JULY 2020 • VOL. 8, NO. 11
INDEPENDENCE
STAY With parade nixed, Aptos celebrates 4th from a distance P4
Thank you for voting us
Best in the Pajaro Valley! new/used books • children’s books • 1 minute off hwy 1 • unique gifts • special orders Watsonville’s Independent Bookstore
BEST OF
PAJARO VALLEY
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WATSONVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 23
FIRST PLACE 2017
Open Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm | Sunday 11am - 4pm | 1838 Main Street | 831.728.4139
******ECRWSSEDDM****** POSTAL CUSTOMER APTOS, CA 95003 CAPITOLA. CA 95010
JUMP ON BOARD! Enroll at any time, there are no hard deadlines for joining our courses.
Offering the FASTEST, MOST AFFORDABLE & HIGH QUALITY training to JOBS in the area! Classes now being offered ONLINE! Externships at Local Facilities State and/or National Certifications • Financial Assistance Job Placement Assistance
MOULDING LEARNERS FOR THE FUTURE
CERTIFICATION PREPARATION PROGRAMS ØNURSE ASSISTANT ØHOME CARE AIDE (CARE GIVER) ØNCLEX-RN/VN REVIEW ØCLINICAL MEDICAL ASSISTANT ØMEDICAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ØEKG TECHNICIAN ØBILLING & CODING ØPHARMACY TECHNICIAN Ø CPR, AED, FIRST AID ØBASIC LIFE SUPPORT (BLS) FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND MORE...
Monsbey College
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
6 Hangar Way, Suite B • Watsonville, CA 95076 • (877) MONSBEY monsbey@gmail.com • www.monsbey.com
2
Aptos-Creekside Pet Hospital is OPEN. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic we are utilizing curbside check-in. Ask us about our online pharmacy option. Our goal is to keep our staff and clients as safe as possible while striving to maintain the welfare of our patients. Call 831.688.4242 to schedule an appointment 10404 Soquel Drive, Aptos • aptos-creeksidepets.com
ABOUT
THE COVER
T
he Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything. Businesses have had to close, sports have come to a screeching halt, students and teachers are learning and teaching from home and events as we knew them are nonexistent. None of this is normal, but that doesn’t mean that the new normal has to gray and grim. That’s why the Aptos Chamber of Commerce’s plans for Fourth of July fill me with joy. Because of physical distancing guidelines, people are discouraged from gathering in large groups and are encouraged to wear face coverings—simple moves that health officials around the world say will help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. That means the annual Aptos Independence Day parade, widely known as the “World’s Shortest Parade,” will have to take a seat this year. But that doesn’t mean all celebration will cease. Instead of the parade, the Chamber is asking the community to show its patriotic spirit by decorating their homes, businesses and cars for a weeklong Fourth of July celebration that the community can admire from afar. That celebration starts July 1 and will run through midnight on July 4. People who choose to decorate their vehicles— whether they be new, classic or inbetween—are encouraged to cruise through Aptos in the evenings and showcase their spirit. I love this idea because everyone’s definition of “American” and what the United States stands for is unique. It will be a great experiment that will show the diversity of the Aptos and the greater Mid-County community. Plans like these keep communities connected during trying times, and we are indeed in trying times. Happy Fourth of July.
5 4
Fourth of July
5
Memorial
6
SeaBreeze
8
History
9
Word from a Friend
CEO & Executive Editor
Dan Pulcrano Publisher
Jeanie Johnson Editor
Tony Nuñez Editorial
Tony Nuñez Todd Guild Tarmo Hannula Contributing writers
John Hibble Zach Friend Photography
Tarmo Hannula Advertising Sales
Lupita Ortiz Jazmine Ancira Tiffani Petrov Production
Rob Chalhoub Kara Brown Hon Truong
Aptos Life is published monthly. All rights reserved, material may not be reprinted without written consent from the publisher. Aptos Life made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this publication, but assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. Aptos Life is a division of the Pajaronian. Publishing in Santa Cruz County since 1868.
CONTACT US
831.761.7300 tnunez@pajaronian.com
— Tony Nuñez
Training You Can TRUST! • Now Open! • Private, Semi-Private & Small Group Training • COVID-19 Compliant! • Safe, Clean, Sustainable! • Check out our new programs: Online & Outdoor Training, Nutrition Coaching
Re-Opening Special: 3 Private Training Sessions for $120 (50% disc.) Call for details.
