I found this sweet book I want to share with you. It is full of historical photos of the South Coast. It was written by Stanley Harlan, younger brother of Don Harlan, the original road warrior. Stanley is now 91 and living in Monterey. It is available on Amazon.com
This little history lesson started because Janet (Sommerville) Hardisty asked me to put her in contact with Sylvia Deen Trotter Anderson, and thus the exchanges began, and both ladies were gracious enough to keep me in the conversation so I could learn some local history and share in the photographs.
A couple of photos from the 50-60’s from Sylvia Deen (Trotter) Anderson’s collection:
The people in the photo below are Janet Sommerville’s parents, and Sylvia Trotter Anderson’s parents, Walter Trotter and wife Guelda [gwel-dah] (Fenton) Trotter. Janet’s mother, Betty is the one on the right. The two on the left, I believe are Walter Trotter and the gal in the middle of Janet’s dad and Trotter is Janet McChesney. Please correct me if I am wrong, ladies.😘
From Janet: “The lady sitting by your dad is Janet McChesney, they lived at the main house at the Forest Service Station, as Doug/Mac was head in Big Sur at that time, so this would of had to been anywhere from sometime in the 50’s to 1961 as the girls (Kathy, Nancy, & Maryjane) moved away before Capt. Cooper opened up on the hill in 1962. The other lady seems familiar, but I’m not really sure??”
A Couple more – this one of the classroom, Sylvia found from a collection at the University of Wisconsin, of all places:
“Up close with back to camera is Miss Morrisay. Then the girl on the right with hair band is cousin Susan/Susie Brazil, almost looks like back of head of Kip Hopkins. Tal Bradford is the fellow with fingers under his nose I think. Blonde in the middle almost looks like a Morganwrath, but don’t think it is. I have school photos with some of these kids in it, so they were a year ahead of me, maybe a Warren and almost looks like Billy Royer at the far right hand under chin.” (Description by Sylvia)
From Janet: “Lets see, I think those are David Lindley’s ears next to Susie (Kaye Short’s grandson), then we have Lincoln Curtis in front row by Miss Morrisay, Ron Warren, then we move over to Blonde, which is Jeanette Ramsdell,
next to her is I think Raymond Niemeyer, can’t remember the guys names on the right, but I remember them(Bruce?). And like you said, Tal, and then I think Lorna something and maybe Kate Healey’s head, and no idea on the other.”
The above is from the University of Wisconsin archives. It is the little red school house. It sat south of MAF approximately where the CT housing is now.
From Sylvia’s Collection:
“I did have this one however….. These two girls in detail…Their mother was Rowena (Davis) Kelly-Lee our school teacher. The elder/taller girl is Dorothy Kelly and the younger/smaller one is Rowena “Punky” Kelly. Punky, I’m sure you will recall drowned at Post’s area in Jul of 1964. I was 8 and you probably 10-11. Cousin Judy Trotter-Weidman was best friends with Punky and about aged 12. She had a hard time dealing with Punky’s passing.
This is the backside of the old Pfeiffer School if memory serves me as I was in the small room for the 1st and 2nd graders with Mrs. Kelly and you “older students”- ha-ha were with Miss Morrisey. We could go out that door right to the play area.”
Below, “Sorry another bad photo, but this one I did remember a bit more about! L-R
Leigh Hartman Toldi, ME Sylvia, in back ?Char Piaz, Janie Curtis, then maybe Krista Mackowski, Collett Mason [french sounding]and Janet Sommerville. Found the program that went with this awhile back as well. Hard to believe we has such stuff in Big Sur with such a wonder teacher, Lillie/Lily Selvig. Still have the costume that her son Dirk wore for one of the ballet plays as a joker. What a hoot!! Sylvia”
Who is she, one might ask. I would have, too, before I recently watched a Polish Film called “Strike.”
She is the woman responsible for the Solidarity movement and the eventual overthrow of Communism in Poland. Her dedication and hard work took decades, and many sacrifices. She was originally a welder at a shipyard and couldn’t read. Her son taught her how to read so she could take the crane operators test – more money and better shifts. She was afraid of heights and threw up in her bag the first time up. She was a strong, fascinating woman. Her name was Anna Walentynowicz. She was the women’s labor rep at the Lenin Shipyard and a trouble-maker. She went to jail numerous times for her labor and anti-communist views and activities.
The Solidarity Movement started when the Shipyard fired her 4 months before her retirement. She was one of 7 leaders of the movement, one of whom was a male named Lech Kaczynski, later President of Poland. He wanted her to head the movement which started with her firing. She felt a male would be better, and she also felt he was the better public speaker, at least as portrayed in the movie. She died at the age of 80 in 2010 in a plane crash which also claimed Lech and his wife. She was a fascinating, hard-working woman who made a huge difference in the Labor Movement and also in her country. So today, I honor her.
