive form. The camp was a huge success. With time the Ranch House was fully livable, and had two fully-furnished bedrooms for guests. The Girls were constantly adding adornments and refinements (like those touches at the camp) to the Ranch House. They claimed it was close to becoming elegant! Other indications that the project had a good beginning were quite evident, and so the extended meaning followed that the Family destiny was also on the right road.

First, no major problems had been encountered so far. The land purchase was smooth, as was the sale of the Berkeley house. The transition of people and merchandise from Berkeley was also smooth. The assimilation of all Family members from City life into a very remote wild country house (it was by no means a home) not only went smoothly, but joyfully. They were ready! The initial mini-projects i.e., the camp and the Ranch House renovation, also were smooth operations.

Second, leadership and good thinking has emerged as a blessing that could not be expected or planned. Clara’s intrinsic talent for understanding the human psyche and her intuitive wisdom had surfaced. Burt’s imaginative thinking and innovative engineering skills also made themselves felt. Burt also showed signs of having excellent business acumen.

Third, individual talents and skills were being demonstrated every day. Many of these were not previously known, as shown by Clara and Burt. Taken as independent people, a brief character summary is as follows:

Joe was somewhat impetuous, somewhat self-centered, had a bit of an ego, and was a bit of a loner. None of these traits, however, transcended his faith in the Family destiny. He had serious trouble with abandoning his law practice and home in favor of joining the project full time. He would not make a decision for another two years.

Van was quiet, introspective, deliberately thoughtful, humble, sensitive, and an extraordinarily talented pure artist! Operationally, she couldn’t offer much, but she compensated by providing heavy thought when it mattered, and strategic decisive help to Clara and Burt.

Clara’s indispensability were now known. Her talents were almost limitless. She could always stay focused on the forest without losing track of the trees.

Burt also needs no further description. His keen business judgment continued to develop so that he was able to provide a constant source of revenue while keeping the creditors at bay.

Helen was ever energetic, personable, self-assured, analytical, and unusually mechanical, particularly for a woman of her day. Next to Burt, she was the best engineer of the group. She was also an avid nature-lover. She hated making idle conversation with guests, as did Burt.

Lee was, like Van, introspective and quiet. She was affable, personable, deceptively intelligent, humble and enjoyed people. She had to be drawn out from behind a self-imposed wall, but having done so, was an engaging person. In spite of her inferior self-esteem, she liked dealing with the public and was good at it.

Walter and Rob were both adolescents. They were, however, the same as the others, taught to be thinkers and self-reliant. As the project expanded and developed, so did these two Boys. Walter took special interest in the worker and construction aspects of all phases, and became expert in all the crafts. He was, like Helen, very energetic, personable, and engaging. Like Lee, he liked people and was a good public relations representative.

Rob was, like Joe, somewhat of a loner, and had some of Joe’s arrogance. His interests, from early on, were that of a typical American cowboy. He became an expert rider, roper, and hunter, and the project’s rancher from day one. He remained so for his entire life.

Integrity and fortitude remained the Family creed for the next two generations, and destiny was achieved—IN SPADES!

Chapter 4:

TWO BOMBSHELLS

The winter of 1921-22 was the families’ first. As winters go, it was fairly typical. But not to these folks. They had never seen so much water—all of it coming from the sky! Any thought of using a vehicle—horse or gas—was out of the question. But life goes on. The sun peaked out a few times in March. A few roads were actually usable by mid-April. They could DRIVE to town!

The winter was, by no means, a loss. The Ranch House now had two bathrooms; one upstairs, and one downstairs. The downstairs one was brand new. The entire house also sported all new plumbing—all new because it had never seen plumbing—of any kind. The spring that fed the old hand pump on the back porch now fed into a new tank on the hillside and thus provided permanent water to the house.

The winter also produced another piece of good news. Word was circulating (no confirmation yet) that the State would do a major renovation job on the Farm House Inn to the South Fork road, including a bridge at South fork. This would indeed be major. A year-round road to our project, plus a direct line to Eureka. Around the horn via Bells Springs is a very long and tedious drive. Which is why we don’t see much of Joe. We can only wait and see.

