Santa Cruz-popular Humble Sea Brewing Co. is making a big move to a new city. The brewery will open its first taproom in San Francisco, taking over a space in the tourist-popular Pier 39 development, SFGATE reports.

The brewery's new location is slated for Pier 39, room N-111-1A, and will open sometime in July, marketing director Lee DeGraw told the outlet. It will be a sprawling 80-seat taproom and plans to partner with a yet-to-be-determined restaurant for the food component. The brewery takes over the former Wines of California Wine Bar, which closed in 2019, and has its own patio.

This move to San Francisco is the latest in a series of expansions for the brewery, which most recently added its fourth taproom location in Alameda Point in May 2023. The brewery also has taprooms in Pacifica and Santa Cruz Wharf, as well as the brewery's flagship location in Santa Cruz. The brewery's Felton location closed in August 2023. The brewery has had its sights set on San Francisco for the past five years, they told SFGATE, and it's an ambitious move for a business that started in owner Nick Pavlina's grandmother's house.

The news comes at a time of turmoil in the San Francisco and Bay Area beer scenes. In July 2023, San Francisco's oldest brewery, Anchor Brewing, ceased production after more than a century of producing its legendary steam beer in the city. New Belgium also closed its massive San Francisco waterfront taproom in February 2023, while popular San Francisco brewery Cellarmaker moved production to the East Bay after acquiring Rare Barrel in 2022.

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Every year for the past twenty-eight years, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas has crisscrossed the country, bringing to packed venues his authentic remembrance of a way of life that is, alas, no longer with us. A warm, welcoming, rousing and truly family-friendly event, A Celtic Christmas will perform Sunday, December 17 at 3:00 PM at Santa Cruz’s Rio Theatre. For tickets ($34—49) visit EventBrite at the link below; for more information, visit https://www.tomaseenfoley.com/a-celtic-christmas.html.

“When I was a child, it was around the fireplaces of my neighbors’ thatched cottages that I experienced the last remnants of the old communal way of life,” says Tomáseen. “The family was the center of the community then, and the community was the center of life itself, the shining axle around which the great wheel of the universe revolved. Stories, music, song and dance were the spokes of that slowly turning wheel.”

Now in its 28th season of touring nationally, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a remote farmhouse in his native parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the west of Ireland in the 1950s — when the neighboring families would gather around the fire to grace the wintry night with traditional Irish Christmas carols, to raise the rafters with the joy of their music; to knock sparks off the flagstone floor with their traditional dances. And, of course, there were stories — they filled the night with the laughter of their stories.

Foley himself was raised in a home that had a thatch roof, stone walls, tiny windows and a flagstone floor … like all his neighbors’ homes, it had no ‘contraptions or installations’ — i.e., no plumbing, no running water, no electricity; and the sole source of heat, a treasured open turf fire. Battery-driven radios were a novelty and viewed by many with suspicion; no one in the parish owned a motor car, and traveled instead by pony-and-trap. Later, having travelled much of the world, Foley found himself returning to those comforting roots: those remembered evenings of song and story, that vanished sense of communal life, and sharing it with audiences through his stories and songs. As he puts it, “A Celtic Christmas seeks to be a window to that old world by attempting to recreate the joy and innocence of just such a night, and, when we succeed, its memory may linger — and even shimmer — long, long after the curtain comes down.”

This year’s show features some of the finest, most authentic exponents of the Celtic arts performing anywhere today, on either side of the Atlantic. U.S. Champion Irish dancer Morgan Martin joins the show this year, adding to a stellar cast of seasoned professionals who enchant with their song, dance, and stories.

Storyteller/Director Tomáseen Foley grew up cradled in a culture unique to the old communal way of life, and continues to share the joy of that upbringing. In conjunction with the Omaha Symphony and other orchestras, he performs in Celtic Journey as well as occasional performances with Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. He has released two CDs: Parcel From America, and a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat. Rego Irish Records said of Foley, “He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.” For further information, visit: www.tomaseenfoley.com.

Santa Cruz resident and Grammy Award winner William Coulter is the show’s longtime Music Director. An internationally recognized master of the steel-string guitar, he has been performing and recording traditional Celtic and American folk music for more than 30 years. Coulter studied classical guitar and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California Santa Cruz, a master’s degree in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, an a second master’s degree from the University of California Santa Cruz in Ethnomusicology. He now teaches guitar at UC Santa Cruz as well as the National Guitar Summer Workshop, Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. For further information, visit http://williamcoulterguitar.com.

Singer, dancer, and multi-instrumentalist Eimear Arkins hails from Ruan in County Clare, Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dancing Championships. Arkins has toured and performed with numerous groups including Cherish The Ladies, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, The Paul Brock Band, Trinity Irish Dance Ensemble and Téada. She is a regular teacher at St. Louis Irish Arts and has given workshops at various festivals throughout the world including New York, St. Louis, Canada, Estonia, and France. She released her debut album, What’s Next? in June 2018 to great acclaim, and was awarded Newcomer of the Year 2019 by liveIRELAND. To learn more, visit https://www.eimeararkins.com/.

Brian Bigley has studied the uilleann pipes for over thirty years, and has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in shows such as the Omaha Symphony’s Celtic Journey and Grammy-winning Apollo’s Fire production Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain (the recording of which made it to number three on the Billboard Charts). He competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships and has placed second in the senior uilleann piping competition at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. He produces and tours his show called An Irish Rambling House and has several recordings available on CD. Bigley lives near Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and children. For further information, visit https://www.brianbigleymusic.com/.

The post Tomáseen Foley’s A CELTIC CHRISTMAS Will Play Santa Cruz Subsequent Month appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Every year for the past twenty-eight years, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas has crisscrossed the country, bringing to packed venues his authentic remembrance of a way of life that is, alas, no longer with us. A warm, welcoming, rousing and truly family-friendly event, A Celtic Christmas will perform Sunday, December 17 at 3:00 PM at Santa Cruz’s Rio Theatre. For tickets ($34—49) visit EventBrite at the link below; for more information, visit https://www.tomaseenfoley.com/a-celtic-christmas.html.

“When I was a child, it was around the fireplaces of my neighbors’ thatched cottages that I experienced the last remnants of the old communal way of life,” says Tomáseen. “The family was the center of the community then, and the community was the center of life itself, the shining axle around which the great wheel of the universe revolved. Stories, music, song and dance were the spokes of that slowly turning wheel.”

Now in its 28th season of touring nationally, Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a remote farmhouse in his native parish of Teampall an Ghleanntáin in the west of Ireland in the 1950s — when the neighboring families would gather around the fire to grace the wintry night with traditional Irish Christmas carols, to raise the rafters with the joy of their music; to knock sparks off the flagstone floor with their traditional dances. And, of course, there were stories — they filled the night with the laughter of their stories.

Foley himself was raised in a home that had a thatch roof, stone walls, tiny windows and a flagstone floor … like all his neighbors’ homes, it had no ‘contraptions or installations’ — i.e., no plumbing, no running water, no electricity; and the sole source of heat, a treasured open turf fire. Battery-driven radios were a novelty and viewed by many with suspicion; no one in the parish owned a motor car, and traveled instead by pony-and-trap. Later, having travelled much of the world, Foley found himself returning to those comforting roots: those remembered evenings of song and story, that vanished sense of communal life, and sharing it with audiences through his stories and songs. As he puts it, “A Celtic Christmas seeks to be a window to that old world by attempting to recreate the joy and innocence of just such a night, and, when we succeed, its memory may linger — and even shimmer — long, long after the curtain comes down.”

