Meeting 9/2/2015
Minutes of Rotary Club of SLV
September 2, 2015
Members in attendance: Janet, Don, Julie, Heather, Joe, Judy, Karen, Heather, Laurie, Steve, Linda, Carole, and Mike. Guests: Mountains Parks (Dave, Brenda) and Tom from Santa Cruz Rotary.
Guest Speaker: Traci Bliss, Henry Cowell State Park.
President Mike opened the meeting with the flag salute, introductions and thought for the day.
Announcements:
- Barrel Wrap Sept. 26
- River Clean-up Sept. 19
- Sept. 9 bring socks for MCR – anyone bringing socks may throw them at President Mike
Charlie was the Detective.
Guest Speaker: Local Historian, Traci Bliss, Saving the Ancient Redwoods
Jennie Bliss (Jeter) arrived in Santa Cruz in the 1880s. She often painted the redwoods and was concerned by the excessive logging in the mountains. Jennie encouraged her husband, Will (WT) Jeter to become active in saving the redwoods in Felton. The virgin redwoods were primarily on private property owned by the Welch family. WT was quite accomplished (the first democratic district attorney in Santa Cruz, mayor of Santa Cruz, president of SC National Bank) and has been given credit for bringing President Cleveland to the Santa Cruz County to see the redwoods. In 1896, WT becomes Lieutenant Governor. Jennie does not move to Sacramento with him but keeps pushing him to protect the redwoods. Jennie and WT Jeter organized several large conferences (1500 people each) in the grove to bring attention on this area.
In the spring of 1900, the Santa Cruz business association began the movement to save Big Basin. Will Jeter was working behind the scenes representing and negotiating with the business community, the logging community and the Sempervirens. Will and Jennie would take camping trips to the redwoods and would often invite influential friends along on these trips. SC Rotary (founded in 1922) invited Rotary International to hold their annual conference in the Santa Cruz. This brought both national and international attention to the county.
In 1928, the SC Rotary Club launched an official meeting of all the local service clubs to help make the Welch property public land. The Welch family agreed to sell the property for $150,000. The county supervisors put in $75,000 and WT Jeter committed to raising the other $75,000. Shortly after, WT is diagnosed with cancer. Joseph Welch, Jr. is invited to say his good-byes to WT, and it is Joseph Welch, Jr. who donates $50,000 to purchase his family land. In 1930, the county purchases the Welch property, and operations are turned over to Santa Cruz County.
In 1938, Rotary holds a convention in SF and 500 visiting Rotarians come to the park. Paul Harris is one of the visitors and a redwood tree is dedicated to Rotary and world peace. Finally, in 1950, Henry Cowell donates the adjacent 1700 acres of second growth redwoods to the State of California, on the condition that the two parks (Cowell and Welch) are combined into one park and it is named Henry Cowell State Park. Traci answered questions at the end of her presentation.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:36.
Minutes respectfully submitted by J. Haff