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See Archive Links at bottom on this page.
January 2012
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| Marjorie Sewell in San Simeon. |
Growing
Up in San Simeon! Tuesday ~ January 17th Program starts at 6:30 pm sharp! Rabobank
Community Room, Cambria Join us for goodies starting about
6:00 pm.
Marjorie
Sewell, or Marj as she's known to many of us as we bring our Night Tour groups through the A House north bathroom...
agreed to give us a glimpse into her past life as a kid growing up in the little town of San Simeon. Marj had many fascinating
experiences to share, stories to tell, and photos to show us. It was a wonderful evening as Marj, in her 30's dress
and finger-curle hairdo, let us peak through the window of time for a look at how life was "in the day". A DVD of the presentation will
be available in the Hearst Research Library soon, in case you missed the evening or would like to experience the presentation
and photos again. This was also the first use of the HGA's new digital projection equipment which worked very well.
There were about 45 present and your HGA Board thanks all who came!
To Download the Flyer for Printing - Click Here
November
2011
San Simeon & the Start of WWII! Tuesday ~ November 15th ~ 6:15pm Program starts at 6:30 pm sharp! Rabobank
Community Room, Cambria Lip-smackin' goodies start about 6:00
pm.
We've all heard
bits and pieces about it. Preparation for WWII starts on the old Hearst Ranch, and then..... Only 16 days
after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Montebello tanker was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-21. Come see and hear what additional information George
Cartter has found out about the historic event that happened right "out there". The
talk will feature vintage photos taken by Robert Cartter in 1941 of the brand new Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.
Mark the date and join us for a fascinating evening!
EXTRA EXTRA - Faux Newspaper flyer - download it here
October
2011
A Conservator's View of Restoration Work at Hearst Castle! Tuesday ~ October 11th Rabobank Community Room, Cambria
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| Vintage view of the Sarcophagus at B House. |
Your HGA Board
presented a great opportunity to learn some of the 'alchemy'
in the conservation of art at Hearst Castle. Zdravko Barov, who has been practicing the craft
of restoration for more than 45 years, gave a behind-the-scenes look at what has been done and why, touching on aesthetic,
ethical and scientific issues. He talked about earthquake repair, detection of rare painted detail, and finding the
quarry of an ancient sarcophagus! The DVD of
the presentation by Zdravko Barov and Constance Faber is in the Library for checkout. If you have ideas for other programs through this season,
please let your HGA Board know.
Historic Restoration - Download Flyer
September 2011
Meet the New HGA Board Food Share Potluck! Tuesday ~ Sept 20th ~ 6:00 pm Rabobank Community Room, Cambria
A nice
turnout of people gathered at the Rabobank Community Room in Cambria to meet the new HGA Board members. Since it
was a Food Share Potluck, lots of "great eats" were enjoyed by all! Several gave their input as what they would like to see in the way of programs, tours or special
events. And many either renewed their membership or joined the HGA for the new season. The entertainment was provided by Mr. Hearst, himself, as we
all enjoyed viewing the silent movie he made at San Simeon, The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter. Seeing the Castle in such
an early stage of construction in some of the scenes was amazing. Another interesting sight was the Lighthouse with
its original lens attached. Also, several scenes at the entrance to the Victorian Ranch House. Thank you to all who came and we hope you will all join
us for the kickoff of the new season of programs in October!
Download a flyer on the Food Share Potluck - Click here
June 2011
Lighthouse Tour! (Event #1) Tuesday ~ June 14th ~ Tour at 1:00 pm ~
BBQ at Hearst Beach! (Event #2) Tuesday ~ June 14th ~ BBQ at 4:00 pm
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| Piedras Blancas Lighthouse - in the early days. |
The Lighthouse
Tour was a great opportunity to see all the restoration work that has been completed on Piedras Blancas Lighthouse!
