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Katharine S. Frankforter Part 3
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Ahlstrand: So, today is Tuesday, September 8, 1998. Pennington Ahlstrand and Katharine Frankforter here for the third and final part of this oral history. The big question that we want to know about is how did all the groups come together and coalesce to make the Headlands into part of the National Park that it is today? Anecdotally, what do you remember about that time, how HEADLANDS, INC., was involved and who else came along and when you stopped being involved and those kinds of things?
Frankforter: I would say that everything happened in a very orderly fashion. Chronologically it was time to form a vehicle such as HEADLANDS, INC., to bring together all these disparate groups who were basically fighting for the same goal which was the protection of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Headlands from development. We had rejected the idea of a large city on the headlands which would involve heavy traffic on access roads which were small country roads, which would mean building Marin’s first skyscrapers, 19 apartment buildings of 16 stories each, an 800-room hotel on Mount Beacon—innumerable interruptions to this beautiful, raw piece of property.
The property was well protected, I think, when the Silva Ranch and the Witter Ranch and the Wheelwright Ranch were there with many locked gates and when the Army had soldiers standing on the batteries and bunkers with their rifles ready to shoot any trespasser. It had been well-protected and when it was suddenly threatened, all these groups were catapulted into a huge fight; I guess that’s what we ended up calling it.
None of us were prepared as environmentalists or ecologists. There were some conservationists around. We all had basically the same ideals and goals. By "we all" I mean the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, the Marin Conservation League, the state and federal government and the Army, questionably. So, HEADLANDS, INC., was incorporated hoping to bring all these groups together in a powerful structure that would express our goals of preserving coastline and acquiring lands for the Marin Headlands Park.
The state had already prepared a project analysis of the lands and declared that it would eventually be state park. We never thought of it as simply a state park when HEADLANDS, INC., began investigating and having meetings. We realized its national significance and so we negotiated with the state and with the national government and were really quite successful. It was easy to negotiate with the state because Governor Reagan had been put in the governor’s office by Mr. Hume, who was on our Board of Directors. When we had a question that needed an immediate answer or resolution, Mr. Hume simply got on the horn and called Mr. Reagan, who then asked his Head of Resources, Mr. Ike Livermore, who is the brother of one of our founding Directors, and Mr. Bill Mott, the head of State Parks and Recreation to resolve the problem. They flew over the Headlands area in a helicopter to see if there were any special problems and tell us how to negotiate with the Army if it was on Army property.
We did have some problems with the Army because they were developing a mine. They were digging for red rock or chert in the Headlands, leaving it an eyesore. They also had a terrible garbage dump. Aside from that, we negotiated with them on a much higher level. I invited the Chief of Staff or Commanding Officer, General Skeldon, to be on our Board of Directors in 1967. He was intrigued but he thought he would have a conflict of interest. Another one of our Directors, Congressman Mailliard, eventually felt that he had a conflict of interest and so resigned, opening a space for other important people.
Actually, while we’re talking about this, I must say that I asked Bill Mailliard’s administrative assistant to find out what Washington had in the way of material on the Marin Headlands. She called Congressman Mailliard and came back with the answer that he knew nothing about it. There wasn’t a single solitary file in Washington on the Golden Gate or Marin Headlands Park.
The Army was very cooperative. We had many phone conversations and they were in league with us because they hated the developer. They wanted to get rid of him, almost more than we did. They owned 94% of Rodeo Lagoon; the developer owned 6%. The developer was bulldozing trees. The Army was furious. The Army felt that the Frouge Corporation, the developer, was trespassing and in many instances he was. Rodeo Lagoon was very valuable, a beautiful resource, with three lagoons, the saltwater lagoon near the ocean at Fort Cronkhite and then inland the freshwater lagoon, which was called a trout lake and was stocked with trout by the Department of Fish and Game, and then between them the combined fresh and salt.
