It has been a year since our good friend, fellow columnist and in-house San Jose historian Leonard McKay passed away suddenly. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think of him and his preservation work for our community. I certainly miss the almost-daily chats I had with him the last couple of years of his life. I don’t think I ever learned so much from one person in such a short period of time. I would like to take this opportunity to remember my friend Leonard and his efforts to preserve our history—buildings, artifacts, documents and stories—for future generations of San Jose citizens. I am reprinting one of his last columns below as a tribute.
History San Jose was very close to Leonard’s heart. It has been in the news lately because it has had financial difficulties and was given a lifeline by the city council. The financial woes date to the original contract with the city that was unrealistic in its financial provisions and expectations. It seems that a new contract and budget are in the works that will allow a more workable approach.
There is no getting around it: the preservation of history has a financial cost. However, there is a great educational benefit that has to be balanced against it. I encourage everyone to visit History Park and take a look at the work that History San Jose is doing.
I would like to pose some questions. How important is local historical preservation to you? Why is it important? How extensive should financial support from the city’s taxpayers be? What level of priority should History San Jose’s work receive in the scheme of things?
There is plenty of space here to discuss these important questions. And if you want to remember Leonard McKay in your post, or comment on his piece reprinted here, please do so. You can also click on Leonard’s tab under the SJI banner above and enjoy reading some of his old columns.
How Andrew P. Hill Saved the Redwoods
By Leonard McKay
Have you ever been to Big Basin Park and stood under a giant redwood, the tallest living trees on earth, and wondered how and why they are still here? This is the story of the man who saved them: artist and photographer Andrew Putnam Hill.
Hill came to California in 1867 at the age of 14, just before the continental railway was built. His father, Elijah, had made the journey just before Andrew was born, but before he reached the golden land, Elijah and a companion were attacked by Indians. Elijah survived the fight, but he died a week later of exposure and exhaustion.
Andrew came west with his uncle and attended the small College of Santa Clara, first as a high school student and then as a college freshman. When his funds were spent, he left school to support himself. Although a Protestant, he had many Catholic friends at Santa Clara who were to assist him in later years.
His early working years were spent as a draftsman. He later attended the California School of Design, where he perfected his natural talent for art. He opened a portrait studio in San Jose with a succession of partners. Although an accomplished artist, he was a poor businessman, plagued by bad luck. In order to supplement his income and feed his growing family, he took up photography, as painting was in economic decline.
In 1899, a major fire erupted in the redwood forests near the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains above Los Gatos. Hill photographed the burning trees for a London newspaper where the editors marveled at the size of the trees. They commissioned Hill for more pictures of just the redwoods. These trees, the Sequoia Sempervirens, are the tallest in the world, with a lifespan of over 2,000 years. The Sequoia Gigantia may be bigger, containing more board feet than any other tree, but the Sempervirens are the tallest.
On assignment, Hill took his bulky camera to the Santa Cruz grove that we know today as Big Trees Grove near Felton. The grove was then in private ownership, and after Hill had shot many pictures of the trees, the owner, Joseph Welch, confronted him for “unauthorized” photography and demanded the glass negatives. Hill, a big man, refused and strong words were exchanged. The episode so enraged Hill that that he determined to do something about saving the redwoods, as almost all of the virgin trees had been cut for lumber.
It was suggested that the trees in Big Basin were larger and more important than those in the Big Trees Grove. In 1900, an investigative party of leading and concerned citizens explored Big Basin. They were so impressed that they vowed to save the trees and Hill began his crusade.
A long, hard battle ensued. Hill had help from many quarters: President Jordan and many faculty members of Stanford University; Father Kenna, S.J., the president of Santa Clara College; James Phelan, mayor of San Francisco and later a state senator; and, most particularly, Carrie Stevens Walter, who became the first secretary of the Sempervirens Society and participated in all of its battles. Had the forest not been saved at that time, it was estimated that in six months, there would not be any virgin trees remaining.
Hill’s campaign led him to the state legislature in Sacramento. After many months of negotiation, it came to a final vote. The preliminary indications were that the state would not approve the requested expenditure of $250,000. Hill obtained a guarantee of $50,000 from Fr. Kenna’s nephew, James Phelan, payable to the lumber companies’ owners, forfeitable if the state did not purchase the property. At midnight, the night before the vote was to be taken, Hill walked three miles (the street cars had stopped running) from Santa Clara to the Herald newspaper offices in San Jose where the editor, Harry Wells, had a special edition published headlining the guarantee. Hill waited for the papers to be printed then boarded the 4:30 a.m. train to Sacramento, where a copy was placed on each legislator’s desk. The bill passed unanimously; private citizens then matched the state’s $250,000 and, thus, California got its first state park, California Redwood Park, today known as Big Basin.
When Hill died in 1922, he left his family an estate valued at less than $900. He left all of us a legacy that is immeasurable, the wonderful giant redwoods that were born before Christ.