Old man winter had another gift that, for these folks, was a first. The rains came in bunches, and were not predictable. Weather forecasting would not be available to rural America for twenty years. While there were periods (several days in a row) with no rain, things, including the ground, stayed wet, and the clouds remained. In this country one literally sat out the winter. A cause and effect spin-off of the bunched up storms was the cyclic flooding and receding of the rivers. Since this Family had to cross the east branch to get to town for supplies, and since horseback (or hoofing it) was the only means of packing the requisite amount of supplies, the trip needed to be scheduled during a nadir river flow cycle. This required at least a week of no rainm which was a very rare thing! There were only two the past winter, and they missed the first one! They obviously didn’t starve, but they were on short rations for several weeks. Careful observation of clouds, storm patterns, and river cycles became the watchword for the winter months from then on.

Spring came early. Roads were usable and work was in full swing by May 1. The first order of business was the camp. There was no serious damage, but a foot or so of silt had been deposited under the stationary (permanently mounted) eating tables and the shower stall. This amounted to wheelbarrow and shovel work for Walter and Rob.

Helen had not been idle during the winter. She had drawn sketches of what she thought were minimum quality bungalows to house dude ranch guests. Their main feature was simplicity. It was quite small, with each unit containing four bedrooms and two baths. Each unit was a separate building and could be build quite cheaply. She and Burt made a survey around the valley in search of the right spots for several bungalows, or maybe a complex of bungalows.

While Burt and Helen were making their survey, their first visitor arrived. It was none other than a state highway engineer from Ukiah. The long awaited Farm House Inn-to-South Fork road improvement plan had been approved and survey crews would begin work immediately. He also bore the news that the road right-of-way had been widened from its present 40 feet to a new 100 feet! They could, of course, do this because of their eminent domain rights. However, Burt and Helen both immediately realized that the expanded road could severely influence their bungalow site locations. They were thankful that construction had not begun.

Burt also thought that, even though the State had the right of condemnation, they should have to pay for the land they confiscated. When asked about this, the engineer said that some payment was probably in order, but that it was out of his area of authority. He gave Burt a name to contact.

Clara and Burt, the previous winter, had informed the rest of the Family of Burt’s lot selling idea. Only Rob was not in favor; he thought it would degrade the wild and natural aspect of the whole place. He was right, of course. But the overriding factor that the Family was without income was convincing.

More visitors arrived. Among them was Joe’s lawyer friend, with three associates. All three would qualify (it was later discovered) as San Francisco’s upper class, and therefore, as potential customers. They were thoroughly impressed with the work done so far, the grand plan, and especially the camp. In them Burt recognized prime lot buyers if ever there were any! After a walk around the valley, as Jesse prepared a scrumptious camp dinner, these three were ready for serious buying! After much affable conversation around an evening campfire, they all agreed to buy lots, with a caveat: a golf course needed to be added to the grand plan! It was Burt’s turn to be shocked! The valley was not big enough for a golf course, was Burt’s first thought. This was also another construction operation requiring capital they didn’t have. Was it feasible? What would the Family think? None of the Family knew a thing about golfing. The three lawyers argued that a golf course fit in perfectly with the fancy snob persona,, and with a golf course to add to the attraction, fancy snob customers would flock to their dude ranch.

The lawyer consortium left the next day. Burt was in a real dilemma. How could he possibly present this bombshell to the Family without appearing to look like a first class nut! Worse yet, should he present it at all? After two days of deliberation, he concluded that the Family had a right to know. Besides, three lot sales were on the line. This was real money! That night, at another fine camp dinner, Burt laid out the ultimatum delivered by the lawyers. Shock was, of course, the first reaction.

Helen was the first to respond, It’s a bonnie idea indeed. The lawyers are right—it will bring on an explosion of customers.

While that thought was sinking in, Jesse expressed it quite differently, It’s like we just invented a second dude ranch.

Van echoed Burt’s thought about the limits of the valley size, by saying, Golf courses require a lot of land.

And so the bantering went. It was surprising to Burt how quickly everybody suddenly wanted to have a golf course as part of the big picture. Clara, as usual, listened. She was quick to pick up on the enthusiasm. But, of course, she saw the two basic concerns and questioned: would it consume the valley, and was it economically feasible? She also asked Burt if he thought the lawyers were serious. The question surprised him, but he answered without hesitation that they were, without a doubt.