831-708-2323
16A Seascape Village, Aptos, CA 95003
SeascapeVillageFitness.com
PT, OSC
Kathy Tucker
Joe Strawn
Jen Bayliss
BS, CPT, FMS
MS, CPT
Fitness Manager, Lead Trainer
Fitness, Nutrition & Running Coach
Over 50 years of combined Health & Fitness experience.
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
Jim Tucker
3
FOURTH OF JULY
Tarmo Hannula
SHOWING SPIRIT This group represented Fairview Orchards of Watsonville while riding in a 1932 Ford Phaeton
soft top convertible during last year’s Aptos parade. This year’s parade has been canceled.
Rethinking Independence Day JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
Fourth of July celebration takes different shape
4
By TONY NUÑEZ
S
ince 1961, the World’s Shortest Parade has packed Soquel Drive in Aptos with floats, decorated cars, bands and other community displays of patriotism in celebration of Independence Day. That will not be the case this year. With the novel coronavirus still spreading and stay-at-home orders in effect, the parade is taking a year off. But Aptos residents will still have opportunities to showcase their patriotic spirit despite the cancellation. The Aptos Chamber of Commerce is extending the Fourth of July festivities into a weeklong celebration, hoping to bring the community some happiness in otherwise tough times. From July 1-4 the Chamber is
encouraging Aptos residents to decorate their homes, businesses and cars to celebrate Independence Day. Participating businesses can enter the Red, White and Blue community contest run by the Chamber that will determine the best setup. The community can cast its vote on the Chamber’s website and its social media accounts until midnight on July 4. It is $25 to enter the contest. To sign up, visit aptoschamber.com. Along with the recognition, the winning business will also win Fourth of July themed T-shirts for every employee on staff. Those T-shirts—which feature a red, white and blue drawing of a dog with an American flag handkerchief over its
snout—are currently being sold for $15 by the Chamber. The T-shirts are also available at Deluxe Foods and Aptos Feed & Pet Supply. “We thought, ‘Why can’t we extend that celebration into a whole week?” Chamber co-Executive Director Karen Hibble said. “We want to give people a little longer to feel good because we’ve all felt bad for so long...Things like this are important for our community in these moments.” Hibble said the Aptos community at noon on Fourth of July will bang pots and pans, clap and cheer outside of their homes as a way to celebrate the holiday together from a safe distance.
DAMON GUTZWILLER
Memorial honors fallen officer By TARMO HANNULA & TODD GUILD
H
Tarmo Hannula
undreds gathered on June 17 for Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller’s memorial at Cabrillo College under brilliant sunny skies. Gutzwiller, a former Cabrillo student and Aptos resident, was gunned down while on duty June 6 in Ben Lomond. The event began at 7:45am with a miles-long motorcade at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk that threaded its way through Santa Cruz, Capitola and Soquel before arriving at Carl Conelly Stadium at Cabrillo’s Aptos campus. Headed up by a double-file line of more than 80 police motorcycles, the hearse carrying Gutzwiller was followed by a phalanx of first responder vehicles. Some came from as far away as San Diego, San Francisco, Fresno and Los Angeles. Thousands of people lined the procession route. With a huge swath of uniformed officers and others covering the athletic field, Gutzwiller’s flag-draped casket, carried by a half-dozen formally attired, white-gloved deputies, was ushered onto the field by the San Jose Police Emerald Society bagpipe band. They were followed immediately by his wife, Favi
del Real, their 2-year-old boy, Carter, and Sheriff Jim Hart. Pastor René Schlaepfer of Twin Lakes Church welcomed the crowd and led the ceremony on a flower festooned stage. “Today the world is undoubtedly a better place because of Damon,” he said. The June 6 incident started when a caller in Santa Cruz County reported that they saw guns and bomb-making materials inside a white van. Police say when deputies arrived at Steven Carrillo’s Ben Lomond home, a shootout ensued, in which Carrillo killed Gutzwiller and injured deputy Alex Spencer. Carrillo fled on foot and via carjackings before being tackled by a neighbor. He was arrested shortly thereafter. Hart said that more than 40 officers responded to the incident in Ben Lomond. “It was a bad call,” Hart said, “but those people, what our people, our CHPs, what our deputies did that day saved many, many lives.” In addition to already facing several charges in the Ben Lomond shooting, Carrillo is also facing federal murder and attempted murder charges in the shooting of two law enforcement officers in Oakland on May 29. His alleged accomplice, Millbrae resident Robert Justus Jr., has been charged with aiding and abetting ➝7
FINAL SALUTE The casket carrying the body of Santa Cruz County Sheriff Sgt.
