Q&A; -- Keeping an eye on what was once hers

As of 5 p.m. today, the residents of Crystal Cove must evacuate their

cottages and move elsewhere. At that, the State Parks Department will

take over to preserve the 46 cottages, many of which are about 80 years

old.

One of the departing residents is Crystal Cove activist Laura Davick,

who has spent 40 of her 42 years living in what is now recognized as a

historic district. Her late parents actually met at the Cove long before

they were able to lease one of the cottages, labeled No. 2 because it was

only the second one to gain access to electricity.

Daily Pilot Assistant City Editor James Meier sat down with Davick on

Thursday at her cottage -- built in the late 1920s -- to discuss her

history at the cottages and her continuing efforts to ensure their

preservation.

Q: So, you have to be out by 5 p.m. Sunday. Are you going to be ready?

A: Almost. I started moving out the first of June with the idea in

mind that I wanted to get moved and settled in my new place and spend my

last week here just kind of relaxing and enjoying Crystal Cove. That

hasn’t happened, though. I’ve been so busy with work and so we’re still

moving.

Q: Is anybody going to put up much of a fight before leaving Sunday?

A: I don’t get a sense that any of the residents are putting up a

fight. I think that everyone realizes that they need to be out by Sunday.

No, I don’t foresee any fights by the residents.

Q: How did the Fourth of July celebration go on Wednesday?

A: I can only describe it as an incredible gathering of both

residents, past residents and a lot of people from the community who

wanted to see what was going on down here. But it was a lot of fun, and I

think everyone has a great feeling about the last hurrah here at Crystal

Cove.

Actually I videotaped it and, after we came back to the house last

night at about 11 p.m., we watched part of the video and we just laughed

real hard. Everyone was having a really good time. It was kind of

bittersweet. It was just wonderful being with all of our friends and more

like family we’ve developed over the years here. It was an incredible

gathering of family of the people who have been here for generations.

It was memorable. I think of all the Fourth of Julys, it’ll be the

most memorable for all of us.

Q: Was it everything you expected?

A: Yeah, and more. There must have been 700 to 800 people down here. I

think it would be a wonderful idea to have a reunion down here maybe next

Fourth of July for an annual reunion down here.

Q: What do you think of (executive director of the Crystal Cove

Community Trust) Bruce Hostetter’s lawsuit against the state?

A: I really don’t know enough about it to comment, however I think

it’s admirable that people in the community are so passionate about

trying to protect and preserve Crystal Cove. I admire all of them and

their dedication.

Q: Do you think the state will be able to preserve the cottages well

enough?

A: I have some concerns, and the reason I do is because I’ve been told

the state does not have funds for the restoration of the cottages at this

time.

However one of the things I’m doing through the Alliance to Rescue

Crystal Cove is I’m implementing a monitoring program for the cottages

upon the residents departing from here. So it’ll begin Monday. This will

be a monitoring program to determine what condition the cottages are in

now, and I will photograph, videotape, document and survey each cottage.

And the reason I’m doing this is because, one, someone needs to be a

watchdog down here and, two, due to my experience with my work and

familiarity with all of the cottages, I’m very familiar with the

interiors and exteriors and I’ll be able to identify any vandalism,

breakage, break-ins, deterioration, etc.

So I met with State Parks on Tuesday and proposed to them my

monitoring program and they embraced it. So I will begin documenting on

Monday. So, I’ll come down on a routine basis -- probably twice a week --

walk through the historic district cottage by cottage and look for signs

of break-ins, graffiti, any type of deterioration that’s occurring. And

I’ll be forwarding this information to the State Historic Preservation

office as well as State Parks.

But the real purpose of this is to determine what the condition is so

that if the cottages are not cared for, we will be able what the

condition was upon the tenants’ departure.

I’m also starting a historic archive of the historic district. I’ve

put together about 300 slides so far.

Q: Where are you moving to?

A: I’m moving to Cameo Highlands, which is just a mile and a half from

here. The reason it was so important for me to stay so close to Crystal

Cove is because I wanted to be able to be close enough to conduct my

monitoring program and to be able to come down here regularly to keep an

eye on things.

Q: What are your fondest memories of your time living here at the

Cove?

A: Some of my fondest memories were times spent with my grandmother.

We used to do a lot of shelling, looking of shells along the beach. I

remember at age 6 or 7, we would set the alarm for whatever time the

minus tide was, whether it was 3 or 4 in the morning, and we would get

our flashlights and walk down the beach to the tide pools and collect

shells. And that’s when shells were very plentiful down here.

Also, I had a horse at the Irvine Equestrian Center that was up on the

bluffs. When I was 13, I would ride my horse down here bareback down the

entire stretch of Crystal Cove State Park, which is 3.2 miles. And I

would take him into the ocean with a halter around his neck.

Growing up here, it has been an absolute perfect environment. I

compare growing up here to winning the lottery. It’s had such a

tremendous impact on my life and it continues to. That’s why I’ve

dedicated my life to preserving it. I don’t know how my life could have

been without Crystal Cove. All I can say is that I’m so grateful for what

I’ve had here.

Fourth of July were also fond memories down here. All the families

would go on the beach at night. We’d all have fireworks and we’d take

turns lighting them and we’d have to wait for everything to do them.

Last night [July 4], we actually had fireworks on the beach and I

think it was the first time that we’ve actually been able to shoot off

fireworks in several years. And I think the rangers just kind of decided

to let us go ahead and do that.

Every Thanksgiving, we would barbecue turkeys on the barbecue. My

niece, Crystal, was born here and was obviously named after Crystal Cove.

She’s the fourth generation of our family to be here.

Q: Is there anything else you want to add?

A: I think it’s important, now that the residents are packing up and

leaving, that everyone who holds Crystal Cove near and dear to their

hearts do their best to try to come down and get involved in the public

review process that has already begun and try to play a part in the

future of Crystal Cove. I think that in the next couple of years --

through this planning process -- Crystal Cove is going to need all the

help it can get. I just encourage people in the community to come down

here and keep an eye on things, something we need to play a role in

protecting.

It’s special for many reasons. Not only is it a beautiful place, but

it’s also one of the 34 Areas of Special Biological Significance in the

state of California. It’s also a part of the Irvine Coast Marine

Preserve. It’s also a historic district and is listed on the National

Register of Historic Places, as well as one of the two known dolphin

birthing locations.

Nothing’s changed here. There are very few places you can say that

about these days.

BIO

Name: Laura Davick

Age: 42

Birthplace: Anaheim

Community Involvement: Founder of the nonprofit Alliance to Rescue

Crystal Cove.

Years of residence at Crystal Cove: 40