This year’s show features some of the finest, most authentic exponents of the Celtic arts performing anywhere today, on either side of the Atlantic. U.S. Champion Irish dancer Morgan Martin joins the show this year, adding to a stellar cast of seasoned professionals who enchant with their song, dance, and stories.

Storyteller/Director Tomáseen Foley grew up cradled in a culture unique to the old communal way of life, and continues to share the joy of that upbringing. In conjunction with the Omaha Symphony and other orchestras, he performs in Celtic Journey as well as occasional performances with Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. He has released two CDs: Parcel From America, and a live recording, The Priest and the Acrobat. Rego Irish Records said of Foley, “He is a master of the Irish narrative and a keeper of the flame for a priceless piece of Irish culture.” For further information, visit: www.tomaseenfoley.com.

Santa Cruz resident and Grammy Award winner William Coulter is the show’s longtime Music Director. An internationally recognized master of the steel-string guitar, he has been performing and recording traditional Celtic and American folk music for more than 30 years. Coulter studied classical guitar and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California Santa Cruz, a master’s degree in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, an a second master’s degree from the University of California Santa Cruz in Ethnomusicology. He now teaches guitar at UC Santa Cruz as well as the National Guitar Summer Workshop, Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. For further information, visit http://williamcoulterguitar.com.

Singer, dancer, and multi-instrumentalist Eimear Arkins hails from Ruan in County Clare, Ireland. She holds eleven solo All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles and has competed in all Ireland, European and World Dancing Championships. Arkins has toured and performed with numerous groups including Cherish The Ladies, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, The Paul Brock Band, Trinity Irish Dance Ensemble and Téada. She is a regular teacher at St. Louis Irish Arts and has given workshops at various festivals throughout the world including New York, St. Louis, Canada, Estonia, and France. She released her debut album, What’s Next? in June 2018 to great acclaim, and was awarded Newcomer of the Year 2019 by liveIRELAND. To learn more, visit https://www.eimeararkins.com/.

Brian Bigley has studied the uilleann pipes for over thirty years, and has toured North America and Europe extensively as both a musician and a dancer, appearing in shows such as the Omaha Symphony’s Celtic Journey and Grammy-winning Apollo’s Fire production Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain (the recording of which made it to number three on the Billboard Charts). He competed with great distinction at the World Irish Dance Championships and has placed second in the senior uilleann piping competition at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. He produces and tours his show called An Irish Rambling House and has several recordings available on CD. Bigley lives near Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and children. For further information, visit https://www.brianbigleymusic.com/.

The post Tomáseen Foley’s A CELTIC CHRISTMAS Involves Santa Cruz Subsequent Month appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco Refugee Cottages were built in San Francisco parks after the 1906 earthquake. Some were later moved to Santa Cruz as summer homes and guest cottages. (Contributed)

At 5:07 a.m. April 18, 1906, Santa Cruz County awoke to a slight tremble, then a deep rumble, soon joined by shaking that increased each second into a frightening melee, that cracked plaster and windows, cleared shelves, moved furniture, and toppled chimneys.

Every bell in the county rang spontaneously, from steeples, clock towers, schools and fire stations. In Soquel Village, the bell in the Congregational Church tower was broken from its armature. At the conclusion of the shaking, as quiet returned, people came outside in their night clothes to inspect the damage.

For Watsonville, the silence was short lived. The convent bell rang a new alarm, soon echoed by the Watsonville fire bell. The Moreland Notre Dame Academy was burning. Fire Chief George Tuttle led the response, only delayed because the back wall of City Hall had fallen on the engine house and buried their fire engine. As quick as possible, the firemen unearthed their engine, and turned their soaking hoses on the fire, a miracle in itself, as most water mains were broken and dry, and Corralitos Creek was cut-off by a landslide. While the wooden school was not saved, the fire company parked their engine in the middle of the street to prevent any further blockage.

In Santa Cruz, the high water table of the downtown flats resulted in several geysers erupting from the riverbank, shooting water 20-30 feet in the air. South of Barson Street, the Riverside Hotel’s orchard had eruptions of sand and mud squeezed out of the ground like toothpaste.

The troughs at Brookdale’s new fish hatchery produced small tidal waves that sloshed young trout onto the floor.  Workmen quickly swept them up in dust pans and returned them to the troughs.

J.J.C. Leonard was asleep at his Sea Beach Hotel on Beach Hill, when his little boy woke him.  The boy said he didn’t like the noise, and wanted to go back to the St. George Hotel. Leonard suddenly bolted up, realizing the chimney tops were falling, and rumbling off the roof. He called the St. George, and learned that hotel’s back wall had collapsed. So he telephoned for carpenters and masons. Failing to find all he wanted, he ordered a horse, and before 6 a.m. had men engaged to begin repairs. The kitchen chimney was quickly made functional enough to serve meals in the undamaged Sea Beach dining hall.

By 6 a.m., the Building Trades Council set up headquarters in the unharmed Santa Cruz Carnegie Library, suspending new projects in favor of residential repairs. Unreinforced masonry buildings were the bulk of the damage. Woodframe structures road out the quake with little problem, except when their chimneys crashed through the roof, or nearby brick walls dropped on them.

The electricity went off when Watsonville’s power plant boilers tipped over, and its well filled-up with sediment. In Santa Cruz, workmen risked electrocution to shut off a broken pipe gushing scalding hot steam onto a 2,500-volt generator. Yet Santa Cruz’s electric power was restored by 3 p.m.

Miss Snedecor worked tirelessly to give Santa Cruz uninterrupted phone service. Yet those trying to reach Santa Cruz from neighboring counties, didn’t know they had to bypass broken Bay Area infrastructure by relaying their calls through Los Angeles. As a result, Santa Cruz seemed unresponsive. Trains attempting to leave the county, had to return in reverse, finding tunnels collapsed, and bridges damaged. Even the highway bridges had offsets of 2-8 feet, with roads blocked by boulders, trees, fissures and landslides.

As a giant plumb of smoke arose to the north, fears grew that the disaster was not over. Henry Cowell wanted to reach his family in San Francisco, so he hired the electric speedboat of John Perez. But the sea was so rough, it threatened to swamp the boat, so they returned to Santa Cruz. This condition had even produced a tidal wave in San Francisco Bay that wiped out several East Bay wharves. Perez said he’d make another ocean attempt the next morning, and anyone else who wished to go should be on the wharf at 10 a.m. April 19.

Persistence

In San Jose, the Landon family home experienced $1,000 in damages. Destruction extended throughout San Jose, including a fire, along with choking smoke from the San Francisco inferno.  But the Landons were told they couldn’t reach their daughter in Santa Cruz because the county had been destroyed. So their teenage son Vernon got on his bicycle, hoping to cross the Santa Cruz Mountains and rescue his sister. He saw the shaking had been worse at the summit fault line, destroying the Hotel de Redwood, and many homes. Oakland Traction Co. president Ernest Heron and driver Morgan Miles attempted to reach Santa Cruz by auto, but were turned back at Patchen Pass when warned the road ahead was impassible. Vernon was undeterred, hiking and biking his way over or around all obstacle.

To his surprise, Vernon discovered Santa Cruz showed little of the hardships San Francisco and San Jose were experiencing. That evening, Heron and Miles arrived, having detoured through San Juan Bautista, entering Watsonville via the railroad bridge with planks for ramps to overcome the sunken bridge approaches. Likewise that evening, County Supervisor Linscott and his wife struggled into Santa Cruz by the mountain-route in a rented two-horse wagon. Linscott was relieved he could phone his daughter, Carrie, in Watsonville, and let her know her mother and father were safe.