Damon Gutzwiller is carried to a memorial service at Cabrillo College. His wife, Favi, and their son, Carter (at left), are escorted by Sheriff Jim Hart.
lead off a miles-long motorcade in Santa Cruz.
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
Tarmo Hannula
GUIDING THE WAY More than 80 law enforcement motorcycles
5
SEABREEZE TAVERN
Historic building charred Fire prompts questions about its future
UP IN SMOKE Firefighters use
an aerial ladder to pump water into the roof of the SeaBreeze Tavern June 12 where flames engulfed the historic building. Tarmo Hannula
By TODD GUILD
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
contributed
6
courtesy of the Aptos History Museam
A
fire that apparently started in a pile of rubble in an alleyway behind the SeaBreeze Tavern late June 12 has destroyed the building, bringing to a close a story that began when it was built 92 years ago in what was then a burgeoning beachfront mecca. Firefighters responded to a call of a blaze around 9:30pm. The flames chewed their way from the alleyway into the building and, fed by piles of items stored inside, quickly engulfed the building and weakened the exterior walls, said Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District Fire Marshall Mike DeMars. Fearing for their safety, fire crews exited the building and focused on defending the surrounding buildings, DeMars said. A fire inspector on Monday called the building a total loss. “It’s probably coming down,” DeMars said. The cause is still under investigation, he said. There were no injuries. Former owner Thomas Richard “Rich” McInnis, who was still living in the residential apartment above the tavern despite losing the building to foreclosure, said he was out of town when he got news of the fire. “I spent my life’s savings, and blood, sweat and tears to restore it and run it, and I am heartbroken at the condition it’s currently in now,” he said. “I just wish I had been on site Sunday and not over the hill in San Jose when the fire broke out, so I could have seen or smelled the smoke and put it out earlier and or called the fire department sooner.”
THROUGH THE YEARS (Top right) The SeaBreeze Tavern weeks before it was charred by a fire on June 12.
(Bottom right) A photo from 1928 shows the historic Aptos building that burned down.
The recent sale The property was in foreclosure and was sold in February for $1,043,500 in a bank auction to Champery Rental Reo LLC, which is a subsidiary of Redondo Beach-based Wedgewood. The company bills itself as an “integrated network” of companies that specialize in acquiring “distressed residential real estate.” Company representatives said they are “evaluating their options” for the future of the property. In the weeks before the fire struck, Santa Cruz realtor Mark Vincent, who served as Champery’s “boots on the ground” salesman, said that Wedgewood typically restores and resells distressed and foreclosed properties. Even before the fire occurred, the decrepit SeaBreeze—and its neighbors along the Esplanade—were players in a story that started in 1928, when A.A. Liederbach built it to serve as headquarters for Peninsula Properties, which was developing the Rio Del Mar area to serve crowds of tourists, according to the Aptos History Museum. The building has held several businesses since then, most recently the SeaBreeze Tavern. Georgia May
Derber owned the business for 20 years, using inheritance to purchase it when she was 27. But she allowed the business to fall into disrepair and, when the business closed for good in 1988, lived as a hermit in her upstairs apartment until she was discovered dead there in 2004. When McInnis bought the tavern in 2005 for just over $1.3 million, county leaders and residents saw him as a knight in shining armor who would restore it, said former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ellen Pirie. That was not the case. “There was certainly a lot of hope at the beginning that the SeaBreeze could become that sort of neighborhood-community focal point that people hoped it could be,” Pirie said. The county “tried to bend over backward” to help him get permits, she added, but they all came to naught. “If you had told me 15 years ago that we would be talking about this, and that it wouldn’t have progressed in any way, I just wouldn’t have thought it was possible,” she said. Through the years, the SeaBreeze has been both an eyesore and a headache for the community, befouled with discarded furniture and other junk outside.
