Showing posts with label landmark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label landmark. Show all posts

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Hollister by Bill Sparling


Today, Dear Readers, you have a wonderful treat. Mr. Bill Sparling of Washington has kindly allowed me to post his story about his memories of visiting his family in Hollister when he was a child. Please, everyone, give him a big, warm welcoming Hi! Hello! and It's a pleasure to meet you.  Thank you, Bill! 

Hollister
by
Bill Sparling 

Hollister -- I love the way that city name sort of rolls off the end of my tongue.  It is one of those words that almost say themselves -- like Montana and Cumberland.

It is also where I did a good bit of growing up.  My father was born in Panoche in 1894 and he had brothers and sisters all over that area and many in Hollister.  The family name, Sparling, is not unfamiliar to anyone who has lived in Hollister for more than say, 50 years.

I never actually lived in Hollister but since my dad had several brothers and sisters there, we made the trip from Cupertino (where we did live) to Hollister quite regularly.  I had herds of cousins there and many of them were my age and we all got along famously.

When I stumbled over this website (Take 25 to Hollister), I was really excited over all of the information and pictures I found on it.  The first time I hit it, I spent a couple of hours poking around town, checking out familiar old byways and enjoying “visiting” one of my favorite places.
 


One of the things that really got my memory juices flowing was a picture of a house that was used in the TV mini-series East of Eden.  This was no ordinary picture of an ordinary house.  This was a place that I had birthed many happy memories.  My Aunt Nada lived there with her husband Louis Mays who was President of the Hollister National Bank when I was a kid.  Their son, Tom, had some great electric trains and we played with them by the hour in his room and in the upstairs hallway.  We used to sneak down the “secret” back stairway that led into the kitchen and snitch cookies my Aunt Nada or Tom’s sister, Nancy, had made.  I’m sure they both knew who snagged the cookies but they never let on.

The house is on the southwest corner of Monterey and South Streets and is a beautiful old Victorian house with miles of wood trim as well as shiny mahogany banisters inside.  There was a big upright grand piano in the front parlor that I used to play when we visited.  The floors were waxed and shiny, and there was a huge stove in the kitchen where Aunt Nada used to turn out some amazing things to eat.

 

I bought a copy of East of Eden just so I could see that house “in action” again.  Much of the interior as shown in the movie was still familiar, even after 60 years.  Yes, 60 years.

The last time I really remember being at and in that house was Thanksgiving of 1949.  I was twelve years old.  There is a scene in the movie of the Trask family eating their Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room.  I, too, ate a Thanksgiving feast in that same dining room, only 32 years before the mini-series was made -- before some of the actors in the story were even born.  (Why do I suddenly feel so old?)  I have a family picture of our whole clan (ten sons and daughters and their spouses and all of their children), which was taken in the east side yard of that house after our Thanksgiving feast.

All of those Aunts and Uncles are gone now but there are a few cousins left scattered around the country.  My cousin Linda still lives on a ranch outside Hollister and my cousin Frank, whom I thought was living in the San Diego area, now lives in Redmond, Washington just 90 miles and a ferry boat ride from my wife and me.

 


Some of you who live in Hollister may be familiar with what is referred to by many as “The Birdcage House” on South and West Streets.  That used to be where my Uncle Brick (Earl) Sparling, his wife, my Aunt Jean (Hawkins) Sparling and their three children, Earl Jr. (Sonny), Tom and Linda lived.  It was just a block from their house to the house I previously described, and my cousin Frank taught me to roller skate on the sidewalk between the two houses.  I took many a nose dive on that sidewalk until I learned where all of the Calaveras fault line branches were.  

There are other memories I could write about like trips with my dad and mom out to the Las Viboras Ranch after Brick and Jean moved from the house in town; trips dad and I took out to the old ranch in Panoche where he grew up; and a trip from Panoche to Los Banos over a road cut with a bulldozer where we crossed a couple of bridges my grandfather built and where we had to ford the creek where there were no bridges.  I told you I am old.  Freeways were not even a thought in anyone’s mind when I was a kid but we got there just the same.  It just took longer and gave us more time for counting cows and carrying on conversations.  We had to talk to each other back then; we didn’t have any I-thingies.

To Su-sieee! Mac, the hostess of this amazing web site, I must say thanks for your amazing site and thanks for rewinding the tape of my life so I could play it again.

God bless you.
 

Bill Sparling
Sequim, Washington


©2014 Bill Sparling.  