Compared to the widespread destruction elsewhere, Santa Cruz had only five public use buildings damaged: the County Court House; the new Pilot Hose firehouse (with the Pilots relocating to Milo Hopkin’s barn-like “City Stables”), Chestnutwood’s Business College and Hihn Corner, both owned by F.A. Hihn; and the Farmers Union, which dropped walls on wooden structures housing the Electric Trolley offices on Soquel Aveenue and the Unique Theater on Pacific Avenue.  All were unreinforced brick buildings; and the County Court House builder was found to have charged for rebar that was never installed. Watsonville fared worse, with damage to about nine unreinforced masonry buildings: the City Hall, I.O.O.F. Building, Pajaro Valley Bank, Peck Building, Ford’s Department Store, Porter Building, Jefsen Block, Foresters Hall, and $15,000 in damage for St. Patrick’s Church.

Linscott rebuked Santa Cruzans who complained of their fate, which in comparison had been a blessing, if only an inconvenient one. Eye witnesses told their stories of horror in San Francisco and San Jose, yet the masses of refugees did not panic, but were orderly and helpful. It inspired locals on April 20, to start relief efforts and collect bedding, clothing and funds. Quilt-making machines were set up in the Sea Beach Ballroom, and the nearby Bay State Hotel produced free meals. Cottage City was expanded for refugee housing. Linscott spent the next day hard at work at the damaged County Court House on Cooper Street, removing important county records, and determining if the building should be demolished, or repaired.  It was rebuilt.

News

The Sentinel and Surf newspapers kept publishing, and the Pajaronian didn’t want Watsonville’s lack of electricity to cancel the news. So a small printing press with treadles was hooked up by a belt-drive to their linotype machine, and, powered by a couple of strong boys, they got the paper out. But co-owner George Radcliff was concerned about his wife and others last seen in San Francisco. Hammond Weeks wanted to find his brother, architect Wm. Weeks; Judge Hiram Tuttle had offices in San Francisco; other missing there were Graniterock co-founder Warren R. Porter; Frederick Hihn of lumber, realty and waterworks; Otto D. Stoesser visiting relatives; plus Dr. Peter Watters, and Dr. S.C. Rodgers.  So a search party was assembled April 20, to find 15 residents, with a letter signed and sealed by Watsonville mayor W.A. Trafton hoping to allow them through the military barricades.

Yet Carl Christensen left Watsonville alone in an automobile on April 18, transported people from San Jose to Oakland, then returned to San Jose to take people to San Francisco, which he entered at night by turning off his headlights, and coasting down a hill. He returned to Watsonville on April 19, with Dr. Watters, Wm. Weeks, and W.R. Benteen. Weeks recounted viewing the fire from the Flood Building, watching flames consume great structures, yet at the same time, marveled at the resilience of the steel-frame structures.

F.A. Hihn arrived in Watsonville at 5 p.m. on April 20. After the quake, Hihn had walked around San Francisco to check on his properties, which at first were safe, but when he returned the next day, had been completely destroyed. Around 1852, Hihn had already seen San Francisco burned down several times by warring gangs. Yet for a man with great losses, Hihn was upbeat and optimistic, meeting with Wm. Weeks to plan for rebuilding whatever had been ruined.  All insurance was canceled for Santa Cruz County, covering no damages  up to two days after the quake, to make sure no one was tempted to burn their properties for the insurance.

For several weeks, Postage was free, delivering letters written on anything at hand, including with chalk, and Mary Jane Hanly provided free medical assistance at her Sanitarium. Refugees came to Santa Cruz to stay in their summer homes, or rent tourist cottages. When a San Francisco orphanage was destroyed, 100 orphans were put in the care of nuns at the Santa Maria Del Mar resort in Live Oak. As refugee cabins were later removed from San Francisco parks, a number were sent to Santa Cruz as ready-made summer cottages, still found today.

San Francisco chose to rebuild in Santa Cruz concrete, lime and lumber, with improved construction methods foreseen by Wm. Weeks.

No one wants a disaster. But learning from our mistakes can make hardship an inconvenient blessing.

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The 1886 Dr. P.B. Fagan House at Mission & Union streets. it was designed by J.C. Matthews of Oakland in Eastlake/Qheen Anne style, and is a great example of a furniture-like finish, including on the chimney. (F.S. Harrison’s 1892 county brochure).

Brunswick native LeBaron R. Olive became a carpenter as a teen, moving at 19 first to Boston in 1868, then to Manhattan. In the Big Apple, Olive became superintendent of construction for a number of New York’s finest buildings. The 37-year-old Olive was attracted to Santa Cruz in 1886, loving its suburban setting and picturesque architecture. While LeBaron appeared quite formal with his lacquered hair and wax mustache, he had a gregarious side that underscored his free approach to architecture.

At first, he served as supervisor and contractor on other architect’s projects, becoming close friends with the “Stick King,” Daniel Damkroeger. Alpine Stick was one of the “Arts & Crafts” styles popular in Central California, while Olive preferred its later evolution of “Eastlake Style.” Charles Locke Eastlake was a beloved English furniture designer and his turned posts, carved brackets and fretwork panels were borrowed to use in “Stick-Eastlake” style cottages. Eastlake himself was not happy for his name to grace such a California travesty, which wasn’t even “a true revival style.” Wallpaper designer Christopher Dresser even created themed rooms of Greek, Gothic, Nouveau, Moorish and Japanese styles. The architecture even incorporated Astian-style “Botany Panels” depicting birds, flowers, foliage or vases. This lack of stylistic consistency may have been more pronounced on the West Coast, where many contractors without classical training, filled in as architects, mixing styles freely from the millwork yards. Some called it the “Free Classic Style,” and Olive preferred to have this freedom.

“Cherry Court” was the 1889 home of Santa Cruz Sentinel publisher Duncan McPherson, at the corner of Chestnut and Church streets. Architect J.H. Williams shows the evolution replacing plain Alpine Stick-style gingerbread with furniture-like Eastlake millwork. (F.S. Harrison’s 1892 county brochure)

The “Arts & Crafts Movement” was a progressive reaction against the industrial revolution’s pollution, poverty, degradation of nature, and disenfranchisement of craft professionals. It idealized simple country life, hoping to improve the countryside with picturesque architecture and inspire a folkcraft movement that would bring the arts to all walks of life. Eastlake sought to justify the practicality of his artistic simplicity. He wrote in his 1874 book “Hints on Household Taste,” that to depict a realistic rose, would be a tripping or crushing incident if real. Instead, it should be reduced to a geometric folk design. Yet the “Aesthetic Movement” discarded all justification, believing in “Art for Art’s Sake.” Beauty needs no excuse. It was said that Olive “endeavors to adapt his buildings to their surroundings. His style is light and airy, and his work as a whole has given this young man a desirable and enviable reputation.” (Harrison, 1892).

Santa Cruz work

Olive did some magnificent Eastlake Villas, although what looks like a mansion to modern eyes was actually the homes of the middle class. And indeed the structures were built like pieces of furniture. Damkroeger and Olive worked together on the Thomas J. Weeks House at 724 California St.; the Harriet M. Blackburn House at Pacific and Sycamore (near Olive’s own Sycamore St. house), the Wm. Kerr House on Old San Jose Road, and the Soquel School. In 1891, Olive designed the Capt. Wm. Gray House at 250 Ocean View Ave., which was considered so beautiful, that A.M. Johnston ordered an exact replica of it nearby at 317 Ocean View Ave. Other notable homes were the 1889 H.H. Clark House at 104 King St., the Barfield “Rio Vista House” at 611 Third St. and Rio Vista; and the Anson Litchfield Cottage at 311 Oceanview Ave.

