Melissa Rapp
Final Paper
North American Wests
June 11, 2001
Contrasting Visions:
Point Reyes through the eyes of rancher families, conservationists and poets
Point Reyes National Seashore, a rare stretch of coastline north of San Francisco, has been, for many, the source of creative inspiration. Different groups, including rancher families, and after the area’s somewhat controversial transformation into a national seashore, Sierra Club conservationists and various poets have presented their versions of Point Reyes. Since the park’s inception, the National Park Service has struggled to manage the complex landscape, balancing the needs of ranching properties with wilderness area. Photography and poetry provides insight into the various perceptions of Point Reyes, and they can, in turn, help inform future management decisions for the park.
Although the coast of Point Reyes continues to be one of the area’s largest attractions, much of the landscape is dominated by ranching land. Originating in 1857, the Point Reyes dairy industry thrived for over 100 years, playing an instrumental part in the development of the dairy industry in California. Several dairy ranches continue to operate within the boundaries of the National Seashore (Livingston ix). The photography and writings of those involved with ranching life reveal a unique portrayal of Point Reyes. Unlike more recent publications, which primarily depict Point Reyes as dominated by its seashore and wilderness, ranching family collections depict a pastoral landscape that served as the main source of inspiration for locals and visitors. A guest at the Home Ranch in 1865 remarked on the beauty of ranch property and its place in the Point Reyes landscape. “The Ranch house, with the corrals, barns, pigstys, slaughter-house…and an extensive and very complete dairy…occupy an extensive space in a pretty wide and very fertile valley, which opens on one of the lagoons that indent the shore of the ranch” (Livingston 369). Family photographs capture the inhabitants’ sense of the beauty of ranch life. Series A of photographs includes an image of a corral at “U” ranch, a mysterious fog settling among the cattle. In the second photograph, three cows, lit by soft sunlight, move slowly through a corral at “I” ranch. A rancher would see such a scene every day. The very fact that a McClure family member was motivated to capture the moment with photography demonstrates ranchers’ sense for pastoral beauty. The last two images show a similar appreciation for ranching homesteads. A blurred finger enters the image of eucalyptus trees, suggesting that the image was a casual snapshot--an inhabitant of the ranch took pause enough to appreciate the series of eucalyptus trees and the group of ducks headed toward a pond.
Ranchers’ photography emphasizes the ranch as the center of the Point Reyes landscape. Series B consists of four photographs intentionally composed to center around ranching structures. Although these images were taken over a span of nearly 100 years—the first in 1872, and the last in 1965--they share a similar photographic vision. Ranching homes were a focal point, and seen through ranchers’ eyes, the buildings blended well with the hilly and coastal landscape of Point Reyes.
Many photographs depict a strong appreciation of ranching architecture. Series C includes several images in which the central subject is a ranching structure: the “C” ranch milking barn, a storage shed, a residence driveway, and a large barn set against fog draped hills. The artistry of these images is striking—the range of gray tones in the milking barn image (image 1), the bright light caught on the side of the storage shed and the texture of the surrounding trees (image 2). The final image of cows lined up inside a milking barn employs a striking composition. The ranchers who took these images clearly had a remarkable awareness of the elegance of their surroundings. Their photographs find unexpected beauty and inspiration in ranch property.
Although images of ranching life and property form much of ranch family collections, ranchers also took pictures of the natural landscape. Series D consists of four images with no human element. The photos instead focus on a long stretch of coastline, the gentle waters and wet sands of Drakes Bay, dramatic rock formations seen from cliffs, and the vastness of Claussen sound. Although the last picture of the series includes the silhouettes of two men and their rowboat, the photographer chose to frame them in the periphery. The center of the image focuses on the hills receding into Claussen sound. These shots, like the ranching property shots, are well-composed and suggest that ranching families had an appreciation for wild nature, and were well aware of the unique elements of Point Reyes’ natural landscape.
These photograph collections also reveal the great pride ranchers took in their work. Series E includes a picture of Henry Claussen posing with his lasso ropes (image 1) and his mother feeding the chickens on “E” ranch (image 2). Both pictures reveal an interest in capturing every day activities on the ranch. Additionally, the look on Henry Claussen’s face is telling—his expression is one of exhaustion, but his relaxed stance and slight smile imply a certain satisfaction and comfort with his work. The third image depicts two men milking cows in the corral. It is worth emphasizing the number of photographs ranchers took of their everyday activities. This image, dated 1905, was taken when photography was still a relatively new and highly expensive undertaking, yet ranchers felt the scene was worth recording. After a visit to “F” ranch, one writer witnessed such a milking scene and commented on the difficulty of the work: “I was just in time to witness the evening milking in the large corrals—a scene which would have quickly dissipated some of the romantic ideas of amateur-lovers of pastoral life.” (Livingston 369). The combination of such accounts, looked at against photographs, emphasize the challenges of life on a ranch, but also the feelings of fulfillment and pride achieved through work.
