Lonesome cove

Bryce Alderton

The American flag stationed on the old shack formerly hosting the

general store at Crystal Cove wisped in the warm summer breeze Sunday

afternoon at half-mast, a memorial marking the end of approximately 80

years of families growing up together with bonfires, barbecues, swimming

and relaxing along the beach.

Barbara Boatman, 60, leaned on a table in the living room of the

almost-empty cottage she has rented for the last 10 years with a tear

trickling down her face as her yellow lab, Bogart, lay on the carpet. She

began coming to the cove 54 years ago when her aunt and uncle owned a

cottage. Boatman and family stayed for the summers.

“My favorite memory is being a kid down here and being free and not

worrying about the stuff kids have to worry about today,” said Boatman, a

Fashion Island travel agency owner. “We’ve had an incredible run here as

caretakers of these cottages. I just hope [the state] preserves the

cottages, but it’s a sad day in the neighborhood.”

Dumpsters were filled with boxes, soda cans, table frames, mattresses

and coffee pots. A white Ford F-150 truck contained a refrigerator,

stove, coolers, pots, trash cans and chairs. Moving day meant leaving the

46 cottages behind but residents and friends of this place will never

forget the memories formed here.

Jack Schott enjoyed the day by riding his bike through the cove and

remembering the summers he spent camping in tents on the beach. He

learned to swim, fish and surf on the beach but giggled when mentioning

the surfing, looking at the small waves that glossed across the sand.

“We had fires every night and I can remember the soda fountain in the

general store. They made these drinks called ‘suicides’ that had a little

bit of everything in them,” Schott said. “These are the saddest days; I

empathize with these people.”

John and Nancy Killen lived in their cottage for 31 years. Their son

Jeff spoke about their last night on the beach where the family made a

bonfire in which Jeff “sacrificed two surfboards.”

On the Killens’ front porch, Jeff’s wife Erica sat in the shade with

daughters Ashley and Emily. Eleven-year-old Emily had been coming to the

cottage since she was 4 and said Crystal Cove is her favorite beach.

“We live in Huntington Beach but we would rather come here than go to

the beach there,” she said.

Erica Killen sat, holding hands with her 4-year-old daughter Emily as

John and Nancy Killen finished loading the car.

“The heart of the cove is the community; it’s a family community

that’s lived here for generations,” Erica Killen said. “It’s like a

family being splintered apart.”

The camaraderie of residents has been continual according to 25-year

resident Don Martin, who recently bought a home on Balboa Island.

“Balboa is the second nicest place to live besides [Crystal Cove],”

said Martin, who then described the nostalgia the cove holds for him.

“When you come off Coast Highway, you step back into the 1920s.”

Martin wasn’t hesitant when asked if he would come back to the cove.

“Absolutely not. I will never step foot in this place again.”

Crystal Cove Community Trust is fighting against the tenants’ eviction

and filed a petition last Tuesday. It claims the California Department of

Parks and Recreation violated the California Environmental Quality Act by

failing to file a negative declaration, or Environmental Impact Report

(EIR).

Trust member Bruce Hostetter says the people of Crystal Cove are a

“significant cultural resource and, unfortunately, the state doesn’t

recognize that. I am going to do everything I can so people have access

to this place because it teaches us so much about behaving in a

cooperative way with others. I feel threatened by what the state is doing

because this place presents a symbiotic relationship where the people

shape the natural habitat and the habitat shapes the people at the same

time.”

Hostetter wants to see a balanced approach where taxpayers won’t have

to pay taxes on the land and the public would still have access to it.

As of today, State Parks plans to board up the cottages until it

develops a plan to preserve the cabins, replace the septic tanks with a

sewer system and possibly rent the cottages by night or week. Some

rangers and lifeguards will live in the cottages.

Most of the cottages were built in the 1920s and 1930s. Then, in 1979,

the state bought the land from the Irvine Co. for $32.6 million.