Tiny homes

While his larger picturesque villas were real scene stealers, Olive was also known for producing small artistic cottages that felt like mansions. It was part of the progressive ethos of the Arts & Crafts Movement, siding with the living conditions of laborers, with beautiful worker housing intended to reinforce the notion that one’s home is one’s castle. Olive produced numerous Baycliff Model homes, usually one story on a half-basement, L-shaped, with a corner porch in the “L”, a front bay window, and front gable.  These are still quite desirable today.

Transcendentalists had helped settle the community of Seabright. But unlike the Puritan impulse to reject art as frivolous, sacrilegious, or useless excess; Transcendentalists believed beauty was the visible expression of God’s harmony, and nature was the return to God’s Eden. They created a community of tiny homes, often decorated with gingerbread, similar to the cottage retreat in Chautauqua, New York. There are several surviving versions of a Chautauqua Eastlake cottage in Seabright, each once included a second floor coved sleeping balcony (all now enclosed). They also believed in the Arts & Crafts Movement to bring art to all walks of life. Seabright widow Forbes opened the first arts and crafts gallery downtown to support her children, and when she closed it, F.A. Hihn opened the Santa Cruz Decorative Arts Society in 1885, bringing in commission items from mostly women artists.

Practical jokes

Once in 1890, Olive got a box in the mail, marked “From T.J. Clunie.” This was the popular Sacramento Democrat, an assemblyman in 1879, a state senator in 1887, and would become a congressman in 1891.  Clunie always mailed out his political advertisements with a packet of vegetable seeds, and he’d send what was left to select friends to pass out. Olive was delighted at the prospect, and took the package to Brazer’s bookstore in the Odd Fellows Building, to open in front of his friends. But instead of vegetable seeds, it was a box of moldy walnuts marked “Californiensis mildewensis.” The group speculated as to who the prankster was, and noticed Dr. Thompson Drullard the dentist, who had rooms just upstairs, was suspiciously absent.

The 1888 A.J. Hinds House at 529 Chestnut Street, was built by J.H. Williams with a furniture-like Eastlake finish, “China hutch” stacked balcony and gate-leg turned porch posts. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (F.S. Harrison’s 1892 county brochure)

Drullard was running for city councilman. The next day, people were popping into the California Market, which was displaying a rare Giant Devil Ray that had been brought in by a fisherman.  When Olive saw it with its wide mouth, he thought of his prankster friend Drullard. So he sent the stinking carcass to the dentist’s office with instructions to fit it up with a complete set of dentures!  The dentist suddenly found a large crowd of rubber-neckers filing through his office all day just to see the devil ray.

Olive’s 1886 Arlington Hotel stood at the head of Pacific Avenue (last known in the 1970s as the McHugh & Bianchi Grocers). It was built for the “Whiskey King” of San Francisco, A.P. Hotaling. It was one of the first two Santa Cruz landmarks placed on the National Register of Historic Places, was a designated theme building of the Pacific Avenue National Downtown Historic District, and was illegally demolished in 1973 by Golden West Savings Bank. Olive also designed the Laurel School, the Congregational Church (Boys & Girls Club site), across the street from Calvary Episcopal Church, The C.B. Pease Building at 1532 Pacific Ave., the Boulder Creek Hotel, and the Soquel Odd Fellows Lodge.

Bad luck

In February 1891, both LeBaron and his wife Sarah Anne came down with influenza, making it hard to care for their five children. Convalescing for a week, his wife suddenly died. After her burial, he was still sick with flu, came home, and two days later, warming himself beside the fireplace, some embers got loose and started a fire. Olive evacuated his children from the house, ran to the curbside firebox, but the key switch to turn on the alarm was missing. Someone else went running down the street yelling “Fire!” until the Alerts Hook & Ladder Company showed up. They attached their hose to the Hihn Company water hydrant, but the water pressure was too weak to reach the fire, and “would have been a discredit to a garden hose,” the Surf noted.  Then the Pilot Hose Company arrived and attached their hose to the city hydrant. The pressure was at last more than sufficient, to the point that it burst their canvas fire hose! The house burned for about an hour, while the fire companies battled the blaze with buckets. Volunteers managed to save LeBaron’s furniture, but not his Persian carpets.

One of the ironies of this story is that, only two years before, LeBaron became one of the first architects to design roof sprinklers into some of his home commissions, to guard against this very thing! The only good news about the fire, was that within 11 hours after his house burned, the Home Mutual Insurance Company paid LeBaron’s claim for damages. And within 15 days, his home was completely rebuilt, and ready to be roofed. (The speed was considered a record, even in those days).

The plunge

By 1893, the 1868 Dolphin baths and 1879 Neptune baths at the Main Beach were quite inadequate for the waterfront’s growing popularity. So Captain Fred Miller joined Johnnie and David Leibbrandt, to build a new plunge. With the financial backing of San Francisco’s A.P. Hotaling, they hired LeBaron R. Olive, who studied the best bathhouses on the coast and incorporated numerous features into his $25,000 creation. The Miller-Leibbrandt Bathhouse was state of the art, with an Eastlake beach veranda, the indoor hot salt water plunge had observation balconies, trapeze equipment, two glass-lined slides and diving boards.

This was the pinnacle of Olive’s success in Santa Cruz. In 1903, his office and residence were at 543 Bay St. and included a telephone. In 1904, he moved to Palo Alto to make architecture for the community around Stanford University, including “Professorville.” Olive continued to innovate with new styles. In 1909 he built the small Portola Valley School west of Palo Alto, in a wood-clad “Mission Revival Style.” The structure is now on the National Register for Historic Places. Olive died in 1942.

LeBaron R. Olive’s 1891 A.M. Johnston Villa, at 317 Ocean View Avenue. It was once the twin of the Capt. Gray Villa at 250 Ocean View Avenue. This Eastlake design has an octagonal tower under a “witches hat” cap with “pie-crust trim.” The porch has “birdhouse panels” with “bird-cage” beaded spandrels. (Ross Eric Gibson collection).

The post Constructing structure like furnishings | Ross Eric Gibson, Native Historical past – Santa Cruz Sentinel appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Zeke Fraser has a lot on his desk, both figuratively and literally. He briefly stepped away from his paperwork-lined desk at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds late Wednesday morning for a quick chat about the upcoming fair, which opens on Wednesday.

Vendors and performers were arriving, and workers were bustling about in equipment-laden golf carts as tents and food booths were being assembled. 

This frenetic bustle is typical in the lead-up to the event, which draws thousands of people to the Watsonville venue.

Fraser was hired as CEO in June, and says that everything is on track.

“The biggest thing we want people to know is that we are here and we are ready to do the fair,” he said.

Fraser says that visitors will see beloved favorites such as the All Alaskan Racing Pigs, the cinnamon roll booth and camel rides.

New this year is an exotic bird show featuring condors with 10-foot wingspans, colorful macaws, hornbills and cranes. Also new is “Cartoon Poodles,” a show featuring 11 pink-dyed poodles trained to jump, dance and otherwise clown around for their audience.

“It’s a complete 20-minute show,” says Isabel Abuhadba, whose family has been doing the performances for six generations, including casinos in Las Vegas and in numerous countries. “It’s wonderful when we present the show and hear the audience cheering.”