So the Army backed us but their help was not always acceptable. They went to Washington and conducted hearings on antiballistic missile sites and when General Skeldon returned from Washington he called me ecstatically to say, "We’ve solved your problem about Mount Beacon. I know you want to save it from that 800-room hotel. It’s now saved. We’ll have an ABM [Sentinel anti-ballistic missile] site on Mount Beacon and I don’t want anyone in bikinis picnicking on my missile site when I shoot off my missiles." So then we had to put together another group of people, I’ve forgotten what they were called, but Alfred Heller and Harold Gilliam immediately went into action to derail the antiballistic missile site in Marin County. HEADLANDS, INC., wrote an important resolution against it and sent it to Washington to the President and to the Governor in Sacramento.
Speaking of going to Washington, we not only had access to the governor in Sacramento and his men but we had people who went immediately to see Stuart Udall in Washington and to see President Johnson. We made certain specific requests and not always just in the form of resolutions or opinions. We really began seriously working on the idea of creating either a National Monument or a Natural Landmark or some important protective status for the Headlands area. When we acquired Kirby Cove which was our main, our first act, getting $790,000 together to immediately buy Kirby Cove which had been declared surplus by the GSA, we were bringing land from the federal government into the state park then eventually it reverted back to the federal government so it’s very complicated in terms of who owned what. There was ranch land, privately owned land, state-owned property and federal property, the federal being mainly The Presidio and its sub-installations which were Baker, Barry, and Cronkhite, and so on. This also included VORTAC—visual omni-range tactical air command—high above the Tennessee Valley. They had, by the way, given me keys to their gates, which gave me access to photograph and paint the headlands. Mott had given me the keys.
Ahlstrand: And Gulf, how did you get the land away from them, too?
Frankforter: As you know, HEADLANDS, INC. consisted of 20 men who were presidents and vice presidents of large corporations. We were equal in power and prestige to the Directors of Gulf Oil Corporation. That was very, very important. We immediately sent the chairman of our Board to Pittsburgh to talk with the president of Gulf Oil. He first wrote a letter saying, "I have 75,000 plus shares of Gulf Oil Corporation stock. I live in San Francisco and Marin County. I am the chairman and president of Fund American (which was originally Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company). I care about this land as do most of my friends in San Francisco and we’d like to know how you plan to develop it. We would like to work with you and I would like to have a conversation with you as soon as possible and negotiate some agreements regarding the use of that land." At the same time, John Busterud, executive secretary, put the pressure on our old friend Cap Weinberger, President Nixon’s Budget Director. Early in 1971, Nixon asked Congress to create a 24,000 acre Golden Gate National Park, stretching 30 miles along the coast. Busterud resigned in October 1971 to be on President Nixon’s Council on Environmental Quality as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.
To return to your question of collaboration, we were close to Sierra Club. One of our Directors, Dr. Edgar Wayburn was president of the Sierra Club. We were all members. We conducted with the aid of the Sierra Club a huge and exciting walk from Sausalito, or really from the Marin Headlands, across to George Wheelwright’s land in the Tennessee Valley and we had helicopters flying overhead making photographs for Life magazine.
We had writers like Ernie Gann arriving to give speeches. Ernie Gann, famous author, had moved away from Marin because of Marincello. He announced that he had planted land mines in the Marincello area that would explode every time a bulldozer ran over one.
Every Mayor in Marin County and Sonoma County, that far away, all the Mayors were on this hike and all sorts of really important people. Some of them didn’t care to hike, but everyone was there. I gave you photographs, they’re in the archives of the National Park Service, of this hike and Life magazine wanted to do a story. We didn’t have time really to write stories and have interviews because we were so busy, but the Sierra Club- HEADLANDS, INC., “Hike Across the Headlands” was one of the major events of that period. Of course the Sierra Club always opposed this development and were very outspoken about it. What else did you ask?
Ahlstrand: The Nature Conservancy came in, too, at some point?