The products of ranchers’ hard work did not go unappreciated. Point Reyes butter was considered such a superior and desirable product that by the early 1880’s dairies around the San Francisco Bay area were counterfeiting it. The Shafter’s newspaper ad described the Point Reyes secret: “Our butter has acquired a fine reputation, derived from the care with which it is manufactured and the exceptionally excellent character of the grasses consumed by our cows” (Livingston 64). Indeed, Point Reyes butter was one of the area’s primary attractions. “This elegant golden delicacy…among all the choice products of the glorious State of California none stands out in bolder relief, none strikes the visitor to our coast more forcibly, none affords more real pleasure to the consumer than the wonderfully excellent butter…” wrote one 1880 writer (Livingston 60). One can see the pride stemming from quality production in the eyes of Jim McClure and Milk Tester (Series E, images 4 and 5). The final picture of the series reveals that even a single cow, the origin of the magnificent dairy products, was sufficiently lauded to justify its own picture. Both ranchers and visitors to Point Reyes thus equated Point Reyes land with valuable production and this was recognized both in writing and photography. The 1880 writer, enchanted with ranch life, described the landscape’s beauty in relation to the dairy ranches.
“The verdant fields of grass, toyed with by the winds, bathed in a flood of sunshine and shrouded in folds of lacelike and fleecy mists fresh from the ocean with herds of kine feeding upon them; driven at eventime into the corral and, while thoughtfully ruminating, yielding the gallons and gallons of rich, pure, sweet milk; again we see it in great cans of yellow cream, fit for the use of a king’ and then the golden butter, and such a delicious butter…” (Livingston 60).
Despite the hard work ethic associated with ranch life, photography collections also show that ranch families found Point Reyes ideal for leisure. Series F includes a snapshot of two families sharing a picnic at the beach, Clara Claussen playing croquet behind the barn, and a Moltzen Family boat ride with friends and ranch employees. The series also reveals the prevalence of hunting and the pride associated with a fresh kill (Series F, images 5 and 6). The gregarious Clara Claussen enjoyed exploring the beach’s marvels, such as beached whales, and the Moltzen twins enjoyed playing in the garden or with their new puppy (image 7, 8 and 9). As adults, the Claussen’s recounted their memories of growing up on a Point Reyes ranch: “The children lived a kind of idyll on Point Reyes. Their favorite horseback ride was to Point Reyes Beach…At boat drill Henry was popped into the breeches buoy and sent skimming across the sand…” (Livingston 161). Clara’s ranch was notably beautiful and sophisticated: “geraniums, tulips and angel’s wing begonias flourished in Clara’s glass conservatory. Limoge demitasse cups gleamed in her dining-room cabinet. Houseguests slept under handmade down comforters” (Livingston 161). One 1873 visitor was inspired by the Claussen’s ranch: “here is the neatest, the sweetest, the most complete dairy in the whole region; the best order, the most shining utensils, the nicest butter-room—and not only butter, but cheese also, made, which is not unusual.” The visitor also found amusement with the “beautiful Swedish lass presiding over it all…rosy-faced, white-armed, smooth-haired, sensibly-dressed, altogether admirable…commanding her menservants, and keeping every part of the business in order” (Livingston 191). Another rancher, Robert Dickson, recalled the “moonlight party” held at his ranch, with dancing as “the main feature of the evening.” Guests danced a “dizzy whirl until a late hour” before returning to their homes to “dream of the past fete and mend broken hearts” (Livingston 89). Family collections thus demonstrate the centrality of ranching life to Point Reyes inhabitants. Although they certainly appreciated the coast and wilderness, they also found beauty, romance and inspiration in the landscape of their own homes.
While ranching activity continued, Point Reyes began to be noticed by the government as an area of unique natural beauty. By the 1960s, funds had been set aside to buy the 70,000 acres that would become the Point Reyes Natural Seashore. The legislation focused national attention on Point Reyes, and some feared that developers would quickly move in and spoil the rural landscape. The Sierra Club, hoping to prevent development and preserve the area, published Island in Time. Through photography and prose, the text aimed to highlight Point Reyes’ unique beauty. The book depicts a Point Reyes quite unlike the one depicted by ranchers for the previous 100 years. Ranches hardly factor in to the Sierra Club’s vision of Point Reyes. Instead, the series of photographs and prose presents an edited picture of the Seashore—depicting timeless views and romantic stories; Island in Time nearly completely ignores the ranching aspect of Point Reyes.