We had a great turn-out and lots of staff from the Hilltop heard the story of life at Piedras Blancas. The HGA wishes
to thanks those who participated and those on the Lighthouse Staff who gave their time to share their information about this
place. Piedras Blancas Lighthouse had a close connection to the building done at San Simeon. Hearst even filmed
a silent "home movie" using the lighthouse as the focus point, The Lighthousekeeper's Daughter (available for viewing
in the Hearst Research Library). It was a great time and your HGA thanks all those who participated! For the BBQ, we all enjoyed the great grill work,
beans, salad & bread at the Hearst Beach picnic area with head chef, Steve Hamill. Our hats
off to you, Steve! Your
HGA is "dark" for July and August with no programs scheduled, as the new tour schedule is in full swing! Thanks
to everyone who participated, this year. Next for
your HGA: Elections for a new board in September. Watch for the annual "Food Share and Meet the New HGA Board"
event. That will be coming September 20th. In the meantime, stay hearthy and drink lots of water!
Lighthouse & BBQ flyer - Click to download
May 2011
About Arthur Byne! May 15 ~ Sunday ~ 6:00 pm Rabobank Community Room, Cambria.
Through
former guide and author Taylor Coffman, the HGA was given the opportunity to hear a special presentation
on Arthur Byne. Jody Brotherston is a consultant for the Arthur Byne House in
Madrid, Spain. She has given many presentations on Arthur Byne, the artifacts he obtained, and his home. Arthur Byne was born in Philadelphia in 1884 and died in a car accident
in Spain in 1935. He was responsible for helping William Randolph Hearst obtain many of the antique ceilings in
his collection. A huge THANK YOU to Jody Brotherston
for her presentation!
Arthur Byne program flyer - click to download
A Day Trip to Lotusland: The Gardens of Santa Barbara! Thursday ~ April 14th ~ 2011
A small group
arrived at Lotusland for the April "day-trip" by the HGA. Everyone who attended had fun and got to see the
gardens at their Spring best! Click
on the link below to see a small selection of the photos taken. A CD of all the photos is in the Staff Library available
for check-out. Thanks to everyone
who attended! Lotusland Visiting Photos
Link to the Lotusland Website - Click here.
Hero & Shield Ceilings in Casa del
Mar: What are their
Secrets? Tuesday ~ March 15th ~ 6:30 pm Rabobank Community Room, Cambria
As many of us know,
Guide Minor Chavez has been doing extensive research to connect the symbols of these two ceilings to their
origins and translate that information so we can understand it in today's terms. This was a great evening with lots of photos and research data that Minor had put together on the people displayed
in the ceiling. He also showed us photos of the "real" ceiling in Spain. It was quite an experience
and we are grateful to Minor for his passion in bringing this information to us. The presentation is available for viewing on DVD and can be checked out from the Library.
February 2011
Ceramic Tile History at Hearst Castle!
February 25 ~ Friday ~ 6:00 pm Rabobank Community Room, Cambria
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| Tile panel reproduction for B House courtyard. |
To kick off our
Year 2011 HGA Programs, your HGA Board presented Restoration Specialist David Wilson who gave us a look at
the history of the California Faience tiles used in the designs at Hearst Castle.
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| A load of bar tiles and relief decos cooling off in the kiln before unloading. |
Also, David gave
us a lot of information about the origin and installation of many of the tile areas. Plus, he shared new information
with us about the question of who really designed many of the tiles that we commonly say were designed by Julia Morgan.
If you missed this presentation, watch for the DVD of the program coming to our Hearst Research Library, soon. That
announcement will be here on your HGA website. And the winner is: Guide
Minor Chavez! David Wilson drew Minor's name from the hat to win the special tile given away at the end of his tile
presentation. Congratulations, Minor! And many thanks to David Wilson
for donating his tile for the give-away and for an amazing evening of new information and insight into the ceramic tiles of
Hearst Castle!
Click Here to Download Poster/Flyer for Tile Event
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