Frankforter: Well, later. First of all, we accomplished our goal of defeating the developer. That was with the Golden Gate Headlands Committee and a hundred other committees before it. There would be a committee, it would eventually wear out and have no more resources, in terms of people and money and lawyers after a year or so. Another committee would be formed and another and another. The last one that really did some hard fighting was the Golden Gate Headlands Committee with 100 advocates and we put out that famous flyer. (Laughs)
After the fight was over, we were very clean, altruistic, idealistic, business-like people who wanted to negotiate with Gulf. We’d banished Frouge, the developer, negotiated with Gulf to determine what could be done about the land. Of course, there were many appraisals made by Nature Conservancy, by Gulf, by independent appraisers. It was worth millions and millions of dollars. We knew what Gulf had paid for it at the outset. We knew what they wanted now. Nature Conservancy did a mammoth appraisal.
This was all secret material. Well, Huey Johnson wanted to keep it so secret. He gave it to our attorney, our executive secretary, who gave me everything. Ed Wayburn learned that I had it. He hadn’t even been allowed to see it, if you could imagine. So he came rushing over to my house in Mill Valley. I said, "You can look at it but I have to keep it here and give it back and don’t tell anyone that you’ve seen it." That should have been made available to a few of our top Directors, I think, but Huey kept everything secret. He probably had had problems in the past divulging a secret that didn’t remain a secret. He was prepared to come in on our negotiations with Gulf and try to reach a financial or monetary agreement, to buy the land from Gulf. It was very, very complicated.
I don’t know enough about it to talk about it except that we did play a role as a vehicle between Gulf and Nature Conservancy. Our founding Director, Put Livermore, was chairman of the Northern California chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Alfred Heller, another Director, also served as chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy at the national level. All these groups moved along in beautiful formation, chronologically and in every way an orderly transition.
When we incorporated HEADLANDS, INC., Put Livermore said, "Katharine you’ll never get these men together at a luncheon, ever, ever, and if you do, god help you if you seat them next to each other." Not one of them missed our luncheon meetings! They were all so curious about what the other one was doing. They got along very well despite their differences, mainly political differences. As I think I said to you at one point, my lawyer said, "I don’t understand why people are falling for this but it’s like motherhood." It just seemed to be a very acceptable and wonderful thing. Everyone could do something about it.
The Humes had the Reagans to the opera opening and they had cocktails in Hume’s living room and Hume said, "Look at that beautiful land over there. Don’t you want to help save it?" Yes! That’s the way it seemed to work so beautifully and people got quite excited about it. Everyone without being asked or pushed. People just took it upon themselves to do certain important jobs which they knew they could do. Each one played a separate role but they eventually interacted and they worked together.
There were a few problems. Frank Keesling was representing the Army in Washington and he wanted The Presidio and the Army forts to remain in case there was another war so it was a little difficult for him to think in terms of creating a park and we understood that. Basically, though, we all wanted open space, to preserve this beautiful land, and there were different ways to accomplish that. Some ideas, like building a golf course, were not very acceptable. Having a cemetery seemed rather macabre. But now what am I talking about? (Laughs)
Ahlstrand: You’re doing a perfect job. You’re telling me about how everybody sort of came together to save the land…
Frankforter: Yes, they did, and Gulf-- the Gulf president and vice president-- became our close friends. I have a photograph in this file box which I’m giving you. Mr. Henry, their vice president, was giving me a big hug. Now that is a nice way to end, isn’t it?
Ahlstrand: Yes! So somebody finally bought the land from Gulf, is that right? Nature Conservancy finally got the land….
Frankforter: Well, that’s one of the reasons they asked Martha Gerbode, I think, to participate because she had a lot of money. San Francisco is very fortunate in having a number of families who are quite rich and who were charitably oriented or at least interested enough in San Francisco and the Bay Area to give a great deal of money to museums and symphonies and parks. Martha Gerbode, Phyllis Wattis, Louise Davies, and the Haases—so many generous people. I could name dozens of them who give their money to museums and symphony halls and public efforts. They like to immortalize themselves in this way. Their names are remembered through centuries having made a donation. Not exactly the Medicis, but the same idea. Now the Gerbode Preserve.
