Correspondence, 13 May 1968, from Rose Gaffney, Page 1 |
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From:
Mrs. Rose Gaffney
Bodega Bay, California 94923
May 13, 1968
Dr. Wm Kortum
8055 Gravenstein Hiway
Cotati, California
My dear Mr. Kortum….. I’m sure you will be interested to know why the Sierra Club dropped their battle over the Sea Ranch Beaches all except the strip at the rivers mouth, which Sea Ranch so generously donated for park purposes. And the reason is this: the Sierra Club did NOT want to become a party to help the County and/or State to help them blackmail private property owners out of their private property rights… that ten mile beach frontage.
I wrote Dr. Edgar Rayburn, President of the Sierra Club, in early April, that I was sure the Sierra Club did not wish to become partners with the State and/or County, to blackmail private property owners out of their private property rights, and I received a letter from him about ten days ago that they were notifying their club members here in the County to desist from their efforts to open those corridors through the Sea Ranch propery [sic].. and they dropped out.
The reason? This: Because the County had tried the same kind of deal on me that they were attempting at Sea Ranch.. trying to claim property to which they had no right… which culminated in the Battle of Bodega Heads with PG&E… ( if there had been no Rape of the Bodega Bay Tidelands, there would have been no Battle of Bodega Heads). This started in 1946, when Sonoma County first notified the Bodega Bay waterfrontage owners they would have to pay rental for the waterfrontage.. (their riparian rights..). To go into detail I’d have to write a book. But I researched the law, the history, as far back as Queen Isabella or 1492…. was still fighting their claims when PG&E came in… Sure of my rights I challenged them, if only to clear up the County’s calim [sic] to the tidelands. A calim [sic] cannot be taken to court; one must be an injured party. Which applies to Sea Ranch. They couldn’t take their claim to court; a claim is Not an injury.
I couldn’t take my claim to court till I became an injured party, and it happened this way: When Al Hitchcock was filming THE BIRDS on my property, he complained that the PG&E survey stakes showed up in the pictures, to their detriment and asked if he could remove them. He was told he could but he would have to put those stakes back into the identical places they had been taken from. When one of the “boys” told me about it, I asked him which stakes he wished removed; I’d do it for them.. I did. And I wrote a letter; made four copies. One for Hitchcock; one for John Brather [or Drather], one for the Bd. Of supervisors, and one for my own files… To Whom It May Concern… this is to notify any one who may be concerned about the Stakes removed from in front of the old Gaffney Ranch Residence, that I removed the stakes and I didn’t want any one to blame Hitchcock or any one else for removing them. Respectfully yours.. Rose Gaffney.
I am still waiting for an answer to that letter.. It had not occurred to me that I had become an injured party. But when my attorney saw those stakes that were left a few days later he asked me what they were. He started off to catch up with the appraisers he had brought up, and came back. “Those stakes make you an injured party, he declared.. “Okay,” I told him “you know what to do”.
Ten days later he filed suit against the State and against the County… Maybe you will remember the PRESS DEMOCRAT headlines.. Suit for $321,000 for my waterfrontage or desist from their claims..
Thirty days later when he went to Sacramento for an answer, he was told… The state doesn’t own those tidelands: “Sonoma County owns them!”.. When he came to Sonoma County, he was told “Sonoma County doesn’t own those tidelands; the
Object Description
Description
| Title | Correspondence, 13 May 1968, from Rose Gaffney, Page 1 |
| Source collection | Environmental History Collection |
| Digital collection | Environmental History Digital Collection |
| Repository | Sonoma State University Library, Rohnert Park, California |
| Copyright | Restrictions may apply. For more information see http://library.sonoma.edu/specialcollections/usingcollections/rights/ |
| Transcript | From: Mrs. Rose Gaffney Bodega Bay, California 94923 May 13, 1968 Dr. Wm Kortum 8055 Gravenstein Hiway Cotati, California My dear Mr. Kortum….. I’m sure you will be interested to know why the Sierra Club dropped their battle over the Sea Ranch Beaches all except the strip at the rivers mouth, which Sea Ranch so generously donated for park purposes. And the reason is this: the Sierra Club did NOT want to become a party to help the County and/or State to help them blackmail private property owners out of their private property rights… that ten mile beach frontage. I wrote Dr. Edgar Rayburn, President of the Sierra Club, in early April, that I was sure the Sierra Club did not wish to become partners with the State and/or County, to blackmail private property owners out of their private property rights, and I received a letter from him about ten days ago that they were notifying their club members here in the County to desist from their efforts to open those corridors through the Sea Ranch propery [sic].. and they dropped out. The reason? This: Because the County had tried the same kind of deal on me that they were attempting at Sea Ranch.. trying to claim property to which they had no right… which culminated in the Battle of Bodega Heads with PG&E… ( if there had been no Rape of the Bodega Bay Tidelands, there would have been no Battle of Bodega Heads). This started in 1946, when Sonoma County first notified the Bodega Bay waterfrontage owners they would have to pay rental for the waterfrontage.. (their riparian rights..). To go into detail I’d have to write a book. But I researched the law, the history, as far back as Queen Isabella or 1492…. was still fighting their claims when PG&E came in… Sure of my rights I challenged them, if only to clear up the County’s calim [sic] to the tidelands. A calim [sic] cannot be taken to court; one must be an injured party. Which applies to Sea Ranch. They couldn’t take their claim to court; a claim is Not an injury. I couldn’t take my claim to court till I became an injured party, and it happened this way: When Al Hitchcock was filming THE BIRDS on my property, he complained that the PG&E survey stakes showed up in the pictures, to their detriment and asked if he could remove them. He was told he could but he would have to put those stakes back into the identical places they had been taken from. When one of the “boys” told me about it, I asked him which stakes he wished removed; I’d do it for them.. I did. And I wrote a letter; made four copies. One for Hitchcock; one for John Brather [or Drather], one for the Bd. Of supervisors, and one for my own files… To Whom It May Concern… this is to notify any one who may be concerned about the Stakes removed from in front of the old Gaffney Ranch Residence, that I removed the stakes and I didn’t want any one to blame Hitchcock or any one else for removing them. Respectfully yours.. Rose Gaffney. I am still waiting for an answer to that letter.. It had not occurred to me that I had become an injured party. But when my attorney saw those stakes that were left a few days later he asked me what they were. He started off to catch up with the appraisers he had brought up, and came back. “Those stakes make you an injured party, he declared.. “Okay,” I told him “you know what to do”. Ten days later he filed suit against the State and against the County… Maybe you will remember the PRESS DEMOCRAT headlines.. Suit for $321,000 for my waterfrontage or desist from their claims.. Thirty days later when he went to Sacramento for an answer, he was told… The state doesn’t own those tidelands: “Sonoma County owns them!”.. When he came to Sonoma County, he was told “Sonoma County doesn’t own those tidelands; the |