Good posting Jack! I had the distinction of being at the last California Pioneers meeting Leonard attended in the week that he passed away. The turn-out for his memorial in the History Park, which many of us attended, including you, was very inspiring. Thanks for the memories today. Now with the passing of Jim Arbuckle who will take up the history role for San Jose?
Leonard would be proud of your posting!
The HISTORY of San Jose is at History San Jose: The old pueblo records are stored there, available for research.
The beautifully restored building on the grounds are part of the history. Maybe soon the City will see fit to move the old Archer (Kelly) home onto History Park and restore it.
The 600 members of the Pioneers of Santa Clara County are proud to be associated with History San Jose. That partnership was Leonard’s dream.
Jerry Rosenthal, Past President
I wonder what Leonard would have thought of John Murphy’s new movie, ‘The Valley of the Hearts Delight’ coming out tomorrow about the Hart hanging in St James Park in 1933. Leonard’s writing and love for our area always put a smile on my face whether it was neighborhood gossip or the direction the Guadalupe River originally flowed. We all miss you Leonard.
Even though Leonard is no longer physically with us, his spirit and pervasive wisdom are still helping to direct our studies into our unique and rich heritage. His was a joyous sharing of the past, served up in stories with candor and delight. We are all recipients of this legacy, and the best way to honor it is by imparting it to future generations. I will always be indebted to him for the time and information that he imparted to me.
There is properly no History; only Biography. ~Emerson
Jack—
Enjoyed your column today. I am honored to say that I knew Leonard McKay in his later years, although not very well. I was a frequent visitor to his shop, Memorabilia of San Jose, both because, as a relative newcomer to the valley, I am interested in San Jose history and because McKay was such a charming and engaging teacher. He showed me lots of photos and ephemera and told me many obscure things, most of which I’ve unfortunately forgotten. The last time I spoke with him was when he warmly welcomed me as a new member of his Rotary Club, about a week before he died. It surprised me because, by that time, his shop had been closed for awhile and I had assumed he had forgotten me, one of innumerable customers he must have had over the years. But he evidently hadn’t. It was typical, not only of his fantastic memory for information of all sorts, but also of his special ability to make you feel like you were the most important person in the world at the moment he was talking to you. I expect that is why it seems that absolutely everyone who knew him in the slightest loved him. I’ve never heard a bad word spoken of him.
As for History San Jose, I am not exaggerating to say that it is a world class institution that deserves the city’s full support.
And historic preservation is very good and deserves to be among the city’s top priorities, not least because it’s good business. All the most popular urban tourist destinations on the planet are distinguished by their preservation of their historic character. (Prague isn’t a destination because of the world’s passion for Czech food or wine, for example.) And when we talk about the increasing unwillingness of young tech talent to come to the valley because it is not sufficiently hip (the issue FirstACT San Jose is trying to address), a big part of the problem is that our city is largely an architectural wasteland because we have destroyed most of our distinguished buildings and erected crap in their stead.
Finally, an appreciation of our history provides retail—something we are sorely lacking in downtown San Jose. Among Leonard McKay’s contributions our town, as yet unremarked about to my knowledge, is that he operated the best (and about the only) retail store in the downtown—the aforementioned Memorabilia San Jose. RDA might honor his memory—and do our economy some good in the bargain—by collaborating with History San Jose to open another such store in the downtown core, selling copies of old photos from the museum’s collection and other such things to tourists to our town.
Thank You Jack for rekindling our memories this fine October morning.
Leonard McKay had a way of reaching into all of us and by his sharing sprit, take us back to simpler times.
Taking your advice Jack, I enjoyed my morning coffee going back over Leornard’s postings. All of my supporting posts came from a place in me that I kepted very close and safe. Leonard had a way of opening up that door which allowed us all to feel good about sharing our past, and enjoying it all over and over again. As I have experienced again this morning.
November 4th The Children’s Discovery Museum will celebrate the completion of the Donor Courtyard. My contribution was a tile that reads,
“Discover The Past Create The Future”
I made that up one morning as I passed the museum.
History San Jose must be protected and allowed to continue to grow and archive the many thousands of items stored there.
I have been on the Board of Directors of Sempervirens Fund for many years. Several years ago John Gilliland and I went to research our Fund’s history for a book we wanted to have published. We encountered boxes and boxes stacked in a corner.
What followed was a complete archival of all of Sempervirens Club past history, including the now Sempervirens Fund. A remarkable feat that tells me that we must continue to support History San Jose, absolutely!
There is but a small percentage of the Earth’s original forests left on our Planet Earth.
Mine is but one story of what History San Jose has accomplished.
To Create the Future, we must Discover The Past.
Thank You Leonard McKay and Andrew P. Hill and History San Jose.
Gil Hernandez
Sempervirens Fund / Board Member
Valley of the Heart’s Delight – A movie about events that occur in San Jose, California, filmed in San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda.