LIFE everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

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APTOS

NOVEMBER 2015

SOQUEL

CAPITOLA EVERYTHING APTOS, CAPITOLA & SOQUEL

Vol. 4 No. 4

Weathering the storm Workshop to help people prepare

By ERIK CHALHOUB APTOS — As California braces itself for El Niño rains this winter, which weather officials are predicting to bring 200 percent more rain than normal, the Aptos Chamber of Commerce will hold a workshop to help people prepare for whatever may come their way.

The Community Emergency Preparedness Workshop will be held Tuesday, Nov. 10 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Best Western Seacliff Inn, 7500 Old Dominion Court in Aptos.

“Our goal is to make sure that our residents and our businesses are prepared in case we do have an El Niño storm that’s being predicted,” said Karen Hibble, chamber co-executive director.

Officials from Pacific Gas and Electric, Aptos/La Selva Fire, California Highway Patrol, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department, Red Cross and Public Works will be present to inform the public on a variety of topics, such as generators, emergency food, trimming trees, soil stability and more.

An old truck serves as a deck for a pumpkin display at Capitola Produce.

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

Please turn to Page 6

HISTORY CORNER

By John Hibble Call: 688-1467 Visit us online: aptoshistory.org Visit the museum: 7605-B Old Dominion Court Aptos, CA

A glimpse through the ages Students get hands-on fossil lesson

Staff report

The gentleman farmer

In last month’s column, we talked about Dr. August Liliencrantz of Oakland who purchased 1,000 acres of Aptos land from Claus Spreckels in 1884, almost 40 percent of Spreckels’ property. Dr. Liliencrantz was an esteemed physician and surgeon. He named his property Sand Rock Farm. This month we will tell the tale of the farm. (My apologies for the typo on last month’s map. The date of the map should have been 1889.)

Dr. Liliencrantz was a gentleman farmer, which means that Sand Rock Farm did not have to be profitable because his medical practice could sustain his lifestyle. Or the term gentleman farmer can also Please turn to Page 7

2651 Soquel Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062

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County honoring small businesses

Bruce MacFadden, a paleontologist, talks to thirdgraders at Mar Vista Elementary School about fossils.

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

By TODD GUILD APTOS — A group of exuberant third-graders at Mar Vista Elementary School gazed into a small bag of fossils on Oct. 26 during a lesson that took them back millions of years.

After considering the shape and size and other Please turn to Page 6

"Compassionate care for pets and their people."

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — The County of Santa Cruz and its partners announced the first annual Santa Cruz County Small Business Saturday to honor and support local businesses and entrepreneurs.

Conceived as a counterpoint to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is focused on the independent, local, brick-and-mortar businesses.

As part of a countywide push to get hundreds of local businesses to participate, the county has partnered with local business groups from the San Lorenzo Valley to the Pajaro Valley.

“Part of what makes Santa Cruz County unique is our long history of developing and supporting local businesses, from organic food producers and beloved restaurants to world-class pizza makers and groundbreaking skate shops,” said Barbara Mason, Economic Development Director for Santa Cruz County. “They contribute so much to our community, and they deserve to be celebrated.”

To be held Nov. 28, Small Business Saturday has Please turn to Page 6

Inside ...

Letter ..................................2 Briefs ...............................4-5 Guest columns..................11 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WATSONVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 23 ******ECRWSSEDDM****** POSTAL CUSTOMER APTOS, CA 95003 CAPITOLA. CA 95010

November 2015

2 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

The ‘people’s wagon’ no more Prices driving life-time enthusiasts out of hobby

By BEK PHILLIPS APTOS — When he was born, his mom took him home in a Volkswagen Beetle.

When his family came to California, they piled all their stuff in that same Beetle.

Now, Tharan Mansell spends his free time fixing up old VWs, taking them camping, and selling them.

But even as he tells stories about the busses he has found, and what they mean to him, he fears the amount of money it now takes to fix them up will eventually force him to quit.

“The ones that have a story to tell are my favorite,” Mansell said. “I’m not so much a shiny bus kind of guy, I’m in no hurry to erase history. On a car every scratch, ding, has a story to tell.”

One his favorite most well known busses was the Bullet Bus that was discovered in the desert.

“I would drive the Bullet Bus to shows and park it next to million dollar cars and apologize to guys in advance,” Mansell said. “At the end of the day, there would be a crowd. The bus had over 1,500 bullet holes and people loved it.”

Mansell eventually sold the 1961 deluxe bus to a man who claimed to have had a dream about it, along with the casings and everything found with it.

Even when it comes to collecting old, rusty busses, there are rules.

“They all come with something and they all have names,” Mansell said. “And when you sell them, they new owners get everything it came with.”

What made the Bullet Bus so special wasn’t just the unique exterior, but how it brought the VW community together.

“One guy pulled over in the desert under a full moon and saw the silhouette,” Mansell said. “It was a top secret mission to retrieve it, but after, many of us fixed

it up. People donated parts, it had to be a group effort, the whole community was involved.”

Mike Kerl, another VW enthusiast, spoke about the VW community.

“I’ve been going off and working on VW buses for the last 25 years,” Kerl said. “ It’s family, you hold on to it. I got my itch from my dad and it’s the thing you just do. With [Mansell], it’s the same way.”

According to Kerl, many people who work on VW’s have always done so.

Mansell is one enthusiast that exemplifies this.

“He’s always been buying and selling, he’s always had one, always been driving one,” Kerl said. “It’s pretty much his bloodline. He grew up around them and stuck with them, much like the people who have VW today.”

Mansell fondly talks about growing up around VW’s, pulling out part an old key and playing with it in his fingers.

“My first car was a VW,” he said. “I was 12 years old, it was a Baja bus. All that’s left is what’s left of this key.”

A huge part of his fondness stems from nostalgia, even down to remembering the smell as a child.

“Once I smell an old VW, and they have a certain smell, it’s like jumping into a time-machine.”

Kerl also had a Baja, and he still remembers it today.

“My first car was a Baja bug,” Kerl said.

“We stick with them, don’t let them get out.”

As much as the busses are loved, prices have gone up and the supply for parts dwindles and demand goes up.

“Everything is getting outrageous, prices are through the roof,” Kerl said. “We used to buy them for next to nothing, or people would give them to us. It’s getting harder and harder to find them, driving all the old people out. You can’t, that’s why we got into them because they are affordable.”

Mansell says part of finding what you need is being diligent, even as the prices

“drive the old timers out.”

“You gotta be diligent,” Mansell said.

“Just rear taillights, to find a good set, is $1,000. It’s $500 for one grey hubcap. One guy used to laugh because I would always write my name on the inside of hubcaps, until I lost one and had it returned.”

To date, Mansell has owned more than 100 VWs and said he has the 60s covered.

The only ones that he gets are the ones that don’t run, and then he dedicates his time to fixing it until it drives.

Then he camps in it.

“You can’t keep them forever,” Mansell said. “It’s about the thrill of the hunt. I get to recapture my youth for a minute. I am lucky I get to do it every day.”

Mansell said the one thing guaranteed about owning a VW is that at some point, it turns you into a mechanic.

“They have a number of different issues,” he said. “They make every driver into a mechanic. It’s part of the adventure, there’s always something. So be prepared, carry spares, spare everything.”

Mansell shares his passion with his girlfriend Francine Neves, who goes with him on the camping trips when the renovations are finished. She loves the VW for the community as well as the adventure.

Quick to remember the names, Neves says the latest VW is Fillmore Blackberry, after being found hidden beyond sight in blackberry bushes.

Another bus was pulled from a lake in Sweden.

The unknown, seemingly random locations the busses are found in are part of what makes the hunt.

“You know it’s the holy grail hidden out there,” Mansell said.

But while Mansell and Kerl found their passion and love for VW passed down from the family, Neves said anyone can love a VW. “There’s a little VW in everybody,” Neves said. “It brings people together.

Driving one is an adventure, it really is.”

Even as the prices for fixing VW’s rise,

Publisher - John Bartlett General Manager - Amy Bartlett Editor - Erik Chalhoub Editorial Todd Guild, Tony Nuñez, Tarmo Hannula, Bek Phillips

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Production - Daryl Nelson Design - Mike Lyon Life in Aptos, Capitola and Soquel is published monthly. All rights reserved, material may not be reprinted without written consent from the publisher. Life in Aptos, Capitola and Soquel made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this publication, but assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. Life in Aptos, Capitola and Soquel is a division of the Register-Pajaronian. Publishing in Santa Cruz County since 1894.

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The Bullet Bus, a VW bus riddled with more than 1,000 bullet holes, has become a legend.

Photo courtesy of Tharan Mansell

Tharan Mansell is shown with his 1957 VW bus at his Aptos home. Photo by Tarmo Hannula

Mansell continues to go to swamp meets and car shows, hoping the day doesn’t come where he has to stop. The VW will always be important to him.

“They stir your soul,” Mansell said.

“They are the most iconic, if not the slowest, vehicle on earth. Life is better when you are driving a VW, you can’t be upset and stressed out when driving a

Pandemonium on Trout Gulch To the Editor, We live off Valencia Road in Aptos.

It is a two-lane but major road. This is near Valencia school.

These hills are full of homes.

Cathedral, Quail Run, Trout Gulch and Valencia not only have lots of homes, but many narrow little roads that will take you to large housing areas located deeper in the forest. There are thousands of people living in this area.

Irregardless of rain or drought, there is potential for disaster. Earthquake, flooding, slides, trees down, but the worst with the drought is fire.

Everything is drier than it has ever been. Should a fire happen, Trout Gulch and Valencia roads could not contain the traffic. Parents trying to get into the area, to get their children who are at school. Residents trying to get out of the area might overpower both lanes. Fear may cause some to abandon vehicles and flee on foot.

Add emergency vehicles trying to get in to help. Gridlock dumping onto overloaded Soquel Drive.

There are a few other ways out of the area but too far out of the way for most of us.

Pandemonium.

These problems need to be fixed. We need a solution, before our population grows to the point that none exist.

People who live in this area need to unite. If we don’t, we will be defeated by our lack of action.

One option is “weareaptos.com.”

Patsy and Rob Hanson Aptos •••

We welcome readers to submit letters for publication. Letters should be under 400 words, and columns can be no more than 800 words.

Letters and columns may be emailed to echalhoub@register-pajaronian. com or dropped off at the RegisterPajaronian, 100 Westridge Drive, Watsonville, CA, 95076.

All letters must be signed and have an address and phone number for confirmation purposes. We reserve the right to edit and condense all submissions.

November 2015

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 3

‘Bras for a Cause’ raises funds for Soroptimist programs Staff report APTOS — Guests at Soroptimist International of Capitola-By-The Sea’s “Bras for a Cause Goes on Safari” fundraiser held Oct. 24 at Seascape Golf Club selected “Serengeti Under the Stars,” a hand-decorated bra, for the People’s Choice Award.

Hand-decorated by a member of the San Francisco Soroptimist club, the bra was decorated with rows of stars over a parade of elephants and giraffes on the Serengeti plains. It was accompanied by a basket of items and was purchased by Susan Beving.

“I liked the safari theme of the colorful orange and black bra with silver stars, which was also the theme for this year’s Bras for a Cause,” said Live Oak resident Beving. “I’ve been on safaris in Kenya and Tanzania and dearly love elephants and giraffes, which the bra depicts.”

Beving successfully bid $70 in the

silent auction for the “Serengeti, Under the Stars” bra, which was contributed by Soroptimist International of San Francisco in honor of member Cindie Awakuni-Lee. Accompanying the bra was a woven basket containing a bottle of Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon and two wine goblets with painted lion faces and two golden satin napkins, all donated by Lois Alford.

She added that each year she buys one of the artistically created bras at Bras for a Cause to give to her niece in Wisconsin, a craftswoman who has lived with cancer for 20 years and with Stage 4 breast cancer the past five years.

“She enjoys showing off the decorative lingerie at meetings of her support group,” Beving said.

More than 90 guests attended the 10th annual fundraiser which featured a silent auction of the artist-decorated bras with baskets filled with donations from local merchants and a live auction with two

safari trips to South Africa, a one-week stay at a condo in Squaw Valley, a crab dinner at a country home, kayaking and hiking adventures and golf outings among the bidding options.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used for programs that help Santa Cruz County women and girls achieve social and economic empowerment. Earlier this year, Capitola Soroptimists gave $2,000 each to two women who are enrolled in BA programs and are the head of their households. The funds can be used for whatever the recipient needs to help her complete her education. The club also cohosted a one-day career conference for more than 70 13- to 14-year-old girls.

“Everyone had a fabulous time and we so appreciate the generosity of everyone involved in this event,” said KC Carlson, event coordinator. “It’s heartwarming to have that kind of dedication and support for our mission to help women and girls.”

For information, visit www.best4women. org or email info@best4women.org.

“Serengeti Under the Stars” was named People’s Choice at Capitola Soroptimist’s “Bras for a Cause Goes on Safari” fundraiser.

Contributed photo

‘One-stop shop’ for internships New website expected to launch in January

By TODD GUILD APTOS — In the past, college students looking for internships, and the companies offering them, had a rough go of it, forced to spend hours scouring several websites.

When an as-yet unnamed website launches in January, however, that legwork will no longer be necessary.

The site, which tentatively has been called “Monterey Bay Internship Portal,” was described as “a one-stop” internship shop for businesses, students and local colleges and universities.

Users can search for internships by job type or by location, while employers will be able to browse resumes. Both sides can

rate each other.

Funded by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and created by a team of local techies, the site has a local focus that will allow young people to get handson experience with Santa Cruz County companies.

“Keeping some of the brain trust here in the community is vital to the economic vitality of Santa Cruz County,” CFSCC Chief Executive Officer Lance Linares said.

“A good internship benefits both parties,” he added.

The site will replace Cabrillo College’s internship portal, and will work in conjunction with the UC Santa Cruz

SlugQuest site.

“I love it,” Cabrillo President Laurel Jones said. “It’s yet another opportunity to connect education and business.”

The project was funded through a $30,000 grant from CFSCC. Organizers have also secured a grant that will pay for ongoing maintenance, and will keep the website free for both job seekers and employees for two years.

Organizers will evaluate the site after the initial two-year period and how it will be funded into the future, said Robert Singleton, who helped develop the site.

“For the foreseeable future, we don’t want to put up barriers,” Singleton said.

He said he has found himself on both

sides of the internship search.

He is a policy analyst for the Santa Cruz Business Council and founder of the website Civinomics.

He is also a former UC Santa Cruz student who once sought his own internships, and is now an employer who now occasionally looks for interns.

“We think this will serve as a central place for people to get internships,” Singleton said.

••• The Monterey Bay Internship Portal is expected to launch in January. For information, call the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County at 6622000.

November 2015

4 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

DRIVE FOR SCHOOLS

S.C. HANDWEAVERS

LIBRARY ANNOUNCMENT

Local fiber artists show off their threads

Santa Cruz Public Libraries announces partnership with e-book provider Staff report APTOS —The Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL), a network of 10 neighborhood library branches throughout Santa Cruz County, announced a partnership with Total BooX. An e-book service, it will provide 50,000 ebook titles to SCPL patrons without quantity limitations, holds, expirations or fines.

With the use of the Total BooX e-book app, library patrons gain access to a wide range of fiction and nonfiction categories, which can be downloaded to Android, Kindle, iPad and iPhone. People may download an unlimited number of titles and read them offline. The book remains on these devices until deleted.

“SCPL is proud to bring this innovative service to its patrons,” said Janis O’Driscoll, interim director of Santa Cruz Public Libraries. “Total BooX will increase the volume of digital reading materials available and make it easier to access that material on tablets and smartphones.”

Total BooX has a nonfiction collection with titles to support small business and technology, including programing, web design and UX e-books. The service also offers fiction books, as well as titles on advice and leisure, arts and design, biography and memoirs, travel, religion, romance, economics, cooking and food, family and relationships, health and wellness, humor, poetry and more.

Total BooX was founded on the concept of freedom of access, that anyone at anytime should be able to read any book.

“We want to forever change the relationship between people and books and base it on a new paradigm suitable for the digital age,” said Yoav Lorch, Founder and CEO of Total BooX. “Ours is the only e-book service truly focused on reading. We eliminate all barriers separating books and readers, invite people to read and be rewarded based on the actual reading done.”

The new service is available now.

Staff report

Drive for Schools breaks record Staff report SANTA CRUZ — Drive for Schools, the largest school fundraiser in Santa Cruz County, broke sales records this year, bringing in $630,000 for 82 local schools. Sponsored by the Capitola Auto Mall Dealer Group and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Drive for Schools has now raised $4.07 million for Santa Cruz County schools since it was started by Subaru of Santa Cruz in 2005.

Glafira Castillo of Watsonville was the Grand Prize winner with the choice of a new Toyota Prius, Subaru Outback, or $25,000 cash. Castillo purchased her winning ticket from Watsonville High, her son’s school. The full list of prize winners is posted on beachboardwalk.com/driveforschools.

For the first time this year, schools in each category (High School, Jr. High School, and Elementary) were recognized for their high earnings. This year’s biggest fundraisers were Soquel High School ($37,371); Mission Hill Junior High ($9,135); and Valencia Elementary ($25,725). Tierra Pacifica ($26,600), a small K-8 charter school, received a special Spirit Award for their results. The schools will be awarded trophies to keep until next year.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Capitola Auto Mall Dealer Group share the cost of the car and other cash prizes and donate staff time to organize and run the fundraiser. Hundreds of school volunteers coordinate their school’s ticket sales. Dozens of local businesses donate prizes for the event. Tickets and posters are printed by Mission Printers in Santa Cruz.

APTOS — Come watch weavers, spinners and braiders demonstrate fiber techniques while you do your holiday shopping at the Santa Cruz Handweavers 2nd Annual Guild Sale. There will be a wide selection of woven, felted and spun items created by Guild members, as well as a yarn for knitting, crochet, lace or other fiber projects.

Greeting cards embellished with hand-worked textiles and ethnic fabrics, household linens, felted and hand-loomed clothing, hand-spun and handdyed skeins, art yarn and many cones of weaving and knitting yarns will be available for purchase.

Equipment for sale will include spinning wheels, tapestry and floor looms, and locally made looms for card weaving, braiding and twining.

The sale will be held Saturday, Nov. 14 from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Drive.

The Guild’s volunteer community outreach, sponsors the Monday Weavers, a.k.a. “The Yarnettes,” a group of weavers that are visually-impaired.

The Santa Cruz Handweavers Guild is in its 60th year of providing workshops and education for textile lovers in the greater Monterey Bay area. Visit www. santacruzhandweavers.org for a list of meetings through June 2016. Meetings are free to the public, and the community at large is welcome.

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November 2015

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 5

EXCELLENCE AWARD

PLEIN AIR

SURFER’S PATH

Community Foundation receives national award Staff report APTOS — Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, along with two other institutions, received the first-time Excellence in Innovation Award from the Foundation Center, New York.

The Community Foundation was selected from among the more than 450 global partners of the Foundation Center. The award recognizes network partners that are “translating their affiliation with the Foundation Center into creative solutions for their local communities” and demonstrating “exceptional achievement in innovation.”

The two other network partners getting the award were The Public Library of New London, Connecticut and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, North Carolina.

Since 2006, the Community Foundation has been a partner of the Foundation Center. The network is made up of libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers found across the U.S. and around the world. Network partners provide a suite of tools and resources consisting of Foundation Center databases, publications and a variety of supplementary materials and services in areas useful to grantseekers.

The Foundation Center, established in 1956, is billed as a leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide.

Maggie Renner Hellmann explains her artwork to onlookers. Contributed

Plein Air event comes to Capitola Staff report CAPITOLA — The City of Capitola Art & Cultural Commission is hosting “The Magic of Capitola en Plein Air,” its first annual juried competition, exhibition, and sale of Plein Air artworks created in Capitola.

It is a free event, with hands-on art-making for all visitors, live music, and dozens of local and regional artists selling their works and competing for the top prize.

On the first Saturday of November, dozens of professional and amateur artists will paint en plein air in varied mediums, outdoors, throughout Capitola, at locations including New Brighton Beach, Depot Hill, the Esplanade, and the Jewel Box. The public is invited to view those artists in action, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Then on Sunday, Nov. 8 from noon-6 p.m., a host of events, including the Public-Art Pop-Up Tent, where teaching Artists from the Mariposa’s Art program (a program of The Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County) will provide everything needed to make art happen.

For information, visit capitolapleinair.com.

“A Spoonful of Kindness - 2015” Fundraiser to support the mission of

St. Francis Catholic Kitchen & Jesus Mary Joseph Home

November 14th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. For this event, come to Holy Cross hall in Santa Cruz.

SOUP & SALAD with DESSERT, served by Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane & Chief of Police Kevin Vogel Survivor: Africa contestant Lex Van Den Berghe & other celebrity guests.

POP–UP MARKET by RISING INTERNATIONAL

LIVELY COUNTRY MUSIC by “Gin and The Tonics.”

DELUXE SILENT AUCTION & RAFFLE

Purchase $25 event tickets at the door or online at brownpapertickets.com & search for “A Spoonful of Kindness” St Francis Catholic Kitchen / JMJ Home is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) charitable non-profit, serving the destitute in Santa Cruz since 1983.

Contributed

Surfer’s Path returns Staff report CAPITOLA — The second annual Surfer’s Path 10k & 5k takes place Sunday, Nov. 8 in Santa Cruz and Capitola.

Runners and walkers will be treated to beachfront and ocean bluff views of the Monterey Bay along the Santa Cruz County coastline. Participants travel the Surfer’s Path, passing world famous surf breaks.

This event features a beach front finish in the heart of Capitola Village.

For information, visit www.runsurferspath.com or email info@lifestyleescapes.com.

November 2015

6 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

Fossil Lesson

Continued from page 1

features of the fossils, they were tasked with deducing the life and times of the organisms in question: Where did they ive? What did they eat?

The lesson was a way for the students o see how fossils can give scientists a glimpse of the changing biodiversity over he millennia.

But the brief foray into paleontology was part of a program designed to spark an interest in science among young people using a topic many children find enjoyable, said Bruce MacFadden, the ead investigator for the Great American Biotic Interchange Research Experiences for Teachers (GABI RET), a program that brings teachers on experiential scientific study trips.

“Kids love fossils,” MacFadden said.

“It’s a gateway to science, and I love seeing kids get excited about science.”

MacFadden is also a University of Florida professor on sabbatical who is developing similar lesson plans for every grade K-12, with hopes of implementing hem in schools throughout the U.S. The program also fits with Next

Small Business

Generation Science Standards, which along with Common Core have changed the way educators across the U.S. are teaching.

Also as part of the GABI RET program, MacFadden takes teachers on fossil-finding trips to Panama, a country considered important by paleontologists.

That’s because it is essentially a land bridge connecting two landmasses that were brought together over the millennia.

Studying fossils there give scientists a glimpse into how living things migrate through time.

The program is the brainchild of Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Gary Bloom, who on a volunteer trip to Panama discovered a team of researchers studying fossils unearthed as workers widened the Panama Canal.

Working with MacFadden, Bloom applied for and received funding for three years, which included the cost of the teachers’ trip and helping them plan and implement lessons upon their return.

One of those teachers is Mar Vista thirdgrade teacher Colleen Riggen.

She said she wanted to go on the trip to

Continued from page 1

been supported since 2010 by American Express. Last year, $14.3 billion was spent at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday, providing an economic boon as retailers and other sellers entered the holiday shopping season.

Across Santa Cruz County, 82 percent of businesses have nine or fewer employees.

Nearly 97 percent of local employers meet the Small Business Administration’s definition of a small business with 50 or

fewer employees.

Sign-up is free. Each business that signs up will receive participation materials and be recognized among Small Business Saturday businesses. Shoppers will receive discounts by having sales taxes covered by participating businesses.

If your business would like to participate, email Mason at Barbara.mason@ santacruzcounty.us.

Students at Mar Vista Elementary School in Aptos examine a sampling of fossils.

Photo by Tarmo Hannula

help her spark her interest in science, and to help her bolster her science program in her classroom.

Winter Workshop Hibble said residents and businesses are encouraged to plan ahead should the storm be as powerful as predicted.

Families are also encouraged to bring their children to the free event.

The County of Santa Cruz is offering a number of tips to help people be prepared: • Keep your property’s drainage ways clear.

• Develop an emergency/evacuation plan.

• Prepare emergency supplies; nonperishable food, water, flashlights, manual can opener, batteries, batteryoperated radio and a first aid kit.

“I learned what it’s like as a student to be taking on a new concept like fossils,” she said.

Continued from page 1

• Sign up for “Code Red” emergency phone notifications at www.scr911. org.

• Report clogged storm drains or major flooding in your area to the Department of Public Works at 4542160.

• Sandbags will be available at fire stations throughout the county.

• Avoid driving.

• Avoid low-lying areas.

For information, visit www.santacruzcounty.us/elnino.

REGISTER-PAJARONIAN Subscription Special (Normal price $38.25)

Offer Valid For New Subscribers Only

To take advantage of this offer, please call

This offer is good through 11/30/15

November 2015

History Corner

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 7 Continued from page 1

mean that his farm could support him so well that he could engage in other activities like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson whose farms, Mount Vernon and Monticello, allowed them to spend time shaping America’s future. It is obvious that Dr. Liliencrantz intended the farm to support itself handsomely.

Work on the farm began in the spring of 1886. Ten acres of olives and 25 acres of wine grapes were planted. A large number of pines were set out on the roughest and sandiest portions of the tract and a dairy of 50 cows was established. Construction of the ranch house and water supply began the following year with redwood milled on the property. By 1887, 3,000 fruit trees and an additional 70 acres of grape cuttings were planted. About 1900, a large carriage barn was built.

Dr. and Eva Liliencrantz had three children. Their daughter Edith became an architect and was a contemporary of Julia Morgan. She graduated sixth in her class from Boston Polytechnic Institute in 1900.

Edith was married at Sand Rock Farm in 1906 to Dr. Lewis Thorpe, descending the main stairs upon rose petals strewn by her young nephew Eric.

Their son Guy reportedly left for Boston to take a four-year course in civil engineering; however by 1901 he was a graduate of Bush Medical College in Chicago and had a medical practice with his father.

Their other son, Henry Tod Liliencrantz was educated at the University of California but Sand Rock Farm led him to become a rancher. While on vacation at the Aptos ranch in the 1880s he met Vicente Castro, Raphael’s son. As a favor, Don Vicente and his sons came over to brand some of Dr. Liliencrantz’s cattle and Henry Tod was hooked. He loved being around real cowboys. When Vicente Castro moved his family south to the Santa Maria area in 1900, Henry got permission to ride his horse to visit them. It was a six day ride each way and he covered about 425 miles.

He loved every minute of it.

Soon Henry was at Sand Rock Farm full time raising cattle and standard bred horses for driving, work and saddle. In addition, the farm was advertising Percheron draft horse breeding, thoroughbred Berkshire boars and pigs, grain, field peas, chickens, pumpkins by the ton, oat hay, and oak stove wood for sale.

In 1907, 130,000 gallons of cooperage (wine barrels) were added to the winery.

They had developed a steady demand in Europe for their wines. Their six horse team pulling an enormous barrel wagon was a common sight in Watsonville as their wine was shipped from Watsonville Junction. The winery closed during World War I, because their winemaker, Heinrich Schutter, was a German national and was removed from the coastal area as an enemy alien. There once was a boarding house for winery workers on the property but it later burned.

In 1908, August and Eva gifted almost half of the farm, 454 acres, to their son, Henry Tod. The following year they gifted 84 acres to their son Guy. Between 1910 and 1915 the main house was substantially enlarged in the Arts and Crafts style and by 1917 a guest house was constructed. The apple orchard was removed in 1927.

The Liliencrantz family lived on and farmed their country estate for more than 60 years, selling the property for the first time in 1947 to Alvin and Florence Waugaman who used it as a ranch to raise beef cattle.

In 1999, Lynn Sheehan, a professional chef, and Kris Sheehan, her mother and business partner, purchased the property.

They spent years restoring the property as a bed & breakfast inn and in 2001 Sand Rock Farm was included in the Santa Cruz County Historic Resource Inventory and is eligible for inclusion in the California State and National Historic Registers.

It is now 10 acres of quiet gardens and woodland. The Craftsman era home

The arts and crafts era addition to the main house. Aptos History Museum collection

The ivy covered walls of the old winery. Aptos History Museum photo

is a stunning example of the style and workmanship of the turn of the century.

From the push button wall switches to the hand-printed wall paper and antique furnishings. The original front door is curly redwood, with beveled glass and original brass hardware. The acanthus leaf sconce in the hallway is one of the original light fixtures. The dining room table seats 18.

The stained glass in the living room was carried from England. The Eastlake Style parlor mirror was an original furnishing of the Claus Spreckels mansion.

The walls of the original winery are also a feature of the property; the ivy covered walls enclose a magical space open to the sky. The Historic heart redwood carriage

barn is an excellent example of its type and one of the few remaining in the county.

In November of 2014 the property was purchased by Jen and Derek Hagglof who have remodeled and bring new energy and expertise to the property. Please join us to meet the new owners and tour this beautiful property on Sunday, Nov. 22 between 2:30-4:30 p.m. Reservations are required. A $10 donation benefits the Aptos History Museum. Much of the tour is ADA accessible but two of the three levels of the house are only accessible by stairs. The Aptos History Museum is a community service of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce.

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November 2015

November 2015

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November 2015

10 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

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November 2015

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 11

Guest Columnist

School zone safety projects

By ZACH FRIEND

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SUPERVISOR

I commonly hear from parents, and even residents that simply live near schools, that are concerned about the safety of students walking and biking to local schools. A lot of the concern surrounds speeding, lack of sidewalks or difficult pedestrian crossing near schools.

Over the last two years we have made some noticeable improvements, especially near Rio Del Mar Elementary and Bradley Elementary. Near Bradley we were able to create a new protected turn lane, significantly improving the safety for student drop-off and pick-up as well as maintaining traffic flow on Corralitos Road.

Near Rio Del Mar Elementary, we installed a new ADA accessible crosswalk at Pinehurst and Dolphin Drive so students can safely cross Dolphin. In addition, we expanded the sidewalk on Dolphin so it will no longer end for about 200 feet between Manresa and Seascape Boulevard so pedestrians will have the ability to walk on a sidewalk and crosswalk all throughout

Seascape to the school. Lastly, improved street markings noting the school zone and crossings and walkway improvements between Rio Del Mar Elementary and Clubhouse Drive were completed.

But even with these improvements, there are still a lot of concerns throughout the district about speed issues around schools. While the CHP handles all speed enforcement around county schools, and encourages neighbors to call them at 662-0511 with suggestions on where the hot spots are, we knew that we still needed to do some speed mitigation work around schools. Working with the Public Works Department, we supported a grant through the Active Transportation Program through the state to fund radar feedback signs (similar to the one we had funded on Sumner) around a number of schools in our district. I am pleased to announce that Public Works was successful in obtaining this grant! Specifically, we received funding for: Amesti Elementary: Radar speed sign on Amesti Road.

Aptos High: Two radar speed signs on Freedom Boulevard.

Aptos Junior High: Rectangular rapid

flashing beacon system on Soquel at Huntington for pedestrian safety.

Bradley Elementary: Two radar signs on Corralitos Road.

Calabasas Elementary: Radar speed sign on Calabasas Road.

Mar Vista Elementary: Two radar feedback signs on Soquel and one rectangular rapid flashing beacon system plus overhead flashing beacon system for pedestrian safety at Soquel and Heather Terrace.

Valencia Elementary: One radar sign on Trout Gulch and one on Valencia.

These school projects mark one of the largest investments in school safety in our district in quite some time. Meeting with traffic engineers, school district staff, law enforcement and parents we felt that investing in speed mitigation would be an important first step toward improving safety in school zones.

Public Works is going to bid in November for installation of these devices with work expected to be completed in the next few months. In the coming year we are working on additional grant funding for a speed sign on Dolphin Drive, near Rio Del Mar Elementary, a new sidewalk along

Trout Gulch near Valencia Elementary and additional pedestrian improvements throughout the district.

Your input has been essential in prioritizing these locations during the grant process and I’m looking forward to seeing these speed mitigations come to fruition soon. Please continue to reach out to the CHP to help prioritize their patrols around schools and reach out to me with additional ways I can be helpful to maintaining safety in these school zones.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please feel free to call our office at 454-2200.

Guest Columnist

Millennials and retirement •••

Obstacles

By GARY E. CROXALL, CFP® and SOREN E. CROXALL, CFP®

SALUTE

Millennials face a tough dilemma: How to balance current everyday life while looking as much as 40 years in the future for their own eventual retirement. The talk nowadays is Baby Boomers entering retirement in record numbers and how prepared (or unprepared) they are for the next phase of their lives. However, Millennials, generally defined as those born between 1982 and 2004, make up a cohort of the population which is even bigger than the Baby Boomer generation and they face their own unique challenges in how they are going to be able to save for retirement as they start to enter the workforce.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle at the forefront of many millennial’s minds is how to pay back the student loans they owe. According to a 2015 study released by the Wall Street Journal, the average college grad will owe $35,000 in student loans by the time they walk across the stage to collect their diploma. Almost 71 percent of bachelor degree recipients will have a student loan when they graduate.

This compares to 64 percent 10 years ago.

In addition to this, wages have been stagnating for many years and employer benefits are not what they used to be. So not only are Millennials graduating with debt on their backs, their wages are often lower than what others earned in years past.

Also, as we have discussed in previous articles, employers have gotten away from the traditional pension plans and moved toward retirement plans where employees are expected to fund the majority of their own accounts.

Trying to service student loan debt on top of everyday living expenses while having stagnant wages, it’s easy to see why Millennials can make saving for a retirement a low priority. However, by putting off saving, they are giving up their biggest asset: being able to take advantage of compounding over a long period of time.

Solutions

•••

As soon as Millennials sign their first job offer, they should establish a realistic budget and stick to it. A budget is useless unless it is actually followed. Part of the budget should be some sort of monthly savings, even if it’s $50 per month to a retirement plan. Millennials should also make periodic adjustments to their budget.

For example, they should try to increase how much they save for three months and see how much their lifestyle is impacted.

Most will find their lifestyle will not be impacted and they can live with the increased savings figure. It may be a small amount to start with, but the habit of saving on a regular basis is an important one.

Millennials should also take full advantage of what benefits their employers do offer. If their employer offers a match on contributions to the 401(k), employees should try and maximize contributions to get the full match available to them. Many employers also offer tuition reimbursement up to a certain amount. So if an employee is looking to take a couple classes or certification courses, they should see if their employer will reimburse for any of that cost.

There is no question that Millennials face some increased challenges as they start their working careers and eventually set their eyes on their own version of

Gary E. Croxall, CFP®

Soren E. Croxall, CFP® Croxall Capital Planning Securities and Advisory Services offered through National Planning Corporation (NPC), member FINRA/ SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor.

Consulting and Investment Management offered through Croxall Capital Planning (CCP), a Registered Investment Advisor.

CCP and NPC are separate and unrelated companies. NPC and CCP do not provide tax or legal advice. The information contained herein is for general education and is not intended as specific advice or a recommendation to any person or entity.

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of NPC.

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November 2015

12 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

NOVEMBER 2015

SC’s Karst outlasts Mariners’ Eldredge, Fort The Mariners already had their season goal wrapped up.

With their second SCCAL team title in SANTA CRUZ — It didn’t mean much to any of the Aptos High Mariners that a as many years already clinched, Megan Santa Cruz High Cardinal walked away Eldredge and Amanda Fort paced the with the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Mariners at Oct. 28’s league finals by taking second and third, respectively. individual championship.

But it was Santa Cruz’s Kayla Karst, purple colored hair and all, who walked away as the league’s individual champion.

Karst shot a 97 through the 18-hole DeLaveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz to outlast Eldredge’s 102 and Fort’s 104. Karst’s older sister, Katana, took fourth after firing a 106.

“There was a lot of good girls golfing today,” said Karst, a junior. “I thought I had a chance to win.

It was really about concentrating on my game.”

Karst was the league’s lone representative at the Aptos High’s Amanda Fort follows through on her swing during the following week’s SCCAL championship at DeLaveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz.

Central Coast Photo by Tony Nunez

By TONY NUNEZ

Section championships at Rancho Canada Golf Club West Course in Carmel.

Despite winning the team title, Aptos will not advance to the CCS championships.

Only team champions from a league with six or more teams earn automatic qualification, according to the CCS bylaws — Scotts Valley High and Soquel High did not field a team this season. The Mariners will not petition for an at-large berth.

“We all improved this season,” Fort said.

“It was a fun year and that’s what matters the most.”

Santa Cruz, Aptos and Harbor High were the lone schools represented Oct. 28.

The Karst sisters were the only Cardinals on hand, Roselyn Marc (120) showed for the Pirates and Maya Capurro-Frosch (128), Italia Ricabona (198) and Gianna Marinshaw (116) joined Eldredge and Fort in representing the Mariners. San Lorenzo Valley High did not send a golfer.

Only those who had a shot at the title and could handle the four-plus hour workload made the trip — the teams play only the front six in their regular season league meetings.

Eldredge got off to a quick start for Aptos with a birdie on the par-3 3rd hole before she ran into some trouble on the back nine.

It was the exact opposite for Karst. The junior golfer 10-stroked the par-5 first hole and dug herself into a five-stroke deficit before she turned it around on the back nine. She birdied 13th and earned pars on the next three to shoot a tournament-low

43 through the final nine holes.

Karst said she had only played the full 18 at DeLaveaga “four or five” times.

“But I think it was four or five times more than anyone else,” she added.

Aptos finished 5-1 overall losing only to Santa Cruz High in their first meeting this season. Not much was expected of the Mariners after losing last year’s coindividual champion Tai Li Harrill and fellow senior Stephanie Buecheler. But despite having only one senior on the team, the Mariners won the team title for the second year in a row.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” said head coach Bill Tsudama. “I’ve been blessed with a great group of girls. They’re so easy to work with and they work hard.

You can’t ask for much more from them.”

Eldredge (So.), Fort (So.), Ricabona (Fr.) and Marinshaw (So.) will all return for the Mariners, though Tsudama, who has been Aptos’s head coach for the last five years, will make way for assistant Tim Eldredge to take over as the lead man next season.

“I’m excited,” said Eldredge, who is Megan’s father. “We’ll start preparing for the next season in the coming months and help the girls get better.”

When asked what they could improve over the offseason, Megan made it clear: “Everything, really. There’s always things you can work on and get better at.”

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November 2015

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 13

November 2015

14 - LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel

y t i n u m m Co r a d n e l a C Nov. 3

Art and Play in Pre and K

Parents of toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten age children are invited to come for a morning of activities with your child(ren) at the Mount Madonna School Preschool and Kindergarten from 9:30-11 a.m.

RSVPs encouraged. Contact Benna Dimig at (408) 846-4042 or benna. dimig@mountmadonna.org.

Nov. 10

Networking lunch

The Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce will hold a networking lunch at Bargetto Winery, 3535 N. Main St. in Soquel, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is $20 for chamber members, or $25 for non-members.

For reservations, call 475-6522.

Nov. 14

Nov. 7

Albacore dinner

The Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project, a nonprofit volunteer organization seeking to restore the native salmon and steelhead trout population in the Monterey Bay area, and the Castroville Rotary Club are having their 38th annual fundraising albacore dinner. The event will be held at the Castroville Recreation Center, 11261 Crane St. in Castroville.

No-host cocktails begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door. Admission is $18 for adults, and $10 for kids age 12 and under. For information, call Larry Wolf, Board Treasurer, at 688-4257.

Nov. 11

Thad Beckman CD release party

Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Thad Beckman will release his new CD and will perform a solo acoustic show at the Ugly Mug, 4060 Soquel Drive, at 7 p.m. Admission is $15. For information, visit: thadbeckman.com.

APTOS

SOQUEL

CAPITOLA

November

Nov. 7-21

Nov. 10

The Cabrillo Theatre Arts Department presents the world premiere of Kaufman and Perri’s original musical “It’s A Wonderful Life,” performing at the Cabrillo Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Drive in Aptos. Admission is $20 general, $18 students, and $15 Cabrillo SAC card holders. For information, visit www.cabrillovapa. com.

‘You’ve Got the Power to Plan for Stormy Weather’ mixer

‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

Nov. 12

Breakfast meeting

The Aptos Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly breakfast meeting at Best Western Seacliff Inn, 7500 Old Dominion Court in Aptos, from 7:309 a.m. Dr. Laurel Jones, president and superintendent of Cabrillo College, will be the guest speaker. Admission is $20 for chamber members, $25 for non-chamber members. For reservations, call 688-1467.

‘A Spoonful of Kindness 2015’

“A Spoonful of Kindness 2015,” fundraiser for St Francis Catholic Kitchen & Jesus Mary Joseph Home, will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Holy Cross Church hall in Santa Cruz. The event features a soup lunch with celebrity servers, live music, pop-up market, silent auction and raffle. Proceeds will benefit the local soup kitchen and shelter. $25 tickets available at the door or at brownpapertickets.com under “A Spoonful of Kindness.” For information, call 425-0845.

Nov. 21

Mount Madonna School Open House

Mount Madonna School will hold an open house at 11 a.m., featuring a student panel, classroom tours and a family garden party. For information, contact Benna Dimig at (408) 846-4042 or benna.dimig@mountmadonna.org.

The Aptos Chamber of Commerce will hold a mixer from 5-6:30 p.m. at Best Western Seacliff Inn, featuring representatives from PG&E. Aptos/ La Selva Fire Department, Santa Cruz County Public Works, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Department, Lewis Tree Service, Joe’s Window and Gutter Cleaning, Orchard Supply Hardware, Riverside Lighting and Renee Davidson with State Farm Insurance, to discuss disaster and storm preparedness.

Nov. 28

Holiday Boutique

Aptos United Methodist Church will host its annual Holiday Boutique from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the church campus, 221 Thunderbird Drive, Seascape. Signs will direct shoppers from Highway 1 to the site. Church members and outside vendors will offer a variety of gifts, Christmas decorations, plants, baked goods, and jams for sale.

Nov. 12 NAMI benefit

NAMI Santa Cruz County will hold a benefit event from 5-7:30 p.m. at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, 7807 Soquel Drive in Aptos. The event includes a drawing for a Kauai vacation, silent auction, special guest speakers, wine/beer, food and music. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) provides education, support and advocacy for those affected by mental illness.

For information, visit www.celebrate. namiscc.org.

Nov. 28 Surfin’ Santa

Surfin’ Santa will return to Capitola Village form noon to 3 p.m.

Guest Columnist

Aptos Real Estate November Update

By RUTH BATES 2015-to-date (through Oct. 27) continued to be an up-year for Real Estate prices in Aptos. The Average Sales Price for a Single-Family Home in Aptos in 2015 has grown to $943,221 from $897,701 for 2014 and $776,962 in 2013. That is a 21 percent increase in two years! 271 homes have sold so far this year; 203 sold below $1 million (75 percent of total sales). 46

homes sold from $1.0-$1.5 million, 10 sold from $1.5-$2.0 million, 10 sold for $2.0-$3.0 million, 2 sold above $3M. The highest sale was $4,100,000 for 962 Via Palo Alto – single level ocean front home.

The lowest sale was at 626 Bonita, a two bed, 1 bath, 856 sq. ft. home which was part of the Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing program and sold for $361,414.

The mix of homes sold under $1 million is $900K-$1M=34 homes (17 percent), $800-$900K=51 homes (25 percent), $700-$800K=43 homes (21 percent), $600-$700K=47 homes (23 percent), $500-$600K=21 homes (10 percent) and <$500K=7 homes (3 percent). Average days on market for these homes was 32 days.

On the condo/townhome front, 81 homes have sold so far this year. Condo Average Sales price is $538,380 on Average List price of $538,377 – so condos are selling at 100 percent of list price. Townhome Average Sales price

was $583,037 on Average List price of $582,856 so Townhomes are selling at just a splish above 100 percent of list price.

Average days on market for these homes is 31 days.

We are entering the “slow” season for real estate and Aptos is no exception. There were 57 homes sales in the 1st quarter (Jan.-Mar.), 99 sales in the 2nd (Apr.Jun.), 99 sales in the 3rd (Jul.-Sep.) and only 16 sales so far in October – leading to an expectation of around 48 sales for Q4.

There are only 68 Active Listings in Aptos now, and only 27 of those are under $1 million (which means there is only about one month of inventory on the market right now in the under $1 million range).

So – we have very little inventory on hand, and what we have is not very “affordable.” Which brings me to the Aptos Village Plan, coming soon to our home town. This plan will provide 69 new homes that will be “affordable” by current Aptos standards. There will be six

semi-attached single-family homes, 11 townhomes, and 52 condos and apartments over retail space. The Village will also include retail and office space, a “Village Green” for community gatherings, a New Leaf Community Market as the anchor store, and a small park managed by the county. This plan is over 10 years in the making and will be a great addition to our community.

Interest rates remain at all-time lows.

Bankrate.com quotes 30-year Refinance rates of 3.87 percent, so if you are a homeowner and have not yet refinanced, now is the time. For new loans, the 30-year fixed rate is 3.80 percent and the 15-year rate is 2.85 percent.

El Niño is coming! For information about planning for El Niño this winter, go to www.ruthbates.com and click on the Community Blog tab at the top of the page.

Aptos is a fabulous place to live and work and to participate in community. Let’s all be prepared for winter.

November 2015

LIFE Everything Aptos, Capitola and Soquel 15

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Thanksgiving at Seascape Foods: Seascape Foods 2015 Thanksgiving Menu: $35.00 Pre-orders accepted starting November 1. Deadline for orders is Friday November 20th. A 50% Deposit is required when placing the order. Pick-ups may be made starting Wednesday, November 25 after 3pm and Thursday morning until 11:00 am. ✔ Organic baby lettuce salad with dried cranberries, Point Reyes Blue Cheese, candied pecans, and shallot vinaigrette ✔ Roast Turkey with all natural Diestel turkey w/ herbes de Provence rub and a mix of light and dark meats ✔ Savory Turkey gravy

✔ Fresh cranberry sauce with orange segments ✔ Mashed Potatoes with organic russet potatoes, roasted garlic, rosemary, fresh thyme and butter ✔ Green Beans with shallots, parsley and butter ✔ Savory herbed stuffing ✔ Organic Candied yams with brown sugar, butter, orange zest, raisins, and pecans

We are also taking orders for Gianna’s Pumpkin Pies and uncooked all-natural Diestel whole turkeys ($3.49 per pound) starting November 1. Please call 831-685-3134 to place order.

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