Guide to the Harry Mayo Surfing Photography collection

Debra Roussopoulos, Kate Dundon
University of California, Santa Cruz
2014
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz 95064
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu


Contributing Institution: University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Harry Mayo Surfing Photography collection
Creator: Mayo, Harry J., 1923-
Identifier/Call Number: MS.405
Physical Description: 11 Linear Feet 14 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Physical Description: 3.61 GB 97 digital files
Date (inclusive): 1929-2013
Language of Material: English

Access

Collection is open for research. Audiovisual media is unavailable until reformatted. Digital files are available in the UCSC Special Collections and Archives reading room. Access to digital files on original carriers is prohibited; users must request to view access copies. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to audiovisual media and digital files.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyright has been assigned to the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society. Due to restrictions imposed by the donation agreement, UCSC Special Collections is not able to provide reproductions of photographs from this collection, nor is photography of this material allowed. To request a reproduction, contact the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society.

Preferred Citation

Harry Mayo Surfing Photography Collection. MS 405. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Alternate form of material

Digitized photographs in boxes 1-5 are available online in the UCSC Library Digital Collections.

Biographical Note

Harry Mayo was born in Pacific Grove, California in 1923 to William H. and Susie M. Mayo. He attended Santa Cruz High School from 1938-1942, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1942-1945, during which he was stationed at several points in California, including Santa Cruz. Mayo worked as a firefighter in the Santa Cruz Fire Department from 1949 until 1979, when he retired as a captain. He was a founding member of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club, a member of the Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture Committee, and volunteer at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. He currently resides in Santa Cruz.
See Surfing in Santa Cruz (Images of America Series, 2009) by Thomas Hickenbottom for more information on the history of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club. See the www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org for information on the history of surfing in Santa Cruz.

Scope and Content

This collection includes photographs and films of Santa Cruz surfing during the mid-20th century, primarily centered around activities of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club. Also included are correspondence, organizational documentation and ephemera relating to the Santa Cruz Surfing Club and the Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture Committee.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into three series:
1. Photographs
2. Santa Cruz Surfing Club Records
3. Collected Surfing History Materials

Separated Materials

Several books, films, issues of national surfing magazines, local newspapers, and other publications were separated from the collection, many of which are available via the Library Catalog.

Processing Information

Photographs series was processed by Debra Roussopoulos in 2014. The reamining series were processed by Kate Dundon in 2014.
Digital portion of the collection processed by Kate Dundon in 2021. Digital files were received from Mayo on five DVDs. Files were copied off physical media in 2019. Duplicates and other out of scope files were not retained. Files were not reformatted, and file names are original to the creator. Original DVDs were retained and are included in the collection.

Additional Collection Guide

An inventory of the print photographs is available: Harry Mayo Photography Inventory (boxes 1-5)  

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Surfing -- California -- Santa Cruz County -- Photographs
Santa Cruz Surfing Club (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Mayo, Harry J., 1923-

 

Photographs 1930-2013

Alternate form of material

Digitized photographs in boxes 1-5 are available online through UCSC Library Digital Collections.

Historical note

Unless otherwise noted, all photoalbums were created by Harry Mayo.

Scope and Content

This series contains photographs of Santa Cruz Surfing Club members and associated individuals from the 1930s-1940s. Most images capture the surfing scene centered around Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz. Also included are contemporary snapshots of Santa Cruz Surfing Club members and other Santa Cruz community members collected by Harry Mayo.
Box 1

Santa Cruz Surfing Club photo album 1 (Jack Moore) circa 1939-1942

Historical note

This photoalbum was created by Clubmember Jack Moore. It includes newspaper clippings about Santa Cruz Surfing Club members and related ephemera.
Box 1

Santa Cruz Surfing Club photo album 2 circa 1939-1942

Box 2-3, Box 14

Santa Cruz Surfing Club photo albums 3-5 circa 1939-1942

Container Summary: 3 albums

Processing information

These materials were rehoused from 3-ring binders into archival quality housing. The empty binders can be found in box 14.
Box 4, Folder 1

Santa Cruz Surfing Club group portraits 1941

Biographical Note

These group portraits of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club were taken by photographer Ed Webber in June, 1941.
Box 4, Folder 2-3, Box 5

Santa Cruz Surfing Club miscellaneous loose photographs circa 1930-1957

Container Summary: 2 folders, 1 box
Box 4, Folder 4

Shirley Templeman, Pat Collins, Fred Hunt circa 1939-1940

Box 4, Folder 5

Dave "Buster" Steward 1939

Box 4, Folder 6

Santa Cruz Municipal Life Saving Corps 1949

Box 4, Folder 7

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Opening 1986

Box 4, Folder 8

Collected reprints of historic photographs of Santa Cruz beaches circa 1882-1904

Note on Dates

Dates reference the period in which the photographs were originally created. There are no digitized versions of these photographs available.
Box 4, Folder 9-10

Historic Hawaiian surfing photographic reprints 1920-1967

Container Summary: 2 folders

Scope and Content

Photographs of Hawaiian athlete and surfer Duke Kahanamoku and his brothers Samuel, David, Sergeant, Bill, and Louis Kahanamoku, Santa Cruz resident and surfer Dorothy Becker, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Outrigger Canoe Club, the Hui Nalu Club, and other scenes of surfing in Waikiki.

