Shipwreck of the DeLong at HMB, Dec. 1922 (1)

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From the Coastside Comet:

“The United States destroyer, DeLong probably has found its final resting place on the beach a mile south of Halfmoon Bay.

“Hopelessly grounded in shallow water, with two rocky reefs behind her and hindering her chances of eer being dragged into deep water, Destroyer ‘129’ probably willl remain on the beach to distinegration.

“The powerful sez tugs, Sea Ranger and Sea Monarch, after standing nearby for many hours, have been recalled. They were unable to get a line aboard the stranded vessel. The combined efforts of tugs Sea Ranger, Sea Monarch and Undaunted, and the cruiser Frederick probably would have been futile, as it would be an almost impossible feat to drag the stranded vessel over the two reefs to safety….”

“to be continued…

Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (3)

He may have been Theodore to the world, but when they were alone Mildred affectionately called him “Tad.”

The young Iowa-bred couple had much in common. Similiar childhood experiences gave them a special understanding of each other. Tad knew how to comfort Mildred, emotionally scarred by the loss of her mother, who died of complications during Mildred’s birth. He had suffered similar grief losing his parents as a small child. They thought of themselves as “orphans,” providing inner strength for these “soul mates.”

It was not radom choice that led Theodore to Stanford. He had joined his younger and more ambitious brother, Herbert, also enrolled as an engineering student. Herbert excelled in the fields of geology and mining, and, like his older brother, he too fell in love with and married a gal from their home state of Iowa.

….to be continued…

Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (2)

In 1899, Mildred Brooke, a schoolteacher from Iowa, and Theodore, an engineering student at Stanford, also from Iowa, were to be wed in a Palo Alto church.

Once the young couple had set the date, things moved quickly. The day before the wedding found Mildred on a train speeding from Iowa to California. As the train raced through the changing scenery, click-clacking closer to the big day, she passed the hours chatting with newfound friends.

Bubbling over, she described her soon-to-be husband: Reserved but a good raconteur, under the right circumstances, the life of the party.

When Mildred got off the train in California on June 6, she handed the new friends her “visiting” card. It read: “After tomorrow in Palo Alto as Mrs. Theodore Hoover.”

…to be continued…

Early South Coast Conservationist: Theodore Hoover (I)

“You have had a half-century of splendid companionship and have the memories of them: for forty years you have had the beautiful, modest, dark-eyed Mildred of Penn College as a treasure in your keeping: treasure these memories and recount them.”

–John Jessup in a letter to Theodore Hoover upon the death of his beloved wife.

The passing of Mildrew Crew Brooke Hoover in Palo Alto in 1940 left husband Theodore desolate. How painful the loss was. He wondered if and how he could continued without her.

…to be continued…