taking a stand for urban conservation
Before the 1960s there was little organized interest in preserving nature in urban environments. Development of any kind was seen as inevitable progress and something that was the inalienable right of the property owners. The San Francisco Bay had many owners- private citizens, industry, and individual cities- who could each do what they wanted.
Sylvia McLaughlin, Esther Gulick, and Kay Kerr took a stand against that idea. They thought that the Bay belonged to all the people
and should be protected by the state of California.
Sylvia McLaughlin, Esther Gulick, and Kay Kerr took a stand against that idea. They thought that the Bay belonged to all the people
and should be protected by the state of California.
"YOu can't stop progress"
"Filling the bay was progress,
as the word was defined in those days,
and you can't stop progress."
-Howard Gilliam, in an Interview with Sylvia McLaughlin for California Land-Use Planning Series
(San Francisco Examiner, 1969)
"It wasn’t that people didn’t recognize the bay was being filled or that people didn’t recognize that the bay was more polluted. It was that all of these little communities, Foster City, Berkeley, Alameda, all of these cities had their own vested interest..... really the biggest issue there with all of the economic interests....it was all these other cities that were fighting, all the developers were fighting this legislation."
- Dr. Terry McAteer, Son of Senator J. Eugene McAteer
Personal Interview
Ian McKernan: "Why do you think that they stood up against the destruction of San Francisco Bay when many people just accepted it as inevitable?
David Lewis: They were moved by the Bay’s beauty, and they just did not want to let that be destroyed. Also they were very tough advocates, indefatigable really, even though their manner was genteel. They were operating in a world where men were all the elected officials, all the corporate officials, all the power holders, and there were almost no environmental protection laws on their side."
-David Lewis, Executive Director, Save the Bay
Personal Interview
"almond cookie revolutionaries "
Although they were not politically active and described themselves as housewives, they used their personal connections and reached out to ordinary citizens and politicians to support their cause. They contacted many people, placed ads in local newspapers, involved the media, and raised awareness of their cause, asking people for their support and only a dollar for their membership fee. Save San Francisco Bay Association suddenly grew from three housewives to thousands of people.
"Mrs. Charles Gulick (Esther, whose husband was a distinguished economics professor), |
"We have had other names bestowed upon us, such as enemies of progress, impractical idealists, do-gooders, posy pickers, eco-freaks, enviromaniacs, little old ladies in tennis shoes, and almond cookie revolutionaries." |
Ian McKernan: "What qualities do you think they had that made them successful in their fight?
David Lewis: Tirelessness, empathy that allowed them to reach out and enlist other people to help them. Wisdom to enlist powerful people (men) to take their side and help their effort.......They called everyone they knew on the telephone. They wrote personal letters – many, many, letters. And they made the price of entry very low – they asked for $1/year, which covered the cost of printing and mailing a monthly newsletter. But really, they wanted the names and to be able to invoke all those people to elected officials in cities and in Sacramento."
-David Lewis, Executive Director, Save the Bay
Personal Interview
"We sent a letter to everyone we knew inviting them to join Save San Francisco Bay Association for one dollar. We didn’t know if anyone would respond, but a few days later we got our first batch of one dollar checks and even more came the following day. We ended up with a wonderful response – more than 90 percent!" |
We rallied our fellow citizens who wrote letters and telegrams, made calls and even descended on the capital in busloads. |
(McLaughlin Archive, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley)
"McLaughlin: They said, "Someone should really do something about this."
Gulick: It turned out that we were the somebodies."
-Esther Gulick and Sylvia McLaughlin in an Interview with for California Land-Use Planning Series