The narrowness of Island in Time is somewhat understandable. Unlike ranching family collections, Island in Time is a polemic. Sierra Club leaders feared development and constructed an image of Point Reyes that would be most effective in preventing that development from happening. The Point Reyes coast is thus represented in contrast to the terrors of housing developments:
“How long should it be before we let these rolling hillsides be covered by long rows of houses like those that have spread over the hills south of San Francisco… If the asphalt should take over… Where would we find the solitude of an unspoiled beach, the renewal of mind and spirit that comes from contact with the natural forms and rhythms of the earth? When would we hear the throaty roar of the sea lion, the cry of the plover, the soft sound of the wind through the beach grass of the sand dunes?” (Gilliam 85)
The quote highlights the natural aspects of Point Reyes—its solitude and wildlife in order to emphasize its value as a wilderness. Such contrasts formed a pattern. Later, the text again contrasts “dull suburban monotony” with the wilderness aspects of Point Reyes: “the sudden glimpse of marshland beauty…the quick flash of the darting sanderlings…the great blue herons and the breath-taking flight of the soaring white egrets…”
The text repeatedly recognized the spiritual value of wilderness: “…here in these woods is the continual fulfillment of possibilities…” (Gilliam 62). Point Reyes was presented as an area of wild-open space and grand coastal vistas so that it would be considered a place where one can “consciously or subconsciously to renew contact with life’s incessant aspiration” (Gilliam 62). The accompanying photographs were primarily of dramatic, sweeping coastal scenes (Gilliam 17-24, 37, 49-54, 75-80) and dense woods (Gilliam 33, 39, 40, 73). In addition to focusing on inspirational power of Point Reyes’wilderness, Island in Time purposefully elaborated on the dramatic, more marketable elements of its history: stories of Indian settlement, the mysteries of Sir Francis Drake’s exploration, and fascinating geologic processes. Whole passages detailed Point Reyes tree species or describe inspirational views of the mist and surf (Gilliam 31). The ranching community, which occupies much of the interesting landscape and history of the area, did not factor in.
Of the thirty-seven full-page photographs, only three show a ranching home. These images are notably different than those from the rancher family collections. In each picture, the ranching home is set to the far right of the frame (rather than the center) and the human element is generally overshadowed by a natural element—a large tree, the vast bay, or a set of hills (Gilliam 34, 74, 78). No humans appear in the images, either working on or enjoying the land. In one image, it is possible to sight two cows, but their presence is eclipsed by the large filed of wildflowers and the dense woods behind (Gilliam 55). Though the Sierra Club did not completely deny the existence of a ranching community at Point Reyes, the images chosen (and their relative scarcity) seem only to further the Sierra Club’s desire to construct Point Reyes as a total wilderness. While the ranching family collections depict a landscape balanced by ranching estates, human activity, and a spectacular coastline, Island in Time attempts to undershadow the human presence at Point Reyes. The homes and animal life that do appear in photographs are dwarfed by natural surroundings, emphasizing the immensity of wilderness landscape.
The dichotomy between the rancher family collections and the Sierra Club’s Island in Time is somewhat reconciled by a third group—poets, who have also tried to creatively depict what Point Reyes means to them. Many poets, both nationally known and local, have been inspired by Point Reyes.
The majority of poets’ work regarding Point Reyes, particularly those who are only visitors to the area, align with the conservation sentiment of Island of Time. Gary Snyder’s “Point Reyes” comments on the vexed relationship between humans and wild nature. He contrasts the beauty of nature: the “bright fan of the flat creek/On dark sea sand…The work of centuries and wars…” with an abrupt description of a car “…parked a mile above, where the dirt road ends. In naked gritty sand…” (Snyder 54). The sharp phrase “eye-stinging salty driftwood campfire smoke” (another human element) is set against the relaxing image of “Sandpipers chasing the shiny surf / in the moonlight.” Rather than using traditional metaphor or simile, Snyder employs a Chinese poetry technique in which two images are juxtaposed (Murphy 17). The concrete, dramatic descriptions highlight the tension resulting from human disruption of nature’s serenity. Snyder, who lived in the Bay Area, was a known as a “spokesperson for the natural world and the values associated with primitive cultures” (Murphy 9). He was concerned with “reknitting our connections with each other and with the natural world…transforming the very way we see the world” (Murphy 11). Man’s increasing separation from the natural world discouraged Snyder. “Point Reyes” depicts his anxieties while also showing his deep appreciation for the beauty of the Seashore.
To other poets, the Point Reyes landscape provided opportunities for the spiritual renewal suggested by Island in Time. In “At Stinson Beach,” Robert Hass remembers unique “tranquility” his friend manifested after her visit to the area:
Fog and the early sun, an easy wind
She danced swaying in the stalled light
She danced easily without occasion
Variations in green, ferns, redwood, the rain (Hass 19)