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Cross on Pagan Hill


Many years ago, when I was in third grade at Pacheco School, one of our assignments was to draw the landmarks in San Benito County. One was a cross on a hill, which I drew not paying attention to what Mrs. Apsley said it was all about and where it was. For many years I thought the cross was some where on Pacheco Pass. Even though I now know the landmark refers to the cross on top of Pagan Hill above San Juan Bautista, I still find myself scanning the mountains for a cross whenever I drive up Highway 156. Perhaps there is one up on Lover's Leap.

So, what about the cross? Pagan Hill, also known as Mount Holy Cross, was a sacred place for the Mutsun tribe. When the missionaries found that the natives went up to the spot to do their own religious practice, they, the friars, decided to erect a wooden cross as a way to convert the Mutsuns to Catholicism. This was around 1803. A farmer took down the cross about 50 years later. Flash forward about another 50 years when someone or some group put up at wooden cross in the same spot. In 1929, that was replaced with the concrete cross that we see today.

My Sources:
Mission San Juan Bautista by Historic American Landscapes Survey, National Park Service
California: A Guide to the Golden Golden State by Federal Writers' Project

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

U is for Umber


This umber colored brick building has been standing strong at the corner of Fifth and San Benito Streets for nearly 140 years. It is one of the oldest commercial buildings in downtown Hollister. 

I've been participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge this month. About a week left to go. If you'd like to check out other blogs in the challenge, click here.

 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Pinnacles National Park...Soon!


Last night, the bill to change Pinnacles National Monument to the status of a national park was passed in the Senate. That means that all it needs now is to be signed into law by President Obama. What a wonderful start to 2013. Whoo-hooo!

By the way, the park is working on a new general management plan. The public is invited to read the proposed plan and make comments on it until January 11. If you're interested, click here to access it at the park's Web site.

Happy New Year, Dear Readers! Happy New Year!
 

Thursday, March 29, 2012

How Far is the Ocean?



See the white sailboat.

See the mountain peak above it. That's Fremont Peak in San Benito County. The peak stands 3,169 feet high, according to the Fremont Peak State Park Web site.

For all you Hollister, California clothing fans, the real (inland) Hollister, California is the county seat of San Benito County, which is several miles east of Fremont Peak.

 I've taken this photo from West Cliff Drive, next to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum in Santa Cruz. Between where I stood and Fremont Peak is about 32 miles. That is, as the crow flies.



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Annual Winter Magic Bazaar and Luncheon

The ceiling at the old Hazel Hawkins Hospital building on Monterey Street

Today is the  holiday bazaar that the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Auxiliary puts on every year. Some  handcrafted goods, some vintage items from the Hazel Thrift Store, some new items, and a lot of good cheer.

The place: The Veterans Memorial Building on San Benito Street (corner of Seventh Street). The time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be served between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.


Monday, November 28, 2011

100 Things I Like: Fremont Peak State Park

This was taken in January 2011 from Fremont Peak State Park.
I'm looking towards the northwest.
That light stretch of blue beneath
the Santa Cruz mountains is Monterey Bay. For a look-see of the
southeast, click here.

From Fremont Peak, the Pacific Ocean looks like it's not so far away. Ha! Fremont Peak stands over 3,100 feet tall, one of the tallest mountains in San Benito County. It's so worth a drive up to this small state park, which is near San Juan Bautista. The hike up to the highest point is only half a mile from the parking lot. There are a few other trails to explore as well.

Before heading up, check out the Fremont Peak State Park web page to be sure it's open. California has been closing some of its parks due to lack of funds.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Friday, November 25, 2011

Looking Up: Corner of Third and San Benito Streets


Here's another angle of the Clock Tower that I bet many of you haven't ever noticed. For other angles, check out this link.


Sunday, October 23, 2011

100 Things I Like: Santa Ana Mountain


That's a view of Santa Ana Mountain on a late afternoon. The husband and I are on  John Smith Road, the curvy part through the hills before you come out to the wow! view of Santa Ana Valley.

When I used to not live in Hollister, and came to visit my family, I knew I was home the moment I saw Santa Ana Mountain from the Bolsa. This mountain peak was what I saw in the near distance from our back yard everyday when we lived on Hillcrest.

For different views of Santa Ana Mountain, please click here. For a look upclose from Lone Tree Road, please click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.





Monday, October 17, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Clock Tower


Until this year I did not realize how much of a presence the Masonic Lodge clock tower has beyond the corner of San Benito and Fourth Streets. The other day, I was skirting Park Hill on Third Street when the clock tower suddenly came into sight. I admit it: I gasped in appreciation.