Throughout the fairgrounds, preparations are underway, with art being hung for display and people setting up their entries.

One of these was Jackie Cameron, who last year, after a lifetime of attending the fair—and telling herself she would enter the garden competition she loved to see—took the plunge, designing her own garden in the adult category.

“I thought, you know what? I’m 52 and I’m going to do a gosh darn garden,” she said. 

Her entry earned her a best-in-show ribbon, and now she is hoping to repeat that victory in this year’s fair.

On Wednesday, she was the first gardener working on this year’s entry, which she has titled “Color Wheel.”

Visitors to the Home Arts display in the J.J. Crosetti Hall can feast their eyes on dozens of different genres, from knotting to sewing to jewelry to quilts.

Two of the latter deserve a second glance: one is a quilt made by a 7-year-old girl—her first foray into the art. This just around the corner from a masterpiece by veteran quilter Thom Adkins. 

The complexity of the latter clearly sets it apart from that of the works surrounding it. But the work of the young girl and the experienced artist represents one of the overarching missions of the display: inspiring young people to take up and carry on a time-honored tradition, says volunteer Mary Travis.

“When you can get the youth interested, it’s amazing,” she said.  

In the Fine Arts Building, Donna Giubbini, who heads up the art exhibit for the fair, said a new category will highlight professional commercial illustration. Works include locally produced posters, business signs and banners.

“We wanted to make room for this category because there is so much talent in this kind of illustration,” Giubbini said.

Also in Fine Arts, metal sculptor Pierre Riche is showing a metal sculpture from his “Golden Possibilities” series. He says the five-foot-tall equine sculpture is a result of more than two decades of working his craft, which has included making miniature horses from recycled metal to towering outdoor pieces constructed from laser-cut plate steel. 

He says his work has been featured in venues in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as in Spain and France.

Moving forward 

Fraser took the reins as CEO in the wake of the termination of former CEO Dave Kegebein. The Fair Board alleged that many expenditures on a state-issued credit card were for unauthorized purchases, including gasoline for his truck.

Kegebein said that all his purchases were for work related to the fair, and paid back $30,000 to the Fairgrounds.

The move angered many community members, who criticized the board for, among other things, not giving Kegebein a chance to ameliorate the situation.

Fraser, who had no involvement in the termination or in the subsequent approval of three interim CEOs, says he wants to focus on this fair, and on those in the future.

“It’s in the past,” he said. “I’d love to leave it in the past and move forward. Everyone’s come together to get this fair done, and hopefully it will help us as a community to heal, that’s my hope.”

Santa Cruz County Fair Board Chair Michael Pruger agrees.

“It’s been a tough year for the fair,” he said. “However I think we’ve gotten past our roughest patch, we’ve hired a great new CEO and we believe we are going to be able to provide a great fair for years to come.”

Pruger also tipped his hat to the people who help out every year to help keep the fair going and the fairgrounds running. 

“If it wasn’t for the great volunteers that come out every single year we would be in trouble,” he said. “We appreciate their commitment to the fair. We have had nothing but great turnout again, the fairgrounds are in beautiful condition.”

The Santa Cruz County Fair runs from Sept. 13-17.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – A day after Elly De La Cruz jokingly called himself “the fastest man alive,” the rookie backed that up with St. Louis in the series finale.

De La Cruz showed his pace, scoring two hits, hitting base four times and getting the go-ahead with a headfirst sliding grounder in the eighth inning that led the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 over the Cardinals on Sunday.

“Yeah, I’m faster,” De La Cruz said with a smile through a translator. “Anytime they don’t approach me, I have an opportunity to contribute when I’m on base. Whenever I’m on base, I can score.”

Learn more from the Citrus County Chronicle

De La Cruz hit an infield single in the first inning at a sprint speed of 31.2 feet per second, with the 21-year-old reaching base ahead of 41-year-old pitcher Adam Wainwright.

“I knew I could do it,” De La Cruz said. “We’re hectic every time.”

De La Cryz equalized the score with an RBI single in the third round to make it 2-2. He De La Cruz went in the sixth, stealing second place and scoring after a single from Tyler Stephenson to equalize 3-3.

Then, in the eighth, De La Cruz took the lead on a full-count push from Jordan Hicks (1-4), advanced through Spencer Steer’s groundout and finished third through Willson Contreras’ passball.

With the infield in, Stephenson hit a two-hopper at Paul DeJong, and the shortstop’s throw landed slightly over first baseline and in the dirt. The ball bounced off Contreras’ mitt as the catcher attempted to score a swipe tag, and De La Cruz slammed the plate with his left hand.

“Right here, I was just trying to get a run for the team and help the team win,” De La Cruz said. “I’m glad I was able to score this run.”

Stephenson said: “I was just as shocked when I turned around and saw it was safe. He’s an incredible talent. Exactly what he can achieve with his speed.”

Cincinnati manager David Bell was impressed.

“That run there was full speed,” Bell said. “It’s a different speed to be able to beat this game. It was a solid batter for a shortstop with a really good arm. He just escaped the throw. It’s pretty incredible.”

De La Cruz is .364 (8 for 22) with five walks, three stolen bases, a .481 on-base percentage and a 1.117 OPS in six games since his debut Tuesday. He has a double, triple, home run and four RBIs.

“He’s a good player and he uses his speed appropriately and in different ways,” said St. Louis coach Oliver Marmol. “He beat us.”

Ian Gibaut (6-1) allowed a hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for relief. Alexis Díaz threw a 1-2-3 ninth to keep 15 save chances perfect while the Reds held off the Cardinals two of three.

“It was a great show,” Bell said. “It’s always difficult to play against this team here. All three were hard fought matches. We felt we had to play really well to get two wins here.”

St. Louis went 1-for-11 with runners in goal position and is 9-for-70 (.129) in its last 12 games. The bottom-ranked Cardinals are 7-15 in one-run games and are eight games behind NL Central leaders Pittsburgh. St. Louis has lost seven of its last nine games.

“We are all very upset with the way things are going. “We keep showing up and expecting it to be different, and it doesn’t stay that way,” Wainwright said. “The only common denominator we had is that we found ways to lose. We lose every game in different ways.”

Jonathan India hit a home run in the first round, but in the second the Cardinals went 2-1 through a runs-scoring single from Jordan Walker and an RBI grounder from Tommy Edman.

Nolan Arenado hit an RBI triple in the third set.

Wainwright gave up three runs and a right run in 5 2/3 innings and is 0-1 in his last three outings. He made his 397th start for Wainwright, third for St. Louis behind Bob Gibson and Bob Forsch…. Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene made his first start since June 1, allowing three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. His fastball averaged 98 mph, 0.6 mph slower than his season average. Due to a stiffness in his right hip, he canceled his scheduled start.

Edman made his tenth appearance at the center this season. He also appeared as shortstop (27 games), second (21), and right (eight). The only other Cardinal in franchise history to appear at second base, shortstop and centerfield in more than 10 games was Dave Brain for the 1904 Cardinals.

Paul Goldschmidt was caught stealing in the seventh inning. This ended a streak of 30 consecutive stolen bases without being caught since 2019.

Reds: Option for RHP Kevin Herget after Triple-A Louisville. Herget pitched 1 1/3 innings Saturday after being called off earlier that day. He allowed three runs and four hits.

Reds: RHP Casey Legumina (bruised right ankle) returned from rehabilitation and was reinstated on Sunday from the 15-day injury list. He is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in eight assists this season. … 3B Nick Senzel (right knee injury) is on course to join the Houston team and be activated on Friday.

