Collection Guide
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Mountain Drive Oral History Collection
AR.1992.001
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Gledhill Library
Title: Mountain Drive Oral History Collection
Creator:
Santa Barbara Regional Oral History Clearinghouse
source:
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
source:
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
source:
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Creator:
Cleek, Patricia Gardner, 1925-2018
Creator:
Remak, Roberta Ann, 1925-2008
Creator:
Gasser, Teddy G. (Dorothy Grace), 1948-
Creator:
Bruss, Wendy
Creator:
Benet, Linda
Creator:
Newbery, Helen C., 1912-2010
source:
Anteau, Laurie (Laurie Ann Johnston), 1956-
source:
Bernhardt, Bunny (Ruth Pritchard), 1930-
source:
Birdsell, Marty L., Jr. (Martin Lewis), 1936-2005
source:
Boegle, Jack (John Yost), 1907-1995
source:
Claytor, Becky M. (Rebecca M. Rodriguez)
source:
Daily, Natalie Maravic, 1925-2006
source:
Dole, Kathryn (Kathryn Lee Holcomb), 1920-2011
source:
Dunn, Burdette L., 1918-
source:
Fortner, Elizabeth
source:
Grant, Lou (Clara Louise Tuckerman), 1916-2012
source:
Greyson, George, 1926-2000
source:
Hill, Sandy P. (Sandra Petertyl), 1926-
source:
Hill, Stanley D., 1923-2009
source:
Hyde, Gavin, 1930-2019
source:
Johnston, Dick (Richard Woodwell), 1931-2017
source:
Johnston, Gill, Jr, (Gill Stuart), 1924-2003
source:
Lane, Mervin, Jr. (Mervin Louis), 1928-2016
source:
Lane, Peggy (Margaret), 1926-2013
source:
Macy, Bud (Eliot Eldridge), 1920-2011
source:
Maurer, Eric W., 1915-1987
source:
Maurer, Nina (Nina Ruth Macy), 1916-1994
source:
McPherson, Paule P., 1935-
source:
Neely, Chris (Christopher Ulrick), 1951-2020
source:
Robinson, Frank D. (Franklin Donald), 1923-2004
source:
Schertz, Ed (Edward Louis), 1931-
source:
Sisson, Susan Robinson (Susan Gilmour Hamilton), 1947-
source:
Smith, Dana D., 1922-2000
source:
Soini, Mary Lynn, 1942-
source:
Tonetti, Susan Hyde, 1905-1989
source:
Walden, Chris (Christine Louise), 1943-
source:
Young, Noel, 1922-2002
source:
Santa Barbara Regional Oral History Clearinghouse
Identifier/Call Number: AR.1992.001
Physical Description:
2 Linear Feet
2 record storage boxes
Physical Description:
48 Cassettes
Physical Description:
51 Diskettes 5.25"
Physical Description:
40 Gigabytes
Physical Description:
46 Folder(s)
Physical Description:
48 Photographic Prints
Physical Description:
37 Negatives (Photographs)
Physical Description:
1 Volumes
Lane, Mervin. 1985. Going to town. Santa Barbara, CA (P.O. Box 4513, Santa Barbara 93108): Sadhe Pub. [fiction]
Date (inclusive): 1985-1992
Abstract: Mountain Drive, a residential enclave of free spirits located in the hills above Montecito, coalesced in the years following
World War II. The driving force behind its formation was Robert McKee Hyde, known to all as Bobby. The spirit of the community
was bohemian, a "live-and-let-live" feel that fostered a close-knit camaraderie. Community interaction often centered on a
growing number of celebrations and festivals. Probably the best-known was the Wine Stomp, begun in 1952, in which the Wine
Queen selected that year was joined in the large wine vat by neighbors to crush that season's harvest. Two generations following
development of the Mountain Drive community an advanced oral history class set out to record the personal memories of those
who were part of Mountain Drive's early days as a Central Coast experiment in non-conformity.
Language of Material:
English
.
The Mountain Drive Oral History Collection contains thirty oral histories of people who experienced the early days of Mountain
Drive, Santa Barbara's bohemian community. The collection originated as an advanced oral history course conducted during the
summer of 1986. The success of the group project, and the feeing that it had only scratched the surface of a rich subject,
caused the effort to be continued for six years. One of the envisioned outputs of the project was a publication on the history
of Mountain Drive, but internal funding for the book was never realized. Twenty-two of the recorded oral histories were transcribed
into electronic format using the first generation of personal computers. The collection also contains related materials such
as photographs, news clippings, newsletters, an outline of the proposed publication, drafts of chapters, and project administration
materials.
In 2021, an effort to improve access to the oral histories led to digitization of the audiocassettes, development of a website,
and collecting of additional materials.
Bobby Hyde, born in 1900, a writer and son of a Santa Barbara artist, instigated the plan to create a community based on his
desire to live an unconventional life. He purchased 50 acres of rugged land in the foothills above Santa Barbara and parceled
out one acre lots to like-minded friends and relatives in the post-World War II 1940s and 1950s. The community was made up
of writers, artists, teachers, musicians, naturalists, tradespersons, wine makers, free thinkers and their families.
Bobby Hyde's idealism fueled a communal spirit of neighbors helping each other build adobe homes, buy commodities in bulk,
and grow their own food. With a sense of humor, Mountain Drive families developed annual traditions that inspired California
folk customs such as the communal hot tub soak, the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, early music revival, home wine making, and
Santa Barbara's Summer Solstice parade.
The experiences and mythology of the Mountain Drive community have been documented in no less than six monographs, three dozen
articles, two music albums, a major motion picture, a radio program, an oral history project, and a social media presence.
The Mountain Drive Oral History Collection is arranged in four series:
1) Interviews, 1986-1992
2) Related Materials, undated
3) Manuscript, 1991
4) Administration, 1985-1991
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials were transferred from the Santa Barbara Regional Oral History Clearinghouse.
The Mountain Drive Oral History Collection was processed by Chris S. Ervin CA in December 2020.
[Identification of file], Mountain Drive Oral History Collection, AR-1992-001, Gledhill Library, Santa Barbara Historical
Museum, Santa Barbara, California.
Collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact
the Head Archivist of the Gledhill Library.
Chiacos, Elias. 1994.
Mountain Drive: Santa Barbara's pioneer Bohemian community. Santa Barbara, Calif: Shoreline Press.
Frankenheimer, John, Edward Lewis, Lewis John Carlino, Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, and David Ely. 2014.
Seconds. [DVD]
Hyde, Robert. 1960.
Six more at sixty. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.
Lane, Mervin. 1985.
Going to town. Santa Barbara, CA (P.O. Box 4513, Santa Barbara 93108): Sadhe Pub.
Neely, William L., and Allan Shields. 1992.
Wild Bill Neely and the Pagan Brothers' Golden Goat Winery: journal and drawings. Mariposa, CA: Jerseydale Ranch Press.
Santa Barbara Collegium Musicum. 1965.
A concert of music of the Renaissance. [Place of publication not identified]: Lazell.
Young, Noel. 1973.
Hot tubs; how to build, maintain & enjoy your own. Santa Barbara: Capra Press.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mountain Drive (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Oral histories
Alternative lifestyles
Counterculture
Communal living
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Anderson, Judith, 1897-1992
Anteau, Laurie (Laurie Ann Johnston), 1956-
Arnold, Josephine M. (Josephine Mary), 1905-2003
Arnold, Tom (Thomas Edwin), 1902-1981
Benedict, Rehlein (Renate), 1926-
Bernhardt, Bunny (Ruth Pritchard), 1930-
Bernhardt, John, 1921-1963
Birdsell, Marty L., Jr. (Martin Lewis), 1936-2005
Boegle, Jack (John Yost), 1907-1995
Carlisle, Marilyn, 1936-2005
Carlisle, Stuart
Chiacos, Elias
Claytor, Becky M. (Rebecca M. Rodriguez)
Daily, Natalie Maravic, 1925-2006
Dole, Kathryn (Kathryn Lee Holcomb), 1920-2011
Dunn, Burdette L., 1918-
Feldmann, Peter
Fortner, Elizabeth
Grant, Lou (Clara Louise Tuckerman), 1916-2012
Greyson, George, 1926-2000
Hill, Sandy P. (Sandra Petertyl), 1926-
Hill, Stanley D., 1923-2009
Hyde, Floppy (Florence Fenno Tuckerman), 1904-1980
Hyde, Gavin, 1930-2019
Hyde, Bobby (Robert McKee), 1900-1969
Hyde, Robert Wilson, 1875-1951
Jaeger, Winifred
Johnston, Dick (Richard Woodwell), 1931-2017
Johnston, Gill, Jr, (Gill Stuart), 1924-2003
Katz, Erich (Erich Max), 1900-1973
Lane, Mervin, Jr. (Mervin Louis), 1928-2016
Lane, Peggy (Margaret), 1926-2013
Lazell, John W.
MacGillivray, W. Don, Mayor (William Donald), 1919-1994
Macy, Bud (Eliot Eldridge), 1920-2011
Maurer, Eric W., 1915-1987
Maurer, Nina (Nina Ruth Macy), 1916-1994
McPherson, Paule P., 1935-
Neely, Chris (Christopher Ulrick), 1951-2020
Peake, Michael (Michael Channing), 1940-2021
Richardson, Bill (William), 1926-2013
Robinson, Frank D. (Franklin Donald), 1923-2004
Schertz, Ed (Edward Louis), 1931-
Secunda, Arthur (Arthur Holland), 1927-
Sheinbaum, Betty Warner
Sisson, Susan Robinson (Susan Gilmour Hamilton), 1947-
Smith, Dana D., 1922-2000
Soini, Mary Lynn, 1942-
Stack, John Wiley, 1924-2014
Tonetti, Susan Hyde, 1905-1989
Tremaine, Kit, 1907-1997
Walden, Chris (Christine Louise), 1943-
White, Tommy (Tom)
Young, Noel, 1922-2002
Santa Barbara Regional Oral History Clearinghouse