The project was, for the first time, turned upside down! Lot sales, bungalow site search, even bungalow design, could not proceed. Burt’s plan to start surveying lot locations and size was also stymied. Nothing could go forward without potentially interfering with a future phantom golf course!

Three days of frustration passed. Work really did come to a halt. Clara called a meeting. She put the question to a straight up or down vote: for or against the golf course. This was the first time a vote had ever been taken! There were no dissenters! They were committed to a golf course. After a short discussion Burt and Helen were tasked to immediately go south to The City, contact the three lawyers, find a golf course architect, and ask him to journey north to our project, and thence to design a golf course. Burt and Helen were directed to a professor of agriculture at University of California at Berkeley. The good professor declined (he accepted 18-hole courses only), but directed them to a designer that did accept. He agreed to come north the following week.

From a golf point of view, this was a real challenge. To fit a professional level 9-hole course (the lawyers had insisted on that) into this valley would be very tight squeeze indeed, not even considering any interferences. It was decided to give the golf architect a free hand. His job was tough enough without restricting him with project problems. Interference problems could be worked out later. It turned out to be the right choice. The project had not progressed far enough in either lot sales or dude ranch work to cause interferences. The golf course itself was another ball game. By the time the architect had made his survey and had complied sufficient notes to return to his office for completing the design work, the project knew it had the tiger by the tail! A substantial stand of old growth Douglas fir would have to be removed—completely, stumps and all.

It was now the end of June, 1922. The summer was evaporating fast. Another meeting was called. The golf course boundary was now fixed, so other work on hold for over a month, could move forward again. However, a golf course construction manager needed to be appointed—thus the need for a meeting. Any and all suggestions were open for discussion. The first person named was Burt. Burt begged off because of other duties. Clara seconded Burt’s rejection because, as she reminded everyone, Burt was their only producer of income. Helen was then named. Helen begged off because she didn’t think a construction crew would work for a woman. Van agreed. Helen was deleted. Van then suggested they summon Joe and give the job to him. This was a bizarre idea indeed, but it was immediately approved all the way around the table. Five days later Joe arrived. Joe was shocked to say the least, but he didn’t say no. He was, as a matter of fact, quite pleased. When the job was finished, probably by the first rains, he could return to his law practice and family. The crisis was over, and the project back in overdrive!

Burt’s contact at the State Highway office in Ukiah was in acceptance to payment, but not Burt’s demand amount. After explaining to him the logic of his calculations, the accountant understood the basis for the demand and agreed that something close to it should be paid; Burt had won. He didn’t pursue it any further. The accountant said a final amount would be determined sometime the following week, and a check would be in the mail the next day.

More visitors came. Word was indeed getting around. All the new people were straight out of the City’s fancy elite snobs to the core. Doctors, more lawyers, bankers, department store executives, engineers, company department heads. All were certainly potential lot buyers and dude ranch customers, just as Clara had prophesied. All peas out of the same pod. Burt was so overwhelmed with prospects, he was dizzy! Not all of them, of course, would buy into the project. Most of them were not even interested. But they came. All of them, to a man, were mightily impressed with the camp. By the end of August, Burt had sold ten lots, eight of which were not even properly described. He decided at that point that more surveying was in order, and backed off from further selling for the rest of the summer. Five of the ten lot purchases were largely influenced by a golf course being in the works. So the first lawyers were right after all. The golf course, for the moment, appeared to have been a good decision.

Joe discovered that falling and bucking big and tall tress was no job for amateurs. Hiring a crew for this work took two weeks. He was behind schedule before he even got started. The resulting cut-up-trees (logs) then had to be skidded off the golf course proper by mule team for storage. This work also required a professional crew. By the coming of the rains, only half the tress were down, no excavation had yet been done, and no stumps had been cleared. Golf course construction would last for another full work season, at least.

The combined revenue from lot sales and the state highway was substantial. Helen calculated it to be sufficient to finish the golf course construction with some left over. These calculations did not, however, account for Family costs of living. The Berkeley house sale money was running out.

At summer’s end two visitors made their impact felt. The first was a friend-of-a-friend lawyer whose specialty was corporate and tax law. The tax part was rare in those days. His name was Stan. He wasn’t interested in buying property. But he was very interested in the grand plan and stayed on for several days listening to every Family member. At the end of his visit he asked if he could deliver a short talk to everyone. He was, of course, granted the privilege. After several accolades about the Family