Complaints from neighbors have included storing trash around the property, installing barbed wire and allowing RVs to park on the streets adjacent to the building, said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, whose Second District covers the seaside town. “Over time, the SeaBreeze has morphed from a historic crown jewel of the Esplanade to a site of neglect, disrepair and illicit activity,” he said. “Clearly, the community expects better, and hopefully the new owners can work to help anchor the renaissance already beginning in the Rio Del Mar Flats.” McInnis said he spent all of his savings restoring the place and getting his liquor license, leaving him unable to hire employees or make further improvements.
Legal troubles McInnis was arrested in July 2018 for domestic abuse, false imprisonment and resisting arrest, and in November of that year for violating a protective order. He was also arrested in 2015 for running an illegal cannabis dispensary out of the tavern. ➝7 He permanently lost his
SEABREEZE
6
liquor license in 2017 after he was hit with a multiple-count complaint by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). At the time, McInnis said that he was not fighting the revocation because he planned to switch to cannabis-infused drinks. That plan never came to fruition. If it had, McInnis said, the SeaBreeze would be a thriving business today. ABC spokesman John Carr said that McInnis also failed to pay license renewal fees. According to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, McInnis filed for bankruptcy 12 times between 2008 and 2018, all of which were denied by the court. The five most recent cases, the court said, were dismissed for failure to file required documents. McInnis said that the dismissal came as “political retribution” by county officials for his unsuccessful run for County Supervisor in 2012. In that election, he garnered just over 6% of the vote, placing him dead last in a field of five candidates. The most recent permit that allowed McInnis to run a bar-cafe— and to occupy two residential units on the second story above the tavern—was issued on June 15, 2007, said Santa Cruz County Principal Planner Matt Johnson. The tavern racked up several code complaints over the years, Johnson said, the most recent when McInnis was cited for improper storage and fined more than $10,000, a bill he has never paid.
MEMORIAL
5
Kinetic Health of Santa Cruz
The future Over the years, Friend has fielded many complaints from constituents about the SeaBreeze and about McInnis himself. “He’s obviously a smarter person than I think a lot of people think,” Friend said, “because he’s known how to game every element of the system for a long time—but not for good. He hasn’t used it for good.” Friend said he is already thinking ahead toward next steps. Should the building get restored, he isn’t sure how that would happen. Since it’s been deemed a historic building, he doesn’t know whether responsibility for its resurrection would fall to local, state or federal authorities. “There’s a lot of stuff that is gonna have to get worked through, and obviously, you gotta do all that before you hit the rainy season,” he said. Given that the smoke has just begun to clear, Friend is quick to add that it’s too early to say what direction discussions will take. He believes the flood insurance on that location, near the mouth of the Aptos Creek could be expensive. And while the property may look like an ideal site for condominiums, Friend doesn’t believe the zoning would support that use. a great father… for a short time, I was able to see he wasn’t just a great father: He was amazing.” Del Real said Carter got a scooter for his birthday last month, and Gutzwiller purchased a matching one. She remembers Gutzwiller telling her that he couldn’t wait to have father-son scooter rides. “They were only able to have one,” she said. Schlaepfer urged the audience to move forward with the selflessness Gutzwiller exemplified. “We can never overcome evil with evil, only with good, so seek to multiply the good in Damon’s life into your own,” he said. “He laid down his life for his friends.”
Treating stress, pain, and injury. Offering serious massage and bodywork for real results. First time clients, bring in this ad for $25 off your first visit.
140 Summa Ct., Aptos CA, 95003
831-515-7744
www.Kinetichealthsc.com • info@kinetichealthsc.com
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
murder and attempted murder. Del Real described her late husband as “compassionate and caring.” “He was always kind, loving and respectful, never so much as raising his voice at me—never,” she said. “From the start he was always thinking about me, putting me first and making sure I was OK.” Del Real said she’d told Gutzwiller at first she did not want to have children. That quickly changed. “As I grew to know and love him, I wanted to have children with him,” she said through tears. “I wanted to have children because he would be their father. I knew he would be
Most recently, county inspectors responded to a complaint of storage containers being illegally kept on the property, Johnson said. The county took over two vacant lots adjacent to the tavern in 2017 after McInnis failed to pay more than $100,000 in delinquent property taxes.
