My mother,
Rachel, passed away on March 9th at about 3pm -- just her and me in her bedroom, and as sad as it was, I must say it was a mystical moment that I was honored to share & makes me feel a little less scared of dying. Please watch the previous posting to see 85 years compressed into 12 minutes -- a truly wonderful life, a woman I was lucky to call Mom.
Since then, I have been dismantling her home's contents. Mixed in with countless undone needlepoint kits, saved hotel toiletries, and every sweatshirt she ever owned, are priceless artifacts from our family history -- photos, letters, documents, all on the cusp of being forgotten -- how quickly the trail runs cold!
In a drawer full of golf balls & neatly folded Cannon towels, were my Grandpa Bernard's dossier, writings about his near-fatal bullet to the head in the Boer War, from his life and family in turn-of-the-century Japan, and photos of his life with his 2nd wife, Anita Gladding Collett. If I am piecing everything together correctly (in good Hercule Poirot fashion!), he met her on an around-the-world cruise, where he was a tour guide for Cook's Tours & she was a customer. She was either widowed or divorced, and her family owned
Gladding, McBean Pottery, which has been in business since 1875, and was the maker of Franciscanware, Catalina Tile, Fiestaware, as well as architectural details found in famous buildings worldwide, plus industrial terra cotta tile. The company is still in business in Lincoln, CA, north of Sacramento. My grandmother, Bernard's Japanese wife & mother of his 6 children, Kei Sato, had died in 1935, and he & Anita married in 1938. But, I digress ...
His photo album at this point shows many scenes of their lovely home at
134 Hernandez Drive, Los Gatos, and of course I had to "Zillow" this address. Lo & behold, the house still exists, and it is for sale! An open house prompted me to make the 100 mile round trip drive -- like a moth to a flame -- to see a house that only existed in a disintegrating scrapbook, with countless photos of people who now only exist in a few memori
es & tattered photos. They all looked so happy, obviously living "the good life": tea on the patio with friends, strolls through the oak forested property, adult children stopping by for a visit.
Well, the open house was a typographical error -- but the day was beautiful & I took multiple photos of the front anyway. In the years that had passed, Anita died, my Grandfather died, my father died, my brother died, my mother died, and I have driven near this location on Highway 17 hundreds of times on my way to Santa Cruz -- and silently the house sat waiting for my visit.
As luck would have it, the owners were having a birthday party for their son, yet they graciously invited m
e into their home ... despite the passage of 70 years, and the fact that I h
ave never been in this home, it was instantly recognizable & felt so familiar. The Sedgwick family has owned it for 15 years, having bought it from the previous owner of 50 years -- who therefore must have bought it from Anita? The main floor boasts a beautifully remodeled & expanded kitchen, plus the rear terrace -- where so many of my grandpa's contented photos were taken -- has been enlarged & enclosed, but still affords the serene view of the sloping backyard, complete with pool & tennis court. The original 2 bedrooms are s
lightly altered but still intact, and the entire basement has been utilized into more living space & a wine cellar. Rumor & my photos suggest that Anita & possibly a sister may have had side-by-side homes*. Though I think this house may have been more modest when Anita & Bernard lived there, it was & still is a little slice of heaven!
My dad's pose here was captioned
"Joe with Tom's car" (Tom is his baby brother), about 1940 -- so he was about 27 years old & ready to take on the world.
This final photo I think enchants me the most, now that I've been to the property. The year is 1938, and my grandfather stands at the front portico of his beautiful his home. He's not the 90 year old man I knew, but a vigorous man in his prime. His b
ack is to the street and hands are on his hips like a proud homeowner ...
little does he know that behind him, standing in that same street 72 years later, is his granddaughter, peeking over his shoulder & trying to get a glimpse of his life. What a wonderful visit!
My grateful thanks to Grant Sedgwick & his family for opening their door to a total stranger -- it was an hour I'll never forget.
*Update: Anita had 2 brothers & no sisters, so maybe a sister-in-law? Mother to a little blonde waif, "Nancy", in several photos??