Cardinals: OF Tyler O’Neill (low back strain) received two injections in his back on June 1 in Los Angeles: a cortisone and lidocaine injection and an epidural for nerve block. He is scheduled to meet with the doctor who administered the injections on Thursday and may be able to resume his baseball activities the next day.

Reds: RHP Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.27) will be making his second career appearance and will face the Royals on Monday, who will play with RHP Zack Greinke (1-6, 4.59). On opening day, Weaver was on the 15-injured list with a right elbow flexor strain and made his season and Reds debut on April 20. Greinke is 8-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 14 career starts against Cincinnati.

Cardinals: LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.00) meets San Francisco’s RHP Logan Webb (4-6, 3.09) on Monday. In his last start, Liberatore only lasted four innings and allowed five runs and his first home run of the year.

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The post De La Cruz flashes velocity, sparks Reds over Cardinals 4-3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

WARREN MAYES and Associated Press

26 minutes ago

Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals throws his bat after coming up in foul territory during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds Sunday, June 11, 2023 in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Elly De La Cruz showed his pace, scoring two hits, hitting base four times and getting the go-ahead with a headfirst sliding grounder in the eighth inning that gave the Cincinnati Reds the win over the St. Louis Cardinals 4: 3 on Sunday.

De La Cruz hit an infield single in the first inning with a sprint speed of 31.2 feet per second, and the 21-year-old tied the score 2-2 with an RBI single in the third inning against 41-year-old Adam Wainwright .

De La Cruz went into the sixth, stealing second place and scoring after a single from Tyler Stephenson to equalize 3-3. Then, in the eighth, De La Cruz took the lead on a full-count push from Jordan Hicks (1-4), advanced through Spencer Steer’s groundout and finished third through Willson Contreras’ passball.

Vandals damage LGBTQ door display at church in southern St. Louis County

With the infield in, Stephenson hit a two-hopper at Paul DeJong, and the shortstop’s throw landed slightly over first baseline and in the dirt. The ball bounced off Contreras’ mitt as the catcher attempted to score a swipe tag, and De La Cruz slammed the plate with his left hand.

De La Cruz is .364 (8 for 22) with five walks, three stolen bases, a .481 on-base percentage and a 1.117 OPS in six games since his debut Tuesday. He has a double, triple, home run and four RBIs.

Ian Gibaut (6-1) allowed a hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for relief. Alexis Díaz threw a 1-2-3 ninth to keep 15 save chances perfect while the Reds held off the Cardinals two of three.

St. Louis went 1-for-11 with runners in goal position and is 9-for-70 (.129) in its last 12 games. The bottom-ranked Cardinals are 7-15 in one-run games and are eight games behind NL Central leaders Pittsburgh. St. Louis has lost seven of its last nine games.

Jonathan India hit a home run in the first round, but in the second the Cardinals went 2-1 through a runs-scoring single from Jordan Walker and an RBI grounder from Tommy Edman.

Nolan Arenado hit an RBI triple in the third set.

NO DECISIONS TO START

Wainwright gave up three runs and a right run in 5 2/3 innings and is 0-1 in his last three outings. He made his 397th start for Wainwright, third for St. Louis behind Bob Gibson and Bob Forsch…. Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene made his first start since June 1, allowing three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. His fastball averaged 98 mph, 0.6 mph slower than his season average. Due to a stiffness in his right hip, he canceled his scheduled start.

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

Edman made his tenth appearance at the center this season. He also appeared as shortstop (27 games), second (21), and right (eight). The only other Cardinal in franchise history to appear at second base, shortstop and centerfield in more than 10 games was Dave Brain for the 1904 Cardinals.

squad change

Reds: Option for RHP Kevin Herget after Triple-A Louisville. Herget pitched 1 1/3 innings Saturday after being called off earlier that day. He allowed three runs and four hits.

TRAINING ROOM

Reds: RHP Casey Legumina (bruised right ankle) returned from rehabilitation and was reinstated on Sunday from the 15-day injury list. He is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in eight assists this season. … 3B Nick Senzel (right knee injury) is on course to join the Houston team and be activated on Friday.

Cardinals: OF Tyler O’Neill (low back strain) received two injections in his back on June 1 in Los Angeles: a cortisone and lidocaine injection and an epidural for nerve block. He is scheduled to meet with the doctor who administered the injections on Thursday and may be able to resume his baseball activities the next day.

NEXT

Reds: RHP Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.27) will be making his second career appearance and will face the Royals on Monday, who will play with RHP Zack Greinke (1-6, 4.59). On opening day, Weaver was on the 15-injured list with a right elbow flexor strain and made his season and Reds debut on April 20. Greinke is 8-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 14 career starts against Cincinnati.

Cardinals: LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.00) meets San Francisco’s RHP Logan Webb (4-6, 3.09) on Monday. In his last start, Liberatore only lasted four innings and allowed five runs and his first home run of the year.

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Santa Cruz High School recent graduate and Senderos dancer Nadia Gomez Cruz performs traditional folklorico dance for Santa Cruz Dance Week. (Image credit: Nadia Gomez Cruz)

SANTA CRUZ – Whether she’s flaunting the advanced proficiency test, pulling off a cheerleading routine, performing traditional folklorico dancing, or speaking at her graduation, first-generation Santa Cruz High School graduate Nadia Gomez Cruz, draws inspiration from her parents’ sacrifices and drives She moved from Oaxaca, Mexico when she was a baby.

“I would definitely say that they are very proud,” said Gomez Cruz. “As an only child and because they couldn’t complete their studies, I’m not only graduating for myself, but also for my parents. They have always been by my side and when I walk across the stage I feel like they are graduating with me.”

Starting as a freshman at Santa Cruz High School at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for Gomez Cruz and her classmates, but she found solace in their troubles by performing traditional Oaxacan dance, which she has loved since her Childhood practiced the local non-profit Senderos.

“It’s my way of doing things,” Gomez Cruz said. “When I was little, my mom wanted me to connect to my roots and kind of forced me to start dancing. I started it when I was about 6 years old and at first I cried when she dropped me off, but eventually I loved it.”

Nadia Gomez Cruz and her mother pose together after a Senderos dance performance. (Image credit: Nadia Gomez Cruz)

Performing folk dances not only allows Gomez Cruz to dance through difficult times, but also to understand the culture her parents grew up in without having to travel to Mexico. Through Senderos, she has performed at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Pacific Avenue for Santa Cruz Dance Week, the Guelaguetza Celebrations in San Jose and Sacramento, and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. After committing to attending San Francisco State University, she hopes to find a similar folkloric dance group in the big city.

“I really don’t want to leave that part of me here,” Gomez Cruz said. “I would like to be able to continue doing this after I graduate from high school.”

Gomez Cruz’s love of music and movement extends beyond traditional Mexican dance. She has been part of Santa Cruz High School’s cheer group throughout her years of presence and is an avid fan of South Korean music called K-Pop and the group BTS in particular. Like her dance practice, K-pop helped Gomez Cruz through stressful times.

“Their music just made me feel very safe and relatable to them,” said Gomez Cruz. “I didn’t know how to deal with the pandemic and they really helped me to move on. They have been a big part of my life and helped me through a difficult period.”

Gomez Cruz is not only passionate about dancing, but also about math. After passing with flying colors all the AP math courses she took in high school, she plans to enter finance at San Francisco State University in the fall. She said that her advanced math skills were due in large part to the wonderful teachers she had at Santa Cruz High, such as “Mr. K,” who always had a backup computer when Gomez Cruz forgot hers, and also taught her an important lesson, which is that it’s okay to ask for help.