7
HISTORY CORNER
Mangels House
M
8
before Germany became a country. Peter and Claus Spreckels grew up on a farm in Lamstedt, Germany. They all came to the U.S. as teenagers in 1846 and worked in the grocery business in Charleston, South Carolina. Claus Spreckels soon owned the business. He married Mangels’ sister Anna, in New York City in 1852. They moved around the country and eventually worked their way to Hangtown (Placerville), in the California
contributed
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
angels House is an elegant, Victorian, summer mansion in the Aptos hills, built by Claus Mangels, brother-in-law of Claus Spreckels, the sugar millionaire. It is the last remaining example of three nearly identical mansions built between 1872-88. Claus Mangels was born Sept. 12, 1832, in Baderkase in the independent kingdom of Hanover,
gold country where Claus Spreckels Claus Mangels and Peter purchased one-third Spreckels met twin of Rafael Castro's sisters from Westphalan, Aptos Rancho in 1872 (Germany), Agnes and built a modest, and Anna Grosse. The two-story home above sisters ran a small store the Aptos Creek estuary and eatery. They sold on today’s Bayview sandwiches made from Court off Aptos Beach old meat or discarded Drive. By 1874, he had By John Hibble built a modest lodge for butchers scraps. There Aptos History Museum guests near Claus Court. was no refrigeration, so they scrubbed the This would become meat in the creek to get the mold part of Spreckels grand Aptos off and make it nice and pink. Hotel the following year. They called it “used meat.” In 1877, Spreckels built a grand They arrived in San Francisco summer home where Huntington by 1856. Claus Mangels and Peter Drive, Monroe Avenue and Spreckels married Agnes and Anna Soquel Drive intersect. The Grosse. Claus married Agnes on address today is 9565 Soquel Jan. 5, 1862. He was 29 and she Drive. The two magnolia trees was 17. In 1863, the three couples in the parking lot were at the started the Bay Sugar Refining entrance to Spreckels’ house. A Company in San Francisco and second home was prefabricated prospered. They built grand and shipped to Honolulu Hawaii houses on South Van Ness Avenue. for Spreckels to oversee his sugar They also founded the Lyons business in the Sandwich Islands. Brewery and the Albany Brewery, The railroad had come to and the grocery firms of Spreckels Aptos in 1875 with the assistance & Co. and H. Bruning & Co. of Fredrick Hihn and Claus Mangels' other sister, Sophia, Spreckels, and by 1882, a rail married Claus Brommer in line was running up Aptos Creek Hanover. Brommer came to San Canyon to service the Loma Prieta Francisco in 1869 to work for lumber mill in which Mangels and Spreckels at the sugar company. Spreckels had an interest. By 1888 In 1874, the Brommers bought a they had built a sugar refinery in 130-acre farm near Schwan Lagoon. Watsonville. Claus Mangels was Brommer Street is named after him. Spreckels’ silent partner. ➝ 10
STILL STANDING Mangels House is an elegant, Victorian, summer
mansion in the Aptos hills, built by Claus Mangels, brother-in-law of Claus Spreckels, the sugar millionaire.
WORD FROM A FRIEND
Vacation rentals
G
rowing concerns over the loss of housing and the commercialization of neighborhoods led the Board of Supervisors to request staff propose a set of new restrictions for vacation rentals. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a set of guidelines for new restrictions that County staff recently brought to the Planning Commission and came back to the Board of Supervisors in mid-June for an initial consideration of the ordinance.
How would a permit waitlist work? When permits opened up, the Board of Supervisors wanted a program that was administered fairly and impartially. Prospective applicants would submit a Waiting List Request Form to staff and all parcels on the list would be tracked by staff and mapped on a GIS Vacation Rental Waiting List Map. The Planning Commission recommended the program be structured as a first-come, first-served system and that is what will be considered by the Board.
How will the parking requirements work? Minimum on-site parking requirements will now exist for new vacation rentals. The
proposals, which can be changed, state for new 1 or 2 bedroom vacation rentals a minimum of one on-site parking space would be required and for new 3+ bedroom rentals a minimum of two on-site parking spaces would be required.
What public/neighborhood process will be required? To allow for greater community input in new applications, all new vacation rentals comprised of three or fewer bedrooms will require on-site noticing and mailed notices to the neighbors, and also allows staff to impose conditions of approval applicable to the application at hand. The current requirements for 4+ bedroom applications will remain unchanged (they require a higher level of review).