Here's another angle of the 103-year old tower clock that made me stop earlier this year. And, if you want to know a bit more about the structure, click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Eucalyptus Grove


On Highway 101, just south of the 156/San Juan Bautista/Hollister exit (entrance), you drive through a small eucalyptus forest. The trees are descendants of seedlings that were first planted by a farmer in 1912. Click here for an interesting tale about how these Australian trees took hold in California.

If you've ever seen the movie Vertigo by Hitchcock, you may remember a scene in which Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak are driving through this eucalyptus grove. They're driving south from San Francisco to San Juan Bautista. In real life, that would mean they missed the exit to San Juan.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Monday, September 26, 2011

100 Things I Like: The San Benito River

San Benito River on Southside Road, below Tres Pinos, in February.

The San Benito River starts at San Benito Mountain, the highest peak in the Diablo range in our county. The river runs northwesterly, for about 109 miles, to its end at Chittenden Pass (southeast of San Juan Bautista). It used to be that kids would swim in the river during the hot summer days. Today, no visible water runs through it, except for during the rainy months.

Here are some interesting pages about San Benito River to check out.
The Pajaro River Watershed—San Benito Part I
The Mighty San Benito
Pleistocene Lake San Benito
For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link. 


Monday, August 29, 2011

Deceptiveness


"Distances are very deceptive."

That is the example given in my thesaurus for the word deceptive. This picture provides proof for that phrase.

I'm standing on the sidewalk on McCray Street by Premiere Cinema, about a mile away from the cannery. See the smoke in the photo? That's coming from the cannery. Doesn't the smoke look like it is much further away than a mile?

That mountain peak at the far right of the photo. That's Fremont Peak, about 19 miles away. Doesn't it look so much nearer?


Saturday, August 13, 2011

A Close Up at the Victorian Beauty Downtown



I seem to be obsessed of the Victorian building at the corner of 5th and San Benito Streets. I'm not. Really, I'm not. But, I did happen across another angle of the building the other day that I doubt few have seen. Just didn't have my camera at the time. One day, soon. Until then, here's a look at a bit of the detail on that 140-year-old (more or less) building. And, if you want to learn about William Palmtag, the man who built it, click here.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Postcards of the Old City Hall

First, everyone, please say a big "Thank you!" to Cindy Mackie. She sent me copies of these vintage postcards of the old City Hall, which many of you today may know as the vacant YMCA building that's located on Fifth Street.

Cindy wrote: "The postcard on one of the old City Hall dates the card to April 19, 1912. I think you could safely say that that building is at least 100 years old. The publisher is Edward H. Mitchell of San Francisco."

Okay, I won't detain you anymore. Check out the trio of postcards from Cindy.  Thank you very much, Cindy.

Postcard image courtesy of Cindy Mackie.


Postcard image courtesy of Cindy Mackie.


Postcard image courtesy of Cindy Mackie.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Look Up: The Old City Hall


I like the old City Hall of Hollister, which is a few buildings to the east of the current City Hall that used to be the library. I am amazed that in our land of earthquakes the old brick building is still standing. I don't know how  it is. Seems to me there is a placard on it that states the year it was built.

The other thing that amazes me about this building is the decoration you see in the photo. It's near the top. There are actually three of these figurines gracing the front of the building.  I'd never noticed them until the other day.  How about you?

I wonder who she is supposed to be or represent. And, what's with those three things that are extending downward from her?

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Another Point of View: The Clock Tower


Yesterday, I was walking by the parking lot next to the Granada Theater on Fifth Street and happened to glance to the left. It took me several steps before the view registered in my head. I backtracked to see it again—a look at the Masonic Lodge Clock Tower from an angle I've never seen before.

By the way, I decided not to crop out the coca cola cup. For me, it adds to the photo. Can you find the cup? It's so obvious. Just like the beauty of the clock tower. 




Thursday, June 30, 2011

Looking Up: Lamp Posts


Doesn't it almost look like these lamp posts are dancing? And, right in front of the Veterans Memorial Building.


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Coming Event: Mission Annual Fiesta

Mission San Juan Bautista Garden
This Sunday, June 19, is the annual Old Mission San Juan Bautista Annual Fiesta in...yep, you got it...San Juan Bautista. The fiesta honors the founding of the mission on June 24, 1797.

The fiesta will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the olive grove next to the mission. The event is free. There will be food booths, including a BBQ chicken lunch at $10 per plate. For more details, go to this link at the Diocese of Monterey.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Downside of War


You'll find this memorial plaque in front of the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. It honors some of the local men who died while serving in the Vietnam and Korean Wars.


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