In addition to serving as Mayor of Morro Bay, Janice is a professional photographer, Coordinator of the Winter Bird Festival, and co-author of a new series of childrens books.
January 15 - 18, 2010
Special Guest Speakers: Rosalie Winard and Lars Tomanek - 866 464-5105
Photo by Janice Peters: Scarlett Sky
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DISCOVERING MORRO BAY
by Janice Peters, Mayor
This is my second column about how people chose to move to Morro Bay. It's interesting that many of the women are single and chose to come here for the quality of life, even though there aren't a whole lot of single men around. Guess we're either happy in our independence or like the challenge! Next month I'll have stories from folks who grew up here and can tell us what that was like.
Robert Fuller Davis
I visited my sister at Cal Poly in 1966. We drove to Morro Bay, toured the bay on Tiger's Folly, and I bought a Dreyer's ice cream cone in the grocery store next to the little motel on the Embarcadero. For dinner that night, we had a huge platter of abalone that my sister's boy friend caught at Spooner's Cove. Next day we drove to Pismo, out onto the beach with a thousand other people, and dug up our limit of clams, in what seemed at the time like a never-ending harvest.
Lori French
The first time I visited Morro Bay was in the mid-60's on a school camping trip. Our school was three rooms with 50 kids, and my brothers and sisters where 5 of the 50. I remember cold and fog in the State Park. We got a tour of the Cannery and a little old lady showed us how to pound abalone. Years later I worked for the Cannery and Orval Leage. The little old lady was his mother, Agnes Leage.
I never really decided to move to Morro Bay, it was decided for me. I met my husband Jeff, a commercial fisherman, in a poultry class at Cal Poly. Jeff used to come to class either right off the boat or right after surfing. I came to class exhausted from working full time and taking a full load at Poly. Somehow a romance developed, I became engaged to the most honest, hardworking man I know and never left Morro Bay.
Karen Robert
My first glimpse of Morro Bay was when I came for my interview in May 1989 to become Cuesta College's first Director of Student Development. I stayed at the beautiful La Serena Inn in Morro Bay. That first glance left it's impression, and upon moving to the Central Coast that July, I chose Morro Bay because of the fishing village character, the magnificent ROCK and quiet beaches. Also, because its' people value local activism, I have been able to be involved in Destination 2000, the Recreation and Parks Commission, Morro Bay Pups, Friends of the Library, and Morro Bay Community Pool Foundation.
Bob Dickson
I first "discovered" Morro Bay back in the mid-sixties when we vacationed in the Morro Bay State Park campground. After a couple of days eating hot dogs and hamburgers we ventured into town for fish'n'chips. I remember sitting at a waterfront restaurant enjoying the peaceful ambiance of the bay, thinking what a wonderful change from the hustle of the Los Angeles area where we lived.
In following years we vacationed in the San Diego area, the Pacific Northwest, and Hawaii. But, when in 1985 it became time for me to retire, there was no question about where we wanted to live - it had to be Morro Bay!
Ruth Ann Angus
What I remember about Morro Bay the first time I visited is The Rock, naturally, and all the birds! That was in the Fall of 1968, and I spent weeks of time here from then on. In 1987 I moved here permanently from Los Angeles. I became the first telecommuter for Union Bank and took the job to Morro Bay with me, writing procedure manuals for bank operations out of my home for three years. Then I was laid off and found out how hard it is to make a living here!
What made me decide to move here was the combination of excellent natural surroundings, birds, birds, birds; agriculture, cows, cows, cows; and the interesting fun small towns. A lot of our natural sites have remained viable and wonderful, which keeps me here.
The small town quality and quaintness of Morro Bay is disappearing. It's getting a lot like Southern California and I'm sorry to see that happening. I think one day I will be totally priced out of living here and already I am searching for where my next place will be.
Penny Harrington
The first time I saw Morro Bay was in 1998. I wanted to retire from my full time job and become a consultant and I wanted to move out of the Los Angeles area. Each weekend, I would drive to a different area of the California coast, looking for where I would like to live. When I drove in to Morro Bay, I knew it was the place for me. It was beautiful and I loved the small town feel of it. The Rock was awesome and the services were great.
I went back to Glendale and put my home on the market. Much to my surprise, it sold in a week and I needed a new home fast! I called Jerry Gregory, a Morro Bay realtor, and he found my beautiful home in Morro Heights. I moved here in July 1999 and plan to spend the rest of my life here.
I love the people, the beauty, the services, and the weather (most of the time). Since I moved here, I built a 2nd home on my property and my son and his family now live next door. The delight of my life is my 6-year-old granddaughter, Aine.
I did establish my consulting business, which was very profitable, and then I started a business selling crystals and gemstones at Beads By the Bay. I love it here!
Hershel Parker
We had been in the East for 19 years. We could not afford Los Angeles or San Francisco, so we started working north from LA and south from SF until we could find a beautiful place we could afford. Very important in the decision was the fact that San Luis Obispo had passed anti-smoking laws before many other communities did. We got here just in time, in 1998, and bought our house two days later. (We rented on Ramona in Los Osos for the first two months and had constant septic tank problems so we knew why the blackberries across the road in the swamp were enormous!)
The best thing about living in Morro Bay is the Pacific Ocean and the long stretch of State beach. Next best thing is Montana de Oro. After that the "North Forty"- the stretch of coastline beyond Cayucos, and other parts of SLO County, from the Plain to the top of Cerro Alto to Harmony Headlands.
Also wonderful were the great shopkeepers who did things the old way. One man could rewire a lamp so it would last you lifetime, and he still had some of his father's brass fittings from the 1920s - so I gave Jerry S. a lot of business, one lamp after another. Hollis in the machine shop could cut, twist, and invent anything. We still have a cobbler left, the owner of the most magnificent leather apron in California. When he retires, there is no replacing him.