Can permits be revoked or not renewed? One of the key parts of the discussion was ensuring that problematic ➝ 11
Business & Service Directory To include your business in this directory, call 761-7326
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
restrictions (currently La Selva is not folded into the designated areas) 3) Creating new parking requirements (to minimize on-street and neighborhood impacts) 4) Increasing the level of review for new permits so neighborhoods could have a public process to express concerns and receive mitigations (or even denial of an application) 5) Create more formal revocation procedures for rentals that are creating impacts 6) Establish a waiting list program for those looking to apply for perWhat are the current mits as they become available 7) Create a moratorium on new regulations? permits pending the outUntil a few years ago there were no come of this process caps, and very limited regulations, The existing vacation rental on vacation rentals throughout the regulations state that the number county. The Board initially instituted of overall vacation rentals cannot per block and per designated area exceed 15% of eligible parcels in caps (for example, the coastal areas the greater Live Oak and Seacliff/ around Seacliff and Rio Del Mar) Rio Del Mar area and 10% in the on vacation rentals and also some Davenport area. In permit requirements that January, rates in these must be adhered to in areas were below the order to renew permits. caps and the Board of For vacation rentals Supervisors felt that that fell outside of these the current levels were designated zones, there already high enough. were no limits and no Increasing the caps to renewal requirements. 15%, the Board felt, would have a continued What is proposed? impact on the housing By Zach Friend Here is a general market and commercialSanta Cruz County overview of what’s Supervisor ization of neighborhoods. proposed with more As a result, the Board details provided below: supported capping the numbers 1) Freezing vacation rentals at at current rates, which include current rates in the Seacliff/ 12% in the Live Oak area and Aptos Designated Areas and 5.5% in the Seacliff/Rio Del Mar other designated areas in the area. La Selva restrictions are County. This would mean also now being added in (so no that new permits wouldn’t be new vacation rentals would be issued unless a permit became allowed in La Selva unless a permit available through non-renewal, expired, was revoked or forfeited). revocation, transfer of ownership, Given the number of local etc. This provides for current vacation rentals, hotels, motels and levels of supply but limits other options, there are adequate additional negative impacts visitor-serving uses locally but on long-term housing. significant challenges in our 2) Adding La Selva into the housing market. If the ordinance
is approved, no new permits would be issued in any of the designated areas until the number of vacation rentals falls below the applicable percentage cap.
9
Non Profit
Join These Businesses in Supporting Non Profit Organizations
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
If you would like to feature your non profit in this directory, call 761-7326
10
100% OF YOUR DONATION GOES DIRECTLY TO FAMILIES IN NEED
JACO B S H E A R T.O R G /COV I D -1 9
HISTORY CORNER
8
One of his tasks was to talk the local farmers into growing sugar beets. He was also mechanically inclined and invented the Mangels Plow which still bears his name. Agnes Mangels died in 1875. In 1876, Claus married Emma Zweig. Claus Mangels acquired about 550 acres for his summer ranch house in 1884 and 1887 from Claus Spreckels and Vicente Castro. This third mansion, the “big house,” was built for Claus and Emma Mangels, half a mile up Aptos Creek from the village in 1888, of clear heart redwood from the Loma Prieta Mill. It was a reverse floor plan of the Spreckels mansion. Its 15 rooms include 10 bedrooms, a kitchen and butler’s pantry, two parlors, a dining room, a card room, a full basement, 3,000 square feet of living space on each of its two floors, 14-foot ceilings on the main floor and a full attic topped by a “widows walk.” The architectural style is called “Carpenter’s Gothic.” The house was built for six weeks use in the summer and could sleep 23 people. There was also a tennis court and stables. Spreckels used his San Francisco architect Henry Geilfuss (gile-foos) to design the mansions and longtime Aptos resident Ralph Mattison speculated that Spreckels may have lent his architect to Joseph Arano to design the Bay View Hotel. The summer house was constructed by F. Klatt at a cost of $9,450. It used to take two days by horse and carriage to come from San Francisco to Aptos. The families stayed overnight at the hotel in Los Gatos before tackling the mountains to Santa Cruz. The ranch became well known as a social center. Claus Mangels died in San Francisco on April 22, 1891. Claus and his first wife Agnes had five children. Philip died an infant. John Henry and Agnes never married. Anna Lisette Mangels married Ernest Hueter who founded the Dutch Boy Paint Company and the Pioneer Varnish Company which supplied varnish for railroad cars. Emma Marie Mangels married Frederick Tillman, Jr. who originated the Del Monte Brand of canned fruits and vegetables. Frederick and Emma’s daughter Agnes married Baron Jan Carel van Panteleon van Eck who was responsible for bringing the Shell Oil Company to America.