“Even though math is really difficult at times, especially this year, connecting with my teachers has really helped me,” said Gomez Cruz. “There were times when I stayed after class and my teacher was happy to walk me through problems step-by-step. I’ve always had the freedom to ask any questions I had.”

With college just around the corner, Gomez Cruz is sad about leaving the close friends she made in high school, but also excited about her life in the big city. However, because she was born outside of the United States, she faces financial challenges as she is unable to apply for government financial aid.

Nadia Gomez Cruz, a graduate of Santa Cruz High School, plans to study finance at San Francisco State University in the fall. (Image credit: Nadia Gomez Cruz)

“College is very, very expensive,” Gomez Cruz said. “Unfortunately, since I don’t have DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), one of my biggest challenges will be finding a job while I’m away. My parents will help me but I have to figure things out on my own and that’s very scary as my choices and options are limited since I’m not a US citizen. This is one of the greatest challenges I have to face and that I have ever experienced.”

Despite the obstacles and challenges that lie ahead, Gomez Cruz is determined to succeed and most importantly, to make her parents proud.

“Of course I will experience ups and downs during my studies, but I hope that my studies will go through the ups and downs,” said Gomez Cruz. “Even if I’m feeling down or broken in some way, I want that confidence and strength to pick myself up, move on, and keep striving for my dreams.”

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Chayne Hampton is the manager at Santa Cruz Plumbing Inc., operating the company’s residential plumbing department.

Plumbing was prominent in Hampton’s life growing up in Santa Cruz. His father has been working for the UA Local 38 Plumbers & Pipefitters union in San Francisco since Hampton was born. Around age 20, Hampton began to work alongside his father. But that soon ended because of what Hampton calls “bad life choices.” Hampton struggled with a drug addiction that ultimately led him in 2016 to serve three years at San Quentin State Prison for burglary. After his release in 2019, he entered rehab and sought employment. He reached out to Santa Cruz Plumbing owner Jason Allison, who gave Hampton a chance. He started out as a shop hand, eventually working his way up to manager.

Transitioning from incarceration to the workforce is no easy feat. Hampton says people “have to learn how to operate in a world that’s not the world that you’ve been in.” Many will pass judgment, he says, but if someone is a hard worker their past shouldn’t hold them back. Hampton relishes the simplicities of life, having gone through losing his freedom while in prison. He prides himself on maintaining a job long term, something he struggled with in the past. He enjoys what he describes as “normal-people stuff,” like traveling, working out and spending time with his wife.

Hampton also shared stories on the “Ear Hustle” podcast, as well as narrating parts of the audio version of the book “This is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life” by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods. He hopes to be able to progress in his career, either growing the residential plumbing sector or working for himself and beginning a family business.

Education:

• San Lorenzo Valley High School
• Cabrillo College: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Lookout: Can you walk me through how you became involved in the plumbing industry?

Chayne Hampton: My dad’s a plumber and he works for the [plumbing] union in San Francisco, and he’s worked there since before I was born. When I turned 20-something, I tried to join the union and I ended up getting in. I was commuting over the hill with my dad and that commute was just kind of a nightmare. I can see it now in retrospect how draining that drive is and just working in the city in general. They would pay you a lot but it’s a lot of time off your life. But that’s not why I left the union — I made some bad life choices that ended my career there.

I went to jail two times before I went to prison. Just little six-month stint[s]. I thought that would be the end of it, they would never send me away because I was such a petty criminal. The judge looked at what I was doing and saw that it was gradually getting worse and worse. I was taking bigger and bigger risks and that got me a prison sentence. I ended up going to prison for a little bit and when I got out I was in a rehab, New Life on the Westside.

I turned in an application [to] Anne Keating, who’s our HR person [at Santa Cruz Plumbing]; [she] got my application, showed it to [company owner] Jason [Allison]. One of my past employment [experiences] was at San Quentin, [at] the waste management plant. I was trying to make it look pretty without saying I’d been to prison. Jason, not being an idiot, put it together and gave me a call and he said, “I’m very empathetic to a guy in your position. Where are you at? I’m going to come talk to you.” So he came to where I was at. He was like, “All right dude, we’re going to start you at this [wage],” which in retrospect was exactly how much money I needed to make at that time. Now I make twice that.

I had minimal experience, at that point I think I was a [shop hand]. [Jason said,] “All right, we’ll get you digging some holes.” So that’s where I started, digging a little bit [and] organizing the truck, nothing too complicated because, I mean, I was like a baby. After a while, slowly more responsibilities [were] put on my lap. Jason is pretty hands-on and he saw where I had some strength, which was mostly relatability with people, deescalating situations [with] customers [or] other contractors, just general customer-service skills. My employment took a bit of a shift to more management, so I have guys working under me. I’ve been doing this now for about a year.

Lookout: What does a typical day look like for you?

Hampton: For me, I just started checking my emails. [But] whenever I get started I get parts [and] lay [it out for the] guys, like, “This is the job we’re doing today.” Then I’ll go to the job with them and get a material list for them so that they don’t have to drive back and forth to the supply house, kind of streamline things. [I’ll] check in with the customer to make sure they’re doing OK, no one is making a mess, everyone is parking where they should be parking, let them know if the water is going [to] be off. From there, I head back to the office [to] follow up on quotes that I had written and then from time to time I [find] myself in the field tying up loose ends, [like if] a customer needs to be walked through how their new tankless water heater works, then that’s the last thing I’ll do in the day.

Lookout: What was the experience of transitioning from prison back to the workforce?

Hampton: I mean, I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance in hell. I’ve got tattoos. Even before going to prison I lived in a prison of my own making. Through lifestyle choices I created a very small world for myself, [it was] very limiting. I [could] never be too far away from the action. My life was confined to six or seven blocks in each direction. I was crippled by drugs and addiction, mentally and physically.

I didn’t have any proper skills. But Jason, once again, I [have] to give this guy all the props in the world. I don’t know what he saw in me, maybe he thought I’d only last a week or a year. I’ve never done anything [for work] for five years [and now] someone just took a shot on me. I have buddies who are in the same situation as me, and [it’s] “I can’t find work” and this and that. It’s not easy for a lot of dudes with tattoos on their face and a rough background or a record, but it’s not impossible. I also have a ton of friends who brought themselves into unions. You’ve just got to be willing to start from the bottom. I was trying to be very humble about it: You want me to dig holes? I’ll dig holes.

Lookout: What was it like working in the sewage treatment plant at San Quentin?

Hampton: So my sewage treatment job, when I first got it, I was like, “Cool, sewage treatment, I’m going [to have] a breaker and some chemicals, maybe some goggles.” Yeah, I had goggles, but my tools were a pitchfork and a hose. I would go into this thing they called the pit where all the sewage travels through it. I would have to unclog these drains with the pitchfork and the hose. When you make food in prison you make it in a spread bag [a plastic bag] and when you’re done with it guys will just tie it and then flush it. So when I’d be in there spraying off sewage, sometimes I’d hit one of those bags, it’d ricochet into my face. That’s why I was going to have the goggles and that’s when I stopped having a beard.

They tell you this is your job then you show up for it and if you [try] to refuse it, it’s going to be bad. There’s this weird illusion of free will [that] people think is so necessary, but after being incarcerated, I’ll tell you what, I miss sometimes having someone tell me when to do things. Like, sure, you’re free, but at the same time, that’s a lot of thinking, decision-making, responsibility [and] accountability.