We also enjoy a small group of civic-minded activists (who seem tireless, but who really get very tired) that keep on working for the public good.
Ani Lyne
I remember how soothing and healing the area was the first time I visited Morro Bay in 1973. I had just lost my son, he was a stillbirth. My parents and aunts and uncles had moved to Morro Bay and my 3-year-old daughter was staying with my parents while I was in the hospital. I came to pick her up. I remember standing on the dock just looking at the water holding my daughter in my arms and wishing I could live here. I was married then and had to do what was best for my husband and his work.
I was divorced in 1985 and decided there was no reason not to move to this area. I wanted to raise my children in what I felt was a healthier area than the San Fernando Valley. At that time I rented a place in Cayucos, but found myself in Morro Bay on weekends.
I have traveled through 47 of our 50 states and I found Morro Bay to be one of the friendliest towns I have visited.
Linda S
The first time I came to Morro Bay, I was in my early teens, on a family vacation focused on a tour of California missions. From that trip, I primarily remember the Rock.
I wanted to find a place by the ocean where I could afford to retire early. I did research on the Internet and focused in on this area, and some of the small towns in the San Diego area. I found that with the equity in my Mill Valley house, I would be able to come here and just write a check for a house - no mortgage - with money left over. Some of the things I hate are so wonderfully absent - over development, "condo ghettos," and traffic. The things I like are here - ideal climate (not too hot or too cold), the ocean and beach, casual atmosphere, quaint cottages, and the small town look and feel.
Johnny Gunn
We used to weekend here, from the 50's to the 90's. One of us said, "When we retire let's go up to one of those bleak, misty towns on The Central Coast where nobody wants to live." Here we are, for 11+ years and lovin' it!
A thing I know that nobody else knows: Linn's and House of Pies may be good, but The Hungry Fisherman pies, made daily, from scratch, are the best! Flakey, short, not wet, not doughy, crusty crust and lots of pure fruit. Consistent too, since the owners are the bakers.
On a recent walk around town I spotted the new Deli sign on Bottle Liquor, corner of Main and Dunes, downtown. What a surprise! Manager Rick is always working. An entire side of the interior is now brand new, beautiful, stainless steel. We have a real deli! Soon, maybe even chopped chicken-liver and Dr. Brown's celery tonic. Corned beef on rye, you're asking? Are Nate and Al Jewish? Is Cantor's on Farifax? (For those not from LA, Nate & Al's is the famous Deli To The Stars in Beverly Hills, and Cantor's is the oldest deli on Fairfax, the most Kosher Street in LA.)
Jenny Brantlee
I remember first visiting glorious Morro Rock when I was 5 years old, which was 36 years ago. My parents took me and my older sister to the movies at the Bay Theater, and I thought it was the BEST! I summered here in my early twenties, and the Harbor Street Odd Fellows Hall recovery meetings became central to my life. When I returned 6 years ago, I prayed the Bay Theater and the IOOF Hall would still be around and recognizable . . . they were, and still are, and I've stayed for good.
Barbara-Jo Osborne
Here is what I love everyday:
I live in a town where the Police Department puts Christmas decorations up each year; where we decorate a tree in our little park and where the Fire and Police Departments have a Christmas parade in every neighborhood over several nights. Also at Christmas, we have a noticeably unrehearsed boat parade, where sometimes the boats do "synchronized donuts" for several minutes.
I live in a town where you can park anywhere you need to park, for FREE.
We have one big movie theatre that plays only one movie at a time, where the popcorn is cheap and it has real butter (from a cow), and where the price of admission to a first run movie is about half what it is elsewhere.
Popeye Thornber
I first visited Morro Bay for a weekend in the summer of 1946 when I was 9-years-old. I was the guest of adult friends and their son, my grade school chum, who had a house on the east edge of town . . . maybe at the corner of Pecho and Kings. I remember the Fish Bowl as a walk-up stand that vended fish and chips to tourists and locals. I'm pretty sure it wasn't yet called "Fish Bowl."
We drove into San Luis and when we went by the army camp, it was fully active. There were soldiers on the north side of the 2-lane Highway 1 doing shooting practice and tossing grenades. I don't recall any grenades exploding, but there was rifle fire at targets.
I weekend visited a couple more times during 1958 and 1959, and moved to a house on Mesa Street in June of 1960. I was working for the California Division of Highways, Bridge Department, and assigned to bridge construction in Atascadero, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, and Cambria Pines.
I had a history of construction experience and a garage full of tools, and I became very interested in the yacht construction behind the Fish Bowl Restaurant in April of 1964. I volunteered my help and was so happy to be allowed to participate in the construction and eventual launching and sailing of the yacht owned by Jack and Shirley Peters, owners of the Fish Bowl. I'm including photos of the early stages of construction.
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| That is Dorn's at the upper left. Note the sign for MALLARD FISHING. That is on the Fish Bowl property, as the Mallard used to dock just behind the current Fish Bowl. Where the boat is being built is actually the old driveway for the Fish Bowl drive-thru. Therefore, the boat is not in the Embarcadero parking lot, but on the Fish Bowl lot. |
This is about a year and a half later . . . late 1965. The boat on the left, already planked and painted, is the one you see the bow of in the first photo. This photo was taken from Dorn's, well before the stairway was put in and before the road was paved behind what is now Sun and Bun...(it was just a graveled delivery access) |
I really do miss the people of M.B. and wish I could visit again, soon. Hi to all and hugs all the way around.
Thanks again to all who contributed their stories. See you next month!
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