A dairy was established on the ranch in the 1920s. Milk was trucked to Golden State Dairies in Watsonville where they received eight cents per gallon. They would bring back silage for the cows from the lettuce packing plants. Karl Mertz, Mangels’ great-grandson, fondly remembers eating the baby heads of lettuce that were too small for market. The dairy failed during World War II. All of the Swiss and Bavarian milkers went to work for Salz Tannery. The tannery was expanding because of the war and the pay was better. The estate stayed in the family through four generations. The mansion was sold to Dr. Ron and Jackie Fisher in 1979. Three of Mangels’ great-grandchildren built houses on part of the original estate. Elizabeth (Hueter) Wright, Agnes (van Eck) Reed and Karl Mertz. (Karl donated the old “Arrival of Trains” blackboard from Aptos Station and other historical objects to the Aptos History Museum.) Minor alterations to the house have occurred over the years. The living room was originally two parlors connected by sliding doors. A card room on the first floor was converted to a bedroom. An oil furnace and a septic system were added, and electricity has replaced the acetylene generator which supplied gas for the lights. The second floor has remained essentially unchanged except for modernizing the plumbing and electricity. Most of the upstairs bedrooms have the original marble wash basins. Karl Mertz “rescued” the last of the original toilets which has “The John Douglas Co.” in large black letters around the rim. These toilets were very popular, and this is where the expression “going to the john” came from. Karl donated the toilet to the Capitola History Museum for display in their “beach cottage.” The Fishers renovated the house and opened it as an elegant bed and breakfast inn with five guest rooms. Jackie was a charming hostess and enjoyed meeting her guests and preparing wonderful breakfasts that always exceeded expectations. Sadly, Jackie passed away in 2004 and the Mangels House returned to a private residence. Doctor Ron Fisher passed away on Jan. 19, 2017.
FRIEND
9
properties have a permit revocation process. For those without any issues, permits can be renewed every five years. Running a vacation rental without a permit, criminal and/ or County Code or Health Order violations are proposed as potential reasons for revocation/non-renewal.
What are the next steps? The Board will have a minimum of two readings of the ordinance (if there are significant changes proposed by the Board during the first reading it requires another first reading of the ordinance) and then the changes, if approved, will be submitted to the Coastal Commission for consideration. If approved, the ordinance changes
will then take effect. This public process generally takes a few months (especially in working to get on the Coastal Commission’s calendar) and allows for input throughout. I appreciate any feedback you may have on this (or any other County issue). I’m maintaining regular updates on social media at facebook.com/supervisorfriend and during the shelterin-place order I’m hosting weekly tele-town halls with County and community leaders on Tuesday nights from 6-7pm. The call in information for the town halls is 454-2222 with the Meeting ID: 145384# - you are welcome to speak about this issue during the town halls or you can always call me at 454-2200.
SANITEYES Locally Owned & Operated Since 1980 We Accept Most Insurance
As of June 2, we will be extending our hours
Tuesday - Friday, 10am-5pm
Saturday Now by Appointment Only For every mask sold we donate a portion to The Second Harvest Food Drive. $5 per mask and $5 we match!
Mention Pregnant Mare Rescue Project when shopping at Deluxe Foods and You’ll Help our Local Horses!
Pregnant Mare Rescue P.O. Box 962 Aptos, CA 95001
Email: Pmrhorses@pregnantmarerescue.com
www.PregnantMareRescue.org
(831) 688-1516 • EyeShapes@sbcglobal.net
(408) 540-8568
Deer Park Marketplace #37 | Rio Del Mar/Hwy 1 Aptos | Above Deluxe Foods www.EyeShapesAptos.com
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit charity #26-0484620
VERIFIED
JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
11
12 JULY 2020 | APTOS LIFE