When I applied for the job [at Santa Cruz Plumbing], of course with Jason I was all-in. I was in the union but I don’t necessarily want to tell this guy I’ve been to prison. I’m just going to be honest, but also say, I worked in the sewage treatment plant in San Quentin. San Quentin is not just a prison, I’m pretty sure it’s a town. He took one look at that and was like, “mm-hmm.” So he figured it out.

Lookout: What do you love most about your job?

Hampton: I like interacting with people. I like getting people set up and stoked. Maybe changing the narrative a little bit that you can’t trust your mechanic, you can’t trust your plumber. Everybody is trying to sell you something extra. It’s like no, man, I’m really not. You just have this active water leak I’m trying to get taken care of. My wife called me from the mechanic and she’s just, “Oh, they’re trying to sell me this fluid. I don’t know if I need it.” I was like, “Maybe you need it.” Everyone’s so scared and I get it. One of the things I like doing is [to] just surprise people by giving them what they want and maybe telling them what they need.

I’ve been able to hire guys too, Jason has allowed me to have that responsibility. There’s been guys that were like me, I’m like, “Let’s give you a chance.” Not all of them have worked out but like one of them did, [and] that’s great. Who doesn’t like a comeback story?

Lookout: What have been your biggest challenges in your career?

Hampton: Realizing what a lack of proper education I had going into this, whether it’s spelling, mathematics, writing an email properly, talking to people [professionally]. Those are these huge hurdles I’m working on every day. Those are things I’ve had to adapt to. Also being kind of a self-starter, my days aren’t always laid out for me. I’ve got to keep myself busy and productive.

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Lookout: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in this type of career?

Hampton: Just be humble and ready to show up. I mean, just because you got paid $25 an hour under the table by Jimmy Jams Plumbing in Boulder Creek doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get that somewhere else. And that’s OK, then you go and you learn. I’ve taken classes at Cabrillo that correlate with my career: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading. Those weren’t things I asked my boss to pay for, either. It’s not his responsibility, it’s your responsibility. If you want to get paid more, be worth more. I know that’s a tough thing. The trades are riddled with guys that have problems showing up on time or attitudes. Just be stoked you got a job, show up a little early, stay a little late. Don’t look [at] your time clock, [or write] every email like, “I actually [finished] work at 3:05, [so] I should get paid for those five minutes.” You should get paid for those five minutes but my dad always told me, “If you got to stay a little late to fix your mistake, don’t make Jason pay for it.”

Lookout: Who is the best person suited for the job?

Hampton: I mean, anybody. Man, women, [or] whoever, a worker [is] a worker. Maybe you’re working with a guy who doesn’t speak any English, but plumbing’s like a universal language, like mathematics. You watch YouTube videos on silent on how to cook things, you could watch a plumbing tutorial in Spanish while you only speak English and still learn something. Just bust ass, move fast and don’t make too big of a mess.

You have to be able to work with dispatch, guys who are ordering parts and you have to have some degree of communication skills and traveling up on your own. It’s a team effort.

Lookout: What can someone expect to be paid when they’re going into this career field?

Hampton: I don’t know, maybe $20-ish if you have a license? You’re not only getting a job but you’re also getting hands-on training that translates to other places. You could probably get a job for more starting at a restaurant, for example. It’s like, what’s your intention?

If you’re really good you can make like $75 an hour. If you’re doing your own thing you could charge $125 an hour, you could charge whatever you feel like you’re worth, as long as you’re being fair with the customer and honest. If you’re new to a company but you’ve done plumbing for 15 years, they may start you off at a certain dollar amount and then once you’re able to prove yourself then your price will go up.

Lookout: What’s the difference between a union and non-union plumbing?

Hampton: A lot, it’s a big question. [In a] union, there’s guaranteed work. It’s hard to say, because some people prefer the union, but you have to pay dues to the union. You’re not allowed to really strike out on your own, like your knowledge is essentially theirs. Prevailing wages, some projects are only union, like this is a union plumber job and it’s prevailing wage. That could be upwards of $75 an hour, but that prevailing wage job doesn’t necessarily last forever.

Lookout: What is something that most people misunderstand about your job?

Hampton: There’s a lot more to it than you think. It’s not just unclogging toilets, it’s also opening up walls, installing new plumbing systems [and] knowing how hot water works. I understand it’s just water, but [it’s] temperatures, also gas and gas pressure. Like what size should your gas line be if it’s servicing these three different fixtures? I’ve got to find out what’s on the fixtures and this degree of math to size something correctly because it’s going to go underground. I don’t think it’s a trade you would see depicted in a movie. Like I’m Mario and Luigi and we just got these plungers. There’s a lot to it. There’s a complement of electrical and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems]. They all culminate into one.

Lookout: What kind of jobs do you think there will be out there in the plumbing field?

Hampton: I think the technology around plumbing is always changing, new applications, making it so jobs can be done quicker. There’s all kinds of routes that you want to take [because] plumbing is not just water and poop. It’s also gas [appliances]. There’s new water heaters that are electric — in California, we’re trying to go in that electric direction. That means your old gas water heaters have to go, and your new electric ones have to go in.

Lookout: What does the trajectory of your job look like?

Hampton: For me, I would like to grow [into] the service department and have more guys. Jason, the owner, is responsible for over 100 guys. If I could have my little department where I’m doing that in my own way, that’s the goal. Maybe one day be competent enough to do something on my own or have my dad involved and keep it in the family. Jason started his company from the ground up, out of his garage. I do more residential stuff at people’s houses, if I were able to grow that. Right now we have five guys. When we have 10 guys, we’d really have a thriving service department along with [a] thriving construction side.

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Lookout: What would be your advice to someone who is getting out of jail or in a position where they ask, “What’s my next step?”

Hampton: Apply, apply, apply. Just apply and be forthcoming. I genuinely believe there are business owners out there [who] want to be that person that gave that dude [a] chance and he just crushed it. Understand though, too, other guys have come before you and they let people down. Understand that people are going to pass judgment. Don’t lie, be forthcoming. The bottom line is, none of that [stuff] will matter if you’re a really good plumber or you’re a really good hand [or] worker.

Lookout: What motivates you every single day to continue on considering all the hurdles you’ve gone through?

Hampton: Personally, it’s the security of having something to do every day. I know that idle hands [are] like the devil’s playground. Too much idle time, either you’re just on social media or you’re distracting yourself in one shape or form. At least this way, I’m driving around on this side of the hill. That’s the great part. I could be on the Westside, in Aptos or Felton all in the same day and that just keeps me busy. I also have a wife now, she works here cleaning vacation rentals. We’re a DINK [couple], dual income, no kids. So we like to go out to dinner, travel or whatever and those things cost money.

Lookout: What does the future look like for you?

Hampton: I would like to get a dog. Me and my wife want to go to Italy. It’s a lot of normal-people stuff that maybe to the average person is like, “Yeah, that [stuff] is cool.” But understand I came from a place where, like I said, I’ve never done anything for five years. I don’t know how else to describe it, I’ve had a job for five years, like I’ve been fired from everywhere I ever worked. The second I got off drugs and started trying, I was able to keep things. I think that was a pretty big constant in my life before, I was always losing things. Whether it was something as simple as losing the money I had in my pocket for the drugs, losing this and losing that, and losing my freedom. Now I try, and I genuinely put in the effort. It’s just my belief that when you put in the effort you get gifts.

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