Note on Dates

Dates reference the period in which the photographs were originally created. There are no digitized versions of these photographs available.

Custodial History

These photographs were reprinted by Harry Mayo from prints owned by Tom Hickenbottom, Santa Cruz Surfing Club member. These prints were previously owned by Club member Sam Reid, who wrote the accompanying captions.
Box 6

Photocopies of Santa Cruz Surfing Club photographs circa 1939-2005 1939-1941

Box 6

Collected Santa Cruz Surfing Club snapshots circa 1980-2013

Container Summary: 3 folders

Scope and Content

Color photographs of Santa Cruz Surfing Club members, events at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum and statue, surfing history exhibits, and other events related to the Santa Cruz Surfing Club.
Box 6

Harry Mayo personal snapshots circa 1980-2013

Box 6

Santa Cruz Surfing Club photograph captions circa 1980-2000s

Biographical Note

Captions Mayo intended to match with various Santa Cruz Surfing Club photographs in the collection.
Box 12

Harry Mayo surfing and Surfing Museum 20th Anniversary celebration photographs ms0405_med_0003 2006

Physical Description: 93 Digital Files
Physical Description: 1 DVD

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Digital file format .jpg

Access

Digital files are available in the UCSC Special Collections and Archives reading room. Access to digital files on original carriers is prohibited; users must request to view access copies. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to digital files.

Conditions Governing Use

"Photos by Boots McGhee"
Box 13

Oversize Santa Cruz Surfing Club photographs 1941, undated

Box 15

Bob Gillies Santa Cruz Surfing Club photo album circa 1935-1986

Scope and Contents

One photo album created by Bob Gillies, featuring photographs of Santa Cruz Surfing Club members. These photographs have not been digitized.
 

Santa Cruz Surfing Club Records 1941-2013

Administrative History

The Santa Cruz Surfing Club was founded in 1936 by several Santa Cruz teenagers and other young surfers from California. They operated a clubhouse at Cowell Beach from the late 1930s throughout the 1940s, around which much of their surfing activity centered.

Scope and Content

This series contains correspondence, mailing lists, registration forms and bank statements related to several Santa Cruz Surfing Club reunions, as well as planning documentation and other materials related to the Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture, which was funded and developed in part by Club members. Early documentation of Club finances, materials related to other Club projects, and Club logo and T-shirt designs are also included.
Box 6

Membership dues receipt books 1941-1950

Box 6

Pacific Coast Surfing Championships correspondence 1949

Box 6

25th anniversary reunion 1961

Box 6-7

45th anniversary reunion 1981-1983

Container Summary: 4 folders
Box 7

50th anniversary reunion 1985-1986

Box 7

West Cliff Drive realignment 1982

Box 7-8, Box 13

Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture 1986-1996

Container Summary: 13 folders

Scope and Content

Meeting minutes of the Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture Committee, correspondence, lists of donors, planning documentation, blueprint, signs, programs, ephemera, awards, clippings, and other materials related to the funding, design, placement, construction, and dedication of the Santa Cruz Surfing Sculpture.
Box 8

Blake Turner memorial scholarship 1986

Box 8

Santa Cruz Surfing club ephemera and designs 1988-2013

Box 8

"Surf City" designation correspondence 1992-2004

Box 8

Surfin' Santa Cruz UCSC Extension Multimedia Production Workshop 1993

Box 8, Box 13

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum newsletters and ephemera 1986-2010

Container Summary: 2 folders
Box 9

California Legislature Assembly Certificate of Recognition 2010

Box 9

Santa Cruz Surfing Club histories 1986-1996

 

Collected Surfing History Materials 1939-2011 1980-2010

Scope and Content

This series contains clippings, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, posters, ephemera, and several home movies and commercial films related to the activities and history of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club, Santa Cruz surfing, and the history of surfing in general. Also included is a small amount of Harry Mayo's personal correspondence and biographical information.
Box 9, Box 13

Clippings 1939-2011 1980-2005

Container Summary: 8 folders
Box 9

The Juice: Northern California's Surf Magazine Vol. 3, Nos. 1-3 1995-1996

Box 10

Santa Cruz Longboard Union Invitational programs 1988-2010

Box 12, Box 10

Surfing ephemera circa 1940s-1950s, 1986-2006 1986-2006

Container Summary: 1 folder, 1 small box

Scope and Content

Stickers, flyers, brochures, greeting cards, pins, and other ephemera related to Santa Cruz surfing, and surfing history in general.
Box 10

Harry Mayo correspondence 1981-2010

Box 10

Harry Mayo "Old Timer of the Year" biography 2004

Box 13

Water-Logged move poster circa 1962

Box 13

North Coast Surf Press Vol. 1, Nos. 2-3 1998-1999

Box 13

Santa Cruz Surfing and Ocean Sports Vol. 1, No. 2 1982

oversize Cabinet D, Drawer 15

Santa Cruz Longboard Union Invitational posters 2006, 2008

oversize Cabinet D, Drawer 15

Cowell's and the New Millennium movie poster circa 2004

oversize Cabinet D, Drawer 15

Endless Summer II movie poster circa 1994

oversize Cabinet D, Drawer 15

Santa Cruz County Convention and Visitors Bureau tourism poster circa 1990s

oversize Cabinet D, Drawer 15

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum poster circa 1990s

 

Film and Video 1929-2010

Processing Information

All titles were devised from notes written on containers.

Access

Access to original copies of film, video, and other media is restricted and requires advance notice. Access copies must be made prior to research use. Please contact Special Collections and Archives to request access to media.
Box 11

Rockaway Surfers undated

Note

Includes name and address of Rob A. Kehoe on box.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

8mm film
Box 11

16mm films 1929-1966

Custodial History

"Donated by Roger Murray" is written on film reels.
 

San Clemente Surfcapades 1966

Custodial History

"Mac Reed from Marge Calhoun" written on reel.
 

Buster's Tape undated

Custodial History

Business card of Mac Reed of Surf City attached to reel.
 

Unidentified film "2" undated

 

Wedding, A Day at Bookdale with Venus Gillen, Stubby Kiff, Betty Horning undated

 

Home to Arroyo Seco color shots 1929

 

Marge and Elise at Clear Lake, Aromas Pam Seacliff 1931

 

Willy Spivey Prompter flight at Watsonville High gym undated

 

House, Pono in garden, "Bug" kids, Roice car, river party, Boardwalk, train stop circa 1939

 

Clear Lake, Arroyo Seco, Borax Lake, Guerneville 1931-1932

 

Fox Theater, GILA monster, Roadrunner vs. Rattle Snake, Cobra vs. Mongoose undated

 

A trip to Hobergs, Lincoln, Clear Lake circa 1949

 

Santa Cruz beach, Boardwalk, Don Patterson 1929

 

Car down road, speed boat, Boardwalk, diving off pier 1929

Box 12

VHS tapes 1986-2002

 

Surfin' Santa Cruz 1993

Container Summary: 2 copies

Publication Rights

UC Santa Cruz Extension Multimedia Production Workshop. July 23-26, 1993. Harry Mayo, Tom Hickenbottom, Richard Schmidt, Jane MacKenzie. "Harry's photos."
 

Santa Cruz Surfing Club 50 year reunion 1986

 

Clear Water Maverick's 1999

 

ESPN Surfing (Hal) undated

 

NBC/CBS news reports Surfing Museum 1986

 

Surfing for Life 2002

 

Neat Stuff Surf, Sand and Stuff 1997

 

Twenty Feet Under 1997-1998

Box 12

DVDs 1992-2010

Physical Description: 4 Digital Files
Physical Description: Four DVDs

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Digital file format .mkv

Access Restrictions

Digital files are available in the UCSC Special Collections and Archives reading room. Access to digital files on original carriers is prohibited; users must request to view access copies. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to digital files.
 

Three Princes Plaque dedication ceremony ms0405_med_0004 2010 April 09

 

Three Princes Day (additional footage of plaque dedication ceremony) ms0405_med_0004 2010 April 09

Conditions Governing Use

Produced by Dylan Greiner/Santa Cruz Surf School.
 

Santa Cruz Surf Statue dedication ceremony ms0405_med_0006 1992 May 23

 

Surfing Santa Cruz ms0405_med_0006 2010

Conditions Governing Use

Compiled by Kim W. Stoner.

Scope and Contents

Video compilation of news stories featuring Santa Cruz surfing culture, photo slideshow with music, and 2009 city council meeting that addressed Surfing Museum funding.