Ahlstrand: What was it previously? What was the name of it before it was Wheelwright’s ranch?
Frankforter: It was the old Silva Cattle Ranch. Wheelwright raised prize-winning registered Hereford bulls. Oh, oh, historically interesting. Cattle ranch. They sold off all their cattle in about, say around 1950. I went to the cattle auction. It was very exciting. I was sorry to see the barns torn down and the cattle go because then, of course, it was vulnerable. Really vulnerable.
Ahlstrand: So, you had gotten a divorce from your husband, George B. Frankforter, Jr. and he retained the right to your property on Wolfback Ridge Road, is that correct?
Frankforter: Well, yes, he did.
Ahlstrand: So what ended up happening with that particular piece of land?
Frankforter: Well, I think I purchased that in 1949. I came from the east coast. My husband had gone to Harvard. I went to Smith. We both worked for Time, Inc. in New York City. We met. It was called love at first sight. We married. We gravitated to San Francisco as did many, many young people at that time. It was just after the war. People, men, had seen the Golden Gate, during or after the war and many of them returned. It was a great group of people, a great group of young people. I, in 1949, had a war bond maturing and coming due. I think it was for about $3,000. I found this piece of land I loved on Wolfback Ridge and immediately bought it and retained Mario Corbett, who was an award-winning architect, to design a house for us which he did. A wonderful house. We didn’t have quite enough money to build it, so until we had enough money to build it we moved to Mill Valley. Eventually, in 1969, we were divorced. Our divorce was final in 1970. In the divorce proceedings I was given the Mill Valley property and he was given the Wolfback Ridge property.
Ahlstrand: You got the Mill Valley house because you had the girls.
Frankforter: Yes, because I had custody of the girls and they were in school. Eventually, George sold the property, which broke my heart, but I guess it would’ve broken my heart more to see it be a four-lane access road into Marincello. Now it is not mine but I still love Wolfback Ridge.
Ahlstrand: Do you keep in touch with any of the people that still live up there?
Frankforter: Oh yes. The house I originally lived in belonged to the man who owned KDFC on Mount Beacon and we lived there for three years and then it was purchased by Peter Erickson and since the time of his purchase, which might have been in the mid-50’s, he has lived there and been president of the Wolfback Ridge Association continuously.
Ahlstrand: Were you satisfied with the way things turned out? Do you still go up there?
Frankforter: Yes! The Golden Gate National Park is still a wild and rugged area of headlands and hills overlooking the Pacific and its coastline for miles with stunning views of the sea and the city of San Francisco, particularly at night. The juxtaposition of open and untouched land across the Golden Gate from a highly developed and sophisticated city is exciting and astonishing! Every day someone has the thrill of seeing a white heron in the marshes. We must all be guardians.
People are always asking me to take them and show them around. I say, "No, you can go by yourself, it’s a public park." Our work to preserve this land was of great national significance. It had to become a National Park. I’m not happy to see that many people trammeling on those sensitive Headlands. I don’t like to see the land deteriorate because of too much traffic and too many people and yet everyone should have the opportunity to have a great time over there. Every day I talk to someone else who is thrilled that they saw a bobcat (laughs). It’s a place that people just seem to gravitate to naturally and adore it. I’m sure they take good care of it. Ahlstrand: I think you did a wonderful job. I really appreciate…
Frankforter: It took thousands of us to do that job.
Ahlstrand: Yes, but I really appreciate what you did because a lot of the work was yours and thank you very much for doing it.
Frankforter: Well, some of the ideas were mine. The work was that of many, many people. Thank you, Pennington, for talking with me.
Ahlstrand: My pleasure.
Description
A discussion with Katharine Frankforter about her role as an artist in the creation of Headlands Incorporated and the vision for the future of the